October 20th 2007

Friday, October 19th, I managed to get out of work on time to head to the golf course for a couple hours of hunting. I went all the way back to the backside of the course, as close as I could get to where I missed that buck opening day. I spooked about 10-15 deer walking in. I set up next to a wide open trail that the grounds crew uses to drive there carts on. The deer I spooked were on it when I spooked them, so I knew they were using it. I didn't see anything after I got set up.

Saturday, October 20th, 2007

I went back to the golf course for the morning hunt. I set up on the edge of a hardwood creek bottom surrounded by pines. There was a field to the east of me and the course to the west. I figured I could catch some deer feeding back along the edge headed to the thicker parts of the pine trees. I was doing a can bleat/light rattling/grunt calling sequence about once every half hour. About 8:30 I saw two fawns feeding up to my stand. They milled around at 18yds for about 5 minutes before suddenly a doe appeared. She continued to feed as the fawns bedded down. I managed to draw my bow as she fed behind the top of an arched over cedar tree. As she stepped into the clear I calculated for the quartering towards me shot and let the arrow fly. My follow through allowed me to watch my bright Lumenock disappear into the side of the doe. All three ran about 40yds and stopped. I was waiting for the doe to drop, but instead she wandered off all hunched up. I let them go and waited about 20min before I got down. I found my arrow easily, I could see it from my stand. Plus, it's hard to miss that Lumenock glowing, even in bright sunlight. The arrow was almost clean, but had some guts on it. I knew the angle I had would go through the guts, so I wasn't too concerned. Just to be safe I climbed back up in the tree and continued to hunt. My next calling sequence was met with a explosion of twigs snapping and leaves rustling. I stood and readied to shoot a nice buck. Turning my attention towards the field I saw breath floating throught the air. I folled it back to the source only to find a doe and two fawns coming in. I let them walk, I had enough on my plate as it was, I was only going to shoot if it was a mature buck. To make that much work for myself I need to have sufficient justification, like the rare opportunity of shooting a nice buck. After about an hour I listened to advice I heard Stan Potts give after he arrowed his buck of a lifetime, "when in doubt, back out". I was in no rush, it was failry cool out and it wouldn't hurt to give her some more time. Dead deer don't go anywhere, so it is a win-win situation in my eyes. When I climbed down, I went over to where she stoppoed at 40yds. There was plenty of blood on the ground and when I looked in the direction that they went I saw the two fawns feeding, but no doe. I assumed she was dead, but just in case I left quietly. I took that opportunity to bring my climber back to my truck and get a drink, call friends to see how they did. By 10:55 I was ready to go back in. I walked right up to where I stood when I spotted the fawns earlier. They were still there. Now I just had to decide if I was going to spook them off and risk that doe getting up, or if I was going to just sit and observe some more and make a judgement based on what I saw. I sat on the ground and knocked an arrow, just in case. Usuing my binoculars I was panning the woods, looking for signs of the doe. I was being generous apparently, because when I put the glasses down, I saw a brown object through the brush right in front of me. I stood and saw it was the doe. Normal routine ensued, and within minutes I had started my 25 minute drag back to the truck. I didn't get to unt the afternoon, because I was getting a tour of a 200 acre farm I just got permission for.

