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Post by jjas on Sept 16, 2020 12:16:01 GMT -5
If there's something to be forgotten, I've forgotten it.
If there is a new gadget that was worthless, I've probably bought it.
If there is a mistake to be made, I've likely made it.
And yet, I somehow manage to kill a deer every now and then...
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Post by bullseye69 on Sept 16, 2020 12:29:44 GMT -5
A few years ago when the turkey population was good at my parents place. My son and I were sitting in the big blind waiting for deer or turkeys to come by. It was fall turkey with bow only and muzzleloader deer season. Reason we were in the blind is it was lightly raining. Aboot 9am 30+ turkeys came thru the woods ,over the river and were milling around in the soybean field about 75 yards out. I got the window slid open and the compound bow ready to go. Aboot 15 min later they worked their way towards us. So I picked out the best looking one and when he was in range and stopped I gave him the good news. Well he ran towards the bean field and took off flying. Flew up over the tops of the 70 foot tall sycamore trees towards the other side of the river. So gave him aboot 10 minutes and we ventured out to go look for him. We spent 3 hours looking but to no avail. Wet and tired we went home. Next day went out deer hunting in a stand across the river. Stand is 50 yard from the river and a nice path along it the everything travels on. Aboot 20 min after sunrise 2 does come from the west along the river. Got muzzleloader ready and when they came into the clearing, 50 yards, I proceeded to give the big doe the good news. What i and the deer heard was a pop! You know that irritating cork gun pop that the kids play with at the fair or sometimes at the cabelas stores? Yes thats what it sounded like. I heard the bullet land on a log down below about 5 feet out. The deer stared at me as I didn't move hoping they would just keep walking.....NOT, they turned and ran. Well heres why it just went pop. Remember that turkey search and the light rain? Ya, I walked around for 3 hours looking for that turkey with my muzzleloader slung over my shoulder with no rain cap on the end. 😡 I've always put electrical tape over the muzzle if rain or snow is expected. Was thinking about checking out finger cots this year to cover the muzzle and brake on the smokeless rigs. I use balloons from the dollar store but forgot that day.
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Post by Russ Koon on Sept 16, 2020 13:45:40 GMT -5
So many mistakes, so little time and space.
A couple of my more memorable ones...
One of our fifteen or so trips to ND, my good friend and hunting partner had gotten together on the trip planning and had coordinated on the preparations to an extent that was unusual for us. We were feeling very good as we left my driveway in the wee hours for an early start on the 20 hour drive. About eight hours later, as we sat in a restaurant alongside the interstate in Minnesota, the subject of our licenses came up. Uh-oh! As soon as he mentioned the word license, I realized that that both our ND licenses that I had ordered and received were still sitting in an envelope on the top of my refrigerator, where I'd placed them a couple weeks before for safekeeping so as not to misplace them in the shuffling of gear and supplies when loading for the trip!
I immediately went to the pay phone and called home, and the wife verified that indeed they were there, almost six hundred miles from us. I asked her to please get them into the mail as quickly as possible for general delivery to the post office at Bowman, ND, since we hunted about twenty miles from there and usually spent part of our first day out in the area in the local grocery store anyway. That worked out well, and we only missed the first day of hunting due to our licenses being in the mail, and we slept in that morning anyway recovering from the 12 hour drive and spent most of the rest of the day driving around and checking out other nearby areas where we wanted to explore and setting up camp.
Then there was the time I found a well-used trail crossing the tiny stream at the shallow end of a lake I had permission to be on. It looked like it would be a perfect spot for an ambush if I was sitting in my canoe, hidden by some cattails, as the deer were coming back on that trail that led to the bedding area just uphill from the lake. But it would need a breeze from the east to be perfect. Knowing that an easterly breeze would be an unusual one to depend on, I figured the next best thing would be a completely calm morning. With everything prepared for the hunt, I was carefully watching the weather forecasts and a few days later, a day with zero wind at dawn was predicted!
Next morning I was really hyped as I was up and ready early, and only a little concerned as I left the driveway in a thick fog. OK, it's foggy, but that should burn off quickly or be blown away with the first little breeze. Got down the dirt road to the edge of the lake, got the canoe off the top of my old Scout and quietly eased it into the water, well before dawn. Still couldn't see where I was going, but the lake is only about twenty acres and I'd fished it enough to figure I would recognize almost any bit of shoreline I could see, so I began paddling slowly in the general direction of the shallow end, as best I could with dead reckoning.
