hatchet jack

Man BigJ12 I wish I lived in your state. I hunted you state two times, 2000 and 2003. In 2000 I shot a 120'' 10pt and in 2003 I had a good hunt, close but no cigar. Your state has some big bucks! 120' and 130' are hard to shoot in my state of PA. I have a hunt booked in Kentuckey next year, can't wait. I been hunting my early season doe spots in the early season. I like to try and put 2 doe in the frezzer early { I love deermeat}.No luck and one bad shot. That bad shot has been playing with me too. I was out last nite and seen some does and one small buck chaseing around a doe, so I think things are just starting to heat up some. Its been raining a whole lot and it looks like rain for the next 4 days. I going out in the am doe hunting but if a shooter walks buy I try to take him. I have some good farms I like to save for the first 2 week of November that I still didnot hunt yet. This is the best time to see a nice PA buck and I hit the woods hard at this time. Goodluck if you get out this weekend , be safe too all

Hatchet Jack

CLOUD 9, MN

Glad your out hachetjack........I was out tonight (6th) time this season....nice night, but I didn't see a deer. We've got about 20 scrapes from 1.5 feet to 3 feet around on the property.....its is starting to heat up.....kind of strange though.....I just realized we haven't seen any rubs on trees yet?

Good Luck!

hatchet jack

Was out on Friday and seen a doe with a pure white body and a brown head and white snout. That was a cool looking deer. I had a herd of 8 doe walk by me at 730am with the white deer. They started to feed on acorns for some time some 60 yards away. After some time they started to feed my way and two of them walked right under my stand. I passed on the two in hope of the white doe followed them up. It started to rain hard and the white deer and the rest walked about 25yards in front of me and bed down. They stayed in their beds for 2 hours and left after the rain stoped. The white deer never gave me a shot. I could have shot a nice fat doe about 20yards in front of me but I passed.in hopes of getting a chance on the white deer. Man that was tuff becuase I have no meat in the frezzer yet.[:@]The weather is going to turn cold this week and should get things moving if it ever stops raining. Think I might get out Monday. Goodluck be SAFE ALL
Hatchet Jack

CLOUD 9, MN

Got out Saturday morning, first time I've been able to get my 7 year old son out. We hunted our Double Bull ground blind on an old food plot. Not much happening till about 8:15 he wanted to try the "can", I said OK.....(its never worked for me) He does it 3 times and within 2 minutes a nice 8 pointer (about 90 to 100 inches) It comes right in front of us 15 yards broadside and stops......its was cool....he kept looking into the blind and finally left the way he came.......my son was bummed we didin't shoot it. We did the can 5 minutes later and about 2 minutes later here comes a doe from the other direction. She walked by at 22 yards. It was a fun morning! My son was pumped...me too! So far this year each buck I've seen has bigger than the one before. Mybe the next one will be it...we'll see!

Good Luck......and ......get out there....IT"S TIME!

CLOUD 9, MN

Monday morning ....saw nothing. Tuesday night went to a differant woods, saw 6 does. TIME TO GET OUT!! I'll be out thursday evening, Friday evening and all day sat and sun at the Camp Ripley hunt.

Primetime.....time to get out!!

Good Luck and lets hear some reports!

BigJ71

I'm planning on hitting it hard this weekend, I might even stay a little longer in the tree. Might be a little early for the rut here in Illinois (about a week), I think it will be around thefirst week November when all hell breaks loose. I have been passing on does as to not spook any of them out of their patterns. I can't tell for sure but I believe I am seeing the same doe and two fawns as well as a single doe on more than one occasion. I want themto keep using the path nearme when the bucks start really chasing.

