Ok, whos hunting yet?

[James Wrenn]

I finally get to go Saturday. :highfive: I am really looking forward to breaking in the DAS and Goblin this year.I know some of you guys are probably already hunting.I have a year of first for me with 2 bows to break in and I plan on shooting my first out of a treesuit this year.2 new broadheads to try out as well. :)

[Brutus Hedgeapple]

What I did this past weekend you could hardly call hunting. I took a walk carrying a bow. I've hunted this place for the last 9 seasons and hardly ever see deer this early. I need the corn to be cut, that usually helps. I pretty much squirell hunt hoping a deer comes along. I enjoy it though, I guess that's all that matters.

Brutus

[Lambow]

James, i'll be giving it a go this saturday too. Going to be useing a new broadhed & bow also - WARF, ICS 500's, with a Wensel Woodsman.

Good hunting to ya, hope you kill a nice one.


Lambow

[Bill Carlsen]

...just returned from Maine bear hunt. I got a small bear on the next to last day and Laura saw something like 20 bear...more than anyone in camp. We had such bad weather that the guide is letting people get back a few days of hunting so she is going back at the end of the month for a few days. The coastal deer season in Maine start Sat. and the NH season starts on the 15th. NH bear started on Sept. 1. Good luck to all. :cheers:

[James Wrenn]

Lambow that sounds like a mighty deadly combination you have there. I think those woodsmans are the best 3 blade head made.I have shot through everthing I ever shot with them but one hog that was coming toward me.

Bill when are we going to see your pictures from the bear hunt?

[Pinelander]

Good luck guys... ya dogs anyway, get to start 3 weeks before we do. :(

Can't wait to see if this ol' block-bodied deer is still around this year. :eek:

Get pumped guys!... first time stands are thumpers!

[Pinelander]

Ought to be a real spine-tingling weekend...

[Curtiss Cardinal]

I will probaly make down to Kentucky before the end of the month to go hunting with Dalebow. If not I have to wait until October 1st for the season to start her in Indiana. The weird part is I really fell like this is my year. Like I KNOW I am going to kill more than one deer and probably a decent buck too. I don't know why I just feel that way.

[Chris wilson]

I've got 2 more weeks to go before opening morning. Shelly says I'm worse than a young child waiting on Christmas morning. :)

[Pinelander]

Alright you deer thumpin' maniacs, see or tag any deer this morning?

James? Lambow? Let's hear about opening day... :)

I'm still undecided... although my Stallion should be back by Oct. 1st.

[James on laptop]

Piney I saw 3 spikes this morning.I saw 2 spikes, a doe with a fawn and the same group of 3 spikes I saw this morning again in the afternoon.The doe come in and was about to be in trouble. :) Before she got just right this little bitty fawn still in full spots ran up to her almost gave her a hug.I could not take the shot then.I guess I am getting soft or something. ;)
The good thing is I was in the right tree and had multiple shots at every deer.Maybe next week I can find a shooter or a doe that don't have such a little bambi with here. :)

[Lambow]

Good Grief Piney!!! Is that buck roamin around in the woods you hunt?It looks like a bull, with big deer antlers. Is that a drop tine i see too.... If it is, and i were you, i'd scout him from a distance, with binos. I wouldn't go into his territory to hunt him, till he is crazed with the rut!!!!


Lambow

[Pinelander]

Yeah, I don't mess with the ones that have real little fawns with them, even though they'll be on their own in a month or so. Usually, most does up here don't dry up until about the first week of November.

You toting a camera around with you this year?

[Lambow]

Sounds like you had a good morning James, great stand location too.... i don't blame you, it's kinda hard to shoot mama, when she has a little one, or two with her like that.

Lambow

[Esquire]

James.

Two years ago I held back a full draw on a doe with 2 yearlings because I recognized her notched ear and her babies and just said no. That was my season but no regrets.

Sounds like a great day! :)

Mike

[James Wrenn]

Yeah I don't mind shooting one with fawns that are big enough I know they are weaned.But this one was not close.She was born late and just too little to be without mama right now. :) On a lot of places I hunt one of the spikes would have bit the dust but on the property I was hunting we try to not shoot many of the little guys.
In truth the spike would have been the better deer because there is starting to be a shortage of does in that area and I plan on trying to take mine from other land this year.We can shoot does on any day for the whole season.We get 6 tags, 4 of which are now doe tags and after 10 years of that you can see the effects in areas with a lot of hunting.Of course as a side effect it makes a big old doe harder to hunt than most bucks.Last year I could have shot 2 dozen little bucks but only got one shot at a good doe.I don't have her to shoot at this year. ;)

AS a side note... used to people would start bow hunting and plan on shooting a few does because they were easier when we had a couple of days a year to hunt them.They really had no pressure on them.Now days I expect most first kills are young bucks because they are the easier ones. :p

[Lambow]

I'll second that statement James, about the old does being the hardest deer in the woods to kill. I've seen them be the eyes & ears many times when with a small group of other does with their young, while they are feeding and moving about. They won't eat, for looking, listening and testing the wind all the time.... and yes, that spike buck is about the dumbest deer in the woods.

