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Team 7 Thread

In a tree right now. Got a doe last weekend.
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I'll be sitting tomorrow morning and evening. Got 2 sits in so far but have only seen 3 small bucks. I won't shoot them cause I have at least 3 really nice shooter bucks in my hunting area. I will however be puttin some does on the ground if they get too close. Unlimited doe tags where I live.
 
Cold front coming through, opening day is tomorrow in Wisconsin, I have to work. Crud. Looks like this team is weighed toward the Wisconsin side, sorry @redsquirrel .

I know most of you through your posts, I have met @ofor in person as he has hosted two saddle meetups (great guy). Good luck to all this season!
 
What up team, looks like a killer lineup this year. I always enjoy this contest and the camaraderie on the team, thanks to all that work to put it on.

A few familiar internet faces on the team this year. To those unfamiliar my real name is Joe and I live in Central PA. I hunt pretty much all mountain public land these days and primarily bow hunt but I'll dust out the rifle if need be.

2 weeks out until our season still. It's been too hot and humid to set me in the mood anyway. I really don't care to be in the woods much until it's consistenly under 70 degrees and this ridiculous humidity retreats back down south where it belongs. I'm slowly ramping up preparations for hunting, but more focused on squeezing in another trip or two to Lake Erie with my old man before the boat gets put away for a long winter.

Another season with life changes throwing a wrench into my plans. I am leaving my job October 15 after 11 years working for "the man" to focus on building up my own accounting/consulting practice from scratch. Exciting and super terrifying at the same time. So I'll have the opportunity to hunt as much as I want the second half of the season, but it's going to be different now that I'm not getting PTO, and I need to find a handful of clients pronto.

I haven't scouted much since April but I did cover a lot of ground last winter/spring and have some new spots I feel really good about going into this year. Last year was a little wild how much pressure there was on public around here in places I never dealt with much before. Hoping that chills out a little this year. That got old pretty fast and even has me thinking about getting some property of my own, something I have said I would never do.

Put a few cells cams out on Labor Day and I have a couple bucks in that 115-130" class which is where most of the bucks top out around these parts. I have one, that I believe is the buck I missed last year, that I feel I have a pretty good bead on where he's at. I never do well in October but feeling a little confident I can get on this dude. He's a good buck but I'm not even sure I'd shoot him the first week. I just can't imagine being done before the season even gets fun.


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I guess I should introduce myself as well
My name is Ryan and as my stage name indicates I live in St.Croix county Wisconsin right on the Minnesota border. I bow hunt all public around me, most of which is 200 acres or less so I do go back to SE Minnesota where I grew up to hunt the late shotgun season with my old man and some family friends while the rifle hunters are out here.
Sat on the sidelines in jealousy last year and read all the posts from the contest so I am excited to be a part of it this year.
 
I've got a half hour between jobs, so I'll take some time to introduce myself as well. My name is Mark and I live in SE Wisconsin. I hunt almost all public, which around here is mostly small tracts and hunted hard--driving many of the deer onto adjacent private land.

I don't get to hunt as much as I prefer due to working 70-75 hours per week (don't ask). Also, Sunday afternoons the family, kids and grand kids, come over and I barbecue. I love my family and won't give this up, even for hunting. I do take a week off work for the rut, and another week for gun season.

Gun season for me is a meat hunt combined with an up-North vacation with some friends. Lot's of fun, endless public land to hunt, but I've never shot a decent buck during rifle season. ...And I don't care.

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In a tree myself. Bear hunting in MI. I didn’t intend to hunt out of the saddle. I brought my stuff to make my dad try it again. Bear guide says someone needs to hunt bait X. Only problem is the stand is set up for gun 50 yards away not a bow. I raise my hand and say I am your huckleberry. Nothing like having a bear guide watch you onestick up a tree for the first time of the season while he is standing below scratching his head saying “what the hell”. Then he says. How are you getting down……I tell him not to worry. I have it figured out.


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onestringer said:
In a tree myself. Bear hunting in MI. I didn’t intend to hunt out of the saddle. I brought my stuff to make my dad try it again. Bear guide says someone needs to hunt bait X. Only problem is the stand is set up for gun 50 yards away not a bow. I raise my hand and say I am your huckleberry. Nothing like having a bear guide watch you onestick up a tree for the first time of the season while he is standing below scratching his head saying “what the hell”. Then he says. How are you getting down……I tell him not to worry. I have it figured out.


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The forum needs to add points for bear.
 
Great introductions guys.

I’m John and I’m located in central CT. I hunt mostly state forest land that’s a mix of mature hardwoods with thickets of mountain laurel under the canopy, and with some other areas of lowland swamps. The deer are definitely pressured by a good number of hunters in the state forests that I hunt. My scouting finds most of the sign in areas that are much too thick to make a quiet approach - thickets of laurel that require you to get down on your hands and knees to crawl, and swamps that require hip waders to explore or get across. Basically places where few hunters will go and no one can sneak up on the deer - if you try you’ll hear them blow and exit the other side of the laurel or swamp.

I find tons of droppings in the state forest mountain laurel thickets - and most of those thickets cover dozens of acres. I mostly set up on the edges of those areas where I find a good scrape or rub line and wait in ambush. Being elevated is essential in the laurel or your line of sight is really limited.

The trees around here are mostly white oak, hickory, and ash, but there’s some red oak, maple, and occasional beech trees too. There aren’t a lot of pines in my area of the state.

I started placing some trail cams on public lands around me in August and I’m getting a decent number of pics … mostly does, a few four and six pointers with an occasional small eight pointer. I haven’t located any impressive bucks so far.

Opening day for archery deer season in CT was this past Wednesday. I’ve done two evening sits so far with no shot opportunities. For my area, the heat and humidity have both been too high. Like elk yinzer, I dislike hunting when it’s over 70 degrees, but I’ve gotten out there regardless. The weather forecast indicates my area won’t cool down to 70 degrees before Friday.

I’ve seen white oaks absolutely raining acorns this week. With all the oak stands in these parts, that means the deer can feed almost anywhere they want. I’m not used to the mast dropping this early here - it seems about a month early. I think it’s because of all the rain we’ve had all summer long, which is very unusual for my area.

That’s all for now - good luck and happy hunting!
 
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Real name is Scott Hesterly. Live in SW Missouri. I hunt a lot. Question who is making the Team 7 avatar?


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onestringer said:
Real name is Scott Hesterly. Live in SW Missouri. I hunt a lot. Question who is making the Team 7 avatar?


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Where in SW MO? I live in SW MO also, between Springfield and Joplin.
 
We are practically neighbors. I am through Miller frequently going hunting


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