Team # 11 - Whitetail Addiction

[eschatts]

Whitetail Addiction, This is your official thread for the 2007 Deer Hunting Team Contest! This will be your place to meet and share stories with each other throughout the season. I wish you all the best of luck in the deer woods this fall! Have fun and shoot strait!

[BigChessie]

Just checking in. I am on my way out the door to check the cameras and do a last check on the stands. Looking forward to chatting with everyone. BC

[bowtech_buster]

hey good to hear from you chessie

[Flippin 416]

Awesome...good to hear from you BigChessie!!!

[deerhunt45]

Outstanding! Team #11 is ready to roll!

Good luck to you all! Have fun.

[Flippin 416]

So where is everyone hunting at? I know I mentioned this in the earlier in the Team 11 thread...but since this is our official thread I thought I would ask it in here as well. I will be hunting mostly in Tuscarawas and Holmes county. I have a few good bucks on cam that I am hoping I can come face to face with in the early season. The one I am REALLY hoping to see is a perfectly symetrical 8 point that is probably going to score in between 120 and 135 ish. One deer that I have always though was the most gorgeous looking deer is a nice wide 8...and this one just happened to step in front of my cam...I will get a pic up as soon as I figure out exactly how to go about doing it.

Hey Chessie....how was the trip out you had the other day....anything good on your cams?

[BigChessie]

Hey there Flippin
Nothing new on the cams, same ole deer. lol I have some decent pics of turkeys,coons and deer all in the same shot near the feeder though. I will be hunting in Ross County. I have 197 acres there that is all wooded with around 6 flat that is used for hay. The last buck was taken 4 years ago, so I have been trying to let them get big. I have video of a couple 10-140, I saw a 150-160 several times. But since I was using my recurve I did not have a decent shot. He was within 30 yards several times but my max range was 20( I did shoot 2 does though at 20). lol I taped a 170 a few times that never got with 60 yards. Really looking forward to sticking one this year. I decided to bust out the Hoyt so anything within 35 is now game. Looking forward to hearing from everyone else.

[BigChessie]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/BigChessie/IMGA0129.jpg

[mercercountyhunter]

hard to tell off one pic, but i would say high 140's to 155. sounds like you got some good bucks there. good luck. i will be hunting in mercer county, the flat lands. i wont be able to start hunting until end of october thru all of november due to a traveling job. not a bad time to be able to bowhunt for 4 straight weeks. i am currently at marthas vineyard an island off massachusetts. i have been busy saltwater fishing catching stripers, bluefish and false albacore. sure is different than freshwater. should be able to put down a doe and hopefully a decent buck , have some good riverbottoms to hunt that are usually good year after year. i will have to do some scouting when i get back.

[BigChessie]

i have been busy saltwater fishing catching stripers, bluefish and false albacore.

That is my kind of busy!!:yikes: Sounds like your having a good time out there. Perfect time of the year. I will be out for the opener,I'm taking my 15 yo Son out to try to get some film of him. We will take a few Does and hoping for his 1st Buck Bow kill. He has 3 Does and 1 Buck with a gun. I will be staying down there Oct 28th-Nov 15th, so hope to fill my Buck tag then.
Flippin do you need some help with those pics?
I keep all of mine stored on-line at www.photobucket.com Really easy to use and it is free. Once you upload them there,you just click on the pic and then paste to the forum and BAM! there it is. :bouncy: Let me know if I can give you a hand.

[Flippin 416]

That's a brute of a deer Chessie...I would be guessing he would go a solid 140+ for sure....but it is kind of hard to tell without a few more angles of him. I am going to check out photobucket and try and go that route...if I can't figure it out I will let you know...but thanks for the tip. I checked my one cam Friday afternoon and it had 368 pics on it.....200 pics of coon and 168 pics of a doe and her same two fawns....lol. The nice bucks that I have gotten on cam only come through there like once a month it seems. I just got my other cam back from Moultrie and set back out in the woods.....now if it takes pics I will be in good shape.

I have 140 acres to hunt on this year as I have had for the last several years. I will be spending most of my hunting time with my best hunting partner ever....my Dad. The land was selectivley timbered this past winter so we are really looking forward to see what kind of changes the deer will be making this year. I am hoping for the best.

Mercer.....I agree with Chessie...that would also be my kind of busy. Sounds like a riot!!! Man I am jealous of you guys that are able to set aside a week or better just to pound the woods for the big one. Most of my vacation time is spent with family (which I won't complain about for a second) or as of late...getting my body put back into shape after years of beating myself racing motocross...lol. But all is good and I am tremendously excited for the 29th to get here so I can step foot in the woods on a cool crisp fall morning!!!!

[Kaiser878]

Well boys and girls of team 11, your own team mate can verify that if a big one walks any where close to me its pretty much done for. Just call me William Tell.

[Flippin 416]

as long as it's not too big...you might be able to hit it....lol

[Kaiser878]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/BigChessie/IMGA0129.jpg

hmm, very nice deer. 140 is the highest I would go. Im saying rt. around 135. Keep in mind his lt. g4 is broke off. so he is scored as an 8 point. his mass isnt quite there, descent mass, but not super heavy. He looks to have a descent spread, but that is only one measurement. WHat hurts him the most is his lack of a g4 on his left side.

[BigChessie]

That deer in the pic is one of the smaller deer I mentioned before. I am trying to get some still shots from the 2 big boys but have not got it together yet. I just got some pics from a food plot cam. Figured out why the plot is not doing as well as I had hoped. They are freakin eating it before it even has a chance to grow. lol Starting to get excited now, just spent a few minutes chatting with my boy about where he wants to hunt the opener. He tells me that we have to many choices! I can't wait to get some film of him smoking his first bow kill. Then after that is taken care of I can get down to business. lol Is anyone else getting a little worried about the weather and the heat? I hate having to rush to ice them down,check them in and then try to do a rush job on processing. BTW What do you guys do to keep your scent down when it is so warm? To stay cool, I used to take some wash clothes,wet them and fold them into a square then freeze them. I would put one on my neck and one in my helmet when I used to ride my motorcycle. Was thinking of trying the same for the opener. (minus the helmet and not doing 190 mph,lol)

[mercercountyhunter]

i wish i had your problem of too many good bucks to hunt. lol. i just dress light and deal with the heat, not much you can do about it. hard to stay scent free in that kind of weather. can't wait to try out my new dream season jacket , pants and boots this year. they are super quiet and those boots feel like you have tennis shoes on. boots wont be very warm, but i guess thats why make good socks, and i have 1200 gram rubber boots as a backup. hope i won't have the heat problem since i won't be hunting until end of october, hopefully it will be cold enough to start getting them bucks fired up and looking for love. my friend at home hasnt been doing much scouting for me this year, too busy goose hunting and starting college. he got a blue wing teal the other day, pretty cool looking. can't wait to start seeing some buck pics in the next few weeks, hopefully from our team. good luck putting one of them hogs down. what kind of bow does everyone shoot? i shoot a bowtech mighty mite, going to upgrade next year to longer axle to axle bow i think.

[Flippin 416]

I agree...I don't think there is much we can do to combat the heat and it is difficult to stay scent free on those warm early season days. I would imagine the cold towels would help out some what for sure......I wonder if those first aid ice packs would offer up any relief also?? I will only be able to hunt the morning of the first day and maybe the evening of the second day. When it is this warm I take extra time getting into my stand so I don't have to rush and work up a sweat.

I am going back out this weekend some time and checking my cams ONE more time before next weekend.

I shoot a Mathews Q2 I've had this bow since 2000 and it has been a very good bow. If Mathews offers a shortened version of the Drenalin for next year....I might have to upgrade bows for next season.

[BigChessie]

I can not believe that it is almost time! We started working on the farm the first weekend in June. We have been there every Fri-Sun since. Just seems like the other day I was thinking "No need to rush we still have 2 months to get stuff ready" And then BAM! here it is. lol Just reading what you guys have posted has been getting me pumped. Only real change we have planned is to move some cameras to some old rub lines to see if any bucks are using it. On the 28th we will go in, pull the cams and then make our final game plan for the morning hunt. My boy is shooting a PSE Nova and I am using either my PSE Kingfisher recurve (if I find a buyer, I'm gonna sell it to get a deer cam) or an old Hoyt Raider I picked up. I used to shoot a Mathews SQ2 and a Onieda Tomcat II until I got the bowfishing/recurve bug. Kicking myself in the butt for getting rid of them. Hope to find another SQ2 at the end of the season for use next year. If you know anyone needing a complete Bowfishing/Deer rig..........I got one for sale! lol

[mercercountyhunter]

im jealous, bowseason in mass. dosent start until mid october. not many nice deer around here. was talking to a guy the other day and he killed the biggest archery deer in the state on the island a few years ago, it was like 160's nontypical, nice mount though. sure is different out here. i will probably hunt about 4-5 days out here until i leave to go to ohio, gotta work 7 in a row until i leave. too many of these rich old people dont allow hunting, and they own all the prime land. hard to get permission unless you grew up here or do construction for them. thats how the one guy mentioned got permission. thinking about getting a recurve for next year to try and get a doe with, now that my zone can get 2 deer. not too sure about that flag in your background on your pic though, tough start to the season for them , can't say im upset about that though.lol

[BigChessie]

I wish I was out there! Don't they have the early duck season right now? Waterfowling is what I REALLY love to do. lol Hence the screenname, I have 2 Chessies for hunting. I used to use my Vizsla for the upland but he passed last summer after 16 wonderful years. My dream hunt is to put my Chessies in the Chesapeake Bay. lol If you want to try my recurve out I can let you play with her and see how you like it. I used it for bowfishing last summer, started busting doves and bushytails in Sept . Figured for deer season if anything got within 20 yards I would be able to nail it. Ended up with 2 Does from her. Nothing like shooting traditional. I hope to get a kit to make myself one to play with some next year. But if I can find a Mathews Q2 or SQ2........doubt I will pick up the recurve for deer. lol If you wanna give the PSE a try just let me know. As far as my background...that is no flag my man, that is the front entrance to the BIG HOUSE! I had to take a firetruck up to Michigan(I work for CFD) and decided to swing by and take some pics. I was driving through downtown with a Columbus Firetruck, people yelling and honking at me. I guess they didn't take the time to see my hat. lol

[Flippin 416]

But if I can find a Mathews Q2 or SQ2........doubt I will pick up the recurve for deer.


