Well, I'm back from my second seasongun weekend. (Didn't go out for the first one.)
Not only did I not get a deer, not take a shot, and not even see a deer during hunting hours, but it was actually worse than that. I ended up on the wrong side of a deer drive, and was sick for two days.
The landowner had invited me out and said I could hunt2 of his properties and just wanted me to blast any coyotes I saw in return. (Cool, more shooting.) I brought the bowfishing bow too for some show and tell since his grandkids want to learn to hunt and fish.
I was hoping to nail a deer or yote early on in the weekend so I had some bait to lay out for more yotes after dark. Didn't happen.
The trip started Thursday nightin the snowstorm from heck. I headed west all the way across the Northern part of the state with 25 mph winds and drifting snow. I can't tell you how many cars I saw in the ditch since I stopped counting after 20. I did manage to get one drunk driver off the road by calling the police and following her until the cops caught up when she exited. I have no tollerance for that kind of crap, and I'll even get to my hunting spot late to get one arrested.
Anyway, the first morning I was beat from the drive and got up late, but was excited about hunting this one wooded ridgeline where I knew the deer bedded during the day. I carefully still-hunted my way crosswind along the top of the ridge carefully glassing ahead on both sides of the slope. I found several beds, rubs, fresh droppings, and heavy trails. Not bad for not being able to scout it out beforehand. After spending about 4 hours moving along painstakingly slowly, I saw the orange of another hunter in the distance, then another one, then a third. As it turned out, I was right in the middle of a four man deer drive. [:@]There was a miscommunication between the landowner and his brother who had given his son (and his buddies) permission to hunt that weekend, and the landowner didn't know about it. It was all on the up-and-up, they just didn't coordinate it. I found out that the reason I was finding empty beds instead of deer was that this same crew had already done a drive early that morning and spooked them all out without getting a shot at any. What a waste. I could have had one the way I was doing it.
I was bummed, but I still had the other property to hunt the next dayand after verifying that I was to be the only hunter out there, went to go check out the adjacent field after dark to see where the deer come out. I saw 2 doe and got excited about the next morning's possibilites.
The second day, I woke up as sick as a dog and spent the next 24 hours in a heap of discomfort. The third day, I just wanted to get on the road and spend some time decorating my house for Christmaswith my wife and kid who had been asking for me to come home twice a day since I left.
__________________ http://www.illinoisbowfishers.com
The truest measure of a man's ethics is what he does when no one is watching. -God
An unarmed man can only flee from Evil, and Evil is not overcome by fleeing from it.
- Colonel Jeff Cooper
I was fortunate enough to take a fairly good sized button buck on Friday after the sun came out in the afternoon. I took the deer out here at the park. I whiffed on a really nice sized doe Thursday morning[:'(]. That really stunk! I also shot a button buck the first season out here. Tender vittles at Mikey's house!
Mikey
P.S. The Carp Cadaver is about halfway done, and I'm dreamin' of drillin' some carp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well that stinks Chris. I really thought we'd be seeing some pictures of dead deer from you.
Well,if what I've seen over thepast few years hold true, hunting pressure is gonna drop like a hot rock for the rest of the season, and there's still deer in the state-park. Always gotta look to the positive.
OMG Bill, I almost blew Mountain Dew all over my computer!
Well, I gotta say that having a bad hunt and even being sick beats staying home. You're a good man Kendall. Bill's just kidding, I think.
The two goodthings about my crapped up huntare that all the other hunters in the area pretty much ignore the late gun season in January since they have all tagged out already and have all the meat they can make use of, AND my regular gun season tags are still valid for the late season due to the recentregulation changes. I didn't even bother to apply for the late one this year since I'd be giving away meat if I filled both my tags anyway.
I'll be back there freezing my tail off in Jan, hopefully this time without involving anything thatresembles hugging a toilet. [:'(]
__________________ http://www.illinoisbowfishers.com
The truest measure of a man's ethics is what he does when no one is watching. -God
An unarmed man can only flee from Evil, and Evil is not overcome by fleeing from it.
- Colonel Jeff Cooper
Hmmm...not so good for me either. Was my weekend to guide for Knupp Outdoors up by Quincy. What normally takes 2.5 hours took 5 in the storm, and then Friday morning found me stuck in a drift, on the road no less.
My hunters did kill some nice bucks, but I tell you one thing, getting them out was a chore in that snow...those 3 foot drifts are nearly over my head you know!
My shotgun weekend didn't go well.
OMG Bill, I almost blew Mountain Dew all over my computer! 
