Time for an update.
I took last Thursday off and it turned out to be a fairly eventful day. I saw Jack, twice, along with 3 does. It appeared at one point that Jack was heading my way until a doe cut him off. Between the commotion the 20 turkeys were making when I arrived at my stand at 9 that morning, and the motion of me dropping my stand/pack, he bolted from his bed which was only 67 yards from my stand. He ran a little ways before slowing down and laying back down about 250 yards out. I sat quietly until 4 when I started a grunt/bleat series that I followed with a rattling sequence 15 minutes later. It was enough to get him on his feet, but not enough to end the saga.
Saturday morning was a decent hunt see 4 does and 2 bucks, with the first and only sign of the rut I saw all year. That evening I moved to my parents place and saw a small buck. Last night was just a doe and scrub buck.
My cousin sent me a text this morning saying he screwed up on a giant last night. It is the same deer I've been hearing about and whose sign I saw all over this new farm. This is my second year with permission on it, but I haven't spent much time out there. However that will change going in to next season. I'm now the only one bowhunting it and knowing there is a borderline to sure Booner running there will put a little fire in my belly!
I hesitate to even saying anything because I know how Mr. Murphy works, but I most proud of that fact that I have not been skunked to date. I'm picking good stands and the restraint of letting deer go at the farm has paid off with increased sightings this year. I've also hunted hard packing in stands, standing and glassing most of the hunt, and I've increased the length of my hunts. It's not been a good year, but it has been a good year...
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2013 Stats
Antlerless Sightings: 51
Bucks Sightings: 22
Different Bucks: 12
Shooters Seen: 4
Total Sightings: 73
Deer Killed: 0
Arrow'd Squirrels: 2
Morning Hunts: 10
Evening Hunts: 11
All Day Sits: 1
Skunked Hunts: 0
Total Hunts: 22
Hours on Stand: 70
Average Time Per Hunt: 3 hours 10 minutes
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: 1.04
Stands/Blinds Hunted: 11
Properties Hunted: 3