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Shawshank 2017 Bowsite Blog

During the 2016 hunting season I enjoyed reading others blogs about their hunting adventures. I never posted, but I read the daily chat about public hunting, decoys, trail cam pics, baiting, earn a buck, poaching, hunters who leave trash around etc. I most enjoyed the connection to individual hunts. This year I have decided to try to keep up on my own thread. Read along if you choose as I hit the woods this fall in search the illusive Whitetail. A more formal introduction will come as the season progresses and I'm searching for material. Let's start with what has happened this season so far. 7.24.2017 - I need a hunting buddy, but I'm not allowed to bring anyone with me onto the land. Against my wife's best wishes, I purchased two Wildgame Terra Cameras. These two hunting buddies will help me figure out what is in the area, when they come, when they go and perhaps a hit list. 7.28.17. - placed my two cameras. Fingers crossed I set them up right to take the desired :30 video and will see some deer when I return from a work trip. 8.15.2017 - Took my 4 year old to the woods with me to swap out the SD Cards. We grabbed a pair of binoculars, boots and headed to the woods. On the way we talked about being quite, sneaking in and out of the woods without being heard or seen. We arrived, parked the car and began walking through the west edge of the field. The permissible area isn't very large, but is known to hold deer that feel safe in this sanctuary. I have hunted this land for a few years and have had some luck. I gun hunt on public land, so this private property is a real treat to see deer that are not pushed around. After walking the first 100 yards on the edge of the field, we came over the rise where we could see down to the edge of the field. To my delight, there stood a deer in the bean field. I stashed my son and I behind a hickory tree and peered out with the binoculars. He lifted his head and a noticeable rack was there. Best guess - 2.5yr 8pt. We watched him walk away and made our way to the cameras. Here are the most notables...

I personally enjoy these kind of threads. I did one last year and have been debating doing it again this year. I'll be following along. Best of luck to you this fall. Some good looking bucks also. Hopefully they stick around or you get a new batch of Big bucks.

Looking forward to updates!

Good luck to you this season, look forward to following along. Edit: would you mind providing the county?

This is an 18 acre parcel of woods in Waukesha County.

Good luck man! I wish every guy on here did their own throughout the season.

I need better cell reception from the woods for updates! I get so stir crazy in the stand it would be a nice break. Need to learn to put down the phone and enjoy nature more!

Welcome. I'll be following your thread. These are my favorite types. Good luck looks like alot of potential!

Good luck. One of my favorite bow stands was a little 15 acre chunk in a big long wooded bluff. During the rut, it got very exciting to say the least. Then, the farmer sold the farm and the new owners clear cut that chunk. Oh well, great memory's.

Reggie get rid of the phone man, disconnect, and hunt,,,,,,(However I realize you have lots more responsibilities than I do),,,,,,

I like these photo threads

Every year I think I get to my stand for the first time and wish I was more prepared. I start to question just about everything about the hunt. Did I pick the right spot to set up. Am I too early? Too late? Is there anything in the area? I should have done a better job of airing out my camo. What am I going to be willing to shoot? Nothing less than a 3.5 8pt or the first thing that walks out? I always wish I had shot my bow just a bit more to be confident at 10, 20, 30, 40.... This year, I'm not going to have any regrets. It's not because I'm going to do everything right. I'm just going to change my mindset. This year I'm going to prepare as much as I can, for what I can control.

