But I am in the cabin I rented looking at maps and planning where to go tomorrow will be mostly scouting and reacquainting myself with the roads around here. Maybe set a couple of stands. My partner gets here Wednesday, he is gun hunting in NW Minnesota opening weekend and Monday. Meanwhile I know some local help if I shoot something too big or too far in for these old legs to drag out.
Word is that small bucks are being seen running around in a few spots. It is about a week too early yet for the big boys to get too careless.
I will post a little as often as possible.
The local guy that helps me some hunts mostly public but this year he is also hunting a lease of some sort. His son got his first buck this year, an 8 pointer.
Ended up sitting with the new stand at ground level looking through a tunnel under branches leading to a scrape. Branches way to thick if I went up any higher. Saw one doe in the headlites not far form there on my way back to the cabin.
ruger I looked at the Kansas DNR site and gun season is not open yet so that means Jeff is using a Bow.
if you look at the 2015 Kill thread he states “Arrow flies true and the big one drops to the ground, flops a little and rolls down the birm to the edge of the water.” No one would post that if they were using a crossbow. They would say the bolt files true.
unless they were trying to pass off their crossbow kill as a bow kill. why would you do that?
if the buck dropped to the ground that means it was a spine hit and there is no way someone using a scoped crossbow would hit a back bone unless they are a very poor shot.
so we have to conclude that Jeff is a bow hunter not a crossbow hunter.
jeff?
Ha Ha Ha Ha. Its happening every day. Ive talked to so many guys telling their stories about their "bow" And they keep using the word bow and bowhunting. They they come clean and admit they are really using a crossbow.
I have handicapped permits for Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Colorado. Other states recognize those other permits. Because of legalizing xbows or my age I no longer need permits in some of those states. Kansas no longer requires a permit like Wisconsin.
OK now for crossbows. They are not what they are cracked up to be. I hate them. They are heavy, hard to maneuver through the woods, and very heavy front end so once you bring it up they are hard to hold up long unless you have a bench rest like they do on TV. I have owned 4, one got stolen, I shot over a BIG bear at under 20 yards because that bow occasionally threw an arrow way high. Figured that out the next day practicing at camp. Then found the arrow I missed with and lined that up from the stand and where the bear stood. I actually thought I kiilled him and passed him up when he came back a half hour later. Tenpoint blamed it on the scope. The next two tempoints occasionally will throw an arrow off about 4 inches. (yes I call them arrows). In fact just before this trip it was shooting weird and I finally got it tuned in but still have no real trust it will shoot straight. Also nobody knows much about tuneing them, I have had bow shops put the wrong number of turns on the string when replacing them.
I have never taken a shot over 30 yards with one and other than if I ever elk hunt again I probably never will. They do not shoot as good as they make it look on TV. Yes the buck I shot a few weeks ago was dead center spine hit, another shot gone at least 4 inches high.
I actually brought two crossbows with me because I don't trust them to shoot good. I would so much rather be using my old Mathews that was brand new at the time of the shoulder injury, It has never been in the woods hunting. I have tried to use it a few times but for practical purposes I can't. I have to tie a rope to my hand, tie it to a tree behind me and push the riser forward using the rope to draw. Letting off once drawn, don't think I could do it. Another method I have tried is hooking my thumb behind my neck and pushing the bow forward. Just does not seem too safe and again, doubt I could let it down.
Heck, my archery club that I am a life member of won't even let me practice on their range either. I took them out of my will after that.
So, there, now your inquiring minds are full of the answers. Blast me all you want, get me kicked off bowsite, whatever, I don't care. The only other thing I will say in this thread will be about the Kansas hunt. Please show some respect and let me get some enjoyment out of this hunt. It is daylite out, great weather and here I am writing this instead of being out there.
Swampcreek, you should go do some real fishing instead of fishing on bowsite.
Ruger, I know you well enough that I still think you are a good guy and good for bowsite.
Good luck on your hunt...I love following public land DIY hunts
I'm not sure what anyone hoped to gain by "ratting you out" with their investigative journalism. The revelation that you are continuing to enjoy your hunts in spite of your injury is good news to me.
I hope you have a great hunt and look forward to following your posts to this thread as well as others in the future.
Looking forward to watching this thread. I wish you the best of luck in Kansas. Post lots of pics please!
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Thanks for all your stellar posts, quite the opposite of what I was afraid I might hear.
