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Jesse's 2017 Hunting Debacles

bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,915
274
Appalachia
My one and only hunt thus far was opening morning and despite not seeing a deer, I enjoyed myself. I even had a good laugh at my own expense as I was shivering like a dog shitting razors blades after the sun came up and the thermals started pulling the cold, damp air from the holler below, right up the back of my neck and bald ass head. I need to find my winter blood in short order! The good news is that this was the first hunt in a new stand and I think it may very well be the best stand I have hung in 17 years of hunting that property. It's on the point of flat where a N/S holler and an E/W holler meet. The stand is hung in a white oak just off the main quad trail. There's always good rubs along the edges of this flat and some decent oaks usually make for some easy picking on the food front. The the N of the stand is great bedding, same to the E. South of me and just across the holler is a great oak flat and more bedding and to the W is the best bedding around, along with more food. I can shoot the shelf below me and really, I was surprise with how much ground I could see with the leaves still on. The woods behind my parent's has long been my honeyhole and although it's taken some hits in recent years, this is still a damn good spot to sit.

Once the weather cools, I'm going to make a few evening sits on local public land and try to harvest a doe before Halloween. I return from Nashville for work late Friday the 27th and plan on making my first hunt at the farm the following afternoon. I'm scared to check cameras because of the EHD and haven't done so in a few weeks. Really dreading it...

_______________________

2017 Stats

Antlerless Sightings: 0
Bucks Sightings: 0
Different Bucks: 0
Shooters Seen: 0
Total Sightings: 0

Deer Killed: 0

Morning Hunts: 1
Evening Hunts: 0
All Day Sits: 0
Skunked Hunts: 0
Total Hunts: 1

Hours on Stand: 2.5

Average Time Per Hunt: 2.5 Hours
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: 0
 
NWOHhunter

NWOHhunter

Junior Member
879
58
NW Ohio
Sounds like a good set up....this from a flatlander lol

I am glad I am not the only one that found opening weekend cold! I was thinking I was just a wussy!
 
bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,915
274
Appalachia
Thanks fellas!

Bit the bullet and went to the farm today to see if I could locate any sign of EHD in the area. Road the edges of all our creeks and checked the pond, watched for buzzards and had my sniffer on high alert. No sign of any casualties thankfully. Dang good card pull too. No shooters, but not killing a doe since opening day of 2010 is really showing the results right now. Got food. Got does. And now, got patience. Come on sweet November!
 
cspot

cspot

Member
2,650
94
Home is PA--- Camp is in SE Ohio
bowhunter1023 said:
Thanks fellas!

Bit the bullet and went to the farm today to see if I could locate any sign of EHD in the area. Road the edges of all our creeks and checked the pond, watched for buzzards and had my sniffer on high alert. No sign of any casualties thankfully. Dang good card pull too. No shooters, but not killing a doe since opening day of 2010 is really showing the results right now. Got food. Got does. And now, got patience. Come on sweet November!
Click to expand...

My son and I a couple of weeks ago did a good bit of fishing on the Little Muskingum River and did alot of wet wading and walking fishing for smallmouths. We didn't see or smell any dead deer.
 
bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,915
274
Appalachia
Week 2 Update

Had a good cam check this week, a couple fun hunts and some big developments on the habitat front. Hunting Tuesday evening with my oldest daughter, which was largely an excuse to get out of the house, but we had fun even though no deer were seen. Yesterday morning, a buddy and I went to some public ground for the first time. I put him in the spot I found when I scouted a few weeks ago, then did some still hunting to explore a couple other spots I had in mind. He saw a 6-point and a mature doe with fawn, I saw a bunch of beautiful ground. I found a really cool spot for a future hunt and enjoyed a beautiful morning in the woods, so it was time well spent.

Got to the farm today and the corn was gone. A failure to communicate cost me some standing corn, but there's plenty of scrap left to make this field worth visiting for a while. I have a strategy for the late season here and it required a good blind set. With the rain coming tonight, I went ahead and set it up and honestly, it might be worth bowhunting out of if the conditions are right. Very pleased with this view!

