Hickslawns Hunting log

[hickslawns]

Late update.

Wednesday Nov 24- Hunted 3.5 hours in the evening. Saw 15 deer. Drew on a doe which was being chased around by 3 small bucks. Bottom cam on my bow was resting on a limb. Released, cam rotated, shot went askew. What a boneheaded move!

Thursday Nov 25- Hunted 3 hours in the morning. Once again saw 15 deer. Had a group of 6 come in directly under me. Eyeballed all of them to sort through the mix of fawns, yearlings, and 2 mature does. Waited for the shot opportunity on a mature doe. As I drew one of the youngsters must have caught movement. She shuffled quickly, and suddenly I had 6 deer all jump 3-5yds figuring out why. The mature doe which WAS perfectly clear and broadsided was now blocked partially by some trees but still in a quartering away position. I was a bit razzled after they all got spooky. I am not sure if it was a limb, my nerves after they all got spooky, or if it was the chunk of bark between my lower cam and string (which I realized later), but I somehow completely missed. Clean friggin' misses maybe 16hrs apart. I feel the bark between my cam and string had a strong roll in my miss. I don't know though. I was so pissed I called it a day and went home to eat turkey. I haven't picked up the bow since. I have been kicking myself for the last 4 days. Time to kill something during gun season, re-address the bow, and start with a fresh attitude and focus.

Combined stats on two hunts:
Deer seen: 30
Hours on stand: 6.5
Shots taken: 2
Deer killed: :tantrum:

Season totals:
Hours hunted: 79.5
Deer seen: 164
Shots taken: 4
Deer killed: 1

With stats like these, I hang my head in shame. I am thinking next year I need to modify my stats. I need to keep track of how many deer were seen "in bow range". In this flat country you can see a looooong way.

 

[Mike]

With stats like these, I hang my head in shame. I am thinking next year I need to modify my stats. I need to keep track of how many deer were seen "in bow range". In this flat country you can see a looooong way.

At least you are getting shot opportunities, that's half of the equation.

 

[hickslawns]

I worked most of the night and was able to get in the stand and situated just before the sun came up. Movement was great in our area! Had 3 single deer at different times. Had 2 small bucks in bow range. They moved through and never had a clue I existed. That is always fun! Had 2 more deer move through with no shot. Then (thanks to the snow cover) I saw 4-5 deer about 100yds away through the woods and cover. They were moving north. Next thing I know there were another 4-5 behind them. Something spooked them and all 8-10 came back south. They split up and I lost them. Decided I better walk out and get some sleep while there were no deer around. I get to the opening to sneak down a fence row and I see one of the single deer milling around. I move into position and get a range on her but she was 230yds away and I am not comfortable with this shot. Maybe with my 243 but not the muzzie. I head on to the truck and eat an apple. I notice another deer a couple hundred yards down a fence row. I had about 100yds to get to some cover. I made it there but 2 were bedded and hopped out of the cover and were gone. Very small deer. Probably this year's fawns. I got within 108yds of the deer I had seen but determined it was probably a sibling to the other two that had left.

18 deer seen in about 5hrs of hunting! Great great great hunt! Heard 3 different shots this morning. Well, 5 total, but three occasions of gunfire.

Season totals:
Hours on stand: 84.5
Deer seen: 182

 

[hickslawns]

Saturday, December 3. Time on stand: 645am-515PM. Had high hopes. Minimal success. I saw 5 deer feeding on my way into the stand. Stalked within 60yds of 2 of them. Both yearlings and I passed. Climbed into stand and waited for the deer to clear out before heading to the stand I initially had intended on hunting for the day. Later saw the yearlings again at 10am. Nothing until around 1PM when I saw a doe come out on a property to the west of me. She was in range, but over the property line by 50yds. I was only about 30yds off the property line. Not sure what chased her out but she had her tail flagging and was watching the area behind her. 5-10min later I had a shot at a coyote that must have blown her out of her bedding area and looped around behind me. Lucky for me, she came up on our property. One shot, one kill with the Remington 870.

I wanted to hunt this stand until dark but I was down wind of the coyote and I could smell her from the stand. I drug her to the opposite property line and left her for my departure which was only a couple hours away. I figured my hunt was probably ruined at the original stand so I just slid into a different one to finish the day. I ended up seeing a pair of yearlings at 100-120yds. I also so a small buck. Really small. Couldn't even see his antlers until I used the binoculars and he was only 60 yds away.

