2013 KennyM lease hunt part 2

[Cyclic-Rivers]

After the morning Sit, I wanted to check an area that Peaked my interest on a map.  It appeared to be 2 creek beds merging into one.  My Father had Joined me and we were on a quick scouting Mission.

We no sooner took 2 steps in the woods and I knew I had found a great spot.  The deer Trail just inside the wood line was HEAVY.  it was clear some recent activity had stirred some leaves and I needed to think about hunting here.

This Trail was one you could tell had been used for many years due to its size. It split into multiple trails that Traversed the wood line and Creek bank.  Each one just as substantial as the next.

We retreated and headed back for Camp.  I wanted to return with Charlie and Charlie to place a stand and also get their opinion on placement.  

My largest goal from this trip was to learn how to become a better hunter from the Masters.  

I would soak up every word, story and advice and try to lock it away in my noggin for future reference.

[adkmountainken]

ok got the house primed and 2 coats of paint ready to read more.....

[Charlie Lamb]

As first mornings go this one was above average. We retired to the cabin to grab some grub and compare notes.

I had a place I wanted to check out mid day as did Charlie and Charlie.After dining on fine Wisconsin cheeses and some fantastic bear summer sausage made by the many talented Charlie the elder (hence forth known as Chuck).

Tom had brought about 20 pounds of his own recipe cookies and those served us for desert. They also served as a distraction sitting there on the cabinet every time I walked by.  

After pouring over the aerial maps which seemed to always cover the kitchen table we found our way to the woods for some light scouting.

I wanted to check an area Terry Green had found a couple of years ago. We'd pulled right up to the bottle neck area I was interested in and watched a buck dart from the open into the handy cover of a nearby ditch. The ditches are always where the heavy cover and timber are around these farms.
It's just not practical to crowd them very closely with farm equipment so they grow untouched.

We were looking for evidence of feeding. Whether beans or acorns or in some cases a trail leading to a neighboring corn field.
What we found was that acorns weren't as scarce as we'd feared. They seemed drawn to the tiny, striped Pin Oak acorn with occasional white oaks drawing some interest.

Along the edge of the trees just north of an equipment track I found a very promising situation.
A scrape had been pawed in the dry dirt of the field edge. Along that same section a Pin Oak dropped it's bounty and the presence of droppings in the middle of it all gave me hope.
   

I'd put a ladder stand up right there in the very tree that was dropping it's acorns.
Soon the deed was done. The stand was up and a minimum of trimming had been done for shooting opportunities.
That's the way I like them. Minimalist trimming and right over the food source. I'd deal with shooting situations as they presented themselves and the close proximity of tree to food would help with the wind situation.

We pulled out of there as quickly as possible so the others could get set up.

[Charlie Lamb]

I was back later that afternoon for my set. I quickly hauled my gear up and strapped into the tree. I'd just run another deer out of there with my approach and I thought about that a lot.
Was it all too much for the local deer in these small wood lots. I thought not.

Nothing much stirred that afternoon until about half an hour before dark. As so often happens I turned to look south and when I turned my head back to the north a small buck was standing at the head of the field.

His travel route wasn't going to be good if he kept on and even though I was going to have to shoot does only I didn't want to bugger the area with another spooked deer.

Taking camera in hand I snapped a photo of the little guy just before he crossed my scent stream.
   

[Charlie Lamb]

Things slowed down a lot after that first evening. I'd had some real high hopes for the spot but it wasn't proving to be that great.

My trail cam set up nearby in the gap between fields showed only one blurred image coming through late at night and nothing more.

I saw a single squirrel on Sunday morning and a lone black possum that evening.
Just before dark I began hearing turkeys talking and knew they were about to fly up.

With my hearing being what it is when unaided it was hard to tell just exactly where they were. There was a good chance that they'd fly down into the field the next morning and I'd have a call in my haversack so I could mess with them a little.

I don't consider myself a great turkey caller by any means but turkeys are very gregarious and if I used a few lost calls when I heard the first fly downs there was a chance they'd wander over my way.

That wasn't to be. I heard the first fly down at 7:20 the next morning and did some soft yelps and then a stronger series of lost calls. I could hear them talking as they moved along the timber to my south moving directly away from me.

With the lack of activity at my "hot spot" a change of scene seemed appropriate. I'd fix up a new stand and be in it come the afternoon.

[Blaino]

I'm not sure what Charlie Lamb is better at... bowhunting, photography, or telling stories!

looking forward to the next chapter.  

[Charlie Lamb]

The first place I scouted simply could not be denied. A small pond in the edge of the woods showed the signs of being heavily used as a watering place.
I also suspected regular doe use given that a long narrow scrape took up most of one side of the pond.
It was nearly 10 ft. long and a couple wide. There were at least 4 or 5 licking branches above it along it's length.
At the field end was a small Pin Oak a few inches in diameter that showed signs of several years use. Most of that was on the side coming from the thick cover toward the field and I guessed it indicated more evening use even though Tom had seen does come from there into the open one morning.

