Brock/Mason 2018-2019

[hickslawns]

I sort of figured you had run that calculation through your theories and algorithms on deer movement already. In my area it was the first true pull of acorns over beans/corn I've ever witnessed. I know they hit them in my area. Just never seen them hit acorns like this year. Was hoping it might spur a thought for you. Sounds like you are definitely onto something with the corn laying in the fields. That makes good sense too. Get 'em Brock! I'm pulling for you.

 

[brock ratcliff]

The honey hole is still slow with the honey, but hopefully it will get better soon. I hunted the fencerow this morning and saw three small bucks and just one lone doe. I only hunted until 9 as I had to get down to take Mason and a few of his friends out to a pheasant preserve for a shoot. Good enough reason to quit. Two of the three bucks offered slam-dunk opportunities when they came to the decoy. I can't wait for a big one to get a look at that thing... I've got pretty good video of the encounters too.

 

[brock ratcliff]

This is the larger of the two that came to the decoy. So far this season every buck that has seen it has come right in. That thing is a lot of fun.

 

[brock ratcliff]

It’s getting better. Saw 11 this morning, just two bucks and neither were big. Saw a coyote too. Mason and I set a stand that I’ll be hunting tonight. I will see deer if they are on their feet at all. I’m excited to hunt this end of the farm. I used to hunt it exclusively. We’ve killed some dandy bucks in there. When I got up in the tree and looked around it felt like a “homecoming “. Killed the first deer off this farm Nov 10, 1995. Lots of memories there.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Didn’t see anything but squirrels tonight. Back at it in the morning.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Slow again today. Saw four bucks, 2 coyotes. Nothing I’d shoot yet.
I did a bit of low impact scouting and plan a mobile set up for this afternoon. If they aren’t gonna move far, I’ll just get closer and hope for the best.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Here is the best buck I saw this morning. When I first saw him at 200 yards I thought he was one of the bucks I’m looking for. Another year...

 

[brock ratcliff]

I hunted a mobile set tonight. Huge rubs, scrapes and a bunch of fresh tracks. No deer seen until I got back to the truck where two waited on me. I was in a great location. They are not moving, so I’m switching to pheasant in the morning.
Here is a pic of what I call a thicket. Those of you in northern Ohio that are not over run with Japanese honeysuckle, be happy. I still remember when this was a fairly open stand of hardwood.

 

[Bigslam51]

I remember that shit from turkey hunting at paint, shits nasty.

 

[brock ratcliff]

I took Ruger out for a short hunt this morning. We were only in the field for 45 minutes. He put up three. Two hens and a rooster. The rooster flushed before I could get to him so it was out of range. We only hunted a short time because high speed Ruger seems to have hurt himself. I don’t know what the issue is yet but it seems to be a back or hip issue. I’ll have to get him in for a visit with Twireman’s bride. We saw five roosters in a cut bean field next to another piece we hunt. Honestly I’ve never seen pheasants out feeding in a field like that around here. I know they do because their crops are always full of beans, just never seen em.

 

[hickslawns]

Dang. Hope Ruger is okay. Never seen dogs so high strung they injure themselves. My GSP, Hank, managed to impale his flank with a stick in his 10x30 outdoor kennel years back. Never thought I'd have that concern.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Cold snap. My neck has finally swollen. I cannot wait to get to the woods tomorrow. I plan to be there early ‘cause if I could I’d be there right now! Sadly I’ve got to bail early to take care of some business matters first thing. I should probably be back at the shop by 10, but I’ll probably be late.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Things seem to be improving. I saw 11 on a short hunt this morning, four small bucks. Saw six this afternoon, three bucks. Probably try to squeeze in another short hunt in the morning.

 

[giles]

Heating up...get out there buddy!

 

[brock ratcliff]

I hunted a climber at the edge of bedding today. Had deer around me all day. I had no intention of hunting all day, but a good buck had a doe cornered 50-75 yards from my stand. Of course when they finally left the thicket they went out the other side. That doe wondered around munching, even directly under my stand and the buck just let her roam around. The first time she came under me I thought I was in business but the buck just stayed in the thick stuff probably 40 yards or so away. Too thick to shoot. I think I saw 9 or 10 deer today, could have killed at least 6 of them. Fun day. Try again tomorrow.

 

[brock ratcliff]

November 12, and I finally saw one of the bucks I’d shoot. If someone would have told me I’d still have my tag at this point, I would not have believed it. To go this long without seeing one I’d kill is insane. It seems to finally be starting at the honey hole. Saw two stud bucks, one dink 2 yr old and four does this morning. I planned to hunt all day since they moved all day yesterday but I was reminded of some pressing issues at home to be taken care of. A few more chores and I’m headed back out to another property. I can’t hunt tomorrow as my bride has an appointment that I’ll be tagging along for. Maybe tomorrow afternoon.

 

[Joel]

Good luck, Brock. Sounds like you’re close. Just a matter of time.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Mason and I went over to the Gar Hole farm today. He had a couple does under him, shot none. There were also about 1000 squirrels running around, he shot one of them. I only saw the two does that were under Mason. It wasn't really a hunt though, we were really there to collect a trail cam and dump a couple hundred pounds of corn for the benefit of my nephew, who will be over this weekend for the youth season.
I pulled a camera at the honey hole today due to my fear of losing it to flooding. The creek has been flooded off and on all fall. I've never seen it so bad in the years I've hunted it. I told Mason I would probably get pics of wood ducks where I should be getting deer. The last video on the card was in fact wood ducks! I've attached the clip. My ladder is visible in the background and the ducks are swimming almost exactly where the buck I shot last year was walking. This is a solid 50 yards from the actual creek. All this water has made hunting the honey hole a bit of a challenge this year!

 

[Jackalope]

Mason and I went over to the Gar Hole farm today. He had a couple does under him, shot none. There were also about 1000 squirrels running around, he shot one of them. I only saw the two does that were under Mason. It wasn't really a hunt though, we were really there to collect a trail cam and dump a couple hundred pounds of corn for the benefit of my nephew, who will be over this weekend for the youth season.
I pulled a camera at the honey hole today due to my fear of losing it to flooding. The creek has been flooded off and on all fall. I've never seen it so bad in the years I've hunted it. I told Mason I would probably get pics of wood ducks where I should be getting deer. The last video on the card was in fact wood ducks! I've attached the clip. My ladder is visible in the background and the ducks are swimming almost exactly where the buck I shot last year was walking. This is a solid 50 yards from the actual creek. All this water has made hunting the honey hole a bit of a challenge this year!

Man that nuts. It was a pretty wet late summer and fall. I haven't even sat in my stand this year but I can guarantee it's flooded about like that also.

 

[xbowguy]

Just got caught up with your hunts. Sure sounds like your in the right neighborhood. Somethings gonna give.