Phil's 2023 2024 season

[hickslawns]

Guess I should have stayed home and napped. Prime scent checking travel corridor. Hasn't been hunted yet this year. I could smell the scrapes and bedding smells. It does need some lane trimming but it was good enough for an observation sit and "maybe" a shot of one way presented. No deer came in. I did have a pair of does slinking around some CRP behind me. They moved thru at 41yds with no shots presented. Had a buddy watching the other end of the property. He saw 8-9 does. No bucks. I'd say the big boys are locked down.

Total Hunts: 12
Hours hunted: 2.5
Deer seen: 2
Bucks: 0
Does: 2
Hours hunted season: 37.25
Season total seen: 65
Bucks: 10
Doe: 46

 

[hickslawns]

Evening hunt. Hadn't hunted this property for a bit. Have seen a pretty decent one in camera a few times the last week. Most recently was about 3 hrs after dark last night.

Got in the tree. Hard a ruckus 10-15yds behind me. Stopped moving. Glanced around. Saw nothing. Write it off as a squirrel. Proceeded to get my arrow nocked and get situated. Heard the ruckus again. Turn to see a deer taking off at 10-15yds. Had to walk in as I got into the stand because I sat at the base of the tree and added my layers. Walked in with just a base layer up top. Doubt that deer watched me get dressed, out binos and harness back on, climb the tree, etc at 10-15yds and then decide to bolt.

Finished getting settled and look over my shoulder to see a nice young 8pt. Maybe 120" 2yr old I would guess. Good width. Decent brow tines and maybe 5-8" g2. Grunted with zero success. He was on a mission to chase that doe which had likely been hiding from him. Lol

Sat the remainder of the evening with a NE wind but could rarely feel any wind. Eerily silent. You could hear every squirrel within 50-75yds with ease. I don't think that helped with deer movement. I did end up seeing a solo doe with 32min remaining. She had a small racked buck come pester her and run her off.

Total Hunts: 12
Hours hunted: 2.5
Deer seen: 4
Bucks: 2
Does: 2
Hours hunted season: 37.25
Season total seen: 67
Bucks: 12
Doe: 46

 

[hickslawns]

Got in. Watched some activity in the twilight. Nice frost allowed it. Saw a small buck. Had a pair of button bucks that mingled in and out throughout the morning. Simply not seeing does. I believe there are people hunting N and W of me that have blown all the does out. I have ALWAYS had doe groups on this property. The only logical explanation would be the people walking 1/2 to 3/4 mile in from the west. Fairly open ground. Deer could watch them walk in and out for a long way. Do that a few times a week and they will alter their patterns.


Total Hunts: 13
Hours hunted: 3
Deer seen: 3
Bucks: 1
Does: 2
Hours hunted season: 40.25
Season total seen: 63
Bucks: 13
Doe: 48

 

[hickslawns]

Land owner drove me in on his Gator. Set up the decoy. Climbed up. He rolled out. Saw the bobsey twin button bucks. I think they get mail at my tree stand. Pretty regular. Had not been seeing ANY does in this property. Ended up having 7 move thru. All together. In a hurry. Something bumped them. All small..could have been some button bucks in there too. They were 60-80 yards out. No bucks. That is about it. Some yearlings yarded up milling thru the trees.

Total Hunts: 14
Hours hunted: 2.75
Deer seen: 7
Bucks: 0
Does: 7
Hours hunted season: 43
Season total seen: 70
Bucks: 13
Doe: 55

 

[hickslawns]

I watched one deer walk umpteen miles today. Could see two large picked crop fields. He covered both of them and checked every neighboring wood lot. He came by in bow range once. Big body. Good mass for a basket rack. Surprised he hadn't bumped something out.

Packed it up. Swapped two camera cards. Pull out into the road and drive by a couple houses to see a nice young 8pt and doe. Open field. Just behind houses. I had passed him earlier this year in bow range. If it was the one I hit high last year I would have circled the block and made a game plan.

Total Hunts: 15
Hours hunted: 3.25
Deer seen: 1
Bucks: 1
Does: 0
Hours hunted season: 46.25
Season total seen: 71
Bucks: 14
Doe: 55

 

[hickslawns]

My gut said to get out and sit in a specific stand. Must've been gas because my gut was wrong. At last light I saw the button buck buddies. See them just about every sit in that tree. Did have about a 70# deer come in right under me with a couple minutes shooting might left.

Total Hunts: 16
Hours hunted: 2.75
Deer seen: 3
Bucks:
Does: 3
Hours hunted season: 49
Season total seen: 74
Bucks: 14
Doe: 58

 

[hickslawns]

Fun sit. Started quiet. Saw a doe with another unidentified deer creeping behind her 10-20yds. I confirmed it was my shooter. She moved ever so slowly and he moved even slower. They were 50-80yds out thru thick stuff. She began to angle some slower pivoted. She kept coming and looked like would go by at the 25-30yd lane but something caught her eye. She changed direction for the open field. Then I saw 5 more antlerless deer enter the field on the other side. The buck eased his way to the field edge and eventually disappeared. Very dark antlers. Fine specimen.

