Online Deerhunt 2004

ONLINE DEERHUNT 2004

Bowhunting For Deer 2004

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2004 Deer Hunt - A Bowhunt In Progress

The 2004 Bow Season - December
To 2004 Deer Season Home Page

LIVE FROM THE FOOD PLOT BLIND
In December we went "live" with the hunt. I ran power and a phone line to the Double Bull blind by the Food Plot near my home and began updating with pictures and reports as things came down.

Dec 1 - Not Again!
The longer I bowhunt the more I learn. Wild turkeys have their plan for the day and it doesn't include getting an archery lesson from me. And if I hadn't learned something new today that's the way it would have been. To Today's Hunt...

Dec 2:
Morning: A bomber, mature buck was in my food plot. The left beam was broken off and the right was wide. He was too far away for a pic. An 8-point visited it later.
Afternoon: I zipped at the Hammer Hole.

Dec 3: Freak!

Morning: The buck with a broken main beam walks into camera range and that left side is not broke after all. This buck has a Freak set of antlers. He put on t good show too and I got the pics. To The Freak!

Dec 4: Freak A Little Closer

Morning: The Freak came back during good light and gets close so I nail him with my camera and get good pics of that odd ball rack, including 2 wallpaper full sized pics that will fit your computer screen background. To The Hunt...

Dec 5 - Where has this big boy buck been?
Afternoon: There were two areas of separate action. Young bucks worked the edge of the woods, dogging any doe that would let them. Meanwhile bucks and does visited the food plot, ate, and left. Here are pics of a few of them.

After sunset picture taking light got lousy but shooting light was left. Five does were browsing in the strip of Premier Mix 10 yards from my blind. A doe looked toward the woods, I could tell something was coming. It stepped out from behind a tree, a big buck, 35 yards and closing. A real dandy. Big bodied with a high, heavy, wide rack.

I was ready for this, bow in hand, focused, as the Dandy lip curled and grunted as came to the does. But the does ignored the big buck and also stayed between me and this fine buck.

Light was fading fast, too fast. When he finally moved away from the does I could not see my pins clearly anymore. He was hungry and browsed on the food plot goodies for half an hour . Finally all the deer left. I waited another 5 minutes and skedadled back to my house.

A 9-point buck, just what I've been looking for, was less than 15 yards from me and I could not take a shot without the possibility of hitting a doe. I would've liked it to work out different but I wouldn't change places with anyone this afternoon. I love this bowhunting.

Morning: More deer, a couple of new bucks, mostly young ones. Here are some of them.

Dec 6 - Before daylight deer were all around. But they moved on before good light.
This afternoon I was in my treestand early. Just in time for a heck of a rain. A 7 point walked around in it anyway, no problem.

Dec 7 - Big Picture Day ... and More
I really got loaded up on pictures today. You'd think I was in the deer parking lot. While I sort out the best ones, here is a full screen pic of Freak with a doe to give you an idea of what went on. And, oh, he got a lot closer than this. I'll bring you up to speed on that too. Sizes (1024x768) or (800x600) or (640x480)

Dec 8, Duck Or The Duck's Gotcha
Morning: (9:58) It's overcast and the temp is holding in the high 40's. I saw 13 does and 3 bucks. Only 3 does came to my food plot, the rest were busy in the woods. No Freak today.

Afternoon: The Duck (Don Beckwith) and his brother Paul arrived mid day. Paul hunted a big oat field and Don went to the Dry Tank. I zipped. To The Hunt...

Back To Dec 7 - Pictures Of It All

The Freak came 3 separate times before he got up close and personal and there are plenty of pictures of it and other deer as the morning hunt progressed. Dec 7 Morning Hunt...

Dec 9, Morning
It's overcast and the temp is holding in the high 40's. I saw 13 does and 3 bucks. Only 3 does came to my food plot, the rest were busy in the woods.
Afternoon: No deer.

Dec 10, Morning - The 9!

Going to the blind in dark a deer snorted at me and ran. I'm lucky it hasn't happened more. My camera has a Night Shot mode and I gave it a try at the 2 does and buck before daylight. The pics (above left is one) were a million time better than my older camera.

When the sun did come up it was awesome, fire in the sky, absolutely all good. In the first half hour the deer were gone. Pictures: Night Shot of deer & Sunrise.

At 9:55 I hadn't seen any more deer and planned to quit at ten and eat a hearty home cooked breakfast at the Duck's camp trailer. At 9:58 my plans got trashed. I had my laptop with me and was busy typing and when I looked up a doe was munching food plot stuff 10 yards from me.

Before I raised my camera up I checked for other deer. 100 yards away, on the hill by the road, stood the big 9 point. To Pictures & what happened...

