Suburban hunting camp! (pics added)

[KellyG]

Sounds lik a great time had by all.

[dirtguy]

good stories!

[Bowspirit]

Originally posted by ishiwannabe:
The words "and a good time was had by all!"....well they don't even capture what those four days were like.

So true, so true. That week was a blast, and I find myself dreaming of more days spent with Greg, Jamie, and Mikey in those deer woods. More to come, have to collect my thoughts...

[ishiwannabe]

The trip began with a very long work day for me. It seemed like the minutes were dragging by...

I had only hunted Westchester for one afternoon, the year before, but I kept dreaming of possible opportunities, the fun between sits shooting arrows an sh... other stuff.   :D  

Somehwere around 8 am wednesday, my cell phone got a message from our host. He was wondering if we were definitely coming, what time we expected to arrive, etc. After a few exchanges, he let me know nonchalantly he was in a stand hunting. If you think my day was going slow before our text exchange...imagine how it DRAGGED after he sent the picture of a "small 8"! I asked him why he didn't shoot...he simply replied "saving it for you guys". Man I was pumped!

Not sure if all of you know, but Westchester is bow only. Tons of deer, and literally tons of big antlered mature bucks. Bucks that in almost any other Eastern place would be tagged an mounted are usually passed up here! It is mindblowing!

Anyway, after a very long day at work, it was go time. As I pullinto my driveway, I get a call from Bowspirit saying he is at our meeting place a little early. Picking him up was followed by numerous time eating stops that really worked on my patience(life getting in the way of hunting again). Finally around 1330, we were en route. Chris handled all of my running around like a maniac rather well....lol.

[ishiwannabe]

Please forgive my typos, im on my phone at work.    

The car ride went quickly for me. Talking about hunting and bows has that affect.

We arrived somehwere aroun 1600, to find an empty house. I was sure the address matched, almost positive the truck was familiar...hmm, but where is the host? The crunch of leaves alerted us to his presence. Bowhunting hbehind his house to wait for our arrival!

We unloaded our gear and within what seemed like minutes were shooting. No stress....no worries, just friends, bows, and a blossuming case of mutual twitterpation between Chris and Hank. Don't worry, Hank is Greg's german shorthair.   :D  
More about that later. Lol. I should note that as we were shooting, we did see a group of deer run by the house across the street. Deer sighted already!

Time passed quickly as we made ready our gear, had a fabulous dinner(venison steak with burritos!), and settled in for the long awaited firt hunt of the morning. Dreams of big bucks were not too hard to conjure up looking at Greg's trophies...

[ishiwannabe]

Much more to come. Have to actually work now. I will add more and the few pictures I have later. My one regret of this whole trip, other than my miss anyway, was that we never really took a lot of pictures...

[Hooper]

Nice shot on a nice doe! Congrats!!

[Izzy]

Cool stuff fellas. Greg, did you get your new stick yet?

[lpcjon2]

Sounds like it was a good time,Congrats on the doe.

[Follower]

great stuff.

[harvestmoon]

Great hunt...sounds like the doe was just the icing on  the cake.

[ishiwannabe]

With these staring at us while talking and sharpening....I thought sleep would be hard to come. It wasnt. Seemed like minutes after laying down the alarm was going off.

With a hurried, but relaxed mood, we gathered out gear, I got my coffee, and we were out the door. Having decided a plan of action the night before, we were all ready for the day.

We met up with Mikey at "the lodge" and I began to dress in my layers. I was being dropped off first. Interesting the thoughts you have while walking in the pitch dark, looking for a treestand you saw once the year before...lol. I was pretty sure I knew where I was going, but very glad for Greg's precise directions.(we will come back to land navigation LOL!)
Upon finding the stand, I tied off my bow and quiver and began the climb. That went well, until I tried to squeeze myself and my camelbak through the opening between two trees.
With some finesse, I managed to get into the stand, strap in, raise my gear and get set up. Still way too dark to shoot, I decided to add a layer, get the hand warmers cooking and put on my fleece cap and gaiter.

[ishiwannabe]

As I sat, I heard Greg's truck go by again after bringing Mikey to his spot.

As the sun began to rise, I heard a ruckus. Deer running, grunting....branches breaking. Definite chasing! Man I was pumped. The sounds faded off into the distance though. With the morning light, I was able to see roughly six scrapes withing 35 yards of the stand. Then the squirrels came out in full force. Now I dont know, but I would swear that the deer in Westchester have a pact with the squirrels. They fooled me numerous times sounding like deer. My head was on a swivel...I knew with the temp in the thirties, and the rut in swing, anything was possible.

Hours later, and not one deer spotted, I was literally shivering in the stand. My gear, although warm, is not windproof. That is being remedied as I type. Suddenly, I caught movement on the ridge straight out above me. Deer legs, moving with a purpose. Oh, there was a gling of antler! I didnt even have time to dig out my binos, or grunt for that matter, before he was oveer the ridge. I smiled though...I knew he was headed for Mikey...

