Spotnstalk80
Active Member
- Messages
- 108
So again this year out friends and family set out to our annual deer camp in the C zone to enjoy the outdoors good company and some serious hunting. We made several weekend trips over the summer scouting and setting some cameras on trails we wanted to target for stand locations. Finally the months and weeks culminated with a soggy wet opening morning. Not many deer were moving in the incessant downpour and by 0800 I was soaked through every layer and ready to go. I looked around my stand one last time just to confirm there was no movement and climbed down my ladder. As I got to the bottom step I looked over my left shoulder to see a 200-250 lb black bear walking directly at my stand at less than 20 feet. The initial shock that the bear was 20 feet away and completely unaware of my presence was greeted with me exclaiming "holy s***" which immediately got his attention at which he wheeled around and jogged back towards the tree line. Having a bear tag as well as a deer tag I scrambled to undo my rifle and untangle myself from the ladder. By the time I shouldered my rifle he was nearly at the tree line. I quickly found him in the scope and squeezed. As I did he went right off a bank and handed me a clean miss. So dejected we returned to camp to dry out and regroup for the evening.
The evening brought no rain and plenty of deer movement. Mostly does and fawns my brother however was lucky enough to score on a nice little forky and so ended the opener. Sunday brought more favorable conditions and with that 2 more nice forkies made their way to camp. One by a rookie female in our party the other by a brother from another mother. Monday again was cold but dry and brought another fork to camp but overall was a quiet day. A small fork also jumped into the logging road in front of myself and the other rookie hunter in our party. He identified it as a spike but I quickly told him it was a fork and he rushed a shot that went wide and that was his first chance to feel that adrenaline rush known as buck fever.
Tuesday was the coldest day by far and resulted in a lot of action. My youngest brother connected before 0730 on a nice 3x3. I was driving down another logging road at 1000 and noticed movement coming from the trees 80 yards ahead to the right. I stopped the truck and got out to investigate. As I stepped out a beautiful 4x4 stepped out of the trees and stopped presenting a perfect broadside shot. I shouldered the .270 and shot. He jumped straight up and kicked his hind legs and took off running. We raced to the shot site and found blood and lungs all over. He was out if sight so immediately we began the tracking. The blood was everywhere so we knew it was a good hit. He went straight up the hill 75 yards the. Began to side hill. We continued on the blood for almost 300 yards when the trail began to go back downhill. By this point I'm anxious thinking maybe it's not such a good hit then there he was. Standing but wobbly. He got a burst and ran right back to the logging road and stopped just on the other side under a tree where he stood for a few seconds then expired right there. By far he is the biggest buck to date I've shot in 20 seasons in this area. We returned to camp to find another forky was taken by a second year hunter in our party. It was his first buck so everyone was feeling great and spirits were high.
Wednesday came and went with no action. Years before this has been a trend in our camp we have great success then mid week it goes cold and we were determined not to let that happen again. Thursday we hit the hill hard but it was a quiet day until 1700 and then all hell broke loose. The rookie hunter that had missed earlier and I snuck into a grassy bowl to wait for the deer to feed in. As we entered into the bowl he whispers stop there's a deer! I can't see it so I ask where? He says right there and it's a buck! I tell him if its legal shoot it, and about that time it trots right into my view. There's no question it's legal and on top of that its with another! He shoulders up and fires. No doubt that buck is smacked hard but just for insurance he fires again. The other buck runs out and I can see its running right for my sister in law. I get on the radio and tell her it's headed her way. Sure enough it comes right in front of her and stops behind a bush. The. Turns and begins bounding straight away. She scopes it up and waits. Finally she fires one shot and instantly the buck is out of site. A frantic sister in law is worried she missed. No chance. That perfect shot hit the buck perfectly and killed it instantly. The rookie and I follow the enormous blood slicks to find his beautiful 3x2 and sister in law locates her enormous 3x4. It's a tape measure finish to see who's is bigger mine or hers for big buck in camp but she gets me by 1.5 inches!
Friday again we go out and it's quiet. Deer movement is minimal but in the last half hour of light my 3rd brother connects with a spork buck and fills his freezer.
