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A poke in the eye...

bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
49,616
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Appalachia
Not a good week fellas. Nada, zip, zilch, zero on the cams. No Moe. No Captain Jack. I'm super bummed out right now despite knowing it was likely sightings would be down this week. But for Moe to not show up at all, that scares me. I'm already worried about poaching as it is and this does nothing to help that fear. It'll be a long 9-10 days until the next cam check that's for sure...

The only positive is the does are moving in now and they are making themselves available for an opening day kill it I get the itch. I have 3 stands that are almost a certain for opening morning. I have one group that's 7 deep right now with 4 being older does, and 2 of those are OLD. That's the only positive for the entire week. Pretty shitty overall...
 
Jesse.... prehunting jitters lol.... you've got the proof.... you got the skills.... chill and go out and enjoy yourself.....
 
Dude, it's not just you. This weeks camera check was crappy for me TOO. No good bucks on cam, one cam on the farm down the road was averaging 800 pics a week and I had 120, with nothing on it for the last four days. Hang in there buddy, he will be back.
 
Figure it on a percentage brother, he is bound not to show up in front of your cams once or twice. He's proven that your hunting area is his home turf... you may have to cat and mouse him a little but HE'S THERE!! Can't wait til you bust his ass and we get to hear the story! Keep your head up!
 
Don't feel bad man.... I've had an entire summer of weak pictures. It'll all work out... He's still around I'm sure.
 
They're moving right now man. Once the hard horns come they become a different animal. And he's likely changing his patterns and or core area. You'll get on him again... 2 weeks ago they would stand in a bean field and stare at you, take a bite and stare some more. Now you slow down and they bolt.
 
Yeah, hopefully he's just laying low with small game season coming in and any activity you did when prepping stands. Give him time to get comfy again and he'll show up for ya!!
 
Jackalope said:
They're moving right now man. Once the hard horns come they become a different animal. And he's likely changing his patterns and or core area. You'll get on him again... 2 weeks ago they would stand in a bean field and stare at you, take a bite and stare some more. Now you slow down and they bolt.
Click to expand...

I was going to say the same thing. They are starting to move a lot more and exploring outside their core area more. However, he'll be back. Stay patient and don't jump the gun.

I've been seeing more deer and some bucks finally in the field behind my house. His adventures will bring him back eventually.

Maybe he found some good eats in another patch of the woods and wanted some variety for awhile.
 
He is still there and will be back. My bucks took off for a little over a week and finally made it back. I figure they are sheding the velvet and taking some side trips.
 
Yeah... The wide8 Tall8 and Tank were all no shows last week. No biggie. They're around.. If not something else will be through.
 
A few random pictures of some studs and some nice ones while glassing on road scouting trips this summer is what I have going. You will be fine Jesse. Let him peel the velvet and make his way back. If no show for awhile, then do what Jesse does: Go find him and get him on the ground! You have the skills to do it buddy. You have proven it time and time again with numerous bucks. I am sure you will find him again if he doesn't make his way back.
 
They are still around when the velvet comes off the start moving around more getting there territory for rut. You may not see some of them again till they start chasing does. Give them time it will work out.
 
Jackalope said:
Yeah... The wide8 Tall8 and Tank were all no shows last week. No biggie. They're around.. If not something else will be through.
Click to expand...

That is exactly how I think of it. I have been hunting the same deer for 3 years now. I have seen him many times. I have three trail cam pics of him over so many years. They are there. If not, then another will cruise by.

Be ready, be a little lucky.

Beentown
 
Dont feel bad dude, I got zero pictures on my camera, after putting 100lbs of corn out, 1 bag of apples and deer caine......Oh yea, I didnt turn the camera on hahahahahaha

what a bonehead move on my part....Ugh
 
Like I told you when I text ya this weekend..... DEAD! I hunted ky and didnt see anything but does! I check all the cams, not a single buck on them. I honestly think with these storms rolling through and with them shedding velvet they have moved onto acorn flats. I think the storms blew the acorns on the ridges down and the deer are eating, sleeping, and moving very little on those flats. Like others have mentioned, the corn and bait stations are completly off track and deer arent using them anymore. Time to pack up the LW and sticks and hit the ridge tops and flats.
 
I sure wish I had some acorns to go hunt! We have jack shit in that department this year and it really kills our farm when that happens. The sensible part of me knew this would happen right around this time. The wishful part of me hates it because the final piece to the grand prize in the picture department with him was a velvet shedding picture and I know it's TOO late for that now. If he is still alive, I am not worried about him changing his core area based on what I saw last year. He's far to comfortable on this land to move any where else because he'll encounter pressure just about any place else. If he doesn't show up again before the season starts, I'm pulling that camera and moving the food to our creek bottom where he liked it last year. That will all be brush hogged this weekend, so he'll have plenty of "new" ground to roam down there.

I don't plan to hunt the weekends of October 8th and 15th, maybe at all. My plan is to use the first two weekends for recon and/or killing, then I'm going to button up the house and farm duties for the fall those two weekends so I can get down to business the weekend of the 23rd. I have no doubts in the past that hunting the middle part of October has done me more harm than good, so I'm taking a different approach this year. If I do hunt, it will be evening only hunts from my observation stands. It will be tough for me to stay out of the woods, but I think it will prove to be a much better tactic for me...
 
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