Archery season 2016

[ANYFISH2]

Lets here it, How is your season going so far?  

Let's give some stand reports, and pics from the stands.

Good luck all.

Our season started off well by my standards,  the wife saw a doe and fawns walk under her stand this evening, she chose to pass today.

I watched two adult doe work the field around me, never getting closer that 40 yds.  They entertained my for the last hour of the night.

It sure was fun to be back in the stand again!

 

[ANYFISH2]

A few views from the stand tonight.

Boy atr the skeeters bad tonight!

[ANYFISH2]

Poor pic, but this is only guy I seen tonight.

[Musky hunter 82]

I hunted Saturday morning, on a piece of public ground.  There were 4 guys getting ready to go squirrel hunting when I got there, but they were headed to the opposite side of the woods.  I set up close to a spot that I found last winter but didn't see anything, so decided to scout a little and found a couple places to hang a stand that will be really good evening hunts.  My wife went out Saturday night to a piece of private land we have hunted to 10 years now and she ended up seeing 8 deer (one was a basket 8), a raccoon and had a coyote walk under her ladder stand, latterly between the ladder and the tree the stand is in.  None of the deer were close enough for her to shoot all around 40 yards or so.    

[paceman]

Made it out for a very short sit Saturday Night. Thunder storms had my son and I scrambling for the truck. Our view. Lots of good deer sign in area.

[Musky hunter 82]

I made it out last night, saw a small buck and a nice doe at 20 yards but to quite to hear them and since I'm in some really thick stuff I didn't see them until they were on top of me.  Also saw another deer 40 yards away but couldn't tell what it was, then spooked something behind (not the direction the deer normally head to in the evening) me as I was getting down.  Almost had a Coyote in the CRP grass when I was walking out, big sucker and the second one see in two sits now (one by my wife and now by me), the land owner said that they are coming up on to his yard now.  I've hunted this ground for 12 years and this is the first year I've seen a coyote while hunting.

Here's a couple of views from the stand, going to move it to the edge of the CRP field that is about 30 yards behind me.

[ANYFISH2]

Made it out yesterday evening, SAW 4 deer. The same small buck and 3 does.  They sure seemed skittish with the wind.

For the fact I am getting very few daytime pics of any deer, I am at lest seeing a few every sit.

[paceman]

I made it out for a short sit Friday Morning. Saw 5. I made a bad shot on a nice doe and did not find her.. It was gorgeous out, the woods are changing really fast! I'll bet the leaves are all gone within 2 weeks...

[Xplorer]

Been out 4 times so far this year, I've seen only one yearling doe, that got within 12 yards of me.  Camera shots have shown 5 does, 4 small yearlings and one decent sized adult.  Hunting from a ground blind on the edge of a cedar swamp.

Did have 2 grouse walk right by me saturday evening just before closing.  

[Musky hunter 82]

      Well my wife and I made it out on Saturday night, figuring the cold front would have them on the move early we got to our stands around 4:30 in the afternoon.  Our stands are 60 yards apart and when she looks behind her stand she can see the trail that I'm over looking, but it's too thick for her to shoot at.  At 5:00pm I catch movement in front of me heading towards the CRP field that I'm over looking, yup it's a deer, actually 2 of them.  I start thinking a doe and a fawn, and if the doe gives me a good shot I'm going to take her.  So I stand up and get ready and as they come out into the CRP they both look really small, sure enough the front one is a button buck fawn and the second is a doe fawn.  So I put the bow down and snap some pictures of them with my phone, about 15mins later I hear a deer spook behind me and crash through the woods a little ways. 

Not sure what spooked it but I grabbed my bow just in case it decided to come down one of the trails and into the CRP field.  Sure enough about 10mins later I catch movement coming down the trail, I can tell that it's a bigger body deer then the first two and that it has horns.  Now I like big bucks just like the next guy but I like venison better so if it's a decent body deer I'm going to shoot, as he gets closer to the edge of the CRP there is a small window where I loose sight of the deer before they hit the open ground.  After a little bit I didn't see him come out yet and thought that maybe he headed up the edge of the CRP away from me, after a couple of minutes I catch his movement again and he's heading out into the CRP, I came to full draw and held my 20 yard pin right on his vitals, thinking in my mind is he big enough or not, it's only 5:30 and I've already seen three deer what if a bigger one comes out later.  So I let down my bow and decide to let him walk, he took a couple of steps and just mills around feeding.  After looking at him again I decided to take the shot instead of going another season empty handed, at 25 yards and quartering away I put my pin right in front of the last rib and touched off the shot, I can see my arrow "Thwack" him right where I was aiming.  After about 10mins I get down and find my arrow covered in bright pink blood, so I sent a text to my wife, "Dead deer" with a picture of the arrow.  She texted back right away, I was hoping you'd shoot him, I watched him go into the CRP then heard the "Thwack".  We waited until 6:00 to track him and at times it was a little difficult and was glad that my wife was there to help, he ended up going around 120 - 150 yards.  After dressing him out and getting him home I put him on the scale and he dressed out at 127#'s not the biggest deer but I was able to get 38#'s of fresh lean meat.  The cool part was I tell my kids that we shoot deer so we can make them into hotdogs, as they are looking at the deer, my son looks inside the rib cage and looks at me and asks, "Dad where are the hotdogs"?  Here are a couple of pictures of the stand I was in, the buck I took and my future hunters.  He ended up having 5 points and really weird main beams.

[ANYFISH2]

Congrats!  Happy to hear your success story.

 

[ozzie]

The real question is how the heck do you and your wife get out hunting at the same time and have kids that age at home!! HAHA kidding of course...Congrats on the deer!!!  Meat on the table is better than tag soup no matter how you look at it!!!

[Musky hunter 82]

We just left them at home with a bucket of Ice cream, and a 2 liter of Mountain Dew...... J/K my mother in law watched them, it was the first time we got to go out hunting together this year.  I would take the kids with me if they could be quiet for more than 10mins.  Oh well I might just put my ground blind up in my grove and take them out there "Hunting"...  They were both fighting over who got to hang the "big antlers" in their room..  I love it, can't wait until they are a little older and quieter so they can come with.

[ANYFISH2]

Congratulations, again musky!

Now, on a sour note from the ANYFISH camp,  I was just contacted an hour ago,  my hunting land was sold.  We must remove our stuff as soon as possible.

There goes my baby, all good things must end I guess.  It will be very hard next spring come turkey season.  I don't think I will find anything like it again.  Sad day here in Anyfishville.

 

[ozzie]

Musky- Isn't it amazing what a bucket of ice cream and the TV can do substituting for a sitter? HAHA Congrats again on the deer!!

 

bummer ANYFISH2!!  I too hunt on land that a friend owns and know that one day I will be told I cannot hunt it anymore but I will enjoy it every day until then.  I hope you find fertile ground to hunt on and find it soon and may you have much success doing it!!  Good Luck

[ANYFISH2]

Yeah, another friend already offered up his land to us to bow hunt, and I have always been able to hunt turkeys there.  So not all is lost at all.  

I will still have Ripley and a metro hunt yet this year anyhow.   Time to get out has been low so this isn't effecting this year to bad.  It was just a bummer.

 The boy was more upset that the food plots turned out great and the new guys get the benifits.  That 10 year old was pretty proud of his work I think!

[Wanderer]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your hunting land Anyfish.... Breaking up is hard to do. 

I try to leave before I get told I can't come back - it hurts less that way. 

[ozzie]

hopefully the kid is rewarded with a big buck that you would have never shot if you weren't forced to hunt different land!!

[ANYFISH2]

While taking down stands and Cameras, cameras showed a great increase in activity especially daylight activity.  Two new smaller bucks had showed up Wednesday  and Thursday.  Things look to be getting more active here in Central Minnesota.