The Adventures of Hope and Faith by Lewis Hollow...

[steadman]

Great read Mike! good luck later in the month!

[Mac Hicks]

Hang in there Mike.  "Hope"fully you will get your chance when early shotgun season is over.  Great story and thanks for the pictures. I miss hunting in Illinois in early November....maybe next year?

[LHA]

Any word on Faith?

[wapiti792]

Well it looks like my hunts are gonna end early with Ms Hope. The rain has set in for the next 3 days and I have some family obligations after that, then work Monday...I was hoping to get the next 3 days to get it done with this beauty, but it is gonna be toad-stangling raining my only days off to hunt. I think I would rather send her on than sit here stairing at her with it just pouring.

Let me say this, we did not kill anything together. We passed young bucks and does and could have tagged out if we wanted. Just having her here in IL during the peak of the craziness was just awesome. I want to thank Lewis Hollow for building this great bow for the cause. This was a success for me. Almost 100 hours on stand, 12 different bucks in bow range, a Booner buck at 25 yards with no shot, bobcats, coyotes, multiple sunsets and sunrises...man it was fun. To tell the truth I feel like we are close. I still have a giant buck running around but the rain is gonna keep me from hunting. So off she goes...God's speed Hope and good luck the rest of the way!
 

[Terry Green]

[Tajue17]

Wow that experience alone is going to be hard to Beat, Mike that was an amazing time!          From IL to Massachusetts--->  me & hope will hunt it hard and long,, we'll have too, its opening day shotgun here monday and the big pushes will be on!    Mike I sent you a PM.

[wapiti792]

Got it bud and returned. I had an amazing month with her in my hands...she's all yours! Pick me up will ya...we went o-fer on kills but man what a good time  

[Tajue17]

well i Got some mail today!!!!

   

strung her up and everything feels good, not sure the best brace because I can't shoot it till tomorrow but if you guys that already had her know the best brace height let me know so I can just set it there.  but the bow looks and feels great,,, I'm so happy I'm getting to be part of this!

the buckeyes are great too I put them all in a hat and had my daughter and my wife each pick one  but  my daughter was a little scared because she never heard of a buck eye and thought it was a real bucks eye but we worked it out and I have the lucky two which will not only bring me and Hope luck but keep us safe,,,,
stay tuned..

[Paul Mattson]

I finally uploaded some pic's of my time with Miss Faith. She will be going out today to Curt in NY.


I hunted on my family's old farm.  Which is now a Deer Camp.
 

Here are a couple of the out buildings.

 

[Paul Mattson]

The first morning Nov 3 was somewhat brisk.  I planned for a 5 day stay.  

 

Some frost on the field.  Looks like a great day to be out.

 

[Paul Mattson]

This is one of my stands that I hunted from.  I was in Northern Wisconsin, the unit I hunt is a Buck Only unit.  I had some camera set out and got a few pictures on some smaller bucks.  The largest was a six pointer.

 

This is the old pasture where my stand is at.
 

A couple of pic's from the stand.
 

 

[Paul Mattson]

I didn't see a deer the first 5day hunt.  But,I did get a few shots off.  I saw this guy in a pine.

 

After a few lost arrows, and a flu-flu stuck in the tree.  The blacky made his escape.
 

[Paul Mattson]

The following weekend, I headed back up North to hunt another stand.  It is in a small Cedar swamp.

 

 

 

[Paul Mattson]

Miss Faith
 

[Paul Mattson]

This hunt ended also with no deer being taken.  I also hunted WI's 9 day rifle season not taking one.  I hunted around 3 1/2 wks, and saw only 3 does and 1 fawn.  The deer population is way down, some blame the wolves and bears while others blame the liberal tags that have been givin out in past.

I had a great time, just to get out and spend some time in the woods.  

Here's one more pic of Miss Faith.
 

[steadman]

Very nice Paul. Thanks for the pics.

[bornagainbowhunter]

That is some beautiful country.  Good luck with the rest of your season.

