Friday, October 30, 2009 p.m. Copper Creek

Friday, October 30, 2009 p.m., 57 degrees, partly cloudy, wind S-SE 15-20 mph, but really swirling, sunset 5:55 p.m. (Hunting closes 6:25 p.m). Heidi took off for Madison, and Lon was driving down from Romance after a doctors appointment to hunt. I had to have Heidi drop me off at the stand so Lon could get into his tonight. If for some reason Lon decided not to come down, I was going to have a long walk back. I was all settled in with Stubby after a late lunch for a good long afternoon sit. I just hope the big boy shows up. Lon did finally show up, as I saw him drive by me in the valley at 3:55 p.m. He was heading up to his fort gun stand in the back field. Nothing to report. A quiet, but windy night. Totals: Bob - 0 deer, Lon - 0 deer.

Friday, October 30, 2009 a.m. Copper Creek

Friday, October 30, 2009 a.m., 61 degrees, mostly cloudy, wind S-SE 15-20 mph, sunrise 7:35 a.m. (Hunting opens 7:05 a.m). The morning broke with no rain and warm weather. The hottest morning since September. I walked Heidi into the Twin Towers and got her all settled in. On the way in, Heidi an I kicked up a big deer at the top of the hill to the NE of us. It ran over into the standing corn. I decided to give the Rock Outcrop stand a try. I was settled in by 6:50 a.m. At 7:35 a.m., Heidi had a small 5 point buck walk across the trail in front of her to the east. Too far away and in the woods. It went to the north and into the corn. I told Heidi to do some light rattling and Heidi said right after she did he came charging back out to see what was going on. Nevertheless, he was still to far away and was not a buck worth shooting anyways. That was it. Totals: Bob - 0 deer, Heidi - 1 deer, 1 buck (5 pointer)

Thursday, October 29, 2009 p.m. Copper Creek

Thursday, October 29, 2009 p.m., 51 degrees, mostly cloudy, steady rain, wind N-NE 0-5 mph, sunset 6:00 p.m. (Hunting closes 6:30 p.m). I arrive at Copper Creek today with Heidi after a half day business review with my boss in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, it has been raining most of the day and is predicted most of the night. Nevertheless I sucked it up and snuck out through the creek bottom and up to the Twin Towers. I was all settled in by 4:45 p.m. Heidi decided to play it safe and stay in the warm and dry house and read a book. Smart Lady! I got soaked. I had to throw my clothes in the dryer when I got in, so that they will be ready for Friday am. Totals: Bob - 0 deer.

Bucks from Copper Creek

The bucks and Romance are awesome. But the two fighting at Copper are pretty cool too. Take a look at this massive 10 pointer. Very impressive. I have my eye on him, unfortunately he has been nocturnal.

More Romance photos from the day time

Here are some more from Romance. Several of these were taken during shooting hours. My favorite is the one taken at 8:44 am on 10/25/09. I wish I had been hunting there that morning. Enjoy.

Romance Bucks Galore

Here are some massive bucks from Romance. We need to start hunting more up there. Enjoy.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 p.m.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 p.m., 51 degrees, mostly cloudy, wind E-SE 10-15 mph, sunset 6:06 p.m. (Hunting closes 6:36 p.m). I originally set out to hunt the new stand which Taylor and I hung after the morning hunt. It is in the SW corner of my woods to the NW of the house, along the corn field. I had a stand up there a few years ago, but we took it down. We are calling it the "Front Porch." I climbed up in the stand and could hear Rusty putting in poles to extend the fence along the line. I decided to get down and go over to the dump stand. Taylor had gone to Right Field, but he had forgotten his back pack, so I brought it over and left it at the bottom of the hill. He came down n grabbed it while I was setting up Stubby. I finally got settled in by 4:25 p.m. At 4:50 p.m., I looked to the north and there was a nubbin coming into the sugar shack food plot from the east. He ate for a bit then left. At 4:55 p.m., Taylor texted me and said that he saw a small 7 pointer coming my way. He had walked right underneath him (the same place that other 8 pointer walked through yesterday). Taylor was able to get some video, we will try to post it soon. I saw him to the SE of me, but he was 75 yards away. Still no video. At 5:10 p.m., the nubbin came back to the Sugar Shack food plot. He fed there for a while. At 5:55 p.m., I looked over my left shoulder to the west and I saw a few tails run up the hill towards the drive way (NW). Just then a doe was running back to the south between the food plots, jumped the creek up the hill and to the SW. A small 6-8 pointer was chasing her the whole way.
I couldn't get any video as they were moving too fast. The camera in the VAT food plot may have gotten a picture of them flying by. At 6:05 p.m., they were back. They were running around down in the VAT food plot. There actually may have been 2 bucks. They ended up heading up the hill toward the NW. Taylor said that he saw two more deer one of which was a big bodied deer to the SE of him. It moved through too fast for him to see what they were. The Little Bucks are MOVING!! I hope the big ones will start looking for some action soon. Totals: Bob - 7+ deer there were more, but some repeats, 3 bucks, Taylor - 3 deer, 1 Buck.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 a.m.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 a.m., 41 degrees, mostly cloudy, wind S-SE 5-10mph, sunrise 7:44 a.m. (Hunting opens 7:14 a.m). This was a big day for Arlie's Nob two years ago as I shot my 10 pointer on the blog from there. I decided to return to the scene of the crime. I wanted to get in early because I was walking through the woods to get to the stand. Taylor and I left the house in darkness at 6:35 a.m., and we were settled in a half hour before shooting light. Taylor went back to try his luck from Right Field. At 8:15 a.m., I had a deer sprint by coming from the SE. It ran past me about 10 yards to the south. It missed running over Stubby by 5 yards. I was hoping that a buck would be chasing it. It ran into the Valley to the SW. It eventually settled down and walked up the hill to the north. I got my binoculars on him and could see it was a nubbin buck. He slowly turned and fed down the hill towards the Apple Tree stand. Something must have scared him that is for sure. Totals: Bob - 1 deer, 1 nubbin buck, Taylor - 0 deer. Yes that is right 0 deer for Taylor. Shocking! :)