I might know where you can pick up a Mathews Q2 IF Mathews puts out a shortened version of the Drenalin....lol

[BigChessie]

lol I will keep that in mind. Weather says we have a "chance" of rain this coming week. I was thinking of putting out some more seed in the food plots. They have been eating it as fast as it pops up. Thought maybe I would cover it with straw to try to get it to grow some before they eat it again. Ever heard of anyone trying this?

[BigChessie]

Well I been up since 0500 hrs, trying to decide when to head to the farm to check the cameras. I had planned on leaving early, get there at first light and do some looking around. Then I figured it would be best to just leave the critters alone, let them work on back to the beds. So now it is 0825 and I am going nuts wanting to see what is on the cameras! I think I will just take my time, stop for java and get there around 0930 or so. Should be enough time to let them get where they are going. I won't head in until after 1000-1030 hrs.

[mercercountyhunter]

any luck on those cameras? thanks for the offer on using the bow, but i think i will go to the archery shop i always go to and see what they got there and maybe shoot a couple of theirs. man am i ever bored at work. its like a ghost town around here now, all the vacationers are gone, nothing but fisherman left fishing the striped bass and bluefish derby. man next week i will be going after stripers and guys will be after deer, something ain't right with that. cant wait to get back and crawl up a tree and put a grim reaper through the boiler room. post some pics of some deer if you dont mind chessie.

[eschatts]

Are you gentelmen short one member? Please let me know asap. It is my understanding that one of your members has with drawn from the contest.

Ed

[mercercountyhunter]

that would be news to me Ed if we lost a player , nobody has said anything. havent heard from the lil bowtech in awhile though. why doesnt every team member say there in or out today or asap so we will know.

[eschatts]

Well I didn't here it from her, but I was informed that she was out for some reason. We will see what we can do.

[BigChessie]

I am still in! But I never did see or hear anything from her.

Well got some nice action in front of 4 stands. So it is looking good. Found our first rub of the season, it was on a tree about 4" dia so I am thinking it is a decent buck. Just happened to be on a rub line I put my boys stand over. Going to keep moving the cameras around to each of the other stands. But as of right now, I don't have a shooter buck picked out yet to focus on. Hoping to get a few Does down this weekend. Can't wait to get out there! Anyone have a shooter picked out yet?

[BigChessie]

Forgot to ask, is anyone using "RAGE" broadheads? After watching some videos of them in action, was thinking of giving them a try. We have always just Muzzy 3 blades 100 grain but I am not afraid to switch up.

[mercercountyhunter]

well at least we found out she wasnt going to participate before the contest started. my buddy was supposed to get trail cam pics sat. but he didnt have the memory card in it and the pics wouldnt upload to his card. i guess there were 56 pics on the camera, hope he can pull them from the cam, havent talked to him yet. so no shooter spotted yet, i will just take the first decent buck i see during bow season since i cant really scout and set up on a big one early. hopefully i can see one early when im home and try to get a gameplan together. people arent seeing many bucks where im at yet because of the corn. i still have some grim reaper broadheads left, so i will use them this year. next year will be the rage 2 blades. 2 inch cutting diameter and them things are nasty. watch a drury outdoors video , looks like a shotgun hit em . the entry holes are like a baseball was thrown thru it and the way the blood spurts out , those things are crazy. one month till my ohio season starts, oct. 24-25th.

[Flippin 416]

Only heard from Lil Bowtech once.....very little participation thus far.

I need to get my butt in gear and get a few pics uploaded. I have had two shooter bucks walk withing 25 yards of my stand....the one I can't quit thinking about is the 8 pointer I saw in velvet. Perfectly symetrical and fairly wide..I want a really nice 8 to stick on the wall!!! But I need to see him out of velvet to see if he lost much. lol I have also seen a really nice 10....he is more high and out front than wide....but a very nice deer also. I will get busy on hosting and posting the pics.

I switched this year to the Rage 3 blade broadheads. They look like a vey well designed broadhead and I am anxious to see how they perfom. I will let you know how they do if I get to squeeze one off here shortly. I was shooting the Wasp Jackhammer SST and I have had some problems with them in the past....so this is my first move away from them to find something better.

[BigChessie]

i still have some grim reaper broadheads left, so i will use them this year. next year will be the rage 2 blades. 2 inch cutting diameter and them things are nasty. watch a drury outdoors video , looks like a shotgun hit em . the entry holes are like a baseball was thrown thru it and the way the blood spurts out , those things are crazy.
Did you get a chance to see the reaper in action? I was looking at those also. I saw some of the hits from the Drury boys did with the Rage. Pretty awesome Did anyone see the one where the guy hit to far back, spent some of the evening and all the next day looking for it. When they found it it was a 1/4 mile further than there last blood sign. What got me was that they show the entrance wound and the guys looks up and says "These Rage are the very best BAD SHOT broadheads" lol If you make a bad hit you wanna be using Rage to do it. I was blown away that he said that. I had to rewind the DVR to show my boy. lol If I can't pick up some Rage I might go with the Reaper if I get some good feed back. Worse case is we already have the Muzzy's ready to go and patterned. Count it down boys.....4 days and a wake up!!

I need to get my butt in gear and get a few pics uploaded. I have had two shooter bucks walk withing 25 yards of my stand....the one I can't quit thinking about is the 8 pointer I saw in velvet. Perfectly symetrical and fairly wide..I want a really nice 8 to stick on the wall!!! But I need to see him out of velvet to see if he lost much. lol I have also seen a really nice 10....he is more high and out front than wide....but a very nice deer also. I will get busy on hosting and posting the pics.

Looking forward to seeing these deer! Nothing better to get ya pumped than to see some shooters that someone you know has a chance to bag.

[Flippin 416]

OK..lets try this...here are two of the deer that have been past one of my stands in the last few weeks.


http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd28/Flippin416/10pointer.jpg


http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd28/Flippin416/8pointer.jpg

We'll have to see how either of these two bucks look with shed velvet before I call them true shooters...
Hope this works...lol

[BigChessie]

Can't get anymore Typical than that! Zip-Zero-deductions on that bad boy. Good luck with him. Thanks for posting up. I'm gonna see if I can show the pic of the turkeys I had come in the other day. Also may have a pic of a Bobcat.

[BigChessie]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/BigChessie/SUNP0107.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/BigChessie/SUNP0108.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/BigChessie/SUNP0105.jpg

[BigChessie]

Ok what do you guys think of Scent Smoker? Makes since that it may work, I just find it hard to believe. I always have a fire going from the minute I pull in at the farm until I decide to leave. 95 and sunny and we are setting by a fire eating lunch. lol I know I smell like smoke everytime I go into the woods to check the cameras,work stands,ect ect. The cameras have to have scent on them from carrying them around. But the deer still come by. Might start up the fire and just smoke myself one day in the early season to see what the deer do.:whistle:

[deerhunt45]

From the looks of this thread, you guys are in for an awesome season!

As far as the contest, with your approval I will replace lil_bowtech_lady tomorrow morning with an alternate from the latest sign up list.

Please let us know for sure asap if you need a fourth hunter. Thanks.

Good luck
45

[BigChessie]

As far as I know.......we do need a body.

[mercercountyhunter]

deerhunt45- replace her if you can , she made one attempt to chat here and that was thru her boyfriends login name.

chessie- never had a chance last year to shoot a deer with the grim reaper razortip, no chances at a good buck during bow, wish i had the extra doe tag last year, had at least 20 chances last year to see what they would do. ive heard alot of good things about them though, shoot accurate out of the package, only wish they came with a practice broadhead. had one break though that i was shooting at the deer target. shot at a buck 2 years ago with the old style grim reaper, killed that little 2 inch sapling at 30 yards that was dead center in bucks chest, whats the odds of hitting that tree dead center, couldnt do it again if i tried. lol. that broadhead is still in the tree, makes me laugh everytime i see it.
good luck on those bucks flippin , pretty nice, i would gladly fling an arrow at em.
any of you guys use decoys? im gonna get a new one this year to try a few times. any ideas of type of decoy? leaning towards the boss buck, that thing looks nice and realistic, bigger body than the other ones. some just look to small. also any good backpacks or fannypacks you guys recommend?

