Wednesday, October 31, 2012 pm

Wednesday, October 31, 2012 pm. Sunset: 5:54 pm.  Hunting closes: 6:24 pm. Temperature 48 degrees. Mostly sunny. Wind NW10-15 mph.   I go down to Romance at about 12:30 pm.  I wanted to get a new stand up at the top of the hill at Romance above the goat prairie.  I had already marked a tree, so I just need to climb up there with a portable lock on stand.  It took a while and a lot of sweat, but I was able to get there in about 15 minutes.  On my way up, I kicked up two does.  As I was putting in the steps a , big coyote crested the hill to the north of me.  It took a minute before he saw me, but he took back off to the north.  After getting the shooting lanes trimmed out, I decided to give the area a rest and head back down.  If the wind is right, I will plan on sitting there all day.  I was back down at the house by 3:15 pm.  I grabbed a quick shower and was off to the box elder stand in the creek bottom.  On my way in a dragged a scent line from the south.  When I got to the stand, I dropped my gear and continued up to the field edge to the north with the drag.  On my way up, I kicked up a small 2 1/2 year old buck and they ran off across the field to the north.  I was able to climb into the stand and get settled in by 3:55 pm.  At 4:10 pm, I head something grunting to the east of me.  A 2 1/2 year old 7-8 pointer came through to the north of me.  He stopped in the brush to the north east of me (about 15 yards away), but never came out so I could get some video.   It was pretty quiet until 5:50 pm.  I could hear something to east east of me.  I thought that it was deer, but it sounded like they were splashing in water.  At about 6:15 pm, I heard a grunt and new immediately that is was some deer.   At 6:15 pm, I could hear them coming.  I had already stood up and was ready facing to the SW.   On cue, a mature doe came out from east about 15 yards to the south of me and ironically passed down wind of me undetected.  She passed though my shooting lanes; at 10-12 yards, fairly quickly as she had a nice 8 pointer (Cap't Hook) following her.  He stopped briefly in my shooting lane,, but I elected to pass as I could hear a much larger and louder deer coming.  When he stepped out, I knew that it was him.  It was "Raji."  He did not even pause.  Somehow he had lost sight of the doe and the other buck.  He ended up picking up the trail of my scent line that I had dragged in a he took off to the south.  I was furious.  I stood there waiting a light began to fade.  Just then, I heard him grunt and he was heading back my way to the north  I saw him coming and turned on the camera.  The first shooting lane that he came through on a steady walk, he was quartering towards me.  I had already made up my mind that I was going to draw when he walked behind the branch on the tree that I was hiding behind.  As I was coming to full draw, he spooked off to the west.  He was 10 yards away when he took off.  I am not 100% sure what happened.  Three things could have happened.  One, he could have seen me.  (not sure as he kind of just trotted off the the west and then stopped about 40-50 yards away.  Second, he could have seen the other buck and doe out in the field and he wanted to join them.  Or third, he caught a whiff of my scent wick and he took off past it.  Frustrating.  He was the largest deer that I have ever come to full draw on.  Hopefully, I will get a chance to redeem myself tomorrow.  Stay tuned.  The good news, is I have cell coverage up on the ridge, so I should be able to post my day fairly quickly after the hunt tomorrow.  So check back again tomorrow night.  Buck slayer Out.  Totals: Bob - 4 deer. 3 bucks and 1 doe. Two shooter bucks.

Monday, October 29, 2012 am, Sunrise: 7:36 am, Hunting opens: 7:06 am. Temperature 22 degrees, mostly sunny. Wind S-SW 0-5 mph.  Again I was out early this morning, arriving at Everest by 6:25 am.  I love getting there early in order to cool down.  It is crazy that you can be wearing a short sleeve shirt on a morning when it is 22 degree and work up a full blown sweating walking into the stand.  Those hills/bluffs are a killer.  At 7:25 am, I had a doe and two fawns come down off the hill from the north and walked 30 yards to the west of me.  Behind them, was a small 7 point buck.  He started chasing them and they wanted nothing to do with him so they took off to the west.  At 9:05 am, I saw a nice shooter buck walking across about 50 yards off the top of the ridge going from east to west.  I  know this much, that I need to get a portable stand higher up on the ridge.  I tried calling and raking the tree so sound like a buck making a rub, but he just kept on moving.  At 11:00 am, I looked down the hill and saw 2 does and 2 fawns down near Octopussy.  I am not sure what scared them (they were upwind of me), but one of the does started blowing and stomping.  They ended up heading back to the east.  I decided to get down at 11:30 pm, and get ready to head back to Minnesota from my hockey game at night.  I will plan on staying in Minnesota until Wednesday and then head back down to Wisconsin.  Totals:  Bob - 7 deer, 5 does and fawns and 2 bucks.

Sunday, October 28, 2012 pm. Sunset: 6:01 pm.  Hunting closes: 6:31 pm. Temperature 43 degrees. Mostly sunny. Wind S-SW10-15 mph. I came in and watched the Packer game and went back out right afterwards.  This time I decided to give the north side a rest and went to the Recliner stand.  I was all set up with "Hairy" by 3:45 pm.  On my way into the stand, I did kick up a doe who was right next to the stand.  She ran up the hill to the SE.  At 5:30 pm,  I heard  the unmistakable sound of deer running.  I stood up and got ready.  Then I saw 4 does running down off the hill from south to north about 125 yards to the east of me on the other side of the ditch.  I was expecting to see a buck chasing them, but there was nothing.  At 5:45 pm, I heard a buck grunting to the south east of me.  I tried calling but nothing.  At 6:00 pm, I heard some grunting in the valley to the north of me.  Again, I tried calling, but it did not solicit a response.  At 6:15 pm, I had a doe and a nice shooter buck come off the hill from the south to the north again about 125 yards away on the pother side of the ditch.  He was running at full speed and did not respond to any calling either.  It was too bad, because none of the deer that I saw this evening ever saw "Hairy."  Totals: Bob - 6 deer, 5 does and 1 buck.

Sunday, October 28, 2012 am, Sunrise: 7:35 am, Hunting opens: 7:05 am. Temperature 23 degrees, mostly sunny. Wind North 5-10 mph.  This morning found me back up at the Sherpa stand.  I was in early this morning and was at the base of the tree by 6:25 am.  It was nice to be able to take off my sweaty shirt, towel off and cool down.  At 8:05 am, I looked back up the hill and saw a nice buck walking the ridge about 150 yards to the north of me heading from east to west.  I tried to grunt and rattle him down, but he wanted nothing to do with me.  At 10:30 am, I looked down the hill and saw 2 does walking along the field edge going from east to west.  I saw them stop and smell my scent trail, but they just continued on to the west and never came up the hill towards me.  At 10:45 am, I had a small 3 point buck come off the hill to the NW of me and head down to the S-SW about 80 yards to the west of me.  That was it.  Totals: Bob - 4 deer, 2 bucks and 2 does.

Saturday, October 27, 2012 pm

Saturday, October 27, 2012 pm. Sunset: 6:02. Hunting closes: 6:32. Temperature 43 degrees. Mostly sunny. Wind S-SW10-15 mph. I came in to watch the Badger game and watched the first half.  I was back out in the stand by 4:00 pm.  This evening I took "Hairy" and went out to the boxelder tree in the creek bottom.  As I was dragging out a scent line tot he north field edge there were already 2 does making their way tot he field edge.  At 5:00 pm, I had a doe and 2 fawns come in from behind me to the east.  They ended up getting downwind of me and they kind of spooked back to the NE in the brush.  At 5:45 pm, I had a small doe come in from the east and she ended up to the south of me.  She was in the brush and when she saw "Hairy" she froze and began stomping her foot.  She ended up spooking as well back to the east.  At 6:15 pm, I had open doe on the trail to the north of me.  She was 60 yards away and saw "Hairy."  She ended up heading back into the field.  Totals: Bob - 5 deer, 5 does.

