2017/2018

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InstinctiveArcher
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Re: 2017/2018

Post by InstinctiveArcher »

gas56 wrote:
InstinctiveArcher wrote:Ha! Got this photo thing figured out again. Here's a pic without having to look at the link.

Image
Hey great you got a buck!
I'm into the 3rd day of gun season and haven't got a shot off yet, though I've seen a few bucks, but nothing real big, forkhorns & small 6 points.
The weather is taking its toll on me,.. so I may have to shoot one soon while I still can...... :lol:
I hope you get one. Is that big one that you posted the picture of earlier still running around down there? The weather up here has been really weird. It was 57 yesterday.
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gas56
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Re: 2017/2018

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InstinctiveArcher wrote:Is that big one that you posted the picture of earlier still running around down there? The weather up here has been really weird. It was 57 yesterday.
I haven't seen that big one while hunting at all, but today I jumped a real nice buck out of it's bed.... so I may have to play a whole different strategy tomorrow to get a still shot.
I just have to figure out how to get the deer out of the 30 acre brush thicket that one of the neighbor owns.......... that I can't hunt :roll: :lol:
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InstinctiveArcher
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Re: 2017/2018

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gas56 wrote:
InstinctiveArcher wrote:Is that big one that you posted the picture of earlier still running around down there? The weather up here has been really weird. It was 57 yesterday.
I haven't seen that big one while hunting at all, but today I jumped a real nice buck out of it's bed.... so I may have to play a whole different strategy tomorrow to get a still shot.
I just have to figure out how to get the deer out of the 30 acre brush thicket that the neighbor owns.......... :roll:
Tell the neighbor his dog is loose and just ran into that brush thicket. Then when he goes in after the dog, he pushes everything out to you. If he doesn't have a dog, then I'm out of ideas :lol:

Tonight was the last night of our rifle season, and although I didn't see any deer, I got the biggest adrenaline rush I've had all season. I was going up a ridge to watch an area where some big valleys come together forming a decent funnel that the deer like to use. It was super windy, and even though the leaves were crunchy, I didn't think that anything would hear me walk in. Unfortunately I was right. The ridge was pretty steep, and about halfway along the top, it gets a very sharp incline that goes up about 15 feet to a ledge. When I reached this point, I was practically on my hands and knees crawling up this slope. As I reached the edge of the ledge, I heard a crash followed by a loud wuff. I looked up and found myself in the worst possible situation one can find himself in around here. I had stumbled literally right on top of a black bear sow and two cubs. In the wind, they had never heard me coming and I had ended up at what I later paced off at 12 yards. The two big bear rules are don't mess with a sow with cubs and don't surprise a bear. I had just broken both rules. She began popping her jaws and making the nastiest sounds I've ever heard a bear make. Her cubs had run up a tree at the first wuff. I was not exactly in a favorable position to defend myself with my rifle in one hand and a handful of turf in the other. I really don't recall a whole of of what happened next. All I know is that I somehow got my gun up, the scope cranked way down, and the safety off as she kept snarling and slapping the ground with her paws. I started yelling at her and slowly backing back down the ridge, praying that I didn't trip and fall over backwards. The edge was so steep that I only needed to take two steps and she was out of sight. Those next few steps were awful, expecting at any second to see a black bulk come flying over the edge at me. I kept backing up, listening to the sounds from above me. I was able to see the cubs since they were up a tree, and they watched me intently as I went. When I got back about 30 yards, it suddenly got very quiet above me. Then there was a huff and in unison both cubs slid down the tree. Then there was a tremendous amount of crashing as they ran off the backside of the ridge.
As odd as it sounds, throughout the whole ordeal I never really felt scared. I had so much adrenaline running through me and so many thoughts racing through my head that I guess I forgot fear. As soon as they ran though, it got me and my legs started knocking pretty good. I eventually climbed back up and found where they had burrowed into the leaves and bedded up for the day. It smelled pretty rank. I spent the rest of the evening hunt standing there, not really caring to go any further up the ridge. I've been in a few pretty hairy bear encounters (no pun intended), but this one definitely takes the cake. I'm just glad to have walked away from that one the way I did. And with that, another Michigan firearm season is in the books. Muzzleloader starts Saturday for a little over a week, then back to bow.
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Tanngnjostr
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Re: 2017/2018

Post by Tanngnjostr »

Sounds like a story to tell your grandkids once you got some. :o :? Glad to hear you're well, Trenton!
InstinctiveArcher wrote:It smelled pretty rank.
Yeah, that smell probably came from your pants. :lol:
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Re: 2017/2018

Post by Knut »

Woooh, that's a brown trouser moment to remember! Kudos for you handling the situation so well.
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Re: 2017/2018

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Tanngnjostr wrote:Sounds like a story to tell your grandkids once you got some. :o :? Glad to hear you're well, Trenton!
InstinctiveArcher wrote:It smelled pretty rank.
Yeah, that smell probably came from your pants. :lol:
Thankfully not. I might start carrying a spare pair in my hunting pack though just in case. :lol:
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gas56
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Re: 2017/2018

Post by gas56 »

InstinctiveArcher wrote:
gas56 wrote:
InstinctiveArcher wrote:Is that big one that you posted the picture of earlier still running around down there? The weather up here has been really weird. It was 57 yesterday.
I haven't seen that big one while hunting at all, but today I jumped a real nice buck out of it's bed.... so I may have to play a whole different strategy tomorrow to get a still shot.
I just have to figure out how to get the deer out of the 30 acre brush thicket that the neighbor owns.......... :roll:
Tell the neighbor his dog is loose and just ran into that brush thicket. Then when he goes in after the dog, he pushes everything out to you. If he doesn't have a dog, then I'm out of ideas :lol:

Tonight was the last night of our rifle season, and although I didn't see any deer, I got the biggest adrenaline rush I've had all season. I was going up a ridge to watch an area where some big valleys come together forming a decent funnel that the deer like to use. It was super windy, and even though the leaves were crunchy, I didn't think that anything would hear me walk in. Unfortunately I was right. The ridge was pretty steep, and about halfway along the top, it gets a very sharp incline that goes up about 15 feet to a ledge. When I reached this point, I was practically on my hands and knees crawling up this slope. As I reached the edge of the ledge, I heard a crash followed by a loud wuff. I looked up and found myself in the worst possible situation one can find himself in around here. I had stumbled literally right on top of a black bear sow and two cubs. In the wind, they had never heard me coming and I had ended up at what I later paced off at 12 yards. The two big bear rules are don't mess with a sow with cubs and don't surprise a bear. I had just broken both rules. She began popping her jaws and making the nastiest sounds I've ever heard a bear make. Her cubs had run up a tree at the first wuff. I was not exactly in a favorable position to defend myself with my rifle in one hand and a handful of turf in the other. I really don't recall a whole of of what happened next. All I know is that I somehow got my gun up, the scope cranked way down, and the safety off as she kept snarling and slapping the ground with her paws. I started yelling at her and slowly backing back down the ridge, praying that I didn't trip and fall over backwards. The edge was so steep that I only needed to take two steps and she was out of sight. Those next few steps were awful, expecting at any second to see a black bulk come flying over the edge at me. I kept backing up, listening to the sounds from above me. I was able to see the cubs since they were up a tree, and they watched me intently as I went. When I got back about 30 yards, it suddenly got very quiet above me. Then there was a huff and in unison both cubs slid down the tree. Then there was a tremendous amount of crashing as they ran off the backside of the ridge.
As odd as it sounds, throughout the whole ordeal I never really felt scared. I had so much adrenaline running through me and so many thoughts racing through my head that I guess I forgot fear. As soon as they ran though, it got me and my legs started knocking pretty good. I eventually climbed back up and found where they had burrowed into the leaves and bedded up for the day. It smelled pretty rank. I spent the rest of the evening hunt standing there, not really caring to go any further up the ridge. I've been in a few pretty hairy bear encounters (no pun intended), but this one definitely takes the cake. I'm just glad to have walked away from that one the way I did. And with that, another Michigan firearm season is in the books. Muzzleloader starts Saturday for a little over a week, then back to bow.
Wow! that would have been an adrenaline rusher with an encounter that close...... :lol:
Something like hat happened to me when I was around 18,.. but I'll tell you at a later date.
Kudos for your correct response,.. but it could have gone the wrong way also... so thank God for that!
The day before yesterday I found a dead doe on the edge of the soybean field with a shot front broken leg,.. it probably came from on State property across the road the 1st day of gun season
because it was stiff as a rock when I moved it off the path and something had been eating on it when I saw it going up for lunch that day. But when I going up that night I heard something
growling in the dark towards that direction, and I figured it was a black bear from the sound of it. So I was extra careful with my hand on my pistol all the way back to the house....lol
I had some bad luck yesterday climbing up into my hunting platform. Probably as you know as our weather isn't much different then yours that it was pretty cold and had rained the night before, and everything froze by morning. I started climbing the old steel antenna tower that I use as a ladder to get up into the platform which is about 15 feet high. I made it up about half-way and I slipped on the icy rung and lost my grasp and fell down and hitting the ground on my right foot then slammed into the ground on my back. I layed there for a minute making sure I was alright, then climbed back into the platform this time making sure my feet were solid without slipping. It was really foggy and cold and I had no deer show up by 9:13 into the finger of woods by the brush thicket, so my plan was to set a trap by laying down a doe in heat trail on the pads of my boots and making a circle around the bedding area after all the ice melted when the leaves were wet.
I circled the woodlots and I kicked up 3 deer still feeding on acorns heading to the bedding area before I could get all the way around to start laying down the scent trail.
It's some pretty rough ground and believe it or not my right ankle got twisted on a bad step, partially I think I had hurt it from the fall earlier and just aggravated it more. I was still able to
walk so I finished my plan and layed down the doe in heat scent trail back to the scrape by my stand. I stayed in the stand until after dark but by then I could hardly walk and I limped all the way back up to the house. So it looks like I might not be able to hunt and miss the last 2 days of gun season. Sometimes getting old is like waiting for health problems to hit you,.. but if I can at least limp back to the stand I hope I can try on the last day,.. but it doesn't look good.
The thing about it is I layed down my trap and I can't be there to see it through. It's all private property so the deer aren't as spooked as the deer across the road are from all the hunters.
Most of the deer think this is a safe haven in that bedding area that is why it is loaded with deer, beds and tons of cow paths.
If I can't get out tomorrow the bonus gun hunt weekend comes up in a couple of weeks, maybe I will get a much needed break, but hopefully not my leg......... ;)
Last edited by gas56 on December 2nd, 2017, 5:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Dirtclod
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Re: 2017/2018

