First day results

Zip, zero, zilch, nada.  Double goose eggs for me on opening day. Went to my back-up morning stand due to wind and struck out there.  Wasn't too worried b/c it's not typically good in the early season unless there are lots of apples, which there are not.  Hit my oak stand for the evening sit.  Swirling wind didn't help.  The few acorns that were around when I put it up are now gone.  Didn't hear any hitting the ground.  Time to move that stand.  Didn't bust any going in or out.  Cameras were full of new pics.  Just weren't around yesterday I guess.  Won't get to go out again until mid-Oct, so this day kinda bumming me out.

Highlight of the day was watching, and this is no lie, between 7 and 10 grey squirrels working a large hickory tree out in the middle of a cut field.  Fella with a .22 could have had a great time, but will have to wait until the season.

Didn't even get out.........

got into a shuffle with at least 8 coyotes in the evening.. i lip squeaked 5 to within 50 yds but they wouldnt come any closer..they were snarling, growling, barking, howling the whole 9 yards from 4 o'clock until 6 all around me so i said screw it and left...one followed me down to my buddies tree and and started goin crazy once again at us..they wouldnt leave us, yet wouldnt come close enough to be killed..their coats were surprisingly pretty for this time of year..

Got on stand at 5:30. Beautiful day, no wind. But the deer didn't cooperate. I only saw one and that was ten minutes from my house near the beginning of the 70 mile drive to where I hunt. I got down around 10 AM, scouted around for a place to put a new stand (didnt find a place), went back to my truck and BSed with the land owner for a while. In the afternoon, I scouted some property near home that I just got permission to hunt. The day was beautiful....I guess the deer didn't think so.

Missed the opener this year. First time in a looonnggg time. Should make it out several times this week for evening hunts.

claypool...

not so sure I'd be in a hurry to move that tree stand just because the deer (I'm guessing) ate all the acorns that fell since you put the stand up.... that could be a good thing, unless the tree has no more acorns to drop... most of the trees around here still have plenty to fall... acorns are what I'll be focusing on in a couple weeks...

check the oaks out with binoculars before moving ... you know something is feeding in the area...

just my opinion....

First time I've missed the first day in 22 years.....Went Steelhead fishin..
 
Did go check my last camera out and a couple stands...
Stands were good camera was gone....You would think it would be safe in the middle of 150 posted acres of land..Nothin I hate more than a thief...What really sucks is I lost 2 months of pics on that chip...

You should see them dropping in the Erie tribs..
Almost like there are a bunch of kids up on the bank throwing rocks at you...
Bottom is completelt littered with acorns and is actually a little sketchy to wade on a bed of acorns...

ORIGINAL: bingsbaits

First time I've missed the first day in 22 years.....Went Steelhead fishin..

Did go check my last camera out and a couple stands...
Stands were good camera was gone....You would think it would be safe in the middle of 150 posted acres of land..Nothin I hate more than a thief...What really sucks is I lost 2 months of pics on that chip...

Keep an eye on the place. If you had some pictures of really nice bucks, maybe the thief will return to try hunting there. Heck, if he'll steal another guys stuff, he wont think anything of hunting on posted ground. Did you speak with the landowner? Maybe he knows something.

With the acorn crop the way it is this year, next year should be exceptional for racks.



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Saw some does in the morning.  No bucks though.  Friend hunting the same farm saw 4 bucks, ranging from a spike to a 15 inch 8-pt.  Not one he wanted on opening day.  He hunted right where he had a trail cam picture of a really really nice buck, but he has been MIA for the last 2 weeks.  It is in a strip of young thick woods between a corn field and a extremely thick brush field.

I hunted the upper fringe of a red oak woods with a lot of hog backs in it.  Above be it turned to serious thicket, and above that, is the corn field.  Beside it is a brush field.  I figure I was in a high traffic area, but it is kind of close to the road(about 200 yards.)  I figured maybe that was where the big one was hiding out now, but, I think he entering the corn from the far end of the field.  I've been thinking about it, and he is probably near a water source during the day.


side note...

Fell asleep and sunned myself like some dammed lizard in the climber for about an 2 hours in the morning(got a combined 5 hours sleep the previous two nights, so what did I expect)

unique on for sure man congrats.

Had 13 sightings of does/fawns in the AM (think it was 3 diff. moms and 6 little ones, some seen at diff. times).  Active morning until 8:45 am.  Some numbnut came into the property after me (may have permission, but I don't know) and was set-up in a ground blind smashing antlers together for a good bit of the morning.  A little early for that, I think.  In the afternoon, no trucks parked so I thought I was good.  Get to the top of the hill and on the far edge of the field and get a whistle.  A guy is up 10' in a climber and he parked at the neighbors and he said he didn't have permission to be there, yet.  I am not the landowner so I just tell him he should contact the landowner and good luck that evening.  He was set up 40 yds up the hill from where my morning set was.  I go to my ladder stand I set earlier in the year and within 20 min., have a button buck within 5 yds munchin' on acorns. 
 
But, 10 min. later, I hear voices, then yelling, then people trouncing through the woods.  The neighbors boy was hunting on the bottom edge of this property, most likely without permission, and hit a buck that he said had at least 5 on one side.  Only a few drops of blood and no arrow found and he thinks he gut shot it.  Bad thing was, he said it was hit at 4:30pm and they were on its trail at 5:30pm.  If it was gut shot it was probably chased into a diff. twp.  Hopefully they find it or the deer survives.  I stuck it out for 25 min. hoping they'd kick something my way but the 10 yr old with them hooping up a storm and the adults yelling back and forth cleared out the nearby thickets for sure.  The property I hunt on is only a little over 50 acres with some decent sized fields and they were moving through all the thick stuff on it.  I just told them I'd look for blood on my way out and said good luck.  Didn't see anything on my exit.  Still 1/2 hr light left so I packed it in and slowly drove down and around to the backside of the property and luckily, I didn't see any trucks there so I may have to hit that area in the near future.  One good note, on my mile drive around to get to the backside, I saw over 35 deer out in the two diff. fields on my way there.  There were about a dozen way back in a posted cut bean field, 5 or 6 along the road side in standing corn (almost whacked a little one cutting in front of me), and another 15 or more in a small green field not 20 yds off the road leading to my other spot in some guys front yd.  The doe and fawns had a banner crop this year, that is for sure. 

Hunted the farm Monday afternoon/evening. I had a flock of 6-7 turkey's all having beards they browsed around m stand for a hour. Seen total of 10 deer 8 does within 5-10 yards didn't shoot.2 Bucks 1 button and a 5 point. Man I must be getting OLD didn't hunt last night rain was coming down HARD @ 400 Pm LOL I really can not remember when weather has stopped me from hunting or fishing for that matter!!!!! I'll be in-stand this afternoon NO MATTER WHAT LOL I think I'll take a Doe today if giving a shot. But then again I tell my wife that evey time I go out. we'll see GOOD LUCK AND BE SAFE Dave

Start following him is more like it. Sure glad I invested in some new raingear for this season. I've already got my moneys worth.