MN "Monster" Goes Down!

I took a half day of vacation time on 10/29/10 to take care of some halloween stuff with the kids and then get out for an afternoon hunt. I made it to the woods around 2:15pm. It was a perfect fall day. Temps in the low 50's and a light southeast wind at 5-12 mph. Perfect wind for my money set.

After checking a couple areas for deer sign I made my way to my set. Just as I stepped onto the trail that leads to my tree a deer jumped from his bed (which was located directly under my stand) and ran about 80 yards to my south. I immediately dropped down to my knees and got next to some brush. At this point I was just hoping the deer would wonder off with out making a scene and I could make it to my stand (which was only 20 yards away) for the remainder of the afternoon.

After starring in my direction for 10 minutes the young 8 pt finally started to settle down. To my surprise he started to work back towards my location. At this point I figured I would try and close the distance on him and see how close I could get. For the next 10-15 minutes the 8 pt and I played cat and mouse with each other. Every time he would step behind a tree I would slide a bit further to my west and a bit closer to the trail he was walking. I had to keep sliding West because the deer was now interested in finding out what I was, where I was and trying to scent me. By sliding West I kept my sent away from him as long as possible.

Finally the deer got behind a huge blow down and I was able to sit up a bit more and relieve my cramping knees. This also allowed me to setup for a potential shot opportunity. At this point I had decided to take the young buck if he gave me a shot because I had invested close to 30 minutes in this stalk and the whole experience was extremely cool to watch. I have never been able to sit and watch a deer act like this for so long. Filling my deer tag would also allow me to spend the weekend at home and take Jake pheasant hunting on wednesday.

I could tell the deer finally decided I was no threat after not being able to smell me or pin point my location and he put his head down and started walking back to the original spot he jumped from. I quickly slid a couple feet to my right and prepared for a shot. I didn't have time to range him because the deer was now walking without a care in the world.....school boy! The deer stepped out and I softly grunted him to a stop. I guessed him at 30 yards, settled my pin and released the arrow. The hit looked great, but when the deer ran off the exit wound was way back. I was a bit shocked because the deer was completely broadside on impact. I was able to watch the deer run off 60 yards or so and then stop. He started to wobble and then laid down. I laid in the spot I took the shot from for the next 30 minutes before slowing working to my tree and settling in my stand. Once I got up into the stand I was able to track a massive blood trail all the way up to the deer who was dead 40-50 yards from the hit. Below are some pics of the blood trail. These pics where specifically taken and posted for our friend Nissan.



I was also able to smack a young coon before pulling my deer from the woods. Little guy didn't even try and hold it, just a little whimper and gave up! Sissy!

Weekend #2 of MN Bow season

Saturday, September 25. I arrived at the farm shortly after 5 AM. The weather was calling for rain, but it was suppose to hold off until 9 AM. As soon as my truck tires hit the entrance of the farm it started to rain. Nothing like weather.com being off by four hours. The wind was blowing 5 to 10 mph from the east/south east. As I walked towards my stand I could really hear the creek screaming from heavy rains we received earlier in the week. Seconds later I was up to my thighs in 60 degree water. It was going to be a cool morning sit.

After draining my boots twice I finally made it to my stand at 6 AM. I was hunting my money set again. As soon as legal shooting time arrived it started to rain hard. Nothing was moving for the first hour. At exactly 7:30 AM a doe and a mini came through the bottoms. I thought about filling another management tag with the mini, but it stopped just behind some brush at 40 yards. After milling around for a couple seconds both deer walked off to the southwest directly past my ladder stand. Nothing else moved the rest of the morning other than a mini raccoon who ran right under my stand. To bad the season isn't open yet! Below is a picture of the doe and mini I saw in the AM.....I think.

Sunday, September 26. I took the morning off to catch up on some sleep. I made it to the woods around 3:30 PM. I decided to pull my camera card from the Northwest corner of the property prior to my sit. I wanted to make sure the camera was working and also see if any deer where using the area during daylight. The camera did have some deer on it, but nothing since the heavy rains earlier in the week. I did get a photo of a nice 2.5 year old 8 pt. that I will post a pic of later this year. I left the camera and the card in the woods for now.