Gusto, tell me more about your custom 'arrows'. PM me if that sounds better than posting. You are right, hunting on the ground is the only benefit I have seen with the xbow. Just yesterday I sat on the ground under some cedar trees watching a scrape 15 yards in front of me. Ended up with leg cramps when I got up on my knees to crawl out from under that tree. No way I could have done that with a vertical bow.
Pete, I am south of Nebraska, west of Colorado, north of Oklahoma, and west of Missouri. ;-)
Now for todays hunt. It wasn't a hunt, more of a wasted day that turned bad in the afternoon. The picture is a cool washed out old bridge I came upon. Thought it was interesting.
The day started out late so I decided to drive and look over some areas that I picked out via looking at maps and google sky views. I put on over 150 miles on the truck and several miles on my Lowa boots. Did not find anything I was excited about. At the last place I got to the truck around 3:00 and was gonna just find a scrape to sit on. Problem, no truck key in my pocket. What happened (pay attention here so you don't do this stupid mistake) the truck key only had a little ring on it and was in my right side pants pocket. My GPS was in the same pocket and I was taking it out frequently to help me decide where to look. I get back to the truck and no truck key. Then I remembered one time I took the gps out the pocked turned inside out most of the way. That had to be where I lost it. Long story short, AAA screwed up and dispatched a tow truck instead of a locksmith like I told them I needed. Tow truck calls to be sure they had good directions and would be on their way. Of course he says all he can do is open doors and tow. So, I call AAA back, checked and no locksmiths in the area so they transferred me to a Dodge dealer. They made a key from the VIN but by now the tow truck is a quarter of the way to me. So, tow truck takes the truck to my cabin, goes to town, picks up the key and brings it out to me. AAA said they would pay for the extra cost of the key delivery. They better.
Positive note, I got some scouting done and the weather was great.
Tomorrow has to be a much better day.
Good luck to you.
Sometimes sarcasm doesn't translate well to the interweb - there was sarcasm above.
If you enjoy hunting and can hunt now with a crossbow (or rifle or spear) and it is legal, who cares what a bunch of anonymous forum posters might say? Life is too short. Keep posting your hunt and send me a note when in MN and need a huge deer hauled out.
BTW - Animal grease = 7.28 lbs/gallon x 55 gallons = 400 lbs. That would have been a heck of a bench press.
Good luck Jeff!
Good luck Jeff, If that's your real name.....
Amoebus: I took second in state (Wisconsin) for power lifting in '72. Held two state records Bench press and dead lift, each was on my third lift and held for about 5 minutes until the other guy beat it on his third lift. So, in the day I could have bench pressed that barrel off because the weight of the other end of the barrel was over the cart wheels.
Morning Hunt Report:
Bumped a deer on the way in, just enough light to see the rump and tail before he got into cover. Looked good size but who knows? Damn squirrel chewed my rope through that I pull my pack up with in two places. Mean hungry squirrels in Kansas. A local friend of mine rattled in a small buck at 10:00.
Gonna be cold next two days but worse than the cold it is going to be quite windy.
We have been telling you for years that baiting is dangerous. This is a fine example of that.
On the other hand, you probably know where your scent is going.
There were tons of turkey talking behind me and I started wondering if the scrapes might be them digging for some sort of nuts from whatever kind of tree that is. But the only scraping is on the grass under the drip line of those lower branches. If it were turkey I would have thought everything would be tore up.
There is a guide service that I drive by, a few days ago there was a very average 10 point being skinned, not much mass and only to the ears. Tonight there was a heavier wider 10 point being skinned so I stopped by. The clients all saw bucks chasing in that wind. What a difference private land hunting makes.
I sat all morning over the mega scrape in yesterdays post. Nothing seen but birds. I did put up a camera so we'll see what night visitors I am missing. Then I checked out a spot that I saw lots of action at 3 years ago (including being challenged by a buck in brush on my way out) and basically no sign to be found this year. Bailed out of there and went to another spot that was decent sign last time but not as much this time although I did bump a doe that stoped and looked at me from 50 yards. Saw 3 more doe in that area grazing in some sorghum after dark while driving out.
My local buddy says he thinks things will pop in a couple days when the bucks that are locked down with their first doe finish up and look for another one. He also says Thanksgiving week is the best week of all for big bucks moving. Most doe are bred by then and the big ones still want to find more that are ready. So much for Wisconsin gun season. I have been invited to Thanksgiving dinner here, yippie... Maybe fresh tenderloins will be part of the menu.
