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Team 4 The Win!

Team logo

  • Antler 4 on White

    Votes: 8 57.1%

  • The Green one

    Votes: 1 7.1%

  • Cross hairs with Red Text

    Votes: 3 21.4%

  • Other - comment please

    Votes: 2 14.3%
  • Total voters
    14
Man what a day it was! I missed that buck at 840 ish. 10:19 I happen to look over my shoulder and there’s and absolute bruiser standing out at 90 yards. For 50 minutes he didn’t lift a hoof. When he finally did he moved his right rear forward and that was it. He’d occasionally look around and lock his lips. He was off my wind and certainly off the thermals right around the hour mark his entire body language changed as he looked straight out in front of me. So I turn my head and here comes a doe (or so I thought) across the hill side. So knowing exactly where are the does cross here and knowing it’s 15 yards from me I got extremely excited! The doe ended up being a very very small spike but it got the big boy to move in to 65yds and then the spike came to 30yds and bedded down. I look up to see him also bedded down at 65. After an hour and 40 minutes he decided to just stand up and slowly walk away in the direction he came. Anyone who’s hunted Massachusetts or similar knows how hard it is to see 1 decent buck in a day never mind 2 and some extras! Hands down best day I’ve ever had in the woods even if I was soaked and shivering all day and came home with an empty truck and one less arrow
 
I’m still struggling hard this season. The new permission piece I got has been a ghost town for deer. One sighting my first sit, a buck way out of bow range(over 70yd). Close to home small public piece gets heavy pressure but it’s got bigger bucks than anywhere else I hunt. But in 7 sits I’ve only seen one deer, a buck and I whiffed that shot. That was the Friday before rifle opener, Monday I went to hunt in there and a neighboring private landowner said he and his group got 4 nice deer in 3 days(6pt, another 6, am 8 and a 9). Unheard of heree. I also bumped a deer I didn’t even see there, when I got too aggressive/too close to bedding earlier this week. My small private place has been completely dead, bears put a hurting on fawns this there this year. Another local public piece that had good sign I keep getting screwed by non hunters. Went and scout-hunted a new area of big woods today in the icy rain and saw good sign but no deer. Just plugging along. Bunch of old timers near me say they’ve never seen so few deer, others getting lucky on big bucks. I think the drought here really screwed up their ranges/patterns. I’m getting the impression they’re all concentrated by the safe water sources, but the normal safe water spots are bone dry. Walked across a drainage earlier this week with dry roots at my knees, with dry boots the whole way. Rain all day yesterday and today, see if it helps things. Too late to change rutting patterns I think, but might help for late season. I’ll likely be staying on the ground the next couple hunts while I try to figure out where they went, but we’ll see. Gotta get something in the freezer but watch me change what I’m doing just in time for them to move to their normal fall habitat. But man I’ve been hitting it hard, putting in a lot of time and seeing nothing 85% of my hunts, and the rest are way out of range, or I screw up(bump without seeing, mostly). And I have a feeling some of the dead sits I’m getting “quietly busted.”

Oh well, there’s my cry session, back at it tomorrow.
 
I started out the season great - doe on my first sit and deer in now range on 3 of my first 4 hunts, but when the leaves came off the trees it seems the deer have disappeared. The last 4 hunts I haven't had a deer closer than 150 yards (and that was just a quick glimpse through the brush). I did receive some encouragement when checking my trail cams today. They blew up with big bucks this week, mostly not in shooting hours, but a few pushing the edges of legal light. Just got to keep plugging away.
 
I think this is the last time this 350 ever comes up a tree. Magpul stuff is pretty nice but I can't imagine anything being any louder. Guns are ok stalking around but forget this saddle nonsense. This is a bow tactic.

Anyway, uncomfortably close to houses. Which a couple dogs just started going nuts. But tons of trails, fresh doe group turds and a couple scrapes. Hope they show! It's the hunts that start bad that end well, right?
 
Horn said:
I think this is the last time this 350 ever comes up a tree. Magpul stuff is pretty nice but I can't imagine anything being any louder. Guns are ok stalking around but forget this saddle nonsense. This is a bow tactic.

Anyway, uncomfortably close to houses. Which a couple dogs just started going nuts. But tons of trails, fresh doe group turds and a couple scrapes. Hope they show! It's the hunts that start bad that end well, right?
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Maybe you should look at a hand gun for the saddle? Keep it close. On the other side, shooting down is safer.
 
MattMan81 said:
Maybe you should look at a hand gun for the saddle? Keep it close. On the other side, shooting down is safer.
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I like bow better anyway but I take the gun in season.

1 hour to go. Footsteps for sure!! Oof. Couple ding dongs just arriving the ridge 30 yards away. Stand right on top in the open. Then 1 starts waving his hat. Gotta love public lol. Did see some turkeys though
 
Dope on a Rope said:
I’m still struggling hard this season. The new permission piece I got has been a ghost town for deer. One sighting my first sit, a buck way out of bow range(over 70yd). Close to home small public piece gets heavy pressure but it’s got bigger bucks than anywhere else I hunt. But in 7 sits I’ve only seen one deer, a buck and I whiffed that shot. That was the Friday before rifle opener, Monday I went to hunt in there and a neighboring private landowner said he and his group got 4 nice deer in 3 days(6pt, another 6, am 8 and a 9). Unheard of heree. I also bumped a deer I didn’t even see there, when I got too aggressive/too close to bedding earlier this week. My small private place has been completely dead, bears put a hurting on fawns this there this year. Another local public piece that had good sign I keep getting screwed by non hunters. Went and scout-hunted a new area of big woods today in the icy rain and saw good sign but no deer. Just plugging along. Bunch of old timers near me say they’ve never seen so few deer, others getting lucky on big bucks. I think the drought here really screwed up their ranges/patterns. I’m getting the impression they’re all concentrated by the safe water sources, but the normal safe water spots are bone dry. Walked across a drainage earlier this week with dry roots at my knees, with dry boots the whole way. Rain all day yesterday and today, see if it helps things. Too late to change rutting patterns I think, but might help for late season. I’ll likely be staying on the ground the next couple hunts while I try to figure out where they went, but we’ll see. Gotta get something in the freezer but watch me change what I’m doing just in time for them to move to their normal fall habitat. But man I’ve been hitting it hard, putting in a lot of time and seeing nothing 85% of my hunts, and the rest are way out of range, or I screw up(bump without seeing, mostly). And I have a feeling some of the dead sits I’m getting “quietly busted.”