October 27, 2009 p.m. (Our 200th post in 3 years!!)

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 p.m., 46 degrees, mostly sunny, wind S-SE 15-25 mph, sunset 6:07 p.m. (Hunting closes 6:37 p.m). With the wind from the south, I decided it was time to give Arlie's Nob a try. I had Stubby and put him facing me about 10 yards to the SW of me. Taylor went back to Right Field. We were both settled in by 4:00 p.m. At 4:40 p.m., dip shit Rusty took his 4-wheel and drove it along his side of the fence all the way up the hill. He stopped when he came to the field and turned around and drove back down the hill. What a complete d-bag. At 5:30 p.m., I rattled and raked the branch in front of me with my quiver. I looked to the north and there were 7 does and fawns on Arlie's side of the fence. At 5:35 p.m., with them all standing in the fence line road, Rusty Sr. and Jr. decided to drive back up the hill on by my stand. This time they drove up to the field and then drove through the woods to the north. They did say anything to me, or to each other. What complete morons. The deer of course spooked back to the north as they didn't want to have to jump the 6+ foot high fence. At 5:45 p.m., Taylor said that he had a buck walking through the woods to the SW of him. After making a rub, he circled back towards him. The 8 pointer actually walked the corn field in front of him to the west, jumped the fence and then fed down the trail towards him and underneath the tree. He is a 1 1/2 year old 8 pointer that has some great potential. Awesome video. That was it. Totals: Bob - 7 deer, 7 does and fawns, and two dip shit neighbors, Taylor, 1 deer, 1 buck.

I did get these buck on the cameras. All new ones in my opinion. (the one on 10-27-09 may be the big 8 [facing right] that we have seen) Maybe only 1 shooter, but nice potential for next year... if they can make it.

Sunday, October 25, 2009 p.m.

Sunday, October 25, 2009 p.m., 46 degrees, mostly cloudy, wind N-NW 5-10 mph, sunset 6:10 p.m. (Hunting closes 6:40 p.m). Taylor decided to return to the seen of the crime and go up to Right Field. Heidi went to the Ladder and Bob went to try his luck at the VAT. We were all settled in for the evening hunt by 4:10 p.m. At 4:15 p.m., Taylor sent me a text and said he could hear some deer moving around in the corn. Nothing came out though. At 5:15 p.m., Taylor had a doe come out of the woods about 75 yards east of him and walk into the corn. At 5:30 p.m., Taylor had two does walk out of the corn in front of him. They hung out for a few minutes and the disappeared into the corn. About 10 minutes later they came out again, circled him and walked down towards Pisa. Heidi saw 2 does and 2 fawns. They came from the west to the south of her and walked through at 15 yards. At 6:25 p.m., Taylor has two does walk up the trail from the west toward him. The went to the NE past center field and down towards the creek bottom. I finally saw some deer. At 6:15 p.m., I had a nubbin walk down the trail from the north. He was very nervous and he cautiously worked his way out into the food plot. There was a decent buck maybe a 6-8 pointer trailing behind him. He just wouldn't come out into the opening. He just stared at Stubby and tried to figure out why he wasn't moving. There was another deer behind him to the NE that was blowing out a warning call. Totals: Bob - 2 deer, 1 buck and 1 nubbin, Taylor - 5 deer, 5 does and fawns, Heidi - 4 deer, 2 does and 2 fawns.