[Bowspirit]

Man...I really hope I don't distract from Jamie's story telling. But the guy spins such a fine yarn, I think I'm safe.

 You ever start a trip thinking the something great is about to take place? That was this trip. From the very moment Jamie and I met up near his place, I could tell this was to be a trip worth writing about.
 For those of you who've never met him, let me just say that Jamie is just one of those folks that gets along with everyone. For good reason, too. Catching up with him on a car ride is long catching up with an old friend. The time just passes on by.
 Now, it does a hunters's heart good to pull up to "deer camp" and see your guide out in the woods. Like he was made for them. Turned out Greg was after a squirrel, but it sure made for something to laugh about. Hands were shook, backs were slapt, and soon enough it was as if we'd never left each other's company.

That night was a night of stories and demonstrations. Of close calls and plans ahead. Of just letting your tongue hang out over that shrine to the outdoors that Greg and Logan call a home. Seriously, it was a bowhunter's shangri-la, perfectly adorned with deer mounts, wildlife photography, arrows galore, and anything else you can imagine. Not to mention Hank, but more on that later.
The one thing I remember most about that night, other than watching the big P&Y bucks dance through my head, was the broadheads. Jamie had stated that he wasn't quite satisfied with the sharpeness of his Razorcaps before we arrived. Well, he had the heads, I had the desire to help a friend, and Greg had a collection of some seriously nice waterstones (never thought I'd get dishpan hands just sharpening heads).
 I think I sharpened a whole seasons worth of heads that night. Jamie's Razorcaps, my Snuffers. Heck, Greg was even kind enough to hand over a VPA Terminator that needed a good polishing. Not complaining, though. I loved every second of it, and when we were finished, there was an entire army of scary-sharp heads just hoping to carry out their tasks.

Sleep came easy, as I fully intended to comply...

[Stone Knife]

Hey Greg nice deer  

[pitbull]

Beautiful doe, Congrats!

[ishiwannabe]

 

Saturday's crew

[Skipmaster1]

Thanks for adding guys keep the stories coming!

I have something new to add. The past few days I have been on the trail of a very nice 8 pointer. Every time I actually lay eyes on  him he is locked down with a doe and has a few young bucks bothering him. Of course he runs the little guys so they come under my stand but they runs so quickly from him that he never feels any reason to pursue them for more than a few yards and he never ends up near me. I came real close to tagging him on thursday.Today I finally had a decent wind to hunt an area I thought he went to, a nearby doe bedding area. As soon as Ai got on stand today a 3 pointer came crashing out of it and then circled back in. The same 3 pointer that was hounding him and his love on thursday. A bit later a 6 pointer came out and headed back in, also the same 6 from thursday. Then they both just stood there and looked into the heavy brush. I knew he had to be in there. About 45 minutes later I heard some crashing and saw a doe bounding through the thicket with the big guy in tow. A few minutes later from the same area I saw a pine tree branch shaking violently, he was blowing off a little steam. I grunted and rattled and he tore into the tree harder until a small buck came  close enough for him to make a few bounds at it. Then he went back and destroyed the tree on and off for a while. As the sun got lower in the sky, the wind switched and was headed right into the thicket. I had a very concealed way to exit the stand and made the tough decision to leave before burning the set up. I already have made plans for the morning.

I went back to the truck and waited for my buddy. I decided to sit just inside the woods just in case something came by. Well just at sunset a BIG doe came feeding down the hill and ended up 15yds from me and broadside. I drew my bow and shot. The shot looked and felt good. The arrow passed through, she ran 30 yards and tipped over behind a pile of old logs left from some long ago land clearing. I retrieved my arrow and walked over to her. To my surprise her head was still up but she was "punch drunk" only 15-20 yards away. I shot her again and she jumped to her feet. The arrow had lodged in her off side shoulder. Now I know I could have just walked away and given her a few minutes but I have a motto I preach to everyone I hunt with, "when in doubt, quiver out". I am a firm believer that if a deer is still on it's feet, keep shooting it until in isn't. I have seen far too many "dead deer" get away over the years. So, with that being said i shot 3 more arrows as quickly as possible, all chest shots, before she took 2 more steps and tipped over. Overkill? Maybe but I sure didn't have to track her into the night!

[Skipmaster1]

This is the broken beam 6 pointer that has been within range no less than 7 times in the past 4 days, he's one of the 2 bucks that bother the big guy.

 

 

Here is the 3 pointer that also tags along. He also has presented me with many shot opportunities.

 

[Skipmaster1]

Here is the guy I'm after. Not a great pic but when he is more open/closer I am holding my bow not camera. You can see how wide he is and get a decent look at tine length.