Oh well, there’s my cry session, back at it tomorrow.
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This year has been tough I don’t know where in the world you’re located or what your acorn crop holds but I’m in mass and the acorns are nut and waters almost non existent. I’ve found all my best activity in the big woods this year. Big woods is what I hunt 99% of the time anyways but playing thermals on benches has been the winning ticket all season for me. And it’s All the perpendicular benches to the running water source that I’ve seen everything. Get the wind coming off the top of the hill that water should pull it and swirl it back up to your off side. Sit just off that thermal and I bet you start seeing deer! Hope this helps you out man! Gun season opens here on Monday so I’m gonna get one last good all day sit in on Monday back there in hopes that the activity continues before the pressure hits hard
 
I drove around the near by public last evening to see who was out and about. Only saw two parking areas off to the side with no truck parked there. Most had 2. Not a big area. So sure it's all getting pounded hard for a while. Farm has been hunted hard. So looks like I'm taking a break for a while and let gun season settle. Small area I saw is off limits with a permit until December. Might check that out on the first with my bow.
 
In the woods again today, much better than last time. Super windy last time woods were silent. This am tons of movement even with it raining, heard a rabbit fighting for its life
IMG_4573.png
 
Well guys I’m afraid I may have to throw in the towel this season. I’m no expert but I’m pretty sure one of the limbs on my xbow is delaminating. I’ve reached out to Barnett, we’ll see what they say. Unless I can get a set from a dealer and installed quick, which during the middle of season I doubt, might be all she wrote. Noticed it this morning when I was climbing down from the tree.
IMG_4577.png
 
Hope they get you taken care of @Exhumis , that's a major bummer!

I may be taking a break until the first or second. We'll see
 
Exhumis said:
Well guys I’m afraid I may have to throw in the towel this season. I’m no expert but I’m pretty sure one of the limbs on my xbow is delaminating. I’ve reached out to Barnett, we’ll see what they say. Unless I can get a set from a dealer and installed quick, which during the middle of season I doubt, might be all she wrote. Noticed it this morning when I was climbing down from the tree.
View attachment 111579
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Well. On the positive side, you caught it before it blew up, and didn't get hurt.
Stinks.. I have been there. Sounds like you got a warranty?
 
Tomorrow’s the last day of archery at home and I’m gonna take it off and spend a full weekend with the family. Monday though I’m going to try to take my first shotgun saddle deer! Never ever do I hunt from a tree during gun season but this year I’ve devised a plan hoping it works out! Haha
 
Scored 5 more points for the team last night. I could have scored 13, but I decided to pass on a basket 8 pointer since I'm trying to hold out for a bigger buck. Eventually I broke down and decided to shoot the buck, but then as soon as I decided to shoot him he turned directly away from me and then another buck caught my movement and they both ran off. Even though a buck would have been more points for the team I'm glad I shot this doe instead since I still have my buck tag and the doe I ended up shooting 10 minutes later was really big so she'll give plenty of meat. This was the first deer I've shot with my lever action 44 mag with a scope on it. I was really glad I had the scope since I shot her at 80 yards when the visibility was really low so I would not have felt comfortable with that shot with my open sights. 2024-2nd-doe-crop.jpg
 
mathhunter said:
Scored 5 more points for the team last night. I could have scored 13, but I decided to pass on a basket 8 pointer since I'm trying to hold out for a bigger buck. Eventually I broke down and decided to shoot the buck, but then as soon as I decided to shoot him he turned directly away from me and then another buck caught my movement and they both ran off. Even though a buck would have been more points for the team I'm glad I shot this doe instead since I still have my buck tag and the doe I ended up shooting 10 minutes later was really big so she'll give plenty of meat. This was the first deer I've shot with my lever action 44 mag with a scope on it. I was really glad I had the scope since I shot her at 80 yards when the visibility was really low so I would not have felt comfortable with that shot with my open sights. View attachment 111713
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Love the 44mag. Your accuracy good out to 100yrds with it? What kinda ammo are you shooting? Talked to people who had issues with accuracy at longer ranges to.
I had to get some custom loads to get my single shot to be accurate past 60. Now it's dead on at 100.
 
Cut my trip short due to snow, which hasn't really materialized like they said... so normal forecast. Giving the 350 one more try from a tree, hopefully that deer I've been trying to get a look at is a shooter and he shows up. I'm in a brown is down mood today so hopefully something comes by
 
MattMan81 said:
Love the 44mag. Your accuracy good out to 100yrds with it? What kinda ammo are you shooting? Talked to people who had issues with accuracy at longer ranges to.
I had to get some custom loads to get my single shot to be accurate past 60. Now it's dead on at 100.
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I sighted it in at 65 I think. The shot I took last night was at 80 and it was dead on. I need to get to a range sometime this Spring/Summer to test it out at 100, though I rarely have opportunities for shots that long where I hunt.
 
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