[Flippin 416]

I agree...replace her if possible...it would be cool to have 4 participating members.

Chessie....I am kind of neutral about the smoke idea. I mean it can't hurt to try it just to see what it does. I am sure deer smell more campfires than we realize. I am trying to scent-free way this year. I started to do it at the tail end of last year after getting busted a few times. But I am picking it up a notch this year. Focusing more on what I am doing the gear I am using and the things I shouldn't come into contact with before heading to the woods. I am heading to Cabelas Wednesday after work to pick up the very last few things I want to get before this Saturday.

What kind of game cam are you using Chessie?

Mercer....hey that story about the broadhead in the tree made me laugh...I could walk you to one of my Jackhammer's that is burried in the side of a 3" tree as well.....my story is a carbon copy of what you tell!! Good stuff!!! As far as decoys go..I have never tried one myself. The land I hunt is pretty thick and would be tough to use a decoy effectivley...I think. I just mostly key on the sign that I see, patterns from previous years and the pics I am getting from my cams. But again...I say give it a whirl if it's within your budget....you may just learn a thing or two in the process.

3 days and a wake up fellas!!!!!!!!!!!! Woooohoooooo!!!!!

[Flippin 416]

Chessie...the pics of the Toms feeding around you cam are getting me pumped up for next spring already!!!!!

[deerhunt45]

Thanks for the patience guys.

XX78 has been added to your team as a replacement (at least for the scoring part of the contest) for lil_bowtech_lady.

Welcome XX78 and good luck!

[BigChessie]

any of you guys use decoys? im gonna get a new one this year to try a few times. any ideas of type of decoy?
I used one a few years back it did ok I guess, I had 2 small bucks come check it out and that was it. I would not mind trying it again, but it is so thick where I hunt I doubt it would do as well as in a field.
essie....I am kind of neutral about the smoke idea. I mean it can't hurt to try it just to see what it does. I am sure deer smell more campfires than we realize. I am trying to scent-free way this year. I started to do it at the tail end of last year after getting busted a few times. But I am picking it up a notch this year. Focusing more on what I am doing the gear I am using and the things I shouldn't come into contact with before heading to the woods. I am heading to Cabelas Wednesday after work to pick up the very last few things I want to get before this Saturday.
I think I will also cut back on the scents. Of course I say that every year but this year I hope to stick to it. I am leaning toward just using a drag rag during the chase phrase. I may try something like only 1 scent bomb and keep it close to the stand for a change. I have always done well with trying to keep my scent down so that is not a problem. When it comes to the smoke scent, I really don't know what to think. I highly doubt I would spend $40 to do it. I may just hang my clothes over the camp fire and then maybe walk around it some. I can't see how it will hurt and am kinda excited to just see if it works. lol
What kind of game cam are you using Chessie?

I only have the EL Cheapo Multries. (3) 35 mm and (1) digital. I'm still hoping to trade off my recurve for decent camera, that and I'm hoping to get a Cuddie back for x-mas. lol
I am heading to Cabelas Wednesday after work to pick up the very last few things I want to get before this Saturday.
I'm glad it is 3 hours away from me or I would be in some serious trouble with the wife. lol

Damn this long, lol Sorry for the novel, kinda hard to slow up when it is this close to deer hammer time lol

[Flippin 416]

LOL...it's cool I don't mind long thread when we are talking about DEER HUNTING!!! I am so amped to hit the woods Saturday morning that I have thought about nothing BUT for the past few months!!

Cabelas is about an hour and 15 from me. I have a buddy (Kaiser 878), and he and I and my 3-1/2 yeard old son are going to make a trip down there....there are still a few things I want to pick up before Saturday....Scent Blocker stuff...so we will be headed that was tomorrow after work.

I have two of the Moultrie Gamespy 200's out right now. I just got the one back and put it up a little over a week ago in front of one of my 55 gallon drum style feeders. I can only hunt Saturday AM so I figured I would check both of them when I was done hunting and possibly pull them until after season again.

Welcome to the Team XX78!!! Fill us in on some info...where are you hunting...etc. Are you as pumped to hit the woods as the rest of us are??

[BigChessie]

What does your 55 drum feeder look like? I have ton of empty drums laying around. 2 1/2 days and a wake up!!! Count it down!
Forgot to say "Howdy" to XX. lol Sorry about that.

[Flippin 416]

What does your 55 drum feeder look like?


Well since I don't have a pic...I'll just do my best to describe them. BTW...I had one out before this winter when I took it down and it had been in the woods for almost 9 years!!! lol They are open head 55 gallon drum with a removable sealing style lid and an clamp ring. I bought feeder leg brackets from Moultrie (tri-pod style) and used 1" O.D. galavnized conduit in 8's lengthes for the legs. Where you mount the brackets on the barrel is up to you...how high you want it..etc. I am now using Remington Quartz style timers to spread my feed. They are BYFAR the nicest and easiset to use timer I have ever used. I was using Game Country timers on the old barrel and they would consume a battery and you wouldn't even know it. With the Remington timers setup with the quartz timer...you can tell when the battery is dead since the time is wrong on the quartz clock...just nice easy to use timers. I will snap a pic next time I get out to check my cams and post it OH...I almost forgot....get an internal funnel if you go to build one of these....pain in the butt to put in....but it will save you the pain of digging rotting corn out of the bottom of the drum.

[XX78]

Hey Team,

I was just informed I was chosen as an alternate to fill a spot on your team. I an excited, and hope to contribute ASAP. This is a great team name, and I am definately an addict. A little info about me.

XX78 / Rich

30 yrs old, hunting for 15, really seriously for the last 5. I hunt in NE Ohio, mostly private, but my new house borders public. I hunt the wind, I hunt hard, and most importantly I hunt for fun.

[Flippin 416]

Cool deal XX 78!!! Where abouts in NE Ohio? I am hunting mostly Tuscarawas and Holmes Counties..and I live in Dover.

2 days and a wake up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woooohoooo!!!!

[XX78]

Lake, Geauga, Portage, and Ashtabula counties. Mostly that easy to hunt farmland:mischeif: All kidding aside, I have been seeing some pretty decent bucks on some of my scouting trips. The best part of that is I have a good understanding of the deer and the age structure in the area. Although the bucks I have been seeing are ok, I know my areas typically hold some larger bucks. They are either bedded out in the corn fields, or nocturnal. I do use scouting cams a little, but I really trust the areas, and love the element of suprise. Nothing sucks more than seeing a buck on camera and thinking every stick break and leaf crunch all season is him!

Good luck guys, I am amped up.

[BigChessie]

Good to hear from you XX, sounds like you got a great season coming up.

I'm gonna go ahead and call it........**1 DAY AND A WAKE UP!!!!






** Disclaimer**
There is no way I will be able to sleep on Fri night!:dizzy:

[mercercountyhunter]

welcome to the team xx78 , good luck this year. good to have another team member that is participating. anyone know of any crossbows for sale, my brother is looking for one. i cant talk him into a compound. he doesnt have as much time as me so the crossbow is easier for him. we have been looking at hortons. is there much difference between 150# or 175#? was looking at the specs on hortons website, about 20-30 feet/sec and less kinetic energy between the 2 bows, but about 150$ difference. i dont have any experience shooting these. thanks

[XX78]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys,

How fast does the 150 shoot? If the bows are equally quiet, there is going to be very little difference at 30 probably even 40 yards. I have a 150, and I have yet to miss a deer as a result of the bow lol. If there is a 25fps difference between them, that's 6 dollars a fps. Seems a lot of money to gain 25 fps. Kinda like buying a high performance 100 dollar part for a jeep, only to gain 5hp. I'd rather spend the extra money on other hunting items.

Just my 2 cents.

[Flippin 416]

I will keep my eyes and ears open for a used crossbow. I don't have much experience with crossbows. My Dad shoots ones but I don't pay a whole lot of attention to it.....but it is wicked fast!! lol

Since Chessie blurted it out last night...I will do it tonight!! LOL :biggrin:


A wake up and it's off to the woods fellas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:bouncy: :D

[mercercountyhunter]

thats kinda what i was thinking xx78, alot of money for not much gain. talked to my brother tonight and he said he knows somebody that has a crossbow and might sell it. but now he told me he might be interested in my compound bow if i upgrade next year to a new model. i dont think he knows what the hell he wants,lol.his friends back home are trying to talk him into a compound, which i am too. he is just worried about the time it takes to get good with one of those. keep me posted though flippin if you find a crossbow, thanks for the help. gonna go set out some cameras tomorrow on the island here, if i can get the stupid things to work. know there are deer there at this creek crossing, cleared a spot couple weeks ago, put deer cane out and their were tracks but camera not working right. while you guys will be chasing deer , i will be looking for a 40+ lb. striped bass to try and win this fishing derby out here. caught a 43 lb bass in june, hope i can get one now, it may be worth alot. when fall hits i really start to lose my interest in fish, but i guess there is nothing else to do.

[BigChessie]

7 hours and 20 mins to go!!!!!! :dizzy:

[mercercountyhunter]

good luck , somebody get an opening day monster.

