2018 hunting season stories, pics, and success/failures

[reeleyz]

Nice buck!

[fishnmachine]

Nice!

[Deadeyez]

Awesome buck!! Congrats!!

[The 3Ps]

Wow, what a week!! I started my Vacation last Friday. With all good intentions of being on my stand all day as usual. I was up at 4: 00am and in the shower then the prep. Lunch, thermos of coffee ( the key to sitting all day in the cold is warm liquid) other than that, it's scents and all my clothes.
 My pack weighs about 40 +lbs on my back but it's mostly clothes. My stand is approximately 3/4 mile up hill all the way from my house. I wear the bare minimum on the way up. Thermal long johns and pants, Polly top and a tshirt. Never fails with 40+ pounds strapped to your back and at some points 45 degree inclines your gonna sweat. I leave early in the morning to assure I'm in my stand at first light. That's after I get dressed. Layer after layer in order to stay warm for the day. Those snow/ rain days I even packed a rain coat to wear under my camo hunting jacket to stay dry.
There are the days when the weather is so crappy, you know deep down They are bedded down. Those days I'll only sit till 10:00am then hike up the upper side of the ledges and over to another ridge cap.
This treck if worked slow takes me approximately 2hrs. That lands me at that new spot for 12::00 and a good sit for the afternoon. Then I get the short trip home, now being within 1/4 mile from the house. The first Friday Im thinking it was an all day sit at the stand. A doe and yearling came in at 4:00 and I could have sworn a 3rd 10 minutes later, but seemed to vanish( as so many do ) into thin air.
Saturday I saw zip
Monday weather was crap, so it's sit till 10, still hunt 2 hrs then sit afternoon.
First two deer show up at 8am foraging and moving slow. A 3rd deer up higher making noise, but can not see. It ends up snorting at me and bounds.
10:00 rolls around time to move. I did not get 100yards from my stand. A doe that had bedded down stood up snorted and bound. About 1.5 hrs into the track, I run into a doe, as I freeze and watch her I catch the movement of an ear. Another deer that was bedded down in front of her. No antlers on anything yet. The standing doe plays head  dodge and stamp the foot with me trying to get me to move. I stand my ground not twitching a bit. She heads off down the hill leaving the other deer bedded there. I thought that was strange she had walked off and just left that other deer laying there. 4 to 5 minutes goes by and I hear the one who walked off blow/ snort. That must have been the let's go call from Mom, because not just the one but two others got up. Again no bone!!
After they clear out, I make my way to the final sitting spot for the rest of the day. At 2:00 Two more doe came by. I left this spot just prior to the end of the shooting hour just in case and caught 3 more in the skidder trail by the landing.
 Tues was more of the same 6 deer seen, no Bone. Wed. Same MO. 6 more.no bone and no chasers?? I'm starting to wonder now. It's to the point as I explained to the wife..they think I'm family. They have gone every place I have. Even to the crotch of the two trees at my 2nd location to sniff where I sat. Now mind you it's no easy task to get in this spot with ledge and steep terrain. But one made the venture just the same. They followed me home on Tues night coming 10 from my back door( this had never happened before) Then Wed. I followed them home as once again they went through my yard just in front of me. I had text my wife and told her to watch for them. By the time I got to the door, my wife was wispering and pointing. They were rite there!! So I'm at the point to where I've seen a lot of deer and no bone!! Is there no more bone left? I can tell by the tracks there is!! Time for the curve ball. First thing this morning I hike to spot #2 First. Plan on doing in reverse. So will move to stand 1 at 10 and walk by it to go home for Thanksgiving dinner.
At 6:30am this morning it was cold. Burrr! Wondering if I'll make it till 10. Thank God for coffee. At 8:00 am ( know this from the church bells in town) 4 doe and a yearling come skipping down and take a path towards where my bow stand is in Oct. I told myself it's the perfect set up. He'll be here in 10. Well it took 15 minutes for yet another doe to prance down the trail. Her pace was up a bit and I thought it's one of two things. 1 she's being chased or 2 she's playing catch up because she had a nice sunny spot and didn't want to get up. So I waited. ... thinking like a buck would,  I'd come into these doe from another vantage point. Bingo!! At 8:45 He came down the ridge from my right, not the left like the doe's had. Thought I missed him at first. No hair, bone or blood. Caught him just behind ribcage with exit  wound about 4" from right front shoulder. Took out 1 lobe of his liver an 1 lung. Only ran 60 yards and piled up. Happy Thanksgiving!

[joe snag]

3ps'-Great Buck and story----I'm not going Hunting Today----10 BELOW O
YUK------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Deadeyez]

Congrats! Persistence pays off. Thanks for sharing that story!

[reeleyz]

Great Story 3Ps. Nice buck!

[Deadeyez]

Got out this afternoon for evening watch. Bump 4 does on my way in then didn’t see anything for the next few hours. Then a buck I’ve been trying to cross paths with came through at 4:15. Ended up with a heart shot at 65 yards. He jumped and ran off and crashed 50 yards from where I shot him. Not a drop of blood at the spot where I shot him or on the track to where he lay!  What an awesome hunt and my biggest buck to date. Also had 4 buddies to help me get him out. Had to get him up a good sized ridge to get him out. Can’t thank them enough for there help!

[fishnmachine]

Beautiful buck.  Congratulations!!!! 

[The 3Ps]

Nice one! Congratulations!!

[bauls25]

Thats a dandy

[Raquettedacker]

Awesome buck Bob..  Congratulations.....

[joe snag]

awesome,,great hunting that is.

[CAPTJJ]

Nice buck.

[Deadeyez]

Thanks guys!