Monday, October 22, 2007
I am sitting in my climber right now, out at CRM 6. I am at the junction of cedar run, an old mill race and a 4 wheeler trail. This spot has traditionally been a good spot, and I guess it's never a bad sign when you can see mulitple rotten old stands from where you are! They must have been there for a good reason at some time. I rushed out of work and rode home with Larry, and I forgot my binoculars in my truck. I have a great view out into this big grassy (brown in this drought) field.
I know I'm going to wish I had them at some point tonight. I'll fill you in when I am done tonight.
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Okay, it's now Tuesday October 9, 2007. Last night I took Hazzard up to the property by my old house. I used my climber in the area where I had those two nice bucks pass directly under my stand last year. The same place Dad had the buck bed near him. I put Hazzard in a climber directly uphill from the horse jump. There was more deer sign in that open oak hillside than I've seen in the last three years there. I jumped a 2.5yr old 8pt from its bed as I left Hazzard and walked to my spot. The buck was bedded in a treetop that had fallen up against the fence around the big field. As soon as that buck took off another deer on top of the rock ledge spooked too. I didn't see what it was, but it appeared small. I saw a few deer moving back in the woods on the top side of the rock ledge from my elevated position near the edge of the field. The new 6 strand high-tensile fence they put up has blocked the travel corridor that I was counting on. I hoped that the deer would parallel the field as they did last year, to find a spot to cross. The fence builders/landowners or someone with a pickup truck drove the perimeter of the field at about 5:30. This spooked a handful of deer back farther into the woods. I could only make out the movement in the thick brush in front of me. I didn't see any other deer until I was preparing to climb down at dark. A bunch of deer slipped out to the edge of the field after it was too dark to see my pins. They were about 80yds out in front of me. Hazzard had one deer crest over the ridge above him, but it was dark and he was already on the ground. It was so hot these past couple of day. Monday night I was smart enough to wear a t-shirt up the hill, then change into my camo long sleeve, after letting the breeze cool my body down and re-applying copious amounts of scent eliminator all over my body. I carried the scent spray to the stand and everytime I started to sweat, I'd cool off with the refreshing mist from my scent spray. I will probably not hunt until wednesday. I'll let ya know what happens!
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Well, it's 8:16 Monday October 8th. I'm in a treestand at my golf couse property. I hunted opening day (Sat the 6th) and decided that I should keep this journal updated this year.
On Saturday the 6th I hunted the persimmon tree stand at the house. Larry and Hazzard set it up when I was in Hampton at a class and man, it's a nice spot. I got in there really early, I was setup by 5:45am. This wasn't on purpose, I misjudged sunrise. It was great though, pitch black out, barely any moon, and it was dead calm. All I could here were the persimmon's falling. I didn't see anything all morning. In the afternoon, I went to a golf course I got permission to hunt. I knew there was a stream confluence that had some really defined trails crossing the water, so I headed for that spot. Sneaking through the woods along the fairways, I made it back to where I wanted to be. I only spooked 25 deer on the way in. As I started to find the right tree I spooked a doe in one direction and a fawn in the other. I was headed where the fawn went, and I continually bumped him as I kept walking. I got tired of bumping this deer and I rushed my setup. I picked a bad tree, and even with my climber adjusted as small as it would go, by the time I was only 10' off the ground the tree was too small. I sat for only a minute, then got smart and climbed down and continued to look. Eventually I found a nice area next to a dried up wetland that seemed to funnel the trails down to within 40-50yds. I set up between the wetland and the stream. I was setup by 4:30. It was about 75-80 degrees all day. I was sweating and nervous about my scent. The fawn came back through within minutes after I set up. He was within range for a long time, then moved off to about 60yds and bedded down. At 5:30 he suddenly jumped up and ran right under me. Stopping for a moment to look behind him. I kept my eyes glued in that direction and eventually heard deer running and saw a glimpse of antler in some sunlight that was poking through the canopy. I readied my bow and the buck ran right into my primary shooting area. I drew as he