Sunday, October 25, 2009 a.m.

Sunday, October 25, 2009 a.m., 46 degrees, mostly cloudy, wind N-NE 0-2mph, sunrise 7:40 a.m. (Hunting opens 7:10 a.m). It is a little wet out with all the rain we have had, but it started off to be a great morning. Bob went to the Dump, Heidi went to the ladder, and Taylor went to Right Field. On our way in, Taylor and I kicked up a bunch of deer up by the dump. Taylor and I were settled in at 7:00 a.m. At 7:10 a.m., Heidi texted me and told me that she could hear some deer, but it was too dark to see what they were. All morning Heidi thought she heard deer in the corn. Nothing came out. At 8:20 a.m., Heidi thought she heard 2 bucks fighting. At 8:35 a.m., Taylor texted me and said he had a big 8 pointer walking on the edge of the corn field from the west coming towards him. I guess he got some good video, but it kind of trotted through his shooting lane as he was drawing. See attached. At 8:40 a.m., Heidi used the arrows in her quiver and rubbed them on a branch to mimic a buck raking his antlers. I guess she was able to stop a doe in her tracks, but she was too far away. Heidi ended up seeing 6 does in the morning. Totals: Bob - 0 deer, Taylor 1 deer, 1 buck, Heidi - 6 deer, 6 does and fawns.

Saturday Evening October 24th, 2009

I was able to talk my dad into joining me for the hunt. I went and bought a doe tag hoping to get a chance at one tonight. We went to the stump and I brought stubby with too. At 5:45 we had a doe and two fawns come from behind the Creek Bottom stand. They noticed stubby and didn't know what to think. They never entered the main food plot as they waited for a bit and then turned around and went back from where they came. This was a bummer because the doe was large and would have been a great first doe. During this time another doe and fawn quietly walked down the hill to the south of the Stump. Once again this doe was not impressed with stubby and didn't come close enough for a shot. She was a little smaller so it was okay with me. They walked back to the south and kicked out another fawn which walked towards us and fed in teh foodplot until dark. That was all. Too bad my dad didn't get to see a buck or a shot. It will have to happen another night!

Totals Taylor and Ken: 6 deer: 2 doe, 4 fawns

Fawnslayer Out

Saturday Morning October 24th, 2009

Had a South wind so I decided to head over to Arlies Knob. Hadn't been there all year so I didn't know what to expect. I brought stubby along and sat him to the south of me about 15 yards away. After getting in the stand and having enough light to shoot I had a deer blow twice about forty yards in front of me. I quickly found it and noticed it just walked away. It must have seen stubby and not liked him. At 8:00am I had a spike walk up the fence line on the other side of the fence to the north of me, and quickly behind him I had a fork walk up on my side of the fence. They both looked to the north and then took off back down the fence line toward the fishbowl. They were spooked by Arlies cows which came walking and fed by the fence line. Just after this I noticed two does watching the cows about forty yards in front of me. After they walked away I decided to get down because of the cows. After getting down I grabbed stubby and walked into six or seven does that were feeding between Arlies Knob and the Ladder stand.

Totals: Taylor 9 deer: 7 doe, 2 bucks - 1 spike - 1 fork

Fawnslayer Out

Friday Evening October 23rd, 2009

The temps cooled and it snowed a few inches. I asked the wife if she wanted to join as I thought the deer would be moving. She agreed and we decided to go to the VAT as it had stopped snowing and raining. Having a pregnant wife we soon found it wasn't easy getting into the stand, but she did make it. We also quickly found out that although the rain and snow stopped, the dripping didn't. We were in the stand by 4:50. At about 5:30 we had a doe and fawn come down the hill from the east. They fed in the food plot for about forty five minutes and then took off back towards "The Dump". That was it! At least she got to see some deer this year!

