Wednesday, September 29, 2010 pm

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 pm, Sunset: 7:06 p.m. Hunting closes: 7:36 Temp: 74 degrees but cooled of 60, Wind: NW 15-18 mph. Mostly sunny. Flying solo again tonight. Taylor has to teach and Heidi is at her POA meeting for work. With the wind from the NW, I decided to give the VAT a shot. I was all settled in for the evening hunt by 5:05. At 6:10, I had three big does come down the main trail to the west. They slowly worked their way down into the food plot. One was particularly skittish, but once the other does were out in front eating, she settled down and joined them at the "dinner table." I wish Heidi had been here, as it would have been an easy shot of about 10 yards. I bought a doe tag this afternoon and I plan on practicing QDM and shooting a doe. However, I have to get up at 4:30 tomorrow morning to fly to Sioux Falls, so I didn't want to have to deal with that tonight. Any of the three of them would have been nice mature doe to take. There is still plenty of time over the next few weeks to whack a doe. They took their time feeding through the VAT food plot, through the neck, and into the Sugar Shack food plot. That was it. I decided to add a couple of photos of some of the small bucks. They were taken at the Apple Tree behind the house. See attached. Totals: Bob - 3 deer, 3 does.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Monday, September 27, 2010 pm, Sunset: 7:08 p.m. Hunting closes: 7:38 Temp: 74 degrees but cooled off to 60 degrees, Wind: S-SW 12-18 mph. Mostly sunny. Tonight I am flying solo. Heidi has a meeting that starts on Wednesday that she has to prepare for, and Taylor has "kid" duty. It was a nice night, with a little too much wind, so I decided the Stump would be a good choice. I was all settled in for the evening hunt by 5:00. At 6:28, I looked out one of the blinds, and there was a doe over to the east of the creek stand. At 6:30, I looked over again and now there were 2 bucks fighting over in the same spot. I did get some video of them. I think one was the smaller taller 7 pointer. The other was the mutant spike. At 7:00, the same two bucks and other 4 does came across the creek stand bridge (some jumped across) and fed up towards the apple tree stand. The spike and 7 pointer did both get within 30 yards of the Stump blind. I did get some more video. Too bad Heidi wasn't in the Apple Tree, as I saw the trail camera go off as he went by. (See attached photos) He was with a big doe, so she would have had her choice of which one to shoot. I would have suggested the doe. Oh well. Long season. Totals: Bob - 7 deer, 2 bucks and 5 doe.

Sunday, September 26, 2010 p.m.

