The Bow stand Log thread.

[DonBo]

Saw 2 different good bucks last night, neither close enough for a shot. Too windy for them to hear my grunt tube.

[96trigger]

No bucks this morning. Still not seeing the sign of the rut I thought I would. Saw a doe still with her fawn, and another one bedded down took off when I went to check out a scrape as I was leaving.

Interesting note. Was reading in a hunting mag the other day that the little red squirrels that chatter at you, will chatter at deer also. It was very windy this morning, but about 8:00 this red squirrel starts chattering away. So, I think hey, there might be a deer, I better stand and get ready, After a minute or two, I make out the doe and her fawn coming from the direction of the squirrel. VERY COOL. Had I not listened for the squirrel, I never would have known they were coming.

[mudslinger64]

it seems like where i am at they never shut up,i hear them all around me.maybe i got the hot spot.....

heading out in a few minutes hope the snow gets them moving.

[james_walleye]

I sat til 10 this morning and didnt see a deer. I have found that to be normal when hunting in strong winds. My plan is to pull an all-dayer tomorrow. The south winds predicted is perfect for my favorite stand so i figure i better make the most of it. I have my buds packed so i can listen to the big game while on stand.

[Archerysniper]

Went out this morning laid a scent darg down from the truck to the tree got in the tree at about 6:00 at 6:30 I could hear deer coming down the scent trail to the stand too early yet to see but heard at least 3 go by at 10 yards at 7:05 hear another one coming this time I could see it was a small 6 or 8 he hit the scent trail and followed it like a bird dog right to one of my scent canisters let him pass. Once it was light enough too see one of the deer that passed in the dark had knocked my other scent canister with golden estrus off of the branch I had hooked it to. Great morning and lots of activity even with the gail force wind.

[deerminator]

When you are hunting so close to the house if you have a very understanding spouse what I do is call the wife or text and tell her I am pinned in the tree and drive the truck out to spook the deer from the field this will keep them from picking your stand off and get you a ride home it has been very helpful to my hunting bag of tricks

Good tip. Wouldn't have worked last night though as wife was in the house with kids recovering from viruses, not sure if the flu or not. They don't even test for H1N1 anymore, just give you medicine to treat it just in case. I was home with them the day before so I "earned" my time in stand. Some of you will find that less than humorous - my having to earn it.

I have spooked deer before on the ground and had them come back to that spot the next day or even an hour later or so after I got into my stand. Again, the deer in our neck of the woods are used to people walking or jogging down the road, etc. They're not going to stand there and let you arrow them. But they'll take off and come back so long as they don't feel threatened - i.e., someone shooting slugs at them. That changes everything.

My goal was to not let them really notice me until I was on the ground or at least most of the way down the tree. Hopefully that was achieved. If not, I could have been a big (donkey) racoon moseying down the tree in the darkness. They just kind of casually bounded off.

Here's another tip for a hard to get to stand site in the morning that you probably already know. I may try a ground blind on my neighbor's property tomorrow morning. It's only a hundered yards or so from a prime bedding spot so instead of trapsing through the leaves and woods and scaring everything away, the wife and kids will likely drive me to my spot down the neighbor's driveway, waiting for a minute or so and then driving off once I'm situated in my blind. I've head deer trickle by minutes afterward with no idea I'm in the blind.

[mudslinger64]

sat from 2 until dark saw nothing.in the morning i am going to head back to the stand where i saw the big 10 pointer a while back.it sounds like it should be a good day to be in a tree,but i am only able to hunt until noon tomorrow...

[archerystud]

I pheasant hunted SD Wed-Fri, so it's time to bowhunt again.

I saw 3 while walking in tonight(probably a doe and 2 fawns). I had a small buck in at 3 yards right a quitting time. Wow, is there still a ton of corn to be picked!!!

[mudslinger64]

heading out in a few....

[tunrevir]

Went out last night with fellow fm'er FLSniper. Moved my stand about 20 yards from where it was and wouldn't you know it a doe walks right under that tree at about 430 About 25 minutes later a spork came through at 10 yards and that was it for me. Flsniper saw four does but wasn't able to let fly on them. Will try again this afternoon. Good luck out there guys.

Tunrevir~

[Wanderer]

Finally back in the stand last night.

The wind was wrong for where I wanted to be so I tried another angle. On the way there I came to a tree I'd been in before. There were three deer there already but not for long.

I decide to set up and give it another try. After hanging the stand I decide to put out some scent wicks. While I'm hanging a wick a deer trots up behind me in the brush. Geez! I'm caught in the open! I have my bow but it bolts as I try to turn and see it. Didn't figure I could get out of that situation anyway. Score 1 for not using scent. I would have been in my stand by that time had I not played with it.