Totals: Taylor and Mindi: 2 deer; 1 doe, 1 fawn

Fawnslayer Out

Thursday, October 22, 2009 p.m.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 p.m., 46 degrees, mostly cloudy, wind N-NE 15-20 mph, sunset 6:15 p.m. (Hunting closes 6:45 p.m). I tried something tonight against my better judgement. Taylor came in through skunk hollow and he saw Rusty cross in front of him and then pull into Arlie's. I had already had my mind made up that I was going to give the ladder stand a try. Probably a bad move. Taylor on the other hand decided to get as far away as he could and he went to the Dump. I was all settled in by 4:40 p.m. Two minutes later Rusty and Rusty Jr. came by on their ATV. Fortunately, once they got to the field they went north across the pasture. At 5:00 p.m., I could hear them yelling down in the creek bottom at the cows. I sure hope they are in the process of bringing them into the barn for the winter. One can pray. At 5:25 p.m., Taylor texted me and said that there was a decent 6 pointer and 3 does in the VAT food plot. He said that he was chasing them around pretty hard. They then crossed the creek and went up the hill to the south towards the neighbors corn field. At 5:50 p.m., Taylor texted me again to tell me that there were more does and another buck in the VAT food plot. Taylor thought that they might have been the same deer that he had seen earlier. Five minutes later they took off to the north up the hill. At 6:00 p.m., Taylor texted me and said that there was another doe in the VAT food plot. Finally at 6:10 p.m., I heard something to my right down wind of me towards the house. A doe and two fawns came out. They hung around for 10 minutes eating and looking at Stubby. They ended up walking off to the south west. One of the does walked right under my stand. At the same time, Taylor had two does walk through 30 yards to the south of him heading east. That was it. Totals: Bob - 3 deer, 3 does/fawns; Taylor - 11 deer, 2 Bucks, 9 does.

Attached is a picture from a few nights ago in the Stump food plot. Enjoy.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 a.m.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 a.m., 38 degrees, mostly cloudy, wind N-NE 15-20 mph, sunrise 7:36 a.m. (Hunting opens 7:06 a.m). After playing hockey last night and not getting home until 12:30 a.m., it was tough dragging my butt out of bed. Nevertheless, it is beginning to get close to the start of the rut and I need to capitalize on every opportunity. On my way down the hill side, I heard a deer blow out a warning call from the Stump food plot. I was only about 100 yards down the hill, but the wind was swirling. I was settled in to the point ladder stand by 6:40 a.m. This was a good half hour before shooting light with it being overcast and the fact that I was hunting from inside the wood line. At 7:10 a.m., just as it was getting light I could hear something walking and "mewing." I looked back over my shoulder to the SE and saw a big doe walking through to the north about 15 yards to the east of me. She saw "Stubby" and circled around to the north of me and came through at 10 yards. She didn't like the fact that she couldn't smell stubby and she walked off to the SW toward the house/ Ridgeback stand. That was it. Totals: Bob - 1 deer, 1 doe.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 p.m.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 p.m., 49 degrees, mostly cloudy, wind E-SE 10-15 mph, sunset 6:19 p.m. (Hunting closes 6:49 p.m). This afternoon I flew back to Minneapolis from Omaha and quickly drove home so I could get in a sit this afternoon. I decided to give Spaghetti Junction another try. I was in position by 4:40 p.m. with Stubby set up 10 yards to the south of me. I am not sure how the weather man got S-SE wind because they really seemed to be swirling in the creek bottom. Taylor had a meeting after school and was running late, so he decided to try the Ridge back. He was all settled in by 5:00 p.m. At 5:10 p.m., I looked back to the NW and there were three does on the small circle road about 40 yards south of Arlie's fence. One slowly fed up the hill towards the Apple Tree stand. The other two went back into the woods towards the fish bowl stand. At 5:35 p.m., they all took off to the north east. I watched them walk the south fence line to the east. I am not sure if they jumped the fence and went north into the pasture, or went east up the hill to my neighbors' corn. That was it for me. At 6:30 p.m., Taylor had one come in from the NW to about 40 yards. It must of smelled him, because it blew a warning call and took off to the north towards Arlie's. Totals: Bob - 3 deer, 3 does and fawns; Taylor - 1 deer.

Sunday, October 18, 2009 p.m.

Sunday, October 18, 2009 p.m., 63 degrees, partly cloudy, wind S 20-25 mph, sunset 6:22 p.m. (Hunting closes 6:52 p.m). Tonight I had to try the other new stand. I went to the Dump, Heidi went to the point and Taylor wanted to try Spaghetti Junction. Of note, SJ is leaned up against a smaller box elder tree. On days where there are heavy winds, this stand should be avoided as Taylor was swaying around quite a bit. On the way in, when we got to the bottom of the hill, we kicked up a small buck that was bedded in the thick stuff to the south of the trail. We were all settled in, by 4:50 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., I looked down the hill to the NE and there was a nubbin buck about 10 yards to the south of Stubby. He couldn't figure out why he wasn't moving and he didn't smell like a deer (he was straight down wind of him). After a couple of minutes, he walked down the hill to the sugar shack food plot. At 6:00 p.m., I saw a deer about 100 yards away coming from the SE corner of the sugar shack food plot heading south east. It was running through the brush, and I couldn't get the binoculars up fast enough to see what it was. I think it was a doe. At 6:05 p.m., I heard a warning blow to the NW of me and turned around and saw three deer running to the south through the edge of the VAT food plot and towards the quarry on the neighbors. The wind had shifted slightly from the SE and maybe they smelled me. At 6:20 p.m., Taylor texted me and said he could see a deer up by fish bowl. I guess it ended up being a doe. At 6:35 p.m., I had a doe and 2 fawns come out of the corn (up by right field). They stopped about 75 yards to the east of me, and the fawns actually got on the nipple and drank some milk. They ended up feeding slowly down the hill to the sugar shack food plot. I got down and went to get the chop from the camera from the VAT. When I did, I ended up kicking some deer off of both food plots. I did get this nice buck 7-8 pointer (I don't think we have ever seen him before). Totals: Bob - 8 deer, 8 does; Taylor - 1 deer, 1 doe; Heidi - 0 deer.