came within range. As I drew, the velcro on my release came undone. When that happened, I came undone as well. I had this happen a few times when target practicing, so I knew I could hold my bow, but not for very long. I bleated with my voice to stop the deer, he didn't stop, so I kept doing it, getting progressively louder. All the while, my ability to maintain composure has gone out the window because of my release. As the buck finally stops, I put the pin on his chest, and let it go. Had I not been so nervous about my release and the amount of bone on the head of this deer, I would have easily noticed the branches dangling in my shooting lane that he stopped in. Instead, the arrow glanced off a branch, then glanced off the back of the deer, and stuck in a log. I had just put a Lumenock on that arrow the night before, so it was real easy to see that the arrow just barely touched the deer. I recovered the arrow to find a few pieces of hair in the front of the fletching and that was it. That buck is obviously no worse off than he was when he came in, smarter, but not wounded. My heart sank. How could this happen. I shoot extremely well, and in the past few seasons have gotten pretty good at maintaining composure under tense situations like this, but that velcro coming undone might as well have been my treestand peeling away from the tree. I had all I could do to steady my top pin in the armpit of that buck (which I managed to do). The overwhelming excitement didn't cause me to shake as it used to, it caused me to make a poor decision. Now all I can do is hope I see him again and try to remain positive. He was easily 18" wide with a main frame 8pt rack. Nice buck for sure!
Now I'm on the otherside of the couse, and I saw a ton of deer bedded as I walked in in the darkness, with my headlamp. I'm not familiar enough with the area yet to come in blind. A doe and two fawns stayed bedded 30yds from me while I set up my climber and climbed up. Just before shooting light they got up and walked away. I have seen one fawn at 60-70yds and two does that ran in to 15 yds, then ate for a second, then ran back the way they came. I'm about to get down and go scout some spots for this evening.
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Sorry that I haven't updated this thing yet, again. I have been busy moving, going to class, working, and trying to shoot a deer. I am not going to get into the deer stories now, I'm saving that for a sunday or when I am really bored. I will however, for the second year in a row, reiterate that I wish it was turkey season still. I can't wait for the spring. Don't get me wrong, I love to deer hunt, and I want to shoot a nice buck, especially with my bow, but I still feel this crazy drive to be calling turkeys in the spring
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I finally got some bowhunting time in. I hunted tuesday morning for a few hours and didn't see anything at the farm around the corner from my house. I did however go looking for clues as to what all the deer where doing that I was watching in the preseason. They stopped coming into the field I can hunt when they moved all the cows back in to the field. I suspected that they were still coming off the ridge in the same spot and just paralleling the field to a neighboring field. Well, sure enough, I found a staging area full of rubs and heavily used trails. In the afternoon I hunted the spot where I shot my nice 8pt last year with my bow. I passed up a 1.5yr doe with two fawns. The doe was really small, it's not that I'm above shooting a doe. My next opportunity to hunt will be on Sat. The 14th. I will post that story later.
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Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Okay, I've slacked a bit on my journal this year. I think I will finally be in the groove from now on. Last Friday (the 6th) I went out for an evening hunt at our blind with Larry and Hazzard. We pushed a bunch of wood ducks, mallards, and teal out when we set up. A few woodies came in at MACH 10, we managed to shoot 5 all night. The first one I shot, fell, and started swimming for a small clump of willows. I jumped out of the blind to get it, but couldn't. I followed the feather trail as long as I could, but I know that little guy just tucked up under a clump of grass and let me walk by him. The second one I shot made it safely into the blind. Then I shot a third one, dead as a doornail, folded up, flipped upside down, plopped in the water behind the willows across from the blind. I went to get it, but no duck could be found. Larry even helped me look for it, and we couldn't find a thing. I was pretty irritated at that point. Of course, as we were picking up the dekes, a flock of 15 or so buzzed in and landed in the thick stuff across the open water from the blind.

