Brock/Mason 2018-2019

[brock ratcliff]

And the grind continues...

Had to skip this morning due to a Doc appointment that my wife had. Got in the stand at 2. Saw a dink immediately. Saw an up and comer at 3. He was so close I could have killed him with a frog gig. Saw another dink at the edge of dark. I'm hoping to catch one of these big suckers eventually but man sometimes it seem an impossible task. I'm in the right spot. Deer are in range, just not the right one. Eventually.

 

[Jamie]

I feel your pain.

too close, too far, poor angles, blah, blah, blah. just cannot get a break. I'm seeing more deer than I've ever seen, and several real bigguns. I grunted in the largest buck I've ever seen while hunting last week to 15 yards and could not get an arrow in him. I have deer stress...

try again tomorrow.

 

[brock ratcliff]

I feel your pain.

too close, too far, poor angles, blah, blah, blah. just cannot get a break. I'm seeing more deer than I've ever seen, and several real bigguns. I grunted in the largest buck I've ever seen while hunting last week to 15 yards and could not get an arrow in him. I have deer stress...

try again tomorrow.

Hang with it! Gotta get this thing out of the way to move on to killing squirrels, rabbits and birds. Or maybe just get tired of the deer thing and move on to more fun pursuits!

 

[brock ratcliff]

I squeezed in a short hunt this morning. Saw four does. Back in the tree by 245. Saw the first deer at 3. The second at four. I lost count eventually, but saw around 15, only three bucks. A 1 1/2, 2 1/2, and a much older one at long range. He looked like a good one. Saw lots of fawns on their own tonight so I’m guessing their moms are off making babies. Hopefully their boyfriends will show themselves in the next few days!

 

[Joel]

Good luck Brock. Looking forward to hero shots with a buck deer. Soon!

 

[brock ratcliff]

The grind continues. I was out of action for a couple days. Went to the tree tonight hacking and coughing. Fever too. I’m tough and dumb. It was graveyard dead still until just before dark. Saw 13, not an antler to be found. I’m getting up in the morning. I’ll hunt if it isn’t raining too hard.

 

[brock ratcliff]

I hunted pretty much all day. I did not see a deer from the stand. I’ll probably hit it again in the morning. I’ve seen just one shooter from the stand this year. Starting to look forward to getting after em with a gun. This sitting and waiting nonsense is getting old. I like to load up a gun and get in amongst em. I’m about ready for some of that.

 

[Joel]

Good luck tomorrow! Shooting one 50-100 yards away sounds good right now to me too, I’m with you there!

 

[hickslawns]

Bit jealous. Knee surgery won't have me walking much. Out of tags is going to keep me mostly out of the woods unless helping a buddy. BUT. . . I'll be anxiously awaiting updates from the "Brock carrying a gun" thread!

 

[brock ratcliff]

Wasted another couple hours this morning. There is nothing better, to me, than sitting in the woods watching deer. Sitting in the woods waiting to watch deer however, is a drag. Zero deer seen again this morning. I’ve got plenty of places to hunt, hunted two farms yesterday, so I don’t think I’m hunting deerless ground. I checked a ditch crossing today and by the looks of it, plenty of deer around. Six more days and the waiting patiently business is over.

 

[giles]

The last few days have sucked! Trying to not complain myself...

 

[Stump]

Sorry to hear Brock, I'm having similar luck, best I'm seeing is cow horned dinks and lil 4's. I've had at least a shooter on cam but I'm not seeing much movement. My hunting opportunities have been sketchy at best as I've had some minor surgery and bull shit stuff to deal with. I keep sayin I'm gonna try less harder but staring at dry leaves gets boring quick.
I'm hoping my whining will work, if my wife bitchin at me helped I'd been done a month ago.

 

[giles]

Sorry to hear Brock, I'm having similar luck, best I'm seeing is cow horned dinks and lil 4's. I've had at least a shooter on cam but I'm not seeing much movement. My hunting opportunities have been sketchy at best as I've had some minor surgery and bull shit stuff to deal with. I keep sayin I'm gonna try less harder but staring at dry leaves gets boring quick.
I'm hoping my whining will work, if my wife bitchin at me helped I'd been done a month ago.

If that worked, deer would butcher themselves at my house!

 

[Joel]

Yeah whining didn’t work for me either. I did try it. For some reason I’m still having fun- or back to having fun again. Keep at it, lots of season left and soon you can shoot them with a gun.

 

[hickslawns]

I hunted less than 10 times this year. My wife is happy. She reminds me by complaining about prior years of me logging brutal hours. Really? I had a short season so you complain about previous years? Pfft. I'm going coyote hunting soon as the knee heals up just so she has something legit to complain about. Lol

 

[bowhunter1023]

I'm with you Brock, let's load up the guns and make it happen!

 

[brock ratcliff]

I hunted less than 10 times this year. My wife is happy. She reminds me by complaining about prior years of me logging brutal hours. Really? I had a short season so you complain about previous years? Pfft. I'm going coyote hunting soon as the knee heals up just so she has something legit to complain about. Lol

My wife has been properly trained. I told her before we married that November was off limits if I had a tag. Of course that has expanded through January over the years. I’ll kill one of these deer, I’d bet on that. I’m just frustrated because I’ve not seen them, or the numbers I typically do. I just like to watch them, that’s what is fun to me. Since they don’t want to get up and show off this year, I’ll sneak in on them with a gun and kill one for not letting me see the show this year. And I’m sure I’ll find an excuse to get out in January too.

 

[xbowguy]

Here's to hoping your whole season changes anytime soon!

 

[brock ratcliff]

Mason, Clint, Ike and I hit the fields this morning for a couple hours. It was awesome! We flushed around 15 pheasants and half a dozen quail. I killed one quail and one rooster. Clint also killed a rooster. The boys had a good time chatting about whatever teenagers chat about. They also fired their guns off a couple times but did not fire them well. . Wild birds in beautiful habitat in Ohio .... we are lucky to have access! I left Ruger at home to continue healing but Clint’s dogs did a fine job without him. We will either be running rabbit hounds or sitting in a tree tomorrow morning.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Mason and I took the beagle pups out this morning. They had three good chases before wearing out. It was a good time. Probably deer hunt in the morning but may decide to take Ruger out for a spell. He is healing but could probably use a little bit of a stretch. His gait is not right yet but seems to be improving. Gotta try him in the next few days before quail season is out.