deer in zero days

[Squib]

about time, I'm geared up and ready... can't get good sleep prior though, too antsy!

good luck to you all, pictures tommorrow night if you've got them. 

[Squib]

20 mph winds, temp in the 70's... I gave up after no sign of deer from 5:50-10:50.  I saw turkey and squirrels, though turkey aren't legal now and I didn't want to spook deer going for squirrel.  bummer 

[hillbill]

bout the same conditions here in newton county. except i think the wind was closer to 30 mph! hunted most all day and didnt even see a coyote let alone a deer.posed to be colder and rainy tomorrow. ive got some covered ground blinds so ill prob sit in one of them and see what happens. i dont like hot windy conditions, never did well hunting in them.

[Squib]

I'm thinking that watching the weather from home to find out when the temp drop will start is the way to go.  Hopefully the cold front moves in calmly for a bit before the wind and rain so I can catch deer on the pre-storm scramble.  I'm not waiting for good stuff, I'll shoot 100lbs and legal for my antlerless tag.  Seriously, just big enough to be worth dressing out is fine to me.

[hillbill]

ill be out there regardless of weather, unless it driving sideways rain.over the years ive shot deer every hour of the day in all weather. i never did get one on the couch. well i did git one from a kitchen table once.but that another story.

[hillbill]

good weather today for hunting. saw a doe and let her pass then 30 min later a big stinky 8 pt came on her trail. well he would of been a 8 pt if one of the main beams wasnt broke off just above the brow tine. i sure would like to see what he was fighting with to break a horn that thick. a perfect heart shot with the 6.5x55 dropped him at 40 yrds.
im worried tho. 3 days of hunting and only seen 2 deer.admittedly the high winds and rain on the weekend didnt help anything.last year i saw more deer than i ever had and now practically nothing in comparison. we have had a outbreak of blue tounge in the area. i guess it was worse than i thought.
 

[Squib]

saturday I saw turkey and squirrel.... and humans. 

I saw two does coming in, and I had a good shot at two does sunday (I don't think they were the same two) but they were moving quick to get to cover and didn't slow down till they were IN the cover.  I could have connected for sure but didn't want a sloppy hit through the brush.  I lost deer my first time last year and now I'm really paranoid about that.  I ended up camped out soaking wet in the rain, and getting sleet on later. 

I had a few close calls yesterday on my way to the stand, no good shots though.  Not too long after getting set up I got a decent 12pt (the browtine on the right is split into three and the mainbeam has a semi-drop tine).  Not a huge deer, probably 2 or 3 (still reddish, face ain't too long, not terribly stinky, not tall and long as average), but quite meaty.  After 1/2 hr of no action I was gonna drag him out and get that death scent out BUT I saw a fork buck chasing a doe, so I shot the doe.  Turns out she was a he, little button buck.  He is at the processor being turned into burger and snack sticks.  Until alternative methods season (gp-100 for me), I'm probably done now. 

Squirrels are still gonna get shot though!!!

[hillbill]

well glad to hear yu connected! and congrats on not taking a shot you were not sure of. i didnt hunt to day but did see a doe and a buck that i couldnt really tell what he was but wasnt too big, while looking at my cows.ill go out tomorrow to try to fill doe tag.

[30gman]

Hunted in Pulaski co Missouri over the weekend.Temps in the 70s. Three of us saw a total of 26 deer,9 were bucks. Antler restrictions made only one of them legal. I killed him, an 8 pointer with 20" spread.

[Squib]

they were moving a little bit today, it got too warm towards noon though.  the squirrel action was good today, but it was 100yds away and in the brush where I couldn't get involved 

oh well, that's how it goes.

how thick and long are them tines 30gman?  what was so good about the land to keep them moving in that heat?

[30gman]

Longest tines were 10". Mass was not that big.
Don't know why they were moving in the heat.
Brother killed a big 10 point out of my stand this AM.
Good season so far.

[Squib]

sounds like yours and mine were opposite.  mine was normal width, slightly narrow maybe.  ear width on one side, just under on the other, most tines weren't too long, mid and end beam thickness wasn't special.  it was on the bottom half though, with bases like wrists.  probably 140 gross, though I bet the net is considerably lower considering the severe asymmetry.

sad thing is the typical side is the ugly one, I think the other is B. A.

EDIT: new pic

[Sharps-Nut]

Deer season so far has been pretty good.  My daughter drew fist blood saturday evening of youth with a yearling doe at 130 yards, bang hunch flop, not bad for a 10 year old on her second year of hunting, yea I am proud of her.   My son and I went out sunday morning and I grunted him in a 7 pointer that was way to dumb to live.  30-30 broadside followed by 50 yard death charge and we were done by 7:30 am.    So I spent my warm youth season skinning and quartering deer to put on ice.  The last of my week grinding deer burger before modern season opened. 
      Saturday of modern season not needing more burger to bad and unwilling to work unless it was a whopper  I passed on shooting.    Counted 21 from daylight till leaving at 10:30.  Not one of the buggers amounted to squat.  I heard a amish  guy shoot three times then found out he did not even have permission to hunt.   Tough times when you cant even trust a longbeard to do the right thing.  Its not my farm and I bet he needs the meat worse than do.  Tell you the truth I feel blessed every time I am allowed to hunt this piece of ground its that pretty.  The land owner is a friend and retired teacher that is just the greatest guy around.  Thats my story.   SN

[Squib]

good job getting the kid out.  it's such a rush the first time, was for me anyways.