22491484_10105612739482004_7178216799145265984_n.jpg

22491967_10105613690241674_3655076628230631744_n.jpg

I think given the conditions right now with this front, it justifies a hunt and I have things lined up to get in the woods tomorrow, possibly for my first hunt at the farm. If it's sunny like they say, I may hunt elsewhere. If it stays overcast, I'll be at the farm. Either way, it should be a good night to see some deer!
_______________________

2017 Stats

Antlerless Sightings: 0
Bucks Sightings: 0
Different Bucks: 0
Shooters Seen: 0
Total Sightings: 0

Deer Killed: 0

Morning Hunts: 2
Evening Hunts: 1
All Day Sits: 0
Skunked Hunts: 3
Total Hunts: 3

Hours on Stand: 6

Average Time Per Hunt: 2 Hours
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: 0
 
reo

reo

Junior Member
484
68
N.E. Ohio
bowhunter1023 said:
My one and only hunt thus far was opening morning and despite not seeing a deer, I enjoyed myself. I even had a good laugh at my own expense as I was shivering like a dog shitting razors blades after the sun came up and the thermals started pulling the cold, damp air from the holler below, right up the back of my neck and bald ass head. I need to find my winter blood in short order! The good news is that this was the first hunt in a new stand and I think it may very well be the best stand I have hung in 17 years of hunting that property. It's on the point of flat where a N/S holler and an E/W holler meet. The stand is hung in a white oak just off the main quad trail. There's always good rubs along the edges of this flat and some decent oaks usually make for some easy picking on the food front. The the N of the stand is great bedding, same to the E. South of me and just across the holler is a great oak flat and more bedding and to the W is the best bedding around, along with more food. I can shoot the shelf below me and really, I was surprise with how much ground I could see with the leaves still on. The woods behind my parent's has long been my honeyhole and although it's taken some hits in recent years, this is still a damn good spot to sit.

Once the weather cools, I'm going to make a few evening sits on local public land and try to harvest a doe before Halloween. I return from Nashville for work late Friday the 27th and plan on making my first hunt at the farm the following afternoon. I'm scared to check cameras because of the EHD and haven't done so in a few weeks. Really dreading it...

_______________________

2017 Stats

Antlerless Sightings: 0
Bucks Sightings: 0
Different Bucks: 0
Shooters Seen: 0
Total Sightings: 0

Deer Killed: 0

Morning Hunts: 1
Evening Hunts: 0
All Day Sits: 0
Skunked Hunts: 0
Total Hunts: 1

Hours on Stand: 2.5

Average Time Per Hunt: 2.5 Hours
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: 0
Click to expand...

Are there no does on the private you have access to??
 
bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,915
274
Appalachia
reo said:
Are there no does on the private you have access to??
Click to expand...
Sure are. Where do you want to take this? I assume I know, so let's head it off at the pass...

I want to work on my hunting skills and get back to the basics of reading the woods in order to be successful. I have two pieces of private ground to hunt. One I've hunted since 1999, the other 2005. My spots are my spots and there is no real reason to change them. I'm ready to challenge myself to harvest my first ever deer off public ground and to do so, I have to explore and assess new properties, something I really enjoy and haven't done in some time. As a taxpayer, I have the same right to kill a deer as the next guy and I plan to exercise that right. If that is an issue for someone, I encourage them to articulate an argument that will sway my belief. And if someone wants to make the one mile walk to the spot I have picked and beat me to it, they're free to do so.
 
OhioWhiteTails

OhioWhiteTails

Senior Member
Supporting Member
8,483
191
Flatlands
bowhunter1023 said:
Sure are. Where do you want to take this? I assume I know, so let's head it off at the pass...

I want to work on my hunting skills and get back to the basics of reading the woods in order to be successful. I have two pieces of private ground to hunt. One I've hunted since 1999, the other 2005. My spots are my spots and there is no real reason to change them. I'm ready to challenge myself to harvest my first ever deer off public ground and to do so, I have to explore and assess new properties, something I really enjoy and haven't done in some time. As a taxpayer, I have the same right to kill a deer as the next guy and I plan to exercise that right. If that is an issue for someone, I encourage them to articulate an argument that will sway my belief. And if someone wants to make the one mile walk to the spot I have picked and beat me to it, they're free to do so.
Click to expand...

I commend you for this Jesse. I TOO like learning new ground and honing in on basic hunting skills. I think this is something that fades a bit when you know a property or properties so well. I try to make a few public land hunts each year and actually killed my biggest buck to date on state land.
 
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