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morning hunt like a rockwell painting

hickslawns

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Will post more later. On my phone at soccer game. Three different bucks. I love the smell of buck pee in the morning! Had one so close before shooting light I could hear him breathing and acent checking. Could hear him take a leak. Awesome morning
!
 

hickslawns

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Alright, here are the details. Tried to cross the RR tracks and hunt the south end of the property where I thought the bucks would be coming from heading back to bed. Got to the top of the tracks and heard deer moving around in the woods. Turned around and headed to the woods just north of the tracks which I had just walked past. Got setup. Now it is 644 and I am sitting silently. Phone on vibrate just waiting for a vibrating alarm when it is legal shooting light. Deer were under me at 655. Literally one under me and milling around. Would wander off a bit, come back, scent check, mill around. I knew it was a buck because you could hear tree limbs banging off his rack. Didn't sound like a spike to me. (Might have been wishful hoping.) He was just trying to figure out the smoke I guess. Or just curious. Not sure but he hung around for 20 minutes. That is right, 3 minutes after legal light. Too bad I was in the woods and never did make out more than shadows. Legal or not, I am not shooting a shadow. It was so cool, and calm I could hear everything. Breathing, scent checking, limbs vs antlers, even peeing. I always figured they peed on everything like dogs marking their territory. This dude must have been drinking last night because he pissed like a race horse.

The other deer I never did see either. I could also hear his antlers hitting limbs. Neither one stomped, snorted, or acted spooked. Just couldn't make it happen.

Fast forward to a little after 8am. I occasionally heard grunting, but not real deep mature grunting. I would give one short return grunt. Never brought any in. Occasionally thought I heard some coming my way, but they always hung up out of sight. The coon, squirrels, and birds really had the woods noisy this morning, so might not have been deer. Hard to say. I contemplated trying a little rattle sequence for 30-45 minutes. Finally did so at 8-830. Hard clash of the rattling bag for about 2-3 seconds, then light rattling for another 10-15 seconds. Set the bag down and waited. I did grunt following the sequence. I had deer moving in front and behind me, so I waited to see what was coming. Never did see the one in front, but spotted one coming from behind along the creek. Should have just waited for him to come on in, but got greedy. I wanted to capture him on camera. I have a Roscoby RIser cam and he busted me trying to swing the bow around to point the camera. Rookie move. Didn't catch a video, but did get some pictures. Pictures from a trail camera I checked on the way out. Aaargh. 5 doe/fawn and him jetting is what I got on camera. Coincided with my rattling attempt that got me busted. I don't think I educated the does/fawns as they were milling around the field in front of the camera until he came blowing and running. I did educate the buck though, and possibly the other buck to the front I never saw.

Most enjoyable part of the hunt (non-deer related). There is about a 6-8" diameter tree about an arms length from my stand to the left of the tree i have hunted twice now. I hear a squirrel jump from another tree into the small tree next to me. I look up and watch him walk down the tree. He is heads down and gets to about a foot higher than my head on this tree. I am watching him and when he sees me he freezes. Ever have a squirrel look at you like "How the hell did you get here? Holy crap, there is a dude in that tree!" Hilarious. Jumped onto the tree I was sitting in and headed for the top until I heard him jump to another. Quite amusing. Glad he didn't try to jump on my face as I watched him. Hope you enjoyed that one.

What I learned today?
1. I still love the smell of buck piss in the morning.
2. It is not too early to rattle, at least in this woods with a good buck/doe ratio.
3. Screw the filming, do more hunting. If you catch it on video great, if not, oh well.
4. I am getting dialed into their patterns really well. Keep zeroing in, and I am going to score.
5. Don't hunt the rear stand in the early AM. Save it for evenings or all day events during the rut.
6. With a little practice, the LW sticks/Millenium get easier.
7. I am in a dang good spot with that tree!
8. Squirrels are kamakazi gymnasts that never cease to amaze me with their acrobats.
 

hickslawns

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Ohio
Update!!!

Received a picture from the guys hunting the neighboring property today. 20 minutes after shooting light, just several hundred yards to the east of my stand, look what shows up on their trail camera. I know I am stinkin' close to getting this buck tagged! Just didn't get light soon enough. Might just hang the Millenium closer to the property line and hope he comes in there tomorrow morning. If I get this dude on the ground, that will completely kill my productivity tomorrow, but it would be worth it!
 

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hickslawns

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Ohio
Best season ever Jesse! I contribute it to the year round scouting, reading, learning, and the plain and simple love of the outdoors. If I kill nothing but does this year, it is still the best season ever. I have seen a buck every hunt so far. Can't beat that! Murphy's Law- I will NOT see a buck next hunt since I said this. ahhaa
 

hickslawns

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39,721
248
Ohio
That is a fact Joe. Some of the trail cam pictures I have I truly believe could be framed. That is a great shot off the livecam.