Well, seeing that we are T-minus one month until the season, there is no time like the present to start keeping tabs on the way the season is going. It is no secret who my target buck will be this year, but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking for a few other bucks I have some background with. However, for the time being my focus will be on Moe and this last camera check has lead me to the conclusion that I have some work left in front of me. This weekend is dedicated to finishing up the last few sets I have to hang and to making one strategic move aimed at making Moe that much more killable come opening weekend…
As much as I hate to do it, I need to move my stand on Hippie Ridge in order to increase my odds of killing any deer, let alone my target buck. I really jumped the gun by hanging this stand early and should have waited for the cams to tell me where to hang. After a painstaking review of the thousands of pictures and hundreds of videos I have of Moe and Captain Jack this summer, I am of the opinion I am in the wrong damn tree to get the job done. When he comes from the southern bedding area, he is angling towards my stand right in to the weakest part of that set. I really feel I have no option but to move SE and set myself up for a 30 yard shot as opposed to the 8 yard shot he’d be giving me. I picked out two trees this weekend that allow me to have an observation set and a killing set. The goal this weekend is to wait for the rains to start, and then hit Hippie Ridge and move the current set to the new killing tree; then I’ll climb the observation stand and make sure it will work for that very purpose. As of right now, I’m planning on sitting the observation stand on opening night, then moving in when I feel the time is right.
In the past, I’d be ashamed to admit the strategy for killing Moe. But I’ve since learned a few things and I’ve come to peace with a few others. The reality of the matter is killing big deer on the way to a feed site is old hat and several of our “heroes” are doing the same thing. I won’t mention any names, but we all know one hunter in particular who has mastered what I am doing right now: feed them to their hearts content and let the cameras tell you what to do from there. I always thought I’d be skilled enough to out smart mature bucks on a near routine basis without the aid of a camera or feed site and the fact of the matter is that is simply not the case. Despite my past opinions that I was “taking the easy way out”, I now know better. This summer has been a lot of work and I’ve put in the effort I feel necessary to “earn” this kill regardless of how I come about it. So the plan for now, is to keep feeding on Hippie Ridge until mid-October and back off the feed site about 150-200 yards to the south and 60-80 yards to the east so I can cover his preferred route to the feed, but not have to sit right on top of it. In essence, it is still baiting and I’m a little disappointed in myself that I’m employing this tactic. But at the end of the day, I want to kill this buck and I think this is the best way to make that happen early in the season. If I can’t get it done the first two weekends of the season, I’ll stop feeding on Hippie Ridge and start sitting my observation stands in and around my food plots. I’ll be running one feeder in the core of the property that is visible from 100 yards plus out of two sets, one being a decoy only set. Regardless of how I go about killing this deer, it is almost guaranteed to center around his stomach.
So this weekend will find me finishing up the final preparations for the season, then it will be time to shoot, shoot, shoot in order to be fully prepared for the 24th. I’ll be out this evening putting the new blind up at Paradise, as well as making a few other changes. Pictures will follow. With any luck, this thread will conclude with several pictures of a season that I hope will be one for the books!!!
As much as I hate to do it, I need to move my stand on Hippie Ridge in order to increase my odds of killing any deer, let alone my target buck. I really jumped the gun by hanging this stand early and should have waited for the cams to tell me where to hang. After a painstaking review of the thousands of pictures and hundreds of videos I have of Moe and Captain Jack this summer, I am of the opinion I am in the wrong damn tree to get the job done. When he comes from the southern bedding area, he is angling towards my stand right in to the weakest part of that set. I really feel I have no option but to move SE and set myself up for a 30 yard shot as opposed to the 8 yard shot he’d be giving me. I picked out two trees this weekend that allow me to have an observation set and a killing set. The goal this weekend is to wait for the rains to start, and then hit Hippie Ridge and move the current set to the new killing tree; then I’ll climb the observation stand and make sure it will work for that very purpose. As of right now, I’m planning on sitting the observation stand on opening night, then moving in when I feel the time is right.
In the past, I’d be ashamed to admit the strategy for killing Moe. But I’ve since learned a few things and I’ve come to peace with a few others. The reality of the matter is killing big deer on the way to a feed site is old hat and several of our “heroes” are doing the same thing. I won’t mention any names, but we all know one hunter in particular who has mastered what I am doing right now: feed them to their hearts content and let the cameras tell you what to do from there. I always thought I’d be skilled enough to out smart mature bucks on a near routine basis without the aid of a camera or feed site and the fact of the matter is that is simply not the case. Despite my past opinions that I was “taking the easy way out”, I now know better. This summer has been a lot of work and I’ve put in the effort I feel necessary to “earn” this kill regardless of how I come about it. So the plan for now, is to keep feeding on Hippie Ridge until mid-October and back off the feed site about 150-200 yards to the south and 60-80 yards to the east so I can cover his preferred route to the feed, but not have to sit right on top of it. In essence, it is still baiting and I’m a little disappointed in myself that I’m employing this tactic. But at the end of the day, I want to kill this buck and I think this is the best way to make that happen early in the season. If I can’t get it done the first two weekends of the season, I’ll stop feeding on Hippie Ridge and start sitting my observation stands in and around my food plots. I’ll be running one feeder in the core of the property that is visible from 100 yards plus out of two sets, one being a decoy only set. Regardless of how I go about killing this deer, it is almost guaranteed to center around his stomach.
So this weekend will find me finishing up the final preparations for the season, then it will be time to shoot, shoot, shoot in order to be fully prepared for the 24th. I’ll be out this evening putting the new blind up at Paradise, as well as making a few other changes. Pictures will follow. With any luck, this thread will conclude with several pictures of a season that I hope will be one for the books!!!