EmbryOklahoma, Lana, Native Oakie and C
Whitetail Deer
Some of you know I like to hunt Whitetails. Can’t seem to get enough. This week I am hunting Oklahoma for the first time with “EmbryOklahoma”, Rick Embry, his wife Lana, “Native Oakie”, Aaron Johnson and their friend Jamie. This is a traditional deer camp that many of us grew up hunting. Rick has been hunting this ground for many years and shot some dandies. I’m really excited to be here with great folks doing what we love.
Oh ya, “Rut is on”
I’m currently here. :)
I’m currently here. :)
The rut is definitely on! Stay tuned and we will give a blow by blow (day by day) updates and also backtrack a bit.
There’s already been some unbelievable happenings and blood shed. :)
As a teaser... I saw THE biggest whitetail I’ve ever seen in the wild yesterday and also got to witness a doe being bred by a 130” 8 point @ 20 yards! I’ll post the video at some point too. It’s amazing!
We will be hunting through Saturday most likely.
So most folks know, we are allowed two buck tags here in Oklahoma. On Nov. 1st, I had a buck chase a doe right beside my stand (see photo). They had a stare off as he was behind my stand and she was standing in front of me (second photo).
Looking forward to following along not to far and similar country to where I cut my teeth hunting. That part of the country will always be near and dear(deer) to by heart. Good luck and have a great time!!
Hope you guys have a great hunt! I’ll be following.
Last year, I was “Team Lana”. This year, I hope Rick gets that monster he saw, but I’m still “Team Lana”.
Come on Lana! Show Rick and Charlie how it’s done!
Have fun. Be safe.
ALL, there's a typo in Charlie's opening - they are NOT in Oklahoma. Oklahoma has no deer. Period. :)
Best of luck Rick, Lana and the others! Show them that Oklahoma is a lot more than 'OK' when it comes to whitetails!
So the buck tries to fit through the same hole beside my stand and instead of jumping the trees we had stacked beside the stand, he tried to push through them and got his antlers hung up in them and his body hit my stand. He backed up and out of the trees and did a big circle behind my stand, coming out on my right side about twenty yards. I had no shot there as there were too many limbs. He made his way towards a thicket and seeing no way through it, came down the lane in front of my stand and right where the doe was standing in the above photo. As he came to a broadside position, I was at full draw. A suttle “meh” and he wouldn’t stop so I increased volume and he put on the brakes. At 10-12 yds, the arrow zipped through both lungs and into the ground beside him. He took off crashing into a cedar tree and a fence about 75 yds away and regained his footing and ran through a stretch of timber and across a right of way.
Love this annual thread..
Cant wait to read this!!!
Hopefully Lana shows you guys how to get it done.....AGAIN! ;-)
Good luck all!
Hell yeah! And I'm still "Team Lana" too. :-)
Is there a "Team Tater Tot"?
She’s ready to roll, Russ... :)
Exactly how we found him.
Exactly how we found him.
So back to the buck I shot earlier on the 1st of November...
After running across a right of way and into some creek bottom timber, I assessed how far he had went and backed out. My thinking is that it was plenty cold and if I had liver shot him, then I should give him time.
After several hours and replaying the shot over and the sounds the buck was making after the shot, which were expelling of air and loud breaths as he was bounding off. I knew I had to have double lunged him. We went back to where we left off on the blood trail and maybe went ten yards and he was lying stone dead in the shade of the creek bottom canopy. Yes!!
Should be a great week for hunting. Good luck.
Looks like another great buck for the OK gang. Keep it coming. Paul
I think it looks like GREAT times Nick! Good job Rick....I am jealous of that buck and of the fact you have another tag. :)
Oklahoma Bow Hunters have a neat logo that features their state with a Broadhead in it. Aaron was kind enough to give me one. Thanks Aaron
I think there may be another buck story to tell???
I need to get one of those hats.
One of my favorite follow alongs of the year ! Congrats on a great start.
I can't say I like any of these guys much except for Lana and Tater so I'm all on board for them :) Great buck Rick! Looking forward to seeing how the rest of this goes!
Back to it... then back to the stand. Unfortunately, the weather is heating up and we hope it doesn’t kill movement. Either way, we will be hunting through Saturday.
As I said earlier, we are backtracking a bit. Lana and myself pulled in Thursday afternoon and got our camp set up. Charlie was to pull in on Friday and Aaron and our friend Jamie coming in over the weekend.
Friday morning had us looking at NE winds and perfect for a creek bottom set that accommodates a second person above the shooter. Lana was the shooter this day.
Around 8 am we see a lone doe come trotting down into the bottom with a really nice 140-ish 10 point dogging her. The two are running circles in the bottom and the buck is not letting her get too far away. After about 20 minutes of this, the buck sees another group of bucks above us chasing and decides to go kick some a—. :) He ran by us at 500 miles an hour and pushed the bucks into the next county.
