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The thrill was at the end!

Friday November 6 2020

I have been looking forward to this hunt all week

As it has been a whole week since I have been out hunting

Oh, wait I don’t need to hunt right now

I got me a big buck

However, going out hunting even if it’s not my hunt

Is as rewarding as if I were hunting myself

I love being outdoors

So, another Friday night hunt it is

This time Marcus had the bow in his hands

He said he had a new place to sit, I mean I trust him with my life 🙂

At 1st he just wanted to old school ground sit

But I said let’s take the Ghost Blind

Some cover is better than none

Well the walk in was horrendous

The field we thought was half plowed

Was fully plowed

You ever walk the edge of a farm field

Were the field meets the grass

Horrible especially for a girl that had ankle surgery this past year

I was carrying a hunting chair with no strap

I have carried this chair before and it sucks

I know my arm strength is weak

Thanks for the reminder that I am a wimp

So, the chair got the best  of me

Plus, I carried the Ghost Blind, I have not broken down and bought the backpack for it yet

But the thing is awkward to carry

Long walk over

I can’t even tell you how far that walk was

But I never wanted to walk it again

I thought of how I could get back with out going back the way I came

Marcus had picked a spot on the bottom of a huge bean field(that was tilled up already)

This bean field butts up to marsh and lots of cattails

Next to an ancient huge tree, which I have always been fond of

I knew this to be a promising spot

As over the years I have seen many a deer here

Once we got settled in it didn’t take long for a deer to be spotted in the field over to our left

Far away for sure

Then another comes out in front/left of us

From the cattails

100 yards would be my guess

I don’t know my yards from feet, so who knows

The weather was so nice 70 degrees for sure

It was nice to bask in the warm air

As I know soon it will be gone

I spot a flock of birds over head

This turned out to not be a normal flock

I am assuming they are blackbirds, red wing black birds, and grackles

Their flight in the sky went on for over 10 minutes

10 minutes of continuous flight of birds

Like I said I haven’t seen this type of migration for over 10 minutes ever.

I notice a doe cross the bean field diagonally

To our side of the field

They seem to be all congregating to the same area

There must be an area in the beans yet for them to eat

All does no bucks

Its closing now and we must pack up

A few does  are still down the tree line from us eating

Which leads to a tricky pack up

As I  am standing up now

And I see the deer(big deer)

To me left, over in the direction of the does, in the field beyond

Binoculars up

Big Buck

Marcus got a good look too

Big Buck

Its past dark but his rack is big enough to make out

We think it is BUD, he has a real tall rack

He slowly walks up the tree line at the end of the field

Of course, on the other property

He then turns around and walks back

He has his eyes on the does that have been in the field with us most of the night

It was a nice sit

Saw my biggest buck of the season so far

The walk back killed me and I had to draw inner strength

To keep my sanity on the way back

I really just wanted to scream and cry out loud

Instead I screamed and cried on the inside

And it was loud

About halfway back I had to dig deep

Mind over matter

Boots to the ground

Focus it will end and it did

I really liked the spot we sat in

It covered a lot of area and I could see lots of land

So much possibility in this spot.

Oh and I cant wait to see how sore my body is in the morning!

Shot straight! !

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I see you! A nice quiet night for a hunt!

The top 3 pictures are of the deer I walked in on while I was walking to my stand. The 4th picture is of 2 one years old, the doe on the right is in heat right now. The 5th picture, not that you can see it but one of them is the little buck walking up to the HOT doe.

10 Sit

Saturday October 25, 2020

Didn’t accomplish much for a Saturday

I guess you have those days every once in a while.

Boy did the day off go fast because before I knew it, it was late afternoon already.

I don’t normally hunt 2 nights in a row

Much less in the same place

But the wind just wasn’t right for anywhere else

And there was a call for rain/snow on Sunday

So I had made the decision to not hunt Sunday, but Saturday

Marcus finally came out hunting tonight

The Ghost Blind had arrived and he was goanna try that.

