I know this is the BP forum but I've been waiting for archery to open today for a while. I got up at 5:45, went down to let the pup out to do her thing while I grabbed a cup of coffee. Let her in and the weather was fine.
Went down to the 'hunting room' and got dressed, grabbed my bow and fanny pack and went back up stairs.
Opened the garage door to get the truck out and it was pouring rain. I'm not a fair weather hunter but I am not going to risk hitting an animal less than perfect and loosing it because of rain. At least it cleared up and I can get out this afternoon/evening.

Sounds like you have the kind of luck I have. I also hated bow hunting in the rain because of the blood trail effect. Actually, bow hunting or any hunting for that matter in snow is still the best because, no matter what, you can track them. Maybe later you will get your chance to stick one.

Well a fun night. No deer but the squirrels and chipmunks were running all over. About 6:00 I had about 25 turkey all around my stand. They hung around for about 15 mins and fed away. I heard them about 1/2 hour later flying up into the roost.

I have a group of about twenty turkey in my woods. Most of them are hens. And that is fine with me. Although they do keep the day exciting when they come sneaking through the woods and you hear "something."

Thats the best thing guys...it doesnt even matter if ya see anything! Theres nothing like just being out there! I cant wait...still got 2 weeks left. Grrrr.. Over 2 months till BP season. 6 weeks till any gun season..but bow season runs from oct 18-dec 31.

Last year I left a blind up far into the winter after season. I'd dress warm and go sit in it sometimes (snowshoe out to it - although it gets damp cold in them charcoal coated blinds because your breath moisture does not go out of them easy) and watch snowshoe rabbits, squirrels, grouse, and occasionally the turkeys came in. I'd throw a little corn out there to excite them and then watch them interact.

Just being in the woods is as good as hunting. I have gotten to a stage in my life where if I do not get game, that's not the end of the world. When I was young, I seemed to take it personal if I got skunked for the season. Now I just look at it as I don't have to butcher and do all the work that comes with it. Although I sure don't mind some good eating meat either.

I just have to tell you guys this story, seems like a good place toput it.

A couple years ago I was bowhunting in the middle of the rut, down in the cedar swamp, doing a little grunting and rattling every 20 mn. or so.
I seen a couple smaller bucks but nothing that I reallly wanted to shoot and drag out, over cedar stumps and windfalls. About noon I decided to give it one more try, rattled and grunted for about 20 seconds. Waited 20-30 min. to see if anything was coming , looked all around and seen or heard nothing. I started to let my bow down, got half way to the ground and stopped because of a knot in the rope. I was trying to get the knot loose when I looked over my shoulder and there stood a beautiful, high-racked 8 pointer, looking at the weird thing hanging from the tree and the idiot that was playing with it. What do you do? Naturally I tried to get the bow back up but the buck did a quick walk into the cedars and made a big circle around me and the thing that was hanging from the tree. But I left the woods feeling really satisfiedand fortunate to have had a chance to see this beautiful animal up close and personal. To have killed him would have been icing on the cake, with amixed emotional feeling for a while I know.
YOU JUST HAVE TO RESPECT THESE GREAT CREATURES !!!!

DP - I bet we arent the only ones who got caught with our bows 1/2 down or on the ground. Happened to me more than once. The funniest thing that ever happened to me was up in the tree and peeing in my bottle and had an nice buck walk out of the laurel right under my stand. Nothing I could do but let him walk cause you know how hard it is to stop once you get going. By the time I got done, he was just out of bow range looking back at me. Never saw him again. I must have made him jealous..

That is funny! But when nature calls, what do you do?

YA, I think jealous he doesn't have a bottlelike that !!!!!!!!!!!