Creamer's 2024/25 Season Journal

[Creamer]

I needed another grunt tube option like I need a kick to the pills, but I've always loved the HS True Talker's tone and ease of use and sound. I had this one laying in my collection for a while.

I took the "camo" wood barrel I turned for another call a year or two back and modified it to accommodate the True Talker guts. I had to modify the lower half to accept the tone board and drill out the upper half to account for the bulkier tone board assembly.

It was a quick little late-night garage project and the end product sounds awesome. I was worried that maybe the True Talker needed that larger diameter tube and longer length to maintain the ease of use and tone, but to my ears, it sounds the same in my barrel.

My next city hunt I'll be in a tree instead of on the ground, so I got a long practice session in yesterday from the saddle. We have a steep bank in our back yard which helps for saddle practice. I can have the platform only a foot or two off the ground but the target is still a solid distance below me to simulate shooting from height.

 

[Creamer]

Sit 2

The Widow got to perch in a tree for the first time. I hunted the city property on Thu afternoon. Cameras had been showing a lot of deer activity so I took the afternoon off to hunt. My entry into the woods was early, hoping to let things calm down after I got in, knowing I'd almost certainly jump something getting in.

I ended up sitting for about 5.5 hours. I did jump one (at least) getting in, and I was fairly positive it was one of the bucks I had on camera often. Did I mention I could only shoot does? Yea...who couldn't have seen this coming. He would have been my best trad buck, but had to let him walk.

He was inside 20 yards of me for nearly 20 minutes. At one point I could have thrown the bow and hit him. He worked off up over the hill, and maybe an hour later closer to dark, I had more deer come off the hill and drop down to my bench. 2 more bucks. They were grooming and sparring inside 20 for quite a while.

I did see one doe, and she stayed below me in the autumn olive, never getting close enough for a shot opportunity. I may try to get back out there this weekend. Getting in/out of that place is a nightmare. The autumn olive is thick and there's hardly a lane to get through it and get out. I had to have sounded like a grizzly getting out of the woods last night, but had deer on camera an hour after I left.

 

[Creamer]

I've done a horrible job updating this journal. So here's the season in a nutshell: rough.

After the mistake of the first nearly month of the season focusing on the city land where I couldn't shoot the deer I was encountering, I was excited to get to some public spots. A few locations I had cameras were "new" for me this year, trying to find pockets not getting pounded. A few cameras I hung were in places I've had good success in the past. This was my first time using Jared Mills' Daywalk synthetic scents. I got really good results on mock scrapes with it, and in the scent world, it was pretty reasonably priced.

I got really excited for this public spot...then it started getting pounded by human traffic.

Speaking of people issues...I had an absolute jackass walk right in on me on public. I heard him coming and whistled, a LOT, to get his attention. He kept coming even though he clearly heard me. Finally I clapped, and yes, he kept coming. He walked almost right to my tree and gave me some BS story about not knowing I was there and said he was headed above me. I asked (very nicely) that he not do it because he would wreck my hunt, but he went anyway.

Hunting my close-to-home private spot, I had a decent 8-pointer daylighting on camera and made a play on him. A rental tenant from down the road decided to walk her dog right through the bottom he was coming from that night. Another hunt wrecked.

A few happier scenes from the fall.

I had some really fun ground hunts from the ghillie. This buck read the script to a T but was too young for me.

I had an absolute tank of a 9-pointer show on camera on private, but always at night.

Gun season came and I decided to stick to private and set up my ground blind. Little man is starting to take an interest. I think next year he'll be in the woods with me a little.

 

[Creamer]

The gun opener was bitter cold, but a battery heated vest and insulated boot covers made it bearable. I wore the boot covers a few times this season and they were really handy.

With the season I was having, the first doe I saw with the muzzleloader was getting shot. About two hours into opening morning I had a shot and made it count to finally get on the board.

Around that time, I had an extreme dumbass attack and jacked up the index finger on my release hand. I was pulling on my dog walking shoes getting ready to take her out for her business. My finger was in the pull on tab on the back of the shoe while I stood up. The shoe slid on, I instinctively lowered my leg/foot, but my finger got stuck and my weight came down on it. I heard a massive CRACK and it hurt like a mother. It's still painful today and I haven't got full mobility back in it. I know it needed checked out but I wasn't sacrificing the rest of bow season. Shooting was possible but painful. I kept slinging daily, even through the pain, the cold, and the snow. I guess I'm too dumb to quit.

Flash forward to last night, and knowing I had some daylight doe traffic in my close-to-home spot, I took advantage of the cold weather. My work day ended about 4:15PM, so I rushed home and got ready and out of the house. It was looking like a bust until I heard crunchy hoof-to-ice steps working my way. Three does came through, and I got drawn on the lead bigger doe at 12 steps. The release was true and I knew I made a great shot. She bounded maybe 30 yards, stopped to look back like she had no idea she was hit, and tipped over. If I look like an ice cube, it's because I felt like one.

I could best sum up the season with one of my favorite sayings I saw online a few months ago: The horrors persist, but so do I.

 

["J"]

Awesome recap, sorry to hear about the misadventures of your season, but glad it rebounded! Congrats Jeff!

 

[brock ratcliff]

Congratulations Jeff! Late season is awesome, but it really feels like luck is on our side just to get drawn on these spooky deer. Job well done!

 

[Bankfish]

Very nice. Congrats!!

 

[switchhitter]

Congratulations Jeff
You sure put in the work!!

 

[Creamer]

Congratulations Jeff! Late season is awesome, but it really feels like luck is on our side just to get drawn on these spooky deer. Job well done!

They have been edgy, not sure if it's the snow/visibility or the crunchy noise they make in it or what. My previous hunt to last night, on Sunday, I hunted the same tree and had a single doe work through. She was a few steps from a shooting lane and all of a sudden threw on the brakes and bounced back a few steps. She ended up never presenting a shot and eventually calmed down and walked off. Still don't know what bothered her. I didn't move and the thermals were dropping my scent away from her. Who knows?

 

[brock ratcliff]

They have been edgy, not sure if it's the snow/visibility or the crunchy noise they make in it or what. My previous hunt to last night, on Sunday, I hunted the same tree and had a single doe work through. She was a few steps from a shooting lane and all of a sudden threw on the brakes and bounced back a few steps. She ended up never presenting a shot and eventually calmed down and walked off. Still don't know what bothered her. I didn't move and the thermals were dropping my scent away from her. Who knows?

They are scared of song birds this time of year. It’s pretty rare to have one just saunter to their death. The one I shot last week came off a hill behind me, crossed the creek onto my side. Of course I thought it was in the bag at that point. That crazy thing stood then stood motionless for 8 minutes before tip toeing up the hill. I could not feel my hands by the time I was presented a shot. I had flipped the video camera on when it crossed the creek…8 minutes of a deer that refused to take a step. lol.