LIVE from the Stand!

[Vermonter]

Anyone ever shoot a squrill with a 270? I'm seriously considering it

[Brian Pfleuger]

Originally Posted by Vermonter

Anyone ever shoot a squrill with a 270? I'm seriously considering it

12ga slug once, never a 270.


Ok... I'm LIVE from the stand again! Jumped a big doe on the way in. Just had a whole flock of turkeys not 10 yards away. Saw them going away from me at about 100 yards. Just for fun I looked up some turkeys sounds on google and played a couple. The whole flock came over! Mostly toms/jakes. I didn't see a single one without a beard, though there probably are a few in there.


Anyway, here I am!

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&q=42.502328,-76.458385

Looking for doe only, a real rarity for me!

[Vermonter]

U are truly a smart phone hunter. I wouldn't think to google turkey sounds.

[Brian Pfleuger]

I'm thinking my map link doesn't show my exact location?

There are some fields to the north, I am 150-ish yards east of the northern most field, roughly centered n/s.

The golden hour begins!

[slammedsi]

I'm back in the stand. If I knew how to upload my location I would. I feel I got here to early but the hunters almanac shows today to be a good day. Will update shortly

[Vermonter]

Saw 3 deer 1I think was a buck couldnt see head 2 were doe. Driving home had two doe cross the road so that makes 5 total. If vermont had rifle doe tags my freezer would need a brother. Tommorrow is another day. Congrats to those who were successful and good luck to those going out tomorrow.

[Brian Pfleuger]

So, I had a small doe bed down just 40 yards from me, right in the open woods. First time I've seen that. She was on the other side of a swampy area and never got closer. I saw a buck out in one of the fields chasing does around. Wouldn't have known what they were doing except my uncle was much closer to them than I.

I'll be LIVE from the stand again tomorrow PM.

[slammedsi]

Well had some decent luck tonight. Tried the rattle bag tonight with good results. First buck to come in was a smallish 10 point. While he was grazing on wheat i had another buck come in. He was a 140ish class 12. Was going to take a shot on him as he walked closer to my comfort zone. I spotted a good sized 8 point come in. And you all know how i dislike 8 points. So he got a healthy dose of 257 Weatheby mag. 188 Yards, Shoulder shot and ran maybe 15 yards before he hit the dirt.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Nice!

[Elkins45]

Not hunting the early morning today, but will go out in a bit.

I stopped counting at 18 I saw yesterday, and at least 6 of them presented me with perfect broadside shots. I've already taken a doe during the early muzzle loader season so I'm going to try for a buck until maybe the last few days of the season where I might take another doe for canning meat over the winter.

Saw three deer with antlers: a spike, a big six point and one I couldn't count but that didn't look giant. I could have hit the spike with a slingshot and the six was in hot pursuit of a disinterested doe so he was kind of oblivious to his surroundings.

[Vermonter]

Got the lady out with me. Watching a field and bedding where I saw deer yesterday. Left a snack in the field hopefully Bobby the buck comes to say hello.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Cool! I'm going to get my wife to go again sometime. She went a few years ago, once. It was cold and rainy and she was very wiggly. Now I have a blind so she can wiggle all she wants.

Shoot something!


I'm back, LIVE in the same tree from which I posted the picture of the spike a couple weeks back.

I figured out a better way to show where I am.... Screen Shot!

[Brian Pfleuger]

Well, no luck tonight. Didn't see a thing.

[Vermonter]

Saw nothing but a game warden. He was a bit gruff but obviously no tickets etc. The work week starts however i might be live from my back yard a few times this week.

[slammedsi]

This is killing me. Monday was my return to work day. My week if vacation was over. Now I'm biting at the bits to get back in the blinds. I have one doe and one buck tag let. Come on weekend.

[rickyrick]

People around here swear up and down its the moon....

maybe start a poll and see what everyone thinks

[Major Dave (retired)]

Sneaking and peeking Bannister WMA, 30 miles east of Lufkin, TX.

Actually got to the campground Wednesday, after dark. Didn't bring any kind of stand or blind, planned to just poke around anything thick, looking for bedded deer.

Woke up Thurs morn, at first light. Slept inside my P/U truck, in the bucket seat layed back almost flat, wrapped in a sleeping bag. Overnight low was low 30's, full moon was so bright it woke me up several times, shining in my eyes.

Sitting in the truck eating a cold breakfast (bagel and banana), when I saw the first deer of the day - a doe - mincing along about 20 yards away, in the camp ground. I didn't have any lights on, and the motor wasn't running, so she never alerted or alarmed. She disappeared into the chest high grass growing in the dried up lake bed. We are having a bad drought, and you could walk out onto the lake bed 200 to 300 yards from the normal shore line!

Ten minutes later, driving out of the camp grounds, I saw the second deer - a small buck - running alongside the road with white flag flying, then across the road and disappeared into the woods.

Third deer was after I spent about 4 hours slowly working through the hunting area. Apparently I made too much noise walking, as it busted out about 75 yards in front of me, and kinda sneaked away (no white flag) to my right, at a right angle to my line of travel. Couldn't see the head clearly, so don't know buck/doe.