About 10 minutes later, hear he comes back and now he’s in a lather because his doe has disappeared. We knew where she went and we were lying in wait...
You’re killing me Smalls......carry on
Wait...you and Lana have those Tree Lounges where you can recline and lie down to wait? I always knew there was something funny going on down there!
It was good getting to catch up with the crew and having Charlie in camp this year. It’s definitely on right now and I’m working most of this week but I will be back down soon!
I looked in my mail box for this year's invitation to this hunt but maybe next year. Yea I know, "it's in the mail". my best, Paul
Remember this photo because we will reference it several times during our backtracking segments. This is the south wind pumper stand. The north wind stand is just about center of this photo where the ray of sunshine is cast, 100 yds to the south.
Back to Lana’s hunt and the return of the 10 point...
As he comes back in, he is in a frantic state looking for “his doe”. After doing a wide birth around our location, he picks up her trail. We know where the doe went and she walked 20 yards just to the left of our stand, and the buck is making his way to us.
Just before reaching the lane that will put him at 25 yards broadside, Lana comes to full draw. As the buck enters the lane, she gives him the usual “meh” and he keeps trotting. Now we both chime in with a chorus of “MEH’s” and he finally comes to a halt just before entering the thick stuff. At the moment he stopped, the arrow was on it's way. The arrow zipped right behind the front leg and about an inch below his brisket. Dang it!
The buck continued on up the hill and found his prize once more. They were coming back down the hill and we thought we were going to get another shot, but the doe caught a bit of our wind and turned west and took the buck in tow. Live to fight another day.
We got back to camp and brushed up on some midday shooting and talked about what happened. She felt she rushed the shot and in turn let her bow arm down and shot low. Her shooting was fine back in camp. That’s what big bucks will do to us sometimes. :)
The next day really gets interesting...
I arrived at noon that day. Set up camp and heard Lana’s story. She felt blessed at the opportunity but a bit bummed at the outcome. Rick said “it’s on“. I went to a south wind stand and saw two does and a button buck walk by at 8 yards. First thing I noticed is how calm they were. Rick and company barely hunt this ground until Rut time and it shows. First evening in camp was a blast.
Great buck Rick! Fun thread! Good luck the next few days!
Saturday morning... the plan was to walk Charlie down to the south wind pumper stand and let him get a good sit in. This area is rather thick so I put up some limb lights for Lana primarily so she doesn’t get turned around. As we approach the last limb light in the dark, I’m perplexed as I don’t see a stand. WTF?! As we do closer inspection, I shine the light up in the tree and there’s my bow hangers and the ladder stand is gone! Let me tell ya, that put a dent in my morning!
After backing out of there, Charlie goes to another stand that he hunted the night before and Lana and myself went off to other South wind stands.
We were determined to make the best of the situation and we formulated a plan to put another stand in there at midday. Thieves aren’t going to deter some killers. :)
Paul, the invitations were sent via text. Probably why you didn't see yours. ;-)
Tuned in fellas, nice to see an actual hunt on Bowsite again, good luck!
After discovering the stolen stand we backed out and I went back to the stand I hunted the first pm. We agreed to replace the stolen one mid-day.
I saw one buck cruising then a second buck chasing a doe. After the morning hunt we replaced the stolen stand and I would give it a try for the pm hunt.
This November has been the warmest I remember so we needed south wind stands. The one we replaced was 125 yards from the north wind stand Lana missed the buck the previous day. That travel corridor roughly parallels a creek and the deer move back and forth. Having a north and south wind option in a great area is excellent. The guys have really put thought into the set ups.
I arrived at 2 pm and it was very windy around 25 miles per hour. Not usually a good sit in wind this high. At 3 pm I was sleepy so I got down and took a 16 minute nap. Short naps are great. Got back up at 3:16 and hung my bow.
At 3:30 out of my peripheral vision I caught movement. I was shocked to see a giant buck (160 class) jogging through my shooting lane at 20 yards. It happened so fast there was no time to grab my bow. He ran by and dropped to the ground and beded behind a fallen tree at 60 yards. 4 minutes later he gets up and continues running away in the same direction. This was a giant 160’s class buck like you see in Iowa, Illinois or Kansas. At this point my bow is resting on my lap. I’m wide eyed and ready.
The wind had been blowing so hard that many of the leaves were falling from the trees. Around 5 pm the wind laid down a bit and I started to see does and fawns working the ground to eat the newly fallen leaves. Deer love these freshly fallen leaves. This area has zero agriculture so the deer live off the native foods in the woods.