Sunday, October 18, 2009 a.m.

Sunday, October 18, 2009 a.m., 37 degrees, partly cloudy, wind S 10-15 mph, sunrise 7:31 a.m. (Hunting opens 7:01 a.m). With the wind from the south, I figured that I would give Spaghetti Junction another go. I was flying solo again this morning, and I knew I would have to sneak into the creek bottom early under the cover of darkness. I had "Stubby" in tow and I put him 10 yards up wind of my location. I was all settled in for the morning hunt by 6:35 a.m. I wish there were more to report, but that was it. Totals: Bob - 0 deer.

Friday, October 16, 2009 p.m.

Friday, October 16, 2009 p.m., 44 degrees, mostly cloudy, light drizzle, wind E 3-5 mph, sunset 6:28 p.m. (Hunting closes 6:58 p.m). Well after the hunt Taylor and I were really busy. We put together and hung two new ladder stands. We put one east of the Apple Tree down in the valley near the property line. We have called this one "Spaghetti Junction". It is named after the crazy merger of several interstates in Los Angles, CA. We felt as though this was appropriate as there are many trails crossing each other on all sides of the stand. We put the other ladder stand on the south border of the property between Right field and the VAT. This stand is now called "The Dump" as it is 50 yards north of my neighbors old dump. With a slight breeze from the N-NE, I decided on the inaugural sit at Spaghetti Junction or "SJ" or "the Junction." I was all settled in by 4:55 p.m. At 5:50 p.m., I looked over my right shoulder to the south and saw a big doe feeding in the food plot about 30 yards south of the Stump. After about 10 minutes, she trotted down the trail to the south towards the "sugar shack" food plot. Right at last light (6:55 p.m.), I heard something come off the hill to the east of me. It was a big doe. She saw Stubby and ended up walking nervously down wind of him. She ended up about 10 feet from the bottom of my stand. She stayed for 15 minutes or so which was well after shooting light. She finally ended up leaving back to the east. As I was about to get down, she and another deer spooked off to the east. Totals: Bob - 3 deer, 3 does.

October 17, 2009 Copper Creek

Here are some photos from Copper Creek. I think the two 8 pointers from the 5th and the 11th are different bucks. Their racks are different in color and also look at the markings on their back right leg. Thoughts?

Saturday, October 17, 2009 - Romance WI

Here are some photos from a scrape line at the Romance Farm. I think the bucks from the 10th and 14th are the same buck. But The other two bucks are definately different. The buck on the 11th has a split G2 on the right side and I think is an 11 pointer. The buck from the 12th is a tall 10. All are shooters in my opinion. Thoughts?

Friday, October 16, 2009 a.m.

Friday, October 16, 2009 a.m., 32 degrees, partly cloudy, wind 0-2 N-NE mph, sunrise 7:28 a.m. (Hunting opens 6:58 a.m). Kind of a dark and cloudy morning. I had to take a conference call at 7:30 a.m., so I decided to stay up by the house (better cell coverage) and hunt the Ladder stand. Taylor came over this am (MEA) week/weekend and he and "Stubby" went to the VAT. We were both settled in by 6:35 a.m. At 7:20 a.m., I heard some mewing to the SW of me. I couldn't see anything through the leaves. At 7:29 a.m., (I know this was the time as my conference call started at 7:30 a.m.), a nubbin buck came into 10 yards from the SE. I had to scare him away so I could hop on my call. I am sure glad that he wasn't the big boy. Totals: Bob - 1 deer, 1 nubbin buck; Taylor - 0 deer.

Thursday, October 15, 2009 p.m.

