The Way East.... another bowhunting journey.

[Charlie Lamb]

I knew it was a joke Joe! Now it's time for Woody to put up more pics and help us out here.
Sure glad he posted about this trip first to keep the guys off our backs... also help me get the juices flowing.  

[JC]

Ya'll, I wouldn't trade the world for that ride back home with Charlie in my truck. The stories flowed like cold spring water. Most of them very educational...and the rest so entertaining, I laughed so much, my chest still hurts! If we could only get some of those stories in a book to share with everyone else   :rolleyes:

[kojac]

what!! no insulation on the walls, and don't tell me that airconditioner was running....its oct and you guys are in long sleeve t-shirts....for a guy from the north that looks strange.

by the way the kids were trick-or-treating last night in 5 degree weather.

[knife river]

Joe, if either of us had fallen in that yellow jacket nest there'd be some memorable tales...  Assuming we lived, of course.      

No kidding, folks, some critter with cojones that clang dug up a yellow jacket nest that was as big around as a number 3 washtub.  There was still a gallon-sized ball of yellow jackets boiling around a little hole in the side of that pit.  The thought of tumbling in there is very pucker-inducing.        I'm sure glad Joe described the spot with careful details before I went be-bopping down that road before daylight!    :eek:

[Terry Green]

Bob is still out of town I think....we'll hear from him in a bit.

Here's JC entering a 'hot spot' we found after a morning hunt.....he's going to try his luck in this beautiful flat.....he's got a good story to go with this pic....

 

[the Ferret]

What the heck is that on his back? A chaise -lounge?

[Terry Green]

Mickey....its a tree stand...but its also over his fanny pack and jacket roll....making it stand out more.

[Charlie Lamb]

Ya just gotta love a huntin camp. We fed up real good and settled in for a marathon bull session that lasted way too late in the night.

I was thinkin about that when the alarm went off at o'dark thirty the next morning.

Somewhere out in the swamp an owl called, his cry was lonesome and haunting, but somehow fit this time and place.

Small frogs chirped weakly in the cool of predawn. I found it odd that they were still around and smiled a little.

Several cups of strong hot coffee and a quick affirmation of each man's hunting plan were followed by a light sandwich and with hope springing eternal, we headed off into the Georgia darkness for our rendesvous with destiny.

Where the long clearing I'd walked down the day before held a couple of scrapes along it's edge, I now saw evidence of new activity since my last
visit.

Light was coming on quickly as I passed the last pawed spot and entered the thicket above the bathtub. I kept my pace slow and deliberate, prefering a late, but quiet approach to the hunting area.

The morning passed quickly with no hint of big game to go with it. There had been the usual squirrels, but nothing out of the ordinary.

I'd been told that the water oaks and chestnut oaks would be dropping their acorns and that it would be a dinner bell for the deer and hogs.

I'm sure that's right, but I didn't hear a single nut fall during my vigil.

   

[Charlie Lamb]

Back at camp we fed the inner man and listened as each in his own time told of the mornings events.

It had been pretty slow for most of us. The exception was Rob D. who'd apparently seen every deer on the place where he was.... dang smart aleck!!
It sounded like a pretty good spot and I know each man there fully expected his own spot to show the same activity during the afternoon hunt.

Before you know it we were back in the woods going after it again.
The mosquitoes were a slight bother, but not enough to turn on my Thermacell. I killed the four little nuicances that wanted in my ear and it was over.... and that's about all the action I had

[Charlie Lamb]

I thought about the buck I'd seen that morning while cruising a big circle out in the swamp and the hog sign I'd found where he had bounded out of sight as I made my approach through the dry leaf litter.

Maybe I should consider a new spot.

The following morning I moved to a different place only to have the same experience as before... some squirrels, no acorns falling, no deer and no hogs.

When we once again returned to camp reports were somewhat better, with Rob once again turning in the most sightings.

With the help of Danny and Matt Shuster (a Trad Ganger and VERY knowledgable bowhunter) we laid further plans for the rest of the day.

