Brock goes hunting

[brock ratcliff]

No, he really isn't mine Phil, but I figured I'd do the best I could to raise him anyway. His mother has never been faithful, but he's a good kid and his biological father buys my hunting and fishing license through a court order. It's a fair trade IMO.

 

[hickslawns]

You are gonna burn man. lmao

 

[brock ratcliff]

I probably will, but for far worse than that...

 

[brock ratcliff]

Drug my butt out of bed this morning. I wanted to be in bed the entire time I was driving to the farm, walking to the stand, and setting in the stand...too tired for this stuff. Shortly after I climbed in, a deer walked directly under my fencerow perch. Too dark to tell what it was beyond a deer, but it was alone. At about 830 I saw three deer trotting across a cut corn field a mile or so away. Crawled out of the tree about 930 and started for the truck. I rounded a corner of a woodlot and saw a doe and fawn nibbling on something. I snuck up within 50 yards or so and took a seat until the wandered off into the woods. Not a bad morning, but I can't help feeling like I'm wasting my time until the rest of the corn is off...won't be long.

Set a cam on "the" creek crossing too.

 

[finelyshedded]

I know the feeling all to well of being tired wondering if its really worth it Brock. Better days ahead buddy! Glad you had a decent morning!

 

[brock ratcliff]

I know the feeling all to well of being tired wondering if its really worth it Brock. Better days ahead buddy! Glad you had a decent morning!

I know you do, buddy! Being out there when you are just dog-tired and sick is kinda stupid when you consider we just do this stuff for fun. Something in us just makes us go, whether we want to or not!

 

[finelyshedded]

Haha Brock! It's called "drive", with some stubbornness sprinkled in. Lol

 

[hickslawns]

Haha Brock! It's called "drive", with some stubbornness sprinkled in. Lol

No doubt about it. I haven't had the desire to shoot a deer yet but keep finding myself hunting every moment I can break away. Glad to hear you saw some action!

 

[brock ratcliff]

I've really done a good job this year of staying away from my deer holes until it gets good. Today I got up at the crack of 9, had some coffee and decided I needed to go to the woods for a little bit. Luckily, I have a buddy that just bought another tract of ground that is loaded with squirrels. I decided to take a rifle and go have a look around. I killed a squirrel and headed back towards the truck. On the way, I spotted a doe and watched her for 10 minutes or so. You can see her above and to the right of the crosshairs in the "scope pic". I waited till she wandered off and went on home.

This afternoon, Mason and I went over to a piece I hunt in Ross Co. I recently got permission on the adjoining farm and decided to park there to get to our spot through the back door. We were going to snoop around and maybe shoot some squirrels. There was a doe and fawn behind the barn when we started up the hill, good sign. We strolled right on up to the "spot", slid in quietly and found a flock of turkeys feeding on the ridge. They wandered off, and Mason commenced to firing up the squirrels with his little 22. Three times after he fired, the turkeys came back to see what was up! A small buck came within 30 yards of us a little later too, and Mason killed four squirrels. There were a couple deer by our truck when we walked out at dark... I called the landowner and told him I'd be driving up the hill in the next couple of days to set a stand! This is always a fun piece to hunt because there is always something to be seen...usually just turkey and squirrels, but I did kill a doe off it the one day I hunted there last year. With better access and a comfy stand soon to be placed, I think we'll spend a little more time there this season! We did have a couple of nice bucks coming to a corn pile on the other side of the property back in January, so if they are still around they should be dandies this year!

The pics are of Mason shooting a squirrel, the deer behind the barn, and the buck that would have been dead if Mason would have had the Excalibur instead of a .22. Great time of year, with the best yet to come!

 

[hickslawns]

"Got up at the crack of 9":smiley_crocodile:

Good for you. Glad you enjoyed yourself. Hopefully the additional chunk will increase your desire to get out there some more.

 

[finelyshedded]

Sounds like a great day to me Brock! Loved the getting up at the crack of 9 line....lmao

 

[brock ratcliff]

I slept late again today, got up about 8:30. Getting lazier every day, I think. I planned to get our 2 man stand set up on the Ross Co property today, but by the time I gathered all the gear needed to do the job solo, and turned the stand into a "blind", I didn't have enough time to get it set up. So, I'll probably do that tomorrow morning, maybe after a morning sit in Fayette Co.... daggone FS is a pretty good motivator.

 

[brock ratcliff]

I finally feel that old nagging "deer bug" starting to bite. I went to the Ross Co property today and set up a two man stand for me and Mason. Ive got it set perfectly, at least as much as you can a big, bulky ladder stand. I can't wait to sit in it, but I'm gonna hold off a few days for the simple fact I was in there and stunk the place up today...but I'd love to be in it first thing tomorrow morning if only to watch the turkeys fly down! I think Mason will kill one pretty quick up there since he isn't overly picky just yet, and then he is going to want to fall turkey hunt in there, which I'm not opposed to, but I'm almost certain I know one big deer that seems to back up to his old tricks in there...and I think I could get a look at him if we don't shoot the place up hunting turkey! You just never know how things will work out...

