Blackbeard's Bowhunts

[blackbeard]

Here it goes, my journey this year starting after my 10/14/13 PM hunt (my last update on here), starting with a doe kill and ending with a buck kill. Haven't been out since.

10/19/13- AM. Hadn't been out for 4 days and was getting restless waiting for this cold front to come in. Saw one deer walking in that was feeding in the moonlight in a field. Got on stand at 7:00 AM. Nice morning, chilly and overcast. The sun tried to peak out at 8:15 or so but the clouds kept it hidden. Light misty rain most of the morning. I tweaked my back a week ago and for some reason the evening before it started aching and shooting pains, not good. My back was killing me this morning and being in a treestand wasn't helping much. I hadn't saw anything at 9:10 and told myself I wasn't leaving until 10:00. Then, at 9:15 here comes 4 does acting all skittish from behind and downwind of me. They couldn't decide where they wanted to go and ended up coming down the fenceline toward me. About that time I saw what had them stirred up. A spike. He wasn't chasing probably just bothering them. The first big doe come to about 8 yards, went through a fence, and I let her have it. She was quartering away and only 8 yards, just about as easy as it gets. The arrow went in behind the diapraghm and came out through the opposite side lung down low. She ran off slowly with the others and I heard her crash about 50 yards away. Doe down. Pretty exciting morning for about 5 minutes! While I was waiting to get down I saw two more does also. First deer of the year and I'm taking a few days off to get my back straightened up.



10/23/13- PM. Decided to hunt due to the temps dropping and the rain ending, chose a stand close to the house since I'd have to make a late entry right after work. Should have stayed home. Everything went wrong this evening. Bumped 4 does and another unknown deer getting to stand, sat there all evening and never saw a thing, then at 7:10 or so here came three deer walking straight at me, the third locked up like it smelled or saw something, I have no idea what was up, it was upwind. Then had another big sounding deer get downwind of me a few minutes later and do the old stomping and blowing routine, not good. Wind was generally out of the NW but would switch to SW and W on occasion so was unpredictable at times.

10/26/13-AM. Hunted a stand which overlooks a spot where a thicket meets a 1/2 acre overgrown field, beautiful morning, around freezing, stiff west wind. As soon as the sun came up I watched a basket rack 6-8 pt browsing in the field about 50 yards away, wish I would have had a good camera because seeing his breath and the frosty weeds below him with the sun on his left side was awesome. Soon after two does joined him then they all left together. No more action until 8:45 when two mature does and two fawns came from behind me, browsed around a little in the narrow strip of woods I was in, and then left by walking straight away downwind of me starting at 5 yards out to 50 yards before turning and going over the hill. No stomping or blowing, smoke 1 four does 0. My first smoke experience and I was pleased with it. Stayed till 10:30 never saw anything else.

10/26/13- PM. Hunted a red/white oak honey hole of mine. Only problem was I don't believe I heard a single acorn drop all evening, even with a 7-12 MPH gusty wind. Saw three squirrels and none were cutting nuts out of the trees. Not much of a honey hole this year. The only deer I saw were three does in an overgrown field about 125 yards away. They browsed from 5:30 until 6:30 then disappeared. Very slow evening which was a real surprise. I'm guessing the wind had them feeling more comfortable in the semi-open grown up field than in the woods. I checked various oak trees on my way in and out of both hunts today and only found one huge red oak that had any noticeable acorns. Crop is pretty much non-existent except for some scattered trees it seems.

10/27/13- PM. Hunted on the ground in a spot I picked out on the fly this afternoon. Made me a little spot up in some briars and honeysuckle up against some pines overlooking a 1/4 acre overgrown field and honeysuckle patch. It looked like a perfect staging area prior to deer moving on down the hill into some soybeans. Got setup and although it was warm and the sun was bright, there was still a chill to the air. Surprisingly never saw a thing. Saw one deer feeding in the beans later. Last two evenings have been slowwwwww. Deer around here are already hitting their winter honeysuckle browse due to the lack of acorns. Warm spell continues this week then cool down Thursday.

10/28/13- PM. Hunted a stand in a staging area. Jumped a few does going in, how can you not right now, leaves are crazy noisy. No action until 6:30 when I saw antlers coming off the hill behind me. I was hoping for it to be a particular 10 pt I've been getting photos of in this area.....and got ready...but it was a small 8 pt. He fed 25 yards from me from 6:30 until a small deer (button buck I thought) showed up at 6:45. He did some very low tending grunts at the button buck, which was odd, and ran it into the woods underneath me, where it stood and browsed until dark. Right at dark another deer was coming into the area and the 8 pt chased it around in a circle. While they were down in the woods another deer came by as I was trying to get out of there. Nice evening, little warm but cool very light N/NE breeze.

10/31/13- AM. Hunted a stand next to a thicket, warm with gusty winds out of the SW, never saw a single deer. I did hear acorns dropping out of two red oaks though. Pretty surpring, figured I'd catch some deer filing their bellies before this front moves in. Also wanted to report that I walked out behind my house and around a path to check for the usual scrapes and there were none, very weird not to be any back there. Not sure what's up with that.

11/01/13- AM. Hunted a stand which is along a fence line and in a saddle between a bedding area and feeding area. Nice morning, warm but sunny. Leaf cover was greatly reduced by the high winds earlier in the morning. However, never saw a thing. On the way out I was stalking down the dirt path and walked upon a decent 8 pt eating crabapples 50 yards away. He wasn't looking in my direction so I got to within 40 yards, wide open shot, knelt down, and he took a couple steps and stopped and just as I was drawing I noticed he was a half rack, left side away from me had like a split brow or was broke off, so I watched him walk away! No rutting activity to speak of here yet, hunting very slow, deer not moving much. No scrapes in typical locations.

11/02/13- AM. Hunted on the ground in some pines, saw a few does, nice morning.

11/02/13- PM. Saw two deer, a doe being chased by dogs and a borderline shooter 8-9 pt being chased by the same dogs, first apast me wide open at 35 yds then he circled and came back wide open right underneath my stand, needless to say a grunt nor yell wouldn't stop him, not good. I forsee a talk with the neighbors in the very near future.

11/03/13- AM. Grunted in a small 8pt and didn't see anything else. Nice morning. Ready for a wind switch from the west to the east for a few days so I can hunt some different stand sites.

11/03/13- PM. Watched a mature doe and her fawn eat all evening. Scrapes starting to be made. Saw two new scrapes walking in. I hate squirrels and hickory nuts.....

11/04/13- AM. Saw a small half-rack 6, two does, and a spike. No chasing. Maybe some seeking. The path I cut to this stand which is down a drainage ditch has a rubline coming up it. Very few rubs for the third year in a row. A rubline around here has been hard to find.

11/05/13- AM. Hunted my walnut tree at edge of hollow treestand this morning, never saw anything until 8:15 when a spike came under me and then bedded 25 yds from me for 45 minutes. My lord I thought he'd never leave. Took a quick ride around the mowed roads around my overgrown field on the back side of my property and there are scrapes everywhere. I don't hunt back there until later on just because its hard to get in and out of. But with sign like I saw today I'm gonna have to spend some time back there, it was tore up.

11/05/13- PM. Hunted one of my thicket stands. Saw two does about 4:30 then nothing else. Did some rattling and grunting but nothing. Spooked one leaving in the dark, sounded big on the hoof. Back at it tomorrow morning.

11/06/13- AM. Hunted a saddle/fenceline funnel between bedding and feeding. Saw 6 does all together that were acting real weird. Nothing behind them and upwind of me so not sure what was up. Did some rattling and grunting with no buck sightings. Took the long way out to check on buck sign since the wind was blowing hard and covering my noisy footsteps and found a good scrape line and a couple rubs. Scrapes being worked hard right now.

11/07/13- AM. Hunted a ground spot overlooking a swamp crossing. Saw two does before 8 then had a spike come through at 8 and get 18 yds from me but he never new I was there. Love these up close sightings from the ground! No rut activity to report. Have not heard a grunt, saw a buck chase a doe, or saw anything other than scrapes appearing alot.

11/08/13- AM. Hunted in some oaks in a corner next to an overgrown field. Saw six does and 1 spike. No rutting activity witnessed although 3 of the does may have been running because they were being harassed by a buck.

[blackbeard]

11/08/13- PM. Hunted in my overgrown field. Saw a 140" buck and a 130" buck. The 140" was chasing a doe and the 130" was trying to get in on the action. I didn't know the 130" was there until the 140" snort wheezed at him. They were within 25 yards, the doe actually within 10 yards, and I was on the ground and could not get a shot for briars, etc. Very frustrating. Two packs of coyotes entered the field at dark and did some chilling barks and howls. Got back to the house and my wife said she saw a nice buck in our yard walking beside our concrete patio. Things sure heated up today, deer everywhere.

11/09/13- AM. Hunted a ladder stand in the middle of my overgrown field. Saw two does. No rutting activity witnessed.

11/09/13-PM. Hunted the same ladder stand in the middle of my overgrown field. Jumped two going in and heard a couple eating honeysuckle before dark. No rutting activity witnessed.

11/10- PM. Hunted a strip of timber at the back of a pasture field. Saw one doe walking through the pasture field about 5:00 and one deer after dark (unknown).

11/11- AM. Hunted a thicket where does bed and a stand that always produces one good buck sighting. The place is loaded with honeysuckle so should be smokin with the lack of acorns. Saw one doe which appeared to have been bumped under my stand. The presumed bumper buck never showed.

11/12-PM. Hunted my feed site. Got busted by a deer after climbing up. Saw and heard a small buck grunting and searching my overgrown field. Cold evening.

11/13-AM. Hunted in the middle of my overgrown field. Deer were everywhere on my way to stand before daylight. Even spooked a deer in the woods beside the house when I closed my basement door. Saw one doe in the field around 8. It was so cold the estrous scent dripping off my scent wick formed into an icicle.

11/14- AM. Hunted the thicket stand again which has all the honeysuckle. Saw two does eating honeysuckle at 80 yds after daylight, then a doe with a pegleg (no hoof on her back right leg) eating honeysuckle at 25 yds a little later, then a small 8pt came cruising under me and checked all the doe paths in the thicket a little later, then around 8:30 I heard a buck grunt a few times in the thicket below me. Second buck never showed his face. I would have shot the doe but she was healthy, moving ok, and there aren't any coyotes in this area so maybe she'll make it awhile.

11/14- PM. Hunted my walnut tree stand which sits at the edge of a grassy/brushy hollow surrounded by pines. Heard a deer walking around up the hollow at 5:20, then finally got an eye on what it was, a decent buck who was eating some honeysuckle maybe making some rubs. He was about 120 yards away and after I figured he wasn't coming down the hollow toward me I grunted to him. No response. He actually walked farther away. I waited a while then grunted some more, more aggressively. After a few minutes he started heading my way. On his walk toward me I identified him as a 9pt which I saw get chased by a dog earlier this month. I decided I'd shoot him if I got the chance. Ear width but tall, medium mass. Needs another year but I'm getting desperate. He walked into the hollow, made a scrape, thrashed some saplings, and passed by at 50 yards. He then turned up the hollow, made another rub, and started back my way. He stopped at 40 yards, and I had a shot, but I was sure he was going to take a few more steps and be closer to 30. But he didn't. He went back to where he came....not good. I then snort wheezed 2-3 times and he came back to within 50 yards, thrashed some saplings, then a doe came out on the other side of the hollow and he chased her a little. Not heavy chasing just lunged at her. By this time it was dark and they were 50-60 yards away and I was stuck. They then came closer, within 20 yards (wouldn't you know), and he lunged at her some more. I stayed until 6:50 before I got down. They both spooked but I had to get home. Probably didn't know what I was but the moon was shining bright so who knows. Should have took the 40 yard shot but I had a small window and don't like shooting that far. Opportunity missed....again.

[blackbeard]

11/15- AM. Hunted a ladderstand in the middle of my overgrown field. At 8:10 a buck came toward me upwind through the field, starting at about 100 yards, smelling trees until he was about 30 yards. He then stepped out into the mowed path and locked up behind a limb in front of me at 20 yards and I drew, and then he turned and walked toward me. So I held, held, held, then had to let down oh so gently and he stopped because I believe he got a whiff of estrous scent, then turned around and began walking the other way again (quartering away). At 25 yards I grunted to stop him and then let him have it. He did the death run and I saw a little bit of arrow sticking out but not much. I had double lunged him and hit the opposite side shoulder. He ran about 60 yards and crashed. So I went and got the boys to recover him. The experience with my boys is better than size of the buck's rack that's for sure. He wasn't the one I was after but after missing a couple chances lately and wanting to have my boys (especially William the 4 year old) experience blood trailing and finding a buck I went ahead and shot this buck.
The stand.



The boys on the ride in.



The arrow laying about 5 yards from where the buck was standing.

[blackbeard]

William got pretty excited at this point, blood trailing a buck for the first time.



William led the blood trailing and me and Walker followed behind. William found some blood but liked to go a little faster than I like (without finding blood)! Not too far from the buck William found this blood splattered on some weeds all by himself.



Then William took a few steps and said "There's the buck". He ran down and got his hands on the rack immediately.



And this is how we drag deer out of the woods!



The kill photo back at the house. Great experience.

[mrbb]

well again congrat to you, and looks like great time by all was had
and its , good to see the kids enjoying it all
well done

[radicalxl]

Great reading for sure BB. Glad to see the kids had fun.

[blackbeard]

Here's the 10 pt I should have killed on 11/08/13 in the evening, had him chasing/tending a doe all around me while walking in, had him at 30 yds just couldn't get a shot.

[mrbb]

well just think how much bigger he will be next yr! have to think possitive and he'll be there next yr! lol

[blackbeard]

Deer that size around my property, with the neighbor I have and his feeding operations, don't make it till next year.

[mrbb]

I hear you, I have the same issue's here, but every now and then one or two make it, after all that isn't a 1 yr old buck, so he made it a few yrs as is, just stay possitive and believ he will make it one more , its all we can do till we hit that powerballl lol
and then buy enough land to gorw them as big as we wish !!