It happens every year
10-02-2017, 04:11 PM
#1
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 12,745
It happens every year
You think that after over 50 years of archery hunting I would expect this. I hunt whitetail in the woods. There is no agriculture fields for miles. I set up trail cams and scout the areas of known good deer activity found over the years.
Every summer, throughout the summer I see bucks in velvet. Everything from spikes to gorgeous 10 pointers and more. I hang my stands and double check my cams up and pull them about the middle of Sept. Now, archery season has begun and I hunted 2 days without hide nor hair of a deer. Not even a doe. My stand is downwind of existing trails and elevated enough that I am still in the canopy of surrounding smaller trees so I'm not being detected. My approach is so that I come in via a manner that does not parallel trails and cut across the main trail at my shooting lane.
It seems they just disappear the end of Sept and don't show up again for about 4-5 weeks!
Every summer, throughout the summer I see bucks in velvet. Everything from spikes to gorgeous 10 pointers and more. I hang my stands and double check my cams up and pull them about the middle of Sept. Now, archery season has begun and I hunted 2 days without hide nor hair of a deer. Not even a doe. My stand is downwind of existing trails and elevated enough that I am still in the canopy of surrounding smaller trees so I'm not being detected. My approach is so that I come in via a manner that does not parallel trails and cut across the main trail at my shooting lane.
It seems they just disappear the end of Sept and don't show up again for about 4-5 weeks!
10-03-2017, 07:52 AM
#5
Typical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 991
Exhausting but fun. They dropped me in dang near on top of the lead herd. Had animals the second afternoon. Took a really nice bull, after looking at them for about 15 minutes, at 200 yards with the smokeless. Eased up to 75 yards the next morning on a follow herd and took a fat bull with the Renegade. Saw absolutely no sign of bears or wolves which is highly unusual for the area I was in. At least for the wolves. Made the call for pickup, quartered them up then hung out at the lodge for a couple of days with Tony and Frank. They deboned it all out for me and wrapped it up and flash froze the meat after the quarters hung for a day and a half. You don't really have to age caribou that much like you do whitetail for it to be really good and tender. Gave them the racks and the hide from one. Kept the other hide to make me a nice leather apron for working in the shop. I honestly don't see how the old man used to drive to all those places by himself. 2 and a half days driving one way and I was going stark raving loony. Don't mind camping alone, rather enjoy that actually, but driving, don't like that all that much. I think I'll take Alex or Deb or both next year. They drive me nuts sometimes but it's a fun kind of loony.
10-03-2017, 09:01 AM
#6
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 12,745
That's about the only deer family meat I haven't eaten. If you're still in PA I'd love to come pick up a small steak!!!!!
Back to topic...I was out this morning before light. Had a big bobcat come in to 15 yards. He came out of the laurel just as I shifted the weight on my feet and we saw each other at the same time. He changed direction and I wanted a pic. So I pulled my phone out of my shirt pocket and got the camera on. I started to make high pitched "smooching" noises. He stopped but no clear spot to snap the pic. But a goshawk heard my noise and came diving past me about 10' and set in a tree. After determining I was too big to fly off with he took back off the way he came and the bobcat was gone too.
No deer but an exciting morning.
Back to topic...I was out this morning before light. Had a big bobcat come in to 15 yards. He came out of the laurel just as I shifted the weight on my feet and we saw each other at the same time. He changed direction and I wanted a pic. So I pulled my phone out of my shirt pocket and got the camera on. I started to make high pitched "smooching" noises. He stopped but no clear spot to snap the pic. But a goshawk heard my noise and came diving past me about 10' and set in a tree. After determining I was too big to fly off with he took back off the way he came and the bobcat was gone too.
No deer but an exciting morning.