Given the wind situation I chose a Pin Oak with two trunks at the field edge of the pond. The rub (and several other smaller ones) was a few yards away. Two very distinct trails converged right below it. It was a spot. Of that I was certain.
Charlie did all the climbing while Chuck and I removed limbs as needed for shooting lanes. Once again it was an easy does it endeavor.

Soon the task was completed and we headed back to the cabin to make preparations for the evening. I needed to shoot a few arrows to keep limber and the Charlies and Tom wanted to find other options for stands.
For the most part we were hunting the edges of cover and staying out of the thick timber, trying to limit our impact on the deer.

The events of this afternoon would have an impact on how I hunted for the rest of my hunt and beyond.

[Charlie Lamb]

I always think safety when I'm using tree stands. The previous year I'd finally bought a safety harness that was easy to keep untangled and comfortable to wear.

I had also been using a safety line to cover me from ground to stand and back. I took the line back with me when I returned to hunt.

It wasn't until I'd climbed into the stand and tied off the safety rope that I realized I'd forgotten to put my harness in the truck.

I was very disappointed in myself about then but figured that since I was already in the tree and that most accidents happened getting into and off of the stand's platform I was kind of committed I would do without the harness this one time.

I guess I had sat there for an hour and felt that the witching hour was approaching fast. I couldn't see well into the field directly behind me without standing and I didn't want a deer sneaking in from that direction.

I slowly stood,turned in the stand and looked the field edge over. The wind was out of the east and that was almost perfect for my location... and a bit of an oddity.

It came without warning. One minute I was standing peacefully looking out over the field and the next I was falling through space. I was aware of limbs breaking around me and a sense of falling in slow motion prevailed. Then with a sudden jolt I was on the ground face down.

The steel cables that attached the platform to the back of the stand had both snapped. They had weakened where loss of protective covering had let moisture enter and had rusted the cables to the point they would no longer sustain my weight.

As I lay there on the ground face down I slowly regained my wits. I was in shock and thinking straight was difficult at first.

Laying there I slowly got my breath back and my head cleared. I wasn't really sure what had happened.
Deciding that nothing seemed to be broken, that I could tell, I tried to push up. It seemed like I was weighed down by tree branches. I just couldn't push up under the weight.

Instead I did a slow low crawl to try and get clear of what was holding me down. I was successful in the attempt and managed to get a knee up under me.

My back hurt bad but I was finally able to stand. Emediately I started the slow painful walk to my truck. I want badly to sit down but felt like I needed to be in my truck to do that.
If I happened to black out I'd be easier to find.

The truck wasn't very far off, but the walk seemed to go on forever. Finally I made it and opening the drivers door I found a way to bend and contort to fit in the seat without too much pain.

I texted Charlie to let him know I'd fallen, but encouraged him to stay on stand until dark. There was nothing he could do for me and sundown wasn't far away now.
I tilted the seat back and tried to relax. There was a lot of relief from my pain. I knew I'd be fine.

[frassettor]

[4dogs]

Somebody was watchin out for you Charlie!  Im glad it seems to have turned out ok, could have easily turned out much much worse.

[John Scifres]

Thank God you were luckier than a 32 year old man in Northeastern Indiana that was paralyzed and chose to end life support this weekend because he knew he would never hold his young wife or their new, yet to be born, baby.  can you imagine being one of the 75 friends and family waiting for him to die for 5 hours?  Breaks my heart.

 http://www.wnem.com/story/23883281/paralyzed-deer-hunter-chooses-to-end-life-support

Please be careful my friends.

[Tsalt]

Man that is scary!  And crazy that the one time you forget your harness is the time the stand breaks!  I forgot mine just the other day and I came to the same conclusion... "I'm already here, might as well hunt... I'm sure it will be fine."    You just never know.   I'm glad your ok and here to write about the experience.  Thanks for sharing all the details.

[frassettor]

Glad your ok bud !

[adkmountainken]

thank God you are ok!

[kennym]

I was sure glad to see Charlie sittin at the table at the cabin that nite. Terry had posted "something fell ,but no blood trail at big C's stand, and I was guessin something had happened!        

He was hurtin a bit I could tell!

I wanted to hug him, but didn't think it would be proper.....  

[John146]

All I can say is WOW and thank God!!!      

[BMN]

That has got to be scary as hell! Thank God you're okay.    

[woodchucker]

Glad you're Ok, Charlie!!!!!!!!!!

Us "Old Folks" don't bounce like we used to...

[Hopewell Tom]

I wasn't expecting THAT!
Glad you're OK. Be harder to forget the harness now.

[ron w]

Mr. Lamb.......you are a very lucky fella   :eek: