RE: Official RACK PACK Thread(7)
 

checking in- partner i'm hunting with in WI has been seeing a really nice 10 pointer so things are looking good.
back at work for 2 weeks now (10 days left).on my 6 weeks off hunting i did a third trip up the haul road putting around 7000 miles on my truck in the 6 weeks. got to at least see 2 bull moose ( 30 incher and a really small bull with 6-8" spikes, i did not think bulls that small grew antlers, looked like a calf from this past spring?????) no meat for the freezer[:'(]
i won't get to WI until 23 and will have 9 days to try for one of the many deer we saw last summer there.

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Well guys opening day for me was a total disaster!![:@]I got to the parking lot at 3:45am and the lot was almost full people had been there since 2am. We all go in when the park ranger said it was time, I finally get to my spot and get setup and I can hear people all around me. About 9am I see people getting out of their stands I got out and talked to a couple of old timers who said there were about 6 hunters within a 60yard radius with some of the guys on the ground who would stand up and stretch and and practice drawing their bows,morons!! One guy setup a mossy oak ground blind in the bean field and tried to diguise them with branches like it has been there for years right where the big bucks I've been seeing usually come out and then three guys decided it was a good idea to do some scouting and walked all over the trails leading onto the beans, WHAT IS WRONG WITH SOME PEOPLE I don't think most of the guys out there had a clue of what they were doing, I don't know alot but I know better that to do my scouting on opening day!!
I think I'm going back to where I've hunted the past 2 years it's a 30min longer drive for me but I don't have to deal with a bunch of crazies.
The weather is looking good for thursday so I plan on going out all day again. We need to get on the board!!!

RE: Official RACK PACK Thread(7)
 

LOL...by this time last year, I already had a 115" deer in the freezer...lol So far this year, the weather has been crap, and just nothing really moving much. We also have a huge acorn crop this year that seems to have the deer spread out everywhere, and nowhere at the same time if ya can get what I'm saying. Once cooler weather rolls in, I'm sure I'll be getting a little more excited about things. Good luck fellas.
And another thing...this is for EVERYONE...I think it would be a good idea if the WHOLE team checked in every Sunday night to talk about the weekend and what they saw...any thoughts?

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My opening day was a success!! I didn't shoot anthing but my 16 year old got his first buck! It's about a 90" buck with 9 scorable points but the G-4's and the main beam were both broke off in velvet. The brow tines are palmated. A very unusual buck. Unfortunately he wasnt interested in the contest.

I'd post the pic but I dont know how. I guess I gotta get with it. How do we get a picture up on here?

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well the weather is cooling off thursday im going to my buddies farm to try and get that hog or a doe for dinner congrats to your son

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Hey BTB...you NEED to empty your PM box...lol I tried to send you telling you to send the pic of your boy's buck to email and I could resize it with Photoshop and get it on here for ya.

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Good idea!

I'm hoping to get outthis weekend for the first time this year. I had a close call ,thought I wasn't gonna be able to go at all this year. Two weeks ago I was tossing stuff around at work and felt a snap in my right shoulder. It was bad! I couldn't even lift my arm. I was dreading coming here and telling you guys I'm out for the season. I went to the doc , he told me what to do and what not to do. I pretty much willed myself to get better , and each day it felt better than the day before. I seen the doc today and he was very pleased with my progress. I can not only lift my arm , but I can go through the drawing and anchoring motion (which I couldn't do before). By this thursday I'll be shooting my bow. By this saturday I'll be sitting in my treestand!!!
From what I've seen around here , I didn't miss anything the last couple weeks. It's been too damn warm and nobodys been seeing crap. Guess they were waiting for me to get better.:D

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well i seen 1 yearling and 2 fawns last night they were really nervous i got so excited i fergot to take a pic they were really close i was hoping a nice doe would step out but it never happened im gonna try a creek tonight im still thinking about that 9 pointer he was a tad small but ive never seen a 2 year old 9 pointer i might have another look at him

RE: Official RACK PACK Thread(7)
 

my first day could have been better as well. i found 2 new scrapes scouting friday evening and decided to climb above them. all the deer crossed about 70 yards aboce me on the gas line saturday morning[:@]. couldnt tell what they were but i kept catching them sneaking through the trees. seen about 6 different deer by 10am. there are p&y bucks everywhere in this area but somehow they stay completely hidden until the rut. i really wanted a big doe saturday to win all these heaviest doe contests in the area but i couldnt get a close shot. my chances of arrowing a trophy buck arent the greatest right now but every year i see about a dozen P&Y's during the last week of archery. maybe ill stumble across a stray one but im really looking forward to the rut

PS i hunted the same area i shot my 130" 11 point last year and he was the small one of the bunch

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Im about to head out for my first afternoon hunt in an orchard with apples,pears, and now starting to get some acorns. I have not been having luck in the mornings but hopefully afternoon will be different

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Inbox is now empty Rattlesanake and I'll email you two pics. Pic which one you can do the best with.
Thanks!!

