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SEPT 19TH-25TH HUNT REPORT

hard freeze Friday AM , Deer were really active tonite on the way home from fishing . Good weekend ?

I think it's going to be a great weekend.

I had a very interesting Friday in the woods. I got into my stand around 6:15am. The day before I saw a monster buck behind my stand but it never presented a shot. Anyways, I was hoping to see him again. So 7am rolled around and I could see a deer coming up that trail again. I watched as it slowly walked closer until I could finally see the head. It was a doe, at which time I turned back forward only to find two bucks in front of me. I never heard them walk in. Anyways one was a spike and the other was a six pointer. I made a split second decision and decided to shoot the 6. I got what I thought was a good shot. The buck only went twenty feet and just stood there. He stood still for probably ten minutes until he finally laid down. He continued to lift his head and would occasionally try to stand, only to fall over again. While I'm watching this, I hear growling to my right. I look over to see a huge bobcat with her kitten's. Momma noticed me immediately and was just eyeing me up. The kittens climbed trees next to my stand. This went on for a good fifteen minutes. Oh, and my buck was still flailing around while the bobcat's were there. I think momma might have attacked me if I would have climbed down. Anyways, they finally leave and it appeared my buck was dead. I walked over and jumped him up. 100 yards later and I found my 6. I then pulled him out to a clearing, started gutting him only to accidentally stab my hand with the buck knife. Quick trip to the ER, some stitches, and I went back to finish the job. A memorable hunt nonetheless!

mostly 70's this week with possibly a couple 80's....it's a no for me

Congrats bear76! Nice buck and great story!

Crazy day Fred! Congratulations on the buck!

Great one Fred. Two more scrapes this morning. One camera has a nice ten that I was hoping was still around. The wind is wrong for tonight on everything again. Out filming again this morning. I heard some bear hounds running to the west. I got this quick shot when driving through an opening to check a trail cam. Nice but I can do much better.

Tree rats all over , Turkeys pecking away , Acorns falling everywhere .What a circus.

I guess that tells the Deer its safe. I'll find out in about an hour. A

Smokey that is a stunning picture!

First hunt of the year for me tonight. Beautiful afternoon. Bright, sunny. Slight breeze and a few leaves falling. Some color in the trees. Geese overhead in southern flight. Three hours on stand. Saw one small eight-point about eighty yards away.

My wife sat on the deck of our little cabin and read a book and knitted a bit. She occasionally looked up to see what was in the grassy area in front of the cabin.....two does, two fawns, and four antlered bucks during her two hour sit. She said the biggest buck was an eight with about a fifteen-inch spread, the others all carried lesser racks.

Always fun to see deer, especially that many in such a short time! This has happened before! Sometimes she's like a deer magnet!

Hunted an apple tree by my house tonight and saw nothing. Got bad news this afternoon that I can no longer hunt the property behind me. Someone else has exclusive hunting rights. That's how it is with private land. It comes and it goes. I've hunted that piece of property since 09. I do have a new piece of private I have permission to hunt and I haven't even looked at it yet except on the map and drive by.

Richland Co, seeing good numbers of deer. Bucks still in bachelor groups, four and five at a time. They seem to stick together as far as age structure goes. Had a group of three 2 1/2 year olds, a group of five 1 1/2 year olds, then a few singles or pairs in my last four sits. One nice buck I’d guess was 3 1/2 but just not big enough that I want my season to end so soon. Been crisp and cool in the mornings but very nice weather to sit in.

Great story FB76, always be careful gutting those deer. My buddies hand got infected after he cut himself one time. It happens to all of us I’m sure at one point.

Here in Illinois I have to wait until October 1st to deer hunt so I guess I’ll just go dove hunting today.

Congrats Fred. Story actually sounds like something straight out of 2020. Yesterday am I only saw a song dog from the stand. He caught me off guard. So, no shot. While walking back to the truck I spotted 3 adult does and a fawn. Crouched down and waited. They got within 40 yds, but decided something wasn't right and turned around. Last night I mentored my buddy's son. Saw 2 does (1 being a slobasaurus) and 2 fawns. The biggest did get in range, but no shooting lane for him. Dang it!

Fred, just curious, if the buck you hit only went 20' and bedded down and was not dead, why not put another arrow into it?

Happy, I agree. I could not just sit there and watch it without trying to finish the job.

I read it as he couldn't see the deer to get a clean shot. Just his head popping up now and again.

On the board to start the season. Always nice to be out and getting to shoot is a great bonus. Taken from a ground blind we setup in July and brushed it in. First sit and it was a 15 yard shot. Needed some help with the tracking as I was just not seeing the blood on the green vegetation. Good thing it didn’t go too far.

Congrats Doug! Way to put meat in the freezer, it always makes for a more relaxing season for me when there is meat in the freezer in sept

Well done Doug!

I didn't hunt today but I did check out the new property I have permission to hunt. It's not big but the deer travel through it. Tuesday I leave for a different kind of hunt. I'm headed to the north Georgia mountains to hook up with my two daughters and their families. We're going to tent camp and hunt for gold for a week. I don't expect to find enough gold to pay for gas round trip. It would be a double treat if I did.

Oh my help to track was my dad not a dog. He could see blood and is better at it than I am.

