2017/2018

[InstinctiveArcher]

Nice deer!

Finally had some rut activity today. Had bucks chasing does around me all morning but only saw two confirmed shooters. Almost shot a doe (yeah, it's the rut I know, read my signature ) but that didn't pan out. It sure gets my heart pounding when I hear grunting and crashing coming my way. Gonna be at it bright and early again tomorrow morning!

[officialwafflez]

Paul thats a stud.

[InstinctiveArcher]

Well, tonight was one of those nights that every hunter has and every hunter wants to forget. The weather was beautiful, 5 inches of fresh snow, clear skies, and temperatures in the low 20's. After being on stand for 30 minutes I heard something coming behind me. I couldn't believe it when a coyote that I've nicknamed Red stepped out. We've been "feuding" for 5 years and he's always come out on top. He trotted right out in front of me at 10 yards before I had my bow ready. By the time I was set, he had moved to a point where his vitals were just clear of a birch tree. I drew back and shot, and watched as the arrow caught a loose flap of birch bark and shaved hair off of Reds back. I couldn't believe I had missed such an easy shot. I sat down and waited for something else to come through, at 5:30 I heard something walking to my right. I slowly stood up and faced that way, but as I did I caught movement out of the corner of my eye as a buck slipped through my shooting lane to the left. In my mind I only saw a spike, but when he turned and walked back, I saw 4 on one of his antlers. As I tried to turn, he caught me at 10 yards. I couldn't do anything and he turned and ran out, then stopped and turned broadside. I shouldn't have done it, but I was so worked up over him being right there that I drew and shot an arrow at him. It was well past 25 yards and I watched as the arrow arced perfectly through the air, only to hit him in the leg, about 5 inches lower than I wanted. I heard a crack as the arrow hit and he turned and tore out of there as fast as he could. I feel absolutely sick about it. To run salt in the wound, as I climbed down out of my stand, the big buck that I've been after was standing 20 yards away watching me. I just can't win.

[Violator31]

I tried my "Boss Buck" decoy for the 1st time. The rut is heating up around here.
Once I got the climber to the height I wanted I saw that I had the decoy a little closer than I thought I was setting it up. Looks further away on the ground I guess. I decided to just leave it there instead of messing around with all the equipment, so I stayed put.
I was down on the bottom land right next to the river. There is a nice steep (not too steep though) ridge & about 60-80 yards of nice flat ground between the ridge base & the river. This area stretches for about half a mile. And a little more than half of that is land I can hunt. I saw movement about 100 yards away, it didn't take long to see that it was a buck. He stopped to freshen up a scrape next to a creek that feeds into the river (I'm putting a camera there tomorrow). As he was moving closer he spotted the decoy & stopped. Stood there for a while & kept coming.
I lost him in some thick brush but I twisted around in the stand as best I could to prepare for a shot. I heard on a hunting show that does usually come in on a decoy from the rear & bucks usually come in head on. Well, this guy didn't watch that episode. By the time he cleared the brush he was to my left & I had to readjust but I didn't have enough time before he was at an angle to tight to shoot. He kept going until he was almost right behind me (you know the spot - right where, in the game, the avatar starts dry humping the tree)(I didn't - I swear). He stood there staring back at the decoy for quite a while. I was able to sneak the grunt tube up & give him a shout. It didn't even phase him. Pretty soon he was satisfied & had seen enough & moved on.
He was a BRUTE. The rack was as wide as his ears & curled out past his nose with TALL tines & thick bases.
I WILL be right back in the tree in about 5 & a half hours. They use that runway a lot this time of year (once the crops are taken out).

[gas56]

Went out on November 9th scouting again,... I didn't get out of the back yard and took a picture of a doe and a fox squirrel eating acorns.
But I'm looking for a big buck, and It's the last day before it snows tomorrow, so I wanted to sit in the tree stand awhile and watch for deer
in the soybean field awhile before dark to see what's tromping about.

This is a buck clump

How I missed this rub the 1st time I went out scouting IDK,... but it's right off the trail.

A lot of deer sign around this old gas well clearing

Heading toward my tree stand I find another bigger rub, seems like this is the way this buck heads toward the soybean field

I'm up in my tree stand now and there's only about another 30 minutes of light left

On the far side of the field a doe emerges and I didn't even see it come out of the brush

It doesn't take long and it's joined by another 2 does

Almost sunset and a small 8 point comes around to smell my doe scent,... he doesn't stay long and makes his way toward the does on the other side of the field.
The one doe is in estrous as she holds her tail high a lot and the buck chases her around the field in the fading light. I wait until pitch dark and then head up
to the house.

as I'm walking up I think about one of the big bucks that hangs around this area but I haven't seen it so far, but I got a photo my sister took of it across the road last Janruary after the
hunting season was over and it's still been seen around this summer & early fall, I just hope we run across each others path before another hunter but it didn't survive this
long because it was careless.

[Tanngnjostr]

Oh wow, that buck in the last picture looks big!

[gas56]

Oh wow, that buck in the last picture looks big!

Yeah,.. it's a big boy, body and rack. She said she took the picture just as the other buck took a step and blocked its head & smaller rack behind the tree.
They didn't stay there very long and I think they wanted to come over and eat some of the cut field corn kernals on this side of the road,
but my sister said they ran off when they finally saw her.

[InstinctiveArcher]

Looks like you've got some good ones there Gas. Hope you connect soon.

Tonight was a sad night. It started when I got to the back of the pasture and saw blood and drag marks from the swamp. My cousin hunts a short ways away and we have an agreement that we can recover deer off each other's property. Turns out he shot the big one I've been after. It was the first time he's hunted this year. Got it with a crossbow too
I just can't win this year

[gas56]

Looks like you've got some good ones there Gas. Hope you connect soon.

Tonight was a sad night. It started when I got to the back of the pasture and saw blood and drag marks from the swamp. My cousin hunts a short ways away and we have an agreement that we can recover deer off each other's property. Turns out he shot the big one I've been after. It was the first time he's hunted this year. Got it with a crossbow too
I just can't win this year

One thing about bow hunting and the rut is that the more you're out there then the more you are going to be presented with a shot.
Because a lot of Bucks travel out of there area looking for a doe that you may not ever of seen them before in your neck of the woods.
I can remember times where I've seen big bucks during the rut come ambling along in all times of the day during the rut at a lot of places I've hunted before.
Some presented me with shots and some I couldn't get a decent shot off at all. But I would use all the tricks I could think of to bring them
around to my stand for any of them crossing the area. Doe in heat pads on my boots and circle the realm of my hunting area back to my stand, fake buck scrapes, calling, rattling,.. you name it.
Sometimes they would bring a buck in, sometimes the buck doesn't want to leave the side of a estrous doe though, so going to where you will find the does may be the better spot at the moment if you're only after a certain buck. And it only takes a few minutes when you will see a big buck and that's the time you want to be there,.... hunt all day long.
Yeah I know certain hunts where I just knew that certain buck would be mine, but in reality it didn't work out that way all the time, especially when other hunters are out there hunting too.
Keep positive and you never know what will show up the next time you're in your stand to get that shot off.
lots of great hunting luck to you! ...............GAS

[Djehmli]

In Michigan, Bow season has been open for about a month, and rifle season opens in two days. My nephew got this buck a little over a week ago with his crossbow.



Click thumbnail (s) for larger image.

We have hunter cam's all over the property, a couple images below from earlier this year in August, as to what we are looking forward to harvesting