Ready to go!

I wasn't supposed to have any time off until Nov. 1st, but I couldn't wait and took today off. I have only hunted once this year, and I went to a ridge with some oaks hoping to maybe find a doe. First time out was about about a week ago, and although I saw no deer, there was a lot of sign. This past Thursday it rained and was very warm so i decided to set my cameras back out instead of hunt. I set one of them up on the ridge I had hunted. There was a fresh scrape about 100yds below my stand on the side hill. I doctored a new scrape right next to the old one and set the camera. When I walked to my stand this morning I walked within 5 yds of the camera, and from my stand I can almost see the camera. On my way out I noticed a fairly fresh scrape on top of the one I had made. I assumed it was made yesterday.. I pulled the SD card to see...I was wrong...lets just say I should have had the stand down there this morning.

THE BIG BOY

THIS BUCK I GOT ON CAMERA HE WAS LOOKING FOR HIS HONEY, WHAT A BUCK!! 1 MORE DAY OF WORK AND I"LL BE HUNTING FOR HIM. WHAT A BODY ON THIS DEER!!

Bucks & Bears

These two bucks were at my stand 530 am thursday morning and the bears were there later that afternoon. I still haven't seen a deer and my stress level is at an all time high.

Opening Day 2010 Massachusetts Bow Season @0800...100LB Doe 30YDS!

Got out to one of my favorite spots for opening day of bow season. The weather was cool and the wind was forcasted to be WNW. Hunting this area last year and talking with BK about this spot we felt the wind was going to swirl of the ridge essentualy reversing the wind direction.

On my way into my stand this morning I'm pretty sure I bumped a deer(didn't blow, but I could hear one moving away). I altered my route slightly and got into my stand. The weather was perfect and it wasn't long before I could hear a deer moving and feeding 50-60YDS away. I began to doubt what I heard and began to think it may be squirrels. I quickly got that thought out of my mind as a couple of twigs broke.

Like that there was a nice mature doe walking directly at me. As she disappeared behind some brush I drew my bow. Much to my disappointment she went under a hemlock were I had no shot. A minute of two passed and she emerged heading right for a lane BK and I trimmed. I took the first good shot I got. It was about 30 yards slightly quartering away. I heard a good thud.

It was only a minute or two before I was on the ground looking for my arrow and some blood. I didn't see either. My heart sank... Could I have blown it?. ...Could I have jerked?.....

It wasn't long before I was on the phone with BK and MW. Both thought I should look for the arrow and look for blood 50-100yds out. I checked the area good, no arrow. It was a couple of minutes before my mind slowed down long enough for me to recognize that a was fairly certain that the arrow was hanging out of the deer as she fled.

I went in the direction she left in. About 30YDS down the run I had fairly good blood trail. I pulled out for about an hour and a half. MK came over to the house to give me a hand tracking the gal. We found the arrow a short distance down the trail. Another couple of steps and we could see her piled up. She had only got about 100YDS. What a great feeling.

Hog VT bear

This is a pic of a bear my brother saw while bow hunting VT on Oct 3rd. It wouldn't come any closer than 45 yds and never presented a shot. He figures 350-400lbs. That rock behind it is close to 6 ft long and 2 1/2 ft high! He also saw another bear that night that was about 150 lbs, but no shot. A cow and rutting bull moose came in also. No deer though.

First Blood of 2010

My 17 year old son Ryan headed to NH on Saturday Oct. 2 and climbed into the stand about 1:15 PM. The stand sits back about 75 yards from an area that was clear cut about 2 years ago. The stand is located in a hemlock and there are a number of oaks around the tree. The acorns are limited in NH this year but this area still has some. About 6:35 PM a button appeared and shortly after a doe walked into the opening and stopped. She was broadside and reached for an acorn as the 100 grain thunderhead pierced her lungs and stuck in the ground. She ran about 200 yards and dropped dead in the clear cut. It was only the 16th deer checked at Trader Johns and the season opened Sept. 15. The doe weighed an even 100 lbs empty. I still have not seen a deer and I have at least 40 hours in tree stands.

Almost here!

Only a couple weeks left! I got out today and set up one new stand, and checked all my cameras. I have a total of four buck pictures, but one is such a blurry pic that its hard to tell what the buck is. I have another blurry pic that I posted below, and although its not clear, you can see the buck is pretty decent. The most active camera was a camera on a big oak ridge. The camera had 33 pics in 10 days. 4 of the pics were bucks. Three were the spike below and one was of the decent 8 pointer below. I do have one stand near the camera, but I think I am going to get another close by, so that I can hunt it early and maybe get a crack at one of the does I have pics of.