Saturday the 7th:
I went out to the CRM 9 blind with Larry and Hazzard. The weather was perfect for duck hunting, rain and wind at 10-15mph in the face. I wish it was from a different direction, but beggars can't be choosers. We downed one female woodie, and then Hazzard knocked a hen mallard out of the air. As he and I were looking for her, a flock of 8 decided to sit down in a different part of the wetland. We watched them land right on the upper side of berm. We knew that there was a small patch of open water there, that they were hanging in. So, Larry aborted the blind, and we all met up at the base of that berm. As we neared the top, I poked my head over to see all 8 mallards looking very confused at the situation. Without a count down, we stood up, and managed to collect 5 of the 8. Before we could even pick one up, the other three had circled back around to find out what happened to their friends. In the panic mode of reloading and aiming, we missed. Yup, we all missed! Oh well, gues you can't be too greedy, right? It's a good thing, because we were one hen shy of a limit of hens. Had we found the one Hazzard knocked down, we wouldn't have been able to shoot any more hens, and I think two of the remaining three were hens.

On the deer note.......................
I was really sick monday and tuesday, but by tuesday afternoonI felt good enough to go out. I managed to scout the big field I'd been glassing all summer, and I determined that the deer that used to be coming into that field are still coming to the edge, but rather than coming out, they are paralleling the edge until they get on the neighbors property. I found an area with a bunch of rubs where they are staging up. If I get the right wind, I will try to intercept that nice 2.5yr-3.5yr 8pt there. I also pulled my stand in the bottom of the field since they are no longer using that area. I then went to where I shot my nice 8 last year with my bow. I got in there and the wind was perfect, and the setup felt good. At about 6:15 a Doe followed up minutes later by her two fawns passed directly under my stand. All presenting shots from 40yds-5yds. The doe was young, I let her pass simply because it was hot out, and I have a busy week ahead of me and I didn't want to have to deal with processing it. I would have dealt with the hassle had it been a nice buck. The best news from that experience is that the doe used one crossing and the fawns used another, reassuring me that my stand location is still right on the money. The tenent of the land also cleared and area of the woods and put a driveway/parking lot along 300' of the stream, which means all the deer that crossed there, now have to work their way under my stand if they want to get across the property to the fields!

Well, it's the night before the early opener of the VA duck season. I have to go to class tomorrow afternoon, but I had the perfect opportunity to go duck hunting in the a.m. HAD being the key word there. The property that I am moving to this month has a duck blind on it, and there are some ducks there. The company I work for sold the property to my landlord, and in the talks of renting the place, I made it clear that am not going to move in unless I can hunt it. Well, now that the lease is signed, things have changed. Originally my boss and I wanted to hunt tomorrow morning because we have to work out on that property the rest of the day. We got shut out because that is the "only" blind the VP of the company has to duck hunt. I guess if you don't count the awesome tidal wetland blind on the potomac the company has and the major wetlands we have created on a private owners land, who doesn't allow anyone to hunt, except for the VP. So, we asked if he wanted to hunt together, but he's hunting in the afternoon. We can't because of class. Well, today, I hear that he's hunting in the am. Did he have the common courtesy to ask if we would join him? Nope! I actually thought he was a decent guy. I guess I haven't stuck my nose up his ass like some other people in the company. Don't mistake this as jealousy, trust me I will never be jealous of anyone who has to degrade themselves or diminish their personal life to earn a friendship. I've been noticing this phenomenon around me a lot lately.

Bitch number two:
I've been patterning about 30-40 deer on my only place to deer hunt regularly. They have been set in their patterns for two weeks now. I was fully planning on their patterns to change as fall got closer, but I assumed the does would continue at least through this Sat which is the bow opener. Sat night I glassed and found everything to be okay. Sunday I committed to hanging a stand to shoot this nice 120-130 buck. Well, sure enough, the landowner moved about 40 cows/bulls, and a half dozen horses into the field. There was one spike within range of my stand on sunday night, and that is it, not a single deer visible in any of the fields that I can hunt or the neighboring fields for that matter. I don't know what I am going to do, except maybe go back to where I shot my buck last year, but I even think that place maybe a shutout. I noticed the tenent has moved out, and the landowner has told me I have to ask the tenent for permission. I guess if the for rent sign is up, I'm still good to go. He doesn't have a problem with it, as long as the tenents don't, and if there are no tenents, then I assume there is no problem. I am pissed, I think I gotta stop ranting now.
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