Hey Browning....you remember wanting to come hunt with me for one of my big boys?? lol Well, tonight I got a look at one of them at about 60 yards and WOW! He was about 18" wide and HEAVY main beams with a nice 10 point count in all. The rack is very tall, and his G2's have to be almost 12" long...what a dandy. My first buck this year weighed 180 lbs, and that being the case, this guy would have gone easily over 200. I still wish we could put in whatever one we wanted as long as it was harvested legally with a bow, what difference does it make? Anyway, I'll keep you guys posted on the big boy, even though I can't do anything for the team with him.

I think we may be needing a bit of a roll call here? Many of us have checked in around once a week since this all started, but I don't think our captain (bldtrailone) has posted here in a month or so. Has anyone heard from him?
How's everybody doin?? Any luck or sightings this past weekend? Browning, how's things going for you?

I've been out every weekend. Haven't seen a buck yet but my brother in law saw a 12 pointer in a drainage ditch that he was mowing in the pasture that connects to the timber that I hunt, so I know he is in there. The temps here in IL have been terrible for hunting. Around 70 the last two weekends and extremely windy a few days. The forecast for this weekend is supposed to be in the 60's, still not where it should be but better. It's getting close to things really taking off. I've really started to see alot of rubs. I think the bucks are starting to get excited.

I'm here....Not much happening yet. Weather hasn't been cooperating...WInd and Rain every weekend. I hope things pick up the first week of November since I took off work to hunt that week.

still alive an well got 2 nice bucks spotted 10 and a 12 both would hit the 170s for sure but i know there is a monster here from the video the ole farmer next door showed me so iam holding out.Rut is within a couple of weeks so gonna wait and see what shakes out.

I think rattlesnake is right, I've sent a few e-mails to a couple of or team members but havent had a reply yet. Maybe they'll check in when they score.

Well boys it's been exciting. Sunday morning had a doe and fawn come in right at sunup. Fawn did circles around my stand and sniffed my haul rope then her and the doe bedded down 20 yards behind me. They bedded and ocasionally fed there for 4 hours until they decided to leave. Not 5 minutes after they left I heard a twig snap behind me and a 6 pt with one side of his rack snapped off and scars on his neck came down their trail and stopped directly under my stand and started rubbing his antlers and glands on the little sappling next to my stand which my haul rope was tangled up in. He is looking directly up at me while he is doing this and I can hear another deer coming down the trail. I can't move an inch with him looking up at me so I remain motionless and can see the other deer approaching out of the corner of my eye and can definitely see antler. The broken up six continues on down the trail and the next buck does the same thing, rubs his glands and licks the twigs on the sappling directly below me. He is a good buck, 3 1/2 year old, but is only a 7pt with a missing G2. He would probably score in the low 130's if he would have not been missing his G2. Anyways, he finally passed and they circled around the stand and sniffed around where the does had been bedding and slowly walked out of sight. I sat there for an hour shakeing and stareing down the trail they approached me from waiting and hoping for a bigger buck but nothing came through and I had to get home so I could take my son trick or treating. I may be kicking myself for not taking that deer for a long time but it was definitely one of the best and most intense times I have ever had on stand. I have seen them leave sign before but never on a tree butting up against my stand, let alone looking directly up at me while they did it. Great stuff, I can't get enough.

It's starting to get real good around here and I will be hunting from sunup til sunset this fri, sat, and sun so hopefully I will get us some points then. I was really second guessing myself for passing up a chip shot like that but I know that there are some really big bruisers there and hopefully it is a matter of time before they make a mistake like them 2 guys did this weekend.

Not much going on here. Deer are just not moving. It has been quite warm and windy here, but the pre-rut is just fixin on kickin in. I have 4 days this weekend to hunt, and my hopes are very high.

This past weekend brought me a little more action than the past two weekends. I saw alot of movement but only one buck. I could have shot a few does, but since I shot one the first night out I'm waiting to fill that either sex tag with some horns. The little buck that I saw showed a little interest in the does it was feeding with in a wheat field. He didn't chase them really hard but was definately checking them out. MY buddy watched a decent deer chase a doe around Sunday evening. I finally got a pic of some bucks on my camera on another property. Not the one I'm after but a young 7 pt. that should be nice next year, and a young 6 that needs a few years. Finally saw some scrapes this weekend too. Starting tomorrow they're talking about highs in the low 50's and lows in the 30's. Should be awesome hunting the rest of this week and through next week as long as the temps stay cool.

Here's the two buck pics:

2 more days of work then my 10 day vacation kicks in.Gonna live in my treestand all 10 days.1 of them big bucks is in trouble.