I already feel a bit ahead of any of my previous hunts. I put out two cameras in July and began studying the obvious patterns. I've created a baseline for what is moving through the area including the safe travel times for the heard. I'm not wondering if there are any big mature bucks in the area, because I already have them on camera several times. Like most outdoorsman I've stopped into Gander Mountain several times over the past three months and either upgraded some equipment or stocked up on essentials. I pulled out my gear, laid it out and have a plan to begin scent proofing my camo this week. (How many of us pull it out a day or two before and hope that hanging it outside for a day is enough?) This weekend I stopped by the land, swapped out cards (some pictures at the end of this post) and hung two stands. I plotted out the land with the bedding, feeding and travel locations of the deer that has pointed to a few obvious funnel points for stands. I'll keep an eye on any changes and remain adaptable as the season progresses. I pulled out my bow, waxed the string, gave it a once over and shot it on Saturday. Arrow 1 @ 20 yards was bull's-eye! Arrow 2 @ 20 yards was bulls-eye! Arrow 3 @ 30 was 2" outside the center. Arrow 4...was never released. When I drew back, the top end of my sight (the adjustable end with the pins) fell to the ground!! I was baffled at what happened. I checked every screw on my bow before I went out. I picked up the piece that fell off my Truglo, slid it back into place and discovered that as hard as I tightened the set screw, it just would not hold tight. Today I headed to Cabelas to talk out a solution with the archery dept, since I had purchased it last year. They looked it over and said it was faulty. Since I didn't have the package or a receipt my choices were either to take a $44 in store credit (this is the lowest price they determined it had ever sold for) or do an even exchange for the Cabelas signature brand of my choice. I found myself a very similar 5 pin glo sight and was happy with the even exchange. I put a few arrows through it on Sunday and have a pretty good grouping up to 30 yards so far. I'll put as many arrows through it as I can in the next three weeks.

One of my trail cameras continues to populate several deer, while the other I'm struggling to get set to the right angle. The first time out, it was too low with only extreme close-ups. I adjusted it, but it was too high. I only have shots of stretched out necks. I'm hoping the third time is a charm. I'm going to leave it for a week or so before I sneak back into the area.

I have exclusively hunted with my Lone Wolf Sit n Climb for 9 years. 3 years with a Summit climber before that. This year, am borrowing climbing sticks and hang on stands for two locations. This has allowed me to choose the tree of my choice, where I have been limited to straight, limbless trees in the past that haven't been in ideal locations. These type of trees usually make me feel like I stand out badly. I'm excited about my setups and now have 3 weeks to let them sit until opening weekend.

Good luck as you prepare for the season! Control what you can so you have confidence later.

I swapped out my cards this weekend. When I opened up the second camera, "ERR" was displayed. No videos were taken this time. The other camera had a few deer on it. Couple bigger does and three bucks. None of the big ones seem to be around. Hoping the cards I put in will work this time. I did jump a nice 8pt on my way out. No velvet present. The bean field is now mostly yellow and drying out fast. I washed my camo on Saturday and hung it outside to dry. I'll continue to air it out as the weather permits. Shot my bow with the new sight and feel really good up to 40. 20 or 30 yards would be best. I'm within a 4" circle at 40 yards. It was a bit breezy yesterday while shooting.

I braved the heat and went out opening weekend. Saturday I arrived at 5:30am and went to #4 stand. Hardly any wind at all. The screech owl was making a ton of noise. Only 10 minutes in the stand and a solo deer came from the bean field to the east of me, into the woods and walked north. Too dark to tell what it was. 15 minutes later it was a little brighter and a doe walked the same path as the one before. 6:45 and a 6pt and doe entered the woods from the field at the same spot, but walked due west into a low, hollow, dense spot. Likely to bed down. They were only 20 yards from me. 7:30 a doe with two yearlings were walking east, out of the hollow area that the buck and doe entered earlier. 7:50 a single doe walked from N to S, just east of me. Came with 10 yards and continued to the normal bedding area S of my spot. Right behind it came a 6pt with a doe. They also went S to the bedding spot. Sunday I arrived at 2:45pm. I wasn't in the stand for more than 3 minutes and a 6pt was east of me, entering from the bean field. The same path I just walked in. It came within 15 yards and made its way into the dense hollow area. A little later a doe came SW of me, to the E and went out into the bean field. 6:45 2 doe were moving W to E 60 yards south of me. I assume they went into the bean field. I got down at dusk and jumped a doe that was bedded down a little north of me on the edge of the woods and bean field. I pulled the cards and have the usual suspects from the last two weeks. 2-6pts, 2-4pts, 1-8pt and this large 10pt. The bigger bucks seem to be fully nocturnal now. I only have them on camera between 10pm and 1am. The doe with the spotted fawn is still coming around. I was really happy with 2 things during the opening weekend. 1. My stand seems to be in a great spot for sunrise and sunset. The deer are moving past my stand within 15-30 yards often. 2. They didn't detect me. None of these deer were spooked by my presence in the woods (except for the one I jumped on my way out) I'll continue to hunt the weekends until the rut begins. I'll put in some extra days when I think the bigger bucks will make a daylight appearance.