[Flippin 416]

Well???? Did anyone else get out this weekend?

I was able to get out Saturday morning and also again last evening. I didn't see a darn thing!!!! I am going to blame it on the temps (even though I don't even buy my excuse). I thought for sure I would see something in the area where I was hunting but I guess I am going to have to wait and put in my time first...lol. Hopefully we do get a coold down in the coming days.

[XX78]

I went out Saturday morning and bumped 2 on my way in. One just moved out, the other snorted its way away. I coulda killed a 7 point, but he wasn't it lol. Went home for lunch and my buddy spots a deer feeding in the woods next to my house. Geared up for the evening and saw nothing. On a bright side, my thermacell worked wonders. I have a feeling that I won't have much sucess until the farmers cut the corn.

[BigChessie]

Went out Sat with my son, I did not realize it was going to be as cold as it really got. Poor kid hung on until around 8 and we had to get down to go warm him up. On the way out coming down the path was 2 eights, one being a shooter. Of course we just kinda looked at each other and laughed. Another 15 mins and they would have been under the stand. Saw nothing Sat evening. Sun we saw 9 Does with one at 18 yards. I'm holding the camera and tell him to take it. I say under my breath "Man I could really smoke her right now". I keep waiting for him to shoot for about 30 secs. I look over and he is just standing there looking at her! She starts to walk back up the hill and stops at 30 yards. Welp after she got up and over the hill. I ask him why he did not shoot. He tells me that he had a tree in the way and he heard me say " I'm gonna smoke her" so he was waiting for me to give him the camera! When she was 30 yards, he had some brush in the way so no clear shot. After he said he didn't feel comfortable with the shot so he did not take it, It made my whole year to know he had enough sense to not take a bad shot. He is only 15 and did the right thing. I know grown men that would make the wrong choice if they had the same chance. So we had a blast and plus we saw around 20 turkeys walking around us. Next weekend we go back and try it again. Hope everyone had as much fun this weekend as we did! BC

[mercercountyhunter]

sounds like you guys had a good weekend, im jealous. good to see you giving your kid a chance chessie, too bad he couldnt stay the extra 15 minutes, thats the way it goes. i rattled 2 years ago , waited 30 minutes, no sign of deer . had to piss real bad, walked 40 yards to river , pissed and standing between my stand and a pile of brush was 140" deer i was after, all i could do was laugh too. the hunting only will only get better. i agree xx78 , it gets better around here when the corn comes off , better bucks just dont like to leave it , unless they have a reason like does in heat.

[BigChessie]

I am waiting to find out if my boy makes the reserve or the Big "V" in Basketball (he is a sophmore) before I start shooting my deer. If he makes the team but they let him take of a couple days for the rut, I will be whacking some Does next time they come by(he can shoot his deer during the rut,lol). Right now it is pretty limited on how much he can get out. As much as I would love to smoke a couple quick Does, I'm really hoping he gets his first bow kill first. I find it hard to believe that only 2 deer have been shot so far. I'm sure it will all change when the pre-rut kicks in though. If things go like I am hoping, we should get at least a couple Does down this weekend. What do you guys think it will take to win this? Lets say everyone nails a Doe, what kinda numbers do you think (as a team) the bucks need to be? Ya get the 5 right off the bat, I wonder if a couple 8's would do it? I know they had a thread with everyones pick to win it( we were not mentioned,lol) but I think we may be the sleeper that will surprise everyone:shhh:

[Flippin 416]

Hey ya never know....we could very well be the sleeper in this contest. The stand location that I was in this past weekend I KNOW has deer moving past it...I just need to be dilligent and spend my time...even if that means not seeing any for the first several times out..I KNOW they will be there. I am going to try and get out tomorrow afternoon and try one of my other stand locations and try to pick up a doe if possible..who knows maybe that big 8 will show up in a different spot and I can take a shot at him? I am sure things will pick up here shortly....looks like next week they are calling for slightly cooler temps...lets hope so!!

[BigChessie]

I'm going to out this weekend and I have Mon off for the Holiday so will hunt it also. The following week I have Sat though the following Mon so there will be a little over week to whack some Does.

Flippin 416 There is nothing better than knowing your gonna see deer but just a matter of when. Makes my heart race when I hear something coming and you don't if it is buck or doe.lol Good luck out there, just a matter of time until you run into the big boy:yikes:

[XX78]

I like our chances

[BigChessie]

Well boys I have the whole weekend including Mon to hunt ALONE! SO I finally will get a chance to try to score. Heat or or No heat I will be out after them.:coolgleamA:

[XX78]

I think I may get out for an evening hut on Sunday. I have a few large projects left on my list that I really want to tackle before it cools off.


Good Luck Big Chessie

[mercercountyhunter]

good luck this weekend everyone. i am sure one of you will score a doe and hopefully the first buck of the year. my brother said he seen 2 nice bucks with a doe the other night. october 23 cant come fast enough so i can leave this rock i am on. getting sick of fishing. i am sure someone will mess with those bucks he seen because the other night someone was watching them from the road and i guess a kid was back there the other night. they will probably be in Indiana or nocturnal by the time i get home, its only 3 miles from there. oh well , i got plenty of places to hunt. archery starts in 10 days here , guess i will try it here and hopefully get a practice shot or two.

[mercercountyhunter]

was sitting here at work and wondering about something. if you have both deer tags with you, can you shoot a buck and a doe on the same day? just curious because if you shoot a doe in the morning right away , do you need to leave. any body see any deer ? i am living my deer season thru you guys right now.

[Lucky]

was sitting here at work and wondering about something. if you have both deer tags with you, can you shoot a buck and a doe on the same day? just curious because if you shoot a doe in the morning right away , do you need to leave. any body see any deer ? i am living my deer season thru you guys right now.

You can shoot 2 deer in one day. The only thing is, you have to physically put a temporary tag on the first deer before you can legally hunt any other deer.

[BigChessie]

Went out two days over the weekend. Saw 2 Does on the 1st day. Had one Doe at 25 yards but she was walking dead straight away from me. Only shot I had was a "Texas Heart Shot" Thought best to just pass on it and let her walk. Man I can not believe how hot it is. Went out this morning and as I was walking into to the woods at 0500 it was 67! Did not see jack today, had a buddy out with me and he saw 2 early on. I did have a new 10 point I had not seen before show up on the camera. Was nice to see a new face so not all is lost. Plan on getting everyday next week if the weather finally breaks. Gotta get some meat in the freezer!! Hope you guys get a chance to take advantage of the weather if a cold front rolls in! BC

[XX78]

They are starting to cut the corn near my one spot. I went out sunday, got busted about an hour and half before sun up. The place has a good number of deer, I just need to pattern them better. Im working on it, I promise!

[Flippin 416]

Man it's been tough.....tough to get out and then tough while being out. I made it out once this past weekend. Saturday morning and I was out of my tree by 9:30 due to the fact that the mosquitoes had bitten every exposed area of skin on me!! So I got down and did a little scouting on my way out...and NEVER saw a deer. I did find some new interesting trails that I will look into as the cooler weather sets in. I hope to get out towards the end of the weeknd and I'll only have Saturday AM to hunt this weekend again......I need to quit my job so I can hunt more.....lol.

[BigChessie]

I am hoping to make this weekend the one to get us on the score board. I'm gonna try out a new stand and see if I can break it in. I'd be lying if I said that I would not be pretty disappointed if I didn't knock a Doe down in the next few days. Weather is finally coming around so I'm hoping to see some action. Good luck to all with the weather moving those deer around your stands! Shoot straight and aim low. lol What would be sweet is that we (as a team) get 2 or 3 Does down at the same time.

[XX78]

Heading out in the am for a couple hours before work. Wind is perfect for my stand right now.

[BigChessie]

Good Luck XX Looks like the temps are down enough to get them moving.

[BigChessie]

I am starting to get all pumped up about this weekend! Almost feels like opening day all over again. lol Weather is going to be awesome, so get out there boys and put the hammer down!:bouncy:

[mercercountyhunter]

good luck everyone this weekend. your deer sightings should increase with this weather. i bet someone will get one this weekend. i am at lake winnepasaukee in new hampshire this weekend and of course there is a cold front moving thru now, windy and rain for next 3 days, oh well beats work. i think i have a fullblown bowhunting withdrawal right now, getting the shakes. 12 more days until i can try to contribute to the team.

[Flippin 416]

I managaed to get out last night for a few hours. I was in my stand by 3:15 and saw plenty of deer. I had 7 come right by my stand all in a group. 2 small bucks 3 does and two fawns....I wanted to pick off a doe but I was either being looked at or thinking in the back of my mind that I didn't want to educate the rest of the deer that were standing around there. This is out of the stand I have the pics of the bigger bucks....so I want to be very careful about what I do......but at least I am seeing deer!!!!

[mercercountyhunter]

so whats the stories from this weekend. 10 more days until i am back in my ohio treestand. i cant wait. hopefully i can get a doe out of the way quick and concentrate on a buck.

[Flippin 416]

I was able to get out this past Saturday and the deer were deff on the move....sad part is they wouldn't come in close enough for me to shoot at. I have this perfect heavy trail 20 yards off of my treestand and yet they choose to walk right through the middle of the woods???? LOL I hope I can make it out some day this week and for sure this weekend....I am getting kind of flustered that I haven't been able to pull the trigger on AT least a doe yet.

10 days....I bet you can't wait. I hope you get on some deer right off the bat!!

[mercercountyhunter]

i went out this morning where i am at here in massachusetts and got to where i wanted to sit on the ground. got there about 20 minutes late, starting to get light, and was deciding where to put my swivel chair to sit and had one not 20 yards away in some brush take off. got to see my first white flag of the year. about a half hour later heard one coming in, same doe i think because it didnt sound like it ran far when i jumped it. she came in stomping trying to figure out what i was earlier. had her at less than 10 yards but had brush in the way. she was all of about 100 pounds wet, really small deer here, looked like coues deer. she stood there staring at me and stomping for like 2 minutes. she had an evil look in her eye and i thought she was going to come at me:nono: , she finally blew and took off, ruining my morning making all that noise. if she comes back i am going to give her a rage 2 blade and show her who the boss is. should get my trail cam pics back in an hour, had 25 pics on it within the last week at a creek crossing. they had the deer cane spot tore up. hope the damn camera will work though. today definately got the blood flowing, i cant wait to get back to some real deer hunting. sorry so long , i am bored. someone will get us on the bored soon, just gotta break the ice. good luck.

[Gunners]

i went out this morning where i am at here in massachusetts and got to where i wanted to sit on the ground. got there about 20 minutes late, starting to get light, and was deciding where to put my swivel chair to sit and had one not 20 yards away in some brush take off. got to see my first white flag of the year. about a half hour later heard one coming in, same doe i think because it didnt sound like it ran far when i jumped it. she came in stomping trying to figure out what i was earlier. had her at less than 10 yards but had brush in the way. she was all of about 100 pounds wet, really small deer here, looked like coues deer. she stood there staring at me and stomping for like 2 minutes. she had an evil look in her eye and i thought she was going to come at me:nono: , she finally blew and took off, ruining my morning making all that noise. if she comes back i am going to give her a rage 2 blade and show her who the boss is. should get my trail cam pics back in an hour, had 25 pics on it within the last week at a creek crossing. they had the deer cane spot tore up. hope the damn camera will work though. today definately got the blood flowing, i cant wait to get back to some real deer hunting. sorry so long , i am bored. someone will get us on the bored soon, just gotta break the ice. good luck.

My brother got a doe yesterday morning, he lives in Feeding Hills, Ma. He always talks about the big bucks of Ohio to his freinds. They think it's like talking about Big Foot, they can't comprehend that big.

[BigChessie]

Well I have been putting some time in the stands. Plenty of deer being seen, just no shots. Had a spike buck 2 yards from the tree I was in,he stood there eating acorns for about 15 mins. Was kinda cool to have him that close without being busted. Plenty of turkeys running around. I may pop one just to get some blood on the ground. Sorry I don't have any better news........but it is just a matter of time til I get something down.:shhh: Forgot to add, I had 6 bucks all in the same pic on one of my cams. Couple nice ones, I'll try to post a pic.

[mercercountyhunter]

talked to my brother tonight and he got a small 8 pointer and a friend got a doe out of same section of woodlots, probably within 200 yards of each other. they just took the corn off earlier today before they got them deer. they seen 4 more does and 3 bucks across the road in that same section last night. and my other friend said they have seen 10 does in their section. hopefully i can score quick on a doe when i get back. can't wait to see those trail pics chessie.

[mercercountyhunter]

just got a photobucket acct. trying test pics so i can figure this out before trying to post for contest. if all goes right there will be pics of fish from this year.http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/catscansipe/albacore.jpg?t=1192674200
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/catscansipe/striper.jpg?t=1192674683

[BigChessie]

Nice looking fish you got there! Gotta love Photobucket. I have been using them forever. I gotta get some pics uploaded and posted. Been fighting a cold but may try to get out some in the am.

[Flippin 416]

Sweet looking fish mercer!! I am jealous...lol. What kind of fish is the first one? Fishing is my second passion.

[Big H]

Sweet looking fish mercer!! I am jealous...lol. What kind of fish is the first one? Fishing is my second passion.

I am going to guess Yellowfin Tuna?

[mercercountyhunter]

the first fish is a false albacore. it is in the tuna family. they call them little tuny's.state record is only 20 lbs, so they dont get that big and i guess they taste awful. i wish it was a yellowfin big h, woulda been some good eatin.

[mercercountyhunter]

here is the pic of the 8 point my brother got last night. this is his 3rd year bowhunting and he is 3 for 3 shooting a friends old crossbow. he doesn't get much time to hunt so he was pretty excited. he got a doe the first year, 6 point last year and now an 8 point. he is going in the right direction. made a perfect shot, 25 yards and deer didn't go more than 30 yards.that is exit hole in pic. slight quartering away shot.weighed 157 dressed.http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/catscansipe/ryan078point.jpg?t=1192740744

[BigChessie]

Congrats to your Brother! I still hunted with in 30 yards of a Doe, started to draw on her.............then her 2 buddies that were standing right behind her decided they had seen enough. Spent 20 mins working on getting a shot and had NO clue that there were 3 Does. lol I was concentrating so hard on the first one I missed seeing the others. Oh well with the weather cooling off this weekend, hope to get something on the board.

[BigChessie]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/BigChessie/deerOCT080713BIGBOYS646.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/BigChessie/deerOCT080713BIGBOYS588.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/BigChessie/SUNP0685.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/BigChessie/SUNP0590.jpg

[BigChessie]

THIS IS MY 2 ND FAVORITE PIC, THE COON ACTUALLY MOVED THE CAMERA AND LEFT PAW PRINTS ALL OVER IT. LOL
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/BigChessie/SUNP0380.jpg

[Flippin 416]

Well I finally got a doe close enough this AM to put an arrow into her. A group of 7 came in all nose to tail at 27 yards the largest of them was at the front..so when she cleared the last tree that was in my way I let her fly. Rage 3 blade took out both lungs but she still ran around 150 or so yards after the shot. I saw the arrow pass through her but I can't find it anywhere...my Dad and I ran circle around the area where I hit her but couldn't come up with it. Maybe I will come across it later on when I am out there. I posted the pic in the photo entry thread...check it out.

Now onto the buck!!!!

[mercercountyhunter]

THE ICE IS BROKEN. NOW ITS ON. congrats on the doe flippin. 4 and 1/2 days until ohio hunting. i cant wait .

[Flippin 416]

Thanks I was glad I could break the ice for us....hoping it will start a flood for the rest of you guys! I was starting to get discouraged the way the does were skirting around my #1 stand....so I moved to a totally different area this morning and it really paid off. I thought with the wind we were having that deer movement would be slow as it was last night.

Mercer...I bet the next 4.5 days can't go fast enough for you. Will you be able to hunt in Ohio for an extended period of time? I can't wait to get back out and pick off another doe or get a chance at a decent buck now.

[mercercountyhunter]

the next 4 days will be the slowest days of my life... gotta work 3rd shift tuesday night , then driving 15 hours after work. gonna try to make it home to hunt thursday morning. i am off until end of november and can hunt everyday and will hunt everyday. getting a doe shouldnt be a problem, at least in past years had at least 12 oppurtunities a year, finally the 2 deer rule in my zone:) . and hopefully can get a decent buck down, not going to be to choosy this year. wanna have both doe and buck down by indiana shotgun opener, so i can spend more time doing that. went to southern indiana last year and it was a blast. saw 17 deer first day and killed a young 9 point. had 2 good bucks run thru but couldnt get a shot. 2 day hunt so i got what i could get.
flippin-thats a nice looking truck you got there. i have a dodge now, but will be buying a new ford in the next year or so once i am done traveling for work.

[BigChessie]

Nice Going Flippin! I been busy and have not had a chance to get on here. I finally do and we are on the board. Hoping that the weather will get the deer moving around more. I checked last years films and saw that I did not shoot my 1 st Doe until Nov 6. But that was with my recurve and I was limited to 20 yards and in. So hope to be able to add to the score this weekend.

mercercountyhunter I'm thinking you must either be in or almost back in Ohio. Welcome back and hope you have a good hunt when you get out there.

[XX78]

Nice job flippin. I went out this evening, and saw nothing. I am heading out in the am for a couple hours before work. Wish me luck.

[mercercountyhunter]

Good luck xx78. i will be back in the treestand thursday morning or night for sure depending on how the drive home goes. working until 7 am tonight and have about a 15 hour drive. leaving the island on the 930 ferry and should be on the mainland at 10am. 15 hours puts me at 1 am with no sleep so probably hunt thursday evening. my cousin seen a nice wide 8 point crossing road behind my parents house this morning. so i may give that a go because i think they should be cutting the rest of the cornfield there also. hope to get my doe out of the way in the first week back. we will see. the team will be at full strength now and i think the does will start dropping for us and the bucks right behind with the pre-rut and rut coming soon. back to staring at the clock...

[XX78]

Good luck Mercer!

