Phil's 2013/2014 Hunting Journal

bowhunter1023 said:

Sound like you got them figure out Phil. Won't be long now and you'll be dragging out a Rexy approved slunger. Good luck out there!

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Dont know about all that. It did feel good to adapt due to the disruption and actually put myself where the deer were. It sure doesnt work that way very often. Not for me at least. Just wish one of the bucks under my stand was a bit more blessed in the antler department. Probably won't get another shot opportunity at a buck all year now. Just the way my luck works. Lol

brock ratcliff said:

Hang with it, Phil. At least this year you still have a buck tag. I have faith in ya, this is your year!

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Appreciate it Brock. Finishing my coffee and heading out now. Hitting an observation stand this morning. I have a busy week and shouldnt be hunting at all. Need the intel though for when I get a chance to hunt again. Might not be until next week.

If I loose an arrow today, it will either be at a coyote or a wallhanger. I dont have time to clean a doe. Lol

4th sit of the season. Observation stand or gun stand mainly. One awesome creek crossing 27yd shot between a set of double bends in creek. Natural low point crossing area. If he bucks are bedding where I feel they could be then there is a chance at a nice buck here. Sweated like a pig getting here. Acorns droppinf all around. Creek crossing would take bucks to one of 2 corn fields. I have some optimism. Squirrel just landed I tree above me by 3 feet. Coolness.

Skinhead under 100yds behind me.

Ended up being 4 does. They are picking thru the beans now. Hope the bucks come out soon!

I will back up to the 3rd sit. 630am-10am at farm East. SW wind and I sat on the NE corner of the property. Beautiful morning but slow. Saw one buck roughly 100yds off.

Tonight- Quick hunt at Farm West. Had 4 slickheads come out. Not sure if Momma doe with triplets, Momma with twins and last year's fawn, or 2 Mommas with a fawn each. Doesn't matter. They came out and headed north across the bean field. Did I mention they were all downwind of me? Scent Smoker strikes again.

Totals:
time on stand: 5.5
Deer seen: 5
Shot opportunities: none

Season Totals:
Number of hunts: 4
Time on stand: 13.5hrs
Deer Seen: 13
Shot opportunities: 5
Shooters seen: 1 "maybe"

Hunted a woods I have had success in previously. This year I have not ran any cameras over there. It is not traditionally a place which holds "big bucks". There are generally a handful of does and during the rut it is a place where a buck may take up residence for a week or so. Maybe just a couple days. Either way, I hadn't hunted it and without some time in the stand I was riding on gut. This year I have not seen near the human intrusion I have noticed in the past. I was hoping this would be of benefit.

I hunted a stand setup for a south wind or east wind. SW wind would probably work as well on an evening hunt. Slid in as quickly and quietly as I could. Was setup with roughly 20min to shooting light. Later than I intended but not bad. With minutes til shooting light I hear a deer. Single deer. It is to my east in the woods. Too dark to tell anything looking back into the woods. I hear the deer move into the old property line fence row at the end of a field to my west and the edge of a woods to my east. Then I begin to hear antlers on a tree. Oh yeah! I am looking thru my binos but it is tough to make much out. Big body? Check. Wider than the ears? Check. Decent main beams? Check. Good tine length? No clue. I got a good view with his head down but just couldn't tell anything about tine length or number of points. I was hoping he would continue north another 10yds as I had a nice shooting lane there. Looking to the west I had enough light to shoot by the time he had made his way along the fence row. Unfortunately, he stopped 10-15yds south of me and offered no shot and no better view of his rack.

Later I saw a doe with 2 fawns as well. They fed across the bean field to my west at 140yds. Inched in closer to me at roughly 90-100yds, but entered the woods and were not seen again. Hunt over.

Time on stand: 645-10am
Deer seen: 4
Shots taken: None

Season totals:
Number of hunts: 5
Time on stand: 16.75
Deer seen: 17
Shooters seen: 2 "maybes"
Shots taken: None
Shot opportunities: 5

Made it out this morning. Hunted a stand with easy access and the wind in my favor. I was at the end of a fence row between two corn fields. Saw nothing until 830am when I saw a doe with 2 fawns in a food plot several hundred yards away on the other side of the corn. Was a bit chilled but couldn't use my jacket as it was serving as my seat cushion. Stinking squirrels ate mine since we had checked that stand in July.

A bit later I see movement in front of me. Year and a half buck. Respectable start as he was already an 8pt. He ducked into the corn at 35yds when a second buck showed. 1.5yr old again in the basket 6pt form. Was really hoping granddaddy was following them. He wasn't. They picked in/out of corn for awhile when I notice corn stalks moving again. I picked my bow off the holder. Out pops a fawn, then another, then momma. Bow was hung up and I pulled out my camera. The bucks ran them off and they all disappeared.

Later I had a young solo doe come right under me. If she were bigger I might have drawn back on her. She looked young. Honestly she looked lost. While watching her I glanced a hundred yards or so down the corn and saw one deer jumping out of the corn. Never saw it again.

Sit: 645-1015am
Deer seen: 10
Shot opportunities: 6
Shooters seen: 0

Season totals:
Sits: 6
Total hours: 20.25
Total deer seen: 27
SHot opportunities: 11
SHooters seen: 2 maybes

SE wind again? Looks like I am sliding over to where I hunted last week and had a buck encounter. Still no cameras over there. Makes it fun to hunt on gut instinct and visual confirmations via sightings, rubs, scrapes.

Mental note to self: Self? You realize you aren't a pup anymore? You need more than 4 hrs sleep to keep this crap up. lol

Yeah. Schedule for hunting the rest of the week looks grim. I am sucking it up and hitting the woods. Tired, but hunting.

Thanks guys. A doe with set of fawns 200ish yds off has been the only sign of life thus far. If not for them I would suspect the squirrela had chased them all out. I am just about ready to go eat breakfast again and fire up the chainsaw. Not saying I dont want to be here. I am thankful to be able to get out when possible. Just saying I have some firewood I need to take out of a woods before we get rain and I cant get to it.

SLow. I am heading out to cut firewood.

Sit: 645-930am
Deer seen: 3
Shot opportunities: 0
Shooters seen: 0

Season totals:
Sits: 7
Total hours: 23.5
Total deer seen: 30
SHot opportunities: 11
SHooters seen: 2 maybes

Disappointing sit this evening. Not that I had high expectations, but I figured I would at least see something. Windier and cooler than I anticipated. My "midweight" gloves proved to be what I would call "lightweight" gloves. Then again, I under dressed all across the board. Were it not so windy I think it would have been fine.

Time on stand: 430-730pm
Deer seen: Zip

Season totals:
Sits: 8
Time on stand: 26.5
Deer seen: 30
Shot opps: 11