My Traditional Journey...

[Jesse Minish]

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Thanks so much guys, much appreciated! I love being part of the gang! Lots of good people here!

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Before I bought my ghillie suit I searched the site for as much info as I could. In the spirit of contribution I'll add some more photos of setups from my season in the ghillie. I can also give my opinions of what was great and what was at times not so great. Ill add in photos of the 3 most utilized pieces of gear I found MOST useful with my suit. Realize we are all different, you have to find what works for you. For what it's worth this was my experience...

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Before I bought my suit I saW all the threads about the pop-up style of blinds. So I tried one. I ordered a good sized promos blind. I thought it was well made and thoughtfully designed. I shot well out of it. Hunted one evening out of it and returned it the next day. I felt totally detached from the woods, couldn't feel the wind or rain. Couldn't see well around me. For me the ghillie suit bridged this gap. I was hidden better than before yet still felt part of my environment. Let's look at some sets and complimenting gear.

[Sockrsblur]

I love this blind. Folds in half and rolls up, weighs nothing. The slits in it help catch less wind and are great for adding vegitation. You may think why with a ghillie suit but I found it very helpful when trying to move at close range. This seat is one of two I used a lot, the 2nd is adjustable but basically higher. I found a very low, basically on the ground, seat helpful. As we all know the ground can be cold and wet. Seat cushions can fail in time.

 

At full draw
 

 

[Bernie B.]

Another great story from your 2013 buck this time!  You definitely have a way with words.  I felt as if I was sitting next to you throughout the hunt!  Your pictures tie in very nicely with the story line.  I especially liked the "ribcage' picture.  I'm looking forward to a follow-up story this fall with another buck!

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

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Curious on lookers... lol they know something is there.
 

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[jonsimoneau]

Great story.  I shot one in a ghillie suit this past season as well.  What a rush.  One thing that I found works great is to buy a bunch of cheap Halloween paint.  I use it to completely cover my face and even my hands.  This has seemed to make a major difference, as I have zero skin exposed.  Works great.

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Manitoba Stickflingers Black Bear 5 June 2017

 http://www.tradgang.com/tgsmf/index.php?topic=106325.100

 

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The Early Season Buck 19 October 2017


Everyone is different but for me in the past three years I have tried harder balancing the early season opening in NY,October 1st, to the wild abandon of the Halloween rut fest and its been a challenge. Part of me just wants to go into every great spot I think I have as soon as I can and hunt it but in the past that simply has not given me my best results. Now in early season I try to hunt spots with easy access that cause less disturbance until day time buck activity becomes more prevalent. I'm going to hunt the early season but I try to balance the risk of exposure in an area with the likeliness of the reward.

October 19th was a breezy warm afternoon. At the truck considering the south wind I stuffed my ghillie suit in the backpack and pulled out the Waldrop hunting seat. There was a good deer crossing between a thick bedding area and a scrubby woods that I had been wanting to try with this wind. I shouldered my gear, grabbed my longbow and headed through the woods. On the walk there I thought to check a trail camera that I had not looked at in a week. I didn't expect much but the wondering took me on a slight detour. I pulled the sd card and was pleasantly surprised to see a 2.5yo buck out an hour before dark. This was the best buck I've seen out in the daylight. In this area there were a couple trees dropping nuts that the does had really been hitting regularly. I considered changing plans and hunting here but it was really a spot more accommodating to a tree stand. I looked around for a spot to hunt in the ghillie suit from the ground and there was a spot but it just felt like it would go poorly more likely than not. I stood there at a mental fork in the road as I considered going back to the truck and getting a stand, steps and all the extras to hunt here or move on... After over thinking it for to long I had to laugh, how many times a season do we do this? All the way back to the truck I went for a stand on a warm day .... then back through the woods again returning to where I was. I set the stand up a short 12 feet and crawled in.

The afternoon was gusty to the point of almost to windy but only for brief periods then it would calm to something more reasonable. The extra noise let me set up closer to a bedding area and more than likely remain undetected I figured. There was a lovely well used trail under me at 10 yards coming from the thick thorn cover of the bedding area. The  stout wind was pushing right to me... now the wait. I passed the late afternoon with the squirrels busy all around me. As the wind settled and the woods calmed I sat there scanning the thick cover for that telltale movement we all know to well.

[BowMIke]

Jim,

Great stories and very well written. It was fun to read!Maybe you can become a writer when you retire!
I'm glad I got to meet you at Stickflinger's. That was a fun experience as well!  Your videos of you teasing the bear and it being chased up the tree with you and holding your bow to the tree was especially fun to see!
Have a great season!!
P.S.  I'm going up to see Ryan again This Spring!

Mike Tibbits

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Thank you Mike! I grew up loving the hunting stories of my dad and guys at camp. This is a fun place to share them.
What dates are you going up to see Ryan this spring?

