Hiawatha - were those some of the sheds that you found with Troy on his trip to SK? He was telling me about that trip, it sounds like you've got some great hunting up there.

Scott - thanks for the info. Also, thanks for taking time out of your own schedule to take those guys out - they'll be reliving that hunt for the next 50 years, god willing. It takes a really decent guy to give up a weekend of his own hunting to spend it with somebody else. Hopefully each of those guys will get to cut an arrow loose before week's end. We're really looking forward to hearing the stories and seeing the pictures. By the way, Ryan didn't break anything did he? He has a way with electronics. LOL J/K

We really should get together sometime soon and do some hunting, but I just don't have the vacation time. I had to burn it all for the wedding and studying for the Bar. As soon as I pass that miserable test, I'll have plenty of vacation time and some extra spending money to burn.
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Oh, great news on the hunting front! Remember the farm that I was telling you guys about - the one where I killed my buck on opening day last year - the one where I hadn't seen anything with any size yet... Anyway, I put the wife to bed early last night and hotfooted it over there for some spotting. I pulled up to the only narrow lane that goes back into the soybean field and hit the light . . . and there they were. The boys of Summer - a bachelor group of four HOG bucks. There's one that I saw early in the summer, I nicknamed him Mister October, he's a mainframe 5x5, great mass, dark rack, probably 20" across, 7-10" G2 & G3's. He's definitely a beast, looks a lot like a racehorse right now - very muscular and lean with a stout front end and thick hind quarters. He was with areally tall mainframe4x4, andtwo otherbuckssportingdark chocolate racks that werewell past the ears. I couldn'tcount the points on either of them, b/c they were lingering pretty far back. To be honest, it lookedlike one of the deer in the back could've been thegigantic4x4 that Iwas all wound up about a month or so ago. Rumor has it that he's disappeared from the ridgetop where I'd seen him earlier - I figured he got jacklighted or run over, but he might've just come down the ridge into a more secluded place. I studied that deer's rack, andI know the shape well. I think it was him - big wraparound beams that curl up, long, long tines that curve in, but I don't wannacry wolf just yet.He was only 1.5 miles away as the crow flies - justacross the road and up the ridge when I was seeing him in July-August. It's plausible if nothing else.

As the crow flies, these bucks were about 1000 yards from my stand site at 10:30 P.M. I'm not sure where they're bedding, but judging by the size of their headgear, it won't be very difficult to single out their rubs. Since I've seen what I needed to see, I'm not climbing on Saturday morning, instead, I'll wait until 9-10'ish and go out there and walk the field edges trying to figure out where these deer are spending their days. Acorns in this place are thin, so if they're bedded anywhere near either of the oak groves, I just might have a good chance at them next Saturday since the mast is starting to come off. I'd be a really happy guy if I could take out Mister October before October even got here. I couldn't even sleep last night thinking about those deer. As long as the lessee keeps the corn up, those deer are safe from the locals.

Corn is starting to be picked but I talked to our farmer about when he was going to get to our fields since I need to shred and bale the stalks for feed and the equipment hasn't showed yet (GRRRRR) and he said he should be getting to them middle of October... Hmm. I need to be done by the 21st of October... Can it be done... I guess hunt until he starts picking, run balls to the wall after he picks the fields we need and than hunt balls to the wall again.

That is nice that they are opening on Sep 30 since you guys don't have Sunday hunting.. .I'll be out on the first but not all day as I have work on Sunday... The 2nd is a different story.. Going to nestle in for a long fall day of hunting...

I spotted 2 big bucks last night about a mile from where I hunt. One was honestly the biggest bodied deer I think I have ever seen on the hoof. His rack was good, not great, but he's a definite shooter if he wanders past me this fall. The other had a great rack, but much smaller body. The corn is vanishing by the day, so hopefully the big boys will be a little more visable in the future.

Thanks for the update on XX'ers chasing the elk. Fran may be on to a great idea....I have some good hunting ground, and alot of work that needs doen around the house lol. I may need to talk to shed about the guys work habits/skills LOL.

Quick, i do not think those are sask sheds because troy only came up one year and those sheds are all from the same bucks, different years. I sent a few nice sets home with him that i had found over the years but i doubt he would ever take them out from under his bed. I tooktroy over to my boss's place where he could hold a high 80 plusinch shed. he just bout chit himself. Funny story is that my boss's dog found that shed and drug it into the yard. One strong dog lol. Hope them guys are hammerin some elk. Elk are fallin like flies in my area, meat shop is turning guys away. 6 bulls have been taken off this same half section of land in 4 days, pretty wild. Can't wait to here the stories from ID.

Quik- It was my pleasure assisting those guys elk hunting. I love calling elk, and I get particular enjoyment out of watching someone hear a bull return a bugle for the first time. Ryan and Mike picked up on spot and stalk hunting fairly quick. I did have to tell them to slow down a bit though. Being used to getting to a stand quickly, it took them some adjustment to the slow pace of sneaking in on a herd of elk.

I don't believe Ryan had broken anything when I left. There is one "electronics" story that needs telling though. Ryan and I stopped at a scenic spot for a Kodac moment. Ryanpulled out his digital camera to snap a shot. When he did, the camera made a dog bark sound. "Darn it" Ryan said, " My girlfreind programmed my camera to bark when it takes a picture". it made for a good laugh both on the hill and back at Troys duringdinner.

