Taking off elk hunting in a few hours so won't have much computer access... Everyone hunting, hanging stands, etc - good luck and be safe!!

Good luck SDhunter. Hope you down a monster bull.

He will be in that stand in the morning, I need to know how wide it really is.

Hey guys-
Sorry for the lateness. Thought I would check in and see how everyone is doing...i've been doing tons of the trail cam thing and doing a little scouting when possible. I have 3 deer I'll be targeting. I'll see if I can post up a pic of Hitlister numero Uno.

Hope all are as excited as I am :)

Video of the G5 buck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ2M0mFzJP0

I gave in and bought the Matthews Heli-m this year. My Drenalin was 5 years old.... Not a huge change but the extra speed is nice. Shoots to 80 and 90 yards pretty comfortably.

Dang mj469, numero uno is a giant. I hope you connect with him.

We had a pretty descent card pull this weekend. We have a double drop 9 point on camera, one of the drops has a kicker on it. A couple 10's, an 11, and even a couple nice 8's that would be hard to pass up. Now just sit and wait for October.

i'm headed out after work to pull my card hopefully see something good.

Joe, I hope you see something shocking on that card this evening.
Hey Bob, a friend of mine has that software program that helps score deer from photographs. He says, if it is fairly accurate, that your huge buck has a spread of about 27" and would score about 162. Not too shabby. I would like to know how accurate that is please.
Kurt, you must have a really nice trail cam to get nice pictures like that. I want one! My cameras don't ever show more than 10 points and no drop tines.

MJ,
Mr. G5 would have me wetting my pants.

Guys, and Jenna, of course.
Fieldmouse is asking the captains to vote on the 'doe' points this year. This is for the captains to vote on and I mistakenly replied way too fast without discussing this with my wonderful team SO, I can change my vote if need to - no prob.
Here is his message that he sent along with my reply:

Fieldmouse:
Guys,

I was against letting them count because in the long run, I believe it will all end in a wash meaning the same number of Does will be entered for each team. However, after thinking about it and reading some replies, I'm all for it because I feel it will keep member involvement throughout the season.

We historically have seen a decrease in activity as members decide they can't help out with a buck. By allowing Does to count, I feel it will give folks more reason to check back in and stay up on everything.

I'm not voting, I leave it up to you guys to vote up or down. Whether or not you say yea or nay, please pick a value. 20 points sounded good enough to me. Maybe 25 or whatever. If you guys move forward with this, I will pick the most popular amount of do an average it and round to the nearest easy number for me to add to the team score.

KCMO reply:
Up for possible discussion:
At first I didn't really have an opinion one way or the other, but I see your point and it makes good sense, so I will vote for it. But to make it more interesting...
How about a 'Earn a Buck' incentive? 75 pts for a doe shot before your buck, and 40 points if your first doe is shot after your buck. Discussion? I think a doe is worth a little recognition!

So, I apologize for my error. If anyone would like for our team to vote against the extra points please speak up. I think our team is good with or without 'doe' points.

Thanks for being up front with the team.im for the points. thanks captain

I'm up for anything. Scoring a doe sounds fine to me.



(although I likely won't be able to contribute to the team with a doe. I have a hard time shooting a doe, I always think a buck might be around the corner...haha)

I'd be up for doe points but only one being able to be checked in (where I am in MD it's unlimited doe's with the bow). I'd say 25 pts for 1 doe whenever it is killed

Looks like doe points will count this year, yes, only one doe per contestant. Fieldmouse will let us all know how many points will be given per doe after he returns back from a trip that he is currently on.
I will leave tomorrow afternoon for the opening weekend here in Missouri. Looking forward to it.

Good luck KCMO. Hope you have some opening weekend luck.

Opening day is Monday here. I'm gonna hunt Monday and get a look. Ill probably look to shoot some does early.

Just got setup. Pretty hood spot here. Little 20 acre spot of beans tucked in behind the farmers house. They feel real safe here. We'll see how it goes.

I hope BetterBird has a better day than I did. Man, it was pretty quiet. So I came home empty handed this time. First thing Saturday morning I had a couple of small doe in the field in front of me. Then had a really nice mature doe about 6 yds under my stand. Easy pluckins, but my video camera (mounting arm) wasn't working so I decided to wait and just film her by hand. That evening I sat in another stand (why do they call it a stand if you are sitting on it?) close to a bean field. Nothing there. The night before I had glassed that field from the highway and had several doe and a nice buck come in. So, go figure.
Sunday morning was a short hunt and had 3 does come in as a group but I moved too much and was busted when reaching for my bow. Then Sunday night didn't see a darn thing. The mosquitos were absolutely horrible!
The last buck caught on game cameras during the day was taken on Sept 13 and the velvet was freshly shed so I'm guessing they have already started to change their patterns.
EHD is taking a big hit in Missouri this year. The person running the RV park where we stay said someone reported 4 dead deer within the past week. We didn't have time to walk the entire creek on this property, but fortunately didn't smell death. Hope everyone else is gearing up and ready for action.