Thinking the deer were really on the move now I had high hopes for the next 3 hours.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.... I finally give in to the fading light and hook my bow to my string to lower it. Sure enough, CRACK, schick, schick, schick, here's comes another on the same fast pace the other one came in on. Right to the bottom of my tree. A large lone doe. Too late.

5 deer, no shots. We'll see how it goes tonight. Too much other stuff to do to be out this morning.

Good luck!

[tracker x-2]

Another chilly morning with no deer. Although a scrape appeared 10 yards from my stand since yesterday morning makes me wonder why i cant seem to see any of deer during the light hours. maybe tonight!

[DonBo]

Saw 8 last night. Most yet. Two big does still with fawns. One nice buck just out of range. He had no interest in my grunt call.

[Code-Man]

Went last night...Not a dang thing unless you count the 30 squirels around my stand feeding like no tomorrow. Roommate got one back home 4x4 about 120's his first bow kill. Missed first shot shot over his back second one went straight through the boiler maker. Guess I have a project for the week...European mount

[james_walleye]

I hit this morning what has quickly become my new favorite stand. I put it up a couple weeks ago in what i thought should be a good "cruising" area. Everything seemed like it funneled right to me. It seems i was right. I saw 9 different bucks this morning and 5 of them were at 15 yards. All of them were just cruising along. Every one of them was a 1 1/2 old. But its a great sign. I like my odds of seeing a big guy in that stand when i have this thursday and friday off of work.

[archerystud]

Went out this morning and had a lot of action. One busts me as I walk in. After about 20 minutes in the stand a fawn walks by me at about 15 yards but no mom so that's a good sign.

A little while later I see a buck going by to my left so I give him a couple grunts. He slowly circles and at one point even snorts at me but he was not down wind so I grunted again and he keeps coming in. He's a little smaller than what I'd normally shoot but I haven't had much time to hunt so I decide I'm going to take him.

I get a quartering away shot at 25 yards and I hit the deer although I thought it was a little too far back. I thought I heard him fall but I decide to hold tight for a while. After about 20 minutes I hear a grunt from his direction and out comes a small buck running a doe. This buck does not appear to be hit but now I'm really nervous. I decide to get down and check this bucks trail to make sure there is no blood. I'm releived to find no blood on his trail and a nice blood trail on the way back to my stand. I still back out.

My dad and I return about 2.5 hours after I hit the deer. At first blood is hard to find but I thought the deer went further to the right so I'm looking on the wrong trail. After restarting the search I get back onto some blood, after following blood for about 40 yards I looked up and I can see him through the brush. The buck only made it about 100 yards. The arrow entered between the last two ribs and went forward. Not my biggest buck but I'm happy with him.

Also saw another buck when my dad and I came back to look for mine.

[LOTWSvirgin]

Good story archerystud and congrats got some pics for us??

[archerystud]

I'll post some pics later. I'm on my dad's PC and the USB port is broke so I can't get pics uploaded to it.

[mudslinger64]

sat from 6 until noon,i didn't see anything.i don't know what is going on,after i got out of my stand i got in the truck and took a cruise down the road looking for fresh tracks crossing and only saw a few.not long ago deer were crossing this road steady i have been hunting different stands all the time so i don't think i spooked them.maybe the weather?i am going to try and get out for a little while tonight,if i can i am going to hunt in the stand i hung for my bro in law on the trail crossing the road.he hasn't been able to get out and doubt he will anymore this year before gun season,so i will hunt it.

[DonBo]

Congrats archerystud! With the gun season just a few days away my standards are getting lower by the day.

[Rippinlip]

Buck came cruising by this morning, too far to shoot, I grunted at him, he froze, grunted again and he came to me on a rope, after he passed directly underneath me he was quartered away at about 20 yards, I was at full draw, but just too much stuff in the way, did not want to take the chance of a mis-hit. I let down and watched him walk towards where Melissa was sitting, he skirted her and got within about 15-20 yards on a pretty good jog, no shot for her either, he was really interested in something.

[mudslinger64]

i ended up getting out from 3 until dark and again nothing,not even any fresh sign i just don't understand what is going on.it went from seeing deer all over the place every day to nothing...

[DonBo]

I was skunked tonight too.

[LOTWSvirgin]

I am with you guys on that skunked here to

[tracker x-2]

ya add another to the skunked list tonight what the heck. On a positive note the neibhor with a hundred acre corn field was out combindin.

[jltimm]

I got out for the 1st time tonight and had a buck sneak in from the back of me. Looked decent as he trotted off, but it was getting dark and I couldn't see to well.

[Wanderer]

Congrats Archerystud!

Tonight I had 4 browsing out and about. I bleat called and a doe and fawn start meandering my way. Somehow one of the others pushes over a rotted tree and as it crashes down they all scatter.

The fawn goes by too deep in the cover but the doe is walking at me and zig zagging so I can't predict which shooting lane she'll go through. The two lanes are on either side of a tree. Well with her facing me at 20 yards (I'm only 12 feet up) I commit left. Yup she goes right and gives me only about 1 second to shift and make the shot.

Needless to say there was no shot and she kept walking.

They came out early tonight and I really hoped there would be more to follow but it just wasn't meant to be.

Still waiting for a decent buck sighting. I won't have the bow back in hand until after Thanksgiving.

[reelguy]

I was out this morning which is about the 6th or 7th time I've been out with two of them being quick washouts! I only have one full season last year and a month of the 2007 season under my belt as far as bow hunting goes, so still a newbie and no deer to show...unitl today!

10 minutes before shooting time I had a Coyote beating feet under my stand so fast that I'm sure he was late to the local diner for breakfast.

Then about a half hour later a doe came down the hill south of me at about 35 yards but too brushy and she veered off away from me. About a half hour later another small Doe came walking in from where the coyote ran off too. She was in no hurry and she had no idea I was there. I think she smelled the Coyote and must have had friends a ways back. She kept looking back, circled around a scrape and started to walk away but turned around again. She kept looking back and so I came to full draw as she was behind a tree and looking away from me. Boy was I breathing hard and legs shaking! I have had a couple close calls this season and last, but never truely drew on a shooter deer. All I needed was for her to take 2 steps and I could let her buck! Not today though. Something made a twig break and she scattered off where she came from. Darn

About 10 minutes after that I saw three white tales off in that same direction but they were on a trot up the hill and away from me.

It was getting to be after 8:00 and I was getting discouraged. Too many close calls this year and I am wanting to get that first deer notch on my belt.

About 8:30 another Doe comes in a fast walk down the same trail as the last one. She gets to the same area so I draw when she is looking back. She is as nervous at what ever is back there like the last one (maybe the same one from before, but I don't think so. She looks a bit bigger). Just as I come to full draw, she decides to get spooked again at what she is watching and starts to trot away. Darn It, another one got away! Oh wait, grunt at it dummy...see what happens.

I give her a couple grunts and she stops! She was just past the tree I ranged at 20 yards. Put mine 20 pin on her, bent down to get under the branches she was near and...Fling, thwak and she's off! I heard the arrow hit and she lifted her leg as she ran off. Right after that I heard what sounded like a freight train going through the leaves up the hill from me. I looked back thinking its a deer, but it was about 25 turkeys flying away in the same direction.

Turns out there were two guys squirel hunting over that area that chased the doe and turkey's to me. This is a public chunk of land. Guess I never thought I would thank a squirel hunter hunting around my deer stand!

Waited an hour and a half and for a buddy to show up. Followed a great blood trail for about 100 yards and she was piled up! On top of the biggest hill in the area no doubt. Made for an easy drag! She isn't a biggun, but she'll taste good. What a relief to get that first one!

[Wanderer]

Good job on your first archery deer!

Thanks for the story too!

[Rather_B_Fishing]

Finally got on stand about 3:30 PM today after about a 2 1/2 hour rain delay. Around 5 PM a lone big doe comes in. I first spot her when she is about 40 yds out. I wait and she continues to move closer. At about 25 yards she stops and turns broadside. I am very excited as this is my first opportunity to release an arrow at a deer this year (last weekend I got busted when drawing back, and the week before I could not stand or pull back on 2 deer 20 yards out as one of them was always looking in my direction). I quickly line up the shot and let it fly. The deer does an immediate about face and runs back into the woods. I think it was a clean miss - but how can that be? On Thursday I went to the archery range and hit the 6 inch circle on 25 straight shots from 20 yards. I think I got so excited that I rushed the shot. I sit down and stew. A few minutes later I see a deer moving about 100 yards away. After looking at it for a minute I see it has paired up with another. They both are does. Then a larger deer joins them. I couldn't see the head very good but it looked like a bigger bodied deer, so I think it was a buck. Well now it was almost dark and I am thinking about gettting down when I get a shot at redemption. Another doe comes in and gives me a shot chance at between 20 and 25 yards. With only a few minutes of light left, I put the pin on her and let it fly. I hear a thwack and then a second thwack. The deer retreats about 15 yards but doesn't leave the area. A little while later, it gets closer but it is now too dark. I wait for the deer to leave before I get down, but it won't. I don't want to get busted in the stand so I send my father in law a text message to come out of the house and scare the deer away so I can get down. After he does, I look for the arrows. I found one of the two. It had light colored hairs about an inch long on it. I couldn't find the other arrow. So tommorow my father in law (I am hunting on his property) will look for the other arrow and any blood and signs of dead deer. I won't be able to get back out until Wednesday. This will be playing in my mind a bunch I'm sure. So it was a good night of seeing them, not so good at shooting them. Grrr!