Pole Shed/Hunting shack

Well construction has started. It should be done in time for spring. Theron Pagel has been hard at work and is really starting to make some progress. When finished, it will be 42' x 80.' It will have 1 access door and two garage doors. On the west side, there will be a large sliding door. I can hardly wait for it to be done. I will put in a workshop in the front and will have ample room for storage. Stay tuned for more pictures to come. Buck Slayer Out!

Saturday, December 13, 2009 p.m.

Saturday, December 13, 2009 p.m., 28 degrees, cold, wind S at 10-15 mph, sunset 4:32 p.m. (Hunting closes 5:02 p.m). After check the camera this morning I decided to get out. Nothing big, but a couple of smaller bucks did survive. I decided to brave the cold and went out to the ladder stand. I got in at 3:15 p.m. All I can say is it was cold. We have about 10-12" of snow on the ground and the wind just cut through your skin. I didn't see anything while I was in the stand, even as Arlie fired up the combine to cut his corn field. My corn is still standing. It works as a great wind block for my driveway, but it is also a great hiding place for the deer. I did have a deer (doe) come out of the corn and run past where the pole shed is being built. That was it. Totals: Bob - 0 deer.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Sunday, November 22, 2009 a.m., 45 degrees, mostly cloudy, light rain, wind NE at 5-10 mph, sunrise 7:08 a.m. (Hunting opens 6:38 a.m). I decided to go back to Octopussy at Romance. Mike sat in tower at Romance. Dan went to hog back. Steve on new 20 acres. Jon went to tower on the north. Lon went to 3rd point. Riley and Chris went to Gasoline Alley. At 7:05 a.m., I had a doe and two fawns sneak through to the east of me. They were 100 yards away and in the brush. They went up the hill behind me to the south and took the old logging road back to the west. That was it for me in the am. We did the creek bottom drive and we ended up kicking up 3 does in the corn/valleys but no bucks. In the afternoon, I went to the gun fort on the north side of 171 north of Gasoline Alley. At 4:40 p.m., I had a nice 2 1/2 year old 8-10 pointer cross the field 175+ yards to the north of me. I thought seriously about taking the shot, but since it was on the neighbors I elected to let him go. Lon later told me that I would have been fine, but I just don't feel comfortable doing that. Nevertheless, it was fun to see. Everyone saw deer today, just nothing worth shooting. Mike Halder pasted up a small 6 pointer at 15 yards from the dance floor on the north side of 171. Totals: Bob - 4 deer, 1 buck. 2 more does during the drive.

New Toy

I decided to buck up and get myself a good camcorder! I tried three different camcorders this year and didn't like any of them. I guess shooting a nice buck really gets you excited and wanting more. Here is the camera that I bought.

I bought it from Best Buy and it is a Panasonic Digital Camcorder with 60GB hard drive.

The best part about this camcorder is that it has 70x optical and 3500x digital zoom. This is going to give me the opportunity to pretty much tell you whether or not the buck has a booger hanging out of its nose or not. It also has advance optical image stabilization which will help the video from shaking so much like it was in my last video when I shot the last buck.

I can't wait to use it so I just might have to head out in the freezing cold this weekend and try to get some video of some bucks and if not I can try to get some video of a shot at a doe to see the stabilization at work!

Good luck to all you late season hunters and if you are done then I hope that your offseason of finding sheds and trail cam pics will be a good one! Oh yeah, and happy holidays!

Fawnslayer Out!