I wish I could be chasing whitetails now. Season here opens Oct. 1st, so I have a while. Like prior years, I will head out opening weekend, then probably wait until around halloween. My wife and I are building a house. I have tried and tried to be done and in by hunting season, but it isn't going to happen. I told my wife if we finish it around the beginning of November, we aren't moving in until the end of November unless my tag is filled. Really hope it is ready mid/end of October so it isn't an issue. Gotta have priorities, and hunting is at the top.

Seen lots of does that past two days. I let a nice 11 pointer walk Monday evening. Probably 150" deer. Looked to be a 3 year old. Might have been a mistake. I don't think so though. We'll see.

Dang, letting a 150 class walk. At this point, I would be happy to have a 150 show up on camera. Good luck for sure.

Me, Jason, Mike, Fran and a few other guy's

We'll guys got home from work today ready to jump in the shower and hunt. Got inside and the house was a mess. Someone broke in took my Mathews and my wife's Mathews our benellis my canon gl2 and a bunch of other stuff. Sucks. Ill be out of commission for a while but ill get a nice Deer killed. I need to get a bow bought now and I'll be good to go. The one day of tbe week I put our pitbulls in a crate instead of in the house. Damn. Ill come through though don't worry about me.

Wow, I feel horrible for you man.. I can only imagine. I hope the best for you. Any theft insurance on your house? I just sold my Matthews Drenalin or I'd send it your way.

Man, that is just horrible. I hope you and your wife are okay. It's just so frustrating that some people can wreck the lives of others. I was just thinking yesterday that I really need to take inventory on some of the stuff in my house and your unfortunate circumstance convinced me that I should do that now. I know you are frustrated, which is understandable. :(

Sorry to hear that, I hope that there is someway they get caught.

Damn, sorry to hear this. Hopefully they get caught and hope you connect on a 180 class.

wow I am so sorry to hear about your stuff getting stolen....its been happening way too much lately. As for the doe points counting.....I am all for it.

Just making sure, had everyone checked in? I could be wrong but I think we are still missing JimmyT

Yeah it sucks but the ball is rolling. Called my pro shop guy and ordered my new heli-m and the wife's new jewel. Ill be back at it hopefully the first week of October. The thing that sucks the worse is I was deadly with that z7. I mean turkey killing at 60 yards deadly. Hopefully it won't take long to adjust to this new bow. Gonna try to set it up the same way.

Yep, Jimmy is AWOL. I have sent him an e-mail and an IM without any reply. I'll let fieldmouse know tomorrow, which is the deadline for checking in. Not sure if he will give us a replacement or not.

Anybody get out this weekend? Seaon here opens a week from today. Good luck to anyone getting out soon.

That sucks Andy! Hopefully they catch the dirtbags!

I've got a z7 now and love it! Sure you will adjust to your new bow just fine though.

Back from my elk hunt. No tag punched but saw some nice elk and had a lot of fun, just couldn't get anything to work out....

Now I can focus on whitetails. Just got two more new cheapo hang on stands put together last night. Got another couple of sets I want to hang in the next couple of weeks before prime time and then I should be all set!

Hey team how is everyone doing? I'm almost ready for
the opener on Monday.just have to wash camo and wait for Monday
affternoon .weather isn't going to be great calling for rain .
Good luck to everyone .

Good luck Joe. It could be a long weekend waiting for Monday to roll along.

I've been talking with Fieldmouse about an alternate for Jimmyt. He's not too excited about assigning us a replacement just yet. He is still working on the other teams right now.

I've Been hunting a bit. Hunted Sika deer down in the marsh's of the eastern shore of Md Saturday. Had a spike come in to 30 yards but never had a shot. They are just starting to bugle and the pre rut is kicking in. On the whitetail front I havehad several does in a range and small bb but haven't stuck anything yet. Saw my first shooter this week and looked like one worth hunting. Good luck to everyone.

Today was opening day.....and I am stuck doing things around the house. Hopefully Monday I can get in a stand.

Opening day here today....but at work. Will probably just wait for the weekend and save time off for November.