At 5:15 I see a buck at 120 yards dogging a doe who is not ready. She slips away and as he’s standing there I let out a grunt. He turns and cuts the distance to 60 yards. I did another soft grunt and oh my, he’s coming. I could see he was a shooter (not the buck I had seen 90 minutes ago but a dandy). He angled toward me and got to the 20 yard lane. At full draw I erped to stop him. Arrow hit 5 inches behind shoulder slightly quartering to me. He jumped about 10 yards stoped and started wheezing. I grabbed a second arrow and hit him straight up the front leg. He ran off 30 yards fell over and expired in sight. That feeling is the “best”. I texted Rick, Lana and Aaron who had just arrived to camp. “I got a good one”.
Okie buck is AOK
Okie buck is AOK
I walked back to camp, met Aaron who was setting up his Kodiak Canvas tent. Awesome tents for sure. We chatted a bit, waited for Lana and Rick to return then headed after my buck.
Lana had seen a giant that pm hunt as well. Possibly the same one I saw. When we got to the buck Rick and Lana said it was the buck she had missed the day before. Lana was excited that I got him. I did feel a bit bad that it was the one she missed but she was genuinely excited I got him. She’s a special person and passionate bow hunter.
He’s a really nice dark antlered 10 point. My first Okie buck.
Another angle. We spent the rest of that evening celebrating and counting our blessings at our opportunities to enjoy the deer woods with great folks.
All these great hunts and friendships happen because Pat created Bowsite 25 years ago. Bowsite rocks.
The classic deer hanging in camp. I’ve been archery hunting whitetails for 39 years in 14 states. At EVERY place the SAME whitetail deer is DIFFERENT. I love their adaptability to adapt to us and our ability to adapt to them.
And we still have a week to go.....
Outstanding Charlie you are a blessed man!
Awesome bucks guys, congratulations, love the Weinerdog!
Great story!!! Congratulations to all!!! Only one thing missing.
Not to mention, Charlie has a “Glenn’s Deer Handle” which worked great for pulling that buck out that evening. So much that I picked one up when I got home ;^). I was only down for that evening and a short morning hunt as my oldest daughter had her first cheer competition midday Sunday. It was tough to leave as the action really picked up from here as you will hear (spoiler alert) but it was worth it as my daughters team won first place!
Congrats AGAIN Charlie! Keep it coming y’all (Okie terminology)!
Aaron.....looks like your daughter’s got her “Game Face” on, in that first pic!
Congrats Charlie!! Great deer! Love the story
He just started hunting yesterday, Brad. Hopefully he gets a couple of swings this week.
Aaron my wifes cousin lives in Owasso and his step son, Caleb Nealis is a senior on the football team. They have had some great seasons lately.
Great read so far....congrats to the successful killers!
Looks like you guys are having a great time!
Congrats Charlie! I bet there were good times had in this camp.
Great to hear the story....congrats Charlie!
Awesome start to the hunt. Congrats on a great okiehoma buck!
Aaron’s Kodiak Canvas tent.
Aaron’s Kodiak Canvas tent.
Thx, the next day I caped the deer, cleaned up the skull for a euro and donated the meat to the needy at the local processor. Re-loaded the quiver and did some practice shooting. I’ll hunt again the next am.
Rick had a day of encounters we dream of and I’ll let him go through it.
Congratulations, Charlie! Can't wait for more. Getting my hunting Jones through this thread while waiting to go on my MO hunt. (wedding is sort of interfering with my hunting season....)
Nice bucks Rick & Charlie... congratulations.
That was a pretty cool hunt Charlie had and we sure excited to see him connect on a dandy buck! Congratulations many times over, C!
Now, my Sunday was something to behold and I was the recipient of the deer gods. Oh, and I never released an arrow.
I had been waiting for this NW wind ever since putting this stand up, way back in mid September. I had cut my way around a creek bank of briars, saplings and vines to ensure an easy route along the creek bank to my stand. It was about a 1/2 mile walk into this particular spot.
I got settled in before sun up and awaited the woods to come alive. Around 7:45, four big mature does popped up out of a drainage creek to my West. They were not on alert, but let’s just say they were surveying intently. After mulling around for several minutes, they moved off to my South and out of sight.
About 30 minutes later I had small basket 7 point cruise down Broadway and off to my North. Two other smaller bucks cruised by in the next hour or so and by 10:45 I was feeling my eyes getting heavy. I must’ve dozed off because the next thing I hear is a deer to my west, blowing loudly and running towards me at the same time. Odd?! I suppose it was right around 11:00 am when all hell broke loose...
The deer blowing that came running was a spike buck and he was running like his tail was on fire. As he came up out of this creek drainage, I caught motion to my right and at that moment, my eyes about popped out of my head!!