Thanks for the update.

Sounds like you have a great spot with a ton of activity.

Awesome forum SS. I would love to do this but I don't believe I would have enough to report this year. Newborn the second week of October due..........going to decrease bow hunting opportunities a bit I'm thinking. Look forward to reading your stories throughout the year!

This past weekend was just too hot to head out. I'll try again this coming weekend. Chances are I'll go Saturday morning and Sunday evening. I have some PTO days that I'll use on each Friday in October and during the rut. I've got my hopes on a big buck this year and will put in the time, but not when it is 90 degrees out. Temps this week look much better.

Get out tomorrow, buddy. Cold front and the moon working in your favor!

These threads or "journals" guys post about their seasons allow vicarious adventure. So far this year I have hunted for sheep, antelope, mountain goat, moose, black bear, deer, elk, and grizzly.....all without having to leave my office!

Seriously though, please keep up the good work on this thread. Lots of fun to read about the experiences of others in the deer woods! Best of luck to you.

Looks like an awesome spot Shank.

Fellas, Looking for your suggestions on my stand this afternoon based on the N, NE wind. I'm hoping to sneak out of work early enough to make it for the evening sit. Scroll up to see the map I provided earlier. 1,2,3,4 are my typical stand options. 1 & 4 are climbing sticks with stands already in place. 2 & 3 are trees that I walk into with my climber. I park on the NW corner and can walk the field edge from the E or W side. Walking from the South is not an option because of neighboring property and it is a known bedding area. Based on the parking location, stand options and wind, which way would you walk in and where would you sit?

What's the the high temp for your area today and what is the expected temp when you're there?

Here is the weather forecast for Waukesha County

Entered tonight from the east field. All the beans are picked. Got to stand 4 at 3:30. Had a 4pt walk in at 4:15 and bed down at 50 yards. At 6:15 it got up and a 7pt was with it. They slowly grazed their way to the SW out of sight. Also saw the screech owl, Tom and a possum. Planning on hunting in the am again.

Saturday morning I arrived at 5:30, sat until 9am. Saw a total of 6 doe. When I walked out I moved my camera as I've noticed the travel pattern has changed. When I did this, I bumped some deer and heard them run to the west. Turns out, they ran right past the camera on that end. 6pt and 8pt. No sign of the big guys on camera or from my stand in the past two weeks. Eagerly waiting the rut. The weather was fantastic. Very comfortable and no mosquitos whatsoever. I'm frequently visited by a screech owl, black squirrel and a red tail hawk.

Love those pictures of the canapy. Take many of those as I stare off pondering what's it all about? Lol

Sunday Evening as a total bust. No deer. The activity in my area has really died down since the beans were picked. Corn is still standing, but the farmer said it will be picked next week. The dry weather has them working overtime on harvest and they are way ahead of schedule. We all experience days were we don't see a thing, but it's not normal in this area not to see a single deer in 4 hours during peak time. I haven't noticed any scrapes, but I do have 1 video of two small bucks sparing right after 2 does passed through. After the :30 video ends, the camera sits idle for :60, then the second video shows a small 6pt with nose on the ground walking the same path as the does. As stated in an earlier thread, seems that the smaller bucks are showing signs of early rut.

These two photos were taken at the same time. One from the treestand, the other from the trail cam.

No hunting updates...Took the weekend to travel to Alabama with my dad for the Vintage motorcycle weekend. Long drive down there, did it in 1 day, 13 hours. Hurricane Nate interrupted our track time and cut our weekend short. I'll be back in the woods this weekend. Good luck to all.

Friday morning I bumped some that seemed to be very close to my stand in the woods. Too dark to see them (5:30am). Didn't see anything that morning Saturday a big 10pt came walking in at 4:30pm. Parallel at 40 yards. Began eating acorns for 10-15 mins, then laid down on the edge of the woods at 35 yards. It got up 45 mins later and walked into the woods and laid down again. I didn't have a good shot at any point and let the night expire. As far as I know, he was still there when I snuck out after dark. Sunday I found a pheasant in the Kettle Moraine forest in the am. I sat in the afternoon. At 5pm, 3, six pointers crossed my stand at 10 yards. All were little basket sixes. They made their way past. Picture shows 2 of the three in front of my stand. I pulled the camera cards and have the usual suspects. Some small bucks and yearlings still with the does. Here are the two nicest from this past week. The smaller was in front of the camera at 6pm, the larger one at 11:30pm.

I had a great weekend... I have been taking off Friday's all October to have the day to myself. This Friday started out great. I arrived to the stand early at 5:15, with the sun coming up closer to 7am. Last week I bumped some deer when I walked in around 6, so I came a little early. Good thing I did, because after I snuck into stand #4 in the pines, deer were walking by under my stand 10 minutes later. I could see the silhouettes of the bodies, but couldn't tell what they were. Just as the east side was starting to brighten, I had a 6pt walk right under my stand. Check out the photo. You can see the grating of my stand, fletching, then the body of the deer. 20 minutes another 2.5 8 pt walked 25 yards in front of me. Then a few does. I sat till 10am and saw several deer, but no shooters. Friday afternoon I moved to #3 (see map above). I haven't sat on the west side of the woods much and needed a change of scenery. It stays lighter longer on this side of the woods too. I got to the stand early, 2pm. The number of chipmunks chasing one another was putting me on edge. They just wouldn't stop running around in the dry leaves. I began to ignore the sounds until I head a snap. I had a decent 2.5 8pt directly behind me, 10 yards. The wind was from the south, blowing away from the deer. He walked right past me giving a perfect shot. I'm still committed to something bigger. Saturday morning I moved to #1 (cedar tree). What a morning. I saw 9 different deer between 6:30am - 10am. Again, no shooters. A small 6pt came to 35 yards and bedded down, down wind from me. He stayed there till I left the woods at 11am. I came back at 2pm and was very cautions to sneak in, just in case he was still there. After I climbed the tree and settled in...grabbed the binocs and sure enough, he was still there! He got up at 5pm and walked to the field.

Saturday afternoon was a special day. 14 year old nephew wanted to join me. Last year he hunted a few days during the gun season with me for his first experience deer hunting. His dad is an avid, experienced, successful hunter. Sometimes life gets in the way and we can't always be where we want to be. I offered to take my nephew hunting with the blessing of his parents since his dad has had conflicts including a shoulder injury from an accident during a fire rescue. (He is a firefighter). He doesn't know if/when he will be hunting again, so he is grateful that I am willing to mentor him. During the gun season we sit on public land and have varied results. He was very excited to see my trail cam photos and know it was very likely that we would see deer on the private land we can bow hunt on. He might even get a shot. I settled him into the stand #1 and I headed to #4. We are about 75 yards as the crow flies with a low wetland between us that the deer love to bed in. From 2 - 4pm it was quiet. A few texts between us. Shortly after 4pm, he sends a text that there is a buck in the field. A doe too. Another buck. HUGE! He watches a 6pt and a 10pt circle around for a bit while the doe munches on the picked bean field. We share a small line of sight, so I'm glassing the area trying to catch a glimpse of the action. He continues to share updates for another hour. The closest they got to him was 40 yards. We talked about his comfort zone ahead of time and marked out some trees that were 30 yards and he was showing good patience until something was in range. Just before 6pm I see two deer walking up the hill towards him. They quickly disappear from my site, but I know they are walking right towards him. I didn't see them enough to know what they were. Suddenly I hear running. I chuckled as I assumed he got busted and there was a mass exodus from his area. I see a buck round the corner heading towards me. I grabbed the bow just in case something of size came my way. The buck ran to 30 yards from me and fell over!!! Hind legs straight to the sky and it thrashed for a few seconds. My phone buzzed with a text from him that said, I SHOT! The 6pt had walked broadside to him at 20 yards and he placed a perfect shot that got both lungs. No need to track. We were all smiles! In the pic you can see it is a 8pt, but each side has two points less than 1".

