Got out Thursday nite, 20-30mph wind, ended up having 3 different 2 year old 8 pointers come within 20-35 yards of the stand over the course of an hour (100-120ish range)

Highlight of the evening is when I was leaving the stand, out in the field about 150 yards out, there was a hog, could only count 8 points but the tips were out to the nose, rack was 2-3" outside the ears (puts it about 18-20" inside?), and looking like 10"+ G2's, G3's were a couple inches shorter.....as i was watching this buck out in the clover (along with 5-6 other smaller bucks) something started to rattle the brush/grass in front of me, it kept getting closer and closer, it got close enough that the grass a foot away from me was moving, then it moved off........as I was leaving I could detect a faint odor of skunk in the area a couple minutes later, I am thinking I am glad I didn't try to shoo the critter off......

yea yesterday morning on my way in to one of my stands i found one of the best cover scents. aparently a skunk had already used the trail i was coming in on. luckily it was wearing off a little bit. but i knew it was strong enough to cover my scent.

Well I'm up in the ground blind right now. First time I've been up to this area since the fire. Conditions are great, cool and misty. Already seeing a lot of activity. Hopefully things go better this time around. Good luck to everyone this weekend.

Well, had a first today.

I actually managed to rattle in a couple bucks this morning, I think :P

I learned hunting in the school of you sit tight, you sit still and you sit QUIET......

I have tried rattling before, but have always backed off of it before, no results, better keep it quiet.

But this year, I was gonna give it a legit shot. So after watching a handful of does work their way through, I busted out the horns, and gave it a short 30 second burst. Within a couple minutes I had a small 8 pointer working his way to me, he passed within 5 yards of the tree, then walked directly away from the tree, no shot. Thought maybe a fluke, he might have been coming anyways.

Waited 5 minutes and tried it again, a small 6 pointer came in at 20ish yards, from a 100 yards out.

Fun morning, hoping for a even better morning tomorrow, moved a stand into an area I thought we couldn't get a stand in, been seeing several large bucks in this area, wind is looking good, hoping for a good ambush tomorrow.....

Get us on the board Wiaxle !

I used to be the same way about rattling. but then i tried it and had the best night of my life. there are times it wont work but all it takes is that one deer to come and look to see who is fighting.

ive been goin out but with 78 degree temps in the middle of Oct its been some hard hunting

Season is finally upon us here in MA. Tomorrow is the bow opener. Can't wait. All stands set and ready to go.

Keep up the good fight guys. I had another glimpse of the main frame ten but haven't had the right wind yet to try and cut him off. There talking about a north wind for later on in the week. I put a stand up in his bedding area over the summer so the right day and wind I am going in there to hopefully catch him comming home. Good luck, Chris

Well, made it out this morning, almost didn't, the baby was up from 1:30am-3am, had to give him a cool bath to get his temp down from 103.5, (got him to a doc today, looking like a double ear infection) was a long nite, more so for the wife, but long nonetheless.

Got out on stand at 5:25 am (sunrise 7:08) wanted to be out before the deer started moving from the corn/clover fields across a couple hundred yards of swamp grass to the tamaracs (sp?) and ferns they are bedding in.

Well, just before 6am I heard what I was hoping for, a couple of bigger bucks going at it, I have heard enough yearling/two year olds this year and the timber was so much deeper and louder and just more aggressive. To bad I think it was probably a couple hundred yards out, but if they were gonna come to where I think they were bedding up, they had to pass by me (i am in the middle of a 100 yard strip between two ponds)

By the time it got light enough to see, I found it was gonna be a foggy morning, but at 6:45 I did see a nice 9 pointer 100 yards out, should have been upwind, but the wind was light enough maybe some scent was blowing up there, I don't know, he sniffed the air and looked in my direction for more than 5 minutes, before he slowly walked away from me towards one of the corn fields, thinking it looked like a 120ish 3 year old.

All I saw this morning, wondering if being in the area yesterday setting up the stand left enough scent in the area that it would have effected the deer 15 hours later?

No hunting for more than a week for me, can't get a babysitter for the next 3 days, then starting thursday-sunday it is an anterless only weekend, (can use a gun) hate this little mini season where the department of natural resources (DNR) opens it up to cull the deer herd. At least it isn't at the end of the month like they usually do (right at the beginning of the heavy rut)

its good to hear that some of yu guys are seeing some dparring. that means i should be ablto heat some things up hopefully.