Saturday, November 21, 2009 Wisconsin Gun Season

Saturday, November 21, 2009 a.m., 33 degrees, mostly sunny, wind 0 mph in morning then from NE at 5-10 mph, sunrise 7:07 a.m. (Hunting opens 6:37 a.m), sunset 4:29 p.m. (Hunting closes 4:59 p.m.) With all of the amazing pictures taken at Romance, I just had to head up there and give it a try. After staying the night at Copper with all the guys, I decided to drive up to Romance and hunt. I was in position at Octopussy by 6:00 a.m. I sat all day!! Lon went up the side hill S of the Blue bird field. Mike went to the Hog back. Dan goat prairie. Chris and Riley at Lon's gun fort. Jon tower to the North. Steve in Valley on new 20. At 6:40 a.m., I heard the first shot of the season. Throughout the rest of the morning I heard a few shots around me, but fairly far away. Then at 8:55 a.m., I heard a single shot that was pretty close to me to the north east. Right after the shot, I heard some deer moving, but I never saw anything. Finally, at 11:45 a.m., I saw my first deer. It was a medium size doe and she came down from the north along the edge of the corn 50 yards to the west of me. She came out across the opening and walked off to the south west. At 12:15 p.m., I had a doe with 2 fawns come down the hill from the north. They came to within 15 yards of me. I am sure that the Cuddeback got a picture with me in the back ground. When they got to the bottom of the draw, they went east and back up the valley. At 1:40 p.m., the exact thing that happened at 12:15 p.m. happened again. A different doe with 2 different fawns came off the hillside to the north of me. The big doe got to within 10 yards of my stand. The wind must have swirled a bit because she got nervous and walked off to the south east. At 1:50 p.m., 5 more does came off the hillside from the same direction. They must have sensed something because they all stayed back up the hill in the brush to the north east of me. It took an hour, but two of the original five does worked their way down the hill towards me and got to 40 yards away. Something must have spooked them (they were up wind of me), but the slowly worked their way uphill and out of sight. At 3:15 p.m., I looked up the hill to the north west and saw a small doe sneaking across going east about 100 yards up the hill. At 3:30 p.m.' I heard something behind me to the south west, I turned around in time to see a doe trotting down the old logging road 100 yards away going west. Totals: Bob - 12 deer, 12 does and fawns. Steve - 2 in am 1 buck and 1 doe), 11 in evening in back field west of me at Romance, Chris an Riley - 0 in am, 19 in hay bales at Romance, Lon - 0 in am, 1 doe from Twin Towers in pm, Dan - 0 in am, 9 does and fawns in pm, Mike - 0 deer all day, Jon - 0 deer all day (he did see a tail while walking in from morning hunt).

Thursday, November 19, 2009 p.m.

Thursday, November 19, 2009 p.m., 45 degrees, mostly cloudy, wind W 5 mph, sunset 4:41 p.m. (Hunting closes 5:11 p.m). Well, it is good to be out again. This will be my last bow hunt before the 2nd gun season starts (opens again on Saturday the 21st). I got home early and decided to go out and give the dump ladder stand another try. I laid down a scent trail from down by the bridge with some cotton balls up the hill and across the fence line up to the stand. I was all settled in by 3:30 p.m. I noticed that the corn to the south of me had been picked, so I hope the big 8 will work his way up there for an early dinner. We will see. At 4:40 p.m., I started hearing shots from over on Arlie's. WTF? The gun season is now closed. For the next 25 minutes, I heard single shots fired periodically. A total of 12. They were not all coming from the same place either, so I don't think they were sighting in a gun. I am fairly certain that there is some illegal stuff going on over there. Bastards! Totals: Bob - 0 deer.

Friday, November 13, 2009 p.m.

Friday, November 13, 2009 p.m., 50 degrees, mostly cloudy, wind S-SW 15-20 mph, sunset 4:44 p.m. (Hunting closes 5:14 p.m). Well we finally have wheels and the wind is right for my old oak tree stand. I am 200 yards uphill to the south west of Lon's gun fort. I had him drop me off down by Dan's gun stand and I walked up from there. Lon was going to check out the dance floor on the North side of Hwy 171. I put down a scent line, so we will see what happens. I was all setup and ready to go by 1:55 p.m. At 4:40 p.m., I could hear one blowing a warning call down in the valley to the NE of me. She must have been 200 yards away or more. I am not sure how she could smell me. At 4:50 p.m., I could hear one walking down the ridge to the south of me, but I just couldn't seem to see it through all the brush. That was it. Totals: Bob - 0 deer, Lon- 4 deer, 1 buck. Lon shot, but missed. He had a decent buck com through going to the field from the south about 17 yards to the east of him. I think he shot high, over the back. We found the arrow, but there was no blood.

Friday, November 13, 2009 a.m.

Friday, November 13, 2009 a.m., 47 degrees, partly cloudy, wind S-SE 15-20 mph, sunrise 6:53 a.m. (Hunting opens 6:23 a.m). Things are starting to turn in my favor. I just hope it is not too late. Yesterday afternoon, Lon and Sue went down to Prairie du Chein to pick up the now fixed Ranger. Now I am able to access some of the property that I could not previously access without the Ranger. I was excited and out the door by 5:20 a.m. I went out on the first point (birch) and sat in my newly built permanent stand on the last saddle before the goat prairie. I laid a scent trail down with both a drag rag as well as urine soaked pieces of cotton. I walked past the stand and up towards the goat prairie as well. I was all set up and ready to go by 5:55 a.m. Lets hope a nice buck will cooperate. Nothing. Totals: Bob - 0 deer, Lon - 0 deer.