Marcus has not been too thrilled with the current situation

With the river flooding and flooding our land

As this limits access to out hunting land, hunting options, and wildlife movement

So, Marcus has been a little down on his luck

It didn’t take much arm twisting to get him to go

I helped him get set up a little and then he told me to go to my blind, as we were a little late getting to the woods. 

I like to get in a certain time.

The water puddles have went down a little from yesterday and the walk in was silent

I think of Marcus sitting back there as I walk in, hoping he is able to distract his running mind for awhile and hope he enjoy the hunt, the quiet and peace being outdoors offer his busy mind.

As I curved the small filed I walked up on a doe as I was walking in

I immediately stopped for at least 5 minutes,  thinking at some point she would trot off

Nope, she didn’t move, basically went about her business while keeping and eye in my direction.

I was able to get picture and a video before

I made the decision to move and allow to her to be scared off

She made her snort wheeze and away she trotted.

Had I been in my blind already she would have come into the field by my blind

As I approached my blind, I hated the thought that there would be deer in the food plot on the other side of my blind and of course there was.

4 deer, doe and fawns

We had a stare off for the next 5 minutes

I knew I had to eventually get in my blind

So, I moved slowly, closer to the steps and took one step at time very slowly

They just kept watching as I was there but not really

Once I got to the platform to enter my blind and started unzipping the door they disappeared

Once I got all settled I figured my chances of seeing deer the rest of the night

Was ruined by the deer I scared away on my way in

There was little wind and the air around me seemed still and at peace.

I kept thinking and hoping that Marcus might be seeing some action

As it was his 1st time out, reluctantly.

Eventually the group of 4 I kicked up returned to the field

They would go out of sight and come back a few times in the next hour

I basically had deer to watch all night

About 5:55 I had a little doe to my right

I have not had much movement on this little food plot

However, this is my best shooting option

The doe was at least 50 plus yards away, it was small and payed no attention to me as she walked away

The group of 4 eventually shifted out of sight

Within minutes they were back and this time much closer, maybe 50 yards

Closest they have ever been in all my hunts

I notice a larger bodied deer in the middle of the field

Well wouldn’t ya know it, we got ourselves a little buck, he would munch a little on the field

But he was most interested in the HOT young doe near by

I always find it quite intriguing

Watching buck behavior during the rut

The buck wasn’t very big as I had a hard time trying to make out at first he was a buck, the darkness didn’t help.

A little 4 pointer

I think it mysterious the way bucks look when they are walking towards you,

And even more so when a buck is walking straight towards you on a mission, but really walking straight towards a HOT doe.

I am pretty sure she had no interest as she ran away every time. 

It occurred to me that Mr. Little Buck might actually walk over by me.

But who was I fooling he was chasing a girl.

Closing time had arrived. 

Them deer were still in the field as I packed up.

I packed up slowly to not scare them

They were gone by the time I left

Walked back to help Marcus pack up and he was out waiting for me.

 He didn’t see anything and I told him all about my hunt on the way back to the Mud Duck

Of course, this time Marcus drove so we didn’t get stuck on the hill on the way out

We put the finishing touches on our supper of Beer Cheese Soup and Bacon, Cheddar, and Beer sloppy Joes.

Mighty tasty for sure

I was glad Marcus finally got out there.  I felt it was a pretty good hunt.

We did discuss changing up some trail cameras tomorrow as we didn’t have any camera on the food plot exclusively.

Until next time….shoot straight…… its almost ruttin time.

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Surprising 6th Sit!

The left bow blind window I opened for the 1st time.
Several of the deer I saw
You cant see them all but they are there.

Saturday October 11, 2020

I didn’t hunt my usual Friday night

We had an appointment in the afternoon

And I did not think I would make it back in time

Well we were back in time but it was windy

I am not a fan of bow hunting in very strong winds

Saturday was sunny for the most part and a little breezy

I had made the decisions early on to go hunting and once I had that in my head

There is no changing that

I was a tad bit worried this would be an uneventful hunt

As the guys had been down on the land mid afternoon

Working on a stand

So, I figure if there was any deer they be gone by know

However, the wind was not right to sit anywhere else

So, I choose to sit in my enclosed blind.