Sunday, September 26, 2010 pm, Sunset: 7:09 p.m. Hunting closes: 7:39 Temp: 6w degrees, Wind: S-SE 0-5 mph. Mostly sunny. Tonight we decided to have Heidi try the VAT. I went to the ladder stand and Taylor went back up to right field. We were all settled in for the evening hunt by 5:00. At 6:30, Heidi texted me that she had two does in the food plot, but they were too far away. At 6:33, Taylor texted me and said that there were three does on the edge of the field to the west of him over south of the dump. At 6:34, Heidi texted me that she had shot and missed. Too bad. The shot was about 22 yards. She missed high. She said that she got excited and took the shot sitting down. Oh well, a clean miss is not a bad thing. We still have a long season ahead of us.
At 7:05, I had a big doe come down the trail from the x stand. She came to about 20 yards the circled a bit to the north of me a headed west. Totals: Bob - 1 deer, 0 bucks; Taylor - 3 deer, 3 doe; Heidi - 2 deer, 2 does.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Sunday, September 26, 2010 am, Sunrise: 7:05 a.m. Opener: 6:3ad. Temp: 38 degrees, Wind: 0 mph. Partly sunny. Taylor, Heidi, and I decided to take the night off. After the hunt yesterday morning, Taylor and I did some serious work with the chain saw. We had a few dead trees that had fallen down in the recent storm. We figured it would be best to let the woods settle down for a night This morning, I went to the Point, Heidi went to the Apple Tree, and Taylor went to Right Field. We were all settled in by 6:20. At 7:00, Taylor texted me and said that he had a yellow an d black lab running around the base of his stand after they treed a raccoon. He was pissed, and so am I. I know the feeling of having your hunts ruined. It happened to me a ton back in 2008 by Arlie's cows. At 7:30, Taylor and I could hear a deer blowing a warning call over by the dump stand. Taylor said that he caught a tail of a deer walking over towards Pisa. At 7:45, I looked over my shoulder to the SW and there was a fawn about 30 yards away. It spooked and ran down into the food plot and across the bridge and past the Border Patrol. About the same time, I looked up the hill to the west and saw three HUGE does up the hill. Hey slowly worked their way down the hill towards me. They were all on high alert and one of the does kept blowing a warning call. They all got within 30 yards. I haven't gotten my doe tag yet. Too bad because any of these does would have been good ones to take. They stayed around for about 15 minutes, then they slowly worked their way back up the hill towards the X stand. I only wish they had gone to the north and given Heidi a shot. At 7:30, Taylor texted me and said that he had a doe in the bean field to the south of him. Totals: Bob - 4 deer, 4 does; Taylor- 2 deer, 1 ? And 1 doe; Heidi- 1 deer, 1 doe.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Saturday, September 25, 2010 am, Sunrise: 7:03 a.m. Opener: 6:33. Temp: 59 degrees, Wind: 0 mph. Partly cloudy. Well the rain has stopped and things are starting to dry out. Because there was no wind, I decided to try my luck at Spaghetti Junction. I was settled in by 6:15. Nate went down to the VAT. Taylor went to the ladder stand. Taylor kicked a deer up on the way in. He also had two deer pass through going east that were to the north of him, but it was too dark to see what they were. At 7:15, I heard a deer "mewing" to the NW of me, but I never saw it. At 7:45, Taylor had 3 does to the NW of him. They figured something wasn't right and took off back to the west. At 8:50, I had two does come off the hill to the east of me. They came down to the base of the hill and sensed something wasn't right and went back up the hill. One went to the north and the other to the south. I got down and walked up past Arlie's nob to Taylor. Totals: Bob - 2 deer, 2 does; Taylor - 5 deer, 3 does and 2 ?; Nate - 0 deer.

Friday September 24, 2010 p.m.

Friday, September 24, 2010 pm, Sunset: 7:11 p.m. Hunting closes: 7:41 Temp: 60 degrees, Wind: W-NW 20-25 mph. Mostly cloudy. Some sun. Tonight I decided to go to Right Field and Nate wanted to try his luck at the VAT. On his way in, Nate spooked 4 does and a buck that were feeding in the VAT food plot. We were both settled in for the evening hunt by 5:05. At 5:30, Nate figured the wind was too bad at the VAT, so he got down and snuck over to the Jolly Roger. His decision was smart because at 5:45, a big fork horn walked underneath his stand. He got some decent video. At 6:45, Nate had a small spike walk by underneath him as well. Both came off the hill from the SW. That was it. Nate did get down a bit early and he saw 4 deer in the VAT food plot but nothing in the Sugar Shack food plot. As he walked back to the culvert there were two more at the base of the hill. Totals: Bob - 0 deer, Nate - 2 deer, 2 bucks.

