Yeah mine does too. I can tell my hunting obsession gets on her nerves a little but she puts up with it and doesn’t bug me about it. She’s a keeper.
Joel and Abby's 2018-19 deer season
- Thread starter Joel
- Start date
When it's hot it's hot. I'd be back in there tomorrow. Wait 2-3 days and whatever hot doe they were following will be bred and they are gone.
Disclaimer: this is an assumption there was a hot doe close. I don't know your woods. Sure seems like they were all in there for a reason though.
Disclaimer: this is an assumption there was a hot doe close. I don't know your woods. Sure seems like they were all in there for a reason though.
That’s what’s odd. The does walked through, more by the fencline and they all bedded down. No chasing or nothing. It was like deer were just doing normal deer things but they were everywhere. I think there’s a bunch of does getting close or something but I don’t know.
I gotta go get some work done tomorrow and the next day. No one hunts this little section but me so I’ll be back in 2-3 days tops and either move the stand or sit on the ground or just be ready to shoot quicker from that stand.
Most likely move it. I have a tree picked out that’ll be better cover, closer to where almost all of them ended up crossing the creek and better for the wind direction.
The first and biggest buck probably about had a heart attack when the arrow hit the tree but I don’t think he knew where I was, never looked up. The second one seemed to know what’s up and I’m sure he’ll remember that tree.
I’m still just looking for a mediocre buck but sleeping and going to work is gonna be hard the next couple days. So thankful I didn’t wound that big one. He was pretty amazing to see.
I gotta go get some work done tomorrow and the next day. No one hunts this little section but me so I’ll be back in 2-3 days tops and either move the stand or sit on the ground or just be ready to shoot quicker from that stand.
Most likely move it. I have a tree picked out that’ll be better cover, closer to where almost all of them ended up crossing the creek and better for the wind direction.
The first and biggest buck probably about had a heart attack when the arrow hit the tree but I don’t think he knew where I was, never looked up. The second one seemed to know what’s up and I’m sure he’ll remember that tree.
I’m still just looking for a mediocre buck but sleeping and going to work is gonna be hard the next couple days. So thankful I didn’t wound that big one. He was pretty amazing to see.
You know what scratch that. I’m going back in the morning and sitting on the ground with the wind in my face up against a tree where they were all crossing the creek. Probably shouldn’t pass up something like this if I’m trying to shoot a deer.
Convinced myself to take the day off work and work the weekend to make up for it and now I feel like a dumbass. Sitting in the woods and it has been totally dead here all day. Keep replaying those two big deer encounters in my head and just don’t even feel like hunting. Yet here I sit guarding this creek crossing bored, cold hungry and frustrated. Time to take some time off hunting after tonight dump a bunch of corn and wait for cold weather. Too many hours in the woods and burnt myself out. Saw like 8 does in the distance just after sunrise and no sign of a deer since. Still about an hour until dark.
I think sitting in the woods for 12 hours made me grumpy. That’ll probably be the last all day sit for the year and definitely need a few days off hunting. Might not do too many morning hunts the rest of the season either. Getting out of a warm bed at 4:30 in the morning to sit in a tree sounds crazy.
I’ll probably forget how bored, cold and hungry I was today at some point and try it again lol. This fall just FLEW by for me though, next week is thanksgiving and then gun season already where’d the time go? Oh well. I do love me some late season.
Felt good to sleep in today but I’m looking forward to getting out Sunday evening. Forgot to post this picture of the arrow I found after shooting at the big one. The way he ran off (tail up, no stumbling and very fast) I was afraid it was a bad hit or a clean miss. I found the arrow first and noticed immediately the fletching looked clean. I pulled the arrow out of the ground and it was broke in the middle. Thought for a second maybe the broadhead was stuck in him and shouldn’t I look for blood? Looked over to the left 5 or 6 feet and there was the broadhead laying on top of the leaves. Looked at it closer today and it’s got some bark and wood where the blades fold in but otherwise looks ok. Named the deer Lucky but I doubt I’ll see him again. Who knows. Maybe he’s a sucker for corn in the daytime when it gets below zero this year.
Trying to keep up with this somewhat so I can read through it and reflect and see what I learned when this season is over.
I couldn’t even guess at number of hunts, hours spent on stand or deer sightings, we’ll just say lots. I have pretty good access to the three properties I’m hunting and haven’t bumped many deer on the way in or out. Maybe if I was deeper in the woods at one spot I’d be having better luck, it’d just be harder to get to. Something to think about for next year.
Saturday morning I hunted the stand by the creek. Saw a bunch entering from the field at first light and a fawn crossed the creek shortly after but that was it. Last night I parked in the driveway next to a bedded doe and she took off as I was unloading my gear. Saw one small buck cross the creek half hour before dark and that was it.
