Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: buckeye_hunter on November 08, 2012, 10:34:00 AM
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Okay guys. For those of you who got home early, this is the place to put up any pictures or tell of your time in the stand. I hope you guys get the stories and pics going soon! I will start with mine as soon as I can. I can start off by saying I shot 2 deer this week! One buck was my best ever to this point!
:campfire:
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I have been thinking about this post a lot. I don't know where to start exactly, but I will try. This has been such an overwhelming season so far.... My first trad doe, squirrel and now buck.
I guess I should start by thanking our great creator for all I have been blessed with in my life. This is more than a story about a deer for me. It is a story about new friendships, faith, perseverance and priorities.
I know this hunt would not have developed in the fashion that it did without rearranging my priorities. I had to get them right for everything to flow correctly in my life and in the woods.
My priorities are now in this order: God, family, hunting.
Previously, I would have had to list them as family/hunting (very close, but family 1st) and then God last.
In my life that order didn't work well. Things didn't start to work for me until I had that straightened out. It is funny that putting hunting after God and family in my priorities has made it more meaningful and productive.
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:clapper: :clapper: AMEN!
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Congratulations Charlie on your life changes and your many first's this year!!! Look forward to the rest of the story and pics.
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:campfire:
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Right on Charlie! Congrats.
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Oh..... this is going to be a good 1 !!!
:coffee: :coffee: :coffee: a 3 cupper maybe ?
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That is the way it works. Give the Lord his first and he will give you the desires of your heart. Now get the story and pics up! I gotta go to revival at 7! God Bless
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Thank you for sharing your story with us. God Bless and congratulations!
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Met some good people. Hunted for a week and missed the only deer I saw. Very happy for Charlie.
The day I left Banshee winds and I had a ghillie suit showdown. We hid just off the road in camp and Charlie & Oldskool came looking for us a few minutes later. I guess both of our suits worked mighty fine but my tennis shoes gave me away. The rest of my "pac-o flage" worked pretty well. Hope to see the photos soon.
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"In my life that order didn't work well. Things didn't start to work for me until I had that straightened out. It is funny that putting hunting after God and family in my priorities has made it more meaningful and productive."
Amen! Good for you!
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
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:campfire: :coffee: can't wait and congrats to all that made it down there this year.
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Congrats on your priorities and on your firsts!
Tuned in for more......
Bisch
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I apologize that this has to be in segments, but I am working late tonight and am taking periodic breaks to type this post.
On with the story. I promised my wife I would change my yearly week long Trad Deer Camp trip to SE Ohio into an every other year event. I did this for 2 reasons. One reason is to spend more time mentoring kids at church. The other reason for changing things up is that it is kind of hard on her. It is hard on her to work full time plus get the kids to school while I am gone. I am thankful she is willing to do it, but family has to come first. Therefore the hunting has to be scaled back a bit. This will also allow me time to organize a youth bow-hunt at church next year.
So, with a new set of priorities I headed to camp knowing I wouldn't be back to these hunting grounds for some time. I wound up getting into camp later than expected on Saturday about noon. I set up my portion of camp and met a few new people and shook hands with some old friends.
Life was good.
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When I hit this point, I knew I was in camp and ready for some quiet time in the woods...
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010034.jpg)
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:campfire:
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Making camp next to this pond just feels like home. I love it. I often dream about building a house here and moving my family. If only I owned the land! It is a blessing that this is public land we are allowed to hunt and camp on.
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010038.jpg)
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After setting up camp and visiting a bit, it was time for the first evening hunt. The temps were cold and I figured the deer would be moving early. I knew it would take me awhile to get to my stand site so I headed out with high hopes and plenty of enthusiasm. Somehow I knew an encounter with a deer was inevitable back in the these hills today.
I have seen everything from button bucks and does to 180 inch giants in this area. I just couldn't wait to sit in a tree over one of those old logging roads off my favortite clearcut/powerline. The hike into the stand is somewhere around 1/2 to 3/4 mile. It is all the way back to the far hill in the picture below.
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010056.jpg)
Knowing what timber ghosts haunt those logging trails helped my boots feel lighter while climbing those hills!
So with all my gear loaded and my climber on my back, I headed into my favorite hunting spot. I made sure to keep my lucky arrow from my first bow kill in my quiver. The walk into my stand felt easy and I settled into a tree right where two logging roads form a T....
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What a good hunt already Charlie!
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I will tell more of the story from the hunt that night tomorrow, but here is a pic of the arrow from that encounter for now.
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010013.jpg)
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Can't wait to hear the rest! Congrats ahead of time!
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Nice going Buckeye hunter,looking forward to reading about your hunt.