Afternoon: It Had To Happen. The Test

The sun settled into the trees as the Freak buck walked down the hill. Bucks and does moved out of his way. A narrow strip of the mixed seed (called PlotSpike Premium MIx) is 10 yards in front of my blind and the Freak walked right to it. This was it...

Dec 11 - Overcast and the temp held in the high 40's. I saw 13 does and 3 bucks. Only 3 does came to my food plot, the rest were in the woods.

Dec 12 - I slept late for a change and saw the Freak at 5:34 on the afternoon hunt.

Dec 13 - last update 6:32pm
(7:20am) Saw 2 8-pts at first light, 3 does later and a young buck. It's been uneventful since then.
(11:58am) The wind is up and it feels like it's getting colder. I've been in the food plot blind since 6:20.
(2:26pm) Bad news, when I broke for a fast lunch my coffee maker burned up. Rats, it's a restaurant one and I'll miss how quick it makes the coffee. Ate microwaved left overs and a grapefruit. Then I shot a few arrows and got back in the blind.

Practice makes you hit what you shoot at.
(5:11pm) Shadows are lengthening. Nothing else has moved so far.
(5:18pm) Two bucks are on the hill checking out the area. Their pics.
(6:32pm) Wow! 10 does came to the food plot plus the Freak and a sixer. One of the does urinated near the Freak and he dogged her. So far he doesn't know I am right in the middle of Freak city. Well, like I said, one day at a time.

Dec 14 - Lets Try A Scent Trick

Early morning, Scent Wick, Afternoon buck

(6:56pm) That was all for today.
(4:46pm) a buck just came in. He smelt the Scent Wick when he passed near it and filled his nose several times while he looked around.
(1:18pm) Had a hot but bland lunch special and then made a scent drag with a Scent Wick dipped in Excite (both from Wildlife.com). These wicks are way better than the cotton balls we used to use. I pulled it around in the food plot and made a trail leading to a 10 yard shot and hung it on a limb. S ee A Full View.
(11:34am) Cold morning. No more deer. Signing off and going to the Red Barn restaurant for some warm food and hot coffee. Will rush back.
(7:57am) Two does showed up at 6:58. I used the Night Shot to take their pics. It is 32, clear and calm. My breath keeps fogging up my binoculars.

Dec 15 - last update 6:05m
6:05pm - One spike buck watched the food pot from the woods edge. He was too far for a pic.
2:45pm - More Scent
I did another scent drag with a Scent Wick and hung it in the same tree. I had to use a new one because a buck ran off with yesterday's. This time I used Active Scrape scent (from Wildlife.com)
11:45am - Lunch time. Be right back.

At 8:14 the Freak walked up out of the draw and over to near me. (His pic.) Apparently he was hungry cause he went straight for the leafy green stuff. After the 1st pic my camera malfunctioned. From the cold is my guess.
I slipped the battery out and wrapped a HotHands warmer around it. (A good product if you want to warm your hands too.)
At 8:26 he looked startled and ran to the road, and then I saw him on the tails of 2 does as they came down the hill into the draw.
Freak was lame, I've seen him run before and he had no limp. Don't know what happened.
A young buck left the does trail and come toward the food plot. He stopped at the fence and smelled the Scent Wick. My camera turned off again and the buck walked all around, looking. (Close Up of Buck.)
A doe came to the plot at 9:54.

(7:48am) A simple, beautiful sunrise began the day. If you're not hunting this morning I thought you might enjoy a peaceful sunrise, here it is bigger. No deer moving so far.
(5:36am) 20 degrees. A little oatmeal, some coffee and it's back to the food plot blind.

Dec 16 - last update 6:28pm

6:28pm: Broken Tine buck finally comes at picture time. More scent tricks. Hunt logs and pictures. To Dec 16 Hunt...

Dec 17 - Broken Tine Day
To see more & larger pictures go To Dec 1 7

BACK AGAIN !!!
Broken Tine is looking for one good doe at the food plot this morning and he came back at 8:52 for the 3rd time. This time I nailed him with the camera and definitely got some cool pictures. The pics are too good to do as little bitty pics for this pages format. Here are the Pics & What Happened...

8:41am: Two deer came to the food plot at 8:19, a yearling doe and button buck. A minute later sunlight glinted on antlers.

He moved to the edge of the field, the Broken Tine, and seeing the button head and young doe he turned and went back into the draw.

8:10am: Movement along the edge of the woods. The Broken Tine buck. 7:56, I got a pic. He turned east 50 yards from the NorthStarr tree.