Hours hunted: 10.5hrs
Deer seen: 11
Shots taken: 1
Dead coyotes: 1

 

[hickslawns]

Sunday December 4. Rain rain go away. Hunted on the ground the last 1.5hrs. Spooked nothing while moving around. Saw nothing. Finally decided on a spot and within 5min I had a small deer pop out. I tried to pull out my binoculars and got busted. That was all I saw. My buddy was out road scouting and saw no hunters and no deer moving. Same thing I saw in the morning road scouting. Well, I did see 2 hunter's vehicles parked but I had to drive 12-15miles just to find 2.

Hours hunted: 1.5
Deer seen: 1
Shots taken: none

Season totals:

Hours hunted: 96.5
Deer seen: 194
Animals killed: one deer, one coyote

 

[hickslawns]

December 17-

Hunted 7am-11am- WSW winds with a steady light snow. Saw 3 bucks and 3 does. One buck was a half racked spike, another was a spike on both sides approximately 10-12" spikes, and the third was just a small buck. All does too far away with no clear shot. I am not confident in taking a 150-200yd shot with the muzzle loader yet. Passed on all the bucks and ended up having one bed down 55yds away. Finally snuck out without busting him and headed home to meet with someone, warm my toes, and eat lunch.

2pm-5pm I hunted the same stand. Only the half racked spike and 3 does again. Pulled the trigger on one of them and finally got some blood on my TC Omega muzzle loader. Shot wasn't perfect, but was effective. At 96yds I don't feel terrible with a shot being 3-4inches to the right of where I had the crosshairs. When I dial in my muzzy it is on a Caldwell Lead Sled. This shot was sitting in a tree stand with no rifle rest. Basically off-handed. Pictures attached are the entry hole, exit hole, and me with the doe. Not the biggest, but I verified it was not a button buck and decided it would be big enough to finish filling the freezer. Wish the bigger of the three would have offered a shot. Entry hole on the right side, exit on right side right through the shoulder. Probably the reason she tried to get away and was doing her bull dozer impression.

 

[Huckleberry Finn]

Good to see you smiling with a dead deer!

 

[hickslawns]

This brings us to December 18. We made a game plan and it didn't work out. I was surprised my buddy suggested it. He was going to walk the "bottom". This is our sanctuary area and we normally never enter it unless looking for a deer or shed hunting. Myself and one other guy were on the north side (SW wind) and the third was on the south side. Plan was for him to walk it with about 30min of daylight left. Well, that plan was foiled when a pair of coyotes came in right in between the two of us posted in tree stands on the north end. We each rang out 100yd shots and took out two yotes. In the meantime, our friend to the south watched 20 deer run off the property and to the west of us. With no chance of them returning in legal shooting light, he texted us and said he was going to walk out the bottom anyway and see if there wasn't a buck holed up in there. No dice.

Upon retrieving the yotes, I did stumble upon a shed. I found 3 sheds last season and probably put on 20-30 miles looking. I have found 3 during the season this year with the first two being a matched set and the third one being the one in this picture. Crazy!

Can't believe I forgot to take pictures of the yotes. They were massive. I am thinking these were not "pure" coyote. Smaller of the 2 was probably 50-60lbs.

 

[twireman]

Congrats on a great weekend Hicks!!

 

[moundhill]

Heck of a weekend phil! Congrats on the doe, and yotes. Get some pics up of those beasts.

 

[cotty16]

Killing yotes = awesome!

Congrats on the doe TOO

 

[hickslawns]

Heck of a weekend phil! Congrats on the doe, and yotes. Get some pics up of those beasts.

Sorry bud. No yote pics. Momentary brain cramp. Can't believe I remembered to take an "as it lays" picture of the shed but none of the yotes. Probably because my wife called as the three of us were chatting and I got side tracked. She was hungry and trying to figure out where I was taking the family for dinner and how soon. My buddies drug them out.

 

[Curran]

Nice job on the yotes Phil!!

 

[finelyshedded]

Congrats on the doe and yotes Phil! Nice find with the shed TOO! Way to stick with it. The weather was primo for deer hunting the last couple days!

 

[Mike]

Congrats!!