Now, putting my eyes back in my head, I knew I was looking at the biggest antlered buck I had ever seen in the wild. Even still, I don’t know if he was a main frame 8 or 10 point, but he was a GIANT. His main beams were long and sweeping and his tines were super long! On top of that, he was a non-typical with kickers and points going on all directions. This is what I remember as I watched him stammer down the hill and into the creek drainage.
As I was tying to gather myself, a doe and small buck came barreling from my left and hauling the mail past my stand. The big NT had went off to the west and figured he was gone from my life... nope!
As two more bucks entered the chase and ran past me at warp speed, my mind was still on the giant NT.
About a minute had passed when I heard a deer approaching hard and fast down the lane in front of my stand. It was the GIANT, and he was coming hard and fast! I clipped on my release as he was narrowing down the distance...
Anxiously waiting for the next installment. Congrats Charlie on another beautiful buck. Great thread!
Great bucks guys...congrats.
Congrats Rick and Charlie!!
Awesome buck Charlie, you are on a roll!!!
Keep the reports coming and best of luck getting the huge non typical!!
I believe Rick already got him, posting in the middle of the day like he is during the rut hhhhmmmmmmm...........
I thought he said: "Oh, and I never released an arrow."................................
Ok, back to the crazy Sunday...
As this Giant buck was bearing down on me, I thought how will I stop him as he’s trotting at a good clip. Will he hear me?
As he got to about 15 yards out, I came to full draw and let out pretty loud, MEH and he didn’t stop. At this point he was directly in front of me and I had about 15 more yards to get him stopped. So, I let out a VERY LOUD “MEHHHHH”, nothing. Louder!!! Nothing as he wasn’t stopping! He finally stopped just past me, but it wasn’t my doings. He stopped momentarily to find the doe and the other bucks. At this point, only thing exposed was his guts and rear end. No dice.
He then drifted off after the hot doe and towards the smaller bucks. Deflated was an understatement. I’ll be honest, I’m really glad I got to see a buck of this category, but man if I could’ve just got him stopped. So close... and the largest whitetail I’ve ever seen.
The story continued a bit later as the doe and all of the smaller bucks (5 or 6 of them), continued chasing this doe. The smaller bucks followed by the giant, were needling their way through the creek drainage trying to keep up with the doe. The doe and the smaller bucks were getting through no problem, but the buck continually got his antlers hung up on vines and briars. Finally, after getting frustrated, the buck climbed out of the drainage and left my life for good.
In total, I saw 8 different bucks and about the same number of does that morning. The story gets as good or better, depending on how a person looks at things. I’ll just say this... I’ve got some video footage of what happens around 3:30 pm this same day... it’s good stuff!
Here is Ricks text to us from the tree during this event. Feel the shake. Ever had this happen to you? Texting can be really hard at this moment.
Yep been there done that, auto correct is your worst enemy at that time.
Very cool! I had an experience like that about 10 years ago. 5 bucks chasing one doe. One dink of a buck and the next smallest was 145" to 150". I am not sure how big the biggest was but a fair amount bigger than my biggest buck which grossed 177". They were within 35 yards at times. I had a rifle tag but was hunting with my recurve. I think some guys would have been frustrated by that but I just thought it was a cool experience. Never saw any of those bucks again.
The fat lady ain’t sung yet, Rick! He may very well show back up.
Those days when it’s rockin like that, can be unbelievable, for sure. Looks like a Kindergarten Easter egg hunt, sometimes.
Wow! I can only imagine what it is like to lay eyes on a buck like that!
We are waiting Rick!!!!
Later that Sunday afternoon, I had an awesome encounter with a 130” 8 point and a doe that slid behind my stand. After a few minutes, they went to my East and I captured some of the coolest video in my 30 years of bow hunting.
What’s pretty cool is Lana asked me on the way down if I had ever witnessed a doe being bred. My reply was “no, but I’ll bet someday we will get to see it”. Also, Lana’s favorite number is 11 and this buck just happened to be the 11th buck of the day. I thought it was pretty cool.
Hope you like the video...
Wait a minute... I thought somebody said there ain't no deer in Oklahoma... hmmmm.
Go get 'em boys... and girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In totality I got to see 12 different bucks that day and got to see an amazing whitetail buck that will haunt me forever, unless I kill him. Plus I got to witness a doe being bred, which was icing on the cake. One thing you all should know, I never take days like this for granted.
Here’s my new south wind set that is across the creek and about 100 yards due East/SE of the stand where the big guy was. With south winds prevailing for the next 3/4 days, I had to make a move now. My back is about 5 yards from the creek and stand is only 12 feet up. Hoping things fall my way.
Good luck buddy, I want to see that beast!
Congratulations on the bucks!!! Sorry that you have to deal with the aftermath of thieves.
