Surgeman

sounds like you guys are about to be up to your ears in rut. get this, the rut here in the panhandle of fl doesn't even start until the end of Jan. isn't that crazy. so shoot a big one for me.

i have seen tons and tons of does. i'll bet the doe to buck ratio around here is 10 to 1. maybe it's time to start stacking them up. problem is, i have a few nice bucks on camera and i am just waiting for them to do some sunbathing... otherwise, i won't be seeing them until Jan.

here's one of the guys i'm looking for:

not bad for a fl deer.

happy hunting fellas...

Western MA Hunter

nice one surge... hope you get him... rut is picking up around here... scrapes really starting to appear... larger bucks showing themselves mid day... leaving Sunday for NB... friend says things are getting going up there too... should be a good rifle hunt...

njbuck22

Whats happening team? The deer here are in full chase mode, they are everywhere. I shot over a nice 8 pt the other night, im still sick over it. Oh well, ill just have to make it count next time. Heading out this afternoon so maybe ill get lucky.

SDarcher

Hey guys, sorry I have been MIA lately. been out doing a lot of sitting, and last night I arrowed a good buck. we just got done scoring him and grossed right at 150! I'm still working on downloading the pic. will post them and story as soon as I get them all finished

jc395

150!!!! OMG I can't wait to see it!
CONGRATS!!!!
Honestly, if I saw a deer that big, I'd pee my pants!

SIDEWAYS

Nice SD, can't wait to see him!

SDarcher

My buddy and I went out right after work, got in the stand about 4:30. around 5:15 I saw some deer moving in a patch of cedars that were 175 yards away. I did some gruntin and rattlin, but nothing would come out of there. The rain started fallin around 5:30 or so. I waited a while and tried again about 6:15. this time i used the snort wheeze with the grunts and rattlin. didn't notice anything right away, but about 5 minutes later 3 deer appeared at the edge of the cedars. It was 3 bucks, a nice 4x4, a smaller buck, and this guy. They were headed my way. They circled around south of me and came right up the treeline i was sitting in. Walked right under the stand. This buck thought he needed to stop direclty under me and nibble on some grass for a minute. My heart was pounding as soon as i saw him, but when he was right below my feet just standing there that really got the nerves goin! Then he started on down the trail again, and when he got to my opening, I stuck an arrow in him.

He made it back to the cedars, and after an hour we went out to look for him. My arrow didn't pass through because it his leg on the opposite side. So we didn't have a blood trail to follow, and if there was any blood the rain washed most of it away. We couldn't find him, and decided to back out and come back in the morning and find him. After about an hour the next morning we found him just 50 yards north of where we had been the night before!

Western MA Hunter

Great buck SD... way to make it happen! That is a stud! Sounds like a great hunt...
Gotta get him on the score sheet!

Sorry to hear about the miss NJ... you'll connect... I wish I could say I haven't done the same thing!

njbuck22

SDarcher, amazing animal. Congrat! Is that a 9 pt? I couldnt really make it out in the pic. Regardless, he is simply amazing.

As for me, i have been at it hard. I was out last night and rattled in a decent 7 point and a small 6 pt. Things are really getting hot and heavy here. In fact i havent seen it this good in some years. Hopefully it keeps going. I sat this morning in the stand where i saw the small nine and decent 6, i didnt see a thing.

The good news is i just got permission to hunt an awsome piece of property. Only one other person hunts it, and i know him well, he only hunts about once a week and lets the small ones walk. He says he has seen tons of does along with some nice 8s this year but hasnt got a shot yet. He did mention that there is a massive 11 pt that is running around that will score in the 140s which for NJ is massive. I would be happy just to see him let alone get a shot at him. Time will tell, im going to that porperty tonight and maybe, just maybe i will get lucky.

Western MA Hunter

I think I should take a short drive to Jersey!!!!