I hunted the blind on the hill at another property this morning and got skunked. I don’t like hunting this property after gun week so the current goal is to shoot a doe there (or a nice buck) then focus on our new property the rest of the year. I’ll be back in the morning to try for a doe again, weather sucked today.
Thinking I’ll hunt my one stand for the remaining gun seasons since that’s where I have the best view and see the most deer. The ground blind will get a lot of use this year. Abby and I both are trying to shoot a buck there. We can easily get in and out without spooking deer and I got the portable buddy heater dusted off. Spots been getting lots of corn since early October and they’re starting to go through it quicker. Abby’s next hunt is there in the evening thanksgiving day.
I couldn’t even guess at number of hunts, hours spent on stand or deer sightings, we’ll just say lots. I have pretty good access to the three properties I’m hunting and haven’t bumped many deer on the way in or out. Maybe if I was deeper in the woods at one spot I’d be having better luck, it’d just be harder to get to. Something to think about for next year.
Saturday morning I hunted the stand by the creek. Saw a bunch entering from the field at first light and a fawn crossed the creek shortly after but that was it. Last night I parked in the driveway next to a bedded doe and she took off as I was unloading my gear. Saw one small buck cross the creek half hour before dark and that was it.
I hunted the blind on the hill at another property this morning and got skunked. I don’t like hunting this property after gun week so the current goal is to shoot a doe there (or a nice buck) then focus on our new property the rest of the year. I’ll be back in the morning to try for a doe again, weather sucked today.
Thinking I’ll hunt my one stand for the remaining gun seasons since that’s where I have the best view and see the most deer. The ground blind will get a lot of use this year. Abby and I both are trying to shoot a buck there. We can easily get in and out without spooking deer and I got the portable buddy heater dusted off. Spots been getting lots of corn since early October and they’re starting to go through it quicker. Abby’s next hunt is there in the evening thanksgiving day.
Lol. Well with what I’m trying to do this season there should be plenty more to read. Trying to get myself a doe and nice (to me) buck and get Abby a buck. It might happen quicker than I think and I’ll be counting down the days till the next season. Or we my end up with an unused tag or two, we’ll see. Either way I’m enjoying the ride.
Made it out for a quick hunt this morning and saw something I’ve been thinking about all day. I could see a large bodied deer about 75 yards away following kind of a shelf that I’ve never really noticed before. Deer was headed towards a nasty thicket that’s about 2 acres and is always loaded with rubs.
I spotted a stump/remnants of a tree that fell probably 50 yards closer to the deer than I was. Looks like a good spot to sit on the ground in the morning and be a little closer to that trail. So why not. I’ll sit there in the morning and see what happens. Wind will be perfect.
Also talked to another guy that hunts that property. Him and a couple relatives usually come in for gun week and just generally shake the whole place up. This year he said it’ll just be him and he’ll stay on half and let me have the other half. That gives me another good spot to bounce to during gun week. I oughta be killing something soon.
I spotted a stump/remnants of a tree that fell probably 50 yards closer to the deer than I was. Looks like a good spot to sit on the ground in the morning and be a little closer to that trail. So why not. I’ll sit there in the morning and see what happens. Wind will be perfect.
Also talked to another guy that hunts that property. Him and a couple relatives usually come in for gun week and just generally shake the whole place up. This year he said it’ll just be him and he’ll stay on half and let me have the other half. That gives me another good spot to bounce to during gun week. I oughta be killing something soon.
Well I tried the stump and got skunked. I think I’m going to try about 200 yards SW of that spot tomorrow morning.
Also I’ve rented my house for 10 years and we’re moving in a few months. I decided to shoot a doe there before I move so I dumped two bags of corn yesterday. The deer found it and my wife said a doe and fawn were there eating there at 11:30am today. She was waiting for them to leave so she could get firewood but gave up on them they were there so long and just went out anyway. She said they looked at her for a couple seconds and then just went back to eating. This is about 50 yards from my back porch. Should be some easy freezer meat and one last deer for the road so to speak before I move.
Also I’ve rented my house for 10 years and we’re moving in a few months. I decided to shoot a doe there before I move so I dumped two bags of corn yesterday. The deer found it and my wife said a doe and fawn were there eating there at 11:30am today. She was waiting for them to leave so she could get firewood but gave up on them they were there so long and just went out anyway. She said they looked at her for a couple seconds and then just went back to eating. This is about 50 yards from my back porch. Should be some easy freezer meat and one last deer for the road so to speak before I move.
Thanksgiving Day Buck
Thanksgiving morning my alarm went off at 4:45am. Just like every other morning this hunting season I had no trouble getting up, woke up ready to hit the woods. I made some coffee, got dressed and tried to get all my gear together without waking up the wife and kids.
