With my mom getting sick this summer and passing away the end of October I had no idea if and when we would be able to make it out to deer hunt. Work has been very demanding as well so hunting had to be put on the back burner. As we got closer to youth season I mentioned to my son Allen about going down for a quick weekend if he would be willing to give the muzzleloader a try. One Sunday afternoon we pulled it out and after a few lighter loads he was willing to give the heavy load a try. He shot it well and it was just up to me to get him down there to give it a try. Even though no deer were harmed this past weekend Allen and I had a lot of fun together and that was my goal before anything else. Add to that it was my dad's 75th. birthday (today actually) that we were able to celebrate while we were down. Was great to finally get down to see him and even better to hear Allen tell his hunting stories to him.
Saturday morning we went to an old platform blind on the side of a point looking down into the big holla. Guys that hunted here years ago built it and they must have done it right as it's still sturdy and a great view. It started raining as soon as we stepped out of the truck so I had to put the porta-roof up over top of us for most of the morning. Had a good buck and two does sneak up behind us from the top of the ridge and didn't see them in time to get ready for a shot. They then slipped down into the bottom, the does went up the other side and the buck decided to head around the edge of the big holla to the south. We saw one other deer right at first light but lost track of it on the other ridge.
Saturday evening we decided to sit on the edge of a picked cornfield. We had high hopes of seeing a lot of deer but by this time it was windy as hell even though we were in the sheltered part of the field.
We did have a nice 4-point make his way down the edge as we had hoped a big one would do. I was shocked when Allen decided to pass on him as he was within 30 yards at one point. He was sure hoping for something bigger and that was his decision all on his own.
We ended up seeing 5 deer that night, pretty good considering how cold and windy it was getting. Sunday morning we sat in the same blind on the edge of the corn. Ended up seeing so many turkey we couldn't possibly count them. There were two big groups that came in and met up as they headed from the corn into the woods to the west of us. Was fun just watching them chase each other all over the place and all the noise they were making. The four point ended up showing himself about 9:30 but didn't come near close enough to see if Allen would be tempted again.
Saturday morning we went to an old platform blind on the side of a point looking down into the big holla. Guys that hunted here years ago built it and they must have done it right as it's still sturdy and a great view. It started raining as soon as we stepped out of the truck so I had to put the porta-roof up over top of us for most of the morning. Had a good buck and two does sneak up behind us from the top of the ridge and didn't see them in time to get ready for a shot. They then slipped down into the bottom, the does went up the other side and the buck decided to head around the edge of the big holla to the south. We saw one other deer right at first light but lost track of it on the other ridge.
Saturday evening we decided to sit on the edge of a picked cornfield. We had high hopes of seeing a lot of deer but by this time it was windy as hell even though we were in the sheltered part of the field.
We did have a nice 4-point make his way down the edge as we had hoped a big one would do. I was shocked when Allen decided to pass on him as he was within 30 yards at one point. He was sure hoping for something bigger and that was his decision all on his own.
We ended up seeing 5 deer that night, pretty good considering how cold and windy it was getting. Sunday morning we sat in the same blind on the edge of the corn. Ended up seeing so many turkey we couldn't possibly count them. There were two big groups that came in and met up as they headed from the corn into the woods to the west of us. Was fun just watching them chase each other all over the place and all the noise they were making. The four point ended up showing himself about 9:30 but didn't come near close enough to see if Allen would be tempted again.
