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Turkey Grand Slam | Ontario
Bear Hunt |
2004
Deer Hunt - A Bowhunt In Progress
The
2004 Bow Season - Oct To January 1
Dec 31 - In the
trees & on the ground
Setting a new treestand
in an old favorite spot. Another turkey dance at the Point. To
Hunt...
Dec 30- Robbed
From The Sky
A good shot, more wild turkeys,
and a bad thing happens. To The Hunt...
Dec 30 - Afternoon
Wild turkey action this
afternoon. And a new one for the "I've never seen that before" category.
To
The Hunt...
Dec 29
Hunting for gobblers and
does. 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 ...
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 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 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 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 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 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 21 (Last Update 7:34pm)
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...
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, 9:43 - 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.
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 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 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 17 -
Broken Tine Day
To see more & larger
pictures go To Dec 17
 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 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 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 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. See
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 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 12 - I slept late
for a change and saw the Freak at 5:34 on the afternoon hunt.
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 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...
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.
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...
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 8, Duck Or The Duck's Gotcha
 
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...
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.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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...
Nov 30 - Point Me To Those
Wild Turkeys
Afternoon - I slipped
into the blind (Double Bull), set my camera and bow down. Woops! Wild turkeys!
Yikes, I ain't ready. To
The Hunt...
Nov 27 - 30 - Stuck
Saturday Afternoon
- At the river stand a zillion turkeys roosted all over the area. I slipped
out, figuring on returning in the morning. Wrong! My truck bogged down
in a mud seep on a hill and I walked 2 miles to get home.
 
When we went to pull it
out we got the truck stuck twice at the bottom of the hill, we never got
close to my truck. Two days later my neighbor was able to get to it with
his tractor. He pulled me backwards, down the hill and across a mud hole
creek and I was good to go so I went to the Point to hunt.
 
Nov 27 - Short Fat Fanny
 Morning
- All the wild turkeys flew down and went into the woods and on to
parts unknown. At 9:00 I stepped out of the blind to look for my wild hog
from the afternoon hunt the day before. To
The Hunt...
Afternoon - Back to
Rick's River. I saw a buck and 3 does. At roost time a zillion turkeys
roosted all over.
Nov 26 - Fatso The Hog
Afternoon - Back
at Rick's River stand something stepped in some leaves behind me and the
distinctive wild hog aroma caught my attention. A very fat, black wild
boar walked into my shooting window. I drew but it stopped behind a tree.
To
The Hunt & Pics....
Nov 26 - To The River
Morning - 100
yards uphill from the river, shadowed against the full moon sky, I saw
dozens of roosted wild turkeys in the big trees along the river bank. I
kept to the thick cover of the cedars and went quietly to the blind at
Rick's River stand. At 6:30 the turkeys started talking. There were lots
of them. It was beautiful, listening to wild turkeys all around me.
When they flew down they
stayed vocal for the next two hours. But they used the trails further up
hill.
Afternoon - Back
at the blind at Rick's River the wind was gusting briskly and it was overcast
and chilly. At 4:45 something stepped in some leaves behind me and the
distinctive wild hog aroma caught my attention. A very fat, black wild
boar walked into my shooting window. I drew but it stopped behind a tree.
When it took a few steps
and was in the clear the window I needed to shoot out of had camo mesh
on it. Since I was in Rick's blind I didn't want to shoot through the mesh
and make a cut in his new blind.
I let my bow down and, and
so that I wouldn't attract the boars attention, slowly made an opening
in the mesh, that eventually was high and wide enough to shoot through.
The boar was standing 10 yards away, looking at the adjacent field.
I drew, aimed and shot.
My arrow popped through the hog and it ran toward the blind, stopped, like
it was going to fall over, but instead went briskly into the brush to my
right.
The sun dropped below
the trees and soon wild turkeys came into the area. Dozens flew out
into the adjacent field and collected in a group. They yelped and clucked
until they flew up in the tall trees along the river. Fifty yards to my
right the trees filled up with more turkeys. I heard several gobbles.
This left me with a dilemma.
If I recovered the hog now it I would spook the gobblers in the trees to
my right. I didn't really want to leave the hog overnight, either. But
it was cold and that wouldn't be a problem. So at dark I slipped through
the cedars and returned to my truck. I'll get the hog after the turkey
hunt tomorrow morning.
Nov 25 - Thanksgiving Day
Took the day off. Happy
Thanksgiving to you and yours on this American holiday began by hunters.
Nov 24 - The Rut Is On
Morning at the Food
Plot treestand. Shooting light came and a longhead doe was walking down
the fence row toward me. I was ready. It stopped and looked back, an 8-point
was on her trail. I was double ready. The doe ran into the thick stuff
with the buck behind her.
Soon, 2 does browsed toward
me along the fence. I took pics as they got closer. A young buck came out
of the nearby draw and walked briskly toward them, he was limping on a
front leg. A 7-point. The does trotted away when he got to them.
 
