joemr1288

Well guys I have had a crappy opening day and weekend. On opening day I saw a button buck and a doe in the morning. That evening I saw a doe and two very small buck, a fork horn and a six point.

My next sit was saturday evening and I didn't see a single deer. On sunday I only got to go out for an evening hunt, and yet again I saw no deer, only four turkeys.

The property I hunt is not the same as it was last year. There is four of us that hunt it and none of us have seen the deer this year like we did last year so far, nor are we seeing any signs of deer, no tracks, no scrapes, only one rub so far. It is just really weird this year, I am not to sure as to what is going on. The guys that hunt the back of the property saw a few good shooters on opening day but have not seen them since. However they were in the bean field, so I am thinking the deer may just be acting funky right now and not moving for some reason, at least thats what I am hoping for.

I hope to see some more deer in the next week, but who knows when I am not seeing any deer tracks. How is everyone else fairing?

-Joe

coryj

Last Wednesday while hunting on the kill permit I took a shot at a doe that was almost directly beneath me and my bottom cam hit the rail of my stand. The thing looked like a boomerang. I had no luck reaching High County on Thursday and took it to the shop I help out at. We tried to flatten the cam in a vise, but no luck. We got it close, but the cables kept jumping the roller guard. I ended up buying an 08 katera that belonged to the shop owner, set it up that night with a qad and my sight and quiver off of my speed pro. Tuned and sighted the katera in on Friday. This bow is a great set up, but I was worried considering it was new to me. The 6" brace height reminded me that I need to watch my form, more so than with my speed pro. I was soon grouping good out to 45 yards

Didn't see anything on Saturday morning, got home around 11 a.m. decided to hang a stand right behind my house. Grabbed my bow just in case. At the edge of my yard I saw a doe and two fawns walking about 60 yards away in the woods and then bed down. Using a creek and the contour of the land I got to 38 yards and when they stood up I took the shot. Pass through, great blood, 70 yards later doe #11 of the year, #1 of the actual season, and #1 with the Katera.

That afternoon I was in the stand by 3:30. Saw 5 does and fawns at 5:30 about 100 yards away in the field, they were feeding toward me. At 6:10 another doe above me at 35 yards, then one coming out of the woods and her path would take her behind a giant cedar and put her at 28 yards. Shot her at 28 yards and hit high, caught the spine. A second shot finished her off. I could have taken a shot at another doe, but VA only allows 2 per day.

I'll post pictures later, but two deer on the opener with a bow I only had for two days and I'm stoked. Not a bad birthday present.

Talondale

I woke up saturday at 4:00 am and headed out to the national forest for my morning hunt. Saw a decent 8 pointer in a nearby alfalfa field on the way. Skies were clear but the valley was covered in fog. Hiked about 1/2 a mile along a ridge and set up in some oaks. Acorns were falling all morning. I was above the fog most of the time with the wind blowing some fog over the ridge around 7:30. I heard a jake gobbler gobbling somewhere down below me all morning. At 9:30 I got down and was looking over my map when a small bear went by me at 75 yards. His walk was too fast for me to catch up with him, but I don't think he was the legal 100# limit anyway. Saw some other nice areas walking back out. Did work around my house until 3pm and then went up to my stand for the evening. It's on a foothill, near the top, about a 100 yards from a saddle. The area was thick with blackberries and made getting in difficult. I had only seen one squirrel by 5:45 when a noise in the patch of blackberries to my right made me look. I saw the tail of a deer moving right to left about 23 yards away. I stood up. An 8 pointer walked out and I stopped him broadside 10 yards in front of me, slightly to my right. The shot was a little forward, about 2 or 3" forward of the shoulder crease and about midships up and down. It looked like I only got 8-10" of penetration. He turned downhill and stumbled through another patch of briars, angled back the way he came for a few yards and then turned back downhill. I saw him heading downhill over top of the briars about 80 yards away. After he was out of sight I couldn't hear anything else and I didn't hear him crash. Since the shot was more forward (but slightly angling back) then I wanted I decided to sit tight for an hour. I didn't want to bump him before he expired. I started tracking him but had no blood where he had been standing. I followed his tracks into the thicket and at 30 yards found three drops of dark muscle blood where the arrow probably hit a sapling. I marked it with a piece of toilet paper. When I got to the edge of the thicket I used my binos to scan ahead without exposing myself. I didn't see anything and continued looking for blood. I couldn't find any and there was several tracks that looked like they could have been his. I tried a few different paths downhill, since I had seen him run that way, but couldn't find any new blood. While looking down one path I spotted a buck of similar size walking about 150 yards away. I took off my shoes and pack and started to sneak closer, this area is open woods and I tried to keep a tree between me and the buck. When I had cut the distance in half I could tell this was not my buck. He was a 7 pointer with crab claw on his left beam but no G3 on his right, about 14" inside. He was heading towards my father's stand in a slow manner so I let him go. By this time it was getting dark and I decided to look in the morning. I marked the edge of the thicket with a glow tack and a strip of toilet paper and headed home. I reviewed a skeletal anatomy picture of a deer and determined that I would not have hit anything but rib bone on the near side of the buck and maybe hit shoulder bone on the offside. After talking on the phone with a buddy I decided to go back out and look for him that night before coyote or bears could get him. I have about 7" of reflective wrap on my arrows and a 350 and 150 lumen spotlights. I went back up around 9 and looked around. I saw a buck in some thickets and he stood there in the light as I approached but walked off when I was about 50 yards away. I think it was the 7 pointer but I went to the spot he was standing and inspected the area for blood. Nothing. After about an hour of searching thickets I decided to head downhill to a field that has some water. I bumped 4 turkey off their roosts. I was talking on the phone with my Dad, who was back at my house, when a round rock under my left foot rolled out from under me. My ankle twisted out and I felt a pop. My phone and light went flying as I fell to my side trying to get off my ankle. I felt my ankle with my fingers and I didn't feel any sharp pain so I didn't think it was broken. But I could feel it starting to swell and I couldn't put my weight on it. My phone had rebooted and was a few yards from me. I crawled back to the phone and light as my father was calling me back. I told him where I was and started crawling towards my 4-wheeler. I crawled through several patches of briars and 3 barb-wire fences. When my Dad got to me I was through the worst of it and he helped me to the 4-wheeler and drove me back down to the house. I finally went to the ER about 11:30 and by 2:30am I was on my way home with a brace and crutches. It wasn't broken but hopefully only a bad sprain. The next morning my Dad, and another man went back up to look down low near the field. I went back up on crutches and looked for blood at the thicket and also to try and determine the last spot I saw him. After more searching, some on my hands and knees, we gave up and went down to the house. I had a family picnic to attend at 1pm. I talked to a cousin there about it and he brought his springer spaniel up later that evening. It isn't a trained dog but he had used it once to track a deer he had shot. Unfortunately I didn't know he was up there and he didn't know where the blood was but he did find my toilet paper streamer which was about 10 yards from the blood spot but the dog didn't pick up anything. All that to say I haven't recovered the buck. It kept me up two nights thinking about it. I know the hit should have been good enough to do the job but just can't find it. Having a swollen ankle prevents me from doing a thorough grid search. My only hope is to stumble across him later in the season and at least recover the rack. I am encouraged at the number of 2.5 year old bucks we are seeing on the property though. I'm probably out of it for two weeks until my ankle recovers.

