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NEOhunter's 2015 hunting journal

NEOhunter

Junior Member
I'm been thinking about doing this for about 2 weeks now. I finally decided to sit down and use this as a journal and a thread for anyone who wants to follow along. My main purpose is to use it as a journal to keep track of my hunts, sightings, and anything else that comes from it.
I still consider myself a new hunter in many ways, this is my 3rd or 4th year hunting, and I'm constantly reading everyone's threads and learning as I go. With that being said, I guess I'll start my journal from the time I started putting out mineral blocks this May.

During the summer, I was using mineral blocks and apples from my mother-in-laws trees to get an inventory of the deer I'd be chasing. My main hunting spot is my MIL's 10 acres, about 7 acres is planted yearly, and the Grand River Wildlife Area that her property runs into. I had the bucks on a steady diet of apples and they ate them up and gave me some good pictures throughout the summer. There were about 3 bucks that I thought were shooters in my book, 1 9 pointer, and 2 8's that would all be bigger than my biggest 8 pointer on my wall at home. I have a really good idea where they are bedding so I stayed away from that part of the public land. I was able to glass a couple of bucks early September in the soy bean field that got me excited. I also have my parents 13 acres to hunt with my younger brother.

My goals heading into the season were/are:
1. Shoot a doe for the freezer.
2. Hopefully get a shot at a targeted shooter buck.
3. Enjoy the time in the woods.
4. Get some more hunting time in with my brother.
5. Continue to learn the properties I do have to hunt.
6. Get my wife to sit a couple times in the woods with me.
7. See more deer.

I'm not sure those are in any type of order just goals I have for this year. So far after two sits this year, I feel I have already accomplished many of these goals. I decided to go out opening night and saw 1 buck crossing a trail about 50 yards away. I was happy to see one on my first sit. Got the blood pumping and got me excited for the rest of the year.
Then last Friday night I talked my wife into going and sitting in the stand overlooking her mom's field. It had just been cut two days prior. I was going to sit in the spot I saw the buck last week about 100 yards away from her. I saw 10 turkey and 2 bucks about 125 yards away. this was about 6:30. about 7 I decided to start walking slowly back towards the wife. She told me she had seen 4 doe come through behind her in the woods at about 60 yards. She was excited!! I climbed up in the homemade tower stand I made and we decided to give it another 20 minutes. We talked for a little bit then at 7:20 we decided to get down and pack it in. I go to get down and she grabs me and whispers there's another 1. Another big doe stepped into the lane again about 50 yards away. I grabbed the bow, not intended to shoot, to get the scope on it but it was too dark and I wasn't comfortable with the shot. It stared at us for a while then trotted off. We smoked up and it was down wind of us, I was happy with the smoke.

My wife was happy to see deer for the 1st time in the woods while hunting. The season is young still but I'm enjoying my time in the woods so far, seeing deer helps, but it's just awesome being in the woods.
I didn't mention yet my wife is 8 months pregnant and we are expecting our 3rd the beginning of November. But she said to me last night, "So you want to go hunting again on Thursday night?" I was like yep!!:smiley_clap:

I also have a daughter who is going to be 4 in January and a 18 month old son. I'm trying to determine when to take my daughter out for the 1st time. She likes being outside and helping me in anyway she can. She told me she wants a pink shotgun to shoot deer the other day.

If you read and follow along thanks and if not it's a great journal for me.
 

NEOhunter

Junior Member
Sitting at work...can't wait till 4:30. Wife and I are headed out tonight. She's going to sit in the same stand as last Friday, where she saw 5, and I'm going to move about 50 yards from my last spot. Gonna play the wind to my favor and hope to see something.
 

NEOhunter

Junior Member
Just got home from a 5-7:30 sit. It was sunny and about 70 degrees in Trumbull county. The wife and I must have missed the rut cause we didn't see anything.
 

NEOhunter

Junior Member
Time to update a little bit...this morning was my first time out in about 3 weeks. I've been busy with a new baby that is a week old. So I put hunting aside for a little bit. finally got things caught up and had the chance to go out this morning.

It was my first morning hunt of the year and when i first went in I pumped a couple deer. I walked in slowly to my spot and sat down. About 8:00 I see a small 4pt come through with nose to the ground. Didn't respond to my grunt or bleat call. I moved a little bit closer to the path this deer walked. Five minutes after I moved I see a doe getting chased through the woods by a 8 pt. buck. They head towards a thick bedding area. Nothing else was seen today. Stayed out till 12.