We can kill 10 does & 2 bucks. but,i don't care to kill this many myself. usually 4 or 5 is enough.

[pondscum2]

leaving tomorrow for tellico ( just south of the Smokies). early opener here since only fools & old hippies dare the wild hogs & snakes to do their best. every time i go i see bears, deer, & more @#$%^&% copperheads & timber rattlers than anyone ought to ever have nightmares about. never brought anything out of them mountains but memories, but aint that what we are really lookin' for ????? :cheers: ps2

[Pinelander]

Dang it PS2.... SHOOT some of them Copperheads or Rattlers! :shooting:

By way of this post... my order for a pair of snake skins is IN. :D

[swampy]

Good luck!! Our season doesn,t open till Oct 15th unless I head up north,then its Sept 27th and last yrs tags are good till Oct 1 which starts the next hunting yr.

[James Wrenn]

Those copperheads are like gold at $75 a pair.I would bring those out with the memorys. :) good luck

[Bill Carlsen]

...I managed to get up early on the 15th and went to on of my stands that overlooks a small stream where the deer cross in both directions. I got there and it started to rain. After an hour I was soaked so I left and by the time I got to the car it had stopped. Laura and I went out that afternoon and it rained some more. After an hour I decided that shooting a deer in the rain is not what I want to do (lost 2 due to evening rain showers) so got Laura and left. You guessed it, we got to the car and it stopped raining. Couldn't hunt last evening because my daughter, Caitlin, had a vollyball game and we took her and her boyfriend out to eat afterwards. When I got home one of the landowners had called and left a message that for the past two evenings they had 3 deer in their lower garden in back of the house near where my stands are. The deer wouldn't leave even though they tried to chase them. You and I both know if I hunt there tonight that it will either rain again or they will spook at the sight of me. Maybe I should wear my farmer jeans and pretend to be taking care of the gardern. I am having hunting withdrawl issues at the moment and am not sleeping well. I heard that back straps is a good remedy. :sbrug:

[James Wrenn]

I went to hunt a good spot this morning.Everything was perfect.The wind was from the direction I wanted.It was a thick fog on the feild so I could get around to where I needed to go,knowing the deer would stay out there later this morning.I wanted to catch them going to bed when it was light enough to shoot as they came by the stand.20 minuites after shooting light an 8 and 6 point crossed the creek exactly where I wanted them to.I could feel a slight breeze right in my face as I watched them at a juction of two paths that head into the cutover.After milling around the 8 takes a path that will come by the right side of my stand.I shot at 10yds on a perfect broadside while he was in a slow walk.The arrow was a perfect 10 but the deer was not there.He dropped so quick that I never touched him and I was shooting a low heart shot with a pretty fast arrow.He spooked off and 5 minuites later the 6 comes up my left side.Standing still, broadside looking the other way at 18yds.Before the arrow got to him, he had dropped and turned to face the direction he came from.The arrow passed over him from the oposite side that I shot at.I have heard of deer doing things like this, but to be honest I really thought most of it was bs.I have never had a deer react as much as these deer did even shooting them over bait or in the years with compounds!It is not that I did not hit either deer that bothers me most, it is the fact both shots were dead on the mark but there was nothing I could do about it.Since this is my first season hunting with a recurve it is making me wonder if the same thing would have happened with one of my longbows.This darn bow is pretty quiet but it does sound different than a longbow and it bothers me to no end that I could do everything so right and have this happen.Was it just these particular deer or does this just happen more often with a recurve bow?Sorry for going on but I am just venting and wondering if the recurve needs a retreiver reel on it. :)

[Pinelander]

I'm feeling your pain, James. But can't say that I really know what it's like though, never had deer react like that in 20 years of hunting with a recurve... and my bows were not what you'd call REAL quiet recurves either. Doesn't sound like the deer were not in alert mode. Only thing I can think of is the 10 yard shot was just TOO close. Was just talking about this with Lambow this evening. No matter how calm they might be, when they're that close it doesn't take much for them to hear or see draw-back, release, bow noise, or follow-thu motion. The 6 pt... no clue as to what that was about, only that he may have been on a higher alert level than it appeared. They sure can move fast, huh? One thing Lambow commented on and I agreed as well... when they're real close and get hit, they sure do freak out and run like the dickens, probably because they heard the sound of bow so close to them and might have even caught movement of release. I had a small buck run flat out for 300 yards across a cut bean field after hitting him from 8-10 yards in the midst of a walk right after he jumped a fence.