| The buck didn't follow.
Instead I watched him walk to a big white oak tree in my front yard and
he ate acorns for quite a while.
Because deer are coming to
this tree right now I put a TrailTimer EZ CAM up so I know what
bucks are in the area.
This tree is not a place
to hunt, it really is right in my front yard. The TrailTimer got his picture
good, you can even see the acorns he is chowing down on --
picture is right below. |
 |
A vehicle drove down the
road and the buck ran right to me.
 
Then he walked into a corral
that we planted PlotSpike Forage Oats in and browsed there. I know
deer will go into the corral at night; but I was surprised to see a buck
go in the coral during daylight. I guess those Forage Oats must be tasty.
Just for grins, here is a close
up of this young 7-point.
After he left a solo doe
hung out at the edge of the woods, looking and waiting. Chances are good
there is an active scrape near by. The doe left around 8:30.
Afternoon: Driving
out I saw a flocks of wild turkeys. I hunted south of the Hammer Hole and
saw 2 more flocks of wild turkeys there.
And later one doe snuck
through, looking around. She had that "I'm looking for a buck" look.
Nov 23 - Same Thing
Morning at the Food Plot
and Afternoon at Secret Stand #3 had the same results, nothing. I put my
Double Bull at the Point where there are lots of deer and turkey tracks.
Back In The Home
Woods:
(Nov 22)
AFTERNOON:
Hammer Hole Action
It
rained most of the day. At 4:00 I made the muddy drive to the back 200
and walked to the Hammer Hole. 3 does came from the east, they kept looking
back and I passed a good 10 yard shot at a boss doe to see what was following.
It walked behind me and I never got a look at it.
At
5:30: I heard hogs to my left. They stopped and grunted. Movement to my
right got my attention. A monster black, wild boar was on the trail to
my right and I got ready for a 10 yard shot as he walked behind a tree.
But the boar turned and came out 30 yards away. He growled, eerily &
loudly at the other hogs and they all left. This was the biggest wild hog
I've ever seen. His nose looked as large as my two fists.
Bowhunting
The Rut In Ohio 2004
 
The Duck & I are bowhunted
with Dennis Crabtree during the Ohio rut. Follow the day by day action
and pics as the hunt developed for the Duck, PIp, Dennis Crabtree, Dennis
2, and an occasional guest. Ohio
Hunt 2004...
Oct 31 - The Eight Returns
On the last day of the bow
only season I am the only hunter and the hunt heats up big time. And some
of the details I always attend to before I leave for the stand pay off.
To
The Hunt & Pics...
Oct 29: Hanging In
I spent most of the entire
afternoon in the Double Bull and saw a bunch of does and a new 8-point.
I dumbed up and left the compact flash card for my camera at home so I
couldn't get pictures. But it was a cool day in the deer woods.
Oct 28: The Right Move
 