It's going to be exciting to say the least. I know there are some nice bucks in the area I hunt, I just hope they show themselves....only time will tell. There is no other hunters as we are surrounded by forest preserve land so that's not an issue. I just hope they choose my land to play in during the rut

Good luck all, lets get on the board!

hatchet jack

I can,t win. I went to hunt a new piece of ground that then my friend who happens to be the WCO of Bucks county told me about. He told me to hunt this ladderstand he had at the top of the hill about 70yards from this house. I get to the stand about 1:45 and set up. About 2;45 I see two nice hunting dogs {Brittneys} come from the house on the hill. One of the dogs go back to the house but the other dog hangs around the woods and hunts squirrels till 5:30. This dog was good! he caught two that I could see. I actually had a good time watching this Master at work.I thought ther is no way Im going to see any deer this nite. BUT at 5:30 the dog walks back to his home and 15min later a small 6pt bucks walks by my stand at 15yards, I let him walk. Then at 6:00 about 7 doe come walking my way. The lead doe get to 15yards and looks right at me as two more deer walk to 10yards to my right, I can,t move. Then somebody at the house drives into the driveway and all the deer look to see what all the noise was. I then stand up undetected and start to draw on one of the doe at 10yards, and gess what happens!! The Squirrel hunting dog comes out of nowhere and is now a Deerhunting dog . He charges the herd andthe deer run to the next county[:@]Still no deer meat in the box, Im going through Deermeat whithdraw[]This madness must END

BigJ71

Well, I saw Mr. Big tonight! My stand is up against a small creek and over my left shoulder about 45yds away I saw him cross. Man....what a hammer! Like I said he is all of 150in and probably more. This was the closest I have got to him. I haven't seen him (or any other buck) for some time now and I saw two tonight (him and another)

I was hoping he would walk my way but he just paralled me and then turned in the direction of some does he jumped on the other side. There was a group of trees he went behind and never came out the other side. I believe he crossed back over after the does. The creek does a big "S" and my stand is right on the lower right curve of the "S." (where the period is) He was in the peninsula and I think he just turned left and crossed.

I didn't have any calls with me so there was no way for me to get him to come. I was just helpless watching and hoping he would walk my way. I saw him at 5:10pm. at about 6:05 I had a doe 25yds in from of me just on the edge of the heavy timber. I watched her till just about dark. I wanted to leave but I waited for her to move out before I got down.It was so dark I could not see my red or yellowpins, justmy 20yd green tritium pin. Well I noticed the water moving to my right and I could just see a deer moving along the bank towards me in the water. I thought it might be a buck by the way it was moving. Sure enough it was a nice six or small eight. I couldn't tell it was so dark, but he got within about 15yds when I slowly moved to my right to get a better look and he bolted! I don't know if he caught my wind or saw me move but he was gone. I had no intensions of shooting (too dark) I just wanted to get a better look at him.

Oh, BTW he was softly grunting all the way up out of the creek bed and the last 10yds to me before he spooked, my guess it was for the doe that was somewhere in front of me at the time.

What an exciting afternoon. I'm gonna hunt in the morning but I have plans with the kids and wife in the afternoon. I will get out all day sunday. Man....what a buck!Big, dark, solid 10 with kickers. No drops but he is very busy on his left side by the brow tine.

I hope seeing him means he is starting to chase does, and I can get more opportunities to get an arrow in him.

Need some sleep....later guys and good luck.

BigJ71

Well I saw him again......same place and about the same time. That's two times this guy has got away from me in the last three days. Well I'm going to sneek out tomorrow and move my stand down to where he is crossing. I won't hunt tomorrow but will propably get back outsometime in the middle of the week. I want it to cool off after I move the stand and leave lots of scent on the ground.

I hope he will still be following his pattern. If he does I will have a good chance of sticking him. I will let you know how the move goes, but I'm thinking of putting my stand in the middle of that peninsula so I will be able to geta shot off no matter where he decides to cross. As long as it's some where in the area where he has been crossing it should get interesting.

I hope all is going well with yo guys....good luck and good hunting.

BigJ71

Ok,

I just got back from moving my stand. I found a nice big tree right smack in the middle of the peninsula. It has a "Y" about 19ft