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Double on a pair of big does this morning. A good start on filling the freezer!

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Hey Rattlesnake, tried to email the kids pics to the email in your profile and got it back. My inbox is now empty. PM when you can.
Thanks!

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Sent ya the PM BTB....bring on the pics.:D

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well only seen 2 does yesterday i didnt get out this morning

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I sat for the evening tonight, I saw 10 deer in total. The first deer I saw was a year& half 10 point! He came down off the ridge into the oak pocket I was sitting in and offered me 8 different shots at no more than 12 yards. Being my brother, fiancee, and myself are the only ones allowed in there, I can't wait to see what he'll grow into with ten scorable points his first year with a rack....now where's his daddy?? lol
All the other deer were doe in various sizes, but none were close enough as they all stayed on the upper ridge from me...BUMMER. Anyway fellas, an exciting night for the first time in a new place!
The following is BTB son's first buck...congrats to Bert!

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Another pic of the buck.

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I couldnt be happier if I'd shot a 150+ buck myself!
Thanks again Rattlesnake!

Now, lets get some on board for the Rack Pack!!!

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now thats what its all about congrats

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my congrats to bert hopefully i can shoot one as nice. trying for my first WT with a bow as well.

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Another congrats to Bert!

Nothing special to report from this weekends hunt. I knew I should have stayed home but I just couldn't. I've never seen squat during any type of east wind and that's what we had here over the weekend. Too bad because the temps were perfect , right around 50 degrees on saturday. I sat on the edge of a bedding area (new stand) and seen two doe get up and start browsing without leaving the bedding area just before dark.
I did find a great rub line and three scrapes , all within 50 yards of another stand that I've had great success in.

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Took the weekend off from bowhunting to take Bert and his younger brother pheasant hunting.. Pa has a special youth hunt where they stock birds in designated places for the kids. Last year we put up 15 birds:D This year we saw two:(.

Oh well, I'm cutting out early from work today to hunt the stand where Isaw avery nice buck before the season.It's a nice funnel in a stand of white oaks that are dropping acorns like little artillery shells:D

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well i didnt see any over the weekend i did see a 2 year old buck today i let him walk

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I let another small buck keep walking over the weekend. He responded nicely to the grunt call too. Saw lotts of does and I caught a glimpse of a really big buck as I was driving the ATV. It's fun just to see those big guys! It happens so seldom that I almost have a feeling of accomplishment from just laying my eyes on him, if only for a second. Oh, and no bears coming in during shooting hours for me yet either. I may or may not get out after them again, we'll see. Good luck everyone!

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Tonight was a bust. Thank goodness for the tree rats. Otherwise I'd have fallen asleep up in my tree for sure.

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Well Sat eveneing didn't produce much, but my fiancee got a little excited when a young buck was approaching her ground blind. She ran out of daylight, and I saw him about 90 yards from her location when I came to get her at shooting hours.
Sunday was pretty uneventful as we just put up another stand for my brother on one of the pieces of property we have to hunt. It got interesting though when we drove out of the field and the guy that has the house across from the driveway we go in flagged us down. He asked us if we were hunting, and we told him we were just hanging a new stand. He asked if we had that whole hill by his corner to hunt, and we told him yeah, and then he asked if we wanted to hunt his 30 acre corner as well. So we just added another 30 to 190 we had already acquired there, so things are starting to look up.

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Not having much luck in PA. Weather has been miserable and I can't get the deer within range. Been seeing a bunch of does but none of them have come into range yet. I climb a different spot and they keep moving that much farther away. Haven't seen an antler yet this season and it's driving me nuts. I know they're there but they haven't made any appearances yet. My buddy double lunged a doe when we were hunting saturday and seen two young bucks. Oh well season is still early. Good luck yall, we need to post some points soon.

~Jeff

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Well, my hunting partner back home had some great luck last night! He rattled this guy in and shot him at 25 yds. It's not the biggest one that's running around there, but one heck of a trophy.Now I'm really excited to get back and hunt this weekend!

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Tell your buddy congrats for me! Thats a nice one!

