RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Hello guys, I hunt ruffly 150 acres in Switzerland Co. Im dying to get out but wont be able to until the weekend of the 17-19. ugggghhhhhh. This year is going to be different for me, I've already got some on the wall and have been successful throughout my 17 years of hunting. My dad, my cousin and our long time family friend have all made a record book, some have made multiple books. That is my goal now, I want to be in a record book. im not trying to beat what my fellow hunters have accomplished (one deer is ranked 8th in the state non-typical last checked), I just want to put my name among the the fortunate ones so far. After that, its on to filling the freezer and getting a deer for the FHFH program. Good luck to all.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Alright all you Indiana bow hunters.....whats the scoop, who's been out, what have you seen???? All of us gun hunters need to live vicariously throught you! Let us know.......

Scott

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Well.....


Wednesday and Thursday total I saw 1 fawn at our family farm here in Adams County. This evening I went up to our land in Steuben County. Walking in I kicked up 15-20 deer bedding in freshly topped trees....instead of the corn...which I thought was interesting. Didn't see anything sitting in the tree stand except a hilljack driving the Steuben 500 on his 4-wheeler around his field...countless times. Walking out, kicked up what sounded like 50 elephants right where I kicked up the deer walking in. Then walking to my truck (which is on a dirt lane with standing corn on both sides) there was 1 deer in front of my truck, and 2 more behind it.

BAH!!!!!


Going out all day tomorrow...I hope I have better luck then. BTW, one of my friends shot a doe in Jay County this evening...and is letting it bed down over night before going after it.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Deer were moving great this morning. I counted 12 does and fawn cross a bean field single file at dawn. Half of the group turned and came right to me. The biggest doe pee'd (on a scrape that wasn't there the day before...hmmmmmmm). She took a few steps into a clearing..as I pulled back the rest of the deer behind her picked me off...they all flew out of there. Most jumped a fence, but 1 tiny fawn didn't know how to get over it...so it went up and down the fence row for 15 minutes..until giving up and walking right under me. I felt bad that the rest left her behind...lol.

A while later, I hit the grunt tube...around 8am. A spike came charging in behind me ready to run through a brick wall...he was worked up! He kicked up some deer that I didn't know was around...never saw that group again.


This evening, 2 fawns and a smallish doe were within 10 yards of me. What was neat, I just watched them from like 6pm-730pm or so...as they were less than 15 yards from my stand nearly the entire time...eating corn. They would stomp down a corn stalk, and then eat the corn off the ground. I could hear them crunching the corn...lol. They also, which I've never seen, eat the entire leaves off the stalk. I had to resort to throwing twigs at them to get them away from me so I could get down.

Overall, it was a VERY fun day.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Hellosportsman,I hunt mainly Switzerland County on a family farm of 140 acres, and some a 80 acre farm in Dearborn County. So far in the early part of archery I haven't seen much worth talking about, but have some very nice trailcam pics of some P&Y bucks which I will post this week when I go back and get my SD card. So good luck to everyone.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

I hunted in Jefferson Co Wed-Sat and saw deer moving everyday.....mostly before 9am and the last half hour of light at the end of the day. Day time temps seem to have most of the deer bedded down all day.

I got a doe opening day at about 6:15pm and then another doe Sat morning at 8:30am. Both were nice sized.....approx 125 & 140 lbs.

I have not seen any bucks while in the stand yet....only doe's and fawns. I have seen a couple nice 8pts at night when driving but that's about it.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

HooSIERHunter, cant wait to see those pics. My dad was out this weekend and said he didnt see much on stand either. He is going back out this weekend.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Nice to hear some hunting stories......cannot wait to see some pics of the P&Y deer. I am headed up tomorrow to get pics off our cams, been about 2 weeks since I last checked. Hopefully I have them aimed a little better this time (first year using them). Anyway good luck to all, hope your time in the stands is productive!

Scott

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

I have the last week of October and the 1st week of November off of work. Those are my favorite times to hunt. I normally hunt Fri-Sun...but those two weeks I'll be able to hunt when hilljacks aren't driving their 4-wheelers in circles...so I'm jacked up for it!

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Seen lots of deer.9 from my stand opening morning. I've been out 5 times so far this season, and have had deer within fifty yards every time but once.

Ohio County, Indiana Doe Down (my brother's first bow kill):

http://i308.photobucket.com/albums/kk356/bowmanaj/summerfallandbowhunt048.jpg

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Congrats to your brother.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Nice doe......live it up....

