Jesse's 2011-2012 Season Journal...
- Thread starter bowhunter1023
- Start date
Sounds like darn good stats to me! 4 shooters seen from stand in one season? Knowing your ideas on what a shooter is, I would say this is darn good. I am guessing a good number of guys will not see even ONE of your shooters from the stand in a season.
If it were not for gun season and the pressure that comes with it, I would have seen one shooter. I wasn't even hunting when I saw that one, it was the night Tracie killed her. In 70+ hours of bowhunting, I didn't see a single shooter. That's pretty shitty if you ask me...
I'd take those numbers any day of the week. Your worst season is better than an "average" season for me... without a doubt. I'd be in heaven sitting 37 times in a season, killing deer or not.
It's all a matter of perspective. No kids and a wife that never says a word about when, where, or how often I go. I'm blessed in that regard, it's the shitty hunting that's the curse...
Spent the afternoon on Sunday checking and moving cams. I have one cam at my parents over corn and 5 cams at the farm, two of which are over corn. I have one cam watching a funnel near a bedding area, another cam on a south facing slope near some beds I am positive came from Captain Jack, and one cam monitoring the best convergence of trails on Hippie Ridge. I still have the corn down in the bottom and placed another at the furthers point on Hippie Ridge in some nasty thick cover. The plan is to leave all the cams go until the end of the month, then pull them.
I do know that Captain Jack is still alive and he looks great. The new 8 that showed up is still hanging around and he has the potential to be a true 140" 8 next year. He reminds me a lot of a deer from the 2008 season that I named Porky...
I have three bucks on camera at my parents place that will be shooters next year and two would tempt me if I see them this weekend. One is a for sure 3.5 year old 8 that will go mid-130's and the other is a borderline 2-3 year old, but he has a cool rack. It is the same deer we almost killed during muzzleloader, so I hope he survives this year knowing that he spends a good bit of time in our area. He has a tall, heavy rack with a split G3, so he'll be a cool buck this fall...
I do know that Captain Jack is still alive and he looks great. The new 8 that showed up is still hanging around and he has the potential to be a true 140" 8 next year. He reminds me a lot of a deer from the 2008 season that I named Porky...
I have three bucks on camera at my parents place that will be shooters next year and two would tempt me if I see them this weekend. One is a for sure 3.5 year old 8 that will go mid-130's and the other is a borderline 2-3 year old, but he has a cool rack. It is the same deer we almost killed during muzzleloader, so I hope he survives this year knowing that he spends a good bit of time in our area. He has a tall, heavy rack with a split G3, so he'll be a cool buck this fall...
- 25,155
- 261
Mountaineer
Banned
Go in with low expectations.
Acheive the element of surprise. (Buck should have that "Oh shit..whats he doin here" look to him as you release the arrow.)
Hunt all day.
GL
Acheive the element of surprise. (Buck should have that "Oh shit..whats he doin here" look to him as you release the arrow.)
Hunt all day.
GL
lung buster
Senior Member
Jesse's Season Stats
Does Sightings: 80
Bucks Sightings: 25
Different Bucks: 15
Shooters Seen: 5
Total Sightings: 105
Deer Killed: 1 (Doe - Shotgun)
Arrow'd Squirrels: 4
Morning Hunts: 11
Evening Hunts: 26
All Day Sits: 2
Total Hunts: 39
Hours on Stand: 113.5
Average Time Per Hunt: 2 hours 55 minutes.
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: .93
Stands Hunted: 11
Properties Hunted: 6
Well, that's a wrap on easily my worst season of all time. I hunted twice this weekend, Friday night and last night, with last nights hunt being a microcosm of the entire season. It was a beautiful afternoon in the woods, but nothing showed. However my hunt Friday night was arguably the best of the season and it gave me a little insight in to how I can improve the hunting in this particular spot...
I settled in to the stand around 4:15 and within a few minutes, I had a button buck within range. I drew on him 3 different times before a subtle noise to the west saved his life. I had finally talked myself into shooting him as I figured he was the best case scenario: not a pregnant doe and not a shed buck mistaken as a doe. So I was waiting for a fourth opportunity to draw when a heard what I thought was a big deer hop the fence 150 yards west of the stand. I grabbed the binos and scanned the fence line, but couldn't locate the sound of the noise. By this time, the button buck had fed in below me and was now being saved by the brush in between us. While I watched him mill around, I caught movement on the fenceline and this time I was able to spot a 4-point and a 120-125ish 8-point on the opposite side of the fence. I thought it was weird that I had heard what I thought was a deer hop the fence, yet these two were on the opposite side.