[BowMIke]

May 27 to June 1.
Not looking forward to the drive up and back, but it's such a great place for Trad hunters to gather and hunt  lots of bears!
I'll be hunting hard all of November for a nice buck and maybe a doe as well.

Shoot Straight!
Mike Tibbits

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About 5:30 I heard a noise, there wasn't a doubt as I slowly stood and reached for my Zipper longbow. Standing, arrow nocked I stared and waited for what I expected were the does wondering out of their bedding area. I could see glimpses into about 50 yards or so but could see no movement... I looked down at the trail below me and with my eyes traced it back into the thicket as far as I could until it was lost in a brown blur of brush... then a lower foot swept forward through a little opening in a perfect silent forward motion, followed by another and then a pause, then a brown body in forward motion... then a few steady steps and a glint of antler. Then in dramatic fashion he rounded a tree and walked into view 45 yards out. With a large chest and antlers moving well above his head, there were simply a lot of tines and no time to stare at them...


I drew a deep breath and rotated my feet to address him as he walked silently and steadily to pass me. He was clearly not taking the 10 yard trail under my stand I had chosen for him but was going to pass out farther through the mixed woods. There was an opening ahead of him but he needed to come closer. Past a dead fall, then through light brush... As he closed the distance to the opening it was all happening fast. He would lower his head and smell toward the ground then lift a rack that was hard to ignore. His steps were quiet and deliberate as he moved into the opening at 25 yards, this was it I thought.

My bow arm had been up, I had been ready for a chance, as he crossed I slowly drew back to full draw, fingers pressed into my lips... he never paused and as his head just left my narrow opening into thicker brush a brief flutter of worry rose up into my chest... I grunted with my mouth, he shuttered and stopped swinging his head toward me. I stared into the crease behind  his shoulder as the string slipped from my fingers, the fletching spun through the air and in a the briefest of time crossed the 25 yards of woods. His big brown body never dropped or twitched until that broadhead cracked through the rib on his left side. Then the dramatic contortion twist and kicking explosion of deer that's hard to explain and we can all picture.


The arrow was low but buried deep to the cresting and it traveled with him as he lunged and pushed forward, running off through the woods... in 50 yards he was back out of sight, absorbed by the brown brush he had appeared from. I listened long and hard begging for a loud crash that was not to be heard. There was only a lingering silence and a cooling breeze filtering its way through the green leafy branches and fading colors of the woods.

[Sockrsblur]

I stood there and drew a deep calming breath, my thumb slowly rubbed the checkering on my grip as my mind raced, that was fast and unexpected. Maybe 5 minutes from the first noise I heard to my season being made. Without a doubt that was the best traditional buck I've shot at and I put an arrow through him. As he ran off he really didn't look well toward the end, the arrow stayed with him for 35 yards or so then flipped up and to the side. I figured I should wait a bit but not that long. I called my girlfriend Alice and told her the story. While talking to her in a shaky whisper I realized just how excited I was. After hanging up I tried to slowly pack my stuff up.

I shouldered a heavier pack than normal and headed to the impact site. There was blood, easy to spot, so I followed along... blood on trees, rocks, logs, sticks... this trail was not hard to follow but I tried to take my time. After 35 yards I found the broken fletching end first then 3 feet further the broken broadhead end of the arrow laid in the leaves.

   

   

 Once the arrow was out of the way there was a substantial gush of  blood.
I kept peaking ahead then back to the trail until I saw a white belly. I walked ahead slowly as he was dead fallen into a bush with his head propped up a little.

   

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What a sight, maybe only something a hunter could appreciate. I moved in close and knelt beside him in the dry leaves, sitting back on my heels... the deep musty smell of a fall buck, the nicely placed red exit wound behind his right shoulder, his ears and legs had more white on them than normal, his beautiful light brown antlers... I just stayed there for a while with the cool evening breeze drifting past. This was it, this was the good stuff! Another precious moment in time I will burn into my memory and carry with me to my end.

 

 

After some time the realization sinks in that its warm out and I had work to do. I gutted the buck and propped him open with a stick. Steam rolled out into the night air as I gathered my things and organized for the long drag out. Rope around the antlers and a chest harness under a backpack of gear.... the deep breathing and tight back, the leaning and grunting for 20 yards of gain then a break and thoughts of how nice a slick frost would be or smooth white snow. Looking up to the stars above the swaying leafy branches, a few more deep breaths then more pulling... again and again and again until I dripped sweat and progressed through the dark woods to my 12yo old pickup truck. Always nice to lower the tail gait for a buck! It always seems so high but over he comes... antlers, shoulders, chest and then in he slides with a rush of progress and more deep breaths... I love the effort it takes!
To warm to leave him in the garage over night I ate a cliff bar and started in on him. At 3:30 in the morning all the meat was covered and in the frig to cool nicely.