Saturday, October 27th, 2012 AM

Saturday, October 27, 2012 am, Sunrise: 7:34 am, Hunting opens: 7:04 am. Temperature 26 degrees, mostly sunny. Wind S-SW 5-10 mph.  I decided to try my luck at the Sherpa.  I was all set up by 6: 30 am.  It was a beautiful morning with very little wind to start.  At 8:10 am, I heard something coming across the hill from the east.  I grabbed my bow and picked up my binoculars.  It was a beautiful shooter buck about 40 yards across the hill from me.  I was hoping he would continue on the lower trail and would give me a perfect 20 yard broadside shot.  He kind of sensed something was wrong.  He finally wagged his tail, but turned and went up the hill.  He did stop at 34 yards and was broadside but in some brush.  I was hoping that he was going to step out.  Unfortunately, he had gotten downwind of me and smelled me.  That was it.  He blew and snorted as he worked his way up the hill to the NE.  I did get some video of him, but since he was locked in on me, it was tough to zoom all the way in on him.  I ended up sitting until 12:00 pm and then moved over to to Badger Hole.  I sat there until 1:30 pm and I got down to head in.  If the wind is right, I am going to give the creek bottom another try this afternoon.  I am planning on bringing "Hairy" the buck decoy with me.  Totals: Bob - 1 deer.  1 nice shooter buck.

Friday, October 26, 2012 pm

Friday, October 26, 2012 pm. Sunset: 6:03. Hunting closes: 6:34. Temperature 43 degrees. Mostly sunny. Wind N-NE 10-15 mph. After a nice morning sit at Romance, I decided to give Copper Creek a shot. I had to replace some gold tip screws on the north fort stand before I could get out and hunt tonight. I was still able to get settled in the new ladder stand out on birch point where Dan shot his nice 10 pointer during gun last year. I trimmed a few branches and was all set to go by 3:00 pm.  That was it.  I did hear one while I was walking to the Ranger.  When I got back to Romance I checked the camera.  Evidently, the neighbor had shot a nice buck on Wednesday.  They had been tacking it across birch point and down cherry valley.  We had several picture of the guys looking for the deer on the trail camera.  Lon called them after I got home and they told him that they finally found the buck on Friday morning.  Unfortunately, so did the coyotes.  There was really nothing left of the buck but the horns.  The worst part about it, is he shot "Farley" or his "Majesty."  He was the buck with four brow tines on his left and 12 on his right.  He was a 14 pointer.  What a bummer.  I guess this explains why I didn't see anything last night.  Now, I will have to focus on Romance for a few days.  Buck slayer Out!  Totals: Bob - 0 deer

Friday, October 26, 2012 am

Friday, October 26, 2012 am, Sunrise: 7:35 am, Hunting opens: 7:05 am. Temperature 32 degrees, mostly sunny. Wind N-NW 5-10 mph.  I decided to try my luck at Everest.  I was all set up by 6:40 am. At 9:00 am, I could hear a deer running down in the valley to the south of me, but it never came up the hill so I am not sure what it was.  At 10:20 am, I saw a big deer moving across the hill about 100 yards to the north of me moving from west to east.  Again, I could not see what it was, but I think that it was a buck.  I ended up sitting until 11:00 am, as I wanrt to get down to Copper and do some hunting there Totals: 1 deer, 1 ?.

Thursday, October 25, 2012 pm

Thursday, October 25, 2012 pm, Sunset: 6:05 pm, Hunting closes: 6:35 pm. Temperature 42 degrees. Mostly cloudy, some light rain. Wind N-NW.   Today I drove down to Romance, WI to hunt.  I got there at about 1:30 pm.  John Score met me around 1:45.  We waited for the big part of the storm to pass through and then we cleaned up and headed to the stands.  John went to Everest and I went to the new box elder creek bottom stand.  We were both all set up by 2:45 pm.  At 6:00 PM, I had a deer (I think it was a nubbin buck) that was all fired up and kept running all around my stand.  I think his hormones were all out of whack.  At 6:30 pm, I looked to the NW and I could barely see 3 deer (I think all does) sneaking along the far edge of the box elder woods about 75 yards away.  The were heading toward the SW.  That was it for me.  John Score ended up seeing a doe with two fawns, a nubbin buck, and s small busted up 6 pointer.  All were well within bow range.  Totals: Bob - 4 deer, 4 does.  John - 5 deer, 4 does and fawns and 1 buck.

