As mentioned in my 2022 Hunting Journal, during the first week of January me and a couple of buddies decided to take some predator control into our own hands as we bounced around a few of our different properties for 3 straight nights of hunting (1/5, 1/6, 1/7). Burning the candle at both ends (working during the day and hunting from 8pm-2am) was interesting yet tiring to say the least.
(18) total taken in that 3 days of hunting and we could have easily had 8-10 more if not for some clear misses and/or getting busted by the wind. I will eventually follow with a few thermal imaging videos from this hunt. I haven't viewed it yet, but hopefully "The Shot of the Hunt" (dumped one at 350 yds. plus on a flat-out sprint) will be of good enough quality to share?
We are planning to do another hunt in early March (both day and night hunting). During those daytime hunts, I will have my bow in hand and my trusty Haydel hand-held call (cotton tail rabbit w/mouse squeaker). I will update this thread again with the results from that upcoming March hunt. Until then, if/when you can.....get Outdoors whether shooting your bow or just chopping some wood! It is good for your hunting SOUL!
Also, in case some inquiring minds want to know......it was about 50/50 between males and females taken.
Yes Kyle you can see pretty clear through those things. Only thing might be hard is to differentiate between a house dog that looks similar to a coyote like a German Sheppard or something.
Congrats Jason…that is being pretty efficient right there. I see some pretty good fur on some of em. Did y’all skin any to tan them?
The capability of "zooming in" with thermal scopes also helps differentiate a little better between animal types at long distances. However, like any hunting exercise you have to really study and identify your quarry before touching off the shot while also seriously scanning the background for other critters and livestock. Since deer have more thermal mass than coyotes, they have a tendency to glow more brightly than coyotes. Bobcats have a super bright glow....mainly because of their short coats.
Dave…I understand your concern, Be Stills and JT’s (as mentioned above) and it is very real and valid no doubt. A few benefits of “good” thermal imaging equip. is we can zoom in pretty good to get a better look (as mentioned above and as shown in the video after the 2nd yote goes down) and we also usually see them long before we shoot them which typically gives us a really long “look” at the animal to study it’s mannerisms, profile, gate, movements, etc. to get a better idea if it is a yote, domestic dog, fox or some other furbearer, etc. Every night of that 3 night hunt, we all routinely reminded each another that if for any reason any one of us had any doubt at all no matter the circumstance….we don’t shoot! With 2 guys running thermal imaging scopes on guns and 1 guy running a thermal imaging monocular attached to a helmet (he being the main spotter) we had alot of eyes on the quarry.
So far, while I have been doing it (2 seasons or a handful of hunts) no domestic dogs have come in to the calls nor have been shot…knock on wood! One of the guys hunting with me who does this a lot in other states has had domestic dogs come into the area on 2 separate occasions. Both times he said it was pretty easy to tell they were domestic dogs as their tails were wagging most of the time and they didn’t naturally work downwind of the caller as they came into the area to investigate.
Then everything went quiet. Overall, I was pretty nervous that I wouldn’t be able to draw them across the creek to my side. So, I decided to slow it down and only hit the old trusty box call about every 15-20 min….and make them come look for me.
Then at 10am this guy along with one of his pals crossed the creek somewhere and then commenced to quietly sneaking across the field on their way to the dekes.
As they came closer, his buddy decided to head the opposite way to a nearby gate with a gap in it where they like to cross from one property to the next. He chose wisely!
Make sure to get out and enjoy springtime in the KS woods. You won’t regret it one bit!
Couldn’t help but notice we are getting treated to a 2nd Fall Foliage as the oak color variations are kick’in it into high gear. Had to take a picture of this beauty of an oak that is not only producing acorns in abundance but a Mathew’s bows as well!
Here are the acorns for those that might be able to identify what kind of oak species it is?
Didn’t even notice the scrape there until after I was done fooling around taking pictures.
It did not disappoint. Between 8am - 11:45am a total of 4 bucks came strolling by. One of those bucks was a GREAT one!
So, last year went down to the very last PM hunt of the year. Is this year going to be the complete opposite and possibly be over after the first AM hunt of 2023?