The thing I keep struggling with is that trees here are NOT tree stand compatible. So darn many branches and if you got a stand up you would have to trim a LOT of stuff off the trees around you. Also a lot of areas where trees are not big enough for a stand and are thicker than snot, hard to walk thru those areas. Sharp spears on lots of them too.
I don't give a flying monkey's butt what weapon you use to hunt, as long as you are doing it legally, and hunting ethically. Pay no mind to the internet trolls who like to puff their chests at the rest of us on this site.
I wish you the best in your Kansas hunt.
Nice day, 28 in the morning and 50 or so by noon. Very little wind, finally. Here is a pic from the stand I setup at noon, I had been sitting on the ground at that location until then..
I bumped a doe and a small buck while walking yesterday.
Today. Setup a stand and hunted it. Did not see anything and moved it about 150 yards at lunch time. Then drove to another spot and a doe runs across the road, I reach for binos expecting a buck behind her and sure enough a decent buck but did not get the binos up fast enough to see it good. Later in the day partner sees a nice buck cross that road in the same spot. Pattern happening here....
I parked the truck near there and headed to where I thought the buck I saw came from. I am walking across a open field to a ridge and at the base of the ridge an 8 pointer and 2 doe jump out of a small patch of tall grass 40 yards in front of me. They were at the base of the ridge I was headed to.
Constant south winds here lately, gonna continue, it sucks but it is also comfortable hunting in 60 degrees.
Probably gonna rain toward quitting time tomorrow so might not hunt all afternoon.
From there we were on our way to check out another area when I see a doe running toward the road ahead of us. Then the BUCK behind her, he was definitely a shooter. Expected him to follow the path of the doe and cross in front of the truck which is now stopped with binos in hand. He did not cross but doubled back, there was a curve in the road we thought he would run to and circle around ahead of us to the doe but he didn't. So we bailed out and took stands along the edge of the brush in the drainage the doe ran into thinking he would eventually try to get back to her. We sat till quitting time and nothing. He either circled way around us or found another doe to play with. Partner did see a doe leave the drainage the first doe went into, not sure if she was a different one or the same one looking for her boyfriend. Either way, no buck following her.
Then went for supper at my friend's house in the area and picked his brain for some more tips to hunting this area. Way different approaches than we are used to.
Good chance of rain tomorrow and definitely more south wind with warm temps.
Today, started out raining so got a late start. Then the dirt roads were really slick especially where there were puddles. Saw 8 toms, that was it. Pulled the camera that was on that mega scrape, just one deer pic, a very average 8 pointer.
Partner saw 3 doe walking together in range. Did not shoot in hopes that a buck was with them. (doe tag for any unit that allows doe comes with your license) Also saw a buck with 3 points on one side and either a broken beam on the other side, or somehow it just grew that way.
Oh ya, your main license is for two units. You pick a main unit for the draw and then pick a secondary unit. You can hunt both. So, you apply with your main selection for the easiest of the two units to draw. Or if you only want to hunt one unit then I guess you pick that one first.
My partner saw a 6 pointer in range in the morning. Later on he had a shooter in range but could not get a shot, I will let him tell the story if he chooses to.
Sorry RutNut we had that wind long enough, your turn.
Now for todays stories. I sat a stand that I set and sat in the morning a couple of days ago. Buck walks left to right over 100 yards out, he is a maybe. Starting to angle away so I rattle and he pretends he doesn't hear it. Angles farther into some little thicker stuff and makes him hard to see. I could see he stopped so I used the big can call and that got him to turn toward me and slowly skirt past me at about 40 yards and into some cedars behind me, think he went away from me on a that finger of the drain I was on. Pretty sure he was a 10 point but never saw G1's. Looked average for a 10, not a lot of mass, spread, or height. Was almost glad he did not stand in front of me I might have been too tempted. (Footnote, I hung that stand and sat it that morning then moved it 130 yards for future hunts, as in today, that buck went right past where I originally set the stand.)
Partner saw 3 doe on the way in, 2 stray dogs, and a bobcat on stand.
BIG hopes for tomorrow. Headed for the area where I shot my buck 3 years ago.
