Brock's deer hunts '12-'13

[finelyshedded]

What a great write up and great pics to follow! Congrats to you both on building the memories and spending great quality time together. Thanks for letting those of us at the hunt to be apart of it!

Goodluck to you both during the rest of the season.

 

[DJK Frank 16]

Awesome write up and congratulations again to Mason! He sounds like quite the young hunter that's for sure!

 

[bowhunter1023]

Awesome stuff Brock. That kid is definitely a killer!!!

 

[Fluteman]

That kid is a stone cold killer Brock! He can shoot that bow TOO!

 

[brock ratcliff]

Thanks for the nice comments, fellas! And Greg, you are right. That kid can hit baseballs all day long at 20 yards with his bow. He really wanted to take his bow Saturday night and I would have let him, but the set-up we were heading to was just not going to work with it. He's been shooting a bow since before he was 2 years old, and I am certain if it holds his interest for a few more years he will be a world-class archer. Admittedly, overly-proud dad here.

 

[brock ratcliff]

What a great write up and great pics to follow! Congrats to you both on building the memories and spending great quality time together. Thanks for letting those of us at the hunt to be apart of it!

Goodluck to you both during the rest of the season.

Shoot, Ric, I owe all of you guys a big thank you! Mason doesn't get to be around other hunters very often. We generally do our own thing without the advantage of having other like-minded folks around. We don't have any fishing or hunting buddies close by, so he is stuck with just me. I firmly believe him gaining some exposure to others is a huge advantage to him. He was fortunate to be with a great group of people down at deercamp(mr)!

 

[aholdren]

Congrats on sharing such a great experience with your son Mason. I look forward to seeing him with his hands wrapped around a great buck in the near future.

 

[brock ratcliff]

I went back to the property where I went 'old school' on a dandy last season. I think he is still there. I went in to pull a stand, but after seeing the sign (which isn't a lot), I decided to leave it. I really think that sucker is still in there....and I may slip back into old habits and put a camera on the ridge. I don't need pics to kill him, I gathered as much info as I could, it's just going to drive me nuts wanting to know if he is the same buck. The sucker had 12''ish G2's! Well anyway, that's all the deer stuff I did today.

I guess I should add that I saw the big tracks in the creekbottom, and figured if he was in there he would be bedded on one little knob (where I shot him last year). Sure enough, I bumped one deer, and it sounded heavy. Hope he has moved back into the neighborhood.

 

[badger]

Awesome stuff Brock!

 

[JOHNROHIO]

Good stuff Brock, hope you can get back on him.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Dang, I've waited a long time for today! I have hunted one piece consisting of 150 acres in Fayette Co. for 17 years. I've always wanted to broaden my horizons up there but was unable to until last year. One of the landowners I know bought a neighboring farm, one of those "grass is greener" places. From one of my stands I have sat and watched deer after deer go through one pinch point - always previously unable to hunt it. I have waited for the corn to come off this year to put a stand in there. I am lazy, and didn't want to pack a ladder stand on my back... Today, the landowner called and told me he was about to plow the field on the south side of the pinch point. I'd asked him to let me know when he was going to work the field so that any intrussion I made would seem "normal". After all these years, that stand is there! I have stands in two pinch points up there this year that I have wanted to hunt as long as I've been in the area. Never felt more likely to kill a dandy than I do this year, and even if it doesn't come together, I'm sure I'll see 'em! I won't be hunting until Sunday morning, but I know where I will be!

 

[brock ratcliff]

I should add that this stand is another example of why I'm a big fan of long-range archery accuracy. It would make some folks cringe to think of the shot(s) I am likely to be making out of this stand...then again, they may wind up right under me. Every area has it's challenges. In this flat, wide-open land, high winds and long shots are two a person needs to prepare for. It's probably as close to western hunting as a person is going to get in Ohio.

 

[finelyshedded]

Sounds great Brock! Got or taken any pics of this set yet? I'd like to see em if ya got em. Hope you lay a biggun low this year! Good luck..

 

[Dannmann801]

kill somethin' :smiley_coolpeace:

 

[brock ratcliff]

I will take some pics, Ric. One thing about these forums with folks from all over the state, it's fun to see the difference in areas people hunt. I imagine some of my set ups would make people wonder why anyone would hunt there. Lots of open ground for a deer to cover, and sometimes it takes a while to find where they go through with regularity. I fully expect to see deer from this stand on every sit - though some will be a LONG way off!

Another thing that is great about this set up is that I can hang a stand on the back of the tree so Mason and I can hunt it together. Most of my newer sets are hung with that in mind, just so happens this one will be perfect for that as well. I've really gotten away from any stands "in the woods too". In these AG areas, I just don't think you can get away with it. I still have stands in woodlots, but not many, and they are always less than 20 yards in...and I clear paths to them before season starts. Pretty easy for deer bedded in the timber to bust you if you aren't real careful. You mess up a woodlot or two and your season is gonna be mighty slow.

 

[RUT NUT]

Sounds great! It also sounds like a spot "I" would do a little experimenting with a decoy. Just a thought. Good luck!

 

[brock ratcliff]

I have one, and have used it up there once. I had a 135ish come toward it, stopped about 70 yards out and left with a group of does when they spooked. They did not like that statue-still buck deer at all! It is a perfect spot to try a decoy, and I may at some point. I am lazy, and carrying that thing is similar to toting a base drum around.

 

[Curran]

Good luck Sunday Brock!

 

[RUT NUT]

I have one, and have used it up there once. I had a 135ish come toward it, stopped about 70 yards out and left with a group of does when they spooked. They did not like that statue-still buck deer at all! It is a perfect spot to try a decoy, and I may at some point. I am lazy, and carrying that thing is similar to toting a base drum around.

I understand that completely. I was unaware that you have tried this. From your description....it just sounded like the picture perfect spot to try one. I don't have any spots where I feel I can use a decoy effectively. I think I got caught up in a little daydream there. Haha! Once again....good luck in your new set!

 

[brock ratcliff]

Heck of a day. We attended my Grandfather's funeral and burial today. Spent the majority of the afternoon with family and friends afterward. We closed the shop down tonight because we had no idea when we would be done with the services etc. We arrived home about 4pm or so. I decided to head to the woods. Not really to hunt, but just to have a little alone time I guess. I got all smoked up and was in the tree by 5. It was windy as heck up there tonight, straight out of the north and beathing me in the face! It is the fencerow stand I put up yesterday and I was glad to be in it regardless of the less than ideal conditions.

About 6 I looked behind me to see a doe with three fawns. That was pretty exciting as I haven't seen a doe with multiple fawns up there in several years. Perhaps my late winter/early spring coyote snaring has had some benefit? The milled around for several minutes and eventually wandered off into the creekbottom. I only saw one other deer and it was right at dark. I am certain he was a nice buck, but couldn't guess a score as I couldn't see his rack very well due to low light. Still, if I were a betting man, I'd bet he would have been shot if he came within range!

May take Mason hunting tomorrow. He really wants a crack at the "Ugly Six".

I took some pics from the new set for Ric and will get busy posting them. Not much to look at, unless you have a good imagination.... Just imagine that this fencerow is the hub of a wheel, with woods on every side of varying sizes.