Deer Hunting

[BDR]

Johnny B I have not but I really haven't looked too hard. Thought I'd let the taxidermist rush pass then push a little harder. You lookin also?

[Tim L]

Been out huntin carlos avery all week long seen five deer since mon 2does both with fawns let them walk seen one small buck an older gentleman shot this evening. gonna do some bow huntin in the morning down around rice creek chain of lakes.

[tjhunter]

How did everyone do black powder hunting?

I saw three. No shooters. I'll be back out this weekend. Good luck

tjhunter

[BLACKJACK]

Just curious,how many of you guys hunt deer with multiple weapons (gun, bow, muzzleloader)? How many hunt with all three? If you had to cut back to just one, which would it be?

I personally hunt with a bow and a shotgun/slugs. Love that bowhunting, its quiet, not many hunters out, you see lots of nature up close, even the deer close up and personal. But slug hunting is still fun, the adrenelin rush when you're doing a drive or posting and a deer pops out, its great.

[tjhunter]

I hunt with a rifle, bow and black powder. They all three are fun and each require a special focus. If I could only do one - definitely bowhunting. The season is 3 1/2 months long, which gives me more time in the woods. This is the hardest part of the season for me. I can go out with my black powder, go out with my bow or head out on the ice....i'm so torn

tjhunter

[Johnny B]

BDR,
I took my head to Jack’s Taxidermy in Coon Rapids. He has mounted fish for me and I have referred several friends to him as well: excellent work! We will have to see how the deer turns out. Judging by pictures and one in the shop, I will be pleased.
I found an abandoned eight-pointer two weeks ago: frozen solid huge rack! I called the DNR and the CO gave me a tag for it. I am going to do a European mount on that one. I have decided to do it myself, so far it’s pretty easy.

BLACKJACK,
I bow hunt and rifle hunt. Given a choice, I would have to choose the bow: longer season, more challenging and I have seen so much more wildlife when bow hunting. The only drawback is that deer can be lost more easily from an arrow shot. I have never lost one that has been hit with a bullet! The adrenaline rush on both is a great feeling!

[Guest]

I have been deer hunting ever since I could pick up my 870. This year I started bow hunting. I got myself a nice set up and can shoot a 4 inch pattern (with lots of practice involved) I have been out numerous times this year(only seeing does) and I just cant' picture it. That is, I can't see how its possible to take a dear with a bow with out being seen. I'm obviously a rookie, and I'm teaching myself and learning the hard way. I 'm just gonna have to make mistakes and learn from them. What are things you can do to prepare and engage a shot to prevent being seen or heard?

[BLACKJACK]

Bigguns, try to pull your bow back when the deers head goes behind a tree or bush or its looking the other way. The higher you are in a tree, the less likely they are to see you, but that also makes a tougher shot angle. I've been 'busted' by deer trying to pull back, but I've learned not to trim my tree so much, shoot thru holes so that you still have some cover. I've also shot deer from ground blinds, but again, I'm hidden by trees or branches when I pull back. You can do it, every archer that gets a deer has to overcome that problem.

Make sure you're not shooting too many pounds, a common beginner mistake. You may need to be able to hold it back for a minute or two - which enables you to pull back when that deer is 35 yards out. A bow shoooting 50 pounds will drive the arrow right thru a whitetail, if you hit it in the proper spot.

You mentioned that you're seeing only does - are you seeing them in shooting range? My advice is to shoot a few does, they're good eating and it gives you the practice for when that big buck comes along. And an older doe is warier than most of the young bucks around! Shooting a live, wary target is lots tougher than shooting that practice deer! You find out if your equipment is quiet, if you can shoot from a tree, whether your broadheads truly do fly right, whether you get buck-fever. And nothing drives you back to the archery butt quicker than missing a deer, after you've been sitting for hours and days, then you blow your opportunity!!!

Good luck! Keep after them! One day it will all click!

[This message has been edited by BLACKJACK (edited 12-06-2002).]

[Ole1855]

BDR,
If you send me your email I'll give you the name of a friend of mine that's a metro taxidermist that has won several world championships for fish and is known around the world for everything from fish to elephant to giraffe (sp) I don't know how they rate for price but they do great work.

Ole

[tjhunter]

Bigguns,

The best thing to do is to spend as much time out in the field as possible. Shooting practice is good, but does not compare to shooting at a live animal. The more time you spend out in the stand, the better your chances are of taking a deer. One thing I do is draw back on a deer even though I may not release the arrow. Pretty soon, you'll be able to get away with drawing and letting it down without getting busted. Another thing I do is to see how much movement I can get away with when a deer is present. How quickly can I stand up - How far can I move my arm - etc... It depends on how close the deer is, how much cover you have and how wary the animal is. If a deer takes two steps, stops and looks for 60 seconds - it is very alert. If a deer is walking, browsing and flicking its tail - it has no clue that you are there.

We've still got 3 weeks left of the season. I'm still hoping for Mr. Big.

Good luck
tjhunter

[BDR]

Ole 1855

My email is [email protected] Thanks I will give your friend a call.

