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Jesse's Off Season Thread

bowhunter1023

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Appalachia
Drove out to my uncle's where I do the occasional hunting in the fall and was pleased to see about 15 acres of beans where there has always been hay. The neighbor down the road planted it this year and I have no doubts it will drastically improve the hunting out there. There is one inside corner where we always see deer and the same neighbor just dumped over a ton of old corn right there. So I'm headed out there with a cam in a day or two to see what is out there. Another neighbor had pics of a 21" wide 8 last year that survived, so I hope to get pics of him!!!
 

bowhunter1023

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I had one pic of who I believed to be Captain Jack back in June, but nothing since. I've done some investigating and I believe Moe either died and no one found him, or he was poached. I talked to all the local hunters I trust to tell me the truth and none of them had seen him, much less shot at him. The deer spent parts of 14 consecutive months on our farm, then vanished like a fart in the wind. I have no doubts he is dead, but I have no idea how or where he was killed...
 

hickslawns

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Not cool on the Moe front. Hopefully you are pleasantly surprised. If not, hopefully the wide 8pt shows. Good luck!
 

cotty16

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Yeah, that sucks big time.

I'm kind of in the same boat with Brother (the twin of my 2011 buck). If you remember, I was getting pretty regular pics of him during the pre-rut and then... poof! Gone.
He hasn't sufaced since then. I fear he is dead as well.
 
I had one pic of who I believed to be Captain Jack back in June, but nothing since. I've done some investigating and I believe Moe either died and no one found him, or he was poached. I talked to all the local hunters I trust to tell me the truth and none of them had seen him, much less shot at him. The deer spent parts of 14 consecutive months on our farm, then vanished like a fart in the wind. I have no doubts he is dead, but I have no idea how or where he was killed...

Can't help but think back when you thought you found his antlers at a taxi shop.....with a WV tag on them......ugh!!! Think you know where I am going with that..........
 

bowhunter1023

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I do, but I'm positive it wasn't him. Very, very close. However the junk was on the wrong side. But damn if my stomach didn't drop to my toes at first glance!!!
 

Rutin

Senior Member
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Ina Duck Blind
That blows man! I had the same thing happen last year with a buck I called Pinnacle. Chaised him for 3.5 years and now hes gone with no trace of him anywhere, deer still haunts me!
 

bowhunter1023

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Appalachia
I found enough acorns tonight to make my year! I'll put the binos on them next time to verify what I saw tonight, by the two biggest white oaks near a new stand I want to hang are fairly full. The stand sits on an inside corner of a ridge top corn field, with a steep ditch behind me that pinches deer into the field, or within 20 yards of the stand. I'll have shots to the field edge and the best fence crossing along the ridge. I have access in from the bottom along an old road. I had a stand here once and hunted it once and I think I really over looked how good a spot it really is. I'm pretty excited to get it hung!!!
 

bowhunter1023

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Appalachia
I did some more thinking about this stand I picked out last night and spent a little time on Google Maps laying out pics and encounters. I know I've been missing something all along out there and I really think I found it this time around. With the corn and acorns up there this year, things should really be hot on that ridge. The plan is to hang a stick and Millennium set, then leave it be until the third week of October. Sure hope a plan of mine finally works out because I feel really good about this stand!!!
 

RedCloud

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North Central Ohio
Sounds like a great setup to me man. Have a cam in there yet ?

I don't know about your corn crop down there but if it stays this dry up here I think the corn around my spots will be gone by the first couple weeks of October if not before. Should still get them staging in the white oaks before heading into the picked corn to scrounge up a few mouth fulls of corn left behind.
 

bowhunter1023

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Appalachia
We've had a decent amount of rain in the past couple of weeks, so out corn looks good and should stay up long enough to help the deer herd get through the season. Normally I hate hunting corn, but I'm all about it this year.

As for cams, I have 3 cams along that ridge right now. I'm going to start a mock scrape near this stand with that preorbital gland stuff I bought last year next cam check. Once I get my stands hung and plots in, I'll move cams to a perimeter around that stand to see what I can expect...
 

bowhunter1023

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Appalachia
My season may have taken a major turn tonight and in a great way! There is a farm around 250 acres near me that I've had my eye on of late. I have a good in and it turns out that no one really bow hunts it. I guess one other guy has permission to bow hunt, but rarely does. The rest that have permission just gun hunt and supposedly, even that pressure is light. It's an operating farm, so it's a mix of crops and fence row. The farm that butts up to this one, once held a deer of epic proportions and I have zero doubts this farm I may be hunting possesses the kind of deer I dream of. I will find out next week if I'm in or not and then it'll be time to hang some cams!!!

I'm pretty fuggin stoked right now!!!
 

hickslawns

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I told you not to worry. Jesse doing what Jesse does. Finding the big buck deerz before the season starts! Good luck man!