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Mass 2020 Shotgun Opener

Rain just started here in North Central. I hunted the back forty from 530-10. Nothing seen for me.

I'm a fair weather guy, shot many a deer, so I'm napping this afternoon likely and catching up on house stuff.

Guys were looking for slugs yesterday and I offered up some of mine. I'm good for a lifetime of deer hunting, I learned long ago the worst time to
look for slugs is the week before hunting season. Bought cheap stacked deep on all gauges. Now I never need to worry about it.

This year....well, looking for slugs is special. I don't even hunt with 12 gauge, but my dad had a huge stash from 40 years of deer hunting.
 
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Best hunting day ever. I have this new spot where I have seeing deer. Had a nice buck a couple weeks ago at 25 yards but it was quartered away too much so I let it. I also have been seeing does bedded in the thickest of brush in the middle of the swamp I have been hunting. They get up, shake and sit back down. They taunt me only 75 yards from my tree.

So my son in law and I formulated a plan last night. I was sending him just beyond the bedding area, very close to my hunting tree. About 100 yards from where I have been seeing them. I would wait at the edge of the woods until light, then ever so slowly walk, crawl, whatever to try to get the deer to move out of the thick stuff. It took me an hour and a half to creep about 700 feet. I could see fresh prints in the swamp all over the place so I just followed them ever so slowly. Elbows soaked, knees soaked, stuck by prickers but I kept going. Then BOOM! I hear a shot. I stop and text him. Yup, he got one.

I was about 700 feet or so away. I managed to push 6 deer toward him. All does and one button buck. He shot the button. The plan was perfect, just the way we drew it on the napkin the night before, literally. I have never done a drive. But I figured with only one person pushing and one waiting it is a fairly balanced chase.

This is his first deer ever. I could not be happier. We butchered the deer this evening. We are also going to tan the hide. He already scraped the fat and salted it. We picked up the tanning chemical at Cabelas already. This will be interesting; I have never done one.


Just a great day.
 
peterk123 said:
Best hunting day ever. I have this new spot where I have seeing deer. Had a nice buck a couple weeks ago at 25 yards but it was quartered away too much so I let it. I also have been seeing does bedded in the thickest of brush in the middle of the swamp I have been hunting. They get up, shake and sit back down. They taunt me only 75 yards from my tree.

So my son in law and I formulated a plan last night. I was sending him just beyond the bedding area, very close to my hunting tree. About 100 yards from where I have been seeing them. I would wait at the edge of the woods until light, then ever so slowly walk, crawl, whatever to try to get the deer to move out of the thick stuff. It took me an hour and a half to creep about 700 feet. I could see fresh prints in the swamp all over the place so I just followed them ever so slowly. Elbows soaked, knees soaked, stuck by prickers but I kept going. Then BOOM! I hear a shot. I stop and text him. Yup, he got one.

I was about 700 feet or so away. I managed to push 6 deer toward him. All does and one button buck. He shot the button. The plan was perfect, just the way we drew it on the napkin the night before, literally. I have never done a drive. But I figured with only one person pushing and one waiting it is a fairly balanced chase.

This is his first deer ever. I could not be happier. We butchered the deer this evening. We are also going to tan the hide. He already scraped the fat and salted it. We picked up the tanning chemical at Cabelas already. This will be interesting; I have never done one.


Just a great day.
Click to expand...
Awesome! Even small small drives work when you have a pretty good idea of where the deer will spook off to.

Why did you decide to butcher it so soon though? Is there nowhere near you that will hang it in a cooler?
 
peterk123 said:
Best hunting day ever. I have this new spot where I have seeing deer. Had a nice buck a couple weeks ago at 25 yards but it was quartered away too much so I let it. I also have been seeing does bedded in the thickest of brush in the middle of the swamp I have been hunting. They get up, shake and sit back down. They taunt me only 75 yards from my tree.

So my son in law and I formulated a plan last night. I was sending him just beyond the bedding area, very close to my hunting tree. About 100 yards from where I have been seeing them. I would wait at the edge of the woods until light, then ever so slowly walk, crawl, whatever to try to get the deer to move out of the thick stuff. It took me an hour and a half to creep about 700 feet. I could see fresh prints in the swamp all over the place so I just followed them ever so slowly. Elbows soaked, knees soaked, stuck by prickers but I kept going. Then BOOM! I hear a shot. I stop and text him. Yup, he got one.

I was about 700 feet or so away. I managed to push 6 deer toward him. All does and one button buck. He shot the button. The plan was perfect, just the way we drew it on the napkin the night before, literally. I have never done a drive. But I figured with only one person pushing and one waiting it is a fairly balanced chase.

This is his first deer ever. I could not be happier. We butchered the deer this evening. We are also going to tan the hide. He already scraped the fat and salted it. We picked up the tanning chemical at Cabelas already. This will be interesting; I have never done one.


Just a great day.
Click to expand...

I read an article in Strield and Feam years ago about some drive in northern Michigan or something. 30-40 guys. Half start at one side. Half at the other. BOOM BOOM BOOM! Then they have to determine WHO shot the deer. WTF,O??? Sounds like 30 drunk morons firing guns in the general direction of others. Especially since they were gonna get ONE deer for 30 guys. HowboutNO!???

Sounds like you did it right. Great job!
 

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