And so it begins.
 

Thomas Jefferson once said "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more luck I have."

If any of you have been following my posts since about the last few weeks of August, you know I've been putting in my time as far as hard work goes when it comes to scouting. I've spent more hours in the woods this year so far than I have in any of the last three years combined. If Mr. Jefferson is correct, I should have made myself quite a bit of luck so far this year.

After losing a good buck last season to a poor hit and even worse weather, I've decided that this is my year. I've set my bar and have been working towards my goal for a few years now. I haven't eaten tag soup in any of those years, however I haven't laid my hands on a set of antlers - ever.

Washington's late archery season begins monday, and since I'm not one of the fortunate few who has an HNI journal, I figured I would fashion myself one here in the general bowhunting forum. I'll keep you folks updated daily, or as often as I can, about how my season is going. You can expect pictures, stories, and more than likely ramblings.

Good luck to everyone still hunting!

RE: And so it begins.
 

I look forward to hearing about your successes, and/or learning experiences.

Good Luck.

RE: And so it begins.
 

I for one, am looking forward to reading your journal. I've seen your pics and can tell you have a great eye for photography.

Let the journal begin!

RE: And so it begins.
 

well good luck bro i hope you get one wash

RE: And so it begins.
 

:eek:

RE: And so it begins.
 

Send forth all your legions. Do not stop the onslaught until your goal is met.

KILL YOUR BUCK!!!

RE: And so it begins.
 

LOL!


I'm with ya Washington; I had my first experience with a mature buck this month, and I'm planning on puttin in some overtime for the rest of the season to see him again if I have to.

Let us know how it plays out. Looking forward to the read.

RE: And so it begins.
 

I look forward to your ramblings, my friend...

RE: And so it begins.
 

5:16 AM.

Five minutes until I leave.

Just thought I would hop on and say thanks for all the kind words of encouragment, folks. Hopefully today is the day, but if not it only means I get more days to hunt. I've got both and antlerless only and a general deer tag, so if a doe swings by and I decide to stick her, I can.

I'll be home this evening, hopefully bloody and grinning from ear to ear, but we'll see. Knock on wood, right?

Back later, folks.

I'm gone huntin'.

RE: And so it begins.
 

Well it was a pretty uneventful day for me.

Total sightings for the day, two.

One doe and a young buck. The buck had a neat rack though, small 3x3 but it was really palmated. He'll be one I'll keep my eye on down the line.

My dad hunted a stand a couple hundred yards from me and apparently had rut action all day. Small bucks chasing does and one decent 4x4. No idea why the action was all at his end of the property and not mine. Hopefully that changes tomorrow.

Scouted out a spot that I hadn't really gotten into before. Found a pretty neat shed, check out the picture below. Along with the shed was quite a bit of fresh buck sign; rubs, scrapes, etc.

I'll be back out tomorrow morning, bright and early. Enjoy the pictures!

The view this morning, just after sun up.



Just a picture of the stuff I carried with me this morning.



The shed, as I found it.



A picture of the bow, just because.



A little of that buck sign I mentioned.

RE: And so it begins.
 

Alrighty Dan, let's get it done. We'll be waiting for pics.

RE: And so it begins.
 

Dan

Whats up with that shed. Looks like a brush-hog got hold of it.;):D

You sure have a great spot it seems from all the other pics I've seen of your hunting area. That big guy will stroll by before too long. Good Luck!

RE: And so it begins.
 

Duc, you know I don't know.

I can't tell if he snapped two of his tines off fighting or if critters got ahold of it and chowed down a bit. The two that are busted look almost polished, so it only makes sense that he busted them off fighting, and then sort of polished them up making more rubs.

Not only does it have those two tines busted off, but its got a split brow tine as well, which really isn't clear in that picture. I'd love to see this guy this year.

RE: And so it begins.
 

Well, it wasn't as slow as yesterday, but I'm still not seeing any rut action on my side of the woods.

Sat the same stand as yesterday and had a small spike and two does filter through.

Not as exciting as I was hoping for, but its all good, I'm in the woods. One of the does decided to browse directly beneath my tree, so I snapped a picture for you guys.

Around noon I hung a stand where I found all the fresh buck sign and the shed yesterday. I'll hunt that tomorrow morning and hope that I see something before its time to come home for turkey.

The doe.



Got bored and took a couple random pictures. The neat thing is that it wasn't dark outside, the flash just blackened the background.

RE: And so it begins.
 

Cool pics Dan. Good luck in the AM. I will be out all day tomorrow looking for my second buck. I saw a little 6pt tonight and let him walk since the freezer has plenty of meat from the doe and spike I got so far. Maybe later in the year I would drop him. I won't do the big meal deal until Friday. My bro in law is a firefighter and will be at the station tomorrow so our family deal is a day late. I have the woods to myself tomorrow PM. I look forward to the pics of your buck! As I recall my prediction in your poll was for a nice 8pt on Friday just after sun up!

RE: And so it begins.
 

Good luck, keep us posted!

RE: And so it begins.
 

Found out why the deer haven't been hitting my stand lately. Someone put up another stand about 75 yards away. Not only did they hang a stand but they also dropped off two bails of hay and what looks like 100lbs of corn.

Time to shift gears, move a stand or two, shake things up a bit.

Snowed a bit today, which is good.

The bucks are chasing does, so its only a matter of being in the right place at the right time now.

Enjoy the pictures, folks.

The view from the stand I mentioned yesterday.





Yeah, its as cold as it looks.



Just a cool picture, I think. Makes a pretty nice desktop background too, if you're interested.

RE: And so it begins.
 

Too bad about that other stand being so close. Good luck with your changes. It does look cold. What I would n't give for cool temps. We got upper 70s.

RE: And so it begins.
 

The thermometer said 33, but the wind blew something fierce all day long so it felt like 23.

Brrrr.

Gets those deer to movin' though. :]

RE: And so it begins.
 

This is interesting. Nice pics, too!

I'm looking forward to more. Good Luck!

RE: And so it begins.
 

I missed your other thread. Congrats on the double!