I may slide up to Fayette Co in the morning as I'm sure they have most of the corn off by now and I need to get some venison up to the landowner.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Rolled up to Fayette Co. this morning. I had gone maybe 75 yards from my truck and bumped two deer. I hadn't even turned my light on yet, so when they spooked they were already hauling butt by the time I shined on 'em. I kept my light on from that point on. I went maybe 400 yards farther and saw a deer bedded, facing away from me. It was fascinated by it's own shadow, stood up and walked around in circles for a spell while I snapped a few pics with my phone. There was another deer that stood up when I started taking pics. I kept the light on them and walked on by to my stand. Once settled, it started sleeting a bit accompanied by gusty winds from the west. Around 8 or so, I noticed a deer across the beanfield feeding at the landowner's cornpile. Thought it was a doe at first, turned out to be a young buck. Videoed him for a spell. He was all I saw from the stand.

I'll probably hunt over in Ross Co. tomorrow as it's really close to home and I'm sure there is a good one lurking in there.

 

[finelyshedded]

Brock, I love reading your hunting posts! You have a way of discribing your visuals that lays it all down behind my own eyeballs! Very good reads and I'm looking forward to reading the next one! Glad to hear the deer hunting mojo is starting to jab ya some. The cool weather is perfect for hunting,killing and hanging! Good luck buddy!

 

[brock ratcliff]

I couldn't stand it any longer so I went over to the Ross Co. farm. Parked the truck and walked almost to the top of the hill before running into a deer. Shined the light on him as he was working a scrape. It was a nice buck, good beams and as wide as his ears. I think if I shoot him, I'll wish I had waited...but if Mason gets a crack at him, he will be the biggest buck in the county! He wandered off after a few minutes and I went on to my stand. Bumped two right under the stand...#%^#%@! I didn't see anymore deer, hunted till 10. I'm not planning to hunt anymore until Sunday afternoon when I plan to take Mason to the stand I was in this morning. If I were a betting man, I'd lay odds on Mason shooting something Sunday night. I hope it's a good buck, if not he will shoot the first set of horns he sees. Not going to let him shoot any more does, at least not right now.

 

[finelyshedded]

Great encounter buddy! Good luck on Sunday!

 

[brock ratcliff]

I have felt all week that tonight would be the night Mason would kill his buck. I was almost right. We settled in about 430 or so and watched a ton of squirrels right from the start. About 530, Mason saw a deer heading down a ravine to our left, I couldn't see it. About 600 a button buck strolled right under us and stuck around for a half hour or so before wandering off to the east. A short while later up on a high knob to our west we saw another deer but were unable to see it well enough to know what kind it was. It was there for 10 minutes or more before a coyote came through and pushed it off. We weren't able to get a shot at the coyote either. Then, another doe and button buck came under us for another 10 minutes or so before going off the ridge to the east as the other had done. At prime time, Mason decided he really needed to stretch. Keep in mind that while down at Strouds a couple of weeks ago he spooked a deer off by doing this very thing, yet he just had to stretch again...at prime time! Sure enough, 40 yards away, a nice buck bolted off, and Mason again learned a lesson. I couldn't even give him any grief about it as he was beating himself up pretty bad.

I'm not a fan of cams anymore, but I did set one there on Tuesday to see if any of our old buddies were still in the neighborhood. Pretty sure I managed to get pics of the buck I saw Thursday morning along with the big 7 that Mason hunted in January. I think the deer he spooked off tonight is in there too. I pulled the cam tonight as it needs batteries anyway. It was funny to watch and video that button buck licking the camera for several minutes tonight!!

The first buck pictured is the one I think Mason should have killed tonight. The second I believe may be the one I saw the other morning making a scrape. The other two are the nice 7 from last year. I'm sure the one that shows his right side is indeed him, the other I'm about 80 percent sure is him too. There were a bunch of other doe and fawn pics as well on the cam. I dumped 100lbs of corn to get a few pics...it's all gone, but I did get pics of the one we were looking for! Mason passed that deer last year as the only shot opportunity he gave him was a day or two AFTER he dropped his antlers! It doesn't look like he's grown any over the year.

 

[brock ratcliff]

The 7 pt last year...

 

[brock ratcliff]

Awesome morning hunt in Fayette Co today. I saw 2 shooters, 3 small bucks, and 6 or 8 does and fawns. Hunted till 930 or so. The landowner and crew rolled in about then to finish up the last of the corn. High hopes for tomorrow morning as it seems to be heating up right on schedule! The big 6 chased a doe all over and two of the small bucks sparred for a time. It's getting good!

Here's a pic of the 6 from 250yds or so...