Both Danny and Matt had spent a lot of time on the property and had a few good spots they'd found and were willing to share. You gotta love that.
The generosity made me smile.

Danny personally walked me out to a spot he knew of and said it was about 50/50 hogs and deer. If I didn't see deer, I'd be sure and see hogs was his advice.
I was game for either.

Once again I built a hasty blind from materials at hand (mostly palmetto fronds) and settled in for the evening.

I was keeping a close eye on the surrounding cover and paying little attention to my downwind side.
Hunting from the ground is like that. There aren't gonna be any miracles that brings an animal straight up an air current full of human scent.

Well, maybe it was miracle and maybe the group of eight hogs that suddenly burst from the palmettoes behind me just missed my scent stream, but suddenly there they were.

The closest hog was red and otherwise perfect for my needs if I could get a shot off.
The whole mob was on full alert and I wasn't sure if they were getting a hint of scent from me or if they'd seen the little reflex head jerk I'd done as they busted through the dry palmetto cover.

It was a cinch they wouldn't be around long, one way or the other. I tried to move my bow around the tree I'd been leaning on but didn't get it done before the last hog had trotted off across the clearing.

For a moment I considered shadowing them as they trotted out of sight, but gave up the notion. They were probably moving too fast for these old knees and I wanted to see if a deer would show up.

I knew that somewhere in that swamp the deer were getting rutty and at any moment a huge old bruiser buck would hove into view.

It was a good thought, (it's always good to have a positive attitude) but it wasn't meant to be. I saw no deer at all this day.

[Charlie Lamb]

Once again on leaving the stand site, I looped off into the swamp. A guy wants to stay loose and open to change when hunting new country.
You can sit in the best spot in the world and not see a thing while just beyond a fringe of trees deer can be thick as ticks on a dogs back... you'll never know it if you stay in one spot and don't move around a little.

What I found in my walk was the reason the hogs had come from where they had. A wallow of generous proportions lay just a hundred yards from my ambush and a hefty trail with plenty of hog sign led from it into the palmettoes where I waited.
Had I known that before hand, I'd have set up a little differently.
 

Hogs will rub trees near their wallowing spots and along the trails that lead to it. The large mud spots caked on the trees tells the tale... not large hogs at all, but just right for the grill and all the trophy I needed.
 

[knife river]

That's not a trail.  A superhighway, yes. Trail, no.    :eek:

[cjones]

Keep it up guys, i'm loving this!

[Charlie Lamb]

I gave my spot a pretty good chance at producing before opting for a different area. The sign had looked as good there as anywhere in that particular stretch of swamp, but except for the hogs I'd seen nothing else.

It had rained hard one night and I was happy to see it, though we all took a thorough soaking making the best of the situation.
It should have driven the hogs wild, but sightings remained low to nonexistant.

After watching another sunrise and feeling the effects of the previous nights soaking aching in my joints I slipped off into the swamp for a look around. I'd go farther today, in a go for broke attempt to find better sign AND the conditions were perfect for still hunting.

The sandy soil and leaves soft and silent I eased into a steady wind, watching ahead for the dark forms of deer slipping through the timber.

I'd come along an area that was slightly thicker than anything I'd just come through. A slight movement off to my right front brought me up in mid step.

A coyote trotted out of the brush on the other side of a small creek, paralleling my own course about 50 yards out.

As he moved behind a screen of brush, I dropped to one knee with my bow pointed toward him.

Raising my drawing hand to my lips, I let out a very weak squeek. The coyote came to a stop, looking in my direction and just as quickly started a dog trot toward me.

I got my hand back on the bowstring as he went behind a screen of brush, but he changed directions at that point. The thick brush prevented even a long shot as he finally got an angle on my cover and made me.

My still hunting adventure had brought me almost all the way back to camp. I eased up on the bank of the same slough the lodge building was on and drank in the scene.

From my veiw point up on the high bank I could easilly see across the chocolatey water and into the great cypress swamp beyond. Long sceins of Spanish moss hung from the trees forming a sort of veil beyond which you could just make out the boney forms of cypress knees jutting from the forest floor.