I am glad we are seeing bucks moving around without doe, tells me that hot doe are getting harder to find which is exactly what we expected to happen over the next week.
Also, the wife did better than me today, she killed a possum under our deck. At least one more under there for her to deal with.
Today was interesting and nice weather. Got in to the spot where I shot my buck 3 years ago. Wind did not support using the same tree so I setup about 15 yards from it. Saw 2 tails across the drain while deciding on a tree and setting up.
Mid morning out of nowhere is a shooter buck on my left at 25 yards. Just a glance told me shoot, I did not wait to count points. Trouble is he didn't even let me get the bow up, just cruised away never stopped never looked back or my way. Wind totally in my favor. Bleeted with a can while I could still see his tail. Then grunted, then rattled. He was gone.
Early afternoon a big doe comes from that same area, walks up toward me and turns the opposite way of the buck. She goes out in front of me at 44 yards and grazed for 15 minutes and just vanished. I thought I would be punching my doe tag on her but not at 44 yards.
Hour before quitting time two small doe or maybe fawns just appeared in some tall grass 60 yards out. They grazed a while and just vanished. At 20 before quitting two turkeys land right above me. Others wanted to but knew something was wrong. I waved the two above me off so I could finish out the day.
My local friend saw a 10 point he would have shot, was chasing a doe and never gave a chance for a shot. My partner saw nothing.
On another note, the guy I usually hunt with up at Hayward shot an 8 pointer this morning.
I saw one doe just before sunset.
I also saw a first today. Flocks of Canadian and snow geese have been flying through on a regular basis. One large flock of Canadians flying relatively low had a single snow goose at the second from end position on one leg of the formation. Strange, he looked so out of place, white and so much smaller than the Canadians.
Until an hour ago I was planning to head home on Thursday. Was going to sit one stand Tuesday in the AM, pull it, then sit another in the evening, pull it, then pull a third after dark. Then hunt the fourth one all day Wednesday and pull it. But very likely I will hit snow in Iowa and southern MN Thursday afternoon if I travel on Turkey day.
First thought was stay another day but rain forecast here for all day Thursday so no point staying here to hunt that day. Guess I could sleep and watch TV.
Also, getting little burned out after 17 straight days of hunting all day but one morning that was very windy. So, tomorrow will be pulling all 4 stands and hunting a couple of them for a while. Probably gonna put on close to 60 miles pulling them. I have already clocked 950 miles while here. That is just hunting related and a couple trips to town for food and fuel.
Maybe I will change my mind after sleeping on these options.
Now if you only knew, they are Canada Geese, only Canadian if the came across the border ;-)
I went to bed Monday thinking I would Hunt one stand in the AM, then pull it mid day. Hunt another stand in the PM and pull it at quitting time. Then pull the other two stands in the dark and drive home Tuesday. I woke up before 4:00 AM Tuesday and decided to just pull all 4 stands and be on the road home by 10:00 AM. Well pulling stands went well, pretty easy when you aren't lugging the heavy 'bow' with you or all the other hunting gear. Just me, gps, flashlight, and lineman's belt. Well, just as I go down the hill to pull the last stand the brakes on the truck felt weak. I get the stand out and head for the cabin to pack up and the brakes are getting worse. Well, that was about 9:00 AM. Long story short I had a leaking brake line. Imagine that '97 dodge diesel with 230,000 miles on it. Barely broke in. It took till 4:00 PM to get it fixed. Back to the cabin and was finally on the road at 6:00 PM. So, the entire ride home was in the dark. Took a nap at a Des Moines rest stop and home at 8:00 AM today. It was a looooooong 'day'.
So, here I am wondering if I should grab the bow and head to one of my stands to shoot a Minnesota doe on turkey day. Or watch football and wash clothes to get a head start on being ready for 9 days of gun hunting in Iowa next month.
And thinking about when/if I do Kansas again?
One thing is for sure, Kansas deer do not act like MN or WI deer. The habitat is so vast and so different that it is hard for us MN/WI hunters to think and focus around Kansas deer and Kansas landscape and turn the odds more into our favor.
Oh one more thing. I saw the smallest (November) whitetail I had ever seen while I was pulling stands. That deer couldn't have weighed 30# live. I thought it was a yote when I first saw it. Then 20 miles from there pulling my last stand I saw the smallest deer track I have ever seen.
Smokey, I couldn't tell if those canada geese were Americans or Canadians.