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

80º this weekend!? Looks like I'm taking the Lund out tomorrow...[>:]

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Mess of fish sounds good today.....

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

I couldn'tpick fishing over hunting...just couldn't do it. I went out Sat/Sun morning...and my buddy stayed out all day Saturday. Getting down at 9am I was on fire...not to mention the bugs attacking me.

It's amazing how scrapes can just pop up all over the place over night. This morning my brother watched as a 6pt came out of a corn field in front of him..and then make a scrape. After he was done the deer just returned to the corn field.

I had a 4pt walk under my stand at 7am. He walked into a thicket in front of me...and got into a fight with another buck that I never saw. It only lasted a couple seconds...and then they both went busting through a corn field. It was nearly 60º at the time too. Evil.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Well i get to finally get out this weekend and the weather does look promising, cool temps and light wind. Leaving Friday at noon to get down there and hunt the afternoon/evening. Cant wait. I'll post back on Monday what I saw and how I did.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

went out and setup the last stand, and noticed our neighbor put up a new stand right on the edge of our property lines. We always keep our stands off the property lines, but anyway we have had a stand in this corner of the property for last 3 years and now they put one about 50 yrds away? Oh well we will not hunt that spot opening weekend anyway, just wanted to vent.

Checked the trail cams and as I said before first year using them. The one had 126 pics, which only one had a deer. obviously wind was setting it off, so I moved it hopefully dont get all the false triggers. The other one did not have a single pic on it, not sure if I had it setup wrong or what but will check again in about a week and see whats up. Didnt kick up any deer but did kick up 2 roosters.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

It's getting closer for me. Leaves are starting to turn real good around here and have began to fall off. Thats usually my sign that it's about time. I will probably get out sometime next week for the first time. The last few weeks i have been fishing a lot with my brother, tearing the tar out of nice channel cats in the river. Looking forward to the deer season now though and i will have my little bro along during gun season this year, he decided to ditch his hag of a gf and is going to be picking up the gun again. First time in about 4 years. I have been busy helping him get all his stuff together.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Pat- You happen to know Dave Burke? He lives in Decatur northwest of town by the old quarry. He's my uncle and happened to get a buck. Don't know the size though. My parents grew up in the town (last name Hammond). Just wondering if you happen to know any of them.


Chris

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

I don't know your uncle, but went to school with a couple Hammonds. I graduated in 2000 from Bellmontwith a Lexy Hammond...and another named Ryan Hammond.


I grew up a couple miles from that quarry, on Minnich Road. I'm related to a ton of Selking's that farm a bunch of land out that direction(mom's side...big time politicians around the county). I now live in Decatur.

Small world. [8D]

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Forgot to add my hunting related news..lol...


Went out tonight. Saw nothing until right at dusk. 1 small buck came out of a private woods...then entered a pine tree farm. Minutes later, 9 more deer followed him. Damn that private woods and the pine tree farm!

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

I hunt on my family farm in Wells County, Ive been out a few times. I shot a doe last weekend and am now hoping to get on a big buck ive only seen a smaller 8 point during shooting hours. Its been warm up here hopfully it cools down some soon.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Ryan's my 1st cousin. My grandfather Herman Hammond was township assessor for quite a few year. It is a small world. Good luck this deer season!!!

Chris

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Anyone hunt at Big Oaks this past weekend? Any reports?

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

i saw what looked to be three nice rubs right by my stand when i crossed the creek i found out they were just trees with some kind of bad bark [:@][:@][:@]

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Funny story here, my brother I went out to sight in our rifles. They were both shooting a little high, anyway we have a place with a dirt/weed backdrop. As he shoots his 4 or 5 shot we hear a crying noise coming from the target area. Walk up and find a rabbit behind the target with a bullet hole in it. What the heck are the odds of that happening? I told him he couldnt of hit the damn thing if he tried. Sucks that it happened but damn what are the odds?

Any more reports I am not seeing much out in the fields.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Last night: 1 doe feeding on the edge of a corn field. When my buddy was walking towards me to meet up, a fawn popped out of a thicket 30 yards from me...and did a "whhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" cry for like 5 seconds. Freaked meout!