A slight movement below me got my attention. A small alligator trolled along lazilly.

It was a perfect end to a perfect morning... I couldn't wait for a little mid day shooting session and the afternoon hunt.

[Shaun]

Good stuff as usual Charlie. Your discriptive writing just keeps getting better. Keep it coming.

[Guru]

Charlie, Those mid day shooting sessions are what made the Mod melt so cool...we need to do that again bud!!!  

 Goos stuff here.....go on......

[Charlie Lamb]

Hey Curt!    l I don't know what the other guys are doing, but I'll get on with my side of the story.

Like you said, the shooting sessions were great and each man there shot his equipment with the precision of a practiced eye.

We slew a pile of old cans and poked a few holes in the rubber pig target that someone had made and left there.

As far as the gangs bows is concerned, there were Morrisons, a Border, Horne, ACS, and my old Sky Hawk... all upper end performers in there respective classes.

For broadheads you could find Woodsman, 4 blade Zwickey Delta, STOS, Razorcap, and my Magnus I w/bleeders.
Woody was shooting some of his fine hand knapped heads. You should see the work he does on these. Beautiful!! And wicked sharp as well.

I passed the evening back in my new location with nary a critter seen. It was so still that it got a little creepy out there just before dark.

It was decided (after much discussion) that I'd go in with Rob the following morning. All of the other guys had their own strategies they wanted to pursue and I was ready for a change.

[the Ferret]

Good stuff Charlie..I keep waiting for ...well I don't know. Will just have to keep reading to see what it is ha ha

BTW bucks are moving up here, had a close encounter tonight with a dandy..he won of course. Weather should be ideal when you get up here but maybe just a bit too much moon.

Sorry to hijack..back to your regularly scheduled program.

[Charlie Lamb]

Morning dawned cold and crisp in the swamp. We all were wearing extra layers as we headed out for the hunt.

Terry dropped Rob and I off just before first light and we were off into the darkness.

A fringe of pine bordered the road and within 50 yards opened into a hardwood flat. It may have been 100 yards across this flat to a large thicket.

In the gathering light Rob walked me to a place where he'd seen a couple of does the previous day.
It was merely a small clearing in the middle of some cane along the edge of the thicket.

In whispered tones Rob pointed out the direction he had seen deer move and he was soon disappearing into the darkness, headed for his own stand.

Looking over the hiding place I opted to open more cane behind a large snag of a stump. The spot would give me good cover to sit in and the stump would give me shielding cover if I wanted to stand. I settled in to wait for daylight.

I surveyed the land in front of me and mentally noted different spots I could shoot to and imagining different scenarios that could arise.

I'd been doing the little mental excercises for about half an hour when I looked down along the edge of the thicket at the exact time that a shadowy brown figure glided between two trees.

I could have been looking anywhere else at that moment.

There was some brush in the way and I lost sight of the buck (as it turned out to be). It gave me a chance to adjust my position a little and ready my bow.

Luck was with me as he cruised along the thicket's edge feeding here and there on who knows what. He was coming.

At twenty yards I knew I'd be getting a shot and relaxed to see what he would do. The wind was absolutely perfect and steady, my footing was solid and quiet, my cover was just right.

He had focused on an oak that stood in front of me about 20 yards away. His feeding brought him in behind it for a short while.

As he passed out from behind the oak, he walked out from behind a vine that grew there. He took a look around and dropped his head to take an acorn.

My bow was already pointed at him so all I had to do was draw to anchor and I did that. He suddenly raised his head, but the arrow was away.
In a blur of speed the buck turned hard away from me, the arrow impacting more toward the point of the shoulder than behind it. Penetration was poor to say the least and I was very disheartened by the turn of events.

If you hunt long enough, bad stuff is gonna happen. It's been a while for me, and I hated that it had happened. I settled back to wait. There would be no rushing it. I'd give him plenty of time.  

The photo shows the oak with the vine coming out of it's left side. The red line and X indicate the buck's travel path and position at the shot.

[Charlie Lamb]

Mickey... sounds good to me. I talked to Chad today and it sounds wonderful. Can't wait!!