Thursday, October 15, 2009 p.m., 41 degrees, mostly cloudy, rained/sleeted most of the day, wind E 3-5 mph, sunset 6:29 p.m. (Hunting closes 6:59 p.m). It is still pretty wet outside, with some light sprinkles, but I had to give the VAT a try. Because of the crummy weather, Heidi decided to take the night off. But with the action Taylor had last night, I just had to give the VAT another try. I decided to bring my little buddy "Stumpy" the small 6 point buck decoy along to see if he could draw the big boy out into the open. On the way in (I came in down the trail from the NW), I kicked a doe that must have been bedded on the hill side to the SE of the VAT. I was all settled in by 4:50 p.m. At 5:50 p.m., I looked to the north and a nubbin buck was coming down the trail into the food plot. He saw the decoy and stared at it for a while and wondered why he wasn't moving. He then calmed down and walked a fed out into the food plot. He fed in the middle of the food plot eating just the grasses and not the turnip leaves for at least 25 minutes. He then left the food plot on the same trail he came in on. That was it. Totals: 1 deer, 1 nubbin buck.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 p.m.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 p.m., 41 degrees, mostly cloudy, overcast, wind E-SE 3-5 mph, sunset 6:29 p.m. (Hunting closes 7:59 p.m). I decided to give the Arlie's Nob a try, Heidi went to border patrol, and Taylor went to the VAT. When we all separated at the bottom of the hill Taylor whistled and we turned and saw two does run out from the sugar shack food plot. Taylor kicked up 2 more deer on the way in and thinks one of them may have been a buck. In the first 5 minutes on the stand, Heidi saw six does two in the main food plot and four from the south of her. They may have been the same does that Taylor kicked up. They didn't stay around long and all took off. At 5:35 p.m., Taylor had a doe and fawn feed down in between the two food plots. They ended up going to and eating in the sugar shack food plot. At 6:25 p.m., Taylor texted me and said that he had a big buck behind him to the south. It had come off the hill from the SE but stayed in the brush 30 yards behind him. At 6:30 p.m., Heidi had a doe and two fawn come out to the west of her. They walked across the new bridge They ended up feeding into the food plot to the north of her. Here is a photo of a new buck that we have not seen. Probably a 2 1/2 year old. Totals: Bob - 0 deer; Heidi - 9 deer, 9 does; Taylor - 3 deer, 1 Buck - BIG.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 p.m.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 p.m., 41 degrees, mostly cloudy, overcast, wind E 3-5 mph but swirling a bit in the valley early, sunset 6:30 p.m. (Hunting closes 7:00 p.m). With the wind from the east, it was time for me to give the Border Patrol a try. Before I left the house, I looked out and in my front yard on the other side of the driveway was two does and two fawns. One of the does was the deer that Heidi hit on opening weekend. She appeared to be doing just fine. I was all settled in by 5:05 p.m. Fortunately, I didn't spook anything that I know of off the food plots on the way in to the stand. At 6:00 p.m., I looked over my left shoulder to the west and saw a doe working her way into the food plot from the south. A minute later, she was joined by another doe. One fed out towards the stump and got to within 25 yards of it. The other doe stayed more to the south and ended up more by the base of the sledding hill. She then turned to the north and walked the main trail towards the apple tree stand. They then both met up on the main trail and continued feeding to the north. The one doe came back into the field and fed within 15 yards of the stump. She was about to walk past the camera, but she ended up veering off to the west and walked behind the tree that the camera was hung on. At 6:35 p.m., I looked behind me and saw the tail end of a deer walking to the south in the stump food plot. I am not sure what it was as it was about 150 yards away. Then I saw another one going the same direction. They may have been the same does I saw earlier. That was it. Totals: Bob - 4 deer, 4 does.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 a.m.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 a.m., 26 degrees, partly cloudy, wind 3-5 N-NE mph, sunrise 7:25 a.m. (Hunting opens 6:55 a.m). I stayed at Heidi's last night, but drove down this morning for the hunt. I decided to give the ladder stand a try and was able to sneak into the stand fairly undetected. Unfortunately, once I climbed in there was 1 1/2" of ice and snow on the platform of the stand. I had to make a heck of a lot of noise just trying to clean off the wood. Nevertheless, I was all settled in by 6:40 a.m. At 7:40 a.m., I looked to the south and just on the other side of the empty feeder, I could see 4 does and fawns sneaking from the corn down towards the Ridgeback stand. That was it. Totals: Bob - 4 deer, 4 does.

Sunday, October 11, 2009 p.m.

Sunday, October 11, 2009 p.m., 41 degrees, partly cloudy, overcast, wind W-SW 3-5 mph, sunset 6:34 p.m. (Hunting closes 7:04 p.m). Tonight I decided to give Right Field another try. I figured that I might be able to do some light rattling and pull the bucks out of the corn. On my way in, I saw a big doe in the Stump food plot. She was in the far NE corner and she stayed there even after I left. I was all settled in by 5:00 p.m. I did hear a deer blowing a warning call to the NE of me down the hill towards Border Patrol. Otherwise nothing. Again! This is really starting to piss me off. Totals: Bob - 0 deer.

