Heres how its going

[ENCORE50A]

I’m in southwest Michigan..we hunt state land mostly as the only private land we have to our availability is only 7 acres but it does have state land across the road..we have pulled a total of 5 deer this season. All does except for one very small racked buck that was pushing 175 dresses but was only a 3pt

We have very few bucks in the area we are hunting. On any given sit you can see anywhere from 9-15 does. Trail Cameras don’t show any real signs of bucks either. I’ve got 2 scrapes that I found in the entire area and that’s it..I hear the neighboring property’s shoot quite often since firearm season has started. Now what they are harvesting is beyond me but I’d assume does as well. I’m done meat hunting for the season..2 for me plus that smaller buck is plenty enough for us..from here on out I’ll wait, watch and maybe get lucky to harvest a nice buck.

Maybe its time to eliminate the 2nd buck tag ?????

 

[bronko220002]

Basically, every decent buck I have taken has been between 10AM and 2PM during the rut. I took a massive 11 pointer in 1973 when he strolled thru with ten does at about 7AM, but he has been the exception.

Tom I'm just the opposite. Most of the buck, including the larger ones, were taken before 9:00 AM. The only exception is a really big 7 pt (22" spread) with good mass. I shot him just prior to the rut at 1:15 in the afternoon following a heavy rain all morning. I had waited until 12:00 until the rain stopped, got dressed and got in my treestand at 12:45. I waited 15 mins for things to quiet down and did a rattling sequence and he came charging in to about 40 yards and stood there behind some laurel looking for the two fighting bucks. He stood there for 15 mins which seemed like an eternity to me until he finally came in and gave me a broadside shot and I put a Rage in his cage at 25 yards.

 

[bronko220002]

. Also know I am hunting from a box blind complete with heat and office chairs. Im not suffering, trust me. It would be nice to move to other locations because I know a pinch point not 200 yards away. But not on my land. In my favor Im not sure there has been a deer shot in my section. So not any real pressure. The next section west had 300 acres of corn harvested a few days ado. Those bucks could be looking for a new home. Also I have a couple of lads coming to hunt 12/2. I have supplied their family with venison for a few years and the boys are now old enough to hunt. Thought that spike may be perfect for one of them.

We will see. In 2 seconds he could show and all plans abandoned. Either way Im enjoying myself.

Well it seems you have a lot of things going in your favor - no deer being shot so I assume no pressure and corn harvested which keeps them from hiding in it so hand in there. All you need now is a little TV and a frig in that blind and you will never have to leave. And I almost forgot, a port-a-pottie!!!!!!

 

[Dennis Stankovitz]

I’ve been awake since 1am with the plans on hunting this morn. But the snot factory is just out of control. Been this way for the entire wk. I’ve been timing myself between coughing up mouthfuls of clear runny snot every 10-15 min regularly. No point in tryin to hunt like that. So I’m sittin on the fam rm porch with my Accura, bino’s & my coffee & a roll of paper towels to keep blowin my nose in. I’m goin back inside at 8:00. It’s a shame bc it’s finally a really nice morning here weather wise to deer hunt, 44* wind 2-4mph. I’d love to be in my stand right now.
I’m not sure if this snot overload is allergy related or something else.
What sucks too is that if I were to try to go to the Dr for it, I won’t get an appt until after hunting season is over most likely.

 

[Dennis Stankovitz]

Tom I'm just the opposite. Most of the buck, including the larger ones, were taken before 9:00 AM. The only exception is a really big 7 pt (22" spread) with good mass. I shot him just prior to the rut at 1:15 in the afternoon following a heavy rain all morning. I had waited until 12:00 until the rain stopped, got dressed and got in my treestand at 12:45. I waited 15 mins for things to quiet down and did a rattling sequence and he came charging in to about 40 yards and stood there behind some laurel looking for the two fighting bucks. He stood there for 15 mins which seemed like an eternity to me until he finally came in and gave me a broadside shot and I put a Rage in his cage at 25 yards.

 

[Dennis Stankovitz]

Try some mucinek that will stop the mucus and dry cough. Does for me anyway

 

[Hanshi]

I'd be carrying a high capacity 12 gauge auto loader full of buck 0000

I'd be carrying a high capacity 12 gauge auto loader full of 00 buck. I have 0 tolerance for feral dogs having been attacked myself 46 years ago while rabbit hunting. Nice buck. He should eat just fine!

I'm originally from Georgia and lived/hunted there for my 62 years in the woods. I've run across several feral packs and carefully removed myself when the "alpha" showed himself and started showing teeth and growling very menacingly in every instance. A retired couple living in the same county were killed by a feral dog pack. The woman was taking her regular walk when she was attacked. Her husband got worried when she didn't come back at the usual time. He drove out and found her mauled body on the side of the road. He was then attacked and killed. Both bodies were found the next morning by someone on their way to work. The sheriff and deputies loaded up and killed the entire pack. They lived in an old building on this guy's land; he knew they were there and did nothing about or even reported it. He was charged with some crime or other.