I moved the Double Bull
closer to yesterday's deer activity and returned at 4:45. In 15 minutes
the hunt was on. To Pics & Hunt...
Oct 27: Moving Time At The Hammer
Hole
I want to move further into
the woods from the Hammer Hole hoping to intercept deer traffic that I
am not seeing. The Double Bull blind is perfect for this cedar infested
area so I set one up when I went in for the afternoon hunt. I saw a few
deer but they were on trails that were not close to me. Tomorrow I will
move it again.
Oct
26: December Tree - A Core Rut Area
I check the core rut area
I call December Tree. There were problems and here is how I fixed em',
complete with pictures. Then I went hunting in my new set up and got into
the action. To Hunt...
Oct 24: Look At That Butt!
For my morning hunt I went
to the Hammer Hole. This is a thick area and there are no trees large enough
for a treestand, but this is a good spot, so I have three tripod stands
set up here. To The Hunt...
After the very successful
Bowhunting.net
Deerhunt with Billy Don Van Cleave
I returned home on the 19th. I had pressing work to do for a couple of
days but still got out to hunt in my home area.
OCT 20-23: John Askew
came down with his son Bryant and daughter Emily. Bryant, who graduated
from high school last year, has hunted on our lease before and has taken
a few does as well as wild hogs with his bow. This trip, while hunting
the Pond area, Bryant saw a longhead doe meandering through the dense cedars.
It meandered right into Bryant's shooting lane and he was ready. The arrow
hit home and the big doe dropped in 40 yards.
The Askews: John, Bryant
and Emily with Bryant's doe.
Bowhunting With
Billy Don @ Wild Horse Prairie Ranch
The 1st Ever Bowhunting.net
Deerhunt
 Day
#1 - Dave Cole (owner of BowFit) hunted #17 and saw 2 does and a fawn
and lots of wild hogs
The Duck had activity also,
he saw 2 does, 2 fawns several wild hogs and 3 bucks. Here is a picture
of one (on the right).
Boyd Burbank is hunting
for a black buck and hunted # 21, an area that blackbucks frequent. He
saw 2 forkys, a spike, lots of wild hogs and an audad.
We are leaving for the afternoon
and I don't have time to type up my hunt right now. But, not to give away
the story, but here are a couple of pics. To
Bowhunting.net Deerhunt...
 
OCT 6 - Wednesday
- Bowhunting.net Hunt On The Way
The first every Bowhunting.net
Deer Hunt begins Friday. The Duck met the landowner Billy Don Van Cleave
and they are at Sam's buying the food for the 10 day hunt at Wild Horse
Prairie Ranch. I've got a million things to do to be ready, so we
didn't hunt today. However, Rick Philippi came down to hunt and he is at
the Slew Hole this afternoon. (But the deer didn't move.)
Making Cool Arrows Fast
I like to make arrows up
4 or 6 at a time so today I fixed up the arrows I am going to use at the
hunt at Wild Horse Prairie Ranch. First I rolled the EZ Eye yellow
tiger stripe wraps on 6 of Easton's C2 Realtree carbon shafts.
(If you buy wraps be sure to notice if they are for aluminum or carbon
arrows, they are different widths.)
I matched up the yellow in
the wrap with 4-inch, yellow, parabolic cut feathers from Gateway Feathers.
I don't use a contrasting cock feather, I like it better if they are all
the same.
One particular product that
makes arrow making go easy and fast, instead of at a snail's pace, is the
Arizona
E-Z Fletch. This unique fletching unit attaches all 3 feathers at once.
Today I used the Carbon model with straight fletch. (They make 4 arrow
models and different heilicals as well.)
 
After puting the EZ-Eye
wraps on the carbon shafts, the nock end of the arrow slides in the Arizona
E-Z Fletch unit. Put a feather in each of the 3 slotted arms.
  
Apply glue to each feather.
Close the fletcher's arms and slide on the end cap. Snap the cap in place
on the end of the arms.
 