I suppose I should have foreseen the aimless circling that resulted. A compass would have been very handy, but of course I hadn't expected to need one, so hadn't brought one. I did eventually bump into a shore, and followed it very closely with the slight visibility increasing as the fog went from black to gray with the dawn. And after a while I found the little stream that fed the lake and nestled into the cattails just as I had envisioned. But I still couldn't even see the other end of my canoe! Oh well, maybe the deer will still be coming....and sure enough, hadn't been sitting there in the fog more the n half an hour or so when I could hear them crunching the beechnuts I had seen in the creekbed and could hear their hooves making tiny splashing noises as they crossed the stream at a walk. Sounded like they were not more than maybe ten feet in front of my canoe. Still couldn't make out even a vague shape of tan in the solid gray. Couldn't count them exactly but estimating based on the sounds, there much have been about a dozen of them pretty much single file.
It was about an hour later that the fog finally burned off enough for me to cross the lake to my put-in spot.
I've said many times that I know how Wiley Coyote feels. Our best laid plans seem to often work out with similar results.
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Post by esshup on Sept 17, 2020 9:00:19 GMT -5
I ALWAYS put tape over the muzzle of the muzzleloader once it's loaded, that tells me it's loaded and I don't have to check with the rod or worry about double charging it. Savage, with smokeless powder, so I don't have to unload unless it's by squeezing the trigger.
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Post by bowonlykindofguy1 on Sept 17, 2020 11:36:08 GMT -5
My biggest mistake was walking in to the stand in november with the bow in hand, i just made it to the woods and was about 50 yards from my stand when i hear the branches breaking behind me. I turn and look and there is a pretty good buck chasing a doe away from me but still in the same woodlot i am in. So i quickly but quietly made it to my stand and just pulled the bow up and here they come and stop at 25 yards. This is when i realize my release is in the truck!! I came to full draw using just fingers on the string but it kept rolling sideways on me with the string torque. I didnt want to put a shot on him that i was not confident in so let the bow down and they walked out. luckily i got another chance 3 days later and sealed the deal. But ever since then my release stays strapped around the bottom limb of my bow.!!
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Post by bullseye69 on Sept 17, 2020 12:09:33 GMT -5
About 20+ years ago I got done bow hunting for the morning. Do believe it was 10am. Halfway thru the picked corn field I seen a big old fat fox squirrel about 10 yards at the most. Not paying attention to me. So I switched arrows, I keep one for shooting other stuff, and came to full draw on the little bugger. Aboot the time the string meet my cheek a big buck jumped out of the woods, aboot 20 yards , 10 yard right behind the squirrel. SOB all I have is a arrow ,at full draw, with a field pont!!!
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Post by Sasquatch on Sept 17, 2020 16:55:47 GMT -5
I chose to pull my Ladder stand from a park hunt without bothering with any kind of safety belt or harness.
The ladder was planted pretty solidly, right? leaning solidly up against the tree. Gotta get er done, right?
I successfully loosened the final strap holding the seat area agin' the tree. Now nice & gingerly down the ladder, right? One step down. cool.
Then I felt the shift. A slight lurch to the right, then nothing. Any more shifting and physics would take over. My eyes widened as the whole she-bang listed ever farther to Starboard. Realizing the inevitable, I let go to try and arrange some kind of landing, and ended up on all fours like a wrassler jumping from the top rope, head-butting the earth for good measure. I have no idea which direction Mecca was, but that was the posture.
Luckily all I got was a big scratch on my forehead and a headache. My stupidity could have cost a lot more!
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Post by hooterhunter on Sept 17, 2020 17:26:28 GMT -5
1-I agree with less is best regarding layers on your feet 2-Never, I mean NEVER, forget toilet paper or even better wet wipes....well at least that’s what a friend told me 3-Be polite if sharing hunting permission but don’t let another hunter bully you in a shared hunting situation. Permission is permission 4-I have learned to be careful, even if you have a great relationship, when approaching someone to buy ground. One’s simple inquiry can really hurt someone’s view of your intent. 5-Always be strapped in to a tree, no matter your expertise 6-Take a kid hunting any opportunity you get
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Post by treetop on Sept 17, 2020 17:30:31 GMT -5
The net would slow down if I posted all my mistakes Probably the worst was I went moose hunting with my dad and I was lucky enough to get one problem was we were probably 5 or 6 miles from camp just so you know even a small moose weighs a ton
My dad looked at me and said a few choice words and than we spent hours butchering and deboning and carrying I swear if fit bit was around we’d rolled the numbers for two days
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2020 18:38:52 GMT -5
I couldn`t possibly even remember the vast amount of mistakes I`ve made, must less bullet point them all. I just hope I`m even just a tiny bit smarter each season.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2020 19:57:21 GMT -5
I just remembered, one year I didn't go out hunting even one day. That was my worst year and biggest mistake. Wife told me I was grabby all year.
