5 pines farm 2016 updated 1/2017 page 29

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

When I was walking to the stand I spotted a big buck ( the red heart) in the food plot across on the east side of the ridge. He was walking to the south. I rushed to a spot where I could get low (star) and get the bino's on him . It was the one antlered giant from last Thursday in the very same plot! He glanced over his shoulder and spotted me . I am sure. I was somewhat in compliance with the orange clothing rules. I had on an orange hat/ I am sure he picked up on that with the sun hitting me. Anyway he turned around and starred in my direction for a long time. Then he resumed his original course and crossed onto the neighbors. Thankfully there was no gun blasts from that direction all the rest of the day.

After getting on stand I had just one single lonely fawn come up the trail that goes along the side of the cedars. It hung around browsing for a good 30 minutes until an errant breeze sent a stink it's way. Off it went.

Very warm temps are just killing day time rut movement. But it is also reducing the shot gun hunters kills greatly. The gun fire is greatly less then normal.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

hunts 72 & 73

I started my day in a place called sure thing.
   
The wind was out of the south but it was cold enough for frost on lowest part of the bluff side and along the road I walked to the stand upon.

Today the sure thing lived up to it's name. Over a 2 hour period 7 does and one small buck came up from my food plots to bed on the bluff behind and above the stand. Most of the deer passed 25 yards below in the numerous apple trees on the hill side. One doe searched me out as I had been doing some Estrus bleating on and off. She didn't like it and was really searching hard. Finally she reversed directions and just disappeared.

When I got into the house at 9 am to work my wife told me that she had heard a rather loud buck fight just above the yurt at 7 am while she was having coffee out on the deck!

So at 2:30 I hurried down to the yurt to change clothes and get out hunting. As I got to the yurt I thought I heard deer vocalizations up above in the tall prairie. I got changed and quickly threw a pack together.  Stepping out side I confirmed there was definitely something going straight above the yurt. I had planned on hunting the lower contour trail and headed that way.

As I got to the house and stopped to tell Jayne where I would be, we both spotted 6 deer running along the fire break on the top of the field above the house.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

I was trying to get to stand # 32.
   
The stars are the satellite bucks. The crown a giant 8 point trying to keep the satellites away from the doe ( heart).

The largest 8 point I have ever seen was charging the little bucks and I ( circle) was crawling on all fours along the ditch of the old field road. The  prairie along the road is about 4 feet tall so none of the deer noticed me.

When I ran out of cover the largest of the satellites a shooter himself spotted me and headed up in to the timber. The big 8 went into the thicket with the doe. I could care less about the little ones seeing me now and I grunt called and wheezed at the big buck. He came out of the thicket and stood starring down the hill at me.

The little ones headed up into the timber. The big buck wouldn't budge and headed back into the thicket. I backed down on the road and sprinted to the mowed trail and stopped and listened for running deer. Not hearing anything I sprinted up the mowed trail to just below the stand. Then I slowly stalked in to the stand.  But the deer were all ready 40 yards past the stand standing there waiting for me. As soon as they saw me they all headed up the ridge.

I lay down the bow, and sprinted back to road as I had left my pack there. Getting back on stand, I tried to make sense of what I should have done.
Instead of trying to call that buck out I should have just sprinted and then crawled into the stand. I had the wind and the distraction of the doe working for me and I blew it.

After calming down. I did some very loud Estrus bleating and after 20 minutes one of the satellite bucks , a small 8 came looking for me.

Some times when you least expect the rut lays a giant in the mix.

So tomorrow I will be out all day except to come in at noon and go to town to vote. Sort of wish I had taken advantage of the early voting option now.  

[ron w]

 On the edge of my seat.....

[TIM B]

Stay after'em
This is a great thread
Tim

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

This morning I walked the fire break along the prairie instead of the logging road to the stand above where the bucks were fighting yesterday. That ended up costing me a shot.

at first light a small buck went by me on my upper left. Then at 8 am this buck went by on the same trail.
     https://www.flickr.com/photos/51550276@N08/30753115832/in/dateposted-public/    

He winded me and headed up the bluff.