We had gotten the Mud Duck back from the oil change

 I was able to take her to the hunting grounds

I took the back way into my stand

I had to drive through the neighbors back yard

Follow the cornfield around to the bean field

Then thru this small area in a tree line to follow a grassy path around several bean fields

To where I parked the Mud Duck called the cherry trees

I had the thermal cell all fired up already anticipating lots of skeeters

They were not so bad

I hadn’t walked this way yet to my blind

It was a little rough

As had to walk through taller grass and lots of uneven grass

The walk was a little more aggressive than going in the front way, plus let’s face it I ant no model for physical fitness.

I was all settled in a little after 4

Didn’t need the thermal cell as the skeeters were not out due to the wind

I opened a new window this time around, a bow windows to my left.

I attached the picture for you to see

Wasn’t sure how I would shoot out of the window

What kind of shot I would get

But it was another option.

 It was colder and windier than I had expected. 

The wind was really blowing through the window

I ended up closing the left windows about ¾ ways

Which actually worked in my favor

Not only was I warmer, the wind blew less

But the deer I saw later would be less concerned that something was different with my blind because the window wasn’t open. 

I didn’t see anything for over any hour

The birds have migrated

So, I missed watching them dance in the sky

It was a peaceful sit

Except for the tractor far off in the distance doing some harvesting, is my guess

I always find that annoying this time of year, but I get it

I don’t get enough quite time, this is my quiet time

It the only time that the world stops for me

It just sits quietly and still

And I think about nothing, and lord knows there is enough to think about in this world

I even didn’t mind the wind so much as I try to soak up as much fresh air as I can

Even if it triggers an allergy attack.

Finally, 2 deer I can see in the big food plot to my left at 534 pm.

It’s a mom and fawn, came out the same location as always

I figure they must bed in the tree line right up against the cattails

Way too far to shoot

I don’t pay them much attention.

Eventually they get spooked by something coming behind then and trot off

At 550 I realize what spooked them, as I now have 6 deer in the big food plot field to my left

No bucks but a family with littles.

They have come to munch on the food plot.

At 556 pm I see a rather large doe come from the other direction

On the opposite end of the food plot, she must have jumped the ditch

She is alone and moves slowly to the group of six

She nibbles on the goodies in the ground

Eventually she wonders back where she came from

The group of six move to a part of the food plot I cannot see

And a few short minutes later

The mom and fawn I first saw at 550 peek their head out from the cattails

I waited patiently as the sun goes down and darkness overtakes the sky

The party of dear ate in the field until closing time, about an hour.

No big buck wondered my way.

I pack up quietly as the does/fawns eat in the field.

I am all packed up and peek my head out of the blind around 645 pm

And what do I see……a mom and fawn had come out of the willow behind me as I was packing up

And are now eating in the big food plot

50 yards from me

They were never spooked by the noise of me packing up

I waited a while and they never spooked.

I was hungry and had to use the bathroom

I could not wait forever for them to move

So, I slowly got out of my blind, zippered the door closed, climb down the ladder

And left and they were not any the wiser.

Long walk back to the Mud Duck when you’re hungry cold and have to pee.

On my way out I had to try to maneuver back through the maze of fields

To get back home

Got held up on a rock or something through the tree line

Had to try to use the four wheeled drive to get a going

The boys had supper ready when I got home

We had purchased from the fire department fund raiser earlier in the day

Hot dogs, brats, and wings

They were yummy!

All in all not a bad hunt.

Again, any day in the blind is a good day!

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Delightful Awesome Sit 5

This was the little doe that walked within 10 feet of me!
This is the buck I saw a minute before he stepped out into the field where I saw him. Picture off the Cuddelink, but boy that’s blurry!
Much better picture! Pretty sure this is the buck I seen last night coming back where he came from.

Friday October 3, 2020

The weather is getting cooler, so I wanted to hunt tonight

Plus, I had some bucks below the house the night before.

So, it was my hope one of these big guys would have bedded

down below the house and would pay me a visit tonight.

