Sunday, Dec 30
MORNING: We talked too late into the night yesterday and only Robble and Josh hunted. Josh saw some deer at a distance. Robbie saw some too.

Bryant and Jensen (Sharp Eye) loaded up and drove home. They are going skiing in Colorado next week and won't be back to hunt this season.

AFTERNOON: I zipped at the food plot. The Duck saw 2 does at the horse pasture stand.

After uneventful afternoon hunts Robbie and Josh left for home and the Duck and I ate Mrs. Duck's steak stew for dinner. Mighty good eating. The weather report says it won't be freezing in the morning. My head cold says it will appreciate that.

Saturday, Dec 29
MORNING: Low 20's and overcast. A young doe and a button buck walked up from behind my blind as daylight slowly began to took over. I heard the crunch of their footsteps in the heavy frost. In front of us a buck walked out of the trees and walked stiff leggedly over to the two deer. I turned on my video camera ... yikes ... it flashed a error message that it was too cold to record to the hard drive.

The buck was a big bodied 8-point with heavy beams and long tines. A great looking rack that was slightly outside its ears.

The button buck darted away but the buck cut off the does attempt to flee.

The doe backed up right next to the side of my tin covered blind. She was cornered and the buck's head was practically sticking in my shooting window. I could have grabbed his antlers. My brain was going nuts. Shoot this buck. Wait for one of the other ones. Shoot. Wait.

The doe slipped away and the buck followed for a few steps. The button buck had returned and the 8-point ran him around and watched as he skedaddled into the trees to the north. 

The 8-point stood still, watching them both run away from him -- ten yards from me, broadside with a slight quartering away angle. Then he turned my way and walked casually by the front of my blind. 

Back at camp everyone told their tales. Bryant saw a 20 inch wide 8 point at the Pond. (He has shot a buck and we can only harvest one.) The buck was walking with a doe. (Bryant still has a doe tag.) When Bryant drew to shoot the doe, some birds in the tree near him flushed and the two deer ducked into the brush. Sharp Eye hunted the Rock Ledge and got a shot at a doe but it didn't work out. He saw a dozen more deer, all does, come out of the field and go into the woods 80 yards from him. Robbie saw several does and a young buck. Josh saw 3 does and a hog.

The Duck slept in but he was in command of the preparation of our breakfast feast. Eggs, bacon, venison sausage, biscuits and venison sausage gravy -- plenty of it and plenty good too.

AFTERNOON: Sharp Eye settled in at the Rock Ledge. During the morning hunt the area 400 yards away by the river was being plowed. This afternoon the tractor plowed the field next to him. Bryant zipped in the back. So did the Duck in his new food plot blind near the windmill. I saw three does, joined by a third during the last shooting light. Robbie hunted the canyon and saw several deer. Josh saw a nice buck in the Back 200.

After the hunt Debbie and the Duck cooked up venison sausage spaghetti for everybody.

Friday, Dec 28
MORNING: The temperature was in the 20's.

John Askew hunted the Rock Ledge. The activity was in the adjacent field. As the morning passed several deer walked along the edge of the field.

At 9:30 John was ready to get down. But he heard a bunch of noise in the tall weeds in the field behind him. He looked over his right shoulder and saw ten large wild hogs 80 yards out in the field.

John is hunting with a tripod and he swivel led the seat to the right and watched the hogs. They meandered in his direction. There were also several young pigs with the group. When they got close three wild boars started fighting with each other, biting and snapping at each other. Then they stopped and turned away from John. They were leaving the area.

John saw a good quartering away shot materialize on a big brindle colored boar. The arrow hit perfect and the boar ran 20 yards and went down. The other hogs ran to where the boar was and squealed and grunted, making a big noise for 5 minutes. They finally left up the hill. 

Robbie Beckwith hunted the food plot in the Back 200 and saw 3 does. His son Josh hunted the Horse Pasture and didn't see anything. Driving in he saw 10 does in a group. Robbie also saw a doe and a bomber buck in the woods near the Point.

John said his Sticks N' LImbs camouflage allowed him to draw and release even though they were 10 to 20 yards away.  His broadhead was a Thunderhead 125.

AFTERNOON: John hunted the Pond stand and saw a flock of wild turkeys. He drew on them and shot but hit a branch and the arrow went straight down. Bryant and Sharp Eye hunted Rick's River stand and saw one wild hog. The Duck saw 6 wild hogs at the Dry Tank stand. His son Robbie hunted the Duck's food plot blind and saw 3 does and big boar. Robbie's son Josh was watching 3 does and a 4th doe came up and reared up on its hind legs and one of the does reared up also and they flailed their front legs at each other. Then it ran all the deer off and left itself. 

I hunted the Point. At 4:30 I saw a doe approaching my immediate area. And I picked out the legs of another deer 20 yards behind it. It turned out to be a doe too. 

When we all met back at my house Debbie had dinner ready and we put on the feed bag with chicken fried venison and gravy and the trimmings. John's wife sent down a home made mince meat pie. It was great. I haven't eaten one in years and really appreciate her making it for us. 

Thursday, Dec 27
Thurs - A heavy frost looked like diamonds on the ground. It was plenty cold. No deer moved this morning. John and I are going into town to eat.

Afternoon - This afternoon Bryant and Sharp Eye are coming back. The Duck will be down too.

I hunted the Slew Hole stand in the narrow hardwood strip. Two wild hogs walked hurriedly past me and out of sight. They were in range but on a further trail than I was setup up to cover -- close enough but too many trees in the way. John zipped in the Back 200.

For dinner the Duck and Bryant cooked up a big chicken fried venison feed. It was super. 

Wed - This morning was cold and and a raging wind came with daylight. I was a block of ice by 8:00 and came in. Went to the Point this afternoon. John Askew came down and went to the hill stand. We both saw 2 does. But the wind quit and it was a pleasant afternoon.

2007 Deerhunt Sponsors

- BOWTECH - BowFit Archery Exerciser - NULLO For Hunters - 24 SEVEN Scent Products - GRIM REAPER Broadheads - KWIKEE KWIVER

- HOT TRAILS - PRO EARS - TREE APRON - LIMBSAVER - ELIMITRAX - MY TOPO

- Sticks N Limbs Camo - Rope Ratchet - WILDLIFE Research Center - Arizona E-Z FLETCH - DIAMOND Archery

- BowhuntingStore.com - RACKULATOR - KINGSWAY Triad Sight - Wildlife Artistry Taxidermy - Bowhunting.net