Monday, October 22, 2012 am

Monday, October 22, 2012 am, Sunrise: 7:37 am, Hunting opens: 7:07 am. Temperature 48 degrees, mostly sunny. Wind N-NE 5-10 mph. With a good wind, and a stand that has been rested for a while, I decided to give the VAT a try. I grabbed Stubby and headed for the valley. I was in the stand and all set up by 6:35 am.  Stayed until 9:25 am.  Nothing to report.  Totals:  Bob - 0 deer.

Sunday, October 21, 2012 pm

Sunday, October 21, 2012 pm, Sunset: 6:20 pm, Hunting closes: 6:50 pm. Temperature 70 degrees. Mostly sunny. Wind S-SW. This afternoon I took Stubby the buck decoy and went up to right field. I was all set up by 4:30 pm. At 6:20 pm, i saw a single doe in the field 150 yards to the SW of me. She was heading over towards the VAT food plot. That was it. Totals: Bob - 1 deer, 1 doe.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012 am

Wednesday, October 17, 2012. Sunrise: 7:31 am, Opener: 7:01 am, Temp: 52 degrees, Mostly cloudy, some rain, Wind: S-SE 10-15 mph. Even though there was a sprinkle this morning, I decided to go hunting anyways.  I wanted to give the ladder stand a try.  I was in position by 6:35 am.  On my way in a kicked up a couple of deer, but it was way to dark to tell what they were.  I sat through a couple of small rain storms, but did not see a deer.  I decided it was time to get down at 8:40 am.  Totals: Bob - 0 deer. 

Tuesday, October 16, 2012 pm

Tuesday, , October 11, 2012. Sunset: 6:27 pm, closing: 6:57 pm, Temp: 62 degrees, Partly cloudy, Wind: S-SE 5-10 mph.   I decided to give Spaghetti Junction a try.  I was in position, by 4:30 pm.  At 6:35 pm, I saw a doe sneaking from west to east about 75 yards to the south of me.  It was heading towards the boarder patrol food plot.  At 6:40 pm. I heard something to the NW of me.  It was a doe that had jumped Arile's fence.  It browsed on grass on the turn around about 80 yards away from me.  At 6:45 pm, I had another doe come from the west and head to the east.  She was about 40 yards away and heading towards the same food plot as the first doe that I saw.  That was it.  Totals: Bob - 3 deer, 3 does.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012 am

Tuesday, October 16, 2012. Sunrise: 7:30 am, Opener: 7:00 am, Temp: 52 degrees, Mostly cloudy, some rain, Wind: S-SE 20-25 mph.  This morning, I decided to give Right Field another try.  I was all set up by 6:40 am.  The temperature was fairly warm, but the winds were howling.  We even got some rain showers.  At 7:35 am, the turkeys started calling and flying down.  Several were roosted on "Devils Ridge," and I could see them in the tree.  Three hens flew down onto the plateau about 40 yards to the north of me.  At  7:45 am, a single tom crossed on top of the hill to the north of me moving from west to east.  He crossed through the brush about 40 yards away.  At 8:15 am, the rain started coming down pretty hard.  I decided to get down shortly thereafter.  Totals: Bob - 0 deer. 

Monday, October 15, 2012 pm

Monday, October 15, 2012. Sunset: 6:28 pm, closing: 6:58 pm, Temp: 53 degrees, Partly cloudy, Wind: S-SE 10-15 mph.  I was having problems with my Direct TV, so I had to have a technician out.  He didn't end up leaving until 5:25 pm.  After a quick shower, I decided to give the ladder stand a try, since it was going to be such a short sit.  Nothing to report.  I did check the camera and got another picture of "Dr. Evil."  This is a different angle than I have gotten in the past.  (see attached) What a beast!  Unfortunatley all of the photos I have of him are at night.  Hopefully he will make a mistake in the coming weeks during daylight hours.  Totals:  Bob - 0 deer. 