Saturday is pretty quiet everybody is winding down pulling tree stands and relaxing. About 1100 though my cousin is driving back down the logging roads when a nice forky crosses the road. Minutes later his tag is also filled. My brother and sister in law assisted some other friends in tracking a bear then while leaving the tracking job my sister in law spots a 150 lb bear and quickly fills her bear tag. The final tally of the most successful deer camp is 11 deer and a bear from 19 hunters. Unbelievable success and great memories for all in camp. Now we begin the countdown to the next deer camp.
Rich
My buck
Sister in laws buck
Brothers 3x3
The evening brought no rain and plenty of deer movement. Mostly does and fawns my brother however was lucky enough to score on a nice little forky and so ended the opener. Sunday brought more favorable conditions and with that 2 more nice forkies made their way to camp. One by a rookie female in our party the other by a brother from another mother. Monday again was cold but dry and brought another fork to camp but overall was a quiet day. A small fork also jumped into the logging road in front of myself and the other rookie hunter in our party. He identified it as a spike but I quickly told him it was a fork and he rushed a shot that went wide and that was his first chance to feel that adrenaline rush known as buck fever.
Tuesday was the coldest day by far and resulted in a lot of action. My youngest brother connected before 0730 on a nice 3x3. I was driving down another logging road at 1000 and noticed movement coming from the trees 80 yards ahead to the right. I stopped the truck and got out to investigate. As I stepped out a beautiful 4x4 stepped out of the trees and stopped presenting a perfect broadside shot. I shouldered the .270 and shot. He jumped straight up and kicked his hind legs and took off running. We raced to the shot site and found blood and lungs all over. He was out if sight so immediately we began the tracking. The blood was everywhere so we knew it was a good hit. He went straight up the hill 75 yards the. Began to side hill. We continued on the blood for almost 300 yards when the trail began to go back downhill. By this point I'm anxious thinking maybe it's not such a good hit then there he was. Standing but wobbly. He got a burst and ran right back to the logging road and stopped just on the other side under a tree where he stood for a few seconds then expired right there. By far he is the biggest buck to date I've shot in 20 seasons in this area. We returned to camp to find another forky was taken by a second year hunter in our party. It was his first buck so everyone was feeling great and spirits were high.
Wednesday came and went with no action. Years before this has been a trend in our camp we have great success then mid week it goes cold and we were determined not to let that happen again. Thursday we hit the hill hard but it was a quiet day until 1700 and then all hell broke loose. The rookie hunter that had missed earlier and I snuck into a grassy bowl to wait for the deer to feed in. As we entered into the bowl he whispers stop there's a deer! I can't see it so I ask where? He says right there and it's a buck! I tell him if its legal shoot it, and about that time it trots right into my view. There's no question it's legal and on top of that its with another! He shoulders up and fires. No doubt that buck is smacked hard but just for insurance he fires again. The other buck runs out and I can see its running right for my sister in law. I get on the radio and tell her it's headed her way. Sure enough it comes right in front of her and stops behind a bush. The. Turns and begins bounding straight away. She scopes it up and waits. Finally she fires one shot and instantly the buck is out of site. A frantic sister in law is worried she missed. No chance. That perfect shot hit the buck perfectly and killed it instantly. The rookie and I follow the enormous blood slicks to find his beautiful 3x2 and sister in law locates her enormous 3x4. It's a tape measure finish to see who's is bigger mine or hers for big buck in camp but she gets me by 1.5 inches!
Friday again we go out and it's quiet. Deer movement is minimal but in the last half hour of light my 3rd brother connects with a spork buck and fills his freezer.
Saturday is pretty quiet everybody is winding down pulling tree stands and relaxing. About 1100 though my cousin is driving back down the logging roads when a nice forky crosses the road. Minutes later his tag is also filled. My brother and sister in law assisted some other friends in tracking a bear then while leaving the tracking job my sister in law spots a 150 lb bear and quickly fills her bear tag. The final tally of the most successful deer camp is 11 deer and a bear from 19 hunters. Unbelievable success and great memories for all in camp. Now we begin the countdown to the next deer camp.
Rich
My buck
Sister in laws buck
Brothers 3x3
