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Post by caveman on Feb 4, 2022 21:54:53 GMT -6
Some pics from this past year's buck, I would tell the full story, but I can make up lies that are more believable:
New tactic for me this season, don't hunt the near the trees, hunt the cattail areas. Didn't have the best step ladder, made do. Murphy's law that if you remember everything for your hunt that you will not get a deer. The forgotten gun strap sucked, but I knew the deer were in trouble.
The oak trees are the far riverbank and hunters. The closer brush is riverbottom and known bedding.
Passed on this fawn a couple different times. It seems to me that deer in the woods are super tense and always on the lookout. The deer in the cattails weren't on the lookout much at all and were more just trying to find someplace to walk.
<unbelievable stuff left out>
After returning to camp to get more ammo I returned to find him dead in the river.
Not a monster rack, actually pretty small, very narrow, not long, a little bit tall, but the first one of mine with more than 8 points.
Big f'n body. Looking at the teeth I'm guessing 4.5 years old. Rack would say 3.5. Big body compared to what I am used to.
....continued.....
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Post by caveman on Feb 4, 2022 22:00:50 GMT -6
.....
The drag started back that away.
The wood edge represented almost halfway. Luckily dragging through woods proved way way easier. 5 hour drag I think it was, solo.
Had considered packing him out, but had never done it before, thought I would want a tree to help me and didn't have one, and wanted the money shot of the meat pole in front of camp.
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Post by Catscratch on Feb 4, 2022 22:09:00 GMT -6
Congrats on agreat buck! You should add the unbelievable stuff...
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Post by Sandbur on Feb 5, 2022 6:27:03 GMT -6
.....
The drag started back that away.
The wood edge represented almost halfway. Luckily dragging through woods proved way way easier. 5 hour drag I think it was, solo.
Had considered packing him out, but had never done it before, thought I would want a tree to help me and didn't have one, and wanted the money shot of the meat pole in front of camp. Great job and pictures. That is a nice deer. You worked hard for it.
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Post by Sandbur on Feb 5, 2022 6:34:03 GMT -6
Decades back, I ran into a guy in NW Mn that bow hunted those large willow/ reed canary areas on the public grounds up there. I found he lived about 40 miles from me and he told me how he hunted.
He carried a limb clipper and roll of wire in his pocket and made what he called a willow stand. He would cut cross pieces for his feet and some to sit on. He would sit with just his head and arms high enough to shoot.
He was a little guy of about 5 foot three and hunted with a crossbow.
I did find several of his stands while I was up there. Some were from years before. He said the deer would walk right under him. The willows were much thicker than cave’s pictures.
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Post by kooch on Feb 5, 2022 8:36:27 GMT -6
Decades back, I ran into a guy in NW Mn that bow hunted those large willow/ reed canary areas on the public grounds up there. I found he lived about 40 miles from me and he told me how he hunted. He carried a limb clipper and roll of wire in his pocket and made what he called a willow stand. He would cut cross pieces for his feet and some to sit on. He would sit with just his head and arms high enough to shoot. He was a little guy of about 5 foot three and hunted with a crossbow. I did find several of his stands while I was up there. Some were from years before. He said the deer would walk right under him. The willows were much thicker than cave’s pictures. In Western MN just across the border from my place there are a lot of WMAs that are mostly cattail. I’m hatching plans to hunt them. Hip boots and a slug gun. Looking forward to it.
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Post by kooch on Feb 5, 2022 11:26:55 GMT -6
Maybe I’ll have you out to my place Caveman and you can give me public land hunting lessons.
I might not even make you sleep in your ice shanty.
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Post by Sandbur on Feb 5, 2022 11:49:09 GMT -6
Decades back, I ran into a guy in NW Mn that bow hunted those large willow/ reed canary areas on the public grounds up there. I found he lived about 40 miles from me and he told me how he hunted. He carried a limb clipper and roll of wire in his pocket and made what he called a willow stand. He would cut cross pieces for his feet and some to sit on. He would sit with just his head and arms high enough to shoot. He was a little guy of about 5 foot three and hunted with a crossbow. I did find several of his stands while I was up there. Some were from years before. He said the deer would walk right under him. The willows were much thicker than cave’s pictures. In Western MN just across the border from my place there are a lot of WMAs that are mostly cattail. I’m hatching plans to hunt them. Hip boots and a slug gun. Looking forward to it. I wonder if Pheasant hunting pressure moves the deer in those areas. Far nw Mn had few pheasants. Still in your country, there isn’t much other cover.
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Post by kooch on Feb 5, 2022 12:48:37 GMT -6
How many pheasant hunters are going to put on hip boots and go into the thick/wet?
Most of the ones I see look like they stepped out of an LL Bean catalogue.
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Post by caveman on Feb 6, 2022 5:55:54 GMT -6
Maybe I’ll have you out to my place Caveman and you can give me public land hunting lessons. I might not even make you sleep in your ice shanty. You can start scouting online now. The deer trails through the cattails can show up well on aerials. If you have to cross more than ankle deep water all the better.
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Post by caveman on Oct 25, 2022 18:46:19 GMT -6
In anticipation of our MN gun opener I jotted down a short 5 page deer hunting story. Going to try to break it down to 10 chunks and post them. If you can't stand some Elmer Fudd hunting action, then probably best to just skip over this tale.
........
Based on a true story…
Not seeing anything after a day and a morning I thought I would drive around at 9:00 am and try and see if I could find a place to hunt without other hunters. Approaching a small patch of woods, I noted that I have often seen a doe crossing the road here in years past, and I’d be damned, there is a buck pushing a doe around in the ditch! First time in my 20 years of hunting during the rut that I have seen rut action. Cool! Drive past them. Park. Get out of the truck and load the gun. Walk back to where I had seen them and start trying to hunt them. Get in a ways and I’ve got a doe running around to the left of me and a buck being sneaky to the right of me. Patience. Just wait. That buck will go back to that doe. Yep. Here he comes. I’m shaking. Got no good rest. Got some evergreens between him and me, but once he gets by them I’m just a person standing in a field. No cover. Here he comes. 20 yards away and he steps out of the evergreens. Pull up the gun quick, take aim and he is already turning. I fire a quick shot at what was a broadside deer a moment before. A dumb shot. Not a drop of blood. Tracked in the kicked-up fall leaves for a good long way and nothing. Good! A clean miss. It could be much worse I knew from not having recovered deer in the past. Put up a ladderstand not far away for the evening hunt. Got out of the stand overlooking the river bottoms at the end of shooting. At the parking lot was one other truck and out hopped an old man from the passenger seat lighting a cig and wanting to talk. I obliged.
“See anything?”
...to be continued...
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Post by Catscratch on Oct 25, 2022 18:55:17 GMT -6
Great start!
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Post by biglakebass on Oct 25, 2022 19:28:37 GMT -6
how many years ago?
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Post by caveman on Oct 25, 2022 21:22:25 GMT -6
You doing research?
It's a story, not going to be totally accurate. Maybe a bit of bullshit added.
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Post by Sandbur on Oct 26, 2022 3:57:23 GMT -6
You doing research?
It's a story, not going to be totally accurate. Maybe a bit of bullshit added.
You must be a fisherman also! I tell people that I tell a lot of stories and some are even true!
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