Good Luck Hunters!

[McGurk]

Good Luck to all hunters this next week, and I'm sure we'd all love to read your stories (good and bad) and see your pix from the upcoming hunt!  Good Luck and Be Safe out there!

[McGurk]

 

[Gissert]

I saw a lot of heavy rut signs the week before season. Its still going now. I sit between a pine shelter belt and an oak dominated 40. In between is a 7 acre plowed field. I could hear deer chasing all morning on Saturday morning. We took a doe and a buck early Saturday afternoon and called it good. Any one else doing well?

[BoxMN]

Brought my Granddaughter (15) up to Ashby for her second deer opener. She missed a doe last year on sunday. This year, we had a great Saturday in the stand, she was yapping and we had GREAT time and I learned a lot more about her, even though we are close anyway. We saw a doe about 4 pm, but buddy wants only bucks shot on his farm, so we let her go.

After dinner my Granddaughter is quiet and them comes out from laying down crying and saying her stomach hurts bad... Went to Alex hospital (they all were great there!) and a couple hours later she had her appendix out, and also a ruptured ovarian cyst..... Her Mom drove up to be with her, and I left the hospital about 4:30 to head back to Ashby. Went to bed about when we got up the previous day, ha!

She is doing well and was sprung from the hospital by 11 m sunday. She is pumped for next year, she says she knows a buck will walk out Saturday morning

That's my story! Heading back up Weds night for the "big boys deer trip", so hopefully will see some this year. I didn't even fire a shot last year.

Good luck to all, it really is quiet around here these days....

Edited November 10, 2015 by BoxMN

[jerkin'm]

We saw more crazy rutting buck activity than ever last weekend. Groups of bucks chasing each other grunting, snorting and generally going nuts. Our party got a few nice bucks including my old man gettimg one of his best bucks. I had a father  and his two sons stay at my place North of Battle Lake fill out with a nice 10 point and spike too. Headed back next weekend to see if my 10 year old can put the smack down on his first deer. 

[McGurk]

Good to see!  Pretty slow for us, without much for sign in the woods or typical activity from Sat through Tues.  Went 3-6 including one picked up alone on Weds.  The rest of the party is coming up the weekend and I hope to see more from them.  

Lots of Coyote tracks and howling.  Also a bonanza of woodland critters: Snowy owls, Tundra Swans, Bald and Golden Eagles, grouse, pheasants, coyotes, bobcats, plus the usual woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, bluejays, and squirrels

[jerkin'm]

My 10 year old got his first deer Saturday morning. Couldn't have been more excited! Made a perfect shot with his great grandmas 30/30. We think it's been at least 45+ years since it took its last deer. Saw lots of deer including some real nice bucks that were not taken. 

[Chill62]

Deer activity in our area was slow and a lot of people were claiming they weren't seeing anything but we did great.  Deer weren't moving at first light they were moving 8:30/9-11 and from 3:30-Dark.  First weekend not much for activity/sign but we got 3 during the weekend.  Came back second weekend and sign everywhere and we got 2 more last weekend.  Everyone around us was complaining about lack of deer we were seeing a ton but you had to stay put later then we normally would.  Earliest deer shot was 8:15 opening morning 11 am latest morning deer shot.  

[BoxMN]

We did very well this year. 6 bucks and one doe for 9 hunters. The bucks were all fairly decent, with a nice but not monster 9, and a very good 9 (getting mounted). The others were 7, 6, 5, and only one small one with broken side. We could have shoot bunch of does and fawns. This was the first year I have seen so much rutting chasing action in one year! All bucks I saw were full on chasing - 4 sightings. Several of us passed on marginal shoots at the bucks, but they eventually came by others in the party who had good shots, so that worked out well.

I hadn't fired a shot the previous two years, but got  9 and 5 this year. I spent time more time at the range to make sure gun was right on, and it was :)

We also got one young coyote. Was a fun year, both seeing bucks but also harvesting them.