Thanks guys! No worries on sleep, I’m akways too excited when I’m out there.
Keep em comin’
14’ Skiff-“Redfish Reaper”
I agree with the others about scent killer. You can smoke a cigarette while hunting and be successful if you hunt the wind right. Wind, to me, is the most important aspect of a successful hunt. Even if u manage to get all human smell off yourself u are still carrying around a piece of metal and plastic that smells of gun powder residue and cleaning solvent if u rifle hunt. Make sure you know, have shot, and are comfortable with your weapon. You don’t want to bloody a deer up bc the rifle wasn’t sighted in properly. Take the extra effort and walk to the stand vs. driving a truck or atv. Doing a little extra will often times cause success. This works especially well if u are in a club where a lot of guys drive up to the stand or ride atv’s everywhere. My atv is used to retrieve dead deer and scout before/after season. As a general state wide rule there are too many does. Kill them and do it often. Most importantly have fun and relax. Watching the sun light up the woods in the morning will add years to your life.
21 BX Pro Sea Hunt
Yamaha 150 4 Stroke
Scbigben you hit alot of nails dead on the head there.
Its all about not getting attention until its hammer time.
We had three different hunters make kills off the same stand
three days in a row. fri pm, sat am, sun am.
I put my hunting clothes in a trash bag and break up a few small limbs from a pine tree and stick in the bag with em.
Give it a try instead of all those spray cover scents.
NN
07, 23 Key West, Twin 115 Yammys
“Coastal Bound”
Don’t get out of your stand until you need a flashlight to walk out. Had a club member’s wife park their truck on the road within view of the stand I was in. She and her kid came out with 20 minutes of good light left. Slammed the doors, cranked up, lights blazing, turned around and sat there with the lights on. Ole Saltydog was staring down at a hammer 8 point that needed to take two steps for a clear shot. Instead the deer took two leaps the wrong way and disappeared. Good optics are worth a lot more than a high end rifle.
Were I to be limited to one gun and one scope, I’d spend $400.00 on a Savage and $1400 on a scope. Buy good binos.
Mark
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha F300
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
Salty what scope do you use? prefer? I just cant see to get a shot in those last 20 min of legal shooting time.
I heard a couple of shots a few days ago right at 1hr after sunset. I dint think i have ever been able to see that late.
I know my vision isnt as good as it was 20yrs ago. Is there a secret weapon i dont know about r is it just my eyes.
I have a leupold VX2 with a 50mm reticle that gathers more light than my naked eye does when it starts getting late. Higher quality scopes are even better.
quote:
Originally posted by pitviper0404If you hear an animal walking through the woods and it sounds like a herd of cattle, it’s a squirell… If you faintly hear something or don’t hear it, DEER!!!
Key West 19’6" CC 115hp Merc
14’ Fast Craft w/ 60hp Merc
That is the truth. I swear I want to sit in the stand after deer season with a high powered pellet gun and unleash hell.
quote:
Originally posted by docsordersSalty what scope do you use? prefer? I just cant see to get a shot in those last 20 min of legal shooting time.
I heard a couple of shots a few days ago right at 1hr after sunset. I dint think i have ever been able to see that late.
I know my vision isnt as good as it was 20yrs ago. Is there a secret weapon i dont know about r is it just my eyes.
Right now I’ve got a Weaver Super Slam Tactical 3X15X50 with the Enhanced Mil Dot on it. Picks up light really well and is first focal plane. My problem with it is, I don’t really care for the mil dot and prefer the #4 reticle. I’m going to sell it at the season’s end and get a Meopta FFP or Swarovski with the #4 in it I think.
I have a Bushnell 4200 on my .308 that gathers so much light it should be illegal if there is any ambient light in the sky. Not the clearest but you can pick that shoulder out really well.
I have a couple Weaver Super Slams that do a good job but are closer to the VX-3 I have, decent but not great at twilight.
My problem is I have more than one rifle so I can’t spend $1400+ on a scope, I get the best I can for about the cost of the rifle.
Mark
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha F300
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
Do not pass up a group of does to get to a spike buck…a mature doe will have more meat and that buck is too young/stupid to know he is not safe. SC has very liberal doe laws but people keep shooting the baby bucks instead. Give them a chance and someday you’ll be rewarded with antlers to hang in the house instead of the garage.
Deer hunter i agree with you. on saving the young bucks.
The does are much better for the table.
I am strictly a bow hunter. These are my observations over the years.
Hunt the wind. No matter how one tries to control one’s scent, and one should try, there comes a moment when they wind you. Pay attention to the wind.
Listen! Deer usually don’t run in the woods unless there’s a good reason. They walk. They creep. They tip toe. They move slowly. The sound of a deer walking up to your stand is like a single Dogwood tree berry, hitting the forest floor about every 20 seconds or so.
Look! From a tree stand’s view and in low light, a deer looks exactly like the forest floor. The only way you can pick up these deer is when they move or turn their head or take a step. Almost all of the deer I’ve seen this year have been in the last minutes and seconds before I can see anything (I mean ANYTHING), or in the first moments of shooting light.
Be ready! In bow hunting most encounters will last less than a minute. Deer will not play your games for long. They show up (a mistake of course), give you a chance, and bam! they’re gone! Therefore at first and last light, even if you’re sleepy, or you’re thinking about chores back home, STAND UP WITH YOUR BOW in your hands. Your chance will come but you must be ready. Also when walking out of the woods on the morning hunt, or into the woods on the afternoon hunt, have your release on, and be ready to quickly kneel and take a shot. Deer are unpredictable! More on that…
Finally, know that deer are UNPREDICTABLE, so don’t ever become separated from your weapon. This scenario has happened to every reader in this forum: You think your hunt is over. You noisily break down your stand and prepare to pack it out. You’re thinking about coffee, food, hot water, and your wonderful wife. Bam! Now a fat doe is checking you out on the ground just 12 yards from where you’re standing. Your bow is three giant steps away. Game over. That happened to me my first year, and to my experienced buddy last Saturday AM. The take away? No matter what you’re