Post by Dirtclod »

Damn guys close sow bear encounter and falling off a stand ladder! My season seems like a stroll in the park. Glad you both came out well.
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InstinctiveArcher
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Re: 2017/2018

Post by InstinctiveArcher »

Dang Gas, glad you're ok! Treestand falls can be nasty! Once those bars gets iced up they are a slick as snot!
Hope you get a chance to put your tag on one!

Someone decided to have a Christmas party today, the first day of muzzleloader season. No matter how much I begged and pleaded, I ended up getting stuffed into a suit and tie as opposed to my camouflage. :(
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gas56
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Re: 2017/2018

Post by gas56 »

InstinctiveArcher wrote:Dang Gas, glad you're ok! Treestand falls can be nasty! Once those bars gets iced up they are a slick as snot!
Hope you get a chance to put your tag on one!

Someone decided to have a Christmas party today, the first day of muzzleloader season. No matter how much I begged and pleaded, I ended up getting stuffed into a suit and tie as opposed to my camouflage. :(
I don't know what's worse,... can't getting into the woods because you get hurt, or other obligations that take precedence over hunting.
All I got on my mind is getting a buck,.. but I'm still pretty lame so I guess I have to do something else indoors for the next few days to keep my mind occupied....
but that's gonna be pretty hard to do. And guess what? on the 17th I have a Christmas party to go to also,.. and it just happens to be on the Deer Gun Bonus Weekend of the 17th & 18th,..
If that don't beat all :evil: At least I will get to hunt on the 18th as far as I know.
Anyways now that I got some time on my hands here's a few photos I took with my Nikon in November.
This 7 point buck I saw a couple of times in the old pasture hanging out with a few Does after that 1st snow we got.
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5 point buck
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6 point buck
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Another 6 point buck with a high rack
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An 8 point buck after a hot doe that may get a better rack next year
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These deer were bedded down in the neighbors front field as I was leaving the farm. Sometimes you never know what you'll see.
Image
Last edited by gas56 on December 3rd, 2017, 12:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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