Is this thread a precursor to my weekend? Gosh I hope so! I have been on the phone with my cousin and studying aerial maps. I think I know where I am going to park and which ridges I am going to follow in. I am going in with a climber/bow/lunch/ and a prayer. Mental note: Find a compass. lol
Maybe we should bring some people up to speed. I screwed up. I misinterpreted the rules (read between the lines: I didn't read them closely). I used my either/or tag on my first doe. What did I do? I bought another either/or tag. Darned ol' ODNR cost me money for eating the early antlerless tags in the past so I thought I would just spend the extra $9 and be able to use it all season. If I filled the second one, oh well, buy another. Oops. This is where I went wrong. I can only use 2 either/or tags in my zone. Soooo. . . . I have been feeling gloomy, blue, depressed, and mostly just plain stupid.
Fast forward to today. I have been working on a huge 3 location contract with a company for over a month. We inked it yesterday. I look at the schedule and see my wife is off this weekend. I talk to my cousin today hunting in Lawrence County and he said "C'mon down and hunt with us cuz." He had bucks running wild all day long. Killed a solid 130's buck today. Mature and mid to upper 130's is quite an accomplishment given his limited time to hunt this property. Long story short, I need to log off of TOO and finish my business paperwork so I can get the kids off to school, finish my work tomorrow and hit the road. I plan to drive most of the night tomorrow night and catch a few hours sleep. Hit the woods, find the ridge I am looking for, and hopefully find a nice saddle or shelf to satisfy my climber or Millenium/LW sticks.
All past promises to myself are off this weekend (this line is for you Dannmann.) This will be like the bachelor days of "no pride night." If I see a buck that trips my trigger, that buck is getting an arrow. No basket racks or anything, but I am not holding out for a 140" deer. If that deer looks 120ish or better, I am throwing down Slick Tricks from the sky!
Do I honestly think it is possible? 50/50 chance I would say. 120 or better might be lofty given how blind I am going in with just some intel from my cousin and aerial maps. Then again, the rut is in full swing in this area (or it was today) and you NEVER know during the rut! Will I hold out if it is 115"? Maybe, but probably not. lol Then again, once I get a feel for this location, I might swing down another weekend or two to try it again, so maybe I do holdout. I am heading south with a bow and a prayer!