Hunting in the 'New Year' @ Solana Ranch....

[vermonster13]

That is a great pic. lol

[DW]

It's not over yet.....at least one more tale left to be told......

[Guru]

....sooooo where was I      

....it was easy to tell this fella had some age. Body wise he looked like the clone of mine.Very stout, sag in the belly, and dark in color. His antlers were wide and heavy, but he only had 7pts....I sneaked a couple peeks with my binos in the low light to try to tell whether he grew only one brow tine, or it was snapped(Important for the ranch managers and guides to know). But between my bow in one hand, adrenalin, and the wind, it was hard to keep steady enough to be positive. But I'm pretty sure he'd only grown 7 points....but he was no doubt a shooter, had the situation been different.

 He offered shot after shot as I watched this one doe that had a habit of feeding closer than any of the other deer. But she was also the spookiest, most wary deer of the bunch...and wired to the max!! The wind had these deer on edge even more than usual.

I was actually tightening the string on two occasions, only to have to stop because she just wouldn't stand still long enough for me to shoot....and anyone that's seen me shoot knows that doesn't take very long!

Finally here she came again, closer than any of the other deer(about 19yds) and she turned broad side. I looked real low, about "knee" level(remembering what Charlie's had said the night before), figuring she'd drop quite a bit because she was so wired. I drew and released....

...As soon as I released I knew my "low" shot arrow, wasn't so low, she was instantly dropping out of sight!  They came together with a loud "CRACK", and she dropped to the ground.....

[Guru]

..."spine shot", I was quickly on my knees in an attempt to get as low as possible to get another arrow in her...she rolled and snapped my arrow off...on my knees and with my bow almost horizontal, I released the finisher...and within seconds she was still......

 


 She'd dropped at least over a foot! I was looking knee level and hit her in the spine...unbelievable!

I quickly got down and drug her away from my stand and hid her under nearby cedar, and got back up in the stand to see if anything else would come in....

The finisher, in through the top of the scapula...

 

thru the lungs,heart and out into the dirt.....Snuffer....

 


So I got up and sure enough, a little while later I saw this guy sneakin' by....he was actually the same buck I'd seen the first afternoon I hunted, the first and last buck I saw on the hunt.....

 


I only stayed up in the stand for a little while....who was I kidding...I'd had an awesome hunt...it was time to get down, take some pix, and relax waiting to get picked up......

The stand.....

 


 

original shot.....

 

[Guru]

 I sat down to relax, reflect, and enjoy the memories of an incredible hunt......

 

[Bowhunter4life]

and anyone that's seen me shoot knows that doesn't take very long!
 

No doubt, I tried to get a nice shot of you at full draw but that fleeting instant is hard to catch!

This is cool, I didn't know you'd shot another one...

I spent the last morning close to 30 feet up a ladder stand freezing my toockus (sp?) off!  It was cold, but I did have several cows to spend the morning with!  

This was also the morning that Randy shot his buck as relayed earlier in this post.  Absolutely perfect shot, double lungs and top of the heart.  Also easily the best blood trail we saw the whole trip, by far, but I believe it was also the longest for some unexplainable reason...  Amazing will to live!  Great shooting Randy!

 

Included in the picture is our guide Robert and his blood dog "Taz."  

Great times!

Congrats again to all, there wasn't near enough time to actually talk to everyone, but I truely hope to spend time in another camp with any and all of the folks who were there!  Excellent hunting with excellent folks, very hard to beat!

[DW]

Well Said Jeff!!!!! We would love to go on any hunt with this exact same group....AS GOOD AS A HUNTING TRIP COULD EVER BE......A lifetime of memories....and much, much, more could be said......Don and Skyler

[DW]

Another pic from the last morning....Sky will finish up tonight.... .

[Bowhunter4life]

My favorite memories of this hunt...

Two longtime friends "making memories" with us along for the ride...

Side Note: if you read my story at the beginning of this hunt, I really think these are the two other bucks that star in the read.  David's 8 is the one I spooked out and almost had a second chance on, and Thomas's buck was the one that came in with mine and ran David's out.  We were hunting very close that first night to where they were actually taken.

