St Jude's Paradise Hunt 2007

[Rob DiStefano]

A few Weapons of Mass Destruction on board the Rover ...
 

Opening the gate ...
 

Rolling into camp ...
 

Ridin' with the King ...
 

Summa the boyz ...
 

Terry's chalet with all the comforts of home (!) ...
 

Warming up ...
 

 

[Rob DiStefano]

Dinner at the Catfish House ...
   
Bob, Fred, Terry, Charlie, Rob, Mitch, Vance ... and lotsa yummy catfish!

[Littlefeather]

Dang, just seeing that line-up makes me wish I'd gone East instead of West. What a great group. Get to the dead stuff.  

[MW]

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm catfish!

[Terry Green]

Rob DiStefano with his just executed shot...note the bow arm and drawing arm follow through....

 

[Terry Green]

Rob stayed at camp that 1st afternoon to shoot, as I sent Fred on a hog quest since he had a yearly license for GA.  Charlie went to the area he hunted last year to find a stand location, and I sent Mitch on a quest around the white oak food plot to scout out that area surrounding it.  I took Vance to the Trashcan Woods to show him where to hunt the next morning.

Vance and I were sneaking along the walk in road and just as we closed in on the entrance to the hardwoods a nice 8 point buck steps out of the pines bout 80 yards away and stands broadside in the road just watching us for a few moments, and it soon turned and vanished into the dark timber. Big buck #1 and we aint even started.  Looked promising, but I knew that moon was leery.  

Charlie got a lock on stand set up, Mitch and Fred both saw lots of hog sign....and everyone was full of anticipation, but had an empty stomach.

Yes, we had a great dinner at the Catfish House, and everyone got to know everyone a bit better, and the story telling went on back at camp that night.

I had high hopes for sure for the two auction winners, but topping the sighting of 90 deer from last year's hunt was going to be hard enough not to mention the full moon.

I dropped everyone off the following morning and I defaulted to the far west end of the property. I arrived at my parking spot at shooting light.

This place I knew very well, and hoped to find a lot of sign in there. There's a slough I dip into and climb out with a view of some big chestnut oaks.  I've done this a few times, and caught deer there before, but this time they caught me and I saw a really nice osage antlered buck and two behind it carrying the mail. Big buck #2.  The jig was up on those, but I set up hoping a few more might wander  in.  We'd set an early time to come out based on the moon, 10:30, and eat an early lunch and back out again to meet prime time for the day.  

I headed back to pick everyone up, and I was the only one that saw anything that morning. Odd for The Paradise..........

[Greyfox54]

Just got back from Trick or treating with the grand kids , great fun . If there is a better camp cook than Border Bob Walker I haven't met him yet . I asked yesterday morning when I woke up if a really killed a big rack buck and a hog or was I just dreaming , he assured me I did and added I slept all night with a big smile on my face , not so sure about that as I don't remember sleeping . I had bought a yearly license a few weeks ago when I hunted with JC and as you know the weather was against us but JC said our efforts were like making deposits to be withdrawn at a later time . Well I emptied my account . I was ablke to hunt Thurs. afternoon  and scouted for some hogs in an area Terry said was thick with them , I saw a lot of sign but no piggies . Friday am found us out before daybreak heading to the woods. After going over the arial photo of the Paradise Terry helped me to carry in a hang-on stand and 4 rapid rail treesteps about a half a mile into an area called the trashcan woods . He left me there with a few ideas as where to look . I scouted about 2 1/2 hours and found an old path with 5 scrapes on it leading between an overgrown food plot on one side and a pine thicket on the other with an oak ridge coming into it on an angle . I set up and saw nothing that day but felt good about the stand so left it up that night . Gotta take a phone call be right back , Fred

[Shaun]

I'm already thinking about bids for next year and you have not even shown us pictures of dead stuff. Will Bob be cooking again? Where's Vance with the vittles particulars?

[Terry Green]

Lots of great areas to hunt on this 4000 acres let me tell ya, and you just can't let the size, terrain, and vegitation overwhelm ya....gotta try and use the basics....much like hunting foot hills or mt terrain, but on a MUCH smaller scale.  People laugh when they hear the term 'ridge' down here in south GA, and they see a 2 foot difference in elevation....but it does make a difference.  When Fred told me where he set his stand, I knew it was just a matter of putting in enough time on it to make it pay off...it was an all around hot spot and transition area.....for deer as well as hogs.

The Trashcan woods are enough to hunt an entire season, and its not the biggest block of woods on the property.

Bob had fixed us up a great breakfast that morning and cleaned up the kitchen, and went for a walk in the convict woods.  Name seemed appropriate since the law found a convict living in there years ago.

Anyhow, Bob found lots of hog sign, but no siting on his short stint of hunt/scouting for alternate hunt sites if needed.

Mitch walked a bit, as there were no members in camp, and he too found lots of hog sign that 1st morning.

[Whip]

Yep, I think you called it right.  The price of this hunt is going nowhere but up.....
Great stories - keep 'em coming please!

[Greyfox54]

Back , now where was I , Oh yeah there were also 2 more scrapes along the oak ridge . I figured a buck would come to these before they hit the ones on the open trail . There were 2 small branches I wanted to trim when I left but forgot .Called home and left my wife a message that we hadn't killed anythig yet but that didn't mean nothing .Next morning I was up in this stand before daybrake , about 8:15 a small forkhorn or spike came in on my left side out of mrange so I softly grunted and he cicled around and went and worked a scrape on the trail which was about 50 yards away and then walked off , that seems to happen to me a lot . Nothing more so I left about 10:30 and headed out to be picked up for lunch and a strategy meeting with everyone else . Some nice deer being seen but no shots by anyone . Sat. afternoon Terry puts me on a small rise in a swamp that has some big oaks that are dropping acorns that the deer are hitting . I have 12 screw in steps and a big hang-on stand . We were missing the t-bolt for the stand and I thought I could use a screw-in step to hang it on but after about an hour and a half of hanging on by my leg wrapped around the tree , the strap in my mouth and trying to connect the buckle and tighten the strap with no success I gave up and took everything to the ground , any longer and I would have done bad things to that stand . (later back in camp we found the strap to be defective )I then decided not to stay where I was as I had been sweatimg up a storm and making all kinds of noise and had to do something so I walked carrying the stand back over to the trashcan woods where I found Terry's truck . I left the stand there and walked in the half mile or so to my stand and sat for the last hour of shooting light and even remembered to cut the 2 branches that were bothering me .Back to camp and spent another great evening with Terry , Border Bob , Charlie Lamb , Vance Brewer , Rob Destefano and my partner on this hunt Mitch Walker . These guys are all incredible shots , great sportsmen , serious hunters , honorable men and a real blessing to be around . And best of all they put up with me . Next morning would be the last  and I still had confidence in my set-up so I was headed back to my my stand before first light . Terry was taking Rob and Mitch to their spots but first dropped of Charlie and myself at the trashcan woods . We were to meet back at the truck at noon and if I wasn't there that meant that I was going to move my stand another half mile or so deeper into the woods . As I knew this would be a big undertaking and put me much further away from the truck with a lot of gear to carry out I told the guys in the truck that my plan was to shoot a deer that morning and spend the afternoon hunting hogs which I had been neglecting . I was sitting in my stand from before daylight to mid morning when I dedcided to put an arrow with a judo head and take a shot at a clump of grass before I climbed down  but decide to look at my watch , it was 10:14 . I figured I came this far and tried this hard so that I could wait another 16 minutes to 10:30 . I put my broadhead back on and sat back to wait , sorry guys this will have to be continued tomorrow as my 2 fingers and my eyes are about done in for now . Fred

[Terry Green]

That morning Fred is talking about is the morning Charlie hunted another stand of white oaks on a 'ridge' next to a slough.  I figure Charlie was in a dandy spot with all the cluttered sign of acorns disappearing and a few scraps.  I was confident both men would see something....just too much sign and the weather had broke to overcast and cooler temps.

I'd set Rob back out to guard a line of 8 scraps made the day before, and Mitch in the place I'd also found the day before.  Mitch hunted that stand that night, and while we were setting him up for his 1st climber adventure, a 6 point came strolling though hound dogging and he never raised his head the whole time we watched him cover 100 yards....he also never knew we were there.

Mitch had real close encounter with big buck #3 and I'll let him tell you about him getting caught between two trees with an eight point only 10 yards away.

I went to the spot where Fred couldn't get the stand to work, cause I knew someone had to hunt that spot, especially since there were FOUR chestnuts dropping, and Fred didn't get to hunt it the night before..........

Sure enough, I saw big buck #4, but he only got within 35 yards before he sensed something was amiss, and turned and went back the same way he came...as did another doe.  I saw on other deer that morning that WAS in range, but I didn't even know it was there.  I had just set up and used my bow to push off a dead limb right in front of me, and a deer moved off before I could even see if it was a buck or doe due to the low light.  I'd set Rob or Mitch up here for the last evening if either of them wasn't getting any action........

Vance was up early this morning     :D   and decided to hunt along with Charlie in a totally new spot that is very protected and gets very little traffic.....well, not much of this property get much traffic, but this one for sure doesn't get pressured at all.

[cjones]

Keep it coming guys! Sounds like a great hunt so far. I need to start saving my pennies for the auction next year.

[Rob DiStefano]

Wait'll ya hear Fred's story - and see the pix!

[Terry Green]

Mitch as a couple of sorries to tell as well....

[slayer1]

Come on with it....Its killing me...

[IB]

I am working on some posts "WITH PICTURES" ta hep out here. I'm at the present in Greensboro NC enjoying TWO Granddaughters, so time for you guys is somewhat limited, priorities ya know.

These Southern wood are sure NOISEY...and VERY BUSY          

   

[Guru]

Good to hear from ya bud.....that buggers a bit lopsided      

With all the work and no hunting going on in my life....I'm so looking forward to this thread unfolding....

[Glenn Carl]

tap...tap...tap Its almost like they all had to go back to work or something.

[JEFF B]

hey brother bob i thought you were on a diet?      :D