We lived on a dirt road and were rather isolated. But a hundred yards or so down was a dog pack. So I did run across 3 or 4 packs.

 

[Steelheader323]

Maybe its time to eliminate the 2nd buck tag ?????

I wish….in fact..I personally think Michigan needs an earn a buck system..where you don’t get a buck tag until you fill one doe tag…and while i have no room to talk seeing as I harvested a small antlered buck this season I wish we had Apr’s in place..Michigan could be a really great whitetail state if certain things were changed.

 

[Hanshi]

Before I left my native Georgia I spent the last decades hunting with flintlock rifles and smoothbores. The limit was 12 deer but only two could be bucks, and one of them had to be 4 points to a side or better. So I killed mostly does and usually got my two bucks. Although I quit all hunting 7 years ago I did my best to thin out the herd but to no avail. I never hunted with anything in the barrel but patched round ball.

I had many friends who loved venison but were not hunters themselves. I would take orders, shoot them a deer and have a processor make them into what was asked for. I hunted thick woods where a 50 yd shot was a long one. In a huge hayfield I did kill a few from 75 yds up to a bit over 100.

I love dogs unconditionally. I did shoot 3 during my career and still feel awful about it. One was a feral and was sick but it still bothers me big time. Cold hearted owners would frequently simply drop them off in the boonies where we lived. We rescued homeless dogs and one kitty. Two of the rescues could hardly walk and were skeletal. We fed them and got them healthy and kept two. Our dogs didn't run free and our backyard was surrounded by a 6" chain-link fence. Unfortunately one of our rescues, named "Big Dog" was a lively climber. When anyone drove up into our front yard this large doggie would hide behind our legs. She was rather large, white, lovable and could not be fenced due to her climbing ability.

Try as we might over the years our protection simply had it's limits. One fall on opening day she climbed over the fence and we never saw her again. The one we named "Buddy" was with us for years. We already had 4 house dogs so our family grew.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Before I left my native Georgia I spent the last decades hunting with flintlock rifles and smoothbores. The limit was 12 deer but only two could be bucks, and one of them had to be 4 points to a side or better. So I killed mostly does and usually got my two bucks. Although I quit all hunting 7 years ago I did my best to thin out the herd but to no avail. I never hunted with anything in the barrel but patched round ball.

I had many friends who loved venison but were not hunters themselves. I would take orders, shoot them a deer and have a processor make them into what was asked for. I hunted thick woods where a 50 yd shot was a long one. In a huge hayfield I did kill a few from 75 yds up to a bit over 100.

I love dogs unconditionally. I did shoot 3 during my career and still feel awful about it. One was a feral and was sick but it still bothers me big time. Cold hearted owners would frequently simply drop them off in the boonies where we lived. We rescued homeless dogs and one kitty. Two of the rescues could hardly walk and were skeletal. We fed them and got them healthy and kept two. Our dogs didn't run free and our backyard was surrounded by a 6" chain-link fence. Unfortunately one of our rescues, named "Big Dog" was a lively climber. When anyone drove up into our front yard this large doggie would hide behind our legs. She was rather large, white, lovable and could not be fenced due to her climbing ability.

Try as we might over the years our protection simply had it's limits. One fall on opening day she climbed over the fence and we never saw her again. The one we named "Buddy" was with us for years. We already had 4 house dogs so our family grew.

My next door neighbor had a Houdini dog that could not be caged. White shepherd, amazing climber, fence was like a stair-step to him. Climbed trees, walls, bushes, everything. One day i come outside to see him running in circles(in their yard) with 4-5 1-gallon detergent bottles tied right up to his collar, supposed to keep him off balance and unable to climb anything. 15 minutes later he was running down the street with those orange jugs tied to him bouncing around not bothering him in the least. FUNNIEST thing I've seen in a very long time. That finally had to start chaining him up. Super sweet dog but a runner.

 

[MrTom]

We had a neighbor with an Irish Setter that was terribly gun-shy. Their daughter, then aboiut ten, took the dog for a walk and when she came home she tied the leash to a garbage can. As soon as she began to walk away the dog followed, knocking the can over with a loud bang. You can get the gist of how this went.

 

[snapbang]

11/24 evening.
Back out at 1:00. No deer until 5:31. End of shooting is 5:32. So they must have a watch or clock somewhere.
At 5:30 I see movement through the woods to a bean field previously measured at 140 yards. Its too far away to get to me by closing time so I turn to take one last look and see the form of a deer 30 yards away. I have binos on it and its a spike about 4-5 inches long. Spike as straight as arrows. He comes to 12 yards or so and eats grass for a minute so I try to gently scare him away.



I rattle paper, bang on the wood, and finally stick my hand out the window. Then he only moves off another 10 yards or so. I decide to just walk out and go home and he finally bounds off.
Good hunting weather coming.

 

[bronko220002]

I’ve been awake since 1am with the plans on hunting this morn. But the snot factory is just out of control. Been this way for the entire wk. I’ve been timing myself between coughing up mouthfuls of clear runny snot every 10-15 min regularly. No point in tryin to hunt like that. So I’m sittin on the fam rm porch with my Accura, bino’s & my coffee & a roll of paper towels to keep blowin my nose in. I’m goin back inside at 8:00. It’s a shame bc it’s finally a really nice morning here weather wise to deer hunt, 44* wind 2-4mph. I’d love to be in my stand right now.
I’m not sure if this snot overload is allergy related or something else.
What sucks too is that if I were to try to go to the Dr for it, I won’t get an appt until after hunting season is over most likely.

Hang in there buddy. Have you tried a nettie pot? You put a saline solution in it and, over a sink, bend over and put it in one nostril and let it flow thru your sinuses and out the other nostril. If yo can't do that then try some saline nasal spray and snort that up your nose to loosen up all that junk.

 

[bronko220002]

11/24 evening.
Back out at 1:00. No deer until 5:31. End of shooting is 5:32. So they must have a watch or clock somewhere.
At 5:30 I see movement through the woods to a bean field previously measured at 140 yards. Its too far away to get to me by closing time so I turn to take one last look and see the form of a deer 30 yards away. I have binos on it and its a spike about 4-5 inches long. Spike as straight as arrows. He comes to 12 yards or so and eats grass for a minute so I try to gently scare him away.



I rattle paper, bang on the wood, and finally stick my hand out the window. Then he only moves off another 10 yards or so. I decide to just walk out and go home and he finally bounds off.
Good hunting weather coming.

I've had the same thing happen to me with deer several times. It almost seems like they're not scared of you at dark. Many times I walked out of the woods into a field on the way to my truck and had them stand there in the moon light and just watch me walk past them as if they thought I couldn't see them. Now they weren't as close as yours but maybe 50 yards or so. Their dark bodies standing out in the yellow grass.

 

[bigdan1965]

I’ve been awake since 1am with the plans on hunting this morn. But the snot factory is just out of control. Been this way for the entire wk. I’ve been timing myself between coughing up mouthfuls of clear runny snot every 10-15 min regularly. No point in tryin to hunt like that. So I’m sittin on the fam rm porch with my Accura, bino’s & my coffee & a roll of paper towels to keep blowin my nose in. I’m goin back inside at 8:00. It’s a shame bc it’s finally a really nice morning here weather wise to deer hunt, 44* wind 2-4mph. I’d love to be in my stand right now.
I’m not sure if this snot overload is allergy related or something else.
What sucks too is that if I were to try to go to the Dr for it, I won’t get an appt until after hunting season is over most likely.

Try the Dr On Demand app. It's super affordable and you will see a doctor within 30 minutes

 

[rangerod]

Hang in there buddy. Have you tried a nettie pot? You put a saline solution in it and, over a sink, bend over and put it in one nostril and let it flow thru your sinuses and out the other nostril. If yo can't do that then try some saline nasal spray and snort that up your nose to loosen up all that junk.

I use a navage and the pods are wildly expensive. But I found out how to hack the thing.

 

[brad502a]

Doe meat is better than no meat.

I have absolutely no issue shooting a doe. Where I hunt if you pass, you most likely will not see another deer.

 

[Whokalouie]

Take a book and your close up specs (if needed like me) to your blind. Lean back in the chair, open book, close eyes for a few minutes, maybe catch a few winks, now take a peek and see if a big hat rack is close and if so......plug him.
Good luck Snapbang

 

[hockeyref]

First day of PA rifle season today. I spent the last half hour of light in a 50 yard stare down with a baldie. Don’t think if could see me real well cuz I never got a snort or stomp and it finally put its head down and browsed as it walked away. I Shouldered the Knight DISC over a half dozen times. Had straight on and quartering to me shots as well as two broadsides. The booger hook went to the trigger and the automatic process kept - stopping …. LOL

The mind kept saying “nope, too small. Looks young and skinny.” Soooo I’ll go back out tomorrow and Monday…..

 

[snapbang]

Back out this AM 11/25. Right at shooting time a fork on one side and a mutation spike on the other. Then a doe with two fawns then later 2 more fawns.

TV and a frig in that blind and you will never have to leave. And I almost forgot, a port-a-pottie!

The porta potty I have figured out. You dont want details.

Finished the family get together and back out to the blind at 2:30. Just sat down and noticed movement in the woods to the north. A doe being chased be a buck. could see his body on occasion abd had the crosshairs on him. Either he was running through brush or standing behind trees. I could have killed him but have no idea how big he was. 2 more does came out at 4:30.