Small buck trashing a bush

Friday, September 24th, AM Hunt

Friday, September 24, 2010 am, Sunrise: 7:02 a.m. Opener: 6:32. Temp: 52 degrees, Wind: W 25-30 mph. Mostly cloudy. After close to 10" of rain over the past 36 hours, it has finally stopped. Still it is super windy. Despite the rain, Nate had a great sit yesterday evening in the Stump. Therefore, he decided to try his luck again this morning. I too decided to stay with the "hot hand," and went back to the VAT. Yesterday, while I was picken up Nate at Cabela's, I had to see what was new in the bargin cave. I found a new in the box (although the box was damaged), full sized real life buck decoy named "Harry.". He is awesome. This is the newest real-life decoy offered by Primos. He has a real tail , two sets of antlers(big & small), taxidery eyes, a moving head, and a "furry" body. He is a bit cumbersome, but I really think he will work well at Copper and Romance. The deal was too good to pass up at 40% off.
On my way into the stand this morning, I did kick off a deer from the VAT food plot. It was too dark to see what it was. I was all settled in the stand by 6:20. At 6:55, I looked to my left and there was a doe and a fawn that had come off the hill to the N-NW down into the food plot. They ate in the beans for about 10 minutes, and then slowly worked there way back up the hill to the NW. They then turned around and bedded down over in the tall grass 25 yards away. It was just past where Taylor shot the 10 pointer last year. At 7:05, Nate texted me and said that he had a small buck hanging out over by the Apple Tree. He said he was trashing a small weed up by the AT. At 7:20, Nate had a small 6 pointer, and the same three pointer get in a fight. 40 yards to the west of him along the base of the hill. At 7:30, Nate texted that a doe and fawn were working there way west along the road that runs along the base of the hill below Pisa. The two does I saw this morning finally left after an hour. Totals: Bob - 2 deer; Nate - 5 deer, 3 bucks.

Small buck 55009

Thursday, September 23, PM Hunt

It has been too long since I have been to the 009, my family and I drove up today from Oklahoma and I decided to brave the elements and hunt this evening. It has been raining since last night and flash flood warnings have been issued, but I headed out anyway.

This evening I tried my luck at the "STUMP", the only dry stand on the property and shortly after settling in I was greeted by a small 3 point, then a small doe, and two other bucks. The bucks decided to hang out for over an hour fighting, eating, chasing each other around. All in all a great evening out even though the weather wasn't wanting to cooperate.

I guess this is a lesson to myself in not letting the weather ever hinder an opportunity.

Totals: Nate 4 deer, 3 bucks, 1 doe

Tuesday, September 21, 2010 p.m.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010 pm, Sunset: 7:15 p.m. Hunting closes: 7:45 Temp: 73 degrees, Wind: N-NW 8-12 mph. Mostly sunny. I just got back from Des Moines, IA, and was able to get back in time for the evening hunt. It is a little warm, but I am pumped to be back out. A gorgeous night to sit. I went to the VAT and was settled by 5:05. At 5:15, I looked through the trees and spotted a small doe already feeding over in the Sugar Shack food plot. It was tough to see through all the foliage, but I assumed that she just stayed over there. Heidi got here in time to hunt too and she got ready by herself. She decided to give the Border Patrol stand a try. She was settled in by 5:20. At 5:45, I heard something and I looked over my right shoulder behind me, and there was a nubbin over by where I saw the bucks on Sunday night. It is pretty brushy over there. It is also right on the property line. I still may need to look for a place to build/put up a stand. At 6:00, I looked back behind me again and now there was a small 7 pointer back in the same spot. I think he bedded down back there. Come to find out, I am pretty sure that he is the same 7 pointer that I saw on opening morning from the ladder stand. At 6:15, I looked up the hill to the east of me and I could see a doe through the trees. At 6:55, I looked ahead to the NE and there were two small bucks fighting in the little strip of woods between the two food plots. I did get some video. Kind of far away. They did come closer, so I could get some better video. They were different then the 7 pointer that I saw earlier. At 7:20, two does came from the NE and fed into the food plot. They walked right down the middle on the strip and fed to within 2 yards. One stopped and smelled the ladder. At the same time Heidi texted me and said that she finally had a big doe come out to feed in the big food plot. Too bad she didn't have more action. Totals: Bob - 7 deer, 3 bucks; Heidi - 1 deer, 1 doe.

Sunday, Septmber 19, 2010 p.m.