7:33am: I hunted the hill in the NorthStarr Treestand I just put up. Before sunrise a shadow moved under my tree and a buck rubbed some low branches and pawed the ground. The Freak. Then he left.
Once it was light I glassed him and a young buck in the food plot. When they left I waited 15 minutes and hurried over to the blind. I don't want to be in the tree where the scrape is.

Dec 18 - Three does came to the food plot at first light. The new 8-pt from yesterday afternoon checked them out. 5 more does were on the hill.
That was it for the day.

Dec 19
6:18 - it's 34 degrees. calm & clear. Nice morning. No deer so far.
At 8:28 two does came from the draw to the food plot. 10:06 - 5 does in the woods and on the hill. Afternoon - zipped.

Dec 20 (Last Update 5:27pm)
"Never underestimate the power of good choices or dumb luck." Both of those things went to work this morning when the Freak walked into my shooting lane. To Today's Hunt.

Dec 21 (Last Update 7:34pm)
Morning: At first good light I saw the Freak half way up the hill. He went into the draw. 15 minutes later a lone doe pursued by 2 bucks ran all over the hill. At 7:20 another doe came over the hill and a buck came out of the draw and dogged her.

Last Update, 9:43am - The hill got the play this morning.
Before eight 2 does came over the hill, then 3 does walked briskly out of the draw and went over the hill, then 5 does came out of the draw. At 8:28 a yearling doe and a longhead doe visited the food plot.

My mouser cat walked up and they got nervous and kept their eye on him. Meanwhile he made a painfully slow stalk a few yards from my blind and suddenly snagged a dove, and killed it and took it away to eat it.

The Duck hunted his Double Bull blind at the Canyon. He heard wild turkeys about 8:00 and a flock walked by at 10 yards. Don had the windows down and the sun was on him and the turkeys saw him and flew off. Ten minutes later another flock came down the same trail. There were 2 big jakes. But the Duck decided to let them grow.

Afternoon: "BowTech, Double Bull and Innerloc ... Awesome" (The Duck)

"BowTech, Double Bull & Innerloc ... Awesome", said the Duck after his wild turkey hunt this afternoon. To The Hunt...

Dec 22 (Last Update 6:05pm)
Afternoon: It's a cold one. GO .
10:46am - Another Buck, can you see it?
The wind just laid and now only gusts occasionally. I saw a deer on the edge of the woods and had a thought. Lots of people tell me they are following this online hunt and log on several times a day. So if you are one of those folks see if you can find the buck I just saw. GO.

10:02 - Bad weather. Every time things let up bucks show up, which has been twice. Here are the pics and what happened. To Dec 22...
8:52 - HAIL !!!
Before Daylight - Half way to the NorthStarr stand on the hill it started raining. So I changed plans and went to the blind, that's another advantage of the Double Bull, you're out of the weather.

Dec 23 - Cold But Busy Morning
13 degrees and gusty before dawn. A doe came into the food plot and I saw something out of place on the woods edge. I binoculared it. A buck with a high heavy rack. To Dec 23....
Weather Now: light cloud cover, blues skies, 36 degrees. It could be a good afternoon.
4:42pm - Two does are at the top of the hill.

Dec 24 (Last Update 8:01am)
A Bomber 10 Point - It's A Shoot Day
I glassed the buck, a big 10 that I haven't seen before! To Dec 24, So Far...

Dec 25 - A White Christmas

Two does gave me the perfect Christmas card for you at daylight. And the hunting wasn't bad either. To Dec 25...

Dec 26 (Last Update 7:51pm)
Morning: A 25 degree, clear, still morning. I started out to the NOrthStarr tree and got snorted so I went back to the Double Bull blind. 2 does and a lone doe came to the plot. Around 8:00 A big 8 came on the hill from the east, the sun lit up his antlers as he went into the draw and came out with a doe. They went east. Four more does, a pair and 2 solos, also used on the hill. Then a 6-pt came to the plot. He left minutes ago.

Afternoon: Back in the blind. First, I put more Special Golden Estrus in the Power Wick. It's 58 degrees, clear with periodic light gusts. 3 does in the plot at 4:10. They left after a button head came. A larger buck stepped out of the wood's edge and checked out the button, and left.
(4:51) I see deer in several places and a signing off for now.
(6:43) 5 deer moved through the area. JimboTX saw 4 does at the NorthStarr stand on the farm road.

Dec 27 - 10 Point Back Again
(Last Update 838am)
Morning: The 10 point came back. This time I reached for the BowTech instead of the Sony. To The Hunt ...

Dec 28 - Broken Tine Buck

Morning: Before daylight a deer came from behind the Double Bull blind and walked close to me. It was only a deer shaped shadow in the dark, but a big one.
Still to dark to shoot at 7:00 but I could make out it's antlers with my binoculars, it was the Broken Tine buck. To The Hunt & Pics ...