havent seen any bucks yet, and I have been on stand alot. Getting excited for my Illinois trip in a few weeks, should see a buck out their

hey guys! Just got in from my trip to VA, it was awesome! My dad killed a real nice bear on Friday morning, we didn't get it weighed but we're guessing 250ish! Posted a pic here, he saw another bigger bear the next day too! We've put a TON of work into our property there and it is really paying huge dividends, I saw deer every sit, and saw a bunch of different bucks, just not the big one I'm after. I had a 110" 8pt doggin a doe at 25 yrds last night. The only bears I saw were a sow w/ two cubs last night, they came in right at dark and kept me in the tree for an hr after dark!! talk about un-nerving...:s10: They came w/in 8 yrds of my tree, just wish it would have been a big boar or lone sow!

I stopped by Andy's (FSH's) place on the way home, that was a blast, he showed me around and he's got some great places to hunt! Thanks again Andy! My wife is lovin' the apple cider! can't wait to get down for a day to hunt.

I checked my cam on the mineral lick and food plot when i got home and had some more good shots of the 10 pt. They're keeping the clover/chicory mix just about flat. This is a good view to see the size of this buck. I'm gonna try to get out a bunch this week. With seeing some more photos of this deer I now know he's a shooter for sure!

It was a great visit Ed, and I hope that one of the big boys will cross your path when you get down here.

-fsh

The BEAR looks bigger than 250 there ED, I would say 350ish
Congrats to your DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!:barmy:

Still Nothing for me!!!!!!!!!!!

Good deal Ed! Congrats to your pops...and good luck with that buck!

Thanks guys. I've scheduled to take an afternoon off on Wed & fri to get in the woods... I cant wait! Looks like I might get a SW wind on wed which will be great for where I want to get the 10pt.

Guys - very close call on a very nice buck tonight. I had a 140+ class buck at 15yds - unfortunately, he came straight into my (blind) grunting, paused for 30 sec while I prayed to the deer gods, and then looked up. The buck didn't like what he saw, but wasn't severely spooked - he loped into a thicket another 30 yds away. I wasn't going to shoot unless I got a broadside look. He was a mature 8 ptr with super mass and very long G2s and G3s. After he left, I was shaking so much I had to sit down. I doubt I'll ever see him again.

-fsh

Awesome encounter FSH! Was it the ground blind in front of the chestnut trees? He's probably not all that spooked, once the rut kicks in he'll be back for your does.

Ed
This was on another place I can hunt, not my farm... I was in a tree stand "blind calling" - that is, just throwing grunts into the woods to see if I could get a nibble, lol.

-fsh

Oh I gotcha, nice to see them responding to calls this early... I'll have to try it this week.