I immediately sat down on the folding stool I was carrying slung over one shoulder, and remained seated and motionless for 15 minutes. Since it had rained about 48 hours earlier, the leaves were somewhat quiet to walk through, the wind was in my favor, and the deer was seemingly not alarmed enough to run, so I figured I still had a chance at it.

After 15 minutes, I started creeping slowly at a right angle to my previous line of travel, and continued for half an hour (moved about 50 yards), until I came to a creek. The creek was oriented north/south (with a lot of twists and turns), and it had 10 to 20 foot tall banks, and mostly dry. About every 50 yards I would find a bathtub sized puddle of water.

So, I continued northward, along the creek bank, still hoping to find the deer I had spooked earlier.

Never did happen.

About 3:30 pm, I reached the north boundary of the WMA, turned west, and sneaked quietly along the boundary fence about 100 yards. Found a tuft of deer hair caught on a barb of the lowest strand of barbed wire fence. It indicated the deer had traveled from the private land onto the WMA.

Turned South, realizing that I had that north wind (5 to 10 MPH) at my back, now. That meant that the only deer that wouldn't scent me were those to my right (west), or far left. Since I am a leftie, my natural rifle carry and shooting direction is muzzle right of my line of travel.

About 100 yards south of the north border, I decided to sit, back to a very large oak tree. After sitting about 15 minutes (enough time for the woods to get still after me moving around), I decided to use my rattle bag and grunt tube.

After about 2 minutes of combined rattling/grunting, I stopped and waited. All was quiet, nothing stirring.....THEN.....there HE was, trotting out of the high weeds from the west. High stepping...almost prancing...ears forward...head held high....on alert....ready to whip some butt!!

Stopped 20 yards away.

SOMETHING wrong. Didn't know what.

Eight point. Perfectly symmetrical. Beautiful. Calendar pose!! Broadside!

2 1/2 years old.

We have antler restrictions in most East Texas counties. Inside spread must be beyond the tips of the ears in the alert position.

Due to the terrible drought this year, along with 90 summer days at 100 degree and more temps, this grand young buck's inside spread was EVEN with his ear tips.

"Well, Mr. Game Warden, he sure LOOKED legal to me, don'tcha think?"

"Gimme that rifle....put on these handcuffs!"

Goodbye, young buck - See 'ya next year! Oh, by the way, is your Dad around here somewhere? How about Grandpaw?

He did teach me two things, though.

1. ALWAYS "brush in" when you don't have a blind to sit in.

2. NEVER lay your rifle down in your lap and relax after a rattle/grunt tube session.

[shortwave]

People around here swear up and down its the moon

Here in Ohio, its been crazy hot. We've had daytime temps pushing 70 degrees with high warm winds and some nights not dropping below 50. A buddy and I were talking and neither of us have seen anything to speak of since last Sat. morning.
He said he saw an average 8 point trotting across a mowed cornfield last Sat about 11 am that literally looked like it had rabies. He said the bucks tongue was hanging out and he had white foamy saliva wrapped around his snout,dripping from muzzle. No does in sight, just lathered up from running in the heat.

The heat has made it rather hard for me to predict just how close the rut is to peaking as most movement has been happening at night.
Anyone around Ohio got any thoughts?

Tonights suppose to cool off nicely with more seasonal temps expected through this weekend.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Nice write up, Major Dave! Thanks! Better luck next time.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Here I am again, LIVE from the stand! For the final time before gun season.

[mapsjanhere]

How many tags do you get in NY? Here it's one and out.

[Brian Pfleuger]

I have 4 I can use during bow and muzzleloader. Two of those (antlerless) can be used in gun, plus one more buck tag for gun only. Plus, with this Cornell program I can get up to 4 of their management permits for antlerless only.
In my hunting party we have something like 30 tags among 6 people, some transferable some not. That doesn't count the Cornell tags which would theoretically put us at around 46.

Typically, we end up killing 6 or 8 deer total. This year has been slow so far... only 2. Last year at this time we had like 5 I think.

[stu925]

This year I got 1 buck tag, 2 DMP tags (only one of which is for the primary WMU that I hunt) and one Muzzleloader tag. This seems to be about the norm with our group except I'm the only one hunting with a muzzleloader I think. So maybe 16 tags between the 4 of us. One of the guys I hunt with called yesterday to tell me I probably should hunt out of his son's stand since his son is at college, never hunted out of the stand before, but it's on the edge of the property and the orange horde will be pushing them up the hill towards that stand. Hopefully it'll be productive.

Stu

[Legionnaire]

I'm still following the thread. I'm headed up to CNY this evening and should be on stand tomorrow a.m. Plan to post from the stand, assuming there is cell coverage.

In answer to the question on tags, I have three NY tags myself ... one buck, and two DMP tags, one each for the two units I hunt in. Also have one DMP tag legally transferred to me by my son, who has decided not to hunt this year (job's keeping him busy). But I don't have any intention of trying to fill them all.

Here in PA I received two tags: one buck and one antlerless. Already took my doe during the early muzzleloader season.

[ithicashooter]

well i am here in indiana and we havent seen anything to speek of in almost a month. we have had 65+ degree days with 35 to 30 mph winds. but tomorrow is another day. i will post tomorrow from the stand.