Then at 9 am I spotted a big white rack coming up the hill below me thru the tall prairie. He came out onto the fire break, hit my scent trail and blew back down the hill. Damn!  It was the big 10 that was harassing the big 8 yesterday.

I took a break late morning and went in to town to vote.
By 1 pm I was in the contour stand below the middle bluff. At 2 30 a really good buck came down the bluff but crossed over to the dry gulch West of me and went up in to the clover food plot. There he began chasing a doe.  A 2nd smaller buck appeared but the first buck ran him off. Later a spike buck showed up but I didn't see it until I spooked it by rattling.

I was unable to call the buck out and no other deer appeared all day. It was a perfect day in the woods despite still overly warm temps. WE are stuck in this higher temp than normal for a couple more days before it is supposed to cool down this weekend.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

76 & 77

Cold this am. 29 F heavy coating of frost on everything. I sat in the pop up blind and set out the 2 d decoy. Despite me not seeing a deer the neighbors claimed they were running around every where! Kinda cements the right place right time thing.

Tonight I sat for the 2nd night in a row on the contour trail just above the pop up. I normally never sit a spot two nights or mornings back to back. But during the rut all rules go out the window.

At 3 pm  I heard running across the dry gulch between my hide and the clover food plot. A doe flys out followed by a good buck. He chased her around below me and finally got her corralled in some thick black berry bramble below. I grunted at him and when he turned his head the doe slipped out and ran for cover! Ha! off he went and I never saw them again.

Tomorrow I am going to try sitting over Derek again. Pulling out all of the tricks I know now!

[pitbull]

[Huntrdfk]

Right place, right time Jim, sooooo true. Hopefully the two meet soon!

David

[Jayrod]

Keep at em jim it's gonna happen!!

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

This morning my nephew came to hunt.  We walked up the logging road together, wished each other luck and headed to our respective spots.

I was in the food plot on the top of the middle bluff hunting over Derek the decoy. Just after sunrise I gave a few soft grunts and with in 4 minutes that same little forky comes walking right in. He must live there and be lonely as hell right now.

at 8 am I gave a series of deep grunts. Seconds later I see legs coming my way.
   https://www.flickr.com/photos/51550276@N08/30271140104/in/dateposted-public/  
This buck walked by , just below me but wouldn't come into the food plot. He circled and eventually wandered off to the south. Five minutes later a little bigger buck came from the same basic direction. But this buck stopped right below me and caught of whiff of Jim . He spun and raced away. That was it for deer movement until I hit the trail at 11 am.

At 3 I hurried up into the lower ladder in Apple Alley.  it was 63F again. With these warm temps this clover plot looks better now than it did in July!  A tremendous amount of deer sign and buck sign. I may have blown it by not hunting here more this year.

the stand is just a little past the red arrow.
   

I am no more than 150 yards from where I sat the two prior evening. On both of those sits , good bucks either crossed over to the food plot or in last nights case chased and corralled the doe in the general vicinity. But tonight I saw zero deer. Just at the end of the day one was walking  some where in the dry gulch between tonight's and last nights spot. But I never laid eyes on it.

I think we are in the lock down period on top of extremely unusual high temps and a nearly full moon to boot!

So I am going to take a mental health day tomorrow and rest up, do laundry and catch up on home stuff.

[Horne Shooter]

Keep the faith Jim....enjoying your posts (as usual)...Paul

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

hunt # 80

I couldn't do it! I just couldn't stay out of the woods for a whole day! Especially not when I sent my nephew to a stand this am and he had a 15 yard encounter with a 160 class 10 point!!

So at the end of my work day I hurried up to the Squirrel tail stand.
     
The stand is the star. #34 is where I sat 2 nights in a row this past week. The pink arrows are the contour trail. So I am on the same trail as stand # 34 just on the southern end of the bowl.

Just after rattling for the first time I hear a deer coming. It's a fork and he on the trail coming down from above. He goes by me without a clue that I am 15 yards below him.

At 4 30 I rattle the horns and then rattle again at 5 pm.  Shortly I hear a deer walking  and a good 3 year old appears on the contour trail approaching me from below. There is a dead apple tree between us and I can only make out part of his rack. He is on the trail and is only 20 yards from me. He stops and keeps looking up the bluff. Suddenly I see what he does.  Deer legs coming down the bluff steep side. (blue arrow not on trail) It is the giant 8 point from Tuesday night!!!!