God Bless,
Nathan

[LHA]

Wow I thought the deer were scarce around here. Those are some nice pictures and it sure is a good looking place to hunt. I hope the deer population turns around for you.
Chris

[Tajue17]

I don't like to post photos of "myself"  but for now heres yours truly in Mass with hope,, zone 11 in the thickest scrub oaks i can find because its usually where the deer are at this time.  the shotgun season ends 12/11 and I'll have more freedom to show some of our areas and hopefully I'll get some luck with Hope and make it happen.    if not I still enjoy this bow!    I bareshafted some shafts from Hope and found its the Heritage 90's w/ 200gr points 7 1/2 brace and the nock was lowered a 1/4 ( I left the dental floss on and put a string nock under it) shoots a bare shaft perfect out to 20yds,,  hopefully I can put it into the spot when my heart feels like its going to explode!

I accidently deleted the pic from the treestand but this is a pic from the ground  at my treestnd which is 15' up and the scrubs are also 10' up and I'm looking into them and the run is dead center in the picture inside there and the deer usually will come from behind the tree and around the right side and then away to the left which should give me a quartering to the left shot, which is my favorite because I'm a righty (I'm just not always right       ) I shot my thanksgiving coyote from this stand.


             

this area is adjacent to the infamous "Myles Standish State Forest in Plymouth Ma, aka the Warzone... my father was hit in his stomach with 3 pellets this bird season there and he has been shot 3 different times in 15yrs with birdshot here,, I won't bird hunt there AT ALL unless its after noon time when alot of the morning rush hunters or what we call the First Wave heads home.  
               

this is me after sitting for 6hrs since dark and then walking the trails for about a 1/2 mile and seeing absolutely no deer tracks crossing anywhere but this is a pheasant area in this pic and this is what they get stocked in its very thick and these scrub oaks will test the best clothes made and if they don't send you home looking like a scarecrow then the ticks will get all over you and you better have some hartz flea and tick shampoo at home trust me,,,nothing poisoness here though, 1 coyote and 1 raccoon track on a 1/2 mile walk down these beach type sand trails and thats it after 3 days since a heavy rain...  this place is dead for now and I'm thinking it must of got pushed by the shotgunners so time to go to another spot.    
               

heres my next spot,, I got here late so I couldn't snap too many photos cause it was sundown but I will when I go back to get my can call that I forgot tonight,, this is a great spot! I stay on the ground alot  during gun because these gun hunters will see you if your up in a tree and then come looking around when your gone and basically take your spot over or your stand is gone if you leave it.  I shot a 4-pointer on the other side of this property on 11/12 and its more open here for better shots..

its blurry but this is my typical ground set-up I thought it was cool seeing how you other guys have your stands,, Nifty seat, 2nd arrow somewhere within reach of my right hand and a can call or grunt within reach,, usually my Binos are nearby hanging somewhere and then imagine me there trying to balance myself on that nifty seat while trying to stay awake,, the nifty keeps me awake and its perfect to shoot a bow from...  

           

[Tajue17]

just an update that I have been hunting this place pretty hard,,, i checked another one of my spots and I noticed that nobody has been hunting this other area, rubs and scrapes everywhere, deer droppings and the leaves all moved around from deer browsing for acorns.  SO i get my nifty seat and head into this small patch of pines and use my pruners to trim two windows and while I'm doing that A 8-point buck starts bounding slow away from and behind me!!!  I'm not sure if it was bedded or standing there but I never saw it!  I mouth grunted when it was hoping and stopped it at maybe 35yds but I didn't have an arrow on the bow yet and not that I would of took the shot but its the last time I listen to people and still hunt without an arrow ready..

I stayed there till darkl and hunted the next afternoon and didn't see anything,,, friends of mine who shotgun hunt and like to do drives pushed an area a 1/2 mile from this spot and got 8 deer and they saw a buck but missed it..
 another thing about this buck is I could of sworn when it was hopping away form me it had an arrow in its back leg,,,,,, I could swear I saw bright green and orange right above its knee but I'm just not positive it was an arrow--> I checked for blood but didn't see any.


I finally got my delivery of those 200gr vpa 3 blades that kustom king sells,, have 3 sharpened and pretty scary sharp..  I really like the way this bow shoots and I'm pretty confident out to 30yds with it even though I wouldn't do it because I'm a "too close" freak wanting my shots  10yds or so..                               Shotgun closed here 12/11 and I'm glad,,,,, its blackpowder now until the 31st and those guys are a bit more laid back if they even come out at all after the shotgunners mowed this place down for two weeks..