   

11th hour successful hunt...

   

...and what a group of folks brought together by the vision and generosity of our own Terry Green and everyone that makes this hunt so special.  And another thanks to Bob Walker for all you do in making this hunt happen!  

   

...and Charlie, it was a pleasure to finally meet you, even though we didn't have much time to talk there are plenty of men I respect that obviously hold you in the highest esteem that I'm honored to have shared a camp with you!  Let's do it again, soon!

   

[Charlie Lamb]

Ah yes, the last morning... don't you just hate the sound of that?

Seems like a guy just gets warmed up and it's time to stop. With more time needed to make more stories and enough time gone by to not remember all the storie there are to recall.

I tried real hard to remember every detail, and every story,but I failed miserably (like I almost always do).

My "hide" for the last hunt was a fiberglass box blind. I have to tell you it was very comfortable in side, out of the wind and the cold.
 

Pretty stealthy too, except for the fact that the most comfortable chair (there were two) was also the noisiest...every now and then when you'd shift your weight a little the chair let go with a resounding "POW" as something in the chair shifted.
I put up with that until the second time it happened before switching to the less comfortable but much more quiet chair.

I wasn't expecting much in the way of game, though I suspect that was more mental than actual.
The spot looked like it could be a winner for hogs as a small spring fed creek tumbled through the rocks nearby.
 

In the end I had one very nice buck come through the clearing and several does were seen at a distance. Still in hunt mode, I pondered that the buck and the does seemed to be headed for the same spot along the creek. I wondered what could be down there.
At this point in time it mattered not.

Soon the truck would arrive to take me back to camp and my least favorite part of any hunt... the good byes.

As in many past hunts I would be leaving with more friends than I came with... always a good thing.
I'd worry over who I had forgotten (or just overlooked) to say good bye to. It's the way I am.

Each and every man on that hunt had become a good friend and I sure as hell didn't want to offend anyone.
I'd end up worrying about that most of the way home.

Like I said earlier, I tried to remember every story and every detail, but in the end they would come to me one at a time and out of the clear blue when some sight or sound or smell triggered a memory.

What I took away with me was the memory of every smile in camp and I guess after all that is the good stuff.

[Charlie Lamb]

Here is a pic of Michael with his doe...
 

[Guru]

Charlie...      


 Some random pix...one room of our camp house...

 


"The Man".....

 


Picture session with Terry.....

 


Some scenery....

 

 

 

[Mike Gerardi]

Nice pic.

[Guru]

Interesting spot with a lot going on.....what do you see?

 


A rub.....

 

A scrape....

 

and another kind'a "rub"(hogs).....

 


As you can see... a lot happens around these stands......

[Molson]

Now I'm starting to get a hankering for some bar-b-que... Texas style!

Great hunt.  

[4runr]

Outstanding thread guys. Thanks for taking us along on a great adventure.

Charlie, the first pic of your buck. I think it's very classy the way the buck was posed for the pic. Alot of pics in this thread are good, that has to be tops!

[GJG IN CT]

Awesome hunt guys. Your stories tell it all.    Looks like all of you had a memorable time.  Great photos and some really nice lookin bucks.

Gary G

[Guru]

Terry multi-tasking....      

 

[SKYLER W]

Hey guys, time for the last morning. David dropped me off at a ladder stand where Jeff(Bowhunter4life) hunted and saw 5 or 6 good bucks. I was dropped off a good while before daylight so I strapped myself to the tree and started getting my stuff together. The temperature was dropping fast and no one had enough clothes on. Anyway, at about 7 just after the feeder went off, I hear something behind me. I turn, and I see about 20 hogs running to me. But that was short lived, as they were down wind and winded me. Later on, while I was trying desperatley to keep warm, Dad sent me a text telling me that 2 8s and a doe were coming to me. I saw one 8-point way out in front of me. He never came close. That was it for the day. Curt had a good morning(Congrats again!) I had a great time and really enjoyed meeting everyone and getting to spend (not enough) time with them. Congratulations to all and I really enjoyed it.

[tarponnut]

Great shooting on that doe Guru. Well done everybody.
What a great thread.