Buck at Copper Creek

Here is a photo of a nice 2 1/2 year old 8 pointer that was taken down at Copper Creek in Wisconsin. I will be down there next weekend and he would be tempting if he presented a good shot. This was taken in the back food plot near Lon's Gun Stand.

Sunday, October 11, 2009 a.m.

Sunday, October 11, 2009 a.m., 31 degrees, partly cloudy, wind 3-5 W-SW mph, sunrise 7:22 a.m. (Hunting opens 6:52 a.m). Flying solo again, I decided to give the Point a try. As I was walking in under the cover of darkness, I saw the flash go off on the Cuddeback over by the apple tree. Something must have been hanging out over there that I spooked on my way in. I was all settled in by 6:35 a.m. Nothing!?!? Very surprised. I went and check the cameras and got some pictures of a small buck. See above. When I got to the VAT food plot there were 2 fawns feeding in it. I got to within 30 yards before they spooked. Totals: Bob - 0 deer.

Saturday, October 10, 2009 p.m.

Saturday, October 10, 2009 p.m., 38 degrees, mostly cloudy, overcast, wind W 20-25 mph, sunset 6:37 p.m. (Hunting closes 7:07 p.m). With the wind from the west, but swirling, I decided to give the Creek stand a try. I was all settled in by 5:00 p.m. I was just about to start a short rattling sequence and from over past the BP, near where the Jolly Roger used to be all hell broke loose. Four deer were running around chasing each other in the BP food plot. One of the does got tired of it and took off behind me up the hill to the east. The big doe and the other two deer (they were twin nubbin bucks) ran around in front of me. I guess their hormones are starting to kick in. After spending about 5 minutes in the BP food plot, the wind swirled and they took off towards Right Field. At 6:00 p.m., I heard something behind me to the NE. I used my binoculars and i could see 3 does/fawns back up on the hill about 50 yards away. They never came out and they fed back up the hill to the east. At 6:25 p.m., I looked over to the west and there was a doe on the cut hillside. She ended up trotting up the hill on the trail past the point stand. That was it from the stand. On my way in, there was a deer about 10 yards to the north of the Stump. It took off towards Right field. Totals: Bob - 8 deer, 8 does/nubbins.

Friday, October 9, 2009 a.m.

Friday, October 9, 2009 a.m., 29 degrees, mostly clear, wind 0 mph, sunrise 7:20 a.m. (Hunting opens 6:50 a.m). I was flying solo, and only have time for a short hunt this morning; therefore I decided to give the ladder a try. I sure wish that I would have left earlier as deer scattered everywhere once I got into the woods. I tried running and stopping, and running and stopping to try and mimic the sounds of a deer, but I guess it didn't work very well. I could actually hear and see them running through the forest and heard at least two of the jump the electric fence and go into Arlie's pasture. Nevertheless, I was settled in by 6:30 a.m. At 7:20 a.m., a doe and fawn came through from the west heading east about 10 yards to the south of me. She was the biggest doe that I have ever seen. I can tell you one thing, she did not like the blob that was not moving in the ladder stand. She did the stiff legged stomp, head bob, and the Wanamingo eye fake. She finally gave a warning blow and trotted off to the east. That was it. Totals: Bob - 2 deer, 2 does.

Thursday, October 8, 2009 p.m.

Thursday, October 8, 2009 p.m., 49 degrees, cloudy, overcast, wind N-NW 8-10 mph, sunset 6:39 p.m. (Hunting closes 7:09 p.m). Heidi and I left the house at 4:50 p.m. With the wind being from the N-NW, I decided it would be best to not hunt BP or the Creek bottom. I got Heidi set up for the inaugural night in the "Stump" and I went to the VAT. I changed the chip on the food plot camera and then walked up to grab the chip from the Apple Tree. When I turned around to head back to the south to the VAT, there was already a doe on her way into the food plot from the west. I called Heidi to let her know, and after she saw her I walked back that way and scared her back up the hill to the west. When I rounded the corner to enter the original food plot I kicked a doe and two fawns out of the VAT food plot. They ran off to the south. I was finally able to climb up and settle in by 5:15 p.m. At 5:55 p.m., I had a small doe sneak through behind me to the south going from west to east. It was through the brush on the other side of the creek about 30 yards away. I guess she was not interested in the food plot. At 6:15 p.m., a doe and fawn came into the "Stump" food plot for Heidi. They came from the west. At 6:35 p.m., Heidi was able to see through the trees to the east and see a few does in the BP food plot. That was it for me. I did have 5 raccoons come out at dark, but no deer. Heidi ended up seeing a total of 9 does, and I even kicked some out of the field when I went to get her after dark. Totals: Bob - 1 deer, 1 doe, Heidi - 9 deer, 9 does.