I am staying in a little 1 horse town and only have 1 bar of service so only pics will load. I will try to get to a better spot sometime tomorrow to load the videos of the 4 bucks. In the meantime, since it’s late a few snippets will have to do.
Glad you finally out man and this one has kicked off good.
Good luck, enjoy your time out there.
Unfortunately, I don't stay in a Ritz Carlton with concrete/wood floors, nightly turn down service and daily chocolates left on the pillow like Be Still does ;?) Each evening, I even tried using my hotspot to upload and share my hunt videos after each day's hunt concluded.....but with zero bars that didn't work either. A few times, I even resorted to trying to load "still" photos from my videos to Bowsite but service was so poor that I got the infamous "error 400 or 500" when trying to do that too?
Anywhoo, I am back in technologically advanced society....so here goes. I have alot of videos, so tonight and thru the week I am gonna load you guys up with videos, etc. from my 11/9 AM to 11/13 AM hunts. Thanks for hang'in in there (whether a skeleton, vegan or whatever your pronoun is ;?) and hope some of you had a chance to hunt some this last week or weekend. If you didn't, then you missed some of the best multi-day still conditions I have ever witnessed with some cold mornings but unusually hot PM temps. You don't get many still days in KS like this and even fewer back-to-back-to-back like we just had (Fri. - Mon.). Get out and HUNT!
In the video below, at 14 yds. he stopped to get a good nose full of a mock scrape I had made. At this moment I named him DICK. I will have to explain later!
Carry on brother but please take your time so you get everything just right. That’s a pretty framy 8 there bud.
More hunts and videos are coming....stay tuned! Thx,
Yeah, we got way bigger ones out here...but not as many as years past but we still got a few running around that I'd like to meet...one being a very symmetrical 12ptr. and another that has a weird 8-9 inch drop-tine/flyer coming off the right main beam that he could probably scratch his right shoulder with. Then there are those that I don't know are out there that could literally just show up one day. That's why I love this thing we call HUNT'IN!
Be Still.....get your mind out of the gutter! ;?)
The breezy day calmed down and that evening turned out to be a very light NNE wind. I was in a place that I call the BULL PASTURE and hunting from the ground in the SE corner where 2 timbered lots come together at a pinch point. I set-up on a boulder filled steeply sloped timbered ridge that overlooks the fairly open timbered bottom below giving me a height advantage over the area. Sort of like being in a tree stand but on the ground instead.
Got one of my cast of characters out giving me a hand. On occasion, during the last 30-45 min. of light I rattled and grunted to see if I could lure something out of the creek bottom straight out in front of me (to the north), the sloping timbered ridge (to the east), the field and creek edges (to the NE) or the prairie above me (to the SW). I wasn't counting on seeing anything coming from the west or NW as the bulls are in the pasture west of me and earlier that afternoon I walked into this spot from the NW.
No videos...just pic's. See next post
Bull Pasture stand pic's. Bowsite only allows 4 pic's per post...so the last Bull Pasture stand pic will be in the next post.
Sadly, no deer were seen, called in or taken from this world during this hunt.
Set up at the RIVER Stand which is in a small island of pin oaks at the edge of sloping prairie (to the south), meadow and creek cliff edge creates a great pinch point (to the north) and adjacent timber (to the west).
I was facing north with very, very light N-NE wind. My primary objective is to catch deer traveling on the primary deer trail that runs east-west across the small meadow (north of me). However, as you will see in the pic's I have full 360 deg. shooting opportunities from this sniper perch within this island of oaks just in case the deer haven't read the script.
The N-NE wind was so light, that one could say there really was no wind at all. A crisp cold still morning, perfect for banging horns together in the early morning. So, at 7:15AM that is exactly what I did. Not 2 min. later a decent 8 comes from the east traveling west (see red arrow) to find or get involved in the battle. He actually paused for about 1 min. (directly east of me) staring down into that meadow north of me looking for the deer that were doing the fighting.
Not seeing any sparing partners, he progressed across my backside (south of me) and jumped the west fence line SW of me. At that point, I was nervous that he would catch my sent which was lightly blowing N-NE and right to him at or near the fence line that he jumped. If he caught my scent, then there would be 20 min. of him snorting out the entire woods to my west.....where I was actually hoping to draw a shooter from.
Well, I guess my attempts at scent free clothing and cover scents and sprays (see 11/9 post above) must have paid off because he never snorted at the fence nor any time after as he progressed on west and downwind of me into the adjoining timber. Unfortunately, no other deer were seen that morning.
Gonna help ya'll spot the buck via the blue circle in the pic. above. That way when you see the video below, you'll be locked on where he is at and when he jumps the west fence line. Yes, that is my arrow on my rest and my I-Phone is mounted on a holder on my quiver side. It may appear that I am trying to get prepared for a shot but in reality, I am holding my bow up in the air with I-phone still in the holder just squirming around and crouching to get the buck on video. It's easier doing that when just videoing deer that are coming by as it is a pain to take the phone in and out of the holder. Look at the leaves...not a one is moving...dead calm!
So, I ended this hunt at 12:30PM, and after climbing down I went over to the tree directly west of me near a trail camera I had set up at the edge of my island of pin oaks (Randy thanks for the identification) and made a mock scrape. 2 days later (11/12) these jokers were duking it out in front of the camera!
I have met my maximum limit of videos that I can upload for the day. Figure, there is enough content to keep ya'll busy for a little bit. Anyway, look for tomorrow's video posts which will include a DIY segment that you won't want to miss! I know, I know...you are on the edge of your seat, right?
DIY Tree Stand Leg Rest:
Be Still....I'm trying to do better. Man, that Ole Yeller baiting vampire has turned you mean? Oh you're gonna like that DIY....same as you'll like that dish above. You think you messed your drawers in Mizzou and KS this year. Eat half this dish in one sitting and blowing out your drawers in two different states will be the least of your worries. Instead, you'll be looking in the phone book (remember those) for someone that installs septic systems by golly!
Set up at the SOUTH DRAW stand which is the most remote spot on the property. The nearest paved or gravel roads are approx. 2.5 mile to the north, 1.5 miles to east, 4 miles to the south and 2 miles to the west.
The stand is in grove of Sycamore trees along a seasonal creek bottom with long narrow timbered draws that eventually connect to AG at far east and west ends resulting in a perfect funnel. Also, due to the sloping open prairie on both side of the creek it also creates a pinch point as the deer typically prefer to stay near the treed creek bottom edge and the cover it affords them when traveling thru there.
However, of all my stands (8 total) I am probably the most exposed/sky lined in this Sycamore set. There is wide open sloping prairie to my north, shallow creek bottom right under me, timbered funnel to my east and west and open meadow to sloping wide open prairie to my south. Primary deer trails run parallel to the creek on the north side (40 yd shot) and south side (meadow 25 yd. shot and prairie mid-hill 40 yd shot).
@ 3:50 PM, I was startled by a doe running full tilt open mouthed west-to-east across the open prairie on my north side about 80 yd out. As my eyes peeled away from her, I see a low 140's class 8 running full tilt open mouthed chasing after her but on the primary 40 yd trail north of me. It happened so fast, I had no time to react other than just enjoy the few seconds they gave me. As quick as they were there....they were gone.
@ 5:25 PM, I was somewhat surprised again but this time by a 10 ptr. that just quietly showed up walking the 40 yd. trail on my north where the 8 ptr. had previously run thru and in the same west-to-east direction (see red arrow). The crazy thing is when I first saw him, he hadn't made it to the small group black Angus that were grazing thru my immediate area at the time. So, I figure he will skirt them as most deer do and either walk right by my tree for a better look or loop out further into the prairie and around them. Nope, this Joker walks right thru'em like he owns the joint. Will just let the video show you. All that noise in the video are those stink'in cows crunching and cracking everything they touch. However, as I swung the bow around with I-Phone attached to stay on the moving buck I did clank my arrow on the tree out front, but the phones microphone makes it sound louder than it really was. He certainly didn't appear to hear it.
He got a pass from me, but I hope he can slip thru and make it to 2024 or 2025 seasons!
Mr. Connecticut....glad to have you along for the ride! Do you have plans to eventually come to KS to hunt? As a shout out to you and Conn., later on in this thread I will share a few nice memories of my 2016 and 2019 hunts in Conn.. Maybe you will be familiar with the area I was in? Loved my time in your great state! Stay tuned!