In answer to your question - no, I don't believe it happens more often with a recurve... it was the deer, the situation, and bad luck. Keep at it, the next time will not be anything like today. :)

[Bill Carlsen]

After being rained out on the first two days Laura and I finally got to sit in our stands until evening on Sat. Laura was about 80 yards from me on a creek crossing and I was on a stand overlooking a forelorn apple tree that had very few apples but plenty of fresh tracks. The evening before the landowner had called to inform me that 3 deer had been frequenting their back yard garden whic is about 60 yards from my stand down in the woods. At about 6 PM I heard a deer snort up in their Christmas tree field about 80 yards from me. This went on for about 15 mnutes for unknown reasons. Then the deer entered the pines and came my way but stayed about 40 yards away. I suspected they knew I was there but then again in the past if they even suspected my presence they just blew out of there. I could see one was a yearling and the other a bigger deer that proved to be a fat spike horn. They seemed to be heading towards Laura. However the spike just kept acting as if he was unable to make up his mind and I thought for sure they would be leaving in a hurry. After about 10 minutes they settled down and came directly to the apple tree and started to feed on the 5 or 6 apples that were on the ground. I had already decided that the smaller deer would be safe so waited for the spike to give me that perfect shot. He was about 8 ysards quartering away when I released the arrow. I had forgotten that I had lumenoks on the Beman shaft and was delighted to see it disappear where it did. It took out the second to last rib and angled down and foward and exited the opposite front leg at the elbow. He went about 100 yards or so but the blood trail was difficult as he ran through an over grown weed field filled with 4' to 6' pine trees. Very hard to see blood on pine needles in the dark where the trees are so thick it is difficult to walk thru. Laura was sure she heard him go down but he turned out to be further from her stand than she thought. The DAS bow has struck again! The set up was DAS bow, 60#, Beman Max 4 shafts with 100 grain bh inserts, Phantom 125 heads. As already stated the shafts had lumenoks and I will never hunt without them again unless I have trouble getting them. Since we have to make a pdf file to post pictures on David's website and Laura is going back to Maine for her bear hunt we will have pics on the DAS website sometime next week. I still have 3 NH tags to fill and a Maine archery license to consider. Looks like a great beginning to a season in the state that has the lowest bow success in the US. Hope you guys have as much good luck as I seem to be having.

By the way, James, I do not pretend to know what is causing the deer to jump the string on you but I wonder if your arrow rest is really quiet when you draw back. I know that if it is not it can cause a world of problems.

:sbrug:

[James on laptop]

Yeah Piney, after thinking about it and shooting the bow some I realize it was just something with that deer.The bow is plenty quiet.The 6 was more alert after haveing the 8 run out of there near him.I was just so got away with at how much they reacted.I have just never experianced that kind of reation to a shot before, :sbrug:
The dead quiet morning in a wet bottom did not help things any either.You could not even hear the deer walking in the knee high wet grass.

[James Wrenn]

btw..Bill congrads on giving that DAS a workout. :)
Bill everything is quiet on the bow.The arrows are waxed and there is no noise at all on the draw.I am chalking it up to a freak thing and am going to keep hunting with it.As I said before it was not looseing the deer that bothered me (plenty more deer) it was just a reaction that I have only heard about but never seen so bad before.I never worry about spilt milk, it was the reaction of the next one that had me worried. ;)

[Pinelander]

Hey! Way to go Bill! A great hunt and a great shot, can't beat that. :)

You guys are killin' me... hunting deer already and all I can do sit back and wait for Oct. to arrive... chompin' at the bit to say the least. That's right James, chalk it up and out, back in the saddle and continue on. We probably wouldn't be hunting them much if it was too easy. ;)

[James Wrenn]

Piney it was 94 degrees when I climbed into my stand for an afternoon hunt this week.Too hot for even me. :) I am stuck hunting a couple of mornings a week if I am lucky untill this weather breaks.Saturday morning was a cool morning at 65 degrees but was up to 90 by noon.You are not missing much on this early hunting but a lot of hot and bugs. :)

[Lambow]

James,
The deer are more alert when going into a transition zone, and aren't as at ease with their surroundings until they have been there a while and settled down somewhat. It also seems that when a group of deer are moving thru, that there is one of them is more alert than the others, but the others will sence this and be ready for the panic signal, even if they seem more relaxed.
I would say more times than not, you would of gotten an arrow through the buck, with the same scenario, but, it dosen't allways work that way. That's what's so fun, and sometimes frustrating about bowhunting.
Piney and i were talking about this same kind of stuff last evening, and he has a great ammount of knowledge & experience in whitetail bowhunting.
Just hang with it James, and don't loose confidance in your bow & ability, it's gona happen!!!

Bill, congratulations on your buck kill. You killed a bear recently too haven't you? Where's the picture. Sounds like your DAS bow likes to hunt as much as my Warf does. :)

[James Wrenn]

Just hang with it James, and don't loose confidance in your bow & ability, it's gona happen!!!

Lambow there is no way I will do that. :) Confidence is one thing that I do not lack in. I don't spend the whole year getting ready to hunt without knowing I am ready for what may come. ;) I just wish this darn weather would get out of the 90s for a while so I could enjoy doing it. :(

[Bill Carlsen]

...yes, I killed a young bear about 2 weeks ago up in Maine and the spike horn yesterday here in NH. Two shots, two kills. I named my bow "The Spoiler" and it just keeps doing that...hitting where I am shooting. Pics will show up on the DAS website when Laura completes her bear hunt. That should be next week some time. The bear I shot was small but is great eating. I knew it was small when I shot it but it turned out to be smaller than I thought.I have two nice big bear skin rugs already and was hunting for the freezer but honestly the bear proved to be a bit smaller than I estimated. They have a way of shrinking when they go down. :cheers: