This is getting frustrating...

I took the day off of work today.  Knowing that i'll be involved in softball all day on Saturday i took today and hit the woods.  So after brewing up a batch of beer and taking Bacci to get his nails cut, I headed over to the club.  I was going to go on the road between the two fields again.  I'd been seeing deer so it seemed like a good choice.  The weather was nice but boy it was super windy.  I think the gusts were up to the low 20's mph.  I got in the tree around 2:30 and at about 3:30 I saw a horseback rider on the field across the road.  That makes me so angry that people just trespass at will.  At 4:00 I saw Tony walking through the same field that I just saw the horseback rider to the "pain in the ass" stand (it's near 10 I think).  I happened to turn my head at around 5:30 and noticed Tony's truck pulling out from the corner of THE FIELD I WAS ON!   This is the same corner that that other guy went to the last time I was on the stand on a Friday.  I sat wondering why he pulled out of that corner.  Maybe he got a deer.  A few minutes later, I looked over and apparently Tony drove back into the corner because he pulled out again...but this time, the jerky guy was following in his truck and he had a deer on the back.  I guess the jerk parked in the corner and was hunting...didn't use the board and I didn't see his truck.  I think I'm fed up with that spot and honestly, wish I could find another piece of property where I didn't have to deal with assholes.  I saw no deer this day.

They can really smell...

Again I was supposed to be at Gianna's softball game but again it was cancelled.  I took the opportunity to get to the club again.  This time I was going to sit in the swamp.  As I was getting dressed a guy from the club (don't remember his name) pulled up and asked where I was going to sit.  I told him the swamp and he said that he was going to put a block in the swamp so he would come back.  After talking a bit I found out that he was the one that drove across the field last week.  I told him that I was hunting there and he said that he was sorry.  oh well.

So I got to the swamp and after getting up the tree, realized that it was facing the wrong way for me.  So I sat on the ground.  At around 4, two does were coming across the field.  On of them was heading right for me so I raised my bow and at about 60 yards, she caught wind of me and high tailed it out of there.  The wind must have shifted but I was surprised.  I washed my clothes in special stuff, I sprayed down in special stuff and didn't sweat getting into the stand.  These suckers could really smell.  That's the last deer I saw in teh day.

Unexpected

Was supposed to watch Gianna play ball today but it rained all morning so the games were cancelled.  We decided to go see her at school and take her to breakfast instead.  While we were there, the sun actually came out and it got clear...windy, but clear so I hit the woods.  Sat on the hill near 13, saw nothing.  I did see Tony there, he told me that they's been seeing bears.  When I got out of the woods, he was gone.

Took the day off...

Feel like I need to get out more so I took the day off of work.  I went to the club and I sat on the road between the two fields again.  This is, coincidentally the same tree that I got my first deer at the club from.  I saw two deer entering the field from stand 4 but never came my way.  At around 6, I saw a white car...looked like a Subaru, drive from the gate onto the field...yes, the field I'm sitting on!!  He drove to the corner (where I turkey hunt) and got out.  I saw him walking near the dip stand but couldn't make out who he was.  He was there for about a half hour and then left.  Grr

Why didn't I do it when I had the chance.

I took the afternoon off to go hunting at the club again.  After missing the day on Saturday I needed to get back out.  I decided to try stand 13 and made my way there.  I climbed the tree and noticed that it had grown in so much there wasn't a good shooting lane.  I couldn't trim it out then so I decided to go sit on the hillside instead.  I thought it was cool out but by the time I was walking back from the tree I was sweating my butt off.  I got settled in and waited.  It was a nice spot but I learned that sitting, without having my back supported by a tree, is painful.  Anyway...I hadn't seen a thing but a fox but by 6:30, I made out some movement coming from my left.  I put up my bow and saw that it was a buck.  A 7-point buck.  Why didn't I take that doe the last time I was at the club!  Then I could have shot the buck...instead I had to watch him walk away.  Which, by the way, didn't take long because he must have caught my scent from walking back from the tree.  He knew something was up and he stepped back into the autumn olive.  I found it strange because the wind was blowing in my face.  I guess I laid down scent on the path.

Covered in stuff....

I took the afternoon off of work.  Considering the bust that was opening day I wanted to get back into the woods.  I decided to try the "farm road" between the first field and the upper field.  It was a beautiful day.  Slightly warm but not too bad.  I went down the farm road and hopped up into the tree.  I didn't realize how "open" I would feel in the tree but hopefully it would be ok because it was a bigger tree.

I got in the tree around 2:00 and by about 4:30 I saw a flock of turkeys in the first field.  They were feeding all over the place...even came to within 10 yards of me.  I could hear them clucking and purring.  It was cool.  As it was getting darker, perhaps around 6:30, I saw 4 deer near stand 4.  They slowly worked their way towards me.  A small doe, clearly a fawn or yearling at best, was ahead of the group.  She came to within 15 yards and presented a broadside target.  It would have been an easy shot but I decided, because i would have to bring this one to a butcher (Grandma's stuff was taking over my garage so i couldn't butcher it myself), that I would wait for the biggest one to come to me.  She, however, stopped 80 yards from me and started stomping her foot and snorting.  I am assuming that she caught wind of me...the wind was swirling and i did work up a sweat getting into the tree.  Either that or she saw me.  As she carried on stomping and snorting the one that was in front of me looked back and started to slowly walk back to the group.  The group by this point had taken off and she slowly walked back across the field.   I got out of the tree at dark and that was my day.

Perhaps I'll wish I took that shot as the season goes on but for now I'm ok with holding back.

Opening day 2014

It's opening day!!  The weather forecast isn't looking so good, which sucks because all week it was supposed to be sunny and cool.  In the morning I decided to head over to the recycling center.  I wanted to try the spot that the other guy used to go to, in the back.  That's close to wear I saw that big buck a few weeks earlier.  I got in the stand early and it was a beautiful post.  The weather was cloudy and still.  I sat post until just about 10am and saw nothing so I went home to nap and get to the club for the afternoon.  I left home at 12:30 and as I was driving to the club it started pouring out.  Grrrrr.  I sat in my truck at the club waiting for the rain to stop and kept checking the radar.  I sat in my truck until almost 3.  There was a break in the rain so  I got out of my truck and got dressed.  As I was going to put my pin in the board I saw 4 does on the other side of the 10 field.  I belly crawled up the side of the hill hoping to sneak closer and have them walk towards me but they were going the other way.  I got back down and walked to the first field.  Almost as soon as I got there it started to pour again.  I don't mind the rain but I didn't want to shoot a deer and have the blood trail wash away so I packed it in and went home.  So much for opening day.