I made it to the ladder set on the east side of the main woods around 4:50 PM. The wind was blowing from the southwest at 0-5 mph, no clouds and temps around 60. It was a perfect fall afternoon. At 5 PM I noticed a small tree moving to my west. minutes later I saw a young 8 pt walking towards me. The 8pt walked up to 13 yards and wandered around next to my stand for several minutes before walking off to the northeast. At 5:45 I had a young 7 pt come in from my east. He walked into 20 yards before working his way towards the main corn field to the west. Below is another pic of the 7pt. The pic at the top is also of the 7 pt.

That was it for deer movement the rest of the evening. Overall another fairly successful weekend of sits. Next weekend is MN duck opener. Logan and I will be in Western MN and hopefully kill some ducks, geese and doves.

2010 Minny-MO Deer #1 Down!

I made it out for my first hunt of the year on Sunday morning. The weather was perfect for an early season hunt. The temperature was 45 degrees, partly cloudy skies, and a light east wind at 0-5 mph. A perfect fall/summer morning.

I got to the woods around 5 AM and walking to on my stand by 5:30 AM. I took my sweet time so not to spook any deer. Every step I took sounded loud because of the lack of wind. By 6 AM, I was settled into my stand and waiting for legal shooting time (6:25 AM).

The morning started with 3 or 4 owls hooting from every corner of the woods. Minutes later, one of the owls glided right into the tree next to me and settled in 10 feet away. The owl proceeded to hoot it up for a couple minutes before gliding off to his next roost. A very cool start to the morning!

Minutes later I had a fat coon work his way down the hill and climb a tree 15 yards from me. The coon went up the tree, looked around and came right back down. Next he decided to climb up my tree. He made it a couple feet up before he noticed me moving around and waving my hands. I was seconds away from having a partner in the stand. He is also luckly the MN coon season doesn't start until Oct. I love sticking me some coon.

The woods settled down after that, other than the squirrels who where out in full force. Around 7:30 AM I heard something walking through the woods to the east of me. After searching the brush for a couple minutes I noticed deer legs moving through the brush. I grabbed the Hoyt and waiting to see what was coming. Seconds later I saw a big ole swamp donkey and two yearlings meander through a clearing. I turned more to my left and prepared for the a shot. Gradually one of the yearlings and the big doe worked their way into my shooting lane. I softly grunted the deer to a stop and let the Hoyt bark at the big doe. My shot was slightly forward, but the Spitfire XP drilled right through the shoulder blade and angled back into the good stuff. Both deer took of running and I could her the doe crash seconds after leaving the party. The third deer milled around the stand for a couple minutes before moving on also.

I waited until 9 AM to pick up the trail. 60 yards later I found the doe piled up on the edge of some thick cover. Not a bad start to the season. 1.5 hrs on the stand and deer number one was down. Management tag #1 has been punched.

Below is a picture of Logan with the swamp donkey minutes before she was broken down into polish sausage. Get some!

A Minnesota Mini Goes Down In The Fog!

I decided to sneak out for a quick afternoon hunt on Sunday. The temp was 51, with a light southwest wind (2 mph), cloudy, with fog, and spitting rain off and on. Other than the warm temp the weather was perfect. I ran over to my metro area farm at half time of the Vikings whooping of Seattle in hopes of filling my management tag.

I climbed up in a permanent stand that sits in the middle of the hard woods on the farm. Most of the crops in the area seemed to be out but a nearby farmer was picking a cornfield that deer in the area most likely used for food and cover. My thought was any deer in the area would either funnel through the woods to get into the corn field or the farmer would bump some deer out of the field if he continued to combine until dark.

I was settled into my stand by 3 PM. The first hour was slow and I spent most of the time catching up on the book I had started reading while in Missouri. The fog in the area became really thick around 3:45 and I could only see about 65 yards into the woods. At 4 PM I put my book away and settled in for the last hour of the hunt. This was a good decision on my part because at 4:05 I caught movement to my right. I saw a nice mature doe work out of some thick cover and start working her way towards my stand location. She got to about 25 yards and I prepared for my shot. Just as I was about to draw I caught more movement to my right. I glanced over to see a younger doe working a trail towards my stand that would bring her to 15 yards. I decided to take the younger doe since she was going to present a chip shot and the bigger doe was back in some thicker cover. I let the young doe get to 15 yards and released my arrow after grunting her to a stop at a slightly quartering away angle.