[BigChessie]

Good luck out there XX78 and let us know if they are starting some pre rutting. Won't be long mercercountyhunter and we will start putting some points on the board. Exciting/frustrating time of the year, Get all pumped up because you know pre rut is coming but then things are slow because you are just a tad early lol Good luck out there guys, I will be back at it this weekend.:coolgleamA:

[Flippin 416]

I am headed back out tonight....pre-rut should be getting very close....I nearly plowed a 135 - 150 class buck this AM with my truck!!!!

Good luck you all of you guys I am sure we are gonna start racking up some big time points here before too long. And welcome back to Ohio Mercer!!!!

[XX78]

Well I got up showered, and drove to my spot. When I got out it was significantly warmer than my house and dead quiet, I mean dead quiet. I him-hawed about heading in, but as I got all geared up, I just realized that I was probably was gonna push something around. For an hour and half hunt without the time change, I felt it wasn't worth it. So I went home, threw some clothes in the washer and went back to bed.

Flippin, I had a huge buck jump over the hood of my wife's car last year. I couldn't hit the brakes it happened so fast. Good thing you are okay, we need some more points.:D

[mercercountyhunter]

275 miles to go..... man this drive sucks. i have been awake since tuesday at 230 pm. i will be perched in a tree somewhere in the a.m. though. i cant wait. its like christmas in october. my brother is supposed to have been scouting tonight for me so we will see what he has to say on where to go. wonder what this full moon will have to do with things. 70 miles to cleveland for a nap and 3 hours till home. i really want to try a rage 2 blade out tomorrow.h

[BigChessie]

Be extra careful into and out of your stand. Most accidents happen when your tired. Shoot straight and hang'em high! Lookin forward to hearing your report. BC

[mercercountyhunter]

had a good first day. had a small buck come by at 20 yards at 740am. then had 2 big does and two yearlings coming right at my stand but they wandered off course and i couldnt get a shot. then tonight had a small doe run in the field by my stand and then run back and came in the woods at 35 yards but couldnt stop her for a shot. really windy tonight couldnt hear anything. not a bad day , 2 almost shots. hopefully i can get it done soon. going back to same spot in the am. only a matter of time before one of those doesnt dodge my stand.
i think the bucks here are starting to chase here. had a reliable hunting friend watch a 130 class buck dogging a doe today. it is starting to happen.
it is good to be back.

[XX78]

Welcome back mercer. Strap up that safety and get ready!!!

[mercercountyhunter]

well went back to same spot this a.m. and it didnt take long. had this small doe come in at 735 and she hung around too long. had her around me for 15 minutes and was hoping it was one of the small ones with the 2 bigger does but it wasnt. i think it is the same one i almost got a shot at last night. got some really good looks at the head with the binoculars and seen it was not a button buck and was hoping the rest of the group would come in but they didnt. not a very big doe but a doe is a doe in my book and they all reproduce and i wanted to get it out of the way so i can concentrate on a buck. when she was 10 yards i decided i would shoot her, pretty good quartering away to almost straight away shot , but at that distance i felt it wouldnt be a problem. arrow went in at 2nd to last rib and exited(you can see exit hole on photo entry pic) between the front of the chest and opposite shoulder and stuck 4 inches in the ground. she ran 30 yards and i watched her crash. took out both lungs and the vessels of the heart, made soup of the chest. those rage 2 blades are amazing. i will post pics of the holes later, 2 inches plus going in and out, fully deployed when i pulled it out of the ground. i had another friend today watch a buck trying to tend a doe around Sidney right off of I-75. going to go out tonight and try a decoy and rattling tonight. good luck everybody.

[XX78]

Nice job mercer, go get that buck!

[Flippin 416]

Sweeeeeeet!!! Awesome job Mercer....that's a great way to start off your hunting time in Ohio!!! Congrats!!!

[mercercountyhunter]

rattled in a small buck last night. had the decoy 15 yards in front of me and that buck came right in to it. got a pretty good video of him trying to act 2 years older than he was. that little 3 pointer was strutting around and acting tough until i grunted at him. i think he thought that non moving buck was gonna kick his arse. well i will be out in the evening, had to catch up on some sleep this morning. good luck .

[BigChessie]

Congrats Mercer!! Heck of a way to start your year off. Good job!

I had a spike come in to the food plot. He munched some corn and then walked over to say hello to me. I ended up having him walk right up to my stand. I am in a Oak that is dropping acorns like crazy. I filmed him for around 20 mins standing directly underneath my ladder stand eating acorns. He finally left but returned dogging 2 Does. After running them around, the lead Doe stopped 10 yards out in some brush. Decided to bust her. Used the Crimson Talon and she didn't make it 30 yards. Not the big girls I have been seeing but it will still cook up just fine. I'll be back in the stand the 31st to try to nail a few more. Found a bunch of brand new scrapes and moved a camera over a set of them. I have 3 stands that are right off scraps lines. I'm going to stay out of the area until next week. I'll hunt the morning, sneak over and pull the camera card and check it out. If anything looks good, I'll start hunting my rut stands. Won't be long now boys, get out there and get on them.
TEMP TAG IS LEFT EAR
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/BigChessie/deerOCT28DOEfoodplot009.jpg
HARD TAG
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/BigChessie/deerOCT28DOEfoodplot011.jpg

[mercercountyhunter]

congrats chessie. hunted last night and seen 5 does and of course had a big one at 10 yards for 5 minutes, oh well they all taste the same. went goose hunting the morning and got skunked. i will be in the stand tonight to try and film my brother taking a doe. good luck everyone.

[deerhunt45]

Congrats on the doe BC and Whitetail Addiction !

[Flippin 416]

Sweeeet!! Congrats BC!! What a great weekend to be out deer hunting in Ohio. I hooked up with my good buddy Kaiser 878 and we hunted a new spot this weekend and I saw TONS of deer. Nothing shootable came withing range but it has been a loooong time since I have seen so many deer in one weekend.

Mercer sounds like you are taking full advantage of hunting in Ohio. Taking a nice doe then going after the hoonkers!! Kaiser hunts allot of geese and has been trying to talk me into it......one of these days I might have to take him up on it.

Great job Team #11!!!!!!!!!

[Big H]

Nice job Big Chessie.

[BigChessie]

Thanks guys, I can't wait to start hunting horns now. I still plan on some more meat in the freezer but the main thing is the pressure is off for the contest. lol I just had not been seeing the deer like I normally do. I had hoped to have 2 Does down by now so I could really hunt them horns but oh well. I may slip out one night after work this week and then starting next weekend, in the stand all day everyday. Let's keep the roll going and start whacking them big boys now!

[XX78]

Seems like they are dropping like flies around here. Things up here have slowed down quite a bit. We just had our first frost and another frost tonight. I hope it will pick up soon. 3 days and I'm off til the 11th.

I made it out sat morning and saw the same small buck I have been seeing all season. I have mostly been trying to get to know some new public areas, and have left my private grounds untouched. Hopefully that will work in my favor.

[mercercountyhunter]

went out last night and saw 5 does and a decent buck. had four does in the field acting nervous and all of sudden a doe shot out and a buck wasnt far behind her. didnt get a good look at him , getting dark and he ran the doe right back in the woods in about 10 seconds, but he looked fairly tall. this morning i saw 2 does and had a small buck at 35 yards. i think these cold mornings are really getting them going.just need a decent buck to replace all these small bucks ive had shots at i will be all set.good luck everyone,.

[XX78]

Two more days and Im out, can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BigChessie]

Good Luck XX78, you couldn't pick a better time! I will also be heading back out this week. Hope to be able to spend a few extra days this week and weekend out in the stand. With the hard frost and cold mornings they should really be getting all cranked up. I can't wait to sneak in and pull my memory card on the camera I hung on a tree that has some huge scrapes under it. Would love to see a shooter in there working it. I have a stand around 30 yards from it. Just far enough to get a shot but not to close to get busted. lol Good luck everyone and stay safe! You can just about Gar-reen-tee that there will be some stories after this weekend.:coolgleamA: BC

[mercercountyhunter]

i have the small buck plague going on right now. i havent even seen a mature buck yet. had an 1 and half 8 point under for 5 minutes yesterday morning and seen 5 does in the evening. got skunked this morning, first time this year havent seen a deer out. wished i woulda held out for a bigger doe because almost everytime i go out i have a big one in range, oh well. in another week all the corn should be off and the big boys will be joining the doe chase. good luck everyone, the bucks are starting to drop.

[Flippin 416]

Look what showed up in front of one of my cams within the last few days!!!!!! I can only PRAY that I get to see him during the daylight hours....

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd28/Flippin416/big10.jpg

[XX78]

Yikes that one will do!!

[Flippin 416]

Well I made it out this AM HOPING to see the deer above...however it was not to be..I got skunked. I am going to be on the move now looking for a good doe herd to hopefully lure in a mature buck. On a side note I talk to one of the guys that hunts neighboring property. He told me this AM that he hit a monster 10 pointer (my gut sank) as we talked about it and he described it...it sounded like he had shot the deer pictured above. After talking with him this evening it was NOT the deer in the picture. Rather another big one...that he never found. He said the shot deflected off a branch and hit the deer too far back. So there is still plenty of hope!!!