This morning: A 4pt worked some scrapes, and then pushed a doe for an hour. Trailing behind those two deer were a large doe, and a tiny fawn. They all ran into a swamp...didn't see them come out. A decent doe gave me a 45 yard shot, but I didn't try it. Saw a tall 6pt feeding 50 yards in front of me around 9am, he didn't want anything to do with a grunt or the can call.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Sounds like everyone has been seeing some deer this year. I won't get a chance to hunt until shotgun opener on the 15th, but that date is fast approaching. As I do every year I will be hunting in Monroe county on my parents property. Hopefully we will see the benifits from all the work we put into planting our food plots earlier in the year. We have seen some increased traffic on the trails, but who knows if that translates into big bucks. [&:]

How has this drop in temperature affected things for everyone? Hopefully it got things moving a little bit more. Well good luck to all you bowhunters in the next few weeks. I am really starting to anticipate shotgun opener. Every year I feel like a kid again waiting for Christmas to get here. :D

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Bucks were really moving this morning. I had a 6pt come in hard after I turned my Can call over. My buddy saw a spike, a 6pt, and an 8pt trotting behind some does..just couldn't get a shot.

Had frost on the ground up in Steuben County this morning....and the deer were really moving well.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Bucks were moving in SE Indiana saturday too. Had a very nice 8 point come in but couln't get a shot. 8-8:30 seems to be the magic time for the stand I hunt the most. Ive seen deer every morning but 1 so far, out of 14 sits.2 does down. 3 bucks sighted, one spike, a small 6 and a nice 8.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

BBD in Jennings County a guy i no killed a big 19 pointer had an eight inch drop tine. No pics yet they will be buzzing around soon though

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Well I finally got out this past weekend. Got down to the farm at around 2 pm and got settled in and took a shower and got ready to head out to the food plot out back. Great evening to be hunting, light breeze and action! Saw 3 does and a BB. the does were too far for a bow, oh to only have Mr Encore in my hands. The BB got to withing 7 or 8 yds but let him pass. The following moring got even better. i got my cousing up into his tree and left to go back to my area. I get into my stand and pull my back up and sit it on my seat, I go to pull out my rattle bag and just as I do, I look up and boom, 4 does and a small basket 8pt. Yeah you guessed it, bow still on the ground. The lead nanny noticed that my stand wasnt there yesterday! So she tried to pick me out and couldnt. so after about 5 min of trying to stare my down, they start to move on. Sucks too because the lead nanny was big. I watch them for about another 15 min before I could finish getting everything in place as I didnt want to be seen and blow that area up. well I finally get everything in place after they leave, no sooner do I sit down, bow in hand take a little deep breath and 2 min later I hear the sound of footsteps. I look back and two more does!!! big healthy ones too, but before I could get up and turned to my right (thats where every one came from) the lead doe was 10 yds away and noticed me. She played the cat and mouse game with me and I wouldnt break, she stood broadside trying to stare me down, all this while the other doe got to within 4 yds of my stand and behind me feeding with no clue I was there. The lead doe still standing there, looks back and that tells me one thing, buck. I slowly turn to my left and look and at 40 yds out I see a tail move and a tree branch being thrashed, finally I see rack. After thrashing the brach, he starts to make his way towards me. I see he is a nice 8pt. The two does start to make their way down the hill as he moves in, and there is a third does I didnt even see there! The buck gets to within 10 yds almost behind me and in some thick stuff. I can see him better now and I know now that Im not going to take him, I have a buck of equal stature and we are practicing QDM on our property. My hope was to get him within range to take a pic with my phone. after about 10 min of just standing there, he finally makes his way down the hill quartering away from me at 15 yds and I just lost sight of him when I decide to turn and sit back down. Literally a min later, I hear a crash infront of me on the trail I came in on, then another little crash, so I grunt a couple of times in that direction, I look back to make sure the nice 8 isnt there (didnt want him to turn back at the grunts and spot me), I look back to where the crashing noise was and boom! a medium size 8 pt is standing on the trail just outside of the little food plot Im hunting. He makes his way towards me feeding on the food plot and gets to withing 8 yds of me and tried to spot me thru a cedar tree that was between us, but he couldnt make me out. He made his way across the front of me and down the hill. Finally, he's gone and now I can finally actually sit and look around and do some calling. lol doesnt produce anything, the only thing I saw after that was a spike coming up from the bottom and going behind me at 60 yds. My cousin saw 9 deer that morning only 100 yds away from me. We had good action!!! We decided to set up differently for the evening and I only saw a nanny at 50yds at last light and he didnt see anything. So Sunday morning my cousin got into the tree I hunted the day before and I moved to a different food plot and on an intersection of crossing routes. At first light I had a spike come in at 6 yds and feedsing on the food plot then a basket 8 comes in and moves down the food plot out of sight. I can feel that this is going to be good, the weather has been right all weekend, alot of activity. I get a text msg from my cousin saying he drew on a doe and she spotted him and bolted. just after that, I got my look at my last deer for the weekend, a small 6 or 8 in some brush 40 yds away, never really got to see him well. at 5 til 10 in the morning, I get a phone call, its my cousin and I know what has happened, he could barely talk. He just shot a nanny at 5yds from the same stand I was in the previous morning. I told him to sit tight and Im coming. I start to get down and I get the shakes as if I just shot! this is only his second deer taken and both have been with me. I've taken him under my wing and guided him thru the process. He's come a long way. I get to him and he's anxious to get on the trail, but at the steep angle and how close she was (he didnt get a pass through) I wanted to get our stuff back to the RTV and give her some time. We did and came back, it took us about 30 yds before we found blood and we could tell she was heading for the creek bottom. We followed it all the way down and into the creek. You know how the tracker is infront of the hunter on the tv shows and sees the animal first and the hunter doesnt see him/her? Thats how this happened, I saw her in the creek bottom and stopped, he had no clue why I did. I turned to him and just stuck out my hand for a congradulatory hand shake, and thats when his face filled with a giant smile. He knew then I found her. She started her way up the other hill side and couldnt go any more and tumbled back down into the creek bottom. funny thing is, he killed her out of my old stand using my old bow that I gave him!!! The old Browning still does the job. i will get pics up tomorrow as I forgot the camera today. Sorry. but wanted to share my weekend with you guys. i didnt get to hunt in the evening after all the dragging and major headache I had. but I will be back at it the first weekend in Nov.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

My cousin and his son did, saw only 2 does in the two days they were there. And from what they were hearing, not much sucess over the weekend either.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Went out yesterday. Morning wasn't too bad. Frost on the ground and very little wind. A spike, and a dark racked 6pt come by freshening up their scrapes. They ran off into a thicket, only to return an hour later...to check other scrapes...made some rubs...then the spike got his arse handed to him in a little fight. An hour or so later a different 6pt showed up, putting his scent on several scrapes...only to make his way into some blow-downs to bed.


Afternoon was evil with a stiff eastern wind..which was blowing leaves and twigs at me the whole time. Only deer I saw was a big 8 right at dusk while I was walking out. He was making a rub...and then I lost sight of him in the darkness.


This weekend looks rough up here...constant chance of rain and moderate winds. Chance of snow (as of now...you know how that is...) on Monday.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

HELLO....

JUST A NOTE ON SUN OCT 19 I WAS ON STAND IN AM AND TOOK A PIEBALD DOE

I HOPE TO POST PHOTOS SOON!! ??? HAS ANY OF YOU SEEN OR TAKEN ONE (PIEBALD DEER)

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Never seen one, DERBYDEER. BTW, easy on the CAPS LOCK button...it makes it easier for us to read.



I'm going to attempt to make it out in the morning, but then the wife has a special evening planned for my bday (which isn't until next Wednesday....but she knows I'll be hunting that entire day!). After tomorrow, it looks like it's going to be very windy/cold/rainy until Sunday or Monday. BAH!

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

I'll be at Big Oaks this weekend. I'm hoping the weather front tomorrow will have the deer on their feets early and often Saturday morning. I've never hunted there and it will suck walking out in the dark, over unexploded ordinance, to find a tree to sit in.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

Just use your flashlight and pay attention, its the best advice I can give you. And you dont need to go but 150-200 yds in max. what area are you hunting, I might be able to help you on where to go. And remember, most unexploded ordiances you will be able to see. The biggest thing is that they dont want someone aimlessly walking around in there and not paying attention.

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

I woke up this morning at 5am....noticed the rain was coming down in sheets...went back to bed. [>:]

RE: Indiana Hunters
 

I may go this weekend for the first time, it just depends on the rain and wind. First part of next week has lows in the upper 20's. Went driving the property i hunt last night about 10pm with my brother. The deer were everywhere. We seen 10 laying down in the front yard of property owners house,one was a decent sized 8 pointer. First buck i have seen in about 2 weeks. I will start hunting hard around the first of November right up to gun season. If i can get my deer, i'm going to try and help my brother get on a deer during gun season.