My shot was on the money, it entered 5 ribs back and exited out the shoulder crease on the opposite side. I could see blood pouring out both sides of the deer 5 yards after she took off. She made it 50 to 60 yards and took a header into the dirt. Lights out! Below is a picture of the boys and I before hanging up the deer. This will most likely put an end to my 2009 deer season unless I can sneak away to Missouri one more time before they close up shop.

Minnesota 12 Pt!

10/10/09 Annandale, MN. Temperature was 24 degrees when I pulled up to the farm. I had clear skies and a west wind at 10-20 mph. The night before we received a ½ inch of snow and it had stuck to the ground and trees. The snow made for a perfect setting as I entered the woods.

I climbed into my new ladder stand which is located about 125 yards straight East of my money set. I bought this stand and set it specifically for a straight west wind. The location would allow me to hunt the core ground on a west or southwest wind. Today was a perfect wind for the new set. Below is a picture of my view from the new killing set.

I was in my stand and set at 6:25 AM, legal shooting time was 6:54 AM. The wind was relatively light to start the morning and the woods were completely still. By 7:30 AM the wind was beating me in the face to the tune of 15-20 mph. I went from being comfortable to wishing I had my insulated jacket and hand warmer. On top of freezing my marbles off the woods were dead. The tree rats (squirrels) weren’t even moving.

I got news from Pete and Brian via txt that the deer were moving down in MO. That helped keep my mind off the cold for a while. Complete school boy on my part not bringing extra clothing. I guess I figured with it being October 10th I wouldn’t need my winter gear. Like I said, school boy.

I had told myself I was going to stick it out until 9:30 AM. At 8:45 I was just going to send Pete a txt saying I didn’t now if I could make it to 9:30. At that moment I glanced off to my northwest and saw a deer stand up from behind a deadfall about 50 yards away. When the deer first stood up I could only see its body, I had know idea it was a buck. I slid my phone back in my pocket and grabbed my bow. Making it to 9:30 would be much easier now.

As I watched the deer standing in the cover I noticed another big bodied deer working down towards the first deer I had seen. The second deer stepped into a clearing and I could tell he was a big bodied 8 pt. I recognized this deer from some pictures I had earlier this summer. The first deer then walked up to the 2nd and I could tell he had a nicer rack than the 2nd deer. After staring each other down for a minute the big bodied deer worked away from me and the 1st deer started towards my stand. It was kind of a cool sight because both deer's backs were covered in snow. I was having trouble telling how big the 1st deer was because of how big the 2nd deer’s body was. I could tell it was a good deer and did have a larger rack than the big bodied 8 pt. Within a minute the deer had worked his way directly in front of me. He turned broadside and started on a trail that would bring him 23 yards from me. Once he got into position I gave him a soft grunt to stop him and released my arrow. My arrow slid through the back part of his shoulder and lodged into the off shoulder. "Lung Buster!" The deer took off and was plowing snow within 10-15 yards. Ole boy went ass over teakettle on two deadfalls before piling up within eyesight of my stand. At that point the adrenalin kicked in and the temp seemed to drop another 20 degrees. After the shakes finally stopped I snuck out of the woods to go get Logan for the track job.

Logan and I returned to woods around 11:30. As soon as I got up to the big fella I immediately recognized him as the 12 point buck I had trail camera pictures of this summer. I am glad he walked out with the big bodied 8pt so I couldn’t tell how big he actually was. This was the deer I wanted to shoot this fall and I got my chance without even knowing it was him. He was well over 200 pounds and I am guessing his rack will score P and Y. The big guy made me work getting him out of the woods. Thank god I only had to drag him 150-200 yards. Below is a picture of Logan with the "Big Boy". I also added a couple of Before and After pictures of the 12 point from this year.

Before......




AFTER!

