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Official Team Elowapi Thread (15)

Official Team Elowapi Thread (15)

Old 11-09-2008, 06:01 AM
  #661  
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Congratulations Ryan!!! Thats a great buck!

Its killing me not to be in the woods this weekend [:@]The weather has been perfect and the deer on the move.I cant wait for Monday.
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Old 11-09-2008, 09:08 AM
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sorry to hear that coug....we all know anything can happen when you release the arrow...yesterday was the first time i shot at anything other than deer or turkeys....i got sick of watching the 5lb giant squirrels so i decided they were going to be targets...perfectly legal...i brought 2 arrows with snypers for turkeys...decided id see how tough they are...i took 2 shots at squirrels...BOTH missed...1 high, 1 low...when i left for the night, it didnt take me long to find out the squirrels were surrounded in brush..found a twig with 2 hits on it lol...DUH.......morale of the story......anything can happen when you release an arrow......sucks...but its part of it.


Ryan, its just frustrating me to no end...i guess i cant complain....ive seen more deer on my hill this year than ever...and the numbers seem WAY down...so i guess im in the right spot and doing it all right...just gotta hope one of the FEW shooters come through...


heading to my buddies camp tomorrow...95% sure of it...hopefully the deer remembered that the rut should be in full swing...buddy got atleast 3 shooters on cam like i said...nothing is gaurenteed...but i need some areas with DEER. i wanna start hunting bigger bucks....but i simply dont have the locations...some years they are there, others they arent...im convinced the standing corn all around my hill is KILLING the hunting. they bed and feed in it or right on the edge of it...i need to work on NEW locations before next season...get permission and scout before i leave for the summer...come home and hit the woods hard....thats my plan........
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Old 11-09-2008, 09:57 AM
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Default RE: Official Team Elowapi Thread (15)

Pretty burnt out at this point, guys. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I continually do it season after season. It's down to the last 6 days, and my sightings are dropping off the charts. Saw two deer total yesterday, so there's not much confidence left). To top it all off, this season went from fun to pressurized commitment, and that bothers me, because this should be fun.

Rybo, Cougar, Rob, Joey, awesome bucks guys, and hats off to you being consistant in putting BIG deer down consistantly. I really don't know how you do it, but you guys certainly have my respect for doing it. I won't be checking in as much this week unless I get one down, good luck to you guys.
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Old 11-09-2008, 12:53 PM
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good luck Matt....dont give up...you were onto deer and a PILE of does all season...the bucks almost HAVE to be around...maybe somewhere a little different...bedding areas, thick edges, funnels etc...i might not be a world class hunter...but i find edges are almost always a good place to hang a stand...transitional areas where forest ages change...edges of thick stuff, logged areas etc...edge of where the pines or hemlocks meet the hardwoods etc...i never thought about it, but ALL my stands are ALWAYS near some sort of edge or transitional area...like i said, im no pro...and im just REALLY starting to DEER hunt...this is my 10th year of hunting...but the first 7 years were rifle hunting...deer sign didnt matter much...just had to figure out where the deer were going to come through...funnels and escape routes and thicket edges for the most part...the last 3 years i found myself stumped...really struggled at times...this year is no different...i just keep at it and know if i give up, the deer win and i will never learn. i know part of my problem is location...i cant change it as of NOW...but i can change my tactics and stand sites trying to get on more deer or find the bucks...from day 1 i try harder to be on BUCKS than DEER...i love seeing many deer, but i know im not doe hunting, so it can get down right frustrating for me...i just know i gotta keep with it...and stay on the TOP of my game...not letting up on my entries and exits or scent control or leaving stand early or going in late because im bored or tired or just sick of it...

ive said it 10000000 times, "i dislike deer hunting" and i kinda did..sit and wait and pull the trigger and bang..lots of sitting and waiting...exspecially if i was looking for a buck..now that im REALLY deer hunting, im starting to love it.

if nothing else, im proud of myself for having the attitude i have all season. the last 2 years i struggled and some days i didnt wanna get outta bed..was outta stand by 10 or 11 at the LATEST..i just love it and wanna start putting down bigger bucks...and see more bucks more consistantly...one day, i'll be there..i know that...every year the past 3 years ive been doing better than the past...this year i feel as if i platued...only thing left is new locations...kinda hard being i leave for work in the summer..but im going to try to make sure i have atleast 1 new GOOD property for next year...my SGLs and farmlands are shot up and hunted hard...a 2.5yo is still a good buck...anything older is a monster and prettttty rare..
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Old 11-09-2008, 06:30 PM
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Yeah Mauser, but it's different now. Maybe I had too high of expectations. Like you, I didn't consider myself a real hunter until the last two seasons. I've finally gotten to the point where I'm pretty fanatical about scent control, entry/exit routes, stand rotation, post-season scouting, planting, etc that I felt like I was doing everything I could to put myself in a position to finally get another shot at a buck. Saturday, I hunted two spots that are to a T like you described (a vegetation transition), and two deer were the results of my efforts. I hunted my morning stand that's an oak grove bordering a pine thicket where I know deer bed. Usually, I have plenty of deer moving through here, but none the last two weeks. During the evening watch I headed to a spot between two pine bedding areas that always served as a staging area in years past. Two sits this year have turned up nothing with very little sign to boot. I've put soo much time into hunting, it's almost embarassing to not enough have a deer on the ground. It's one thing if I was passing 1.5yr olds regularly waiting for a 2.5 or 3.5, but I've had TWO...TWO bucks total this year in shooting range (and that's high for me in the past few seasons)...one spike, and one basket 6. Give most of you guys the time I have to put into hunting, and you would all put down 2.5-3.5yr olds every season. I'm lucky if I SEE a 2.5 every three years.[&:]