[mercercountyhunter]

went out last night with a friend and he got his first bowkill ever(crossbow). he seen the deer about 300 yards away working the edge of the woods and he rattled him and shot him at 35 yards. the deer only went about 100 yards and he watched him go down. i had another small 8 point under me the same night , so we coulda doubled up if it was bigger. i will see a bigger buck someday. here is a couple of pics. good luck on that buck flippin, he is a nice one.
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/catscansipe/kenndeydeer007.jpg?t=1194136227http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/catscansipe/kennedydeer07.jpg?t=1194137303

[mercercountyhunter]

well i guess i bitched enough about seeing big bucks. now i can bitch about not getting them in bow range ,lol. seen a 10 point yesterday morning with a doe and a small buck. i think he would go in the 140's. this morning i had 3 does come out and acting nervous,looking around. then all hell broke loose. i had this big eight come out and run them the wrong way north instead of south, woulda had a 20 yard chip shot , oh well i will try at him tonight. its the same does i had walk past me twice so hopefully they will walk by soon. here is a couple of pics i took off of the tv of the video i took. sorry not the best pics, but you can see how big he is . biggest 8 point i have ever seen hunting. he is a wide one. the rut is on here deer chasin all day. had 2 people call me today about deer chasin. good luck everyone and get out there now.
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/catscansipe/big8pthesses.jpg?t=1194292641
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/catscansipe/big8pt2hesses.jpg?t=1194293044

[BigChessie]

I'm back for a minute. Have seen a ton of deer, with the most being last day and half out. My boy had a couple Does eating acorns at 20 yards for quite awhile. Problem was that they were behind his tree stand. lol SO he was kinda upset having to just set and watch them eat. I passed on 6 bucks Sun,just to small to shoot. Have not seen the ole' grandpa buck, he is 250lbs MINNIMUM, big old sagging pot belly and sway back. He will only score 120 on a good day if even that but I want him out of the gene pool. If he gives me a chance I will take him as a management buck to let the young boys take over the farm. Had a buddy that had Gramps eating 15 yards in front but did not shoot him. Would love to see you get those boys Flippin and Mercer! I'm hoping XX is busy tagging his monster. Good luck to everyone.

[XX78]

Well I've been hitting it hard morning and evening since thursday. I have been moving all over a 50 mile radius in NE Ohio. I have only seen 2 does since my vacation started and that was today. They were alone and were not harassed at all. I had a button buck come in and bed down 20 yards in front of me for an hour. I have seen 5 other bucks, but they were very small. Only 1 of those, a spike has had his nose glued to the ground. It seems either it hasn't ramped up near me yet, or I haven't been near a hot doe. I have some decent properties, so I am keeping my head up. I just want to get a doe close to me so I can smoke her and get some more points for the team.

[mercercountyhunter]

i got that 8 point this morning i had on video. he is not as big as i thought he was but none the less i am pleased. i will post pics and a story tonight. rattled him to 15 yards....

[mercercountyhunter]

well i got 4 hours of sleep last night so when 530 in the morning rolled around i almost didnt go hunting. today was my birthday and it was clear and cool out so i forced myself to go. i always seem to see a nice buck on my birthday. at 715 i seen a doe come out into the secluded field and she ran the wrong way away from me, but i figured something had her running so i kept an eye on the field. about 10 minutes later a bigger bodied deer stepped into the field and one look thru the binoculars said he was a shooter, i thought it was a different deer than the other 8 point i seen 5 days ago. i guess the video footage i had of him made him look bigger than he was , but i would be happy with a buck like this every year. he had his nose on the ground and was heading to where the doe went and i decided to hit the rattle bag. that was all it took , he picked up his head, looked in my direction and came on a beeline to within 15 yards of my stand. i drew when he was 10 yards from my one opening and he decided to stop and make a scrape. so after 45 seconds of holding my bow back i let down. as soon as i let down he started moving towards my opening and i had 5 seconds to redraw my bow, aim and bend down to avoid a limb. well i thought i hit him good because a large amount of blood came spurting out of the entry hole. he ran about 75 yards and then walked like he was hurting back to where he came from. when i got down to look at my arrow, i found a large patch of white hair and a stinky arrow. the blood on the ground thou was bubbly lung blood. so i figured i must of hit one lung and exited thru the guts. i backed out and gave him 6 hours. when we got back there wasnt much of a blood trail but he only made it about 150 yards and was laying dead in the brushy fencerow. that blood trail had me very worried to say the least. i ended up hitting one lung, liver and a softball sized hole in the stomach, stinky gut job. but it all ended well and those rage broadheads did some serious damage, 2+ inch holes on the exit and entry. its my best archery buck and i couldnt have gotten a better b-day present. when i got up in the morning i just had that feeling like it was going to be a good day. i guess my ohio season is over but indiana shotgun opens next week. good luck to everyone on getting their bucks.http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/catscansipe/20078pointer.jpg?t=1194746942
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/catscansipe/20078point.jpg?t=1194748524

[Flippin 416]

Aesome awesome awesome!!!!! Congrats Mercer...and HAPPY B-DAY!!!!! What a great story and a fine looking buck.....you broke the ice for the bucks...so now it's gonna flood!!!!!

Congrats man....great job!!!!

[BigChessie]

Great story and great buck! I have seen a few shooters but not closed the deal yet. Hope to take care of that soon, just hope I don't end up regretting passing on all those bucks early on:irked:

[Flippin 416]

I kind of starting to get a little nervous. I have seen a slew of smaller "non shooter" bucks while in my stand. I have been patiently waiting for one of the big boys to show up during daylight hours to even give me a chance. So the last few days I have been dooing some of the needed thinigs back in my woods...filling feeders and I moved a stand and put up some NO TRESPASSING signs!!! So yesterday afternoon while my 4-year old son and I were heading up a hill towards one of my feeders...not 100 yards away from where we unloaded the four wheeler.....a HUGE buck and two does stands up. I froze....it was the buck in the last picture I posted and he was looking right at me... lol...my son blurts out..."Hey Dad...look at that HUGE buck!!!" I shut off the 4-wheelr and we sat there and watched them walk away....I had the shakes so bad I couldn't hold still.....WHY couldn't I have been in a stand in that area yesterday???? lol

[XX78]

Great story and great buck! I have seen a few shooters but not closed the deal yet. Hope to take care of that soon, just hope I don't end up regretting passing on all those bucks early on:irked:

I agree completely. I understand the rules of the contest, and there were a few times where I almost shot a smaller 8pt for the points, but I didn't. For me its computer points vs shooting a buck I can be happy with.

[Flippin 416]

I agree completely. I understand the rules of the contest, and there were a few times where I almost shot a smaller 8pt for the points, but I didn't. For me its computer points vs shooting a buck I can be happy with.


I can totally understand that as well....and I am going with whatever makes me happy. If I don't shoot a buck because I don't get a chance at a nice mature one...then so be it....

[mercercountyhunter]

i agree with you guys , shoot what makes you happy. it is just a contest with no reward but bragging rights. i passed at least 8 different smaller bucks until i got an oppurtunity at one that i wanted. it wasnt huge but it is a respectable buck for our area. i watched one yesterday with a doe and videoed it . huge 8 point , i will try to post pics later. i am heading to indiana tommorrow for gun season. good luck to everyone and get a buck that makes you happy and dont worry about a contest. it is a long season yet. http://www.ohiosportsman.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

[OhioHunter88]

mercer county- thats a good buck, and its sounds like its a good thing you gave him that time, he didnt go to far...

[mercercountyhunter]

thanks 88. never hurts to wait awhile especially when its cold out. once you jump them out of their bed it could be a long day. made a better shot than i thought but he only went maybe 150 yards or so. just paid indiana 150 dollars so hopefully i can score a nice buck there. can hunt there for about 4 days. anybody seeing any action?

[BigChessie]

What's up guys? Just checking in. Had some good and bad hunts.My boy got a 8 point the other day. Not a monster but finally breaks his streak of 4 button bucks in row. lol I hit a nice 140+ ten point but was high into the shoulder and did not hit any vitals. Long drawn out story but lost the trail at 2230 hrs in a rain storm. I shot him at 1605 hrs, so it was a pretty sad hunt. I passed on quite a few "maybe" bucks,wondering now if I should have taken one. I go in tomorrow to have some needles shoved into C-3-4-5-6 in my neck. Trying some injections to kill some pain. Not sure how long I will be off my feet but plan on getting out for sure late season. Good luck to everyone and stay safe! BTW WHat does everyone think of the new PSE X-Force? I have been reading about them and sounds pretty impressive. Just wondering if anyone has heard anything good or bad about them. Here is a video about it and some other high bows. Worth checking out. http://www.greatoutdoorsok.com/ BC

[Flippin 416]

WOW BC....best of luck with the injections in your neck....I'll keep you in my thoughts. I hope you make a swift recovery and can get back out in the great outdoors. I had lower back surgery on 9-10 so I can show empathy towards neck/back pain. Tell you son congrats...hunting with children is a gift..a priceless gift.

Total bummer about the buck you hit. I can relate to it as I lost a nice 130 class 8 pointer two years ago after a 1/8 mile track on some HEAVY blood. Guys over the hill from us shot him in Muzzleloader season.....he was rotten and baiscally walking dead.