The buck comes down to 35 yards and stands next to the tree the stand was in 2 years ago. It looked like the big guy had every intention of walking past me and out on to the mowed trail that meets the deer trail. But the younger buck reversed course and the big buck went down towards him which took him off course from me and a shot. He went around a fallen tree and stood there starring at the younger buck. The younger buck quickly walked away and the big guy followed.

I grabbed the horns and gave them a tickle. I could hear the buck stop. I grunted but I could hear the buck walking away. I pulled out my wheeze snort call and gave him a loud wheezeeeeeeee! Then I snort wheezed.

Suddenly I could see him trotting back my way. Some how he had all ready gone partially back up the bluff. He trotted past where he stood the first time but across rather than down the bluff. Now he stood at 40 yards above and I feared getting winded at any second. As he approached my scent steam I gave another long wheeze. He stopped then turned to come down hill. My heart was just about coming out of my chest at this point.  A life time 8 point 30 yards and coming my way. I start looking for where I would shoot him. I kept repeating  pick a spot, pick a spot. At 20 yards he put is nose to the ground turned 45 degrees away and trotted off like a hound dog!!!!                                

I couldn't believe it! So close!

beginning tomorrow my work calendar is cleared for an entire 8 days. I will be doing some all day sits starting in the am.  I'll post in the evenings when I get in.

[ron w]

Just a matter of time............  

[Warden609]

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

hunt 81

Just got in from an all day sit. Strange day for deer movement. I decided since so many of my guests were either killing bucks, missing bucks and seeing bucks out of my personal stand, it was about time I sat in it!

 

The lower star is where I sat last night. #13 is where I decoy with Derek. The upper star is my stand. My stand sits just 80 yards below the  hidden food plot. It sits above one of two contour trails on the NE side of the middle bluff.

The lower trail actually gets more deer traffic but the wind  higher up is more dependable. Shooting light had arrived not five minutes earlier when the first buck of the day walked by me at 10 yards on the upper trail.  At first I thought I would shoot him by the size of his body. But then I recognized the rack. He is just a dandy 2.5 year old that I have all ready passed up once. He is in the video I posted a few days ago with statue head on the stump. Then bucks #2  and #3 went by on the lower trail. 5 minutes later buck # 4 walks by me on the upper contour trail . Wow 4 bucks in 10 minutes and the sun has not even broken the horizon yet!  By 11 30 I had seen a total of 9 different bucks. My best day in the stand with 1/2 a day to go!

this guy is buck #9
  https://www.flickr.com/photos/51550276@N08/30909497166/in/dateposted-public/

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

At noon I decided to move the 80 yards up hill and put out the decoy. Here is why I said to day was a weird day for deer movement. From noon to dark I saw ZERO deer. Nine bucks in the am and Nada in the afternoon. That makes for a long sit.

I pulled the card out of the camera that sits on the big scrap in this little plot where I decoy at. Yesterday the big 8 was in the scrape 15 minutes before he came down the bluff to me!

I sure would like to see his reaction to Derek. Now you know why I passing up nice three year olds.

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/51550276@N08/22766630098/in/dateposted-public/

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/51550276@N08/30644021920/in/dateposted-public/

[Kopper1013]

Wow he's a stud!!!

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

hunt 82 and 83

So today it was 40 above rather than 25 as the day before. We have yet another warm front moving in for the next 5 to 6 days!! What I would give for those grey, cold , low clouds of Novembers past!!

I climbed into the ladder on the contour below the middle bluff with the intentions of sitting all day long.  But at 8 this little lady interfered with those plans.
   

A 12 yard shot on a moving coyote, my first coyote kill with a bow after 40 years!! Heck last year I missed them three different times!

Her hide will make a nice wall hanging in the yurt.

I was in my afternoon stand by noon.
   

The wind was roaring out of the SW. One of the reasons I chose this spot was to get low and be out of the wind. Hoping the deer would be doing the same. But if they were they stayed hunkered down till well after dark. I saw no deer this afternoon except for those I jumped in the dark on the walk home.

[Warden609]

Congrats on the yote!!