Sunday, September 19, 2010 pm, Sunset: 7:17 a.m. Hunting closes: 7:47 Temp: 63 degrees, Wind: N 3-5mph. Partly sunny. We got out tonight right on schedule. We were all in position by 5:00. I decided to go to the VAT, Heidi went back to the Apple Tree and Taylor went to the new permanent Jolly Roger stand. Taylor bought out my screw gun, some L-brackets, screws, and a small 2 x 10 to make himself a permanent seat. At 6:30, I looked out in front of me to the NE and there was a small 5 pointer eating the recently planted fall foliage. He ended up feeding in the food plot for over 30 minutes. He got as close as 15 yards. I did shoot a lot of video. He ended up exiting the food plot going south about 25 yards to the east of me. About that same time, Taylor heard some deer running behind him up by Right Field. At 6:50, Heidi texted that she had a doe out in the main food plot. About 10 minutes after the buck left, I heard some noise behind me on the other side of the creek. Through the brush, I could see the same 5 pointer, but I also saw 2 other bucks. One was a spike, but I couldn't make out exactly how big the other buck was. It looked like he could have been a shooter. Unfortunately,they never came out to the food plot. At 7:20 a doe and fawn came down the hill to the north of me. They came out and fed down the strip 15 yards away. They ended up over in the Sugar Shack food plot. Right as I was getting down, I had a deer sneak through behind me. It was too dark to see what it was. Totals: Bob - 6 deer, 3 bucks; Heidi - 1 deer, 1 doe; Taylor - 0 deer.

Sunday, September 19, 2010 am

Sunday, September 19, 2010 am, Sunrise: 6:56 a.m. Opener: 6:26. Temp: 50 degrees, Wind: 0 mph. Mostly clear. A beautiful morning. Bob decided to go to the point and Taylor went to Arlie's Nob. We were both settled in by 6:10. Taylor saw a deer at first light over on Arlie's. He said it was too dark to tell what it was. At 7:25, Taylor had a big deer run by him. Too tough to tell what it was. At 7:30, he had a doe walk by down the path to the south of him. At 8:05, Taylor saw a doe over on Arlie's. We sat till 9:00. Totals: Bob- 0 deer, Taylor- 4 deer, 2 does, 2?'s.

Saturday, September 18, 2010 p.m.

Saturday, September 18, 2010 pm, Sunset: 7:18 a.m. Hunting closes: 7:48 Temp: 62 degrees, Wind: N 7-8 mph. Mostly sunny. We got out a little late this afternoon because I was watching some college football. We were both settled in by 5:35. I decided to go to Spaghetti Junction and Taylor went back to Right Field. On the way in, I spooked a small back that was already in the big food plot. Taylor saw a small six pointer in the Sugar Shack food plot. At 5:55, Taylor texted me that there was a doe and fawn in the bean field to the south of him. At 6:10, another doe joined the doe and fawn in the field up by Taylor. At 6:35, I saw a small 3-4 pointer and a doe over in the main food plot. They were fairly close to the Stump Blind. The buck went up towards the Apple Tree and the doe fed out towards the Stump blind. At 6:45, Taylor saw a small spike buck and a wild cat to the SE of him along the field edge. The buck wasn't afraid and payed no attention to him. At 6:55, I saw two does running along the main trail heading to the south. Something must have spooked them. At 7:05, another doe came off the hillside and came onto the main trail. At 7:15, I had a big doe come off the hillside to the SE of me. She walked to the south of me about 25 yards away. She worked her way slowly towards the food plot. She didn't see any other deer in the food plot, so she turned back and walked back up the hill to the east. At 7:15, Taylor saw another doe and fawn walk across the bean field. That was it. Totals: Bob 6 deer, 1 buck, Taylor: 6 deer, 1 spike buck.