Mud Duck is in for an oil change and maintenance.

So, I had to take princess (Dodge truck) down to the hunting spot.

It was a nice walk in

A little longer than normal because I had to park further away.

The water is down as there is no flooding only one little puddle

I kick up one deer as I am walking in, a doe

She is in the large food plot

My new stand is looking beautiful than ever. 

Once I was settled in

I couldn’t help but notice the large amount of bird movement.

All I could see were yellows and blues

There were so many birds I was having a hard time watching them all.

Several of what I think were yellow rumped warblers

And……blue birds.  Lots of blue birds.

And then just like that they were gone.

Maybe migrating through maybe not, I have no idea

Another doe out in the big food plot

To far away to shoot

About 15 minutes later a small doe comes out from behind me and to the right of me

I happened to be looking through the binoculars into the woods to the right of me

And the doe walks into my line of sight in the binoculars

She came out from the willows from behind me

She cautiously walked thru the small food plot

And then pranced within 10 feet of my blind

My long bow shooting window is open and she walks past that

 Then she was out of site

I knew she had went into the woods

As she made the decision in her small tiny brain that it was safer to walk thru the

Woods to the big food plot

Than to walk down the path in front of me

Smart girl

For the next hour to the left of me 5 or 6 doe and fawn eat in the big food plot

They continue to eat in the field for the next 53 minutes, until closing time.

The last 5 minutes of my hunt, there is this doe in the big food plot and she is very curious

Always trying to look in in my direction.

I believe she want to come down the path in front of me to the small food plot.

She would creep closer and closer

And we would just sit and look at each other.

But the exciting news of the night was…….

I saw a buck

Roughly 630 he peeked his head out from the hidden path

I thought I had seen movement through the woods in the direction of the hidden path a while earlier.

Plus, we have a Cuddelink camera on this hidden path, as I was hoping to get him on camera.

Well we did it turned out to be blurry, go figures

Anyways he peeked his head out, he had a tall rack but it looked small

Not small small, but medium small.

I at the 1st sight made the decision he was not the guys I wanted to shoot

If he got within range.

And of course, he never did

He was probably 55 plus yards away(not very good at measurement)

He looked in my direction several time but wasn’t interested

He had other plans

He walked straight out from the path into the grassy area behind me

By the time I was able to get the binoculars on him, he was almost out of site

But then as I put the binos on him, he looked pretty enticing.

I was hoping for the next 23 minutes he might come back my way

Or circle around behind me in the willows

And come out on the other side of me to the big food plots but he didn’t

But I was already

The group of does and fawns munched the whole time in the big food plot

And the one curious little doe just would not give it up,

it’s well past closing she is 40 feet maybe form me

and she just stares in my direction

I slowly try to close the window as to not try to scare her

But she still does not leave

Even with me zippering the window closed. 

She is finally gone

Packed up and ready to go

It was quite dark already

And I could not see around me

The last few time I have hunted it was light enough to make out shadows

Not this walk out.

As I made my way around the last curve to my truck

There must have been a doe and fawn on the path

Who must not have seen me until last second

As they ran quite quick

It sounds like the doe ran into the cattails right next to be

Really made my heartbeat and I could hear little movement to my left in front of me

My guess the fawn

As I continue to walk the fawn must have just been in the woods to the left of me

As I walked past I could hear it rumbling. 

The boys made salmon, rice , and zucchini for supper

I realize I am a lucky girl

As I reflect back on the night

I have come to the realization that the stars must really have to align

In order for me to shoot a buck and I have seen bucks over the last 5 years.

Some shootable some not to my standards of course

Some close and some not,

But But But………

It must be a momentous minute when that right buck for me comes with in shooting distance,

How does that saying go right place right time?

Well until next time……..

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Ma and fawn in my backyard!

I got to take a picture of ma and baby in my backyard. we have at least 3 sets of fawns, with one being twins. Ma has been hanging out in the field for awhile know, usually coming out in the same place. I think if I had to guess baby was close by. Soooo glad I was in the right place at the right time!