Sunday, October 14, 2012 pm

Sunday, October 14, 2012 pm, Sunset: 6:29 pm, Closing 6:59 pm, Temp 53 degrees, Mostly Sunny, Wind: N- NW 10-15 mph. Tonight I decided to head up to Right Field.  I was all set up by 4:35 pm.  At 5:50 pm, I had a nice little 6 pointer enter the field from the SW of me.  He started off being about 100 yards away.  At 6:00 pm, a small doe joined him in the field from the same place.  They stayed out and ate for the entire evening until dark.  He walked within 8-10 yards of the stand and had no idea that I was there.  At 6:15 pm, two does came up into the field from the SW.  They stayed out in the field till dark as well.  The buck did chase all three of the does around for a bit, but they wanted nothing to do with him.  It was fun to see.  I did get some good video with my new HD camera that I will try and post.  Totals; Bob 4 deer, 3 does and 1 buck.

Friday, October 12, 2012 pm

Friday, October 12, 2012 pm, Sunset: 6:31 pm, Closing 7:01 pm, Temp 51 degrees, Mostly Sunny, Wind: S-SE 10-15 mph.  I decided to try my luck in the new pop up blind.  I was in position by 4:30 pm.  Heidi went to the VAT, but she didn't head in until 5:00 pm.  She said that she kicked up a deer on her way in, but she could not tell what it was.  At 6:50 pm, Heidi looked over her right shoulder and a nice shooter buck was coming into the food plot from the east.  He was close too.  About 8-10 yards from the blind.  She waited for him to pass out in front of her.  When he was quartering away, she thought that she made a good 10-12 yards shot.  The buck took off up the hill to the NW. She could see the arrow and luminock still in him as he ran up the hill. She called me and I came over to help her.  We snuck back out and went up the hill towards the house from the east going west.  Taylor, Theron, Little, Luke, Heidi and I waited up in the house.  After an hour and a half, we went out to start looking.  There was no blood or hair at impact.  We finally started up the hill to look for Heidi's arrow.  About 100 yards up the hill, Heidi found her arrow.  It had good blood, but she only got about 5-6 inches of penetration.  (I think a single lung hit)  We had good blood up the hill and then he ran along the driveway to the west for about 200 yards.  We finally lost blood down towards the end of the driveway.  Of course, it started to rain as well.  The next morning, I did grid patterns in the corn.  I also came back and did some more grids on Sunday.  Nothing.  I sure hope that buck makes it.  I will be checking the cameras to see if we can see any photos up a buck with a scar on his right side.  Stay tuned.  Totals:  Bob - 0 deer, Heidi - 1 deer, 1 buck. 

2 other potential targets

Not sure what these guys are, but look to be shooters. 

"Lucky 7" and "Big 9"

Two other nice bucks have shown up at the 009.  They must be starting to move with the cold weather we have been having.  We will call this guy Lucky 7 since he has 7 on his left side.  The other deer appears to be a great 9 pointer.

Thursday, October 11, 2012 pm

Thursday, October 11, 2012. Sunset: 6:34 pm, closing: 7:04 pm, Temp: 48 degrees, Partly cloudy, Wind: N-NW 10-15 mph. Tonight, I decided to give the VAT another try. I am pretty excited as I just purchased a new Sony high-definition video camera from Costco. It is even smaller and lighter than my old camera. On my way in I kicked up a doe that ran up toward the dump stand. I was all set up and in position by 4:55 pm. It was a bit later than I had hoped for. It sounds like they may have started to cut the corn up by right field. At 5:35 pm, the nubbin came into the food plot from the west.  He gorged himself on the beats, rape, and oats.  He ended up coming right towards me and circled around the stand to the south. He then crossed the creek and headed back to the SW. I watched him work the hillside for an hour to the south of me. At 6:40 pm, he decided to come back into the food plot where I had first saw him. He ended up working his way into the beans in front of me to the NW.  He sure is a hungry bastard. Totals: Bob - 1 deer, 1 nubbin