Dude! I'M shaking after reading that!! What a party yous are having
Great job guys and girls. Really some nice deer. Congrats Charlie
Was the stand stolen from private land or are you guys hunting Oklahoma Public?
RK... private land. Unfortunately, adjacent landowners let people hog hunt and run dogs. That’s how I suppose it was stolen, and at night. This stand was also 100 yards or more from our North property line. It happens primarily when the main tributary creek is low and people think it’s “their land” to come on over. I’m about to lay down the law... and get the law involved.
Rick thanks. That sucks. Yep got to handle it and shut the door hard
Great hunt. You have a great spot for sure. Really enjoy the old school deer camp. Not much better than that. Looks like your deer have some weight to them also
Looking forward to the future hunt reports !!
Man, That's awesome stuff.(the video) It's pretty thick by you're stand. Tough shooting there. Keep it up and good luck!!
btnbuck... it’s actually a bit more open out in front of my stand. It is thick where they were. When he walked in at 5 yds, I could’ve did him in. But, he’s not what I want right now.
Congrats Charlie and great story Rick! So close man! Have a feeling we haven't heard the last of that buck.
Looks like a really fun hunt! Congrats Rick and Charlie on 2 awesome bucks! Lana - you are due!! And congrats to your daughter too!
There goes Charlie headed to the stand. He took his lightweight stand and is going to do some midday maneuvering for these South winds. I gave him an idea to go check into on our North side. One bonus to a drought is you can access the further North ends of the property across a creek.
Lana is down in her south wind pumper area, Jamie is in a stand that we actually hung together back in September, and is also where I killed my buck earlier this month. When I blood trailed him, I couldn’t find my arrow. Well, Jamie sent me a text this morning... “hey, I found your arrow!” Those reflective wraps are good for finding the arrows in the dark. :)
Me... I’m in the new set. As the sun is starting to rise, I can see three rubs that I didn’t notice while placing the stand. The exposed white bark is shining like a beacon in the low light of the morning. They are big rubs too. Love it!
Good luck all y'all, enjoying the ride! That was some awesome footage Rick
That 8 point lasted longer than me! :-/
Like I tell my wife "this won't take long, did it!" ;)
Good luck today all! Hopefully that hanging tree gets some more business!
Broken arrow means dead deer
Broken arrow means dead deer
Camp traditions are fun. At camp here a broken arrow gets “planted”. I was pleased to plant one...
Let that big NT show back up!!!!
Camp of Champs for sure! When you combine natural killers and natural story tellers it’s hard on deer and great for us!!
And when Charlie shows up some buck did get the “ trip of a lifetime”.
Congrats so far and keep typing!!
Here’s a 7 pointer I hope someone kills. Aaron had him at 10 yards earlier this year and passed. Something tells me he will kill him if he gets another crack. :)
If you got the chance to watch the doe being bred earlier, this is the same buck that was doing the deed. Moments after the doe had walked off to the north, another buck started up this lane and the 8 point was having none of it. He ran right past me and ran the intruder off. Minute or so later, he walked right back in front of me and in the direction of where the doe once was. He was a bully!
An accumulation of sightings so far... Charlie has seen 1/2 dozen does, Jamie saw a shooter early but out of range, Lana saw a “bunch of F’n cows”, that got across the creek from the north. She wasn’t happy.
I’ve seen a sounder of pigs behind me that included one that looked like Cookies and Cream ice cream. (See video) That reminds me, Charlie says he absolutely would stop hunting if he could own an ice cream shop. I think he loves ice cream. :)
Nothing wrong with "Ice Cream". That's my weakness concerning sweets!
Neat 7! Aaron did you move back home to OK? Or are you still in UT? Fun to follow along! Good luck!
Twine, I moved back home this year with a job relo. I’m getting good at it, 3rd one in 8 years!
That “cookies and cream” pig looks like he’s got some Poland-China bloodline in him, Rick.Sounds like ya’ll are having a blast!
Haha good choice getting out of the rat race of SLC. Whack a big one!
Aaron, did you remove the cattle guard from your Kodiak tent? ;-)
Cattle guard!! LOL, Nick! We were perplexed when we came off of the mountain that day. Then, we figured out it was those F’n cows that knocked it down. LOL
Looks like Charlie has had a rough morning and he’s minus a stand. And look at those stupid temps! Ugh
Daylight savings time is over embry. ;)
Now this breed of f’’n cows; do they produce f’n dairy, f’n beef or some other f’n thing?
Charlie looks like he could use some F'n ice cream!
That's Oklahoma about every other year mid 70's during the rut.
Charlie is gonna get some f’n Mexican food tonight... and he might even get trip to the f’n Braums ice cream and dairy store. :)
Oh, so I heated it up trying to clear a couple lanes for my new stand. (This heat is BS). So, afterwards I used some good old Oklahoma dirt as cover scent and to wipe the sweat away. It worked. Kind of. :)
Thats a handsome man. Dirt, flat brim and all....