October 4, 2009 a.m.

Sunday, October 4, 2009 a.m., 47 degrees, cloudy, overcast, NO rain, wind N-NW 10-15 mph, sunrise 7:13 a.m. (Hunting opens 6:43 a.m). We all made it out this am. I went to Right Field, Heidi went to the Apple Tree, and Taylor went to the Border Patrol. Heidi kicked up a deer on the way in and she blew out a warning call to her friends. At 8:00 a.m. Taylor and Heidi saw a doe with two fawns in the food plot near the Stump. They ended up feeding up the hill to the west past the point stand. They ended up turning around and coming back to the food plot. They then fed up the hill towards Heidi. Heidi decided to let them walk. She said "I didn't want to kill the babies momma." That was it. Totals: Bob - 0 deer, Heidi - 3 deer, 1 doe and 2 fawns, Taylor - 3 deer, 1 doe and 2 fawns (same deer as Heidi)

Saturday Evening October 3rd, 2009

Evening: Sat. Oct. 3rd, 2009

Decided to go to the Apple Tree tonight. Got in the stand at 5:30pm. Was alone, Bob and Heidi were taking care of business in the cities! At 5:45 a nice little nubbin buck walked into the food plot to the east of me toward the Creek Bottome stand. At exactly 6:00 the swamp in front of me erupted with deer running everywhere. I counted six tails and they all went in different directions. Five minutes after the uproar I had another small nubbin buck come up the trail from the north directly in front of me. He smelled the camera and walked down toward the other nubbin buck. Just as this was happening a 2 does (one of them Heidi's famous neck shot doe, shes doing great!) and two fawns came walking in from behind the creek bottom and met up with the two nubbin bucks. After ten minutes of grazing in the food plot they all slowly walked into the swamp in front of me. At 6:45 I spotted two bucks and two does in the food plot between Creek Bottom and Border Patrol. They were a long ways away but one looked like the mutant buck we have pictures of and the other looked like tall seven. They grazed and ended up taking off back behind Border Patrol. That was it. Totals: 4 Doe; 2 fawns; 2 nubbin bucks; 2 bucks

FawnSlayer Out

Saturday, October 3, 3009 a.m.

Saturday, October 3, 2009 a.m., 46 degrees, cloudy, overcast, and rainy, wind N-NE 10-15 mph, sunrise 7:12 a.m. (Hunting opens 6:42 a.m). Still raining. I decided to go to the Point and Taylor went to the Border Patrol. Taylor kicked up 2 deer to the south of the stand on the way in. We simply got wet. We decided to get down early at 8:00 a.m. When I walked down the hill, a deer got up that was 50 yards to the NE of the creek stand and ran to the east. That was it. Totals: Bob - 0 deer, Taylor - 0 deer.

Friday, October 2, 2009 p.m.

Friday, October 2, 2009 p.m., 46 degrees, cloudy, overcast, and rainy, wind N-NE 10-20 mph, sunset 6:57 p.m. (Hunting closes 7:27 p.m). Tonight the weather can best be described as shitty. After not being able to hunt yesterday and this morning because of the rain I decided to give it a try. It is wet, windy, damp, and cold. The bucks just have to be moving. I was settled in at the ladder stand by 5:05 p.m. I know one thing, it is going to get dark early tonight. At 6:00 p.m., a big doe came through 30 yards to the NE of me. She took off to the north towards Arlie's. That was it. Wow. Was it cold and wet. I hope it clears in the am. Totals: Bob - 1 deer, 1 doe.

Thursday, October 1, 2009 a.m.

Thursday, October 1, 2009 a.m. 47 degrees, rainy, Wind S-SE 10-20 mph, Sunrise 7:08 a.m. (Hunting opens 6:38 am). Well I was pissed. I got up this morning at 5:35 a.m., fed the dogs, ate breakfast, showered, got dressed, checked the weather (rain in forecast), put on face paint and headed out the door. As soon as I stepped out and headed down the hill it started pouring rain and lighting. I decided that it would be better to not go out this morning. Nevertheless, I did get out and check the cameras after it stopped raining and got light out. And to my surprise, we finally got some nice bucks on film! There is a really tall (and pretty thick) 8 pointer. Then there are two (I think they are different bucks) 10 pointers. Now it is time to get serious. They know where the food plots are, lets hope they start to visit them during shooting hours. Stay tuned. Buck Slayer out!