"Dr. Evil" in Minnesota

Fans,

Here is a new target that has moved into the area.  It is tough to tell, but with all the junk on the brow tines, he is probably a 14 pointer.  He is a big body deer that is for sure.  Maybe a descendant of "Turkey Foot."  Finally we have something on camera that is worth shooting.  Thoughts?  Buckslayer

Tuesday, October 9, 2012 pm

Tuesday, October 9, 2012. Sunset: 6:36 pm, closing: 7:07 pm, Temp: 49 degrees, Mostly cloudy, Wind: N-NW 20-25 mph. We are trying something different. Since the old willow that the boarder patrol stand was in fell over, we decided to put up a pop up blind by that food plot. Heidi and I are hunting together tonight. I put down the Heli-m and brought my camera and tri-pod. I am hoping to capture Heidi's first harvest on camera. We had it up and brushed in by 4:55 pm. Nothing. Oh well still an enjoyable sit. Totals: Bob and Heidi - 0 deer.

Copper Creek - "His Majesty or Chris Farley"

I don't know what to say, but this buck is ridiculous.  He is an absolute beast.  I am guess 180+ net.  4 brow tines on one side and 2 on the other.  He has to be close to 300 lbs on the hoof.  You can see how he got his name. 

Copper Creek - "Perfect 10"

Copper Creek "Toys R Us"

"I just want to grow up, I"m a toys are us kid."  A great buck with some potential.  He needs another year or two.  I love the matching split brows!

Romance - "Mr. Thick"

Romance - "The Fridge"

Romance - "Raji"

Romance Buck- "Skyscraper"

Sunday, October 7, 2012 am

Sunday, October 7, 2012. Sunrise: 7:13 am, Opener: 6:43 am, Temp: 35 degrees, Mostly Sunny, Wind: N-NW 3-5 mph. This morning found me again at Everest. I was all set up and ready to go by 6:25 am. Today is going to be a shorter hunt as I need to get back to Minnesota and I would like to get back in time to watch the Packer game. At 8:20 am, I heard deer running downhill of me to the SE. They began working their way up the hill towards me. It was 3 does. They ended up circling around the east and then north of me. They ended up crossing about 35 yards to the north of me. After that they slowly picked their way up hill to the north. That was it for me this morning. Totals: 3 deer, 3 does.

Saturday, October 6, 2012 am

Saturday, October 6, 2012. Sunrise: 7:11 am, Opener: 6:41 am, Temp: 41 degrees, Mostly Sunny, Wind: N-NW 5-10 mph. This morning I decided that I was going to give Everest a try. After a long sweaty climb, I changed undershirts and was all set up by 6:30 am. It is the opening of the Wisconsin youth season, so I had to wear some blaze orange. At 7:00 am, I heard something downhill to the SW of me. I turned a saw a deer trotting up towards the NW. It was 80+ yards away through the brush, so I am not sure what it was. I guess I should have hunted Octopussy as I would at least have been able to see what it was. At 7:40 am, I had a big doe come up the hill from the south of me. She came right through my shooting lane to about 10 yards. I thought about taking her since she was alone and didn't have any fawns, but I decided to pass her up. She ended up getting up to the SE (down wind) of me and she started to get nervous. She never spooked, but she ended up heading back down the hill to the SE. That was it. Totals: Bob - 2 deer, 1 doe and 1 ? 

Growth in 1 year- "Captain Hook"

Here is a Romance target for 2012.  He is only an 8 pointer, but a total beast.  We call him Captain Hook.  I love his brow tines.  I am guessing his G2's and G3's are 12-14."  Probably a 3 1/2 to a 4 1/2 year old.  Take a look how much he has grown from 2011 to 2012.  I am guessing he has grown 25-30 ."  The first 2 photos are from 2011.  The last 3 are from this year.  See attached. LET THEM GO AND SEE THEM GROW!!   Enjoy. 

