Saturday, November 7, 2026 All Day sit

Saturday, November 7, 2026. Sunrise 6:47 am. Hunting opens at 6:17 am. Temperature 35 degrees. Wind: N- NW 2-5 mph. Sunset 4:48 pm. Hunting closes at 5:18 pm. Warmed up to 54 degrees during the day. Wind shifted to S- SE 10 mph. Mostly sunny. Fog on the hillside in the am. This morning I decided to give the Mushroom Valley South (MVS) double ladder stand a shot. We have gotten so much rain earlier this week, that it created a natural watering hole on the north end of this lower plot. This morning, I used the carcass cart to roll in the buck decoy “Harry.” It took me a while to walk in and set up, but I was ready to go before the opener, although I had worked up a lather walking in. At 6:30 am, I heard so crashing behind me, a big mature 10 pointer came off the hillside to the SW of me. He stopped on the road about 75 yards away, so I grunted to try and get his attention. He didn’t like that and he took off to the SE. At 6:35 am, I looked to the NW, and there was a small 8 pointer on the road. He was staring at the decoy. He wasn’t too sure so he started walking off to the north of me. I grunted and he stopped. Eventually, he ended up walking off back to the NW through the draw. At 7:10 am, I looked to the north of me and there was a doe feeding in the north food plot 100 yards away. At 7:55 am, I had a little 3 pointer that came off the ridge from the west. He saw the decoy and was nervous. He ended up settling down and eventually came and drank from the watering hole. Afterwards, he cut through the ravine and headed up the hill to the east. He passed by my stand at 15 yards. At 9:10 am, I looked to the north food plot and there was a small fork horn. He saw the decoy and came in for a look. He stopped and freshed up a scrape between the 2 plots. He got to about 40 yards and turned around and headed back up the ravine to the NW. At 9:50 am, shortly after I had done a rattling sequence, a basket 6 pointer came in from the SE. He ended up almost under my tree at 5 yards. He was locked on the decoy and had no idea I was above him. He ended up circling to the south and headed off to the SW. At 10:05 am, I had a small basket 3-4 pointer come from the south about 75 yards to the east of me. He ended up heading up the hill to the west. At 10:30 am, I saw a small spike cross the north food plot 125 yards away going west to east. At 11:30 am, all hell broke loose. I had a doe with 2 bucks chasing it come in from the east. One was a spike and the other was a decent 8-10 pointer. They ran to the south of me, ran in some circles and then took off down the road to the south. At 11:35 pm, I had a small 8 pointer that was coming across the hill to the east of me heading south. I grunted to him and he walked right down to me at 5 yards. He saw the decoy, went around it to the north and west and then walked down the road where the doe and 2 bucks went to the south. At 11:50 am, I had a nubbin come down the hill from the east to the south of me. He followed the same route as the doe that was being chased by the bucks. He got to the field and went behind the decoy. He then headed up the hill to the west. At 12:15 pm, I had a deer on the hill behind me spook up the hill to the SW while I was taking a piss from the stand. At 1:45 pm, I had a doe and a spiked cone across the hill to my east going from south to north. They circled and came down behind me. She wanted nothing to do with him. They ended up heading back up to the east. He was chasing and grunting at her the whole time. At 2:55 pm, I had a nice tall 2 1/2 year old 8 pointer come from behind me on the hill going from south to north. He ended up circling me to the north over by the food plot and the headed up to the east. He ended up circling me to the east and then headed south on the hillside 80 yards above me. At 3:20 pm, I had a small fork horn sneak in behind me to the south of me he ended up circling around me to the east at 20 yards and headed north towards the food plot. At 5:15 pm, I had a nice mature 8-10 pointer that was really wide with a white rack cross the hill above me to the east going from south to north about 50 yards away. Totals: 19 deer, 15 bucks and 4 does. 2 mature bucks.

Friday, November 6, 2026 All day

Froday, November 6, 2026. Sunrise 6:45 am. Hunting opens at 6:15 am. Temperature 32 degrees. Wind: N- NW 10-15 mph. Sunset 4:49 pm. Hunting closes at 5:19 pm. Warmed up to 47 degrees during the day. Mostly sunny. After hunting in MN yesterday, I drove down last night to Copper Creek. I decided to head back up to the north side watering hole, where I shot my buck last year. I was ready to go by 6:05 am. We will see. At 6:45 am, I had a doe come in from the SW. she got to about 10 yards from me. She was downwind, and sensed something was wrong so she turned and headed back to the SW. At 7:15 am, I had a mature doe come in from the west. She had a nice 8 pointer chasing her. She stopped at 10 yards and ended up taking off to the N.E. He followed her. At 9:20 am, I saw a bobcat sneak through going north to south about 30 yards to the east of me. I was able to get some video. At 10:00 am, I saw a doe 125 yards to the south of me going from west to east. At 10:25 am, I looked to the south and there was another doe in the same spot 125 yards from me. She headed east too. At 11:15 am, there was another doe in the saddle 125 yards to the south of me, this time going west. At 12:30 pm, I did some grunting and called in a 2 1/2 year old 8 pointer from the west. He walked behind the stand at 10 yards and headed off to the east. At 4:20 pm, I had a decent 9 pointer come across the hill going from the NW to the SE about 80 yards away. I tried grunting him in, but he had no interest. That was it. Total: 7 deer. 4 does and 3 bucks. No shooters.

Thursday, November 5, 2026

Thursday, November 5, 2026 pm Sunset 4:55 pm Hunting closes at 5:25 pm. Temperature 45 degrees. Wind: N- NW 10-15 mph. Overcast and misting. I had to get Charley to the church this morning, so I didn’t get into Spaghetti Junction until 9:15 am. The plan is to sit the rest of the day today, and then drive down to Copper Creek and hunt until Sunday afternoon. At 10:15 am, I saw a deer through the brush about 80 yards to the north of me. I grabbed my grunt tube, and it turned and came in to me heading to the SW. The small 6 pointer passed through at 20 yards and headed up towards the apple tree stand. At 10:50 am, I looked to the east and there was a small 7 pointer that was 10 yards away. He completely snuck in on me. He ended up circling to the south of me and then headed over to feed in Arlie’s food plot. He then slowly walked off to the north. At 11:05 am, I had another small buck come through from the north heading to the SW. He walked through at 25 yards and headed up towards the apple tree stand. Nothing had happened for almost 4 hours, so I decided to move over to the VAT ladder. I packed up at 2:45 pm to move. On my way over, I kicked up a doe and a fawn near the sugar shack. The doe ran to the north and the fawn went south west. I was all set up by 3:00 pm. I even freshen up the scrape that is 10 yards to the north of me. At 3:45 pm, just as Heidi and Charley were pulling in the driveway, I had a small 8 pointer walk across the food plot at 20 yards going from west to east. He stopped and ate some of the radishes. Eventually, he headed up the road to the NE. At 4:05 pm, I had 2 does an a small buck behind them come down the road from the west. They ended up in the valley and then went up the road to the N.E. At 5:05 pm, I had 4 does come off the hill to the NE of me down into the food plot. Two stayed and fed until dark and 2 continued down to the SW. At 5:10 pm, 2 bucks came out from the SW into the far edge of the field. They both checked the does. The does ended up heading back to the N.E. one of the bucks followed them. The other eventually headed back to the SW at dark. Totals. 11 deer. 7 bucks and 4 does. No shooters though.

Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Tuesday, November 3, 2026 pm Sunset 4:57 pm Hunting closes at 5:27 pm. Temperature 58 degrees. Wind: N 3-5 mph. Overcast and showers. I had to take Charley to the church this morning in IGH, so I was not able to get out this morning. Heidi is coming back from a meeting at HQ, so she is able to get Charley this afternoon. The rut is in full swing, so despite the rain, I felt like I had to get out and hunt. I decided that I was going to be much more comfortable hunting from the Muddy blind. I had to take out an old wasp nest that was blocking the access door, so I brought down the extension saw. I also wanted to have something to entice some action, so I walked over and grabbed the old plastic buck decoy with one antler and set it out front of me to the east. I brought some strips from an old plastic garbage bag and pinned them to the tail and ears to hopefully give it some movement. I was all set up by 11:45 am. Nothing to report. Totals: 0 deer.

Sunday, November 1, 2026

Sunday, November 1, 2026 pm Sunset 5:01 pm Hunting closes at 5:31pm Temperature 72 degrees. Wind: S-SW 15-20 mph. I decided to give the VAT ladder stand a try this evening. Charley had a sleep over last night for Halloween, so I was not able to get out until 2:15 pm. As soon as I got into the stand, I heard the farmer Gary firing up his combine to pick our corn. I hope this helps my hunt this evening. We will see. It is crazy warm for the beginning of November. At 4:45 pm, I had a small 8 pointer walk along the hillside behind me to the south going from east to west. At 5:15 pm, I looked to the N.E. and there was a nice mature buck about 40 yards away. I was hoping he would come into the food plot, but he headed up the hill on the trail to the NW. While he was heading up the road, I had a small doe fly in from the east, ran around my tree and headed back to the SE. Totals: 3 deer. 1 small buck, 1 mature buck.

Friday, October 30, 3026 all day sit

Friday, October 30, 2026. Sunrise 7:46 am. Hunting opens at 7:16 am. Temperature 41 degrees. Wind: E-SE 3-5 mph. Sunset 6:31 pm. Hunting closes at 6:31 pm. Temperature 41 degrees. Warmed up to 56 degrees during the day. Wind: N-NE 5-10 mph Mostly sunny. Heidi was able to take Charley to school, so I was able to get out early. I decided to go back to Spaghetti Junction. I was ready to go by 6:55 am. Dwayne decided to hunt today, so he is over in the VAT ladder stand. We will see. At 8:25 am, I had a doe and fawn come in from the SE. they walked past me to the east at 10 yards. At the same time, I could hear a soft buck grunt to the N.E. of neon the hillside. Nothing came out though. The doe and fawn circled to the north of me and headed back to the N.E. At 8:40 am, I saw a deer moving through the brush to the SE of me. I think it was a buck but I could t tell. At 8:55 am, I saw 2 does going from north to south 50 yards to the east of me in the woods. It was probably the same doe and fawn that I saw earlier. At 9:10 am, I had a deer blow 50 yards to the north of me and head back up to the N.E. I think the thermals betrayed me. At 10:05 am, I looked to the north of me and there was a doe walking south towards me. There was another doe with her a was being followed by a fork and a bigger buck. The does got to within 10 yards to the west of me and then they circled up to the north and east. At 12:00 pm, I looked back to my right to the south and saw a small 6 pointer going from east to west. I grunted a few times to him and he walked right through my shooting lane at 10 yards. He hung around for a while and the headed off to the southwest towards the Apple Tree stand. At 5:30 pm, I had a small 8 pointer come down the hill from the east. Ended up going north on the trail. At 6:10 pm, 2 small bucks came out to feed in Arlie’s food plot. Totals: 13 deer. 7 does and fawns and 6 bucks.