It was cold when I got outside, around 20 degrees with an ENE wind. I drove the 3.5 miles down the road from my house to our new house and got there around 5:45. When I pulled into the driveway I cut the lights and tried to drive back as quiet as I could. I parked next to the house and quietly got my stuff out of the truck.
I have a trail that goes back to my stand by the creek but to use that I’d have to walk by the blind and corn pile I set up for my daughter. I figured there might be deer there and didn’t want to spook them but I didn’t want to try to make my own trail through the woods either so I decided to chance it and walk by the blind. The leaves were crunching no matter how slow I walked so as I got close to the blind I heard a few deer trot away. Oops.
I made my way back to the stand and climbed up, got settled in. I was expecting the deer to come from the east across the creek and hopefully down my trail. I kept looking over that way and had most of my attention there but never saw anything moving. A coyote howled to my north and then another responded to my south. Great. I bumped some deer on the way in and now coyotes are howling.
At about 7:20 I saw a deer to my west heading towards the creek. It looked like the deer was heading the opposite direction of my stand but then turned and started coming right towards me. It was plenty light enough to see up close but at the distance I couldn’t see a rack yet. The deer kept coming, went into a thicket and popped out right by the creek 35 yards from my stand.
I could immediately see a rack now that he was closer but thought to myself “he looks kind of small”. I watched him take a few more steps and he turned his head so I could see his rack was just about as wide as his ears. He came closer and stopped again. I sort of shrugged and thought “he’s big enough”. The thought of passing on this deer after so many others and then coming back out again and again waiting for a bigger one just wasn’t appealing anymore. How long will it take to get another chance at a big one this year? Rut seems to be winding down, got stuff to do at work, need to spend time with the family, gun season is in 4 days etc. the buck just stood there broadside at 20 yards while I thought about all this and watched him. Yep. I’m gonna shoot him.
He took one or two more steps and then stopped again. I leaned forward just to have a little more clearance around the branch that was in between me and him, put the crosshair right next to his shoulder and squeezed the trigger.
The buck immediately spun around and started going back the way he came. His tail was tucked down tight and he was struggling to run. I watched him go up to the creek then he turned right and I lost sight of him. Listened for a crash but didn’t hear anything.
With the cold and the adrenaline I wanted to climb down immediately but waited. I checked my phone and it was 7:30 so I decided to wait until 8 then go quietly check out the shot site.
That half hour seemed to take forever. It was finally 8:00 so I went to where he was standing. No blood, no arrow. I could see the leaves turned over where he spun around but that was it. I started walking his trail and saw a few drops of blood then a few more. A little blood up on a tree, little more on the ground. I was starting to wonder if i got him, turned the corner and there he was.
The arrow did not pass through completely. The entrance and exit wounds were plugged with the arrow and all the blood I saw was coming out of his mouth. So there he was, about 50 yards or less from where I shot him.
I texted a few people from TOO and then went home to warm up and tell the kids. We had the deer hanging up in a tree by 10:00 ready to relax and eat some turkey.
No regrets at all. I hunted my butt off this season and even though I was looking for something a little bigger I was ready to call it quits. Very happy with my buck and the meat we have now.
I’ll still be out hunting a doe and trying to get my daughter a buck but the pressure is off. The rest of the season can be spent relaxing, enjoying the outdoors and hunting with my daughter. So, the season is far from over. I just put an end to one part of it.
Thanksgiving morning my alarm went off at 4:45am. Just like every other morning this hunting season I had no trouble getting up, woke up ready to hit the woods. I made some coffee, got dressed and tried to get all my gear together without waking up the wife and kids.
It was cold when I got outside, around 20 degrees with an ENE wind. I drove the 3.5 miles down the road from my house to our new house and got there around 5:45. When I pulled into the driveway I cut the lights and tried to drive back as quiet as I could. I parked next to the house and quietly got my stuff out of the truck.
I have a trail that goes back to my stand by the creek but to use that I’d have to walk by the blind and corn pile I set up for my daughter. I figured there might be deer there and didn’t want to spook them but I didn’t want to try to make my own trail through the woods either so I decided to chance it and walk by the blind. The leaves were crunching no matter how slow I walked so as I got close to the blind I heard a few deer trot away. Oops.
I made my way back to the stand and climbed up, got settled in. I was expecting the deer to come from the east across the creek and hopefully down my trail. I kept looking over that way and had most of my attention there but never saw anything moving. A coyote howled to my north and then another responded to my south. Great. I bumped some deer on the way in and now coyotes are howling.
At about 7:20 I saw a deer to my west heading towards the creek. It looked like the deer was heading the opposite direction of my stand but then turned and started coming right towards me. It was plenty light enough to see up close but at the distance I couldn’t see a rack yet. The deer kept coming, went into a thicket and popped out right by the creek 35 yards from my stand.