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Post by omegahunter on Sept 17, 2020 20:10:00 GMT -5
I just remembered, one year I didn't go out hunting even one day. That was my worst year and biggest mistake. Wife told me I was grabby all year. Hmmm... my wife likes it when I'm grabby. 😁
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Post by 36fan on Sept 21, 2020 9:08:19 GMT -5
One year I had patterned some does coming out into the corner of a bean field. Unfortunately none of our stands were set up to have a shot on that corner of the field. I tried all of them, but that corner was no go. While in one of the stands nearby in the woods, I turned up the magnification of my scope to see if there was any chance of shot into that corner. Nope, no line of sight.
I figured I would just give standing on the ground in the middle of three small trees for cover. It worked. Two does and a yearling came out trotted right our in front of me - maybe 10-15 yards away. I raised my ML, kicked off the safety ... and couldn't see a thing other than brown filling my scope. I had left the magnification up and I had no point of reference as to where on the deer the cross hairs were sitting. I got busted before I could turn down the magnification, and watched my dinner run away.
I was quite upset at myself for making such a stupid mistake, and was left standing there stewing and licking my wounds thinking I should just go home for the evening. I was still there about 10 minutes later ... when a buck came out of the treeline and started trotting across the field the same direction the does went. I raised my ML again, kicked off the safety again - with the scope still at full magnification - and let one rip. The buck was about 100 yds out, so all was good this time.
Through the smoke I cold see he immediately reversed direction and went back where he came and disappeared into the wood line. After about an hour I started the track job. There was snow on the ground, so I was easily able to find the location of the buck when I shot at it. No blood, no hair. I followed the tracks back around 100 yds to the wood line. Still no blood. He jumped the fence. No blood. About 10 feet on the other side of the fence was the first drop of blood ... and he was laying about 10 yds beyond. My bullet had entered just behind the last rib, hit the back of the right lung, the top of the heart, the front of the left lung, and hit the far shoulder and didn't exit. The perfect quartering away shot! Although somehow in that last 110ish yd run, his rack got smaller, but he still had a good size body!
Point of the story: turn the d@mn scope magnification down to its lowest setting, and then turn it up as you need it!
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Post by deadeer on Sept 21, 2020 10:28:17 GMT -5
To add to this last post about lack of blood after the shot... I cant tell you how many times we have had the same thing. You would bet your house you didnt hit the deer, only to find blood at the end or never. Please follow up every shot you take. Even on an excited shot that you pull on. How many times have we heard, we tracked till we ran out of blood, came back in the morning, and it was only 10yds away from where we stopped.
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Post by bullseye69 on Sept 21, 2020 10:47:58 GMT -5
One year I had patterned some does coming out into the corner of a bean field. Unfortunately none of our stands were set up to have a shot on that corner of the field. I tried all of them, but that corner was no go. While in one of the stands nearby in the woods, I turned up the magnification of my scope to see if there was any chance of shot into that corner. Nope, no line of sight. I figured I would just give standing on the ground in the middle of three small trees for cover. It worked. Two does and a yearling came out trotted right our in front of me - maybe 10-15 yards away. I raised my ML, kicked off the safety ... and couldn't see a thing other than brown filling my scope. I had left the magnification up and I had no point of reference as to where on the deer the cross hairs were sitting. I got busted before I could turn down the magnification, and watched my dinner run away. I was quite upset at myself for making such a stupid mistake, and was left standing there stewing and licking my wounds thinking I should just go home for the evening. I was still there about 10 minutes later ... when a buck came out of the treeline and started trotting across the field the same direction the does went. I raised my ML again, kicked off the safety again - with the scope still at full magnification - and let one rip. The buck was about 100 yds out, so all was good this time. Through the smoke I cold see he immediately reversed direction and went back where he came and disappeared into the wood line. After about an hour I started the track job. There was snow on the ground, so I was easily able to find the location of the buck when I shot at it. No blood, no hair. I followed the tracks back around 100 yds to the wood line. Still no blood. He jumped the fence. No blood. About 10 feet on the other side of the fence was the first drop of blood ... and he was laying about 10 yds beyond. My bullet had entered just behind the last rib, hit the back of the right lung, the top of the heart, the front of the left lung, and hit the far shoulder and didn't exit. The perfect quartering away shot! Although somehow in that last 110ish yd run, his rack got smaller, but he still had a good size body! Point of the story: turn the d@mn scope magnification down to its lowest setting, and then turn it up as you need it! Day before firearms season i sighted in my T/C pistol in 7-30 waters. 100 yard group was spot on. Opening morning aboot 9am a nice buck comes thru. I bet you know where this is going. I'm in the woods so no longs shots. He gets aboot 25 yards from me walking slow sniffing the ground. Raise the pistol up and WTF!! I can't get him in my scope. Its just black, no other colors!!! So I have to let him pass. After I turned around and sat down it dawned on me....ding ding ding! I forgot to back off the zoom on the scope. Turned it down and no problem seeing a squirrel thru it. As he gets out of sight for aboot 5 minutes I hear a BOOM! Well that was my dad shooting him.
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Post by sculver7 on Sept 21, 2020 14:35:19 GMT -5
I've learned a few things in my 8 years of deer hunting. Maybe they can be of help: I downloaded an app on my phone called RouteTracker. If it ever happens that you shoot a deer and it doesn't tip over within sight (mine always die right where I shoot them... LOL!!!), this app can help to keep track of the route that you've tracked blood. When hunting with a muzzleloader, put a piece of black electrical tape over the end of the barrel. Most of the time you are going to or from your stand, that barrel is pointed straight up and if it is raining at all or even if there is just moisture in the air, it can get in that barrel and affect your powder or pellets just enough to cause issues. I've had a hang fire once due to moisture getting in there while being in the field. The tape won't affect your shot at all. ALWAYS remember your binos. More than once, I've left my binos in the truck and it sucks when you get up in the tree and realize that you forgot them. Keep baby wipes in your pack. After you've field dressed a deer, wipe down your hands and then you won't be getting blood, poop, intestines, etc. all over your truck when you get back. They also come in handy when nature calls while out in the field.
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Post by bill9068 on Sept 21, 2020 15:26:30 GMT -5
I know some of you guys have done this before. Buddy of mine shot a small 5 point years ago. We tracked it but blood was a drip every 10-15 yards. I was on a drop off looking over a ravine that had just been timbered and saw the deer with an arrow sticking out of him at the bottom walking along. I knew I could cut him off if I ran ahead and dropped down the side of the ravine, well I did that with no bow in my hand and came face to face with the small buck. He dropped his head and charged me and I grabbed his antlers, bad move on my part as he swung me from side to side. I finally wore him out and myself, he was tired and weak from loss of blood and we fell over on his side. I grabbed my knife and punctured his lungs and he expired quickly. I will never mess with a living deer face to face again. I’m 6’ and weigh 230 and he tossed me around like a rag doll.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2020 15:56:43 GMT -5
I've learned a few things in my 8 years of deer hunting. Maybe they can be of help: I downloaded an app on my phone called RouteTracker. If it ever happens that you shoot a deer and it doesn't tip over within sight (mine always die right where I shoot them... LOL!!!), this app can help to keep track of the route that you've tracked blood. When hunting with a muzzleloader, put a piece of black electrical tape over the end of the barrel. Most of the time you are going to or from your stand, that barrel is pointed straight up and if it is raining at all or even if there is just moisture in the air, it can get in that barrel and affect your powder or pellets just enough to cause issues. I've had a hang fire once due to moisture getting in there while being in the field. The tape won't affect your shot at all. ALWAYS remember your binos. More than once, I've left my binos in the truck and it sucks when you get up in the tree and realize that you forgot them. Keep baby wipes in your pack. After you've field dressed a deer, wipe down your hands and then you won't be getting blood, poop, intestines, etc. all over your truck when you get back. They also come in handy when nature calls while out in the field. After reading your post, I immediately went to my android and went to the Play Store, and looked for "Route Tracker", but I don`t see anything with that name...there is "Circuit Route Planner"? I`ve read about the tape over the muzzle of a muzzleloader, but have always been afraid that it would affect the shot. Are you certain it would have zero effect on the point of impact? About binoculars...many years ago, I was deer hunting with my buddy when he het me on the radio and said to be heads up, that he had just seen a mid-sized 8-pointer that was out of range for him, but was headed my way. I was in my favorite all-time ladderstand, and there is a thick swale out in front of me, roughly 30 to 40 yards out, and so, I pulled up the binoculars to just scan the swale. I had never thought much about using binoculars, and carried them usually, but rarely used them. When I pulled them up and scanned the thick stuff in the swale, I saw an absolutely massive buck. I couldn`t make out all the rack for the tangle of stuff he was in, but his face was huge, and his nose seemed to be as big as a softball. I grunted with the binoculars still up to my eyes, and he turned his head my direction and stared hard and long. This is the biggest buck I`ve ever seen myself in the wild while hunting. I understood instantly why someone could decide to hunt for only a particular animal. He was just magnificent. I didn`t want to over call, but I did grunt twice more, and he stared my way, (seemed like glared, my way", but he would never leave the thick stuff and come to the ridge I needed him to walk up to have a shot. Long story short, I became a real believer in using binoculars.
