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Deer huntig adventures?

2K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  twa2471 
#1 ·
I haven't heard much from any of you deer hunters out there this year. What's up? Nobody got one yet? Not hunting??

I've seen tons of deer so far but all does or spike horns so far,,,

Well actually I did see 3 "rackers" so far ,,,but all on posted property that I don't have permission to hunt on, so there still running. I saw one 3 so far but the 3rd point was so close to being not a legal point, I passed on it rather than take the chance. And BOY OH BOY,, I really looked very close at that one. That's what I like to target, 125 lb 2 year old,,that's great eating right there mister!!

I had seen 2-3 other racker's, but they were so damn far away that light weight 308 Ruger "all weather Warrior" stainless with a pencil barrel more than likely wouldn't have done the job reliably If I'd had the target 308 M-77 one tough, I wouldn't have hesitated for a second! Vt has a 3 point minimum for buck with 1" minimum length for the points and doe season won't start till December during muzzle loader season.

So at this point I'm still biding my time. I've defiantly been hunting hard this year with just a couple days off due to snow squalls so dense you couldn't see 2' in front of you, that doesn't usually bother me, but where I hunt in the "Big Mountains",,just getting there is the issue, not the hunting conditions so much. That and a couple days I've been in Quasi-Motto mode due to hunting hard the previous day. I've hunted every other day though.

Sooooo,,,,Anybody had any luck yet?
 
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#2 ·
Were still thawaing out form last weekends hunt .

It was 9 degrees with a 30 mph north west wind .

I was in a stupid tree for about a hour after light .

My son was in a portable ground blind I set up a small propain heater an he still had ice crystals on the inside roof .

We sat both days never saw a thing WI kill was down about 20% .

we had a snow storm an winds yesterday . I hope to go out tomorrow night .
 
#3 ·
I have been picky this year. During bow season passed on every doe and spike. Only had one buck that qualified in range but never offered me a good pose. Saw the same buck opening rifle weekend and have photos of better bucks and passed. Have seen more deer this year than any time ever. Been out about six weekends this season and have spotted three bucks but were mere glimpses with a rifle or out of range with the crossbow. Sold the old crossbow and got a new one in August. My actual want is one large buck but may have to settle with one doe&spike. On the flip side hogs are more scarce this year for some reason and are spooked easy. Must be a lot of hunting pressure on a neighbors property. Shot a small 130lb sow and a 40lb piglet so far. My buddy got a Texas heart shot pig with his xbow.
 
#4 ·
The heard seems pretty healthy around here this year, but the weather has been all over the place so the does haven't come into estrus nor have the bucks come into the rut yet. I've been on them pretty good, but no real good deer or shots have presented itself yet. There patterns aren't set yet and there roaming "willie nilly" all over the place so far. Not much pressure where I hunt, not many folks but us die-hard's get up there much. So there's no real "shit out" routes established so far. But they don't need to move to far,,there's tons of nuts this year in Vt.

1biggun,, you need to get some of that Ice armor gear,,,it's the bomb,,,I don't know how I ever lived with out it before. Yesterday I was out on the "Big Mountains" hunting at around 4600' -4800' with the wheeler and it was on and off snow squalls, rain, freezing rain, and 25-30 MPH sustained winds with 50+ gusts and in the low teens. Shit was dropping all over the place around me,,,But,,,I was warm as toast. I just wore a set of Ice Armor winter weight long john's, a regular hoodie and a light zip up hoodie fuzzy lined fall jacket I guess you'd call it with just jeans for pants and that's good for 0 or below. It's nice to have all that protection without all the bulk.

That is really something you should consider,,there great. The camo pattern ones come in 2 varieties, the Max 4, and the Oxford set, I have both, plus my "blue suit" for ice fishing. The Oxford type is more waterproof and rain resistant I've found, but has a somewhat noisy fabric, there my go to for on the lake for duck/goose hunting. But not bad if your careful walking through brush while hunting the woods, a light breeze will hide any noise from them pretty easy. The Max 4 type has a softer material that is less noisy, but I've noticed that it won't repel water quite as well and after being in the rain for 5-6 hours it will get damp sometimes, the oxford won't. They also will pick up burrs ect, but they come right off with no stuff left on, so not to bad on that count.