coryj

Talondale,

Sorry to hear that you were unable to recover your deer. From your description I'm sure you would find him if you were able to get back out there and search more thoroughly.

Here are pictures of my two does. The katera did well for me this weekend, but I'm looking forward to getting a cam for my speed pro.

ksfowler

Talondale, talk about some bad luck. It could have been a lot worse. From your description that sounds like a dead deer.

coryj, you are a killing machine. What are you doing with all of them?

Saturday I put my trail cam out on a trail that is between the deers bedding area and the only water with in a half mile. They have a very worn path going to the pond and I am going to check it today or tomorrow and if i have anything promising I will get a stand in there ASAP. The best part about this spot is we are fishing over there all the time and they still keep coming back. A couple weeks ago i was over there fishing and bumped a doe that was in easy bow range. She just go up and trotted off and stared at me for a while. There are some very good bucks in this area. I have a picture of an easy 140+ 10pt. from last year. He should be flirting with 150 this year.

ksfowler

After I got done typing my last post curiosity got the best of me. Here is what i had on my camera. Nothing jaw dropping but the potential is there. I think i may move a stand in there in a few days. The only bad part is the time that they are going through, but that will all change in a few weeks.







This guy has potential. He will be really nice in a year or two.

zubba

Just checking in. Haven't had time to read the previous posts...but I will. Anyways, went out for the first time last night. Seen 4 doe, but no horn...and I'm holding out for a P&Y. Good Luck everyone.

hatchet jack

Was out on Monday and had a small 8pt walk right under my stand. I thought about it but let him walk. He did make a scrape 10 yards from my stand. I also seen a nice Buck on top of the hill with a bunch of Doe's. That Buck had a nice rack! My Buddy shot a Doe down the hill from me!

Hatchet Jack

coryj

I've donated 5 deer to hunters for the hungry and 2 deer to a bowhunting club for their annual jamboree/game feast. I have a grandfather who can't hunt any more, but loves venison. In-laws that don't hunt, but love venison. And a few landowners that don't hunt, but allow me to hunt who also love venison. On top of that I've got an office full of co-workers who love venison jerky and summer sausage.

I wish this was a problem that everyone has, but I actually have too many places to hunt this year. I made a lot of new contacts this year by knocking on doors and got access to four new properties, three of which are over 100 acres each, making them the largest tracts of land available for me to hunt. Two of the new parcels are adjacent to land I already had access to which gives me approximately four hundred continuous acres. All of these places are over run with does and I'll have to do some thinning. The landowners want deer killed. These properties are in addition to the properties covered by the kill permit I have access to and now that the regular season is here we can shoot bucks as well as does on the permit.

I didn't get to scout some of the new property as well as I should have and some of my first sits at these places will be scouting trips mainly. Some of the other properties will get hunted very little or possibly not at all. This is the first year I've had access to this much land, I try to add a new property or two each year in case I lose one from one season to the next.

I hunted last night after work out of a stand I hunt on Sunday. I saw two different groups of 3 deer about 60 yards away, but because of the leaves I can't say what they were. I may need to move that stand a little bit. I'll be out again tonight at the property I hunted Saturday night, but about three hundred yards away hunting the corner of a 5 year old clear cut, hard woods and a field. I've got a good feeling about this spot.

Talondale

cory, what part of Va are you in?