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Team 9

ThePennsylvanian said:
@RMcDonald7 you ready for monday???? I hope you got some time to make it out for the opener, I took monday off, and I'll be hunting Thursday am as well! Rifle season openers this coming week Monday and Saturday!!!
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Man, I did not make it out for Rifle season... Took the kids to Disney for thanksgiving week... lol

I did hunt the last few days before Rifle came in and took a 30yd shot at a 130" 8point. *Missed low*
Re-ranged it when I got down and showed 37yds.... Crap!

I'll be headed out this weekend for sure. cold front coming in Thursday as well and I might end up coming down with a cough around then... lol
 
Jimdude said:
Hope your feeling better soon weldabeast. I hunted a bunch this weekend. Everything has changed at my spot that was on fire during peak rut. This week the boom boom sticks will be out and about. It’s time for me to implement 2 strategies. 1 go where no lazy hunters are willing to go. 2, at the polar end of that spectrum, hunt some bedding areas that are right next to the parking areas. Found a great one of those today. I’ll go 20 yards from the truck and hang high. These critters are really making me work this year.
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Both of these should be solid approaches! Rifle hunters are "lazy" in general. Not all but most. I found some awesome spots very very lose to parking areas, in fact on of my best spots is 100 feet from the car, I've never had anyone bother me there either!
 
Saw alot of fresh sign Saturday, both tracks and droppings but no deer.

We've got 3-6 inches of snow coming in tomorrow and plan to hunt hard starting Wednesday afternoon. Fresh snow will tell me where to go and the snow will make it easy to drag my sled if I get anything.
 
WI 9 day gun season is in the books, killed two, a mature curly toed swamp doe Sunday morning of 1st weekend and a 1.5 yr old, 5 pt on Sunday evening 2nd weekend about 10 minutes before close of season. Had help with the doe because I was sitting before we start drives on Sunday but the buck I was alone and I had a rotten pack out. Swamp was froze enough to carry me in light but not heavy out and I got soaked. Luckily pretty short (1.3 mi) and flat so I was still home by 8:30. I was quartering him and all of a sudden it's dead silent, about 10 minutes later a dog starts barking and I didn't know if it was a yote or a wolf since we have both on this property, turned out to be a yote, the wolves are usually farther north in the cedar swamp and sedge meadow. I had some fun mimicking it, it really torques them off. My swamp misadventure was off the one corner of this island and I had to walk back past the kill and they were already about done with the gut pile in the 30 minutes it took me to get soaked, empty my boots and walk back past. Unfortunately both these deer were taken with my feet on the ground so no points scored but venison in the freezer. The young buck especially is really tasty, my OK buck is tough as nails and that doe was no spring chicken.

I won a Browning AB3 in a firemans raffle, slapped a cheap vortex vanquish on it and this was my 1st season using that and it's 2/2. I like it alot would definitely recommend a look at it if you're christmas shopping for a young hunter this year. Would make a great 1st rifle.
 

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Looking forward to tomorrow.

We should have 4-7" of fresh snow on the ground which'll tell me exactly where they're moving. I've also cut out several patterns for possibles bags and similar which'll give me plenty of busy work this winter. If I can blood this Hawkens in the next week or so, I may get one in a flintlock...or I may get one anyways.:sweatsmile:
 
MNFarmHunter said:
Looking forward to tomorrow.

We should have 4-7" of fresh snow on the ground which'll tell me exactly where they're moving. I've also cut out several patterns for possibles bags and similar which'll give me plenty of busy work this winter. If I can blood this Hawkens in the next week or so, I may get one in a flintlock...or I may get one anyways.:sweatsmile:
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Now your speaking my language, I've been shooting and hunting with flintlocks for 16 years. Let's say I have a couple of them.... lol we actually have season specific for flintlocks only here in PA.
 
I have a Pennsylvania hanging on my wall next to a powder horn, Constitution and a craptastic possibles bag that'll be replaced this winter.

So far, I suck with flintlocks and have been using my Hawkens caplock which is every bit as accurate as a slug gun. I do, however, want to get good with flint and do more primitive hunting.

Crap!!! I just admitted I'm getting older...

Edit: As an aside, I think I've come up with a Cow's Knee that slides out of the way as opposed to having to be removed for those wet and snowy hunts. Once I get new leather and can perfect it, it should make life simpler.
 
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MNFarmHunter said:
I have a Pennsylvania hanging on my wall next to a powder horn, Constitution and a craptastic possibles bag that'll be replaced this winter.

So far, I suck with flintlocks and have been using my Hawkens caplock which is every bit as accurate as a slug gun. I do, however, want to get good with flint and do more primitive hunting.

Crap!!! I just admitted I'm getting older...

Edit: As an aside, I think I've come up with a Cow's Knee that slides out of the way as opposed to having to be removed for those wet and snowy hunts. Once I get new leather and can perfect it, it should make life simpler.
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O dang, I'd like to see that, using one is a pain but they work to goos to not use. It took me quite a few years to figure them out, but I will always save tags for after Xmas.... my go to rifle is a traditions hawken woodsman 50cal, 90gr 3F pushing a 240gr Hornady PA conical, mostly using 3F in the pan as well.
 