There both great,,for sure and for myself I don't give 2 shits what the weather does sense I got them, I'm out anyhow. Those complete suits , with bibs and jacket combo runs in the 225-250 range (list) and you can find it on sale at Reeds in the 180 range sometimes. It's worth every penny IMO, the weather don't stop me at all,,,no matter how bad,cold or wet the weather is. They have insulated ones too (the gray suits), but I find them way to hot for me,,I was out on "the Lake Of The Woods" last year in -25 and howling winds, and I was still to warm, just my fingers and face got cold.

Even though there one of our Ice Team sponsors, they honestly are the best hunting /foul weather gear I've ever used,,and my opinion has nothing to do with there sponsorship. I'm telling ya true just how good they really are.

Allot of the loggers and equipment operators around here have bought them too,,,and they love them ,,by all the reports I get back from them. There a really tough 600 denier ripstop fabric too, so there really rugged to boot.2 years, 3 on the blue suit, on mine and not a single rip or snag mark on any of them. And I use them hard!!! And POCKETS,,,,you'll go nuts trying to remember just which pocket you put something in,,,there's tons of friggin pockets,,,,almost to many sometimes.

You know what's causing your condensation in the blind,,the propane,,it gives off water vapor when it burns. I use the Little Buddie and Buddie heaters myself and they give off a bit less vapor, but still do some. Those work real good. Plus there rated for enclosed spaces unlike many other heaters that have no O2 sensors on them. They are way more eficiant too,, I use half the fuel I used to sense I got those. Some of those stove types will KILL YA!!! I lost a fishing bud from carbon monoxide poisoning last year due to that,,,so be careful with those single burner type Colman stove rigs, they work good, but will kill ya if you don't vent REAL well.

Ya willie,,I've been fussy too,,,only legal deer this year!!! :lol::lol:

Good luck to everyone,,,,go fill that freezer!
 
#5 ·
I only made one hunt when muzzleloader season opened. Didn't see anything. Was supposed to go meet my buddies in the woods Thursday afternoon, but I decided to spend the time with the grandkids that are here for the week instead. I only get to see them every 6 months or so. Guess I'm getting soft in my old age. Used to be I would drop anything to get into the woods! LOL
 
#6 ·
Ya ,,,sadly duty calls and I'll have to miss the last week end of rifle.

I have to go to Conn first thing tomorrow AM and do ice fishing seminars and product demos in the PM, then back home and then Sat PM & Sunday AM we're off to Cicero NY doing the same thing, both at Gander Mountain stores.

I've got 5 days to hunt muzzle loader next week though, before our next gig @ Cabellas in Scarborough Me. on the 14th & 15th . If all goes well,, going to get her done then,,I only need 1 deer anyhow, but I'd hoped to get one for a friend during rifle season,,, an "older codular" than me,that can't hunt anymore,,,I think he'll be 90 this year if I'm not mistaken.

And there's nothing he likes much more than a good smooth scotch and a venison steak. His was the very first hunting camp I ever went to when I was just a kid, and I'd hunted with him for probably 35 years after that, at least. So I figure I at least owe him a deer for his freezer every year, or at the least part of what I get each year. We did get him to camp this year for cards and campfire stories from the past. Not sure,, but this year may be his last few trips to camp, he's getting pretty feeble now. I've got 3-4 other folks I've known forever that can't hunt any more either and I usually bring them a couple steaks and some stew meat,also. It's pretty sad,, I'm loosing all of my old hunting buds now,,more and more,,,each year.

Still got a chance to get the 2, but I'll have to get busy to do it. 1 to split up between my buds and 1 for me.

Well,, off to pack, then hit the sack,,, talk to ya all in a few days when I get back,,,Good luck boys,, go get um!
 
#7 ·
I got called in on sunday in exchange to have monday off so my buddy and I went out spur of the moment monday morning on his parents property. Its not a huge piece of land but on just about any day of the week when you pull up their hill you see atleast a hand full of deer snooping around.

We sat, tracked, droved and froze our asses off but no luck. Found a bunch of fresh beds, tracks and rubs but those jerks were either way smarter than us or vacated the area for the day.

I won't have another chance to get out again this week but oh well, we'll see if I can bag a nice doe in 2 weeks.
 
#8 ·
Well, no luck this year. I went out for the last time 27 Dec, last day of modern gun Christmas hunt. No deer, no sign, nothing. I was using my saiga 12 and had brought a spare 8 rnd mag full of #6. I brought home a fine mess of squirrels.
 
#9 ·
Yup I got skunked too,, just saw momma's with young skippers,, I just can't shoot a doe with skippers, especially after watching her groom them for and hour while I was hoping a buck would come in.

Oh Well,,just fish and birds for the freezer this year I guess.
 
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