BLACKJACK
I hunt with rifle only as of now.When I had more time,before 4 kids,I also bow hunted. I am looking forward to bow hunting again. Thats what I would really prefer But I just don't have the time.

[BarryG]

Does anyone have a Good recipe for Summer Sausage? I'm getting a little tired of jerky and want to try the sausage.

[Guest]

These mornings out in the stand are getting pretty chilly. I've myself conditioned quite well in terms of cold weather. This will really be an accomplishment when I got 10 points on the ground. Speaking of which, Ever since I started with bow hunting, I've gained much more respect for bow hunters. It takes every ounce of skill and control a person has. Someday I'll have one to really brag about simply because it was taken with a bow, and it wasn't from Texas. Thanks for the tips guys. what else?

[Guest]

Just developed some film from our motion camera. Had the camera by a picked corn field. LOTS of does and button bucks. One 4 or 6 pointer. Should be a nice buck next year. Can't wait to get on christmas break so i can hunt for the last two weeks of the season. I know there's a big rack waiting for me somewhere. Anyone been seeing much for deer activity? Stay warm and GOOD HUNTING!!

[tjhunter]

I went out Saturday with my muzzleloader and didn't see a thing and I went out yesterday afternoon with my bow and had the same luck. It was good to be out.

tjhunter

[Guest]

Hey Eastsider do those motion camera's work very well?? How much do they cost on average? Thanks for any info

[Kingfisher]

My son who moved back to MN from the state of WA and I had our first deer hunt together in 7 years. We hunt our own posted land, my son was in an enclosed stand on the edge of our woods almost a half a mile from the road watching some deer feeding on our soybean stubble, when a pickup pulls up on the road starts shooting at the deer and landing bullets straight in line with my son 120 steps from him, he called 911 on his cell and the CO happened to be within 5 miles of us. He came and picked up the empty cartridges, and I drove around looking for the pickup, we all returned to the spot where they fired the rifle from, by this time it was dark, and here comes a pickup by us and I tell the CO that looks like the pickup, he into his pickup and catches up to them and asked if they had fired the shots, they said no, he said take out your rifes I have the cartridges we'll soon see, one of the guys says "I didn't shoot" so the other guy admitted to doing the shooting (he shot over the no hunting sign 10' from him) he got charged for shooting off a roadway and so far has not gotten his rifle back. My son will recieve a small reward from TIP for reporting the incident. We are thankful no one got shot, and that the CO was in the area, and that he was proficient at his job.

[hunt4food]

Ahhhhh!!! I love a good success story. I am glad nobody was injured. I think they should give the impounded rifle to your son too!

[BLACKJACK]

Kingfisher, good nobody got hurt and loved hearing that the jerks got caught!! We all need to help clean up our ranks and report more incidents like this so they get nabbed! I guess their is a good reason to have cell phones in the woods or boat!!

Eastsider, I'd also like to hear more about your motion camera! I've been lusting after one for the last several years! I'd like to get one of the digital ones so you would eliminate the expense of film developing, but I don't know if the extra cost would be worth it.

Hope to get out bowhunting next weekend, with the warmer weather. Also hard to find time, went out after the pheasants a couple of times last weekend and also doing some early ice fishing - not enought time in life!!

[tjhunter]

My brother has a few motion cameras and has had some good success with them. I've got several pics developed if anyone is interested in seeing them. Let me know and I can email them to you.

tjhunter

[Shorelunch]

This has been my first year for both deer and bow hunting and hit has been a fun and educational experience (I'm 31). It's amazing how many things can go wrong, whether your jacket getting caught or how one branch can come between you and your prize. Nothing beats the rush of hearing those branches breaking! Still haven't bagged my first deer, but have 3 weeks to go and really don't mind if I don't get one this year. Now I know why people sit in trees.

[fivebucks]

I'll be out doing a little bowhunting this weekend up by LOW (along with some morning fishing). I think it might be the last time out for me, at least up north. I hope a big one that I couldn't get a shot at during rifle season is still hanging around the same area. We shall see on Sat. Good luck to all who go out.

[Guest]

hey everyone, sorry its taken so long to answer your question but it was finals week at school. About the motion camera. The motioncamera that I have is the Trailtimer Photohunter. It costed $250. It has 3 time settings for a delay of 1,5, or 15 minutes between pictures. It also has the option of time or date on the pictures. I believe the motion sensor works out to 50 feet away. Overall it is a very helpfull tool to see what is in the area when you cannot be there. I hunt as many days as possible, and still have not seen half the bucks that i have pictures of. I guess they gotta get big somehow! Hope this info answers some of your questions.
Report- Bowhunted last night in the snow. I saw 12 deer between 4 and dark. 10 came within bow-range but no antlers. Other two were big bodied and possibly bucks but went the other way. I'll be hunting everyday possible until the end of the year. I'll try to keep the reports comin.
Happy Holidays and Good Hunting!

[brandon72000]

think $125 is worth it for a used .410

[Rick]

OK Deer hunters,
you have the forum you've been asking for now.

Keep her busy.