ThePennsylvanian said:
O dang, I'd like to see that, using one is a pain but they work to goos to not use. It took me quite a few years to figure them out, but I will always save tags for after Xmas.... my go to rifle is a traditions hawken woodsman 50cal, 90gr 3F pushing a 240gr Hornady PA conical, mostly using 3F in the pan as well.
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Here's the thread on it:

Possibles bags and other outdoor leather works

My winter hobby this year is to get back into leather working. I've made different types of holsters in the past and am focusing on more traditional items like possibles bags, "cows knee" lock covers, etc. In terms of protecting the leather long term and from the weather, the traditional...
saddlehunter.com

I made this out of scrap and it's currently tied with hemp thread. By having the attachment method forward, it tips forward allowing it to slide forward and off to the side. It actually worked better than I thought it would but I still want to tweak it and give it a more colonial look.

Edit: I'm running 95gr. over a patched ball. I'm fortunate in having both Tandy and Track of the Wolf within driving distance and want to try a Lymans 50cal. Minne ball.
 
Yeah, so I was down and out Sunday/Monday. Wasn't pleasant....going back to the base in the morning. Not sure if I should pick up where I left off whenever I started feeling ill. I had just jumped a deer and there was some of the fresher sign I seen.... or go check other blocks of woods. I've been in 3 outta the 6 so far. I've been hunting out at this base for 4 or 5 years now...it's tough. 6 blocks of woods roughly 1 - 1.5sq mile each...7 day a week hunting pressure. I have missed 1 buck and a doe and had other encounters over the years but never killed 1 out there. No out of season scouting, all equipment taken out at the end of each day, walk in only, archery only, sugar sand ...tomorrow could be the day...we'll see.
 
Went out again this morning and was in position before first light. I can say, with absolute certainty, I know where the deer aren’t during daylight hours.

Wind chills are single digits tomorrow so I’ll be back at it Sunday with my new possibles bag.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Still got time left here but I'm having trouble getting a free moment to get out there. Still trying every chance I get but at least right now chances are few and far between.

I thought for sure this was my year to finally kill a buck.... That miss in archery stinging worse now than the day it happened. I have zero expectations of a buck now... Got till jan22 till deer season closes and jan15 for the base that allows does Ive been hunting... then small game opens up which will do squat for this contest but I think it's my favorite time of year to hunt.
 
Our rifle season ended yesterday, I have until the end of January to fill some tags
The flintlock comes out next to play! A couple rifle doe hunts sprinkled in there too. After talking to a bunch of yall, I'm eve. More greatful for the opportunity that my state provides for deer hunting, there are better states but we definitely have it good here! I hope all of you find the time to get out there and do what we all love doing! Keep at it!
 
I still can’t buy a deer for my freezer. Yesterday was the 6th and last day of shotgun. Now I have to wait for winter bow in January.
 
If this were a scouting trip, today would have been awesome. Found several beds where the snow had been completely melted meaning they were used in the last day. Followed tracks through dropping that had to be no more than hours old. Found rubs everywhere, but...

This public land area gets heavy pressure so they're buried deep in the lowlands and marshes until after dark. With the snow and temps, there was no way to get in there quietly and even if I did get a shot off, I have no idea how I'd get it out since we have to bring the entire carcass. I did hear a shot about 1/2 mile in front of me and assume I probably pushed something into that hunter.

On a positive note, I know exactly where I'll be next archery opener.
 
What a year... I fired 2 shots all bow season, seen some really nice bucks (at a distance) and had some of the biggest bucks within shooting distance but no shots. Put a lot of time in the woods this year. I have 1 week left as season ends on Dec 31st. I'm taking week after xmas off and hope to drop one and help the team on the board!
 
I've been out a couple times lately but getting skunked...it's not from lack of effort..I've been putting in the miles but sign of deer is few and far between and not very fresh. I had high hopes last sit. I found a real secluded oak hammock that was a far walk but right up against a highway so I pretty sure that it is being overlooked by other hunters and it had at least 10 fresh piles of poo and the freshest rub I saw all day with 3 or 4 older rubs in the same clearing but nobody showed up.
 
At this point I’m convinced that entering this contest has been bad ju-ju for me. Yesterday took my first shot at a deer all year and it went clear over it! Looked at my bow in disbelief and realized I used my 40 pin for a 30 yard deer. Same spot tonight a small buck came out. I heard him moseying in for a while in the frozen leaves. By the time he got to me all I could see was the white of his antlers when he would turn his head. He walked right under my tree and at that point I couldn’t see anything at all. Then I heard his buddy come in from a different direction and they went off. They were waiting for me by my truck just like last night. Uggg……. Saturday night I’ll go back if weather permits.
 
Fellas, my 2022 season has come to and end.

My first year in a saddle has been great and I wont be returning to a stand any time soon.
With well over 30 hunts this season I will be eating "tag soup" this year. I took 2 shots all season, 1 hit and 1 miss. Hit was high lung early season (5+hrs of searching with no luck) and missed a 38 yd shot just low (ranged 32 - user error).

This group has been great keeping up with! I'm sorry I failed to put some points on the board.

I'm looking forward to next year already!
 
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