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Post by sculver7 on Sept 21, 2020 16:44:02 GMT -5
I've learned a few things in my 8 years of deer hunting. Maybe they can be of help: I downloaded an app on my phone called RouteTracker. If it ever happens that you shoot a deer and it doesn't tip over within sight (mine always die right where I shoot them... LOL!!!), this app can help to keep track of the route that you've tracked blood. When hunting with a muzzleloader, put a piece of black electrical tape over the end of the barrel. Most of the time you are going to or from your stand, that barrel is pointed straight up and if it is raining at all or even if there is just moisture in the air, it can get in that barrel and affect your powder or pellets just enough to cause issues. I've had a hang fire once due to moisture getting in there while being in the field. The tape won't affect your shot at all. ALWAYS remember your binos. More than once, I've left my binos in the truck and it sucks when you get up in the tree and realize that you forgot them. Keep baby wipes in your pack. After you've field dressed a deer, wipe down your hands and then you won't be getting blood, poop, intestines, etc. all over your truck when you get back. They also come in handy when nature calls while out in the field. After reading your post, I immediately went to my android and went to the Play Store, and looked for "Route Tracker", but I don`t see anything with that name...there is "Circuit Route Planner"? I`ve read about the tape over the muzzle of a muzzleloader, but have always been afraid that it would affect the shot. Are you certain it would have zero effect on the point of impact? About binoculars...many years ago, I was deer hunting with my buddy when he het me on the radio and said to be heads up, that he had just seen a mid-sized 8-pointer that was out of range for him, but was headed my way. I was in my favorite all-time ladderstand, and there is a thick swale out in front of me, roughly 30 to 40 yards out, and so, I pulled up the binoculars to just scan the swale. I had never thought much about using binoculars, and carried them usually, but rarely used them. When I pulled them up and scanned the thick stuff in the swale, I saw an absolutely massive buck. I couldn`t make out all the rack for the tangle of stuff he was in, but his face was huge, and his nose seemed to be as big as a softball. I grunted with the binoculars still up to my eyes, and he turned his head my direction and stared hard and long. This is the biggest buck I`ve ever seen myself in the wild while hunting. I understood instantly why someone could decide to hunt for only a particular animal. He was just magnificent. I didn`t want to over call, but I did grunt twice more, and he stared my way, (seemed like glared, my way", but he would never leave the thick stuff and come to the ridge I needed him to walk up to have a shot. Long story short, I became a real believer in using binoculars. Here is a picture of the app in the App Store. As far as the tape on the muzzleloader: it would probably make a difference if you’re talking serious muzzleloader shooters who are shooting 300 or 400 yards (I’ve never tested that far), but for what I use a muzzleloader for, doesn’t make a noticeable difference out to 150 yards.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2020 17:50:58 GMT -5
After reading your post, I immediately went to my android and went to the Play Store, and looked for "Route Tracker", but I don`t see anything with that name...there is "Circuit Route Planner"? I`ve read about the tape over the muzzle of a muzzleloader, but have always been afraid that it would affect the shot. Are you certain it would have zero effect on the point of impact? About binoculars...many years ago, I was deer hunting with my buddy when he het me on the radio and said to be heads up, that he had just seen a mid-sized 8-pointer that was out of range for him, but was headed my way. I was in my favorite all-time ladderstand, and there is a thick swale out in front of me, roughly 30 to 40 yards out, and so, I pulled up the binoculars to just scan the swale. I had never thought much about using binoculars, and carried them usually, but rarely used them. When I pulled them up and scanned the thick stuff in the swale, I saw an absolutely massive buck. I couldn`t make out all the rack for the tangle of stuff he was in, but his face was huge, and his nose seemed to be as big as a softball. I grunted with the binoculars still up to my eyes, and he turned his head my direction and stared hard and long. This is the biggest buck I`ve ever seen myself in the wild while hunting. I understood instantly why someone could decide to hunt for only a particular animal. He was just magnificent. I didn`t want to over call, but I did grunt twice more, and he stared my way, (seemed like glared, my way", but he would never leave the thick stuff and come to the ridge I needed him to walk up to have a shot. Long story short, I became a real believer in using binoculars. Here is a picture of the app in the App Store. As far as the tape on the muzzleloader: it would probably make a difference if you’re talking serious muzzleloader shooters who are shooting 300 or 400 yards (I’ve never tested that far), but for what I use a muzzleloader for, doesn’t make a noticeable difference out to 150 yards. Must not be available for Android...bummer.
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