Brock/Mason go huntin

It sure was fun!

Forgot to add a pic, so here is that.

Quantum673 said:

Congrats Mason!!
And all that were involved!

Click to expand...

Jon, I have gotten grumpy going through this deerless slump the last couple of weeks, but not for a single minute did I ever forget how lucky I am to be able to spend time in the woods with my boy. Mason and I have talked about that a lot while staring at leaves. Our conversations always leave us thankful for what we have. Thank you for that reminder...

The burn out is over. 1100 is oiled, pockets full of slugs. Time to get serious and have some fun!

Gun season has been fun so far!

Monday morning I perched in a barn to avoid some of the rain. At 8 am, I saw a dandy buck running across a bean field, heading for public land. Bang. No idea if he was killed or not. By 830, I decided I'd start sneaking around. I did so until 1130. I snuck up on a doe, maybe 20 yards from her. I did not shoot. It occurred to me what a needle in a haystack hunt I was on. The farm has very little fresh sign, and I'm just tired of hoping to bump into this deer! I called my buddy, Lathe. We have hunted opening day together forever and this year I had decided to waste the morning looking for this stupid deer again... So, with a call, Lathe was on his way.

We headed to another property where I felt we could push a few deer around on two-man drives. On the first little push, Lathe saw 4 deer. The next one, he saw 4 bucks and 3 or 4 does. He then walked a little thicket for me that turned up nothing. At The next little block of timber, Lathe saw 5 deer before I even pushed any to him. I bumped out a doe or two. Lathe's turn to walk, so I headed up the creek, rounded a corner and saw 3 or 4 does. I didn't shoot any. I walked on into the woods where I saw another doe, but did not shoot. I made my way to the tree I wanted to stand beside only to have a big doe walk out into the path the landowner and I had cut last year. She was maybe 75 yds away. Just for fun, I put the 1100's sights on her shoulder...bang. Dangit. That has happened more times than I can count with that gun! I just wanted to aim at her, but that old 1100 folded her up right there. It has a mind of it's own. I saw another deer or two after that, and it completed our opening day hunt as it was about 5pm by then.

Tuesday, I took our friend Dave and Mason to another property. I put Dave and Mason in a stand and still hunted to the back of the farm. I told the fellas I'd do a push toward them when they got cold. They got cold sooner than I thought they would. I had just reached the back ridge and crept within 50 yards of a doe when I got a text that they were cold and on the ground. I told 'em I was on my way, and a doe would soon be headed their way too. I pushed "about 10" past Mason, one being a good buck..."maybe 140", but they weren't in a shooting lane. Mason said he wasn't going to shoot the buck anyway...dumb kid. Dave saw nothing. A few more pushes yielded nothing exciting. Dave went home. Mason and I pressed on. We went back to the farm where the GIANT lives. Did some pushes, saw two does total, no shots fired of course. Very few tracks anywhere around that place! We quit at 5pm to head to basketball.

Slept in today. The 750 miles I walked in the last few days has me a little worn.

Back at it tomorrow before work, but I think I'm going to a different farm. If I see a "decent" buck, it's getting shot. Hunting one deer ain't for me!