I continued to glass the 8 trying to decide if I'd shoot him or not, while keeping tabs on the BB just in case. After a few minutes, both bucks jumped the fence and headed for the creek crossing that would bring them right past the stand. Unfortunately for me, I got a bit careless in my glassing and it cost me. When they disappeared briefly in the bottom, I dropped my binos and grabbed my bow off the hook, doing so a bit TOO fast. I turned to my right and there eye-level, and almost dead downwind at 55-60 yards was the big 8 that I had pictures off. I caught a brief glimpse of him before he turned and headed away from me. I was a bit puzzled as to what had happened until I watched the other two bucks do their thing. Both crossed the creek and circled downwind of the bottom to a higher elevation so they could scan the area before dropping in to feed on the corn 100 yards down the holler from me. At that point, I knew what had happened...
The bigger 8 had jumped the fence at their usual crossing which sits in a spot I cannot see. He did the same thing, dropped straight in the creek and right up the other side to get a wind and sight advantage of the bottom. He was on the trial that would have brought him 35 yards quartering away had I not given up my location by moving TOO fast. This was the 3rd different shooter I saw this season in bow range of the same white oak tree on the neighbors. This farm has always been off limits, but I'm going to do everything I can to lease it this year. I tried to get permission to hunt JUST THAT tree this summer and was denied. I saw 3 OBB caliber deer within range of it this fall and it was like rubbing my nose in shit every time...
Does Sightings: 80
Bucks Sightings: 25
Different Bucks: 15
Shooters Seen: 5
Total Sightings: 105
Deer Killed: 1 (Doe - Shotgun)
Arrow'd Squirrels: 4
Morning Hunts: 11
Evening Hunts: 26
All Day Sits: 2
Total Hunts: 39
Hours on Stand: 113.5
Average Time Per Hunt: 2 hours 55 minutes.
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: .93
Stands Hunted: 11
Properties Hunted: 6
Well, that's a wrap on easily my worst season of all time. I hunted twice this weekend, Friday night and last night, with last nights hunt being a microcosm of the entire season. It was a beautiful afternoon in the woods, but nothing showed. However my hunt Friday night was arguably the best of the season and it gave me a little insight in to how I can improve the hunting in this particular spot...
I settled in to the stand around 4:15 and within a few minutes, I had a button buck within range. I drew on him 3 different times before a subtle noise to the west saved his life. I had finally talked myself into shooting him as I figured he was the best case scenario: not a pregnant doe and not a shed buck mistaken as a doe. So I was waiting for a fourth opportunity to draw when a heard what I thought was a big deer hop the fence 150 yards west of the stand. I grabbed the binos and scanned the fence line, but couldn't locate the sound of the noise. By this time, the button buck had fed in below me and was now being saved by the brush in between us. While I watched him mill around, I caught movement on the fenceline and this time I was able to spot a 4-point and a 120-125ish 8-point on the opposite side of the fence. I thought it was weird that I had heard what I thought was a deer hop the fence, yet these two were on the opposite side.
I continued to glass the 8 trying to decide if I'd shoot him or not, while keeping tabs on the BB just in case. After a few minutes, both bucks jumped the fence and headed for the creek crossing that would bring them right past the stand. Unfortunately for me, I got a bit careless in my glassing and it cost me. When they disappeared briefly in the bottom, I dropped my binos and grabbed my bow off the hook, doing so a bit TOO fast. I turned to my right and there eye-level, and almost dead downwind at 55-60 yards was the big 8 that I had pictures off. I caught a brief glimpse of him before he turned and headed away from me. I was a bit puzzled as to what had happened until I watched the other two bucks do their thing. Both crossed the creek and circled downwind of the bottom to a higher elevation so they could scan the area before dropping in to feed on the corn 100 yards down the holler from me. At that point, I knew what had happened...
The bigger 8 had jumped the fence at their usual crossing which sits in a spot I cannot see. He did the same thing, dropped straight in the creek and right up the other side to get a wind and sight advantage of the bottom. He was on the trial that would have brought him 35 yards quartering away had I not given up my location by moving TOO fast. This was the 3rd different shooter I saw this season in bow range of the same white oak tree on the neighbors. This farm has always been off limits, but I'm going to do everything I can to lease it this year. I tried to get permission to hunt JUST THAT tree this summer and was denied. I saw 3 OBB caliber deer within range of it this fall and it was like rubbing my nose in shit every time...
Heck of a nice 8 point Jesse! That other deer to the right does have a huge body! Hope you bust one of em next fall!
That's the 8 that I based on last Friday. Good body, but not much in the antler department. I'll post a pic of him next week when I post all the pics of the known survivors...
