Phil's journal 2020

[jagermeister]

Looking good Phil. I’m taking on a similar approach as you. So far I’ve only spent one morning in a stand. But I’ve been spending more time scouting and running cameras. I have some really good spots lined up... I’m just waiting for the cooler weather to arrive. I’ve got just a little bit of venison leftover in the freezer so I’m holding out as long as I can. I don’t particularly enjoy processing deer when it’s warm and mild.

 

[5Cent]

Gut check on why ya hunt. If ya need meat, do whatcha gotta do. If you're chasing horns, get the rest outta your mind and focus your resources. Good luck!

 

[giles]

I gotta pick up my half a cow tomorrow. Got offered one on a deal that I couldn't pass up. That was another reason I put the smack on a BB. Now my freezer is basically full so I have to be picky. Pretty good problem to have.

I guess I'm saying, you can fill the freezer any way you guys want. No wrong way to eat a Reese.

 

[finelyshedded]

Good stuff Philbert! Good luck this season bub

 

[MoonLab]

Good luck, Phil.

 

[hickslawns]

Gut check on why ya hunt. If ya need meat, do whatcha gotta do. If you're chasing horns, get the rest outta your mind and focus your resources. Good luck!

I'm not a guy to shoot a younger buck on purpose. It has happened in the heat of the moment. I don't care if someone else does it. I'm happy for them. When the rubber meets the road. . . My first priority isn't the antlers. I go out to enjoy the woods and fill the freezer. If I shoot a buck (up until this year), it is going to be a good one. Quite frankly, the buck I posted is a damn good buck. I just know he has more potential if he walks. This year. . . I don't think he will get a pass.

 

[hickslawns]

First sit. Shot compound again today. Shooting good but not consistent enough. Verified crossbow is dialed in. Never killed anything with one. I don't care if I do or don't. I owe it to the animal to make an ethical shot. Currently, crossbow is the only way I can be confident in doing so. Looking for big bodied buck. Does are off limits unless I start seeing a bunch from the stand.

In a massive locust with 4 trunks covering me. Just off corn field to south. Bedding to north. Creek to north. Bedding to east. NE wind.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Great views, Phil! Good luck!

 

[hickslawns]

Thanks Jesse.

Had two fawns come in at last light. Just walking thru. Passed quickly enough. Waited a bit. Nothing followed them. Slid out of there.

Hunts: 1
Hours hunted: 3
Total Deer seen: 2
Bucks: 0
Fawns/yearlings: 2

 

[hickslawns]

Driving home tonight I am talking to my cousin on the phone. I picked up a wood burner for him off Marketplace. I yelled out "Oh crap! Stay put deer!" My cousin from Tennessee asked if I had a doe about to jump out. My reply: "Nope. Looked like a 3yr old 10pt. Roughly 130". Probably 6-7" g2 and g3s. About 3.5" brow tines. Maybe 2" g4s. Probably a 15" spread. He was 10' off the road and gave me a front and side view. Sorry. Didn't have much time to pick up anymore details at 45mph."

I can't be the only one that sees a quick image and grabs everything but the mass measurements in my head.

 

[Fletch]

Driving home tonight I am talking to my cousin on the phone. I picked up a wood burner for him off Marketplace. I yelled out "Oh crap! Stay put deer!" My cousin from Tennessee asked if I had a doe about to jump out. My reply: "Nope. Looked like a 3yr old 10pt. Roughly 130". Probably 6-7" g2 and g3s. About 3.5" brow tines. Maybe 2" g4s. Probably a 15" spread. He was 10' off the road and gave me a front and side view. Sorry. Didn't have much time to pick up anymore details at 45mph."

I can't be the only one that sees a quick image and grabs everything but the mass measurements in my head.

Phil, Luckily he stayed put and didn't jump out in front of you... It's funny how when we see a buck along the road or anywhere and our minds kick into high gear and notice everything there is to notice about them.... Our minds also tend to notice what mile marker he was at....

 

[hickslawns]

I'm out. Second sit.

6 min in and I saw deer. Had 6 yearlings wander thru. With EHD they are safe. Then again,with EHD just seeing six is a win.

That was early. I'm optimistic. They all followed field edge 20-35yds away. Wind in my face. Hoping they continue to move early in front of the rain. Buck pics along here are right at or just after dusk. Also in early morning just before shooting light. Not daily though.

 

[hickslawns]

So weird. Got in. Settled into stand at 4. 406pm I see deer. 6 filter past the stand. All young. At 615 4 of them came blasting back thru. Not sure what spooked them. Maybe a hunter. Maybe a yote. I was hoping it was a buck. Given their speed I don't think it was a buck bumping them. There is standing corn on my 1/2 mile walk out. Very weird to walk out, swap 4 camera cards, and never bump a deer.

Hunts: 2
Hours hunted: 6
Total Deer seen: 8
Bucks: 0
Fawns/yearlings: 8

 

[hickslawns]

Got on stand a bit later than I wanted but still had a 4 hour hunt. Climbed up. Dropped wallet out of pants. Look down to see wallet open. Money here. Driver's license there. Doh! Back down I go. Settle in again. Decide to pull the frozen doe tarsals out and hang one. I was putting a hole in it to wrap my bow rope thru it and clip it in. My pocket knife didn't lock open. As I'm pushing the knife into the bark of the tree and pulling the tarsal gland into the blade. . .the blade collapsed on my index finger. It was a good one. Bled like a stuck hog. Couldn't find my TP. Put my glove on, held it above my heart and kept pressure on it the first 30-45 min of the hunt. Never took glove off until I got home. It was a good one.

So about 320 I see white flashes in the woods. I grab the bow. Then I see a husky. Later I see what looked like the body of a Bassett hound on straighter legs. I notice they both have collars on and the Bassett mix has a t-shirt on. Around four I hear people wandering the woods yelling dog names. Neither the dogs nor the people looking bumped any deer my way in the EHD desert of dead deer.

At 430 I see a guy walking the neighboring property. He climbs a tree stand right on the property line. I sit about 30yds off the line. Now he climbs up and is about 60-70 yards away. Also upwind. Freaking great.

Around 6-630 I see 3 of the deer that are still alive. They are about the size of a greyhound each. Shortly after I see a big body lumbering thru the woods. Rack didn't match the body. Basically a big bodied 2yr old. It was a bit late before I saw him. With the wind it was tough to hear anything. He got a pass. At least I saw a buck.

Hunts: 3
Hours hunted: 10
Total Deer seen: 12
Bucks: 1
Fawns/yearlings: 11

 

[giles]

There is a reason I carry a good pocket knife. I did that once when I was about 13. Watched dad do it to himself with an old timer around the same time.

 

[Redhunter1012]

That's a busy hunt Phil! Glad it wasn't worse

 

[hickslawns]

There is a reason I carry a good pocket knife. I did that once when I was about 13. Watched dad do it to himself with an old timer around the same time.

It was a Gerber. Not sure that matters. It very well could have been an operator oversight. I'm taking the blame on this one.

 

[hickslawns]

I think my fingernail saved me from any worse depth of cut. @giles might puke. Or is just the smell that gets him?

 

[giles]

Lol, that doesn't bother me. All the other body fluids do.

 

[Fletch]

Good Luck with finger Phil....