Been out scouting/hunting spots around Eau Claire and checked spots in Price county over the weekend. Price county looked better than Eau Claire county. Some acorns around and good activity at 3 of my stand sites. I did not sit thought, opted for fishing which sucked by the way. I did get one grouse, lost another. Eau Claire county, no acorns anywhere, no deer sign around, pretty depressing. Decent sign at my one spot, but someones climber is 20 yards from my tree. I will be checking out some other areas around E.C. trying to at least get a doe right away. I have not been in Clark County, but that will have to wait till rut same with Sawyer county. Couple spots in Sawyer I want to get some cameras up. Thats it.

Tweed, you're correct. The buck was behind bushes and tall grass. I could only see the antlers from time to time. I was also held in my stand for a period of time because of the bobcat. I walked up to the buck as soon as I could, with an arrow ready to go. It was a really bizarre scenario.

Skunked tonight. Kinda surprised. 1st sit at this spot this year. In a thick (scrub trees and buckthorn) secluded section with 3 apple trees on one side and green field behind (with some pines providing edge cover. ) Buddy's son sat a food plot and saw 1 spike and 5 antlerless.

Hunted the 16th - 19th. Temps were great, but the N.E. E. S.E. winds did me no favors. Saw deer almost every time out, but constantly got busted. I'll skip this weeks warm up and head back the 30th for 4 or 5 days. Good luck to all.

Tonight at 6:05, I passed a deer I could probably regret.

Sort of crazy really. I'm hunting a 40 acre alfalfa field. I brought my pole saw because I hadn't pruned this spot earlier this year, and there are grapevines and box elders here, and they always grow new stuff every year. So I get out here at 4:30, cut a few vines and hanging branches. It was 76 degrees when I walked out, so here I am sitting in shorts and a T-shirt. After pruning, the landowner drives out in the field in his F-250. They get out at about 200 yards from me, and with my binoculars, I can see his son and his girlfriend getting pictures out in the field. They were loud, but they didn't stay long. Okay, it's a farm, shit happens. No longer than they leave, it starts to rain a bit. I look at my radar, and there's a tiny sliver of ran that will pass in minutes. Well, I hear what sounds like rain intensifying to my back, and here comes an 18 inch wide 8 pointer coming right to me on a trail I pruned and mowed several times this year. I also pruned an old deer trail that parallels the field I'm observing, which is literally 7 yards off my tree. I grab my bow, I draw, he turns and gives me the easiest chip shot. I was literally searching for excuses not to shoot, and you know how fast stuff goes through your head....too warm. I work tomorrow. Too early. There's bigger bucks, and when it's all said and done, I have regret, and hope. I hope by passing him, I can see a better buck. I hope by passing him I can hunt the rut this year. (Tagged out on October 23rd and 24th) last two years, and really missed that part of the hunt. I was literally done, before my 21 day vacation even began. Well, after letting my heart rate drop, and typing this, I can only say oh well. I never much cared about score, and I always seem to know when the right buck is the right buck, so today he gets a pass. He was absolutely clueless to how close his heart stopped beating. I don't really name deer, but we will call him lucky. In 6 or 7 weeks he shows his face, I'll nickname him dinner! Still a little time left. Never expected to see a nice buck tonight. I was purely hunting for surveillance purposes, and there was nothing else to do. Good luck, and don't think like me, that it's too early. Not many people would let this guy walk.

And thats a good example why it's called hunting and not killing..

Hope you enjoy your season and get what you want out of it.

It got better. There are two 40 acre fields. Both are alfalfa. One field (the one I was on tonight) has a five acre woods on it, that sits on a knob. I absolutely NEVER enter this woods, or the other, I call the sliver, which is a bullet shaped knob of woods that juts out between the two forties. They are bedding areas, and with the high spots on both of them, I'm sure the deer see me walk into this 120 acre woods I hunt most of the time. Nothing I can really do, it's about the only way in.

Well, as the day winds down, I'm expecting to see the usual does feeding in the field. The grapevines have literally blocked my view of half the field, but I can see the island which is just 110 acres away. Basically I make a long horseshoe to get to my stand, and I walk to within 70 yards of that island. Now remember, they just took photos right by the island lol. I pruned trees and grapevines too. Well, that didn't stop a gorgeous white-racked 10 pointer that might go 140 and a little yearling from coming out, and feeding on the edge of that island. They came out of that island and went back into that island. I was able to lightly call to him, which he didn't react to. I'll shoot this one. I have two bigger deer, one certainly 170, but nocturnal of course. This guy is just too perfect, and the whitest rack ever. Tomorrow I'm using the decoy. I know you might think awful intrusive, but I have great success with the little-racked decoy. I'll put him below my stand as close as possible and facing me. I'll have to low crawl the decoy out to the field edge, but I'm feeling lucky, and I want this buck....and two others lol.

Great story Pete. Hope you get a crack at whitey. I took a walk though the hardwoods yesterday, what a gorgeous time to be in the woods. I kicked up a couple of does and two fawns sunning on the oak ridges. The squrrels are busy filling their stashes. Felt strange to not have my bow with me this time of year. The maple colors are just fantastic by me.

Congrats Doug and Fred.

Dang Pete. No regrets. Everything happens for a reason. When the time is right, it will be meant to be. I hunted a couple hours tonight and saw a doe and her twins eating acorns

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