Once the arrows were fletched
I removed their green nocks and replaced them with bright yellow. I used
3 E-Z Fletch units and it took 15 minutes to make 6 arrows. When the arrows
were finished I took a few practice shots at my new Cube Target
from American Whitetail Targets.
OCT 5 - Tuesday
It's raining. It's not raining.
All day long.
Sunday Morning
- OCT 3
Morning
Hunt
Robbie B hunted the the
entrance of the Canyon. and zipped. John A was at his Pond stand
and saw 1 doe and more wild turkeys. Mosquitoes were bad there and
they ate him up. I zipped.
The Duck hunted the Mudslide
stand, again, Don saw the longhead doe that had run the deer off yesterday,
(as well as in year's past). But today it came close and as it walked behind
a tree 10 yards away Don drew, and when it cleared the tree the Duck aimed
and shot. The doe took a few steps and dropped underneath Don's treestand.
Here is the Duck (Don
Beckwith) with the first deer of the season, a mature longhead doe. Plus,
for the Duck's bear hunting fans, here is a larger
pic of the Duck with the doe and his favorite hunting bow, his BowTech
Patriot.
After the hunt we all went
to the ranch house and all ate a swell breakfast with Stan Alexander at
his ranch home. Here we are.
Breakfast time at the
ranch house.
Afternoon
Hunt - Buddy Group Break Down
John saw hogs, Robbie saw
wild turkeys, the Duck saw 2 does. Nobody fired a shot.
I had all the luck watching
my food plot area. Two bucks hung out there and when some does came in
the area the bucks locked horns and sparred for over half an hour. That's
an indication that the buck buddy groups are almost ready to break up and
the bucks will start to roam until the rut starts. Unfortunately I left
my camera's memory card in my computer's card reader. Maybe I can redeem
my self and get a pic of them tomorrow morning.
After the hunt the Duck fried
up a bunch of chicken fried venison and we capped the day off with
a great meal.
Saturday Afternoon
Oct 2
The Duck zipped at the Dry
Tank. Robbie sat his new stand in the bottom of the Canyon and saw 1 doe.
At turkey time two flocks flew up in the big trees all around him. At dark
Robbie slipped out without spooking them. Back at the Rock Ledge, John
A saw two does.
  
(Pic 1 & 2) The reason
deer and turkeys are visiting this area are the tasty, ripe wild grapes
that are currently falling to the ground. (Pic 3) a view of the area from
behind my NorthStarr Treestand ladder stand. And so you can see how narrow
this strip of woods is here is another, larger
pic from a different angle.
I went to the Slew Hole.
This is a narrow strip of woods where I've taken TrailTimer pics when I
was scouting. It's bordered by a coastal field. I hunted a ladderstand
made by North Starr Treestands.
All was quiet until 6:54
when 3 does walked along the edge of the field, actually they were only
15 yards from me, but with lots of limbs in the way. They passed my crossing,
which would have brought them by me, and I heard them jump the fence at
the next crossing 30 yards down the fence.
 I
hunted from a NorthStarr Treestands "Super Starr" ladderstand. It has
a big, comfortable padded seat which was much appreciated after 3 hours
on stand. Another thing I like about it is it is wide enough in the sitting
area. Some ladderstands are stingy about the width so there is not enough
room for your knees to be relaxed but this stand has plenty of room up
top. NorthStarrTreestands.com
web site.
After leaving my stand I
saw a giant wild hog in the adjacent coastal field and, since it had
seen me too, I went toward it to see if I could get close enough for a
shot. It moved away 50 yards and stopped. When I got to 35 yards it moved
away and stopped again. We replayed that scenario 3 more times until the
big hog got to the edge of the field and disappeared into the woods. This
was a really big hog. At first glance I thought it was a heifer cow.
Saturday Morning
 OCT
2 - (10:36am)
I
hunted at the Point in the new model Double Bull blind called the Matrix.
A longhead doe came through with a fawn with spots was with it, I would've
liked some venison but not in that scenario. Two flocks of wild turkeys
came from opposite directions, joined up about 60 yards away and went to
the South. Here's a larger pic of the Double
Bull Matrix.
The
Duck had a longhead doe with a fawn in the Mudslide area. It stayed around
for quite a while. Several other deer tried to come through this funnel
of woods but they were run off by the longhead doe.
Robbie
B saw 2 does and an unidentified deer. At his Rock Ledge stand John A saw
2 young bucks and a large flock of wild turkeys. He got a shot at a jake
but missed.
(5:19am)
Opening day is always the sleepiest hunting day. Partly because I'm not
in the swing of getting up this early, partly because I never can sleep
on opening day eve. Oh well, it's the toll over the bridge, and it's gladly
paid. Let's see what happens this morning.
OCT
1 - Some of my hunting buds are down for the hunt opener tomorrow;
the Duck, John and his daughter Emily, and Robbie B. The daily hunt logs
and pics will begin tomorrow and be right here throughout the season. Also
the landowners, Stan and Alex Alexander will be down.
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