With deer season coming to a close I'm curious as to how well everyone did this year? I only took a 5 point this year myself but my nephew also got his first deer from my blind this year.
Deer season. how'd everyone do?
- Thread starter harleyrkc
- Start date
congrads on the 5 pointer, also on your nephews take down!
I my self had a very bad year between the lack of time being able to go and also the lack of deer I saw this year. I missed rifle season all together never had a chance to make it to wisconsin we can't use rifle in illinois. My bow season I went out a few times and there was just a lack of deer. We spoke to the dnr while out there and he was saying with the drought this year allot of issues were popping up with the deer. So we have till the 20th of jan for bow so I will be trying to go out one more time and hope to bring home something good.
I my self had a very bad year between the lack of time being able to go and also the lack of deer I saw this year. I missed rifle season all together never had a chance to make it to wisconsin we can't use rifle in illinois. My bow season I went out a few times and there was just a lack of deer. We spoke to the dnr while out there and he was saying with the drought this year allot of issues were popping up with the deer. So we have till the 20th of jan for bow so I will be trying to go out one more time and hope to bring home something good.
My deer season was done 2 months ago! lol
Got a spike buck and a doe, missed an easy shot on another doe the next day.
However started the opening morning walking out to my stand seeing a skunk coming right at me and when I scoped it out to take it out if it got too close to me a herd of 10-12 crossed the road I was on about 150 yards away from me;(
Got a spike buck and a doe, missed an easy shot on another doe the next day.
However started the opening morning walking out to my stand seeing a skunk coming right at me and when I scoped it out to take it out if it got too close to me a herd of 10-12 crossed the road I was on about 150 yards away from me;(
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I saw dozens of deer during squirrel season. Once deer season started, I havent seen anything since!
Terrible for me! I didn't even see any deer at the usual places. Unfortunately, I brought my son for his first hunt. That was a disappointment. From everyone I've spoken with, it was a bad year here in Missouri. Last weekend while visiting Ohio, however, I saw several and my friend took a doe on Sunday. That was even more frustrating for me. Easy come, easy go...
From what I have heard from the Dnr in my area is that because of the lack of rain allot of the pond and marsh's are drying up. From what I have seen that is the truth every where I have been it is soo dry. The lack of water has all of the bugs and birds flocking to the smaller bodies of water that are left, the deer drink the water that is polluted with duck/ bug crap and causing the deer to get sick and eventually die. Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is what its called, I do not know this for all areas I but this is what I have been told for my area also they were telling us things to check for on the meat of the deer to make sure that it was clean do to one deer having an infection.
Haven't been yet. Planning to go Jan. 11-13 for doe season. I was out on the property in October and there were plenty of deer around, we'll see if they are out and about in a few days.
Lack of time this year, only saw one doe and a small spike buck from the stand. Let them walk, down here the acorn crop is so abundant they are not having to travel to get food. I saw a few chasing riding around the land, but the rut is coming to an end here. Hopefully get a chance to get back out there before the end of January.
While I've seen deer, I've not seen a shooter and I'm deerless this year. There have been some nice 8 and 10 point bucks taken on the club to which I belong.
You make them in a smoker or a dehydrator? I'm thinking about trying some next year, been making ground style jerky for many years in my dehydrator, but am starting to get heavily into smoking.
I had a very good season. Took a nice 8 point on the first day at around 3:00. With the warm weather and the full moons right before the first day, they were still rutting and my buck was chasing a doe. He had a 19" spread and is at the taxidermist.
Not good here. Between moving the first week of season and being super busy at work I only had a chance to go twice. I have seen a few good ones running around the place, but every time I see one its on someone elses land.
Maybe I'll get lucky and bag one with my hawken befor muzzleloader season ends.
Maybe I'll get lucky and bag one with my hawken befor muzzleloader season ends.
my buddy wants to go out this weekend before the season ends on the 18th i do not feel like it but I know in a few months when there is no hunting I'll be mad I didnt lol
Very nice! 
I had a very good season. Took a nice 8 point on the first day at around 3:00. With the warm weather and the full moons right before the first day, they were still rutting and my buck was chasing a doe. He had a 19" spread and is at the taxidermist.
So doe season turns out to also be open youth season. My 12 year old wanted to sleep in this morning, but is glad he made the hike to the stand on a 20 degree pitch black morning.
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Long story for me. Last year was my first time hunting, i'm an outdoorsy guy and the future inlaws enjoy it, so i went with them. While i loved the overall hunting experience, I would never again hunt with my future grandfather in law.
This year, i decided i wanted to go again and asked a buddy to join me(who has never hunted before, but owned guns). We camped out in the hunting area and it was far below freezing with over a foot of snow, needless to say, that took away from the experience a bit. Now the most frustrating part- we saw over a dozen deer our first day hunting and half a dozen the second day, but all out of range of our short range guns(.45-70 and SKS). The following week, we decided we were going to head up again Sunday, closing day and were going to buy a rifle. I bought a Savage model 111 in .270. If we had it the first weekend, we would have been tagged out before 10am the first day.
The Sunday was quite a rough start and i was running on zero sleep.
Left at like 4 am and it was snowing pretty heavily, leaving the city you couldn't even see where the lanes were, the highway was completely covered and there were no tracks to follow. Not being able to see the road, i clipped the shoulder and it pulled my back end out. We spun out and with snow flying over the windshield I couldn't see or do a thing- terrible feeling! We ended up just off the shoulder in the ditch facing the opposite direction. I probably would have been able to drive out, except that it was so cold overnight the snow was super hard and i was just spinning all four rather than pulling through it. A super generous guy pulled over in a jetta(after a dodge ram blew by us that probably saw it happen) and with an aftermarket tow hook on the back managed to yank us out after a few tries gunning it with slack in the tow rope. Bent his tow hook and it smelt like burnt clutch, but he just said that's what it's for and we were back on the road thanks to him!
We had a little bit of a track to follow after that ram blew by us so going a little slower now lol, we got to the gf's family's town okay where I dropped off the GF at her Aunt's place as planned and went online to try to find a closer area to hunt. Made it to a close conservation area just before sunrise and then sighted in the new gun. I was quite suprised it was on paper first shot(8" square target at 100 yrds). Drove farther down the road and passed quite a few trucks/hunters until we found a clearing we figured we'd sit along. Froze our asses off on the downwind side of a clearing seeing nothing and decided to just go the extra 75 kms to our previous hunting spt. The highways were a bit clearer going North thankfully and as soon as we got there and parked we jumped 3 doe right at our parking spot.
Walking down the trail watching our backs a doe came out ~200 yards behind us and I took a shot with the new gun. It looked like a good shot, she jumped up on her back legs and went into the bush. There was a little blood from the initial impact and a clear spatter where she turned around. I told my buddy we should hold off a while before tracking but of course he had to go right in. Just off the road not even in the bush yet i heard a bleat(first time i've ever heard deer communicate!) and tried to stop my buddy who was just a few yards ahead of me. 2 or 3 doe came straight out at us, the first one saw my buddy standing there and turned broadside to me at 10 yards. Of course my buddy didn't hear them (or me trying to stop him) and tried to shoulder his gun quick and the second i had my crosshairs on her he spooked her and they took off. He started following the fresh tracks despite me insisting we wait. Apart from the inital blood spatter, there was not a single drop, absolutely nothing. We followed the trail(s) hundreds of yards into thick bush and nothing. The way the doe came back out made me think the one i shot dropped and they were confused looking for her(saw another doe just at the edge of the bush when i shot).
Damn it's the most frustrating thing, can't stop thinking she could have been right there off the trail somewhere and we missed something, or if we held off like i wanted maybe she would have been close instead of forcing her to run off. I think i made it quite clear to my buddy that we are waiting next time.
This year, i decided i wanted to go again and asked a buddy to join me(who has never hunted before, but owned guns). We camped out in the hunting area and it was far below freezing with over a foot of snow, needless to say, that took away from the experience a bit. Now the most frustrating part- we saw over a dozen deer our first day hunting and half a dozen the second day, but all out of range of our short range guns(.45-70 and SKS). The following week, we decided we were going to head up again Sunday, closing day and were going to buy a rifle. I bought a Savage model 111 in .270. If we had it the first weekend, we would have been tagged out before 10am the first day.
The Sunday was quite a rough start and i was running on zero sleep.
Left at like 4 am and it was snowing pretty heavily, leaving the city you couldn't even see where the lanes were, the highway was completely covered and there were no tracks to follow. Not being able to see the road, i clipped the shoulder and it pulled my back end out. We spun out and with snow flying over the windshield I couldn't see or do a thing- terrible feeling! We ended up just off the shoulder in the ditch facing the opposite direction. I probably would have been able to drive out, except that it was so cold overnight the snow was super hard and i was just spinning all four rather than pulling through it. A super generous guy pulled over in a jetta(after a dodge ram blew by us that probably saw it happen) and with an aftermarket tow hook on the back managed to yank us out after a few tries gunning it with slack in the tow rope. Bent his tow hook and it smelt like burnt clutch, but he just said that's what it's for and we were back on the road thanks to him!
We had a little bit of a track to follow after that ram blew by us so going a little slower now lol, we got to the gf's family's town okay where I dropped off the GF at her Aunt's place as planned and went online to try to find a closer area to hunt. Made it to a close conservation area just before sunrise and then sighted in the new gun. I was quite suprised it was on paper first shot(8" square target at 100 yrds). Drove farther down the road and passed quite a few trucks/hunters until we found a clearing we figured we'd sit along. Froze our asses off on the downwind side of a clearing seeing nothing and decided to just go the extra 75 kms to our previous hunting spt. The highways were a bit clearer going North thankfully and as soon as we got there and parked we jumped 3 doe right at our parking spot.
Walking down the trail watching our backs a doe came out ~200 yards behind us and I took a shot with the new gun. It looked like a good shot, she jumped up on her back legs and went into the bush. There was a little blood from the initial impact and a clear spatter where she turned around. I told my buddy we should hold off a while before tracking but of course he had to go right in. Just off the road not even in the bush yet i heard a bleat(first time i've ever heard deer communicate!) and tried to stop my buddy who was just a few yards ahead of me. 2 or 3 doe came straight out at us, the first one saw my buddy standing there and turned broadside to me at 10 yards. Of course my buddy didn't hear them (or me trying to stop him) and tried to shoulder his gun quick and the second i had my crosshairs on her he spooked her and they took off. He started following the fresh tracks despite me insisting we wait. Apart from the inital blood spatter, there was not a single drop, absolutely nothing. We followed the trail(s) hundreds of yards into thick bush and nothing. The way the doe came back out made me think the one i shot dropped and they were confused looking for her(saw another doe just at the edge of the bush when i shot).
Damn it's the most frustrating thing, can't stop thinking she could have been right there off the trail somewhere and we missed something, or if we held off like i wanted maybe she would have been close instead of forcing her to run off. I think i made it quite clear to my buddy that we are waiting next time.
Did Ok, took a decent moose, and a nice mulie buck.
I got one, so I guess I did ok.