S-SE wind, hunting on the ground and backed-up against the creek bottom letting my scent blow across it while I was watching a few scrapes that they had opened up recently. This was the only visitor that morning.
Red Arrows = Main Deer Trail
Orange Arc= Fence Crossing
Blue Arrow = South Wind
Yellow Line & "X" = Bitchy Doe
S wind, hunting on the ground again and set-up at the east end of a brushy point facing a large open meadow between hills and big timbered bottom and pond east of me. Was aggressive that evening with HUD, calling and rattling in hopes of drawing a good buck out of that timber east of me. After a few sequences, a doe came from the pond dam to the fence line and saw the HUD and didn't like it one bit. She basically stood at the fence line blowing at it for atleast 20 min. straight. Never would cross the fence to my side and check it out closer. Just stood there making more noise than I'd like. No way she could smell me, just didn't like the deke I guess? Eventually, she meandered off. Pretty uneventful evening. That was all I saw that night.
Red Arrows = Path of Buck
Blue Arrow = S-SW Wind
Yellow Line = Doe Group (7) Total
Hunting from South Draw again. At about 8am that morning, I see a doe group a good distance behind me (to my west) heading down out of the prairie along a fence line that leads to my timbered creek bottom draw. They were in no hurry, and I watched them until it appeared that they made it down to where they intersected my timbered creek bottom draw. At that point, they could either turn right and follow the timbered draw west and away from me or turn left and follow the timbered draw east to me. I figured if they chose the latter, it would be about 8:30am before I'd see them.
Well, at 8:25am I see the first set of legs coming down a mid-hill trail that is just south of the timbered draw. All 7 eventually come out and the lead doe stops where the yellow "X" is and looking over toward me. Just then, I hear a deer clanking around on the rocks in the dried creek bottom below me. Weird, I counted 7 does and I see 7 does? Then I see the buck climbing out of the creek bottom heading across the meadow right below me and up the hill to the does.
At that point, I reach up to my I-Phone on the bow to start videoing and the lead doe catches my movement. About 5 seconds later she bolts back the direction they had come with all the others in toe. The buck eventually followed them but not until after stopping @ about 45 yds away with what I describe as a dumb founded expression.....I guess he was wondering why all those does just took off? No other animals seen that morning.
Purple Circle = Stand Location
Red Arrows = Deer Trails
Blue Arrow = S-SW Wind
Orange Arc= Fence Crossing
Hunting from the HOLE. A great remote little bowl at the top end of a timbered draw that leads down to a major creek and some AG fields. I have shots to multiple trails that run along both my north and south side.
Not a single animal of any kind was seen during this hunt. See trail camera footage from October....they are around somewhere...just not there that night?
While there, I pulled the card on the trail camera overlooking the middle fence crossing. These bucks came thru in Oct.
Went back to Middle stand...you know the one with the "generational" fence crossing and where I passed up that big 8 on the 11/9 AM hunt (see post/video above). On this hunt, I only saw a couple of does and a dink buck that was just hanging around waiting on "Jenny from the block."
That wraps up my recent 4.5 days of hunting from 11/9-11/13. I'll be out after'em again tomorrow! Hope you will too!
Naw Jason I’ll have to admit your posts are usually worth waiting for…great stuff man.
Been in the stand since 3 PM. Quiet as a church mouse here. Also too dang warm. When is the cold weather gonna get here? Should be moving pretty soon. So, we’ll see what comes down the trail tonight!
I was at Middle tonight. Didn't see anything until walking out and heading back to my Jeep.
While walking out, I look over to the west and about 50 yds away was a "GIANT" buck that was silhouetted and crossing the prairie heading south with sunset behind him. So, I just dropped to my knees and dug my binos out of my pack to get a better look. I knew he was big and definitely a shooter. I just wanted more detail.
He just stood there like a statue for about 2 minutes looking in my direction. I must have been in a slight depression compared with him because all I could see was from his front shoulder up.
While looking thru the binos, he turned his head a few times. So, I was able to get a good count on # points he had. At the very least a tall 6x6 and well past each ear in terms of spread
All good solid length to the points....no iffy points. Good brows 5"-6". Clean typical, no trash or kickers unless there was some on his bases that I couldn't see.
Appeared to be a mature buck but then again it was past shooting light and he was silhouetted against the sky. Hope to see him in the daylight while hunting again soon.
Oh yeah and by the way…if you really love that dog then fix the dang passenger seat back rest, LOL!!!
Kind of kicking myself about my method of hunting last night as obviously that 6x6 silhouetted was nearby in my area. I had rattling antlers, grunt tube, doe can….the works in my bag of tricks. However, last night while hunting I decided to remain silent and let them move on their own accord.
Knowing what I know now (that he had to have been bedded nearby) if I had just rattled and/or grunted some I might have gotten him on his feet earlier in the evening and atleast seen him during shooting hours.
Oh well, hindsight is 20/20, right?
Anyways took Ella for a ride yesterday and forgot to roll up the window so the cats took care of that and the potato cheese bites.
Ummm if l left now and missed Thanksgiving I might would be in a little trouble…might could slip out the door but trying to come back in could be interesting.
Been in the stand since before light. 30 deg. w/ 20 mph NE wind that is gusting to 25-30 mph is (I’ll be honest) kicking my butt. Along with the wind gusts….to me feels like below 10. Couldn’t feel my hands or fingers after climbing up to the tree stand platform in the dark this AM.
Hunting a somewhat shallow draw up in the prairie but isn’t out of the wind in the least. So far, have seen a small 6pt. that came thru @ 8:00am. Not much is moving this AM and assume most animals are bedded for the majority of the day. Sitting here freezing to death and thinking how great it would be to have the fireplace stoked and settling in to watch a days worth of football!
With this cold weather moving in and a winter storm on its way, if this mornings hunt doesn’t pan out I am going to move to another place on the property that is adjacent to AG (cut beans & winter wheat). Figure tonight they will be pouring into those crops. Maybe I’ll catch a shooter passing thru!
Hope ya’ll had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Here are a few of my favorite dishes from yesterday.
Now I don’t think I’ve had any of them type of servings before and not sure if I ever want to try any either.
I sure hope you get a big one this evening but now remember if you do that knocks you out from hunting the place up north in the hills….there’s a good en up there!
Driving in to my PM spot, had a nice buck chase a doe across the highway right in front of my Jeep. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t seen them coming and slowed down to video him crossing right in front of me? Got about 5 sec of video and will have to load it to this thread later tonight.
I am at my river bottom stand that I call the Eagles Nest….well for obvious reasons. Got in here earlier than the time stamp above. Had quite a hike in. I am warm now but know I will be cold again soon once the sweat freezes, LOL! Anyway, got a timbered ridge and flat to my back at each rear side of me and river bottom and AG (winter wheat & cut beans) out front. Over looking a river crossing from the timber to AG and visa versa. Here goes nothing!!!
At 5pm, a decent sized 10 ptr. came out into the wheat field and ate for about 20 min. in the nearby corner but unfortunately across the adjacent property line. I threw everything at him but all he would do is lift his head and look my direction. He just wasn't interested in coming over to my side to investigate (self-preservation maybe ???). Eventually, he just moved off to the south away from me along the timber & wheat field edge.
I’m at one of my favorite stands on the entire property, the LADDER stand which is at the edge of a timbered creek bottom and prairie. The ladder stand faces east toward the prairie. Figured being the 4th day of gun season, might wanna keep myself close to food source and cover.
Saw a lot of deer on their feet between 1-2pm while driving out… hitting the winter wheat fields hard tonight. I have a cut bean field behind me to my west and a huge winter wheat field over my right shoulder across the creek to the south. Will be counting gun shots tonight!!!!!
Not sure of service down here so pics and videos will have to come later. Fingers crossed!
This is the aerial view from my set-up last night (see 360 deg. view in video above). Didn't see any deer last night other than a good-sized buck that I almost hit with my car after dark on the return trip home. Didn't hear a single gunshot all evening.....which I will mark down as good thing! It was so still last night, I would have guessed that if a shot did ring out that I would have heard it from atleast a 1/2 mile in every direction.
The video below shows same 12 ptr. jumping the fence a few nights later.