Saturday, September 18, 2010 am

Saturday, September 18, 2010 am, Sunrise: 6:25 a.m. Temp: 46 degrees, Wind: N 7-8 mph. Overcast skies. A few light sprinkles. Opening morning has finally arrived. After a hearty breakfast Heidi, Taylor, and I went hunting. Taylor went to Right Field. Heidi went to the Apple Tree and I went to the ladder stand. I was in position by 6:20 am. A little later then I had hoped. I don't think that I scared anything on the way into the woods this morning, which is nice. Heidi had 3 different does out in the food plot at first light. At 6:35, she stood up and spooked a deer that was behind her back up the hill. At 6:40, I had a small doe come from behind me and she walked almost right under my stand. She walked over to the Lucky Buck and got 3 pictures taken by the trail camera. At 7:55, Heidi saw 2 big deer down in the field to the east of her down near spaghetti junction. About that same time, a doe blew a warning call and ran about 75 yards to the north of me heading west. At 8:00, Taylor texted me and said that he had a doe with two fawns to the north of him over past Center Field. At 8:05 while I was texting him back, I had a small 7 pointer sneak down the trail to the NE of me. He was in front of the trail camera when I finally heard/ saw him. I did have time to pick up my bow and shoot some video. He is now considered legal (4 points on at least one side) but he needs another year or two. He only had about a 6" spread. He walked clear around my stand to the south and ended up heading out to the west. I watched him for 20+ minutes. Very cool. At 8:15, Heidi saw a doe and fawn head up the hill to the SW of her. Too far away. At 8:25, Taylor had a small 7 pointer come out across the field. He got some decent video. At 8:35, Taylor texted that he had another small 7 pointer come back out. He got some video of that too. After looking at it closer, we concluded that it was the same buck. A great start to the season. At 8:55, Taylor saw two more deer out in the field 75 yards away. One was a doe and the other stayed back in the woods and he wasn't sure what it was. Totals: Bob- 3 deer, 2 does, 1 buck; Heidi- 8 does and fawns, Taylor- 6 deer, 1 buck.

9-11-10 More Copper

Matching Split G1's. (I think) It is kind of tough to see. 1 Split G1 for sure.

Bucks Fighting in Early September? Wild (Have about 20 more photos of multiple bucks fighting, but this was the best.

Staging before the fight. As you can see this photos was taken 2 nights before the one above. Maybe a rematch? Tuesday night "Smack Down!"

What a beast. A beautiful 10 pointer. Nice tine length.

This is the same 10 pointer as above. Nice

9-11-10 Copper Creek

A great 10 pointer. A definite shooter.

I like this guy. He has a split G1 on his left and grass all over his face and antlers. Pretty cool.

What can I say. A beast! For sure a 3-4+ year old deer.

I beautiful 10 pointer in velvet. This was taken up by the Rock outcrop.

3 Bucks Staging. These guys were getting ready to battle.

These photos are mostly from the back field (near Lon's) gun stand. They are all different buck then the ones that at posted from Romance; which is more then 25 miles away. There is a lot of great bucks in the area. I am excited.

Buck Slayer

9-10-10 More Romance

I love the right angled point on his G3. Really interesting

Check out this guys brow tines A really wierd shape.

From a different angle.

I decent 8 pointer. He needs one more year.

Here are a few more from Romance. Just seeing them gets me excited. I love the left G3 with the right-angled turn. Crazy!

9-10-10 Romance

A decent 7 pointer. Nice tine length, but he need another year.

A beautiful 9 pointer. I love the start of his "crab claw" on the left side.

Right-Angle. Should be call him "Geometry."

"Crab Claw" during the day.

More of "Crab Claw."

Here are some of the photos from Romanace. During the daylight photos you can see my new permanant stand in the background. I think the two bigger bucks will push over 150-160. Thoughts?

Thanks.

Buck Slayer

Minnesota 9-10-10

All,

Saturday, September 18th, 2010 will be the opener. We are only a few short days away. Everything is set in Minnesota. Unfortunately, we have not had any big buck sighting as of late. Here is the best of the best for Minnesota. (Nothing special). Nevertheless, Copper Creek and Romance Valley farms in Wisconsin are showing a lot of promise for 2010. Take a look at the other post. I think there are at least 5 bucks that are 145"+.

Stay tuned. Good luck to all and have a safe and productive 2010 hunting season.

Buck Slayer

Nice 9 pointer

I just got back from a fly fishing trip to Montana and was please to find this nice 9 pointer on camera. He has a cool looking split off his G2 on his right side. I would say that he is a definite shooter for SE Minnesota. There is another nice 8, that could really use one more year.

I also have included a couple of photos of a appeared to be a decent 8-9 pointer. Unfortunately, he already broke off his left side down on the main beam. I think he would have been a shooter, but with the broken tine, we will all have to pass. He should be a beast next year if he makes it through.

The clover and turnips got put in last week. They were a little later then I had hoped for, but still should bring deer into all of the food sanctuaries.

The opener is only 17 days away. I can hardly wait.

Buckslayer