[mercercountyhunter]

congrats to your son on the buck he got, that s awesome. hope everything with your neck goes good. too bad about the buck you hit and couldnt find, it happens. maybe you can get a crack at him during gun season. i got skunked in indiana. passed on 3 small bucks. my friend and his grandpa shot small bucks and a doe. i hope to get out a couple more times, we will see. has anyone been seeing any deer lately? good luck during gun season.

[Flippin 416]

I have been seeing some deer..shot another doe today. BUt I can't seem to cross paths with a nice mature whitetail. I am going to hunt this Monday and possibly the weekend with the gun. If nothing pans out I will sit back and wait for a bit and go back after it and hope for a late season buck.

[Flippin 416]

BC....how's the neck???

[mercercountyhunter]

how is everyone doing during shotgun? any stories. hope your feeling better chessie. one friend shot a mid 150's 10 point in indiana. one guy got a decent 10 in ohio shotgun. i never made it back out in indiana so i guess i will be eating a 150 dollar tag, oh well i had enough deer meat and was horn hunting. back in massachusetts now and have 2 weeks to muzzleloader hunt. good luck everyone.

[BigChessie]

What's up guys? How was everyones gun season? I made myself get up and out for a couple days. Shot a Doe on Tues. Pretty much did me in for the rest of the week, I was having trouble to just getting out of bed. lol I plan on going back to work later this week and hope to get back in the swing of things. I have 3 more sets of injections between now and the end of the year. Hope to be able to get out for some later season bow. Hope everyone had a safe week, read about some pretty scary stories this gun season. A drifter takes a knife to a gun fight and wins! Pretty bad when a gun hunter is not safe in the woods. Catch ya later. BC

[Flippin 416]

My gun season......hmmmmm well it sucked. lol I got out the first day and between the rain and the line huntin and tresspassing Amish F#$%s I got pissed and walked out of the woods Monday at 10am...having seen nother but a bunch of stuttering Amish guys who knew I had them by the balls!!!! I went back out Wednesday after work and just didn't even feel like being in the woods with a gun....so I went home. Today....I am re-newed.....we had about 1-1/2" of fresh snow on the ground....my bow is in my truck and you better believe that I am headed to the "deer woods" right after work. I have seen some pics of some nice bucks that are left from gun season...so all is not lost. Crack open the handwarmers....it's time to get chilly!!!!

Well Mercer...I am glad that you could make it back to Ohio and take a nice doe and a GREAT looking buck....mission accomplished I would say. BUmmer that you couldn't cap on the Indiana tag..$150 hurts no matter how you look at it.

BC....glad to hear that you made it out at least for a few days...and I am hoping for the best for your neck (I'll be saying a prayer or two for ya) I can related to back/neck pain. I had lower back surgery in September of this year....it's no fun. But hopefully you can make it back out and get another crack at a nice buck.....still plenty of time left to go!!!

XX78....how's it going?

[mercercountyhunter]

good luck flippin. stay after them bucks , only a matter of time till one slips up for you. i am glad i didnt have to deal with gun season this year, brings out all of the local idiots. we had a couple of slobs following us around this year and we had a nice 8 point going and they got ahead of it and shot it.drives me nuts when slob hunters do that, they cant find there own deer to hunt. wish i had the chance to bowhunt in snow this year , it is the best time to be out. it snowed for 4 hours when i was driving across NY. then it snowed when i got back to the island in MA but it was gone in the morning. well i have 2 buck tags for MA and unlimited doe tags, see if i can get lucky and get something here. hopefully it will snow in the next couple of weeks, i would like to try and track one with the muzzleloader. good luck everybody.

[mercercountyhunter]

anybody having any luck? talked to a friend today and that big buck that was killed in auglaize county by that young guy was killed 2 or 3 miles from where i shot my buck. pretty cool to think a buck like that was that close. i guess you never know what you might see. keep after them guys. good luck.

[mercercountyhunter]

anybody been hunting? i went out today muzzleloader hunting in massachusetts. well we got 4 inches of snow yesterday afternoon. i have always wanted to hunt a big block of woods and try to track down a buck. the state forest here is 4000-5000 acres and just about all woods. well i cut a nice track not 75 yards into the woods. i follow it for 20 minutes or so and the deer that left the track was just feeding, so i figured i would eventually find his bed. i find some nice sized droppings and then the tracks just start to wander nearing some real thick, scrubby saplings/bushes. i figured the buck had to be close by in the thicket. i stopped for a couple of seconds and then all of a sudden a narrow but tall and thick buck stands up not 30 yards in front of me. his body was behind the brush but at that distance i would take a neck shot. i thought this isnt supposed to be this easy , i raised up with him looking at me , put it on his neck , and the gun just went click. he doesnt move, i dont have time to try to dig out a new 209 primer , so i actioned the bolt and another click . now the buck is trotting away because he has seen enough. i do the action again when he is 75 yards away and click again. now i am getting a little pissed , never had this happen before. so before going any farther, a dig out a new primer and aim at the closest tree and boom.must of been just a bad primer, but there was no dent in the primer, i dont know? so i load up and follow him for another 45 minutes and never see him again. followed his walking track along ways before it went into private property. he did some pretty neat tricks trying to get me off his track, guess he didnt get that size around here for being dumb. i guess it was his lucky day. it was still a great day because it was the first time i tried tracking and it worked , well almost. back at again in the morning, and i have all day because i dont have to work. fun and different from hunting the woodlots in my area of ohio.
how is the neck feeling chessie?

[Flippin 416]

LOL....Mercer thats a great story!!! Although not quite the ending you were hoping for -I'm sure- but it sounds like you were learning something the whole time.

I was out today with my muzzleloader also. Kind of slow and didn't see many deer. About 1:!5 our snow storm showe dup and domped about 2 inches on us in a little over an hour and a half. I'll be chomping at the bit to get out the first part of the week with my bow!!!

BTW...what kind of muzzleloader do you own?

[johnc21]

Let me guess,you have a remington 700 muzzleloader. My father in law had one and it was a pain. If the bolt gets a little dirty they won't fire.

Sorry for your bad luck,John

[mercercountyhunter]

keep after them flippin, you will get it done. plenty of time left, some of the best hunting can be late season muzzy. hopefully second rut will be good for ya.
john c- i am shooting a knight long range hunter that even has a primer cover you put over the primer, supposed to be able to put em under water and still be able to fire. have never had a problem with it before. hopefully just a faulty primer. pretty pricey muzzleloader , i dont shoot shotgun anymore because of price of slugs is outrageous and accuracy loss compared to a muzzleloader, figured that would make up for the cost. hope it doesnt become a problem. gonna take it apart and look at it.

went out today hunting but the snow froze and sounded like glass breaking every step. followed one good track and it lead to an empty bed that was still warm. must of have just missed that one. oh well...

[johnc21]

keep after them flippin, you will get it done. plenty of time left, some of the best hunting can be late season muzzy. hopefully second rut will be good for ya.
john c- i am shooting a knight long range hunter that even has a primer cover you put over the primer, supposed to be able to put em under water and still be able to fire. have never had a problem with it before. hopefully just a faulty primer. pretty pricey muzzleloader , i dont shoot shotgun anymore because of price of slugs is outrageous and accuracy loss compared to a muzzleloader, figured that would make up for the cost. hope it doesnt become a problem. gonna take it apart and look at it.

went out today hunting but the snow froze and sounded like glass breaking every step. followed one good track and it lead to an empty bed that was still warm. must of have just missed that one. oh well...

Man that really sucks! Spend that kind of money and still have problems. I hope you get it figured out. I gave up shotguns for the same reasons.

Good luck,John

[mercercountyhunter]

any one out hunting and are you seeing anything? i havent hunted here in almost 2 weeks, no snow, rain and windy about every day. good luck.

[Flippin 416]

I am about burnt out.....I am going out this afternoon with a ML and who knows it may be my last time.....normally this time of year is when I wrap things up.

[gary]

john c- i am shooting a knight long range hunter that even has a primer cover you put over the primer, supposed to be able to put em under water and still be able to fire. have never had a problem with it before. hopefully just a faulty primer. pretty pricey muzzleloader ,
.
I have a revolution 2, it had the same problem and was sent back to knight. I think the breech wasn't right at all and any that have them are replaced. They went through the whole thing and sent it back in better than new condition. They really went through it. Mine has a double click when it's closed. If it only clicks once it wont fire even though it looks closed.

A primer with no dent isn't bad IMO. Sounds like the red plastic wasn't right and kept it from closing all the way.

[mercercountyhunter]

just waiting for the buckeye game to start and thought i would see how everyone is doing and if you guys are still after them deer. just wanted to post a couple of pics of my buck and what those rage 2 blade broadheads did to it. i still cannot beleive the damage they do on the entry and exit holes. here is the entry hole. exit hole looked the same.http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/catscansipe/th_rage2.jpg http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd97/catscansipe/th_rage.jpggood luck the rest of the season. keep after them. find a food source their on and nail one.

[deerhunt45]

I have a pack of Rage 2 blades hanging in the garage...that's impressive testimony there mercercounty.

I am out there the next 2 weekends to hopefully put a wrap on the season and the contest. It's been fun, thanks and good luck!

[Flippin 416]

I can attest to the damage the even the Rage 3 blade will do. I double lunged my second doe and she went down within 40 yards of where I shot her...I have been impressed with the Rage broadheads and have found a new favorite for sure.