I could immediately see a rack now that he was closer but thought to myself “he looks kind of small”. I watched him take a few more steps and he turned his head so I could see his rack was just about as wide as his ears. He came closer and stopped again. I sort of shrugged and thought “he’s big enough”. The thought of passing on this deer after so many others and then coming back out again and again waiting for a bigger one just wasn’t appealing anymore. How long will it take to get another chance at a big one this year? Rut seems to be winding down, got stuff to do at work, need to spend time with the family, gun season is in 4 days etc. the buck just stood there broadside at 20 yards while I thought about all this and watched him. Yep. I’m gonna shoot him.
He took one or two more steps and then stopped again. I leaned forward just to have a little more clearance around the branch that was in between me and him, put the crosshair right next to his shoulder and squeezed the trigger.
The buck immediately spun around and started going back the way he came. His tail was tucked down tight and he was struggling to run. I watched him go up to the creek then he turned right and I lost sight of him. Listened for a crash but didn’t hear anything.
With the cold and the adrenaline I wanted to climb down immediately but waited. I checked my phone and it was 7:30 so I decided to wait until 8 then go quietly check out the shot site.
That half hour seemed to take forever. It was finally 8:00 so I went to where he was standing. No blood, no arrow. I could see the leaves turned over where he spun around but that was it. I started walking his trail and saw a few drops of blood then a few more. A little blood up on a tree, little more on the ground. I was starting to wonder if i got him, turned the corner and there he was.
The arrow did not pass through completely. The entrance and exit wounds were plugged with the arrow and all the blood I saw was coming out of his mouth. So there he was, about 50 yards or less from where I shot him.
I texted a few people from TOO and then went home to warm up and tell the kids. We had the deer hanging up in a tree by 10:00 ready to relax and eat some turkey.
No regrets at all. I hunted my butt off this season and even though I was looking for something a little bigger I was ready to call it quits. Very happy with my buck and the meat we have now.
I’ll still be out hunting a doe and trying to get my daughter a buck but the pressure is off. The rest of the season can be spent relaxing, enjoying the outdoors and hunting with my daughter. So, the season is far from over. I just put an end to one part of it.
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Thanks J.
I’m taking Abby out to the blind tonight. It’s a little warm and I’m not expecting much. I told her that and she wants to try anyway so we’re giving it a shot. I plan to just stay out of there for all of gun week. I’ll stock up the corn pile and give the deer a little 7 acre sanctuary.
I’m taking Abby out to the blind tonight. It’s a little warm and I’m not expecting much. I told her that and she wants to try anyway so we’re giving it a shot. I plan to just stay out of there for all of gun week. I’ll stock up the corn pile and give the deer a little 7 acre sanctuary.
Yeah we got skunked Sunday night. I kept hearing a dog bark the whole sit off in the distance. A half hour before dark a truck pulled into our driveway and some guy was yelling for his dog. Like yelling at the top of his lungs 50 yards behind the blind. I walked over that way and realized it was a friend from 3 miles away. The guys a deer hunter and knows that’s my place. His dog ran three fugging miles, into my woods. He kept apologizing and I just shook my head, didn’t know what to say. His dogs get loose all the time, but for him to be in my driveway yelling for his dog three miles from his house at the last half hour of hunting time was just bizarre. Probably chasing coons and deer all over this side of the county. Whatever.
I dumped another bag of corn at Abby’s blind and I’ve got two more in the garage to touch it up as needed. Also hung a trail cam over the corn and another on a trail other side of the property. I’ll let both soak through gun week and stay out of there then pull them Monday and see what we got. First time since last season I’ve run cameras, love the pictures but in some ways I hate those cameras lol. The idea is to see a buck, any buck, coming to the pile on a regular basis so we know when to be there. I don’t want her out there day after day freezing if nothings coming so the camera seems necessary.
I dumped another bag of corn at Abby’s blind and I’ve got two more in the garage to touch it up as needed. Also hung a trail cam over the corn and another on a trail other side of the property. I’ll let both soak through gun week and stay out of there then pull them Monday and see what we got. First time since last season I’ve run cameras, love the pictures but in some ways I hate those cameras lol. The idea is to see a buck, any buck, coming to the pile on a regular basis so we know when to be there. I don’t want her out there day after day freezing if nothings coming so the camera seems necessary.
Oh and I shot a button buck in the backyard of my current house opening morning of gun season. That’ll be the last deer from there since we’re moving. I’ll feed the others there until we go. Thanks for ten years of good times deer! I’ll see if the neighbors will give me permission there for next year.
So now, we just need a buck for Abby. I may try to get a big late season doe on one property and then we’ll be done.
So now, we just need a buck for Abby. I may try to get a big late season doe on one property and then we’ll be done.