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Great buildings start with great foundations, I sense in the beginning of this story that a great foundation was laid with God, Family, and other priority last. Looking forward to the rest of the building.
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There are a number of grown over old logging roads back in these ridges. I chose this spot because the deer had clearly been using both roads. Since they converged to a perfect T, I knew I would catch a deer moving on one of the roads and I set up for about an 8-10 yard shot to that intersection. The intersection was slightly to my right. I sat for a while and saw more squirrels and chipmunks than I could count. I was suprised that I hadn't seen a deer to this point, but I wasn't worried and enjoyed the little guys running around the woods keeping me entertained.
Occasionally, I would hit my grunt tube and then scan the woods carefully. I repeated every half hour or so. Eventually, about 20 minutes before last light I see a deer walking toward me to the right. He was headed directly for the intersection and should give me a good shot opportunity.
As he hits the intersection, he keeps walking directly toward me. I had the top of my climber at my feet so I could shoot from behind the tree and hide my draw arm for the shot. This is a new strategy I have been using when hunting from a tree. By standing and not using the top of the climber I can be on the opposite side of the tree and keep the deer from seeing me. It also gives me good quartering away shots. I have been sure to wait until the deer is past me to draw on them. I have shot 3 deer this year using that strategy and none of them had any idea that I was in the tree! Not one of the deer even reacted until after the arrow found its mark. I guess I have finally learned how to draw my bow and not get caught. That has been a frustrating process in and of itself.
More later. I have to get the kids breakfast.
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So, here I am with a 5 point buck at about four yards directly opposite the tree from me. He isn't the biggest deer in the woods, but my heart was pounding! This was the best chance I had been given in 6 years on our yearly trad deer hunt. The deer had read the script and I was completely ready. I just needed him to take about few more steps and I would be good to shoot. Everything looked PERFECT!
He stood opposite of me for about 5 seconds and then started his slow walk into my shooting lane. When He hit my 1st shooting lane I thought about stopping him, but then decided to shoot while he was walking. I pointed my bow, drew to anchor and the next thing I know my fletching is sticking out the side of his chest. The shot is a little bit back and low, but definitely in his chest cavity. There was no doubt in my mind he was not going far. I watched him run up a little rise and lost him in the brush. Everything went quiet for about 20-30 seconds and then I heard a loud crash. HE WAS DOWN! I couldn't see him in the brush, but I knew it was over. I started shaking and my knees wanted to give out a little bit.
I texted my wife and a few of the guys to let them know. By the time I got down from the stand it was almost dark so I went to get help. I figured that would also give the buck plenty of time to expire if he wasn't already dead.
I headed back to the truck to get help from Matt and I met Larry there as well. I sent them back to camp to grab help and some food since I was starving. Jimmy and Rob showed up before Matt could get back and we slowly started the walk back into my stand area. We walked slowly trying to wait for the other guys. They showed up a few minutes later.
Once everyone was assembled, I led them back into the woods. We were going to find the buck I was sure was laying just up the rise from my stand site. We started following a decent blood trail up the rise and approached the spot where I knew my buck had fallen.
He certainly had fallen there as we found evidence of that, but he wasn't there? I was completely perplexed. Then we saw more blood leaving from that spot. Okay, surely he just went a few more yards and we would find him any second. That isn't what happened though. The blood trail just kept going with no sign of him having bedded down. Now I was worried. I knew the shot was not perfect lungs, but it was undoubtedly into his chest. The blood seemed to indicate a liver hit. I did double check the shot placement pics on here and the pics show a liver hit as well. We followed the blood trail onto a main travel corridor and it began to get more and more sparse. I couldn't believe it. Eventually the blood stopped completely and we called off the search until the next morning.
The next morning Rob and I headed out to trail the buck. We found the arrow and it had worked completely through the buck and fallen out about where I had heard him fall. The arrow indicated a good hit and there was no paunch material on it. The hit was just as I figured. It went into the chest cavity, but slightly low and back. I had seen many bucks fall to that shot on bow hunting shows in the past. Especially with a sharp 4 blade head. I felt we had a decent enough chance to find him. I'm convinced now it was a liver hit.
Then we started seeing fresh coyote scat and tracks on the blood trail. Not good...
**I need to say a huge thank you to Rob for giving up his morning hunt to help me blood trail this deer.
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I would also like to thank all the guys who helped me blood trail the night before. Some of them had just met me only several hours earlier. They took up the trail like pros and generously gave their time and effort.
Finally, Rob and I get to the point of last blood from the night before. We looked up the trail he had been walking. We checked all the trails that went into the bottoms and other bedding areas, but no more blood anywhere. Plenty of fresh coyote sign, but no more blood. We started a back and forth search(grid search more or less) and still found not one drop of blood.