Friday, October, 5, 2012 pm

Friday, October 5, 2012. Sunset: 6:40 pm, Closes: 7:10 pm, Temp: 51 degrees, partly cloudy, Wind: N-NW 15-20 mph. It is good to be back in Wisconsin. I checked two of the cameras at Romance today (I didn't have the key to unlock the camera at Octopussy) and the batteries were dead. Both had not been working for the last 10 days to 2 weeks. Too bad. Nevertheless, we did get some nice pictures of "Captain Hook." He is a great 8 pointer with super curved brow tines. He has put on a good 20-25" this year and his G3's have to be 13+." He is a great buck that I would love to take. Tonight I decided to give the Sherpa stand a shot. No one has hunted either place all year, so needless to say I was excited to get out. I was in and all set up by 5:00 pm. I did have about 6 hens fly up and roost about 70 yards to the east of me. As far as deer sightings... Nothing. Totals: Bob - 0 deer

Thursday, October 4, 2012 pm

Thursday, October 4, 2012. Sunset: 6:46 pm, Closes: 7:16 pm, Temp: 52 degrees, mostly cloudy, Wind: N-NW 25-30 mph. Tonight was a nice cold evening. It was a bit windier than I would normally like, but the colder air is a refreshing change. I hoped it would get the bucks up and on their feet. Since it was so windy, I thought that I should give the VAT a try. I was all set up by 5:00 pm.  At 5:35 pm, I did some rattling and immediately my little nubbin buddy came running in off the hill from the north. He fed over on the far west of the field and walked up to the west. At 6:30 pm, the wind swirled and 2 deer winded me from the sugar shack food plot. They took off to the east. One was a big deer.  At 6:45 pm, a doe with two nubbin fawns came into the food plot from the west. She was not the one with the broken leg or I would have taken her for sure. She did present a perfect broad side shot at 10 yards but I elected to pass her up. I have hockey tonight and I am heading to Wisconsin tomorrow.   It was going to be more problematic than it was worth. Right at 7:20 pm, when I was ready to get down a doe a fawn entered the field from the west. They both stayed on the far west edge of the food plot. When I was getting down, I spooked all 5 deer from the food plot. Too bad, but I had to get going. Totals: Bob - 8 deer. 6 does and fawns and 2 ?'s.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012 am

Wednesday, October 3, 2012. Sunrise: 7:13 am, Opener: 6:43 am, Temp: 43 degrees, Mostly Sunny, Wind: S-SW 5-10 mph. After a good nights sleep, I was up and out the door early. With a south wind, I knew that I wanted to give right field a try. I was all set up and in position by 6:15 am. It is hard to believe, but they had already started working at the quarry by 5:45 am. I can hardly wait until they get done over there. At 6:50 am, I saw a deer down in the corner to the east of me. I was only able to catch a quick glimpse, so I am not sure what it was. At 7:15 am, I heard something coming from behind me. It was two fawns and a mom. The mom has a broken front left leg and was limping. I would assume that she was hit by a car. The fawns ended up out front and up wind of me. I was hoping that she was going to step out in front of me so I could take her out. Unfortunately, she stayed behind me to the north and north east. I just couldn't get turned around with my safety harness to get a shot. When she finally started to move around to the north west, I slowly started to pivot. When I did, the stand let out a soft creak. That was it. She sensed something wasn't right and she trotted off to the north and then down to the north west. The two fawns followed her. Damn. So close. At 7:55 am, I the same nubbin buck come up the hill from the west on the trail I walked in on. He bedded down about 15 yards away to the west of me. He laid there for over an hour. I finally got tired and had to go in to get some work done. He finally got up and left when I was getting packed up to leave. He never saw me and left to the SW.  What a great action packed morning. Totals: Bob - 5 deer, 4 does and fawns and 1?

Tuesday, October 2, 2012 pm

Tuesday, October 2, 2012. Sunset: 6:52 pm, Closes: 7:22 pm, Temp: 66 degrees, mostly sunny, Wind: S-SE 3-5 mph. It was a beautiful night. A bit warm, but very comfortable with a little cool breeze. A lot of the leaves are starting to drop so it is getting easier to see. I was all set up and ready to go at the Apple Tree by 4:45 pm. I was happy to hear the combine cutting corn to the SE of me. As far a deer sightings...Nothing. Totals: Bob - 0 deer.