Dates set for 2nd RMR see pg. 18 "Rough Mountain Rendezvous"

[paleFace]

Killdeer is this the bird that you mentioned above?
   

[Talondale]

Rob,
  That sunset pic is awesome.  I don't remember the evening being that spectacular from the hollow I was hunting in, but then I only had a slice of sky visible.  How's the knee doing?

[paleFace]

couple more of the area.
 "Wildflowers"  

  "Padds Creek"    


"Millboro General Store"  

[paleFace]

one more of the moon rise..... Bob and I really enjoyed this view.    

   

[paleFace]

here are the pics i'm sure everyone is waiting for....

we had 2 different group shots.  

 Group 1

 


  Group 2
   

[Raineman]

I recognize a few of those faces. I especially recognize that gorgeous bow Ron is sportin'.

[BigRonHuntAlot]

Here a some pics of our mountain hacienda's...

 

 

 

[BigRonHuntAlot]

A view from my perch high in a tree.

 

  Here is where I got picked out by a group of 5 does. No Dice.
 

 

[BigRonHuntAlot]

Here is a view from Mill mountain.
 

 

 

[paleFace]

we had a special guest with us, not you Jeff!  Miss Hope was passed around and everyone but "String Cutter" got to enjoy her. that's what you get for being a lefy!  

   

thanks to Big Ron for bringing her a long.  it was a pleasure shooting her again.  

   

[VA Bowbender]

Here's a real short video of camp.[/url] [/IMG]

[paleFace]

there was plenty to eat on this hunt. honestly i can't remember ever having such a smorgasbord of food. i think Big Ron cooked everything but the kitchen sink. on thursday night we ate so much food we could hardly move the next day. we ate at least 3 full course meals.  this was all that was left...

had this grill made by a blacksmith about 10 years ago. those are well cooked baked potatoes.

   

[BigRonHuntAlot]

Here is a couple of pics that IMO show the benifit of ASAT over other camo. These were taken on Mill Mountain.

 

 

[paleFace]

Thanks for posting the video Rob.... i must have still been dreaming about a big buck, i see my tent was still all zippered up...

here is a shot of one end of Rough Mountain, this point is know as Griffith Knob

   

[BigRonHuntAlot]

I enjoyed cooking for you guys as much as you did eating it.      :D    Wild Game is my specialty. LOL

[paleFace]

nice water hole in the hills... might be hard to see in the photo but the area around the water was covered with tracks. this spot will get hunted next year for sure.  

speaking of next year, we are going to plan for an entire week.  i will be doing a lot more scouting and even have some hang on stands in place prior to the hunt for those that won't get the chance to do their own scouting. with this being the first annual we got some of the bugs worked out and i am sure next year will be even better.

   

[VA Bowbender]

Here's the view when we first got there.

 

Then of course there was the food!
 
 

And the comrades in arms waiting for more food.
 

[paleFace]

well here goes my recollection of the hunt.  

Day 1 wednesday.  tried like mad to get on the road before 9:00am but it just wasn't meant to be.  ended up not getting to camp until almost 2:30 in the afternoon.  by the time i arrived there were tents and gazebos already in place.  the site selected was the old camp site from about 12 years ago, maybe a few more.  we had moved the camp out of this field due to wind and bugs.

Did you guys see any gnats?  the other issue with hunting the first week of the season in Rough.

   

now on with the story.  i didn't break any speed records setting up my tent and dragging out the rest of my gear for camp. still it didn't take me long to get set up and it was time to do some looking around.  i had not been able to get up to Rough early before the season.  i think this was the first time in 20 years that i didn't at least get in 1 scouting trip before hand.  

i guess when you have been hunting a place for 35 years the scouting is more a formality than any thing else, but i still like to see what the critters are doing.  depending on mast and water things ca really change from one year to the next.  this go around we had very little water, but the mast was abundant.  

after meeting everyone Ron, Martin, Bob and i headed out to have a look around.  the first stop was to head up on Mill Mountain to check out a few spots... there is just something special about that first walk in the woods at the beginning of a new bowhunting season.  get this, out of the 4 of us there was not a bow to be found.

yep you guessed it!  as we walked up to the last field there were 5 does standing under a huge white oak munching on it's fruit. dang, where is  my bow when i need it.  would have been all for nill any way.  they had us pegged right away. we were making as much noise as kids in the candy store. it was fun none the less just seeing them and knowing that the woods were holding deer.

sure gets the blood boiling when spot em regardless.  after checking a few more spots it was getting late and light was fading. we had seen another deer feeding in a field adjacent to the road so we had at least 2 good spots that we knew the deer were using.  these would be good afternoon stand locations.  

full of hope we headed back to camp for one of Ron & Dave's man sized meals....  

day 2, the hunt begins.....

[Killdeer]

Rob, I et  TWO  bowlza chili. First, the tepid one, which you would not have been able to pry away from me for all the bows in Ferret's house. Then, the perfectly heated one, just hot enough to liberate the savory flavors but not so hot as to blister the palate, with one of Chuck's homemade rolls for balance.

Food makes quite an impression on me. Ron, your eggs and sausage gravy were a lifesaver for me Saturday morning, as I had only stopped for coffee on my way down. I would have eaten that blacksmith'd grate, just for the residue, if it weren't for your generous fare. Biscuits...mmmmmmmm!

And I believe that was the bird, Rob, though I did not get a chance to compare serial numbers on the ID tags. I could not believe how it just stood there. There must be more poachers in my hunting area.  :rolleyes:  

Killdeer

[JEFF B]

well me and RALPH made it home apart from not haveing my bags when we got home. they went somewhere ele yeah guess where to the land of the bloody wambats (aussie) but the good thing is i got them back minus the chiggers they can have em. apart from that little hickup me and RALPH had a ball. as soon as i can get my brain together i will post some pics. hey i would like to thank every one for  not telling RALPH off for making such a noise at 3 in the morrning