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Hey guys, hope everyone is having a good and safe season so far!
I went out sunday evening and wednesday morning without seeing any action. There's still alot of corn standing around the public property I'm hunting so I think the deer are held-up in there. I will still be in the woods any chance I get, they have to come out some time!
I was planning on taking off a few days during the rut but business has picked up and I've got more business than ever and haven't found any good carpenters that I trust to leave on the job with out me having to be there, so I may have to work rather than hunt:(. Good luck lets get on the BOARD!!:D

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well the deer havnt really started moving much around here if it cool off i shoud have some luck

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Well, I blew it today! Had a nice buck, probably pushing low 130's and very unusual. He had a mule deer rack! He was well outside his ears and very high with the Y on Y configuration of a muley. Had him at 12 yards, he came in from behind my right shoulder. When I drew, he stopped behind a little tree with just enough cover to make a shot risky. I was calm and collected and simply waiting for one more step when POP the arrow was gone harmlessly a foot on front of him. Either I didnt have my release properlyengaged or I bumped the trigger because my position was a little contorted.

The good news is that he didnt spook. Hehung around (without giving me anther shot) for a good 10 minutes and simply walked away. I actually saw him again from the truck not 250 yards away four hours later. I also saw him preseason at the same stand site. He lives there and I didnt spook him. I'm gonna shoot him!

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That sucks! I guess that's bowhunting.

I'm second guessing myself here fellas , I may have screwed up. I had a pretty decent 8pt under my stand this morning. Could have had a gimme shot anywhere from 10 steps out to 20yds but I held off and let him walk. I have him on my game cam pics that I posted earlier. I think he put on a couple inches since my game cam pic when he was in velvet. I would guess he'd probably be around the 100 - 110 mark. Considering the problems I'm having with my shoulder I'm thinking maybe I just gave away a gift.[&:]

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I still have not seen a buck or taken a doe. I had my closest shot on a doe but he was just out of range. I am hoping to have some luck soon though.

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no luck here yet the deer havnt started moving good yet i have only seen a few small ones im hoping it will cool off and get the deer moving in the next 2 weeks

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I didn't get out at all Sat. as the future in-laws were up, and I played golf with the fiancee's dad. Sunday morning was a bust as everything I saw was at least 80 yards away, but I did finally see a couple more bucks but nothing for shooters. I had decided to sit all day Sunday if I could stay awake being I was in "big woods" as in it runs for miles east and west and is probably 1 1/2 miles wide north to south. I for some reason see a lot of deer activity in big woods in the middle of the day, and it held true yesterday as I took the biggest of five doe at 1:30 yesterday afternoon. At least now I have my EAB taken care of for when it starts after Halloween weekend here in WI...man I can't believe the Do Nothing Right gang screwed the bowhunters the way they did this year as the only time you need an EAB is if you want to hunt the rut with a bow....SCHMUCKS!

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i spotted 2 dandy bucks the other night where i hunt. both look to be 150" plus. they were running together with a smaller buck that i didnt get a good look at. they bolted as soon as the spotlight hit them 300 yards away. thank god for swarovski binoculars. trying my best to pattern them but this isnt gonna be easy. its hard to kill an animal that is smarter than me[&:]. i've narrowed them down to a 1/2 mile radius and 3 small bedding areas. now all i need is a pinch of luck. i only get to hunt there saturdays because gay ass pennsylvania doesnt let us hunt on sundays and im away at school during the week. so basically it boils down to i've got 3 more days to kill them. might try spending each day outside a different bedding area.

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it cooled off here the deer are starting to move finally iff i get off work early im heading out if not ill have to wait till sunday

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We're on the board!!! A friend of mine took some pics so as soon as he e-mails them to me I'll post them.
Here's the story;
Saturday afternoon I decided to go into an area of public land that I had never hunted but I had seen alot of activity in the area. I walk in and find a heavy trail and pick a tree to climb, I get situated by 3:45pm and start to wait. About 4:45 I decided to do some rattiling, I wait about 20min and nothing happens, I scan the woods still don't see anything so I sit down, Just as I sit down I hear something walking in behind me about 50yards away, I scan the woods and there he iswalking a trail that will take him to far out fora shot. I grabed the horns and lightly rattle again, he stops and looks around for a minute and then walks into some tall brush where I loose him.After afew minutes I grabed the horns and go thru another light sequence as I'm hanging up the horns I see him step out of the brush and begin to walk a trail that will bring him broadside @ 20yds. As he gets to my lane he steps behind a tree and I come to full draw. When he steps out from the tree he turns facing me and stops for about 20-30 seconds and then turns quickly around walking away from me I'm still holding back and then he turns around to walk back from where he came from giving me a perfect broadside shot. I release the arrow after holding back for what seemed like forever, the shot was high and far back but it caught the spine and he dropped. I immediately climb down and took a final shot thru the lungs. He's a small basket rack 7pt I know he's not big and not even close to my buck on the wall but after 3 years of hunting public property and getting skunked he is definitly a trophy. I'm still not sure what happened with my shot being high and back, I don't know if it was from holding back so long or if I hit a twig that I didn't see, I hat e spine shots but I finally took a deer on public land.

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Way to go hammerman!!!

There's nothing better than shooting a buck you called in with your rattling antlers.