ORIGINAL: dmounts

[align=left]Hey fellas....you have been asking for updates so here you go. I hunted all day Friday and Saturday. Friday I was ground pounding a new funnel I located.....its only around 175 yards wide. I was looking for good sign and a nice tree to hunt out of on Saturday. Was surrounded by deer all day Friday! Saw 2 doe early morning...followed by a spike, a 5 pt, a 6pt, a very large 18-19" 8 pt, and a real nice 10 or 11 pt that was prob also around 18"-20". All of the deer passed at around 40-45 yards, and were on a well traveled trail. I tried to stop the two larger buck, but they had something else on their mind. At 4:15 a saw another doe.....moving real quick. I readied myself for what was coming.....it was the big 10 pt. He was moving on her so fast with his nose to the ground. He passed at around 27-30 yards....but I won't take a shot unless its a real slow walk that has no obstructions. I really prefer stopping them. Under the circumstances, I didn't want to wound him. 15 minutes later he came back through chasing the doe....this time they nearly ran me over. It was all I could do to find something to step behind so that I didn't gert trampled.....LOL. That was the last big buck I saw Friday....bunch of 5, 6, & 7 points with the occasional spike. I decided I was definately going to hunt this spot on Saturday. Right after I left the woods Friday, I drove directly to Gander Mountain. My other stands are still set-up in some other areas I hunt, and this was a good excuse to give the wife to get a new climber. I bought the new Summit Viper SS at around 8pm and took it home. Oh boy...new gear! I ate dinner first, then opened the box and started assembling. The climbing stirrups were missing! Its now after 9:00 pm, and I can't use my stand.....and all the stores are closed! I'm boiling!! I stood at Gander Mountains store Saturday morning until they opened. I made them give me new ones, but I had to miss the sunrise hunt over this. Its partly my fault buying the stand so late....but oh well. So now its 9:15 and I'm finally in my stand. Saw 2 buck not 10 minutes later.....a 6 pt and a 7 pt. Too small to shoot. The 7 was prob around 14", and the 6 pt isn't legal around here. Need atleast 4 pts to a side. Later I watched a spike fight a 4 pt over a doe. Man did I mention the buck are chasin the doe. The rut has finally begun here in south western PA. At lunch as I was eating, the large 8 pt came in and bedded down around 75 yards from me. He stayed there for around 2 hours taking a mid-day doe chasin nap. Boy was that cool...and nerve wrecking as well. He eventually got up and headed off to find the others. It was a bit windy Saturday, so the deer were a lot more timid.....the action was around 5:30 to 6:00 instead of like 4-5 on Friday. The wind spooks them a bit and they don't move as quick from their beds. In the last 30 minutes of light I saw a different 6 pt and the same spike as earlier. This is one hot spot. At last light I though I saw the big 10 pt on the edge of the thicket, but it was too dark to tell. I waited until he passed buy, then called it a day. Had lots of action, and I will be back at it all day Monday. I took off from work so I can visit my deer friends. I will post with any updates. Calling for rain in the afternoon, so I may leave the stand for a bit to do some mid-day ground pounding. I have shot atleast half of my archery buck in the rain stalking them in thickets. I move up on their beds while they rest, and wait for them to stand and shake off the rain. Cant wait. We will see. Good luck fellas. [/align]