T.G.I.F. Gentlemen. Tomorrow is a big day for the Quikkiemeister - whitetail scouting and Big Ten Football. Couldn't ask for more, really.

So, Hiawatha, are you an avid elk hunter, or do you just stick with Whiteys? It sounds like you're in a good area, but I don't know what I'd do with an elk carcass if I showed up at the butcher's place and the sign said "No Vacancy." I guess the next stop would be Sears for a bandsaw and a bigger deep freeze. LOL I would pass out if I ever found an 80+" shed. I almost fell over when I found a 50 incher.

TH - I really hope those guys got to take out an elk this week. Even if they didn't, it sounds like they got to see more than their fair share of wildlife and experience a new type of hunting than they're accustomed to. I can't wait to tease Ryan about his Barking camera. LMAO I was just teasing about the electronics - he went spotting with us about 2 weeks ago, and the spotlightplug melted while he was using it. I think the light wasover 5 years old, so it was long overdue to die, but we did jerk him around a little bit for "destroying" it. It just needs a new plug.

So, after seeing Mister October and his merry tribe of trophy bucks, I officially haven't slept in two nights. I just toss and turn wondering exactly where they're bedding, what time(s) they're on their feet, exactly what are they feeding on, how much their moving during daylight hours, when the farmer is cutting the corn, where they're going to go if they feel the pressure, etc...

I think I may have a case of buck fever. My home medical journal says that my symptoms should progressivelyincrease throughout the next month, eventually leading to panic, depression, whitetail separation anxiety, chewing of fingernails, irritability, lack of work productivity, sleep disorder, anxiousness and hypersensitivity to stimuli. Treatments include high-altitude treestand sitting, long walks in the woodsand prolonged exposure to the natural elements. The only known remedy is to kill a trophy buck.

Quick, i am a sick man when it comes to elk hunting. I scout, prepare mentally rehearse, practice calling to the point people think i am insane. I arrow my elk the first few days of the season each year but i shoot cows or bulls, first one within range gets the business. If i put that much time into whitetail hunting i would get some monsters. I chase deer alllllllot but not as obsessive as elk. I have an awesome whitetail area but like trout says there is just something about a bugling bull or the essence of a cow that makes my whole body shake. If i ever quit shakin when a bull bugles beside me i will quit hunting.

Hiawatha - I can see how one could become addicted to elk hunting in a hurry. Sometimes, whitetail hunting can put you to sleep on days where the deer just aren't moving or the weather's bad. With elk, you can at least move around all day even if they're not talking. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to try it over the next couple years, but I don't know if I really need any more hobbies. First it was ginseng hunting and trapping, then small game hunting, then deer, then archery, then running coon hounds, then spring turkeys, predators and even some dabbling in taxidermy. My house looks like a Cabelas junkroomalready and my wife is on the verge of pitching me and mycamo out the door. Ha Ha

Fellas - I think our elk hunters are coming home today, so we should se an update tomorrow. Hopefully it's a good one.

I'm headed out tohang up my last stand. I've got the perfect spot for it, so it should go up without a hitch, but the weather here sucks - rain all day. There's a telephone pole-straight blackcherry tree right next to the tree I'm hanging it in (1-2 feet away), so I'm just taking my climber, running it up the pole, hanging the stand on the neighboring tree and screwing the steps in on my way down. Hopefully I don't get zapped by lightning or drown in the monsoon.

Anthony - tough game last night. I thought NW was gonna gut it out, but young qb got a little too sloppy - that happens I guess. That overturned fumble call was a killer. Once the QB strained him hammy, I thought they should've put the game in Sutton's hands instead of airing it out. They'd been running fairly well all night.

The overturned fumble and the almost pick in the endzone were killer... The defense is bad Quick... Really bad.. Terrible tackling and not trying to strip the ball.. I mean, if you are not going to go for the strip at least wrap the ball carrier up so he can't gain 20 yards.Oh well, in the end both loses go down to turnover, sloppy defense and a QB that just isn't nearly as good as the last two they had. .. Kafka is only a freshamn however and I see a lot of potential for a powerfull option game with his speed but he needs to work on looking off the secondary and hitting his secondary and tertiary recievers... This things come in time, they really need to recruit another QB however this year or next so they can have a red shirt soph or Junior starting games intested of choosing between two red **** freshamn when these guys graduate in 4 years.

Cheked game cams last night and I wish I could transfer this one for you guys but for some reason my computers are rejecting the format that the pics are in. Not a whole lot of deer this past week (20-30 pics maybe) but one was a what looked like a 8 pointer, probably a 2.5 year, maybe 3.5.. Only have a side view of his head so hard to judge and it was night with an IR camera...lol... Hopefully I can get some more pictures of him. The field next to that location was picked the day before he showed up, using the bit of timber there for cover now that the corn is gone.

Penn State gave me ulcers last night. Our quarterback is not good. Not good at all. We had Ohio State on the ropes for 3.5 quarters, and we just needed the tiniest amount of offensive output to win that game. Instead, we got two telegraphedpick-sixes in a row. I hate that sweatervest that Tressel wears.

Man, did Michigan State ever meltdown last night. Ouch. A truly painfulweekend to watch football.