So naturally I was texting a few other hunters and look down to see a 100-110" 8pt under me. Doh. He followed the five into the area the little doe and big buck went. Got quiet after this. Eventually saw another 8pt with a little doe across the creek from me. Similar. She moved. He watched. She nibbles on leaves. He inched closer. He closed the distance a little too much and she blinded away taking him with her. She did pee over there so that might be good for me tomorrow if I hunt.

Landowner opened his barns and started firing up equipment 300-400yds away and I didn't see anything after that so I called it a day. Off to do some work. Not upset. It's their property and they had work to do. Beautiful morning.

Total Hunts: 17
Hours hunted: 3.5
Deer seen: 10
Bucks: 3
Does: 7
Hours hunted season: 52.5
Season total seen: 84
Bucks: 17
Doe: 65

 

[hickslawns]

3 deer just before legal light. No antlers. One doe crossed the field 100-200yds away. Shortly after a young 8pt trailed her but was just going the same direction. Didn't seem to be trailing her nor was he on the same line. Got quiet for an hour. Then saw a pair of little ones slide thru. Watched them come back after making a loop half an hour later. Stood up to stretch. Spotted a doe that came by at 40yds looking all around. Almost like she was looking for a buck. Same buck from this morning trailed her at about 100yds. He was joined by another young buck with decent width and main beams but tines on one side didn't seem to grow more than a few inches. 10pt frame. Hey passed at 10yds. The young ten came back thru 10min later at 40yds. Also saw a young coyote on he hunt. Probably wrap it up soon so I can get to church. 8 deer 2 which had antlers. Not a bad morning at all.

Total Hunts: 18
Hours hunted: 3
Deer seen: 8
Bucks: 2
Does: 6
Hours hunted season: 55.5
Season total seen: 92
Bucks: 19
Doe: 71

 

[hickslawns]

2 bucks the first 25 min. One at 50yds the other 150-200. Yearling walked under me before legal light. Have seen 2 pairs of doe/yearling. About the same yardages as the bucks. Both bucks were young.

Total Hunts: 19
Hours hunted: 3
Deer seen: 6
Bucks: 2
Does: 4
Hours hunted season: 58.5
Season total seen: 98
Bucks: 21
Doe: 75

 

[hickslawns]

Morning. 3 hrs. No deer seen. Bumped a yearling climbing down. I was done hunting so she doesn't count. HATE getting belated getting out of the stand.

Total Hunts: 20
Hours hunted: 3
Deer seen: 0
Bucks:
Does:
Hours hunted season: 61.5
Season total seen: 98
Bucks: 21
Doe: 75

 

[hickslawns]

Doe and yearling walked by at 10yds. Doe peed in a scrape. Other than that I was watching 10 deer from 500-600yds away. This includes a definite shooter. Right about last light this happened:

Was about 50-60yds out. Turned. Walked straight at me. Direct downwind the whole time. Last light. I didn't budge. He turned pretty quickly and did a big circle around me. Crossed in front of me about 50yds but he was inside the woods at that point and I couldn't see well enough to shoot. Not that I'd take a 50yd archery shot. Fairly certain it was the big 8 I hit high last year. Never blew out or boogered. Just something he didn't like so he did the semi circle around me. Could be because he is carrying my broadhead from last year and would have had to cross the same path he was shot on.

Total Hunts: 21
Hours hunted: 2
Deer seen: 12
Bucks: 2
Does: 10
Hours hunted season: 63.5
Season total seen: 110
Bucks: 23
Doe: 85

 

[hickslawns]

Opening morning of gun season. Chose not to hunt where I had my awesome experience Saturday night. Wanted to hunt the other property because I generally have guys bump deer walking in to my seat and to the NW. Slow start. No shots. No deer seen. Then I heard a shot and a follow up shot. To the west. Nothing for a bit but then saw 3 antlerless to my SE. Might have gotten to 150yds. No shots offered. Later hear a shot which sounded NE of me. Several minutes later I hear a shot N and W of me. I did end up seeing a small and busted up buck around 80uds thru the trees. Also had the trio of antlerless.come back thru and bed 60-80 yards away. It got seriously windy and I opted to get down when the does moved along.

Didn't really get cold even though it was in the teens with wind-chill. Slid back to the truck. Took a drive and saw 2 guys out in a field hunting the wrong wind. Looked like they were rabbit hunting a thicket but I think they were just deer hunting it on the wrong wind and likely not having success. I suppose they could have been tracking a deer but they were spaced out like they were hunting. I continued driving to see 3 more blobs of orange walking out of the woods. I don't think the two groups were together. This was around 10am. I also saw a third truck parked south of this section. So at minimum 7 hunting within 1/2 mile of each other.