My attitude has switched just these past few days, and it's not as much as a result of not having a shot yet, but the fact that I'm having to accept that maybe I really haven't become a better hunter. I'm a bit like Jeff (GMMAT) in the sense that when I do something, I take it seriously to the fullest extent. I'm competitive, and I want to be good, and my record over the past 6 six seasons indicate otherwise to me, so that's what's really frustrating.

I can't make excuses, although my family and friends are gratious enough to try for me (the deer population around here isn't near what it used to be...or, the weather has them all screwed up, or, there's too many people using the property all year round to keep deer comfortable, etc), but all of these really just fall on deaf ears to me. I simply am not getting it done. Like I said earlier, I will go down swinging these last 6 days, but I need to evaluate some things at the end of this season for sure.
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Old 11-09-2008, 10:50 PM
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sounds like were in VERY similar shoes...i know the pain...but, you seem alot like me, and your last line says it all...at the end of each year i do the same...step back and take a look at it ALL...what worked, what didnt work, what screwed me, what i can do different, as well as going in and beating the brush...i like fresh snow...although i find that after our season, deer often use different areas and do different things just because its winter...i can still find clues..and nooks and crannys that ive overlooked...just gotta step back and analyze it all...


as for me, LIFE just threw me a big ole curve ball...1/4 of the way to school and i went to turn my highbeams off...the blue indicator light stayed on so i hit it another couple times...it went off, but so did my headlights!!!!! never came back on...made some calls...called my buddy whose farm i just left..he said hes on his way...hes pretty mechanical and knows alot of stuff...he looked at all the usual stuff and then i told him what happened...he looked at the high/low beam switch and said no doubt, thats where the problem is...only, he doesnt know how to fix it or get to it...tried taking off a couple covers but couldnt get there...

soooo he gave me his daughters truck(somehow, by luck, shes out of town for a week) so i gotta run home tomorrow and get my truck SOMEWHERE...hopefully mechanic can rig something up...the vehicle is about on its last leg...buddy knew i was planning to head to camp(his familes camp i was heading to) he told me to go on up....but im not going to in his daughters truck..bad enough i'll probably be driving it for a week..and gotta go home tomorrow and back up here to school sometime..and, i needed to find the stand in the daylight..which i was gunna do tomorrow evening..no chance of making it either way...soooo i dont know what i'll do....my bow season could be over....i dont know. im about as bummed out as they come...

buddy does have somewhere new he wants me to hunt...and im all ears as my hill is about dead...they jumped a monster small game hunting saturday...we all knew it was living SOMEWHERE on the block..just didnt know where and even where to find him...buddy thinks we can find a spot...maybe we will coon hunt tomorrow nite and i can find a spot and hunt it tuesday...maybe its all a sign and i'll get the biggun killed....one could only hope.....i hate bumps in the road...and timing always stinks...


on a better note, my taxidermist called...buck from last season is done drying...hes painting it tomorrow and i can pick it up anytime past tomorrow.....

good luck guys......keep at it...we'll see what happens with my situation...i was REALLY looking forward to going to camp........
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Old 11-10-2008, 06:22 AM
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Hang in there Matt, I know its frustrating. You’ve put a lot of time in stand with little to show. Sometimes it just takes more than time afield and following all the text book items to score. Almost everyone needs some type of breaks, yours will come. This buck I shot was only the 3rd maybe 4th buck in bow range for me. Those others were all scrub 1.5’s. And I hunt what I feel are well above average populations. If your area doesn’t have that many deer it can be tough. At this point in time, I would plop yourself in the best travel corridor you have (doesn’t even have to be a typical “funnel”, but a place where you know there is high deer travel. Next on the list to sit would be next to, (or even in) the best bedding area you have access to. If you have any type of hot active scrapes, you could try sitting over them as well. My dad’s been watching bucks hit scrapes the last few days.

Good luck, I hope it works out for you, you’ve really put the time in.
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Old 11-10-2008, 07:02 AM
  #668  
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Default RE: Official Team Elowapi Thread (15)

Congrats Ryan, that's a great looking buck!

Matt...it's a tough situation your in. Been there. Only advice I have is to do what you have to do, so that overall it's fun. Having fun is what it's all about. I've seen too many people who have been burnt out because they're hunting for the wrong reasons... But with that said, especially at this time of the year, things can change on a dime. You might go out 5 times and not see hardly anything, and then the 6th time, a nice buck will follow a doe under your stand. So keep that in mind, and good luck!
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Old 11-10-2008, 08:31 PM
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well, im headin out tomorrow...i wont make all day, but im gunna try to make 11 or noon...i got 2 group projects due wed...but with the vehicle situation, i told both groups id do as much as i could solo and email it to them and try to meet with them tomorrow evening/nite and finalize it all...

but me and my buddy went in tonight coonhunting and i threw up the climber in an area he feels real confident about...they jumped from my understanding a BIG buck about 200yds away...about 20-30yds to the left of my stand is a pile of BIG rubs..buddy says its trashed and every tree is hit...behind me is a hay field..im in the corner in the only opening in the whole piece...this stuff is nasty creek bottom...redbrush, jagurs, briars, weeds, and thick trees and that...theres a HECK of a crossing right there piled with doe tracks and i spotted some big tracks in the mix...

my only 2 fears is us being in there tonite...left scent around...(deer were likely in the corn fields feeding for the night a good ways off) and the land owner seems to be cutting fire wood...hopefully he isnt there before 11 or noon...spot looks REALLY good to atleast see some deer...i will likely spend all day saturday in there...

still might venture to the buddies camp thursday or saturday...see whats goin on and what i see tomorrow...and what the vehicle situation looks like...mechanic says that he will have it done tomorrow...so thats good...means it aughta be quick, which means cheap...er..lol...id like to hunt that stand atleast once..and a couple buddies are going up this weekend to get away and do some grouse hunting..so i dont know we'll see...

3 more days in the woods for me...(so long as nothing pops up thursday or saturday!) anything can happen....i havent seen 1 chase or have anything respond to calling or anything as of yet...hopefully things are hot and fierce...
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Old 11-11-2008, 10:16 AM
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well, i seen deer!

i threw a drag down while walking through a hay field..my stand is in the bottom corner..figured MAYBE if one hit it, it may come...

tree was VERY difficult to climb..in the dark, it looked fine..but it was a knotted up cherry that was very tough climbing both up and down...got up and had some trimming to do..had 2 saplings about 25 ft high i was sitting above but had to do a little trimming...high, cover, good location...just hard to climb...im up there snapping twigs and getting the pegs in and all that stuff and i hear something in the field...ahhh just a bunny or coon im sure.. bow still hanging 5ft off the ground...i finally turned around coz at that point i KNEW it was a deer...sure enough i turned around and its trotting my scent trail and is about 20yds away and stops...im sure it was a buck..could make out the body but couldnt make out antlers...i figured id use the cover of darkness to get my bow up and get ready incase its a shooter...light is just seconds away...got it up, arrow knocked, quiver hung up and its still sniffing and milling around 10 and 15yds away...right as its breaking light it walked the field edge and cut into the redbrush...i could hear it in there for 5 or 10 minutes...as it was walking away up through the field i tipped the can twice and it stopped but cut into the brush...never seen the deer that was in the redbrush...maybe he was chasing a doe prior to getting to me..

half hour later i hit the horns did some calling...10 minutes after that i see a deer walking down 3/4 of the way down the hay field..walked straight across it down to the redbrush between another hay field..it was a small buck...5 minutes later i look back out into the field and there he is walking back up the field..he hits my scent trail and starts following it like a hound dog...he was a small half rack...i dont even know if he had points...he got about 40-50yds away and decided to cut up and went up the ditch away from me...

8am here comes 2 small game hunters...in the strip along the top edge of the field, up the ditch both bucks went up...figured maybe the deer will double back and end up in my lap...wide open pasture 50yds away they pretty much would had to come by me...930ish here comes the small game hunters down the other side of the ditch...finally seen me and went up and around me...(orange vest around the tree above my head) waited another hour and climbed down...tried finding another tree but no such thing exsists...the tree i was in seems perfect...all the trails and strips between fields and small woodlots funnel into me then it gets kinda big up the ditch the deer went...

seems like its a promising spot...

went to see the buddy before i came home to see if he needed help or anything...he jumped outta the combine and said LOOK AT THIS BOY!!! he points down...BIG ole buck track about the size of my hand...fresh..probably last night...that area recieves a fair bit of bowhunting pressure(its 1/2 mile up the ditch i was at the bottom of..same ditch the deer went up..) kinda decint sized woods, but the oil well workers, plus a couple other hunters keep the pressure on..

time to get back to life and get some school work done......

good luck guys!
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