This is what makes zero sense to me. According to what I saw, and checking against the shot placement diagrams, that deer had been shot in the liver. The arrow as much as confirmed it. I even posted the picture of the arrow for you all to look at. This deer should not have traveled so far with this shot placement. I was standing there thinking, "What the heck happened?" We continued to search for an entire morning and looked everywhere we could think he might be laid up. We never found him. To say I was heart broken would be an understatement.
I was starting to wonder if it was even possible to kill a deer in these woods. The curse of the Ohio Trad Deer Hunt had reared its ugly head yet again.
Fortunately, just 2 days later the curse would end with a decent buck falling to a perfectly placed arrow....
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I know that powerline!
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:campfire:
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It was a great time was down there for 8 days didn't see a bunch but pass on 2 yearlings. and 2 other little buck not close enough for a shot. Met up with some friends and met bunch new one this year.
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:campfire: :coffee:
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I'm not entirely sure how the next 24-48 hours passed, but I know I didn't sleep much. I was sick over the buck I couldn't find and more frustrated with the hunting. I was busted walking into the stand the following night and didn't see a deer during that period.
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The next day, with temperatures still cold I knew the deer would be on the move. I decided to head back to the power line. Rob came with me and hunted the opposite side of the hill from me. I made the mistake of getting comfortable in my stand because there was cutting being done on the line. I figured any local deer would have vacated the area. I was wrong...
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010014.jpg)
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After only 20 minutes in the stand I heard deer running toward me on the trail. There I was with all my arrows in the quiver and the bow in my lap. By the time I was ready, a big old doe had run through and a grunting button buck was not too far behind her. I was still in the process of getting the arrow on the string and drawn on him when he bolted. :banghead:
My first thought was that the curse had struck again and I had to go back to camp with my tail between my legs. I hated the thought of explaining to the guys that I had blown it AGAIN!
Then a thought occurred to me. what if more deer come down the trail. If there were two, then there may be more. If that doe was in estrous, who knows what else might be following? I brought my bow up to face my shooting lanes and waited.
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The wait wasn't very long at all. 30 seconds to several minutes later, I heard crunching coming down the trail toward the power line! I didn't know what it would be, but I was ready. Then I saw antlers and decent ones at that. Immediately my heart start jumping out of my chest. He followed the exact trail of the other two deer stopping head on at 5 yards to pee down his hocks. I thought he would bust me coming head on, but I had set up well and he didn't see me.
He slowly turned the corner onto the logging road and entered my last shooting lane. As he did, I drew and let the arrow go. It entered just behing the shoulder and broke his off side shoulder. I knew he was down and the disaster of two days prior would not be repeated. I started shaking and couldn't believe what just happened. I texted my wife and a few others to tell them. I went to get Rob to help with my deer. I didn't try to trail him, but I knew he was down in the ravine.
I had just shot my biggest buck with any type of gear. I don't hunt for trophies, but I won't pretend I wasn't excited! After I brought Rob back, the buck was exactly where I knew he would be laying. He was beautiful! It took us 2 1/2 hours roughly to get him back to the truck!
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1000986.jpg)
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1000990.jpg)
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Charlie good for you on a fine trophy.
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Congratulations Charlie! That's a dandy. On your first deer my money is on the coyotes jumped him from his bed before he expired and ran him out of the county. I'm quite certain they ate good that night. Nothing goes to waste in nature.
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Nice deer Charle! Way to hang in there! Is that a 2 1/2 year old?
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congrats againg Charlie.
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Not sure on the age, but I got about 85 pounds of meat off of him!
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Nice shot Charlie. Looking forwardto returning to hunt Ohio again some day. You shot one of those nice Ohio bucks that I can only dream about in my hunting area! :thumbsup:
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Great story glad things work out in the end!
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I know some of the out of state guys got frustrated at not seeing deer. The deer are in there, but the pressure on them is getting worse and the deer numbers have decreased some. It is still great hunting and I think it would have been even better this next week. The rut is really taking off!
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Good job Charlie glad I didn't have to haul him out the woods.Kip :wavey: :notworthy:
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:thumbsup:
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Congrats. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Who knows maybe it was just an off 7 days.
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Great deer Charlie
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Thanks again fellas!
Pac,
I will get that ghillie thread started tomorrow.
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Nice shoot'n ... Congrats on a fine buck
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Congrats Charlie!!!
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Huge congrats Charlie!!!
I scouted around that area for the 2010 season before my company sent me back to Michigan the very week of the hunt.