Total Hunts: 22
Hours hunted: 3
Deer seen: 4
Bucks: 1
Does: 3
Hours hunted season: 66.5
Season total seen: 114
Bucks: 24
Doe: 88

 

[hickslawns]

What a hunt. No shots fired, but it was a great hunt. Sat down. Looked across the field and saw three does followed by a buck I call JV. He could be varsity level but not quite there yet. They came my way and picked up two more doe along the way. Then they got boogery and headed back west while he just hung out there. They busted up with 2 going one way and 3 a different way. They later circled back around and brought some more boys with them. Ended up with 3 bucks and 5 does all in bow range. All bucks pretty nice but too young. The one might have been killed if he wasn't all busted up. Down wind. I had to freeze. Hour and 10 minutes I could not move. They finally moved along and I could move. Now nearly out of light. I did see a fourth buck that was a dink.

Total Hunts: 23
Hours hunted: 3
Deer seen: 9
Bucks: 4
Does: 5
Hours hunted season: 69.5
Season total seen: 123
Bucks: 28
Doe: 93

 

[hickslawns]

Popped in a stand we don't hunt often. Probably should have saved it for evening hunts. Bumped one (maybe more?) Getting in. Had my crew of 4 little ones sneak thru at probably 50-80yds. Could have killed any of them. Then it was all quiet. Did manage to see a young buck thru the trees about 100yds out grooming himself. That is all.

Total Hunts: 24
Hours hunted: 3
Deer seen: 5
Bucks: 1
Does: 4
Hours hunted season: 72.5
Season total seen: 128
Bucks: 29
Doe: 97

 

[hickslawns]

Long walk. Got situated. Had 3 move thru behind me. One was about under me. Watched them disappear, later come back thru in a hurry, and then provide another shot around 120yds where they popped out again. They were eventually joined by another trio. Small buck came out and pestered them. They ended up moving along and he hung out alone. Thought I was done and trying to get things put away. 3 more does came from another direction. Another small buck moved thru behind me and checked them out. Thought I was good to go. Another pair came out. All this time a solo little one had been just standing there lost. Finally got down. Close to 1/2 mile walk out so I was taking the bibs and jacket off. Little doe stopped at 5yds and tried to figure me out. I had hung my jacket and vest from the ladder section and was about to remove the bibs. Big tree behind me. Ladder with jacket blocking my face. Dark. She couldn't figure me out. Then an adult doe showed up and another Mexican stand off occured. Didn't think I was going to make it out of there.

Total Hunts: 25
Hours hunted: 3.25
Deer seen: 14
Bucks: 2
Does: 12
Hours hunted season: 75.75
Season total seen: 142
Bucks: 31
Doe: 109

 

[hickslawns]

Last night: settled in late. Got a 2hr hunt. Within 20min had 6 deer within 50 yards in thick stuff. Milled in and out most of the next hour. Two button bucks butting heads like baby goats. No antlers. 4 filters back thru around last light. Heard a shot with 5min to go fairly close.

Total Hunts: 26
Hours hunted: 2
Deer seen: 6
Bucks: 0
Does: 6
Hours hunted season: 77.75
Season total seen: 148
Bucks: 31
Doe: 115

Settled in for a 2.75 hr hunt. Same stand I saw 14 the other night. Can hear equipment running and an occasional voice yell to the south. Within .5-.75 mile I suspect. Wind is probably carrying their sound. Just watched 7 does bust out of the woods to my south and enter the next block. Running across open field. Got spooky and hesitated to entee the next wood block. Didn't want to be in the open. Eventually entered. I better be in high alert tonight. Can't hear well and woods to my back.

 

[hickslawns]

Turns out the equipment running was closer than anticipated. Outside of the 7 doe bumped that I saw cross 500yds away, I really didn't see anything. Had someone park a truck along a section of woods to my west. Couldn't see any orange. Did hear one gun shot. A local farmer did a drive around the block and said his window was open and he couldn't see any orange either. Hate to accuse but I suspect that was a mobile hunting blind. Maybe with permission. Maybe without. Hard saying. I did manage to see 9 deer pour out of a woodlot the last 20 minutes or so. Does it count if they are 700-900yds away? Just because you can see over a mile does not mean you really had deer around you.

Total Hunts: 27
Hours hunted: 2.75
Deer seen: 7
Bucks: 0
Does: 7
Hours hunted season: 80.5
Season total seen: 155
Bucks: 31
Doe: 122

 

[giles]

I heard a guy with a Ravin could've made that shot.

 

[hickslawns]

I heard a guy with a Ravin could've made that shot.

Or "my 47 pound six year old shot this one at 412yds with a 450BM this morning". Feels like half the FB deer group posts are like that.

 

[giles]

#firstdeer