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2017/18 Hunting Thread!!

Did not see one deer yesterday and was to physically tired to head out today.

They told me one guy got a 10 pointer that was probably over 200 pounds.
 
My cocker is on the disabled list for the remainder of the season. My pointer ran her over and tore her ACL today. She was still charging on three legs. We picked up a second hen - I couldn't get her to stop! Gonna miss having that pup out there.
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Had a shooter bucks walk past at 10 feet while I had my foot on the first step of my climbing stick.... Bow on the ground. Saw lots of chasing yesterday and Friday. Probably 12 different deer. 4 shooter bucks. No shot opportunity. That's how my season has gone so far....
 
One of the coolest things for me this year, my freezer is full of meat and I still have all of rifle season left. I checked my trail cams today, saw a pretty decent 6/7 point on it and though "not bad but he's not a shooter". I've never in my life been in a position where I could actually shop for antlers rather than focus on getting meat in the freezer.
 
Yea I was there last year. Good spot to be in. Let's you try new tactics too that you otherwise not for fear of them failing. Hunting new spots blind based on aerial or topo for example. Scou-nting basically. The most valuable scouting you can do is in season. Having a full freezer let's you do that. If you go in the am to unfamiliar land your not worried about kicking up deer which I have done like almost every time out this year...
I could have a full freezer at this point but I have some self imposed limitations. I won't shoot fawns or yearlings. Won't shoot a doe of her kids are still in tow. So far of all the deer I have seen that's all that has provided a shot opportunity. I have an 18 min video on my phone of 2 fawns playing under my stand last week while mama watched from a near by tangle. Could have easily shot any of them, but I just took video instead.
But at the rate I'm seeing deer I should get a shot soon enough. So I'm not worried. Even if I eat tag soup - I'm cool with that. I don't feel pressured to succeed anymore. I did when I started like 5 years ago, but I'm over that now. I'm going to either get the animal I want, or I'm cool with nothing at all.
 
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pupchow said:
My cocker is on the disabled list for the remainder of the season. My pointer ran her over and tore her ACL today. She was still charging on three legs. We picked up a second hen - I couldn't get her to stop! Gonna miss having that pup out there.
16c26db2f9bc1e03f960ef94c8877e84.jpg


Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Hope for a full recovery. That can be a tough injury for dogs and the surgery isn't a 100 percent success rate kind of procedure. Sometimes they don't fully recover. Hope she does.
 
Dropped this guy at 6:15 this AM at 6 yards. He winded me and was getting antsy so I took the shot. Spine'd him and put a second into the vitals to finish him off. Loaded into the truck at 7:15 and headed for him. 4pt 129#. Not a big one but on this property any legal deer gets shot to reduce the herd. Hopefully I can whack a few more :)

IMG_8077.jpg
 
NHAtHeart said:
One of the coolest things for me this year, my freezer is full of meat and I still have all of rifle season left. I checked my trail cams today, saw a pretty decent 6/7 point on it and though "not bad but he's not a shooter". I've never in my life been in a position where I could actually shop for antlers rather than focus on getting meat in the freezer.
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As others say, this is a good position to be in. Most people will find that they start seeing bigger bucks because they are passing does and little bucks because they aren't worried about the freezer.

As one that has multiple opportunities in CT to fill freezer in high density areas....I am generally good with freezer and pass all does and bucks in MA unless it's a slammer. Passing does has always increased my odds of shooting a big buck.....can't count how many times I've let a few does walk in the late afternoon and Mr. Big comes in near dark. Watching the deer as well, instead of shooting them, you can learn a lot. Especially that a spikehorn this time of year is the most retarded deer in the woods, and the big doe likely the smartest!
 
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Talked to a gentleman tonight and I'm 90% sure a friend of his shot the 8pt I had pictures of from a few weeks ago. Same area of town and the rack looked EXACTLY the same.

Oh well, I'll still go out after a big one but if he was the big buck in the area it might just be squirrel watching for the rest of the season.
 
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NHAtHeart said:
Talked to a gentleman tonight and I'm 90% sure a friend of his shot the 8pt I had pictures of from a few weeks ago. Same area of town and the rack looked EXACTLY the same.

Oh well, I'll still go out after a big one but if he was the big buck in the area it might just be squirrel watching for the rest of the season.
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Lots of bucks on walk about right now. You never know.

Bob
 
NHAtHeart said:
Talked to a gentleman tonight and I'm 90% sure a friend of his shot the 8pt I had pictures of from a few weeks ago. Same area of town and the rack looked EXACTLY the same.

Oh well, I'll still go out after a big one but if he was the big buck in the area it might just be squirrel watching for the rest of the season.
Click to expand...

This is the time you find bucks working out of their home range and searching for does. Usually I see a shxt ton of dink bucks because they get their asses kicked out of areas, but once in a while Mr Big will be walking around at night looking around, end up in somewhere new, and find a new spot to bed down. A few calls might put him in front of you.

This time of year, when bucks are walking around, I like to sit on a ridge or spot above a bedding swamp or thicket area just out of view, walk in at like 430 am, making as much noise as you want. Sit there til just light then rattle, and call. More than once I've called in bucks that have ended up bedding are sometime on their nightly walk. On a good cold morning you can get them to move with a few calls, especially if they've heard noises in the dark on the ridge, they think it's another deer. Multiple bucks may use the same bedding area if it's a good one, so you never know what might walk in on any given night.
That said, if there are no does in the area, don't expect them to hang around for long.
 
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Mark from MA said:
This is the time you find bucks working out of their home range and searching for does. Usually I see a shxt ton of dink bucks because they get their asses kicked out of areas, but once in a while Mr Big will be walking around at night looking around, end up in somewhere new, and find a new spot to bed down. A few calls might put him in front of you.
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Yeah, I did see a new 6pt last week 4 times on camera. He's not a shooter but there are a ton of does in the area. Hoping a decent buck might come looking.
 
Heading to Missouri soon to catch the last few days of hunting season at my mom's place. They are all corn fed back there and the venison is not gamey.
 
Mark from MA said:
....... and the big doe likely the smartest!
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The mature does ARE undoubtedly the smartest deer in the woods. And the most difficult to deal with. If a buck detects you he'll just turn and walk away quietly - but you're still in the game if something else comes through. But if a mature doe does she'll bound away about 50 yards then stomp, blow and let everything else in the woods know you're there. You're hunt is over at that point. Get down and move.
 
ThePreBanMan said:
The mature does ARE undoubtedly the smartest deer in the woods. And the most difficult to deal with. If a buck detects you he'll just turn and walk away quietly - but you're still in the game if something else comes through. But if a mature doe does she'll bound away about 50 yards then stomp, blow and let everything else in the woods know you're there. You're hunt is over at that point. Get down and move.
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LOL exactly...I've had big doe's bust me in CT, where the urban deer aren't so smart. But once they pick you off, your done, and I've seen them come back day's later, after I've moved the stand, and that same big doe will stop 40 yards out and will remember and look right up at that same tree they busted you in to see if your there.
 
Just let a 1 1/2 year old buck a lease on life. 17yrds in front of me taking a dump full broad side. His friend a 3yr old buck 8 pointer watched 40 yards out. Waited but never got closer. No biggie. Plenty of deer. If it was Muzzle loader season,he would have been a deer in the fridge.
 
My friend shot this rooster the other day.
Never seen this before. Looks like a handle for pulling bird out of crate.
Pinned through his beak..... IMG_5873.jpg IMG_5875.jpg
 

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