This is Matt again posting as Greg.......what does it say when you're too lazy to log out and sign in under your own screenname?
Anyway, heres the update for day 6 and 7 of our 8 day S. Illinois bowhunt.
Thursday Nov 8........Day 6, a day that will live in infamy.
I sent this list in a PM yesterday (or some form of itand it pretty much sums up our day.
1. Greg loses 2 brand new A/C/C arrows with broadheads walking in in the AM dark.
2. Greg has to climb and unclimb several different trees because of unseen limbs
3. COLD and WINNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDDYYYYYYYYYY.
4. No deer
5. Grab a nap in the truck (or try to with freight train snore machine Greg
)
6. Hang brand new Scentblocker Roadtrips fleece jacket and pants on tailgate to air out. (Will come back to haunt)
7. Decide to check out another area for the afternoon hunt.......forgot to take Scentblocker off tailgate[
]
8. Entire outfit including my Nikon rangefinder, calls , hat, ropes etc gone. Fell off the back and 20 minutes later when we realized it someone picked it off the road.
(I could still puke at the thought of it)
9. In the process of looking for it I was forced to drive through fresh deep wet road tar which now looks like "Spin Art" down the side of my truck (I don't even want to describe the wheelwells)
10. Invent many new curse words, threaten to kill tar guy.
11. Calm down enough to get ready for the afternoon hunt with makeshift camo outfit.
12. Settle in for the evening hunt only to have 2 guys from Chicago tromping on the bordering property yelling and talking SCOUTING for shotgun season. (Deer spotted doing mach 4 out of the area)
13. Last possibility of deer coming from inside corner thwarted by dumbA from Florida who parked his truck right where the deer want to come from and tried hunting the same corner I was hanging in by WALKING THROUGH IT FIRST.[:@]
14. Almost ran into a skunk on the way out.
15. Oh yeah I broke my 2 way radio mic and earbud so we had no communication
16. Consider suicide as an option.
[&o]
Day 7 Friday November 9th
It has to get better right?!
Hike 1/2 mile into our AM spot and Greg and I swap stand sites......I had 2 beautiful strong 1.5yr old bucks come by, a 6pt (4 X 2) and a 7pt (4 X 3) but they were just solid little basket rack bucks with nice genetics so maybe in a couple years. We also saw a bobtailed button buck who looks like a coyote surviver because his entire tail was bitten off.[:-]It will be fun watching for him if he makes it through his first year. Hard to miss a deer with no tail.
For the afternoon we hunted a new strip of woods (new to me, but not Greg) Greg set me in a nice looking spot of a mowed CRP field with some nice trails leading out and some fresh scrapes in the field edge.
We established a turkey call as our in the woods communication for the AM hunt if we were seeing deer and didn't want the other guy accidentally leaving his stand and potentially ruining any action........remember the busted 2 way radio mic.
So with the sun beginning to set I hear a sick sounding turkey about 80 yards away up the hill.
Hmmmmmm.......that can't be a turkey it sounds a little too "challenged"
So immediately I figure it must be Greg trying to get my attention that a deer is approaching?
I get my bow off the hanger and look his direction.
Yeah, I should have been looking the OTHER direction into the field at my back. LOL I turn in time to catch a nice 2.5yr old 8pt who was quickly determined to be in danger. I turned a little too late and he made it past all of my shooting lanes and stopped him in a small opening as I came to full draw. As I settled the pin he started going again and again I stopped him. Now I have a 30 yard shot through field edge branches but I know I had a LITTLE opening.
The arrow didn't think so and slapped harmlessly to the ground well short of the buck's feet.
So he spins and runs off down the field and cuts a left into the woods.
YEP you guessed it right past Greg who was already waiting. 33 yards and CLANK.[
]He too did nothing more than abuse the surrounding vegitation. Talk about one lucky buck, geez.
That was the only deer we saw tonight and although he might need a valium after tonight's experience he'll be there for another day.
We have one more day tomorrow to get it done and we're not giving up hope, we just haven't seen any mature bucks on the feet and absolutely no chasing. Strange. The barometer has been up and down and all over the place as well as the wind directions and temps so maybe the unsettled weather has something to do with it? We haven't had the same wind direction for 2 consecutive days......most days have been very different AM to PM.
We should have one final update tomorrow before I pack to head home Sunday AM.