Whew, what a trip!!! We pretty much documented the entire thing with pictures. Even though we started out filming, the video basically suck and isn't worth sharing. I figured I tell the story through photo's. So hear goes:
We rented an old farmhouse to use as basecamp.
Even though it wasn't much to look at, it was warm and had a great view right outside the front porch! This was the sunrise the first morning. We slept in to get sme scouting done and hang a few sets.
After awakening to such a beautiful sunrise, we went looking for some deer sign (pun intended). This signpost rub has been around for a long time. I take a look a it every year and don't expect for it to be there much longer. They've shredded the diameter by half in the last 4 years.
I started out as camera man but the hunting was slow. Afer the first 2 hunts, we decided to split up because of high winds that were forecasted the next several days. We figured we would double our odds then the one that tagged first would be camera man for the rest of the hunt.
Ofcourse, the first evening we were split up, my buddy Dave W. arrowed his first pope and young! Oh, he was a mere 3 feet from the decoy, bristled up about to attack, talk about a missed video opp!
Ofcourse every good deer can be made better with a little trick photography and a stiff arm! lol
Just in time for Dave W. To get in the camera stand, we had some nasty winds blow in, 35mph sustained winds and 55 mph gust!
We decided to take pics of the country side rather than brave the elements!
2 days of high winds leaves you exhausted and wind burnt, this is what you look like the next day....
Friday the winds started dying and my buddy that lives out there managed to take this fully mature 10 pointer just 200 yards from his house. This guy is pushing 160 about as hard as possible.
After Tony's success, we were determined to get a picture of a big buck we saw that had been using one of the farms we were using. This deer easily pushed 160 so we surrounded him with trail cams and got pics of a few nice deer but not the big one. This is still the best deer I've gotten on camera.
this big 6 and I would eventually have a run in that didn't end well for either of us. His pictures do not do the deer justice. He's WIDE with 7-8" brows shaped like texas longhorn horns. The pics didn't do it for me, and neither did a distant sighting, but when he responded to my grunting and ended up in my lap, it was more than I could take.
Unfortunately I was off my mark and a day and a half was spent searching for him. A decent blood trail eventually sent us searching in circles and no recovery was made. I was disgusted! A fully mature buck and the first deer I've ever lost. I was not a happy camper!
The search for the big 6 turned up several sheds including these 2 6 point sides
Once we gave up on the search for the big 6, we got back to hunting. This evening hunt required us to trim a few limbs which turned to instant salad bar for this doe fawn
I passed on this young 8 at a mere 8 yards. Also let a heck of a 10 walk that day as well. He was only 2 and will be a true world class deer if he makes it to 4. Unfortunately no pics and only out of focus video.
The next few hunts were pretty much uneventful. A few decent deer seen, but no bruisers. I had my heart set on killing my first p&y but weather ranging from 75 degree highs to 55 mph winds to freezing rains to severe lightning storms made the conditions harsh. We decided tuesday would be the last day in the stand. We still hadn't hunted my favorite spot. The perfect wind never presented itself. On the last morning we decided to risk it and slip in with a N wind when ideally we woulda had NW. We were willing to take the risk on the last day, but not before. It paid off with a very deceiving 8 pointer. This guy came in to check a couple does and responded well to a few grunts and 2 well timed snort wheezes. He shrank a bit when I walked up on him, but he's at the taxidermist none the less. He ended a hard fought battle between me and the weather. I'll call it a draw sense we both walked away with nice bucks, but the weather kept us from reaching out filming goals.
It was a rough hunt, but one that will stick with me for years to come. I knew the easy KS hunts had to end soon ,I was just hoping it would be a few years down the road!
Oh, if you want to know what a new F150 looks like after some rain in KS and a 1/4 mile trip down a black mud road looks like, well look no further. I didn't think we would make it out alive! lol! We were trying to get to one of our spots to pull steps, I guess they'll still be there next year....
Home from my Kansas hunt (lots of pics)