Braums another thing I miss in Okiehoma!
That hat has bend in it, Steve! :)
Oh and this...
You folks age having a great hunt. Congrats on some nice bucks. Dennis may make a retirement off Charley this year !!
Uh-oh! Another one bites the dust!
uh-oh....looks like the earth scent might have paid off!
THIS IS NOT HAPPENING FAST ENOUGH!!!’ I’m happy y’all r hunting, but speed it up for those of us who aren’t and need this to get thru our day!!!
LMAO!! Always enjoy your threads. Even with with Clown Costumes.
I can tell which way he is going, but I don't want to start a blood trail brawl.
Charlie, that text is a classic! I sure hope someone gets a picture of the NT... preferably with a smiling hunter behind him.
Rick got a bloody nose from dirt up his nose.
No update this morning? And I thought PAT was a big tease.................................. ;-)
Hope you find what you're looking for fellas...btw that looks more like a can of Cope blew up in your face than dirt?
wow just catching up to this - congrats on the big bucks that already hit the ground, and good luck on those to come. This looks like best whitetail hunting the USA has to offer! I already triangulated position on this land and am making the landowner a solid offer on it tomorrow!!!! Thanks Rick!!! LMAO
Last night was fun!
I had a couple small bucks hanging out, a few does also. About 10 minutes until five a boar that has frequented our cameras (see pic) made an appearance.
Well, he ran my two bucks off that were feeding on briar vine leaves. So, he came in and gave me a chip shot and he’s likely dead. I’ll find him midday.
I didn’t go look for him last night because, 1.) hogs are a nuisance and I don’t care for them. 2.) there were deer all around me and I don’t want to kill this spot. I’ll find him soon enough and take some pics for you guys/gals.
Oh, and now there’s two dead boars to deal with. I just minutes ago, rattled in two bucks and they came in hard and fast! They were behind me looking for the source and here comes a huge sounder of hogs! Deer took off in all directions. Sigh.
There were likely 30+ in this group and they ended up camping out around me for a bit, rooting up the leaves and the ground. I wasn’t going to shoot any of them until boar #2 came sauntering in looking for love. He was pushing all the young sows around and I couldn’t take it any longer. He got an arrow too.
So, now there’s two quite large boar hogs I’ve gotta drag out of here. Just slowing the breeding cycle a little at a time. Pics coming soon....
Here’s video of the sounder of hogs and the boar is the largest of the bunch. He comes in last.
Kill them all... but leave at least one arrow in your quiver for a nice buck.
If you don't mind me asking. Where's all these hogs coming from? Do you have to have a permit to kill them? My son-in-law went on a hog hunt down in NE Oklahoma a few years back and brought home a decent sized one. Their meat tasted a little sweeter than farm raised hogs.
I'll come and film and shoot only and all hogs!!
Copperhead... I’m assuming they came up from Texas. :)
I just know they are prolific breeders and stick to the thick stuff. Their gestation is like 4 months so they can have multiple groups of piglets, yearly. The areas that are vast and have lots of cover/thickets, is where they thrive.
The guy that hunts west of us has trapped over 40 in the last two months alone. Trapping is probably the best method to get rid of them in numbers. Albeit, the adults get trap shy in a hurry. If we lived closer and could check the traps more often, we would trap as well.
In the meantime, they’re fun to kill. Also fun to come in the off season and spot and stalk them.
I promise, no more pig kills. I’ve got two arrows left in my quiver. :)
Update on the other hunters: Jamie is on the deer this morning. He had a shooter run by him and couldn’t get him stopped for a shot. Charlie has seen 4 smaller bucks and several does with fawns. Lana... she’s resting, because she hyperextended her knee chasing off the F’n cows yesterday morning. Damn it.
It was a spoof/copy that I did of guy who did the original “bread and milk”. Look it up. Basically mocking people who freak the F out every time a snowflake falls. He’s from the NE somewhere. Glad you got enjoyment from it. Don’t forget to watch my Randy Travis cover too. lol
Rick, how's the wind down your way? Howling a storm around OKC. How do you handle these crazy OK winds bowhunting? Last weekend I had the wind shift from S to SSE to SE in a few hours. Toss in an occasional North gust and poof deer gone.
Bread and Milk...My favorite video of yours.
Russ... it’s WINDY!! The deer were moving early as were the pigs. Speaking of pigs, Charlie and myself looked for about an hour and never found either hog. I can’t tell you what happened but the first boar I know is dead. He took an arrow to the mid body and quartered away just a bit. All I can figure is I hit high and got one lung. The second boar this morning has got me perplexed. Shot looked low, just behind the elbow. The lack of blood was disturbing. Either way, I don’t lose much sleep losing a pig. What does bother me is my shooting. Off to shoot... got them two and half days left.
Until later...
Awesome hunt going here guys and gal. Thanks for taking us along. Hope the knee heals up quickly for Lana. Good Luck!!
Hog damage
Hog damage
I had never witnessed the damage hogs do to land. Quite an eye opener. After they do this on a path it can no longer be brush hogged. Lots of areas have these diggings
Rick, I hunt not too far from you over in Coalgate. This is the worst that we have ever seen the hogs. 8 of us shot 15 opening weekend of bow season. Landowner traps year round. It doesn't seem to be making a dent.
I'm afraid once you have hogs, you have hogs. You can trap and shoot till you are blue in the face. Helps, no doubt, but you won't ever get rid of them.
they are very destructive.. on our property in Oklahoma they literally destroyed a top two acres of the plot... crazy...
“I had never witnessed the damage hogs do to land. Quite an eye opener”
Kill them all. They are destructive. I hate them
deaver... we went a couple weeks without seeing any and then BOOM, they’re all over again. They are maddening. Glad you guys killed a few... we are work uphill on them , all the time!
I’m headed down tomorrow afternoon and I’m bringing a quiver full of arrows and a case of nose jammer!!
You keep that Nose Hammer on your side, AJ!
MO conservation dept. uses traps that are activated remotely and they are big enough to get the whole group. They are doing a pretty good job that way. Good luck guys and Lana and Tater!
Good luck AJ, show those boys how to get it done! Someone needs to take over until Lana gets back in the action. :)
Well, looks like Charlie and myself have some things in common, we both like chocolate chip ice cream and we were both running cows off this morning. Put a lid on it Brotsky. :)
Does that little kid know you borrowed his 4 wheeler, Rick??
Lana does... that’s hers. ;)
Jamie and Charlie rocking to TOOL after an ice cream overload. :)
"Jamie and Charlie rocking to TOOL after an ice cream overload. :) "
I suddenly like these guys just a little bit more.
I'm having a real hard time wrapping my head around "Charlie" and "Tool" in the same truck... Always figured Charlie as more of a Neil Diamond guy, or maybe Fleetwood Mac if he's in a wild mood!
No need to start a "What's the best kind of gloves" thread. I see Rick and I already have that nailed! :)
My favorite colder weather gloves, Justin. Now you could wear net gloves it’s so hot. Lame!
We got tonight, in the morning and maybe tomorrow evening. These South winds are BS. 6 days worth of BS. I’m shooting a doe tonight if I get an opportunity. Orange army comes out tomorrow. Blah.
Anyhoo... press on! Charlie is at the “bluff stand”, Jamie is in the “South pumper stand” and I’m in the south wind “beaver pond stand”. These temps and winds are BS! Have I mentioned that?
Where my wind is going tonight...
Tater says... this weather is BS. :)
Rick, two words...Nose Jammer... :-)
I'm as surprised that Charlie is rocking out to Tool as I am that Lou knows who they are...
I’m surprised Lou knows what Nose Jammer is. I mean, he is old an all. :)
You guys did Great
It was fun getting text update while I was south of ya'll in New Mexico.
Congrats,
Robb
The potential of this thread has skyrocketed due to the the video of Charlie rocking out (this might be a stretch) to Tool. If you can work Pantera in I'll truly be impressed.
I said squirrel.
I said squirrel.
Oh, Mark... if Charlie wasn’t heading back home this morning, I’m sure Jamie could find some Pantera. lol
Truth be known, Charlie is a good dude and it’s been a pleasure having him amongst our hunting club. Oh, and Neil Diamond is much more up his alley. :)
Our last day... Charlie is back in the bluff stand, Jamie is in the Beaver pond stand and Aaron is in the South pumper stand. Speaking of Aaron, he will be hunting solo from Sunday through Wednesday. We all wish him the best of luck, and it would sure be cool if he were to kill the big NT. And... Lana is still out of commission due to her bum knee. F’n cows!
Here’s a token boot shot and a random Tater tot sighting.
I have enough nose jammer to last all week!
This hound could use some Nose Jammer. Tater can be thankful. (I think?)
Now after getting past Charlie and Tool in the same vehicle, I'm trying to fit Dimebag Darrell (RIP) into the mix and it's making my head hurt..
Somebody kill that big NT! With Lana out of commission, he may be safe.
Good luck to Aaron! Is there a cold front on the way, yet?
Front pushing through Oklahoma now, will cool it off some. Rainy and dreary in the NE part of OK this morning.
Thanks for taking us all along! I pity folks who go through life without hunting and knowing the joy of sharing a hunting camp with friends.
Pretty slow morning so far. I’ve seen three deer and about 473 squirrels. Front is coming through later today most likely this evening in this part of the state. I’m hoping this evening picks up on the front end of this system.
… Pantera "WALK"... or "Cowboys from Hell"... that will get the blood pumping. Good to see ol' Tater Tot. Best of luck boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
… or maybe some old school Slayer. Not all us old guys are immune from hard rock... hell, I was a loyal recruit in the "KISS ARMY" back in the day.
"Kiss Alive" changed my life. It might do that for Charlie, too!
Lou... yes!!! KISS ALIVE!!!
Pink Floyd... Deep Purple... KISS...
KC and the Sunshine Band??!!
On the road again... Thx Oklahoma Bowsiters
Well last night ended up being a slow night not seeing any deer for me. Looking forward to today the Northwinds looking promising. However, I knew it was gonna storm but I thought it was gonna be over well before daylight and now it looks like it’s going to push well into daylight today. Once the rain passes I know where I’m headed.
Rain stopped and have great conditions for an all day sit.
Good luck and shoot straight, Aaron!
Whoa,!!! Pink floyd, Tool, and Pantera all brought up in this thread,,, how can you not knock down giants!!!! Gettum!!
Good luck Aaron put a hole in a big boy!
It's your day man!!
Good luck, Robb
Just as an update, I hunted from Saturday through this morning with no success. Conditions were good but it certainly seems that the mature bucks are laying low in the thick cover and moving sparingly at night. Yesterday afternoon was a great sit as I seen a lot of activity with doe groups browsing back on acorns but only 2 year olds were in tow.
It’s been a busy month for me transitioning into a new home so this was really my first multi-day opportunity. A lot of season left and we know we have some good resident bucks in the area. We’ll be back at it soon, late season is always a fun time to hunt.
Keep at it.. I’ll be down there soon for a quick hunt.
Great hint with a great crew! Rooting for Lana to skewer that big ol non typical!
Good luck!
This has been a fun read to follow.
Heck, hunt till the season ends!
Good luck, Robb
Fun recap as always Rick! Hope you get another crack at the giant.
The internal debate was killing me this morning. The creek was high from last weeks rains. It had rained overnight a good amount too. Could I get across the creek? Will my lack of sleep due to a restless Tater tot keep me in bed? Should I go to another stand? On and on...
Around 5 AM, I went out to relieve myself and one look at the overcast weather and wind direction gave me the motivation I needed (giant NT will do that as well). I made some coffee, got dressed, and in minutes I was looking the running creek in the eyes. The water was just under the boot tops of my Muck boots and five careful steps later I was on the other side.
I made my way up the precariously muddy bank by doing some side hilling. Safely up and across, I picked up my limb lights that led me to my stand where I had seen the giant two weeks ago today.
About midway down to my stand, I saw where hogs had trenched my trail. It looked fresh because there was fresh earth toppled over after the rain. A few steps later told me I was indeed close, as I bumped a sounder of pigs in the dark. I was also downwind of them so they only knew there was a noise and an odd light. Several adult pigs began huffing at me as I made my way on towards my stand. They eventually pushed off to the North in a swine fury.
As I traversed my way around the steep creek bank, I could also hear the local beaver in the creek below, following me, and slapping his tail as to say... “this is my creek!”
I got to my stand, I said a prayer for all of my fellow hunters, my friends, family and anyone who is struggling in life right now. I also thanked God for my abundance and to never let me fall into the trap of taking life for granted.
Oh, I also asked that my arrow fly straight given the opportunity at the Giant NT. Maybe today is the day? :)
Hope all your prayers are answered and appreciated Rick!!
Gave me goosebumps. Quite the writing there. Good luck
Enjoy the day, my friend!
Well, 10:30 am rolls around and the big sounder of pigs that I ran into in the dark came and hung out too long. There were probably 30 pigs total. One dead sow and one dead boar.
I cleaned the back straps and hams from them, gutless method and rolled them off into the deep creek. Both were less than 12 yards quartered away a tad.
Until next time big NT...
Looks like your little furry friend wants some pork too.
I love it!!!!! Good luck Rick and Others on the rest of your season.
You didn’t shoot somebody’s pet hog, did you?? Looks like the one behind your left ear has a collar on! That some kind of dragging harness?
Craig... believe me, she tried every possible way to get up there. :)
Yep, Troy... it’s a drag strap. Drug them over to the creek and out of the area. They both died within 60 yards, in different directions. :)
Got a speck of Cope in your teeth, I know it's hard to control
Kyle, that’s Red Man, now go tend your corn feeders.
Love this thread! Very entertaining and some sweet bucks too! Congratulations!
Damn, y’all are having too much fun! Now get Lana back out there so she can kill that big non typical!
