RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Good luck Pops! I wonder where War Eagle, runninback44, and WOnder Boy are. Haven't heard a lick out of 'em for weeks now!
How about you Tee Jay, any more close calls! Any action?
I leave this Wednesday after work for 10 days. I'm anxious to say the least! Looks like a cool front coming in by the weekend!
Some good bucks taken from the other teams. One of us needs to score good soon, to get us back in the runnin'

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Good luck in KS Howler. The bucks are really moving here in IN. I went out to trim a couple limbs from a stand my brother will be hunting on opening day of our firearms season and seen a buck chasing two does through the corn field and then as I was driving back to the house on the Foreman I looked into the woods and saw a nice buck (120")standing about 30 yards away. This was at 11:00 am. The best time of the year is upon us, good luck guys.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Got a late start Saturday morning and saw a 6 pt, a small 7 chasing a doe and 2 other doe. That buck chased her in circles all morning long.

Today, I barely got into the stand up the trail comes a doe, followed by a big deer. It was till too dark to see, all I had was some fading moon light. Turned out to be a big fat 5 point. He 'posed' quartering away at 17 yards for 2 minutes and never moved. They were later joined by another fawn. A bit later had a doe with 2 button bucks feeding under my stand.

Not a bad 2 days of hunting for 2 1/2 hours total.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

hey guys sorry i havent posted. but ive been tryin to get a buck every possible moment since day one. i got a nice one thats responding to my calls and ive basically pinpointed where he spends most of his time so im thinkin hopefully a few more days. good luck everyone

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

What's up guys? I just got back from Ohio. I went up for two days. Didn't hunt much today with the rain, but yesterday I passed on a small 6pt, and what would have been a nice buck. He had 5 pts on one side, and the other side was busted off right above the browtine....so he was a 7pt technically, but could have been a 10. I passed and will be going back after they cut the corn in the area we was hunting.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

So my Dad came out this am to hunt with me and I put him in my stand behind the house. I decided to go stand in the pines and see what happens. Sure enough, here comes my Doe and Fawn and right behind them a great buck. He stood 75 yards away and worked a scrape and branch like I have never seen. I wish I had the camera. Then he stepped out of the pines and he was nice. the right side was long and tall, at least 5 points. the left turned out to be a big long forkhorn sticking straight up. the land owner had told me of seeing this buck all summer. He never made it closer than 45 yards and was standing looking straight at me.

Worked for a bit and meeting up with my Dad a little further down the road this afternoon. I think i'll wear my shorts (it's 58 today in Western PA.)

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Hey fellas, TeeJay just called me and asked that I post in here that he scored an 8 point this morning. He shot it with his bow at 7:15 this morning and I think he said it scored around 100". He will not be getting home until Mon to post pics but at least you know you got another one coming!

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

That's great news! Another score for Team Tree Huggers.


TodayI moved some stands around so I can archery hunt the rest of this week. Then I have to get ready for rifle season the following two weeks. While I'm doing that I'm going to replace the strings and cables on my bow with Bucknasty strings and cables. Get it all dialed back in and ready to close out the year with muzzleloader and archery seasons.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

There he is 97 5/8 172 lbs!