Thursday, October 29, 2026

Thursday, October 29, 2026. Sunrise 7:45 am. Hunting opens at 7:15 am. Sunset: 6:01 pm. Hunting closes at 6:31 pm. Temperature 41 degrees. Warmed up to 56 degrees during the day. Wind: N-NE 5-10 mph. Mostly sunny. Heidi is out of town for work, so I had to take Charley to school. Fortunately, I only had to drive up to IGH, to drop her off this morning. I was all set up by 8:45 am at Spaghetti Junction. Hoping to sit all day today as Heidi flys home this afternoon. I did kick up a small buck over by the border patrol stand on my way in. At 12:25 pm, I had a tall but narrow 2 1/2 year old 8 pointer come by 15 yards to the north of me coming from east to west. He hung around for a while and then headed back to the east. At 1:30 pm, all hell broke loose. I had a doe come from the north heading south west about 40 yards away with 3 bucks chasing her. One was a big 9-10 pointer. He kept chasing off the littler bucks. While this was going on, I heard some commotion up on the hill to the east of me. A decent 8 pointer popped out about 50 yards to the south of me. He ended up heading back to the east. The big boy stayed 50 yards to the west of me for over 15 minutes in the brush. He ended up chasing the doe to the N.E. and the other 2 smaller bucks followed him. Close call, but no shot. At 3:00 pm, I had a small doe come running in from the south. She circled my stand clockwise and then ran back off to the south. At 3:30 pm, I heard a doe blow to the SE of me about 60 yards up on the hill. She kept walking to the South. At 3:35 pm, I looked over to the NW and there was a small buck in Arlie’s food plot. At 5:10 pm, I looked to the SE and there was a buck coming down the hill towards me. It stopped in the brush about 50 yards from me. I tried grunting him in, but he just stayed back in the woods. At 5:30 pm, I looked over to the NW and there were 2 does in the food plot. One of them started running around the outside of the food plot like crazy. I suspect it is a nubbin buck experiencing some hormones. At 6:00 pm , 4 more does popped out to the NE over near the food plot. Four does ended up coming over towards me. They got to about 20 yards and then they went north. Totals: 15 deer. 8 does and 7 bucks.

Friday, October, 31, 2025 all day.

Friday, October 31, 2025 am Sunrise 7:35 am. Hunting opens at 7:05 am. Sunset: 5:56 pm. Hunting closes at 6:26 pm. Temperature 37 degrees. Wind: N-NW 2-4 mph. I’m out again for another full day sit. Day 3 of 4for this trip. I decided to head back to the north side ladder water hole stand, hoping to find a thirsty mature buck. We will see. It didn’t take long. At 7:15 am, I had a small 4 pointer come in from the NE to 8 yards. He sensed something wasn’t right and headed back off to the east. I’m glad he wasn’t a big boy, because he really never offered a decent shot. At 8:40 am, I looked over my shoulder to the north and there was a decent 1 1/2 year old 8 pointer crossing the field going west to east 125 yards away in the saddle. At 10:00 am, I had a doe come up the road from the south and drank from the watering hole. She then turned and headed down to the SW. At 10:05 am, I had a doe, a small basket 4 and a stud 9 pointer come in from the east. He came right into the watering hole. I probably drew my bow too early as I had to hold it for about 30 seconds before he got broadside. I was so concerned that he was going to jump the string, so I put my 20 yard pin low on his chest. I shot and it went right underneath him. 2” too high on Wednesday and 2” too low today. I am sick. He really never spooked as I had time to knock another arrow, but he never offered me another chance. He was so busy chasing off the little buck. Eventually he went back to the east where he came from. At 3:30 pm, I had a small doe come in from the SW. She kind of circled me to the east. While she was 30 yards to the east of me, I saw there was a small 4 pointer on the road following her. They both headed down the hill to the east. At 5:10 pm, I looked to the SW, and I saw a a nice 10 pointer coming towards the water hole. The wind was coming from the west and I knew I couldn’t wait until he got to the watering hole. I thought, if he gave me a shot, I was going to take it as soon as he cleared the tree in front of me. I did. I hit him perfect. I gave him 10 minutes and decided to see what happened at impact. I had lots of hair and good blood, so I decided to follow him until he went over the hill and if I didn’t see him bin would back out. I followed great blood for 60 yards and then an insane my arrow and the buck was dead 10 yards from there. I gutted him and had him back to camp after dark. Totals: 8 deer. 5 bucks and 3 does. 2 shooters. 1 down. First Halloween buck for me.