 

[hickslawns]

I decided to break it up a bit and not hunt until the muzzle loader season. I just feel like we were over hunting the one property and it needed a break as much as I did. I also needed to get my muzzle loader dialed in better. I thought I had it figured out and would have been done yesterday but I ran out of daylight and it was also giving me fits. I figured out some things, went back out today and got the TC dialed in. When I was finally done, it only left me with an hour and a half to hunt. I still hunted along the east side of the property on the west wind we were dealing with. Didn't see anything but a cat and several cardinals. Felt good to be hunting again though. My wife's work schedule completely sucks for the muzzle loader season but I will be out the next three evenings at least. Hopefully I can get out Tuesday morning as well.

Hours on stand: 1.5
Deer Seen: None
Shots taken: None

Season totals:

Hours on stand: 107
Deer seen: 204
Deer killed: 2
Coyote killed: 2

 

[Curran]

I was watching those same cardinals a few days ago Phil... today it was turkeys & geese. Still no deer. Back at it tomorow. Good luck out there buddy!!

 

[hickslawns]

I set up on what i felt was a perfect spot tonight. Winds were in my face. I was on the high wall side of a creek. To my left was a bend in the creek with a narrow strip of woods and then a picked corn field. Pictures aren't the best, but I could see the corn field easily enough with binos. In front of me was another bend in the creek, another narrow strip of woods and another picked corn field. I was right in the center of a country block. 1/2 mile to any road in any direction. I was sitting within 50-100yds of 2 picked corn fields. All the other fields around have been turned under. I was in between two inside corners with a narrow strip of woods between the two fields. Certainly you would think the deer would come out of the woods to feed in one of these two corn fields? Nada, zip, zilch. Sat from 2-515pm with zero deer sightings. Unbelievable.

 

[hickslawns]

Yesterday- Was still fighting a cold. Work kept getting in the way of making it out the door when I wanted to. Made it out the last 2 hours. Saw about a 120" 8pt. Only deer I saw. Last light. Very nice deer. Young deer. Just not quite what I am after. Given the fact it is late in the season and I am still holding a buck tag made him tempting. I just couldn't do it. There is too much potential to end that deer's life right now. I had him at 138yds initially and he worked his way into 58yds. Chip shot with the muzzle loader. Too bad he didn't have another 20-25" on him.

2hrs on stand to see one nice young buck.

This morning- I hunted it again. Hit it early. Saw nothing. Pretty sad really. Hunted from 7-930am. Well, maybe daylight to 930, but I was there at 7.

2.5hrs on stand to see nothing.

This evening I hit it again. Hunted the south side of the farm despite a SW wind. I fully expected my shots to come from the NW and thought I would be safe with this wind. My hunting partner hunted the north end of the farm. Both of us got skunked. 15min of daylight left on the last day of any gun hunting for the year he walked out the bottom. We NEVER go in there. Shed hunting, planting food plots in the summer or recovering deer are pretty much the reason to go in there. Surprisingly, he didn't bump a single deer. It was quite puzzling. Surprised us both.

Hunted 2.5hrs. Saw nothing.

Season totals:
Hours on stand: 117.25
Deer seen: 205

 

[hickslawns]

Hit the stand yesterday for the first time in awhile. Haven't been out since muzzle loader season. Felt good to hunt with a bow in my hand. It was cold, but tolerable. The stand I was in was probably our oldest stand and quite noisy. Still managed to see 3 on the way in and I believe the same three later. With about 1/2 hour of shooting light left I had 6 deer come out. Looked like a bachelor group of bucks plus the three from earlier. I couldn't see them well with some trees blocking my view, but one of them appeared to be the 120-130" 8pt I have seen before. With 2 mature deer missing from the property he has been much more visible lately. The other buck was probably 1.5yr old and the third appeared to be a shed buck. They fed along the edge of the woods for about 15min and went back into the timber 10-15yds and bedded down. They were 65-75yds due east of me with a NE wind. 15min of shooting light left and I got nothing I can do. Not sure why, but something got their attention and they got up after 10 min and headed north back into the woods. I swapped camera cards by the stand I was in and headed out. Frustrating, but I would still consider it a good sit being late season and all.

Hours in stand: 2.5
Deer seen: 6

Season totals:
Hours hunted: 119.75
Deer seen: 211