I saw a whole lot of promising ground and some good deer there! Sorry to hear your numbers were down, seems to be a lot of that going on lately.
Thom
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Congrats Charlie !!! Awesome buck !!! I am so glad you connected. Looks like you guys had a good time. Wish I could have made it. Did you do up shirts this year?
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Congrats again Charlie. I enjoyed the hospitality and meeting everyone at camp. I had a good time, seen beautiful country and a few deer. Wished I could have came down earlier. Keep in touch guys.
Bob
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It was good to have you in camp Mad Dog! Thanks for cooking up the deer meat. Nothing better than meat on a grill or fire!
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What a beauty Charlie, Congrats.
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Thanks Izzy!
Aaron,
I did make shirts up again this year. They will be the last ones for awhile, since this hunt won't happen again for 2 years or so.
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Congrats Charlie! I can't think of a more deserving person to get a nice buck on the ground!
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Here are some more pics from camp:
Larry's hat with turkey spurrs on the brim;
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010042.jpg)
Breakfast!
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010040.jpg)
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010032.jpg)
Duck on the pond in the morning;
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010027.jpg)
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Hey Charlie! Awesome deer sir! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Some of the guys campers;
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010021.jpg)
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010020.jpg)
Jimmy, Rob and Pac at the fire.
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010019.jpg)
Larry and Rob in camp;
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1010022.jpg)
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Charlie,
Thanks for the story telling and congrads on a COOL buck !!!
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:thumbsup:
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Time for more pictures guys. I know I'm not the only one who took photos.
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Where ya at Larry? I know you snapped a few...
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Charlie, thanks for all that you shared! We all need to take stock of what our priorities need to be every now and again. You definitely have your right!
Congrats on the Buck. Nicely done!
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Thanks Brown!
Hoping to get one more deer with my daughter this weekend!
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I am terrible at taking photos, had my camera there and never snapped a photo :( . This being my first year trad bow hunting I am very grateful of the knowledge everyone shared with me. I have a lot to go on to make me a better archer and hunter.
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It was good to have you in camp. Traditional archery has one heck of a learning curve to it. You still have a number of years to work at this and have fun! See you next go round!
:campfire:
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Great Pictures. Fine buck congrats. Looks like you fellas had a great time!
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Great pics and congrats on the deer. A Fine buck indeed.There is nothing like hunting with friends and time around the campfire. As you have learned once the mind is free and things are in order Life is Great. Took me a while to figure that out myself.Congrats again.RC
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Charlie,
I need to re size a few of the pics and will get them on the thread tonight. It was a great time and met some awesome people. Passed on a two small bucks and a doe but still had a great time. Pictures to come tonight.
Larry
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Looks like y'all had a good time! COngrats on a fine buck!
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I had a great time and was glad to meet you guys! Congratulations to Charlie for breaking the jinx! Way to go! :bigsmyl:
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Good stuff!
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I also took some random pictures while I was there and thought I would share them. It was a great time and look forward to do it again. I am really glad to have met the guys that were in camp the 5 days that I was there. There were many more coming the day I left and hope they had a good time as well.
A few pictures of the scenery out there.
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad1.jpg)
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad2.jpg)
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad9.jpg)
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad10.jpg)
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad19.jpg)
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GOOD BREAKFAST FOOD AND COFFEE
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad5.jpg)
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad25.jpg)
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad28.jpg)
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad31.jpg)
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A FEW PICTURES OF THE CAMP SITE
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad27.jpg)
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad26.jpg)
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad16.jpg)
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad7.jpg)
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad6.jpg)
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Charlie and Oldschool sitting around the fire.
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad30.jpg)
This is PAC showing us his home made survival stove that he made. This guy is go-go gadget. If it can be made this is the man to make it.
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad18.jpg)
OldSchool giving shooting lessons.
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad17.jpg)
That's me shooting
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad14.jpg)
Jimmy shooting
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad13.jpg)
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Irish shooting
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad12.jpg)
Charlie, Irish and Pac
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad11.jpg)
Charlie and OldSchool
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad4.jpg)
Me sitting in the woods waiting for the big one.
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad3.jpg)
This is a chair that IRISH had whcih was awesome. I am making me one this weekend.
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd152/bansheewins/trad23.jpg)
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looks like a great trip! Good friends, good food, and good hunting! Can't ask for more than that.
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Loving the pics. I have never thought to take a picture of the field up at the intersection. I should do that sometime as I have spent a good amount of time near there.
I need to quit my job and go to guiding school or lease some property to start outfitting. I would rather look at these pics and be in the field than do anything else.... It's killing me not to be out hunting or be in camp somewhere in the hills!