2009 MN Bow Opener!

The 2009 MN Bow season started on Sept 20th for me because of an alarm clock issue and a high school soccer game on opening day. Had clear skies a light NW wind from 5-10 and temps in the low 60’s to start the season. Because of all the trail camera action I had, I decided to hunt my money stand. The wind wasn’t perfect for the stand but it would be ok.

I got about 10-15 yards from tree when a doe started blowing at me. It was still 35 minutes before light so I wasn’t spotted. The doe proceeded to walk around me for 5 minutes trying to figure out what she heard. The entire time she was blowing and stomping her feet, but she never spooked. I could hear her within 10 to 15 feet of me several times. Finally after her 20th blow I gave her a snort/weez to try and shut her up. This worked and she finally walked off to the Northeast. A great start to my season.

Once I got into my stand I had action almost all morning long. Twice I had young does at the base of my tree and I actually came to full draw on the second doe. I had her at 15 yards but it was to dark to make out any definition on her body so I passed the shot. I had a third doe walk in on my and then straight away, never once offering a shooting angle. Around 8:30 AM I had a 2 ½ year old 8 pt come in to 30 yards. The buck offered me a nice shot but it was opening day and I had pictures of much better deer. Below is a photo of the 8 pt I let walk.

After spending the afternoon and the lake place I returned to the woods for the evening hunt. The temp was in the low 70’s but the wind was humming at 15-20 mph from the east. My money stand should have been perfect, but once I climbed up I quickly realized the wind was swirling in the woods. I got down and moved to my field for the evening. Nothing moved all night but as soon as I took one step onto the field I had a doe and two younglings starring at me from the southeast corner of the field. I dropped down and watched them for about 10 minutes. At one point a young one started to run towards me but the mature doe quickly stopped that action and retreated the whole crew into the woods. A kick to the balls on the way to the stand and on the way out. Nice start to my season.

Minny-MO Buck #1 Down In MN

I arrived at the Annandale property around 3 PM on 10/24/08. Had cloudy skies, cool temps in the low 50’s to upper 40’s and a south wind at 5-10 MPH. The wind was suppose to be out of the N/NW all evening but never switched until after dark. Thanks again weather.com! Because of the forecast I climbed into my center woods stand. The south wind was a bit iffy, but I should have been O.K..

After a slow first hour and a half I noticed movement to my left. I spotted what I thought was a descent 8 point buck about 60 yards south of me working the bottom of the hillside. I think the deer caught a brief whiff of my scent, but not enough to put him on alert, instead it seemed to peak his curiosity. It looks like my Scent Lock clothing was paying off! The deer started up a path that led directly to my set, the whole time it was walking dead down wind of me. At 30 yards the buck gave me a brief broadside shot but quickly turned and continued walking directly to my set. Finally at 5 feet from my set the buck turned broadside and gave me an almost straight down shot. My arrow flew straight down and never touched the deer. Everything happened so fast that the deer never new what happened. He took a quick step back and started to look around.

I think the deer caught me move for a brief second as I reached for a 2nd arrow, but after a minute or two of staring each other down the deer started working his way straight east from my stand. At 15 yards the deer stepped behind a tree and gave my a 2nd opportunity to come to full draw. When the buck stepped out from behind the tree at 17 yards my Hoyt was waiting for him. This time there was no messing around. I hit him about 6 ribs back as he was quartering away and my arrow came out perfectly on the opposite crease. "We have a broken heart!" The deer did a mule kick on impact and took off running to the east. It feels nice to be lucky once in a while!

After settling down, making a couple phone calls and waiting about 45 minutes I started my track job. The deer made it nearly 200 yards with no lungs and a hole in his heart. I guess he wanted to try and hold it. Luckily for me the spitfire opened him up proper and the track job was fairly easy once I got my big spot light. After a 30 minute track job I found my 1st buck of 2008! The deer ended up being a big bodied 7 point. Not the biggest rack in the world, but he can ride in my truck…I mean mini van any day of the week. After pulling the deer to a field edge I left him for the night and returned the following morning with Logan and Jake to take some pictures and finish the drag. With temps in the upper 30's Friday night the deer would be fine. Below is a picture with me and the two future deer killers on Saturday morning. Another highlight to my 2008 hunting season. My week trip to Missouri is next week!