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Congratulation TeeJay! Nice Deer. Looking forward to the story.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Great buck TeeJay. We are in the final week here before the two weeks of rifle season. From there we have a doe season or two, and muzzleloader season mixed in with weeks off where you can still archery hunt. Going to be hectic unless I go back to work. I really plan to hit it hard the next few days to try and get a good one before gun season starts and the deer go completely crazy, and nocturnal.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Congratulations TeeJay. Beautiful buck and great picture. Things have been going very slow here in Wisconsin. Think that the bucks have been moving mostly at night with the full moon(Nov 5th) and then we just got 10 inches of snow last Friday. Thursday is the last of bow season before gun starts up on Saturday. Bow season then starts up againand runs through the beginning of January.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Well I did post a story in the bowhunting forum but it got drowned out there so quick. So here is. Now mind you I am bowhunting during rifle season ok. So I head into the woods with all these goofy ass gun hunters. I hunt a big state forest big meaning 20,000 acres with a approx a 6000 acre refuge in the middle of it. You can archery hunt in the refuge and thats it. So I always hunt the other side till the deer start running to hard (about 2 days lol) then head into the refuge. been doing this for 20 years. I hunt generally the same areas. Come monday I head into the preserve and start walking around looking for sign, and nothing! Finially I come across 2 scrapes fresh ones at that. So I put up my stand. Head back to the truck to get the bow and change clothes. By the time I get back out there about a hour he had made a third scrape. So a bit frusterated but releived at the same time. I go hunting. I see him about 100 yds through the woods mon eve. I move my stand 25 yds closer to the scrape line. Tue 415 pm he comes to within 45 yds and a doe steals him away. I move my stand for the wind change in the AM. Nothing in the morning I get cold I call my g/friend who is hunting the other ridge and say lets go to the truck and make a pot of coffee, she agrees. About 930 we head back out, 1015 here he come right in on a string. 50 yds, 40 yds , 30 yds, 20 yds, buddie all you have to do is turn the corner and he stops! He did not like my drag rag trail. He circles back around me and is gone no shot. I move stand again. This time right on his scrape line. Im going to get you man. he does nt come. About 4 pm I see a buck coming, through the gutter and over the knob just like every other time. I think Perfect. I start my draw he pops over the hill and turns his head, its not the deer I want. So I dont shoot. He doesnt show up again that day. Fri morn I head in 615, sunrise is 710 shooting hour 650. At 645 I hear a deer, and it is coming. I can tell it is a big boddied deer but I cant see the rack. It is close 15 yds max. Finially he stops by a big ass Birch tree and I can tell this is the deer. I draw lower the pin to his shoulder and release. He humps up and goes 50 yds and piles up. Kicks and thrashes and gets back to his feet. Mind you I have really no clue how good he is hit. Comes back at me and lays down. I am thinking gut shot, so I knock another arrow and let fly. I hit him in the back that time due to a deflection. Now he is dead. I go up to him and find that my first shot was perfect. Top of leading lung, top of heart and oposit bottom lung. Then the drinking began. This deer isnt the biggest I ever shot, but definetly the one I am most proud of.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

TeeJay

Congrats on your buck!! You put a lot of effort in to this buck and it is great to see you get him. I enjoyed the story.

Tim

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Great story and all the hard work payed off TeeJay. Great score for the team, and we are still in this contest.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

EHEM!!!!! Whats going on out there fellas!

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

ECHO ECHO ECHO ECHO!!!!!


;)

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

What is going on....where in the heck is everyone. I was gone but I was off to deer camp.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

I don't know, you took your buck and came back only to chase everyone off. I'm hoping they are all out in the field though scoring for the team.....rifle season and the orange army take over Monday here in WV.[&:]

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

I shot mine during rifle season. Its tough to get them in close but it can be done.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Sorry, guys, just recovering from the season. Hunted hard this year and passed a few small ones that just weren't what I was looking for. Saw that nice nontypical the last thrusday of the season, then never saw another deer in 3 more hunts. Odd year my way. I used to see a ton of chasing mid day out the office window. Never once did I see a deer mid day this year. They went from small bucks chasing to the big bucks tending and there just wasn't alot of activity like I usually see.

Our season in PA is done and now I wait for Gun opener, the monday after TurkeyDay. If I have no luck, I may go back out with the bow behind the house and see what happens.

Congrats TeeJay on a nice buck and great story. Glad the hard work paid off.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Well, I made it back home late last night from the farm in KS. And to get to the meat of the story, I came home with the same buck tag that I took with me[&:]I went back there for 10 days, but I hunted predators for 2 days, hunted upland birds for a few hours on 3 or 4 days, and I helped round up, sort, and work cattle for a day,then a half day to run some other errands. The weather was good for the most part, only one nasty windy day and one hot day. I got to see around 15 different bucks while on stand, and probably double that in deer without antlers. I had a goal of either a deer with around 140" or more, or no antlers at all. I finally shot a doe late last Friday evening, although I still got in the stand Sat. morning and eve. The largest buck I had an opportunity at was about a 125" to 130" 10 pointer, and I thought about it, even drew on him, BUT I know there are better deer back there, and I had a goal, and stuck with it. I got to see some good chasing action, even had a hot doe bed down 15 yards from my tree stand one morning with a nice 120" 8 pointer standing near by. I wish I could've contributed to the team, but I'm sure you guys all understand, at least I hope so.
BUT I did get to take a young turkey, a nice doe,(both with the bow),5 coyotes, 3 pheasant, and 5 quail on this trip. I saw 2 bobcats, but never got a shot opportuninty on either of them.
I also got to see a monster bodied 9 pointer, had a double brow on one side,thatmy 3 freinds and I all agreed would go at least upper 150's, and he was only about a 1/2 mile from my familys land. Thissighting pretty well kept my goal in mind and kept me from shooting any of the smaller bucks!
Congrats TeeJay on a fine buck, a well earned one at that. Good luck to the rest of you guys that are still working on having some success. I'm done with the bow for the season, and thecoyotes are now at the top of my list!

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Sorry for the absence guys. After my second trip to Colorado I got addicted to reducing the 3+ hours of video and 500+ pictures down to a 90 minute DVD that I burned and carried to Louisiana with me for the holidays.

Congrats on the buck TeeJay. I have managed to get three does but have not seen a shooter buck as of yet. As my luck would have it, while I was in Louisiana one of my buddies took a 120" nine point off of a food plot that I had been hunting quite regularly. It was his first nice buck so I am very happy for him. Maybe I'll get to see the pictures this week.

The good part about hunting in Alabama is that I have 2 more months of season left but the bad part is that the rut is still six weeks away.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Sorry I haven't been around lately. I was gone for the nine day WI gun season and only got a doe. I did pass up on a 2 1/2 yr buck on the last Saturday. Bowhunting started again today and goes through the beginning of January so hopefully I will find mister big before then.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Goodluck guys, no need to give up yet. I got the rest of this week with a rifle, then a doe season next week. Then muzzleloader after that. But I do have my bucknasty strings for my High Country, and I should have my new drenalin around the first of the year.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

I catch it everyone threw the towel in huh.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

It appears to be that way. I guess no one has faith in the few of us that still have some season left. I have spent the last several weeks hunting with my 11 yr old daughter and only been in the stand twice with my bow in the last month. December is typically a very slow time of year for us. We may get a little rutting action just before new years day but it is typically the last week or two of January before the action picks up. Until then, I'll keep checking on the board and update everyone if I manage to get one.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Not me......I am still without a buck, but I will be hitting Ohio once more, then Oklahoma, and South Texas. If I get out of Texas in time I will head back to Illinois to finish the season.

I ain`t giving up until the last day.[:o]

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

I have faith in you guys!! Keep at it. It gets harder and harder to crawl out of bed when the activity is slow and whenit gets colder, but they are still out there. All those long cold days and early morningsare easily forgotten when you are holding that rack in your hands. Good luck!

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

sorry i havn't posted but haven't had alot of time to hunt. my tranny went out in my truck then i put a car on its lid later that night about a week after that i got a doe with my rifle and i decided to let the place i hunt calm down because i hunted it pretty hard all season. But im going out there to camp for 3 days after christmas to see if i can get a buck. after that i dotn think ill have much more time to hunt. again sorry i havn't kept you updated through out the season. and best of luck to any of you still hunting.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Well did anyone have any luck over the holidays? I got in four days deer hunting without seeing much of anything before I through in the towel and headed to La. for some goose hunting. I had a great trip there but it didn't help the team. I'll be back on the deer lease this weekend and every other weekend in January. We actually had two OK bucks taken over the holiday break but no sure enough good ones. Two more weeks and the rut should start kicking off. It can only get better from here on out.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Good luck to you. It's weird to think about deer in rut in January.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Sorry guys no buck this year and the season is done in Wisconsin. Hopefully next year.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Hey wibowhntr, thats the way it goes soem years. Hoperfully you enjoyed the season and learned a little something for next year.

As for me, I spent the weekend guiding my daughter around for her last trip of the season. She was able to see a buck on each outing of the weekend. Only one was a shooter, a nice 8 point, but it was a little over 200 hundred yards and didn't present a good broadside shot long enough for her. She is a very good shot but is very disciplined at not shooting unless the shot is optimal and standing still.

Several deer were seen chasing does this weekend and the numbers will only increase as the days go by. I've got around 7 days left in the stand before it is over. We'll see how it goes.

RE: 5- Team "Tree Huggers" Official Thread
 

Well it's come to a close for me. From Friday until Sunday I was able to see 12 does and 3 bucks with no shooters. With my season coming to a close Monday I did the unthinkable. Yep, I broke out the .270 and perched in a tri-pod looking at a 350 yard long 15 foot wide piece of prime whitetail real estate. This little clearing separated a planted pine bedding area and a hardwood flat with two large food plots just a few yards across the property line in the hardwoods. A third, smaller, plot was on my lease about 100 yards through the pines from my stand. This plot has a great bow stand inan isolated oakon the edge of the field. I climbed into my perch at 6 a.m. and watched the 24 degree air convert my breath to a foggy wind direction checker. West by northwest as expected and excellent for my stand location. Out steps a large deer at the far end of the shooting lane with its head to the ground and moving quick out of the bedding area. With a loud HEAH, I shouldered my rifle and I had the animal in my scope only to watch the heavy mass ofhorns disappear into the oaks without a pause. No chance at a reasonable shot. I look down at my watch, 7:10. At 8:30 my second deer appears as it lazily feeds in the clearing. A yearling button head but buck #2. As he feeds into the pines another deer appears near the 300 yard mark and steadily walks straight away from me. He's inside the ears with skinny horns but very tall, a two year old. Maybe next year but therewas buck #3. Over the next two and a halfhours I watch a parade of young spikesleave the pine thicket in search of companionship. In total, I've seen no does and eight bucks.Six have been spikes or buttons, one small rack, and one potential shooter without a shot. The sun has now warmed the air considerably and my stomach is letting me know its time for lunch. I'll head in at 12 for a quick snack. 11:20, 11:30, 11:40, 11:45, buck 125 yards and closing. A gorgeous two year old 7 point with chocolate horns. At 60 yards he slips into the pines for a well deserved rest. OK, at 1:00 I'll get some lunch. An uneventful hour later, hungry and hot,I muster up enough strength to slip out and head for lunch. 60 yards north and then due west by the lone oak to the truck. A few PB & J sandwiches later, I return to the oak minus a few layers. As I approach my left hand turn for the stand I see my first doe 50 yards across the property line near one of the large food plots. I paused for a moment to add a little Tinks 69 to an isolated clump of sage grass in the road and then ease 60 yards to my stand. It's 2:15 and it appears that deer are still on the move but the wind has shifted from the east, not the best but acceptable. 4:00 finds me peering through my binoculars at the main crossings for tree in which I can bow hunt next year.Thereare two but they are in the right places. At 5:00 I'm thinking back on a fun season and my prospects for next year. 5:15 only 15 minutes left, no buck for me this year but my daughter did get her first. Maybe next year she can get a racked buck. As dusk rapidly approaches, I peer back over my shoulder at the trailed I walked in from and the sage grass moves. It's a forked horn not grass. I quietly rotate my seat to the back and slowly shoulder me rifle as the buck steps completely into the clearing. He's staring into the little plot about 80 yards from my bow stand and 60 yards from me. As I settle my rifle onto the metal rail,my shoulder strap buckleever so slightly makes contact, clink. FULL ALERT and looking my way. Scope 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Some mass, tips of ears and a big body. A 4 year old, shoulder BANG. He bolts out of sight with a noticeable limp. A second or two of silence and then a muffled rustling in the brush. Sounds like he crashed within a hundred yards. I ease down and slip to the sage grass clump. No that smells strong as I see the large puddle he had just made. Here's where he took off. I mark the spot and have a seat. I look up to see a doe under the lone oak. I wonder if he was following her and I didn't see her cross. 15 minutes later it is dark as I begin my search. 10 minutes and no blood. I step into the woods about 20 yards and parallel the road he ran down. Finally, a blood trail. 30 yards later the horns catch the light. Not my biggest buck but a fine animal none the less. I didn't put him on the scales but he easily out weighed the 165 pound 4 point my best friend took on the 19th with his bow. I'd say a solid 185. After two of us struggled to get him on the ATV rack, maybe closer to 200. The 06-07 season has come to a close. It's time to start the boat isn't it?