Hot Diggity !

[matchset]

I tried to hold in my excitement; but i can't anymore!

it's going to be a great fall! the spring has been superb for antler growth, and a mild winter before that!

couple that with a early full moon schedule.... man on man late Oct could be rocking!

i am so jacked up! whooooo!

My buddy saw a buck this week with 4'' G3's already! boom!

[Scoot]

I don't mean to squash any enthusiasm, but I don't see things the same way. Deer numbers are not good in any of the areas I hunt, although the Winter was mild (which was wonderful), the Spring has been bone dry and likely will impact antler growth negatively. Poor numbers and lack of rain are big negatives for my outlook this Fall. The lunar schedule isn't something I pay attention to much anymore- I hunt when I can hunt and to heck with the moon.

All that negativity being said, I'm excited for the Fall. I'm always excited for the Fall!!! I'm glad you're looking forward to it too. However, as Donbo said in another post- no point in wishing the Summer away- walleyes to catch, lake time to get in, and lots of fun between now and then...

[harvey lee]

I see a very slow fall in my North Dakota haunt. The winter helped but it will be a few more before it could possibly get back to what it was 5 years ago.

Glad to hear your area is doing well.

[eyeguy 54]

C'Mon guys... Go catch a fish or something. ;>) ;>)

[sportfish]

Dry as a Bone !! I wish we got 6 inches in about 5 days around the Mille lacs area ! I don't think deer numbers are down as much as some think , but they are down from 4 to 6 years ago.

[matchset]

sorry to hear that Scoot. We have received 9.38" of rain on our hunting grounds

things are looking up for my minnesota hunt is what i shoulda said. oops

[Scoot]

We have received 9.38" of rain on our hunting grounds

No kiddin? Wow, good for you and for those who need the rain in that area! I don't think many people around here can say they've received nearly that much rain this year so far. Prior to the rain we go yesterday, many places hadn't seen any significant precip this Spring at all. Yesterday's shot was much needed and will help a lot.

Glad to hear your area is looking good. I hope I'm being overly pessimistic, but unfortunately I'm largely talking about the same area harvey is talking about, and he's got a similar take. Only time will tell, but I'm sure even if it's a tough year I'll get out some and have a lot of fun! I promised my son I'd do everything I could to shot a deer, any deer, with him along. I may have to bite the bullet and take a doe or smaller buck on a trip when he's along. He's put in his time and I certainly would like him to see how the whole process works instead of hearing on the way home, "why didn't you shoot that one?" again.

[harvey lee]

We should have enough deer around for you to shoot a deer with your son even if it is a doe or a smaller buck Scoot. This soft winter will help but man, something has to be done with all the coyotes.

I personally have no plans on shooting any quality bucks for a minimum of 2-3 years yet or until the herd size increases. The herd is as low as I have seen it on the ranch for the past 26-27 years.

All of my deer hunting will be by bow as it will be years before I can score a rifle or ML buck tag as North Dakota has really dropped the tags for this fall again.

[#fishhunt#]

Well there are a lot less deer now between Alexandria and Maple Grove. Memorial weekend was tough on deer on the Intersate 94 strip. There were deer scattered on the road what seemed like every 5 miles. Autobody shops are going to be busy.

[Bear55]

Mild winters and rain usually leads to some extra bone in my neck of the woods. Deer numbers are hurting so that will make locating a nice buck more challenging but I will be going all out as usual.

[harvey lee]

I know that the area I shotgun hunt and will ML hunt in Minnesota this fall should be pretty good.

I guess I will just switch states for the majority of my deer hunting expect for my archery hunting.

[Scoot]

We should have enough deer around for you to shoot a deer with your son even if it is a doe or a smaller buck Scoot.

I saw more deer out there turkey chasing then I expected to. We didn't see dozens and dozens, but did consistently see a few here and there. I'll have to get a feel for what's out at my mo-in-law's in MN and what's at the Ranch and decide where I want to use my tag on a doe or small buck. With numbers down quite a bit, I think it might be wise to shoot a small buck instead of a doe. That's exactly the opposite of what I have been doing for 20 years or so, but taking a buck only impacts the population by one: taking a doe impacts the population down the road a lot more...

We'll have to see how it goes, but I'm sure you're right harvey- there's enough to find one dumb one to stumble in front of us at some point. Who knows, maybe a big ol' buck will stumble by before anything else. That's one of the wonderful things about bowhunting- ya just never know...

[archerystud]

I got 3 nice food plots in and now it looks like the river will flood them out. I need some dry weather for a least a week and a half!!!

Saw quite a bit of deer sign in April. Will be my son's first year of hunting so I'm hoping to get him a crack at a small buck this year. He doesn't have any antler restrictions on his deer for a few years.

[sticknstring]

I look forward to the day I can bring my kids to the stand with me! Good times ahead for sure.

[Rippinlip]

Bringing youth's with is great. I have had my 12 year old daughter in the blind once or twice and the attention span is short, but still enjoyable as long as the IPOD don't get too loud or Facebook signal isn't loss..

I also have a 22 year old that now bowhunts with her fiance, my wife and I. It all started when she was a youngen too.

Get em hooked young and no pressure and it's a love of a lifetime.

Sorry off the topic, but yea I have the bug too.

Only 3.5 months until the first arrow will be a flyin at the mighty whitetail. Hopefully.

[Bear55]

Get em hooked young and no pressure and it's a love of a lifetime.

That is what I am doing, I did about 5-6 hunts with my 3 year old out of a blind last year. Odds of tagging a deer are very low but he has a good time and usually lasts about an hour or until he gets bored with the grunt call. This year I might be doubling up as his sister wants to hunt with us, 2 and 4 year old in a blind, should be interesting.

[Scoot]

... 2 and 4 year old in a blind, should be interesting.

LOL- I've got a 4 and 7 year old and I didn't dare try bring them in the blind together last year. I did bring them both individually though, and it was a blast! I sometimes stuck my brother with the 7 year old so I could give more attention to the 4 year old. She was well behaved and was extremely excited when we had a "mommy and two baby deer" at about five yards.

I am pretty excited to get them in the field again this Fall. I'm pretty sure my daughter will come out a little more this year, which should be fun. I promised my son I'd do everything I could to shoot a deer with him along this year. With the idea of hunting more with my kids again, I'd have to agree with the sentiment of this thread- hot diggity!

[Bear55]

I kind of have a nice setup with my blind in my back yard on a mini food plot. If one or both of them have had enough I just shuffle them into the house and keep on hunting. It would take a maricle for me to actually shoot a deer but it should be fun trying.

[harvey lee]

MY son took my Granddaughter in a ground blind and filmed deer while she watched. Taylor was about 4-5 if I remember and she had a blast watching the deer.

Great way to spend some outdoor time with ones kids.

[matchset]

i kinda act like i'm 7 again when i hunt with my 48 year old dad! Some of the best times i have had hunting is not the harvest, but the times i've shared a sunrise with ol' pops 15ft in the air

[bigbucks]

Deer outlook is quite good in my neck of the woods. Excited to see what's out there for deer as we had a lot of small bucks a couple of places & we didn't shoot any of the ones we saw on camera, so there should be at least some decent 2 year-olds. Plus Dad missed the big 9 the night I decided to set a different stand with my son, so hopefully he's still out there & even bigger.

But it's time to go catch some more walleyes right now.