Outstanding story! Exactly what we need to hear! Congrats to the nephew!

That is AWESOME!

Awesome! I really love it.

Exciting!

I was there! Cool story, great mentoring. You just earned Favorite Uncle award.

Excellent!! Way to go to your Nephew. Great job on mentoring also!

Congrats to your nephew and great story telling too. I saw it unfold in my head as I read it.

Outstanding! Congrats to you both. Great story and well written.

Congrats to you & your nephew! Great story.

Awesome story and congrats. Lessons could be learned by blood trailing from the point of the shot even though you knew where the deer expired. Good practice even the next day.

Helg...couldn't agree more. We backtracked to his stand and found the first blood and walked the trail. We analyzed the trail and pointed out what we could learn from it. Qty, color, height, entry and exit assumptions. I don't take back the ease of mind we received from seeing the deer fold, but we all know that it doesn't usually happen this way. Although I could see the deer, we also gave it plenty of time to pass, which can be hard. Thanks for all the posts. I've been following your individual threads. I'll be hitting the woods again on Friday and have some extended time off next week 11/1 - 11/5. This cold snap is encouraging. I'm hoping to see one of the big ones that I have on camera. Good luck to everyone that is able to hunt this weekend!

Very cool story. Congrats to your nephew.

Things are supposed to be heating up, but my location is cold as ice. I sat nearly all day on Friday and didn't see a deer. The winds were out of the S,SW, gusting to 25. Took Saturday off. Sat Sunday evening and same thing, not a deer. Pulled the cards and the last two weeks has good movement at night. Several shooters including the following pictures.

I took a few extra days off work last week. I hunted Wednesday - Sunday. My original plan was to sit all day, every day. Once the week started I decided to chop up the days and spend a little time with my 3 and 5 year old as I don't get these opportunities. I hunted the mornings and afternoons and picked up the kids from school and had lunch with them. Once nap time came, I hit the woods again.

Looking back, the days are running together and they are hard to separate, so I'll focus on the key moments. The week wasn't as good as I had hoped. I was trying to target the moment in the rut we all hope for. Where we pick our spot and huge deer just run around us like fish in a fishbowl. We finally select the right shot and boom, we take home a Booner. Not the case last week. I truly believe the rut is on, but I think it pulled the bigger bucks I had been seeing out of my woods and into other areas. The only rut activity I saw was a 2.5 8pt actively chasing a smaller doe. She didn't have any interest in him and fled time and time again. I watched them for about an hour running and jumping through the hardwoods. He had been shot already. There was a large noticeable wound high on his back, above the vitals, but below the spine. I watched him closely, knowing I might need to take him. He seemed to be running and jumping with ease, so I'm hoping he makes it without an infection. Saturday and Sunday I brought my 14 year old nephew again. After shooting his first deer (6pt) the weekend prior, he is antsy to see more deer. He saw a few smaller bucks and was happy to be out again. His 10 year old brother is also showing interest. I took him two nights into a hub style ground blind I picked up from Gander this summer. This was his first hunting experience ever. He had lots of questions and I had my hands full with the mentoring. I had to be careful to coach him without him feeling like I was scolding him. Pick up your feet, avoid the sticks, walk in my foot tracks, avoid the burdocks, sit still, shhhhhhh. The first night we didn't see any deer. 4 hour sit. He wanted to go out again on Sunday though. After talking about our options, we decided to setup in the same spot. After only an hour, a nice tall 6pt was seen walking about 80 yards away through the pines. The wind was great to keep our scent away until he circled us close. He came to 20 yards and offered a broadside shot, but I told him that he needed to grow next year. He will be a very nice deer if he avoids the cars. An hour before sundown, he came back again and came to 15 yards this time. The buck was suspicious of our blind. It was great to watch him try to trick us into moving. Drop his head down, then pick it up quickly. Stomp a little. I'm back to work this week Mon - Thursday. Hunting Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Good luck to all!

"We went out with the understanding he could use my buck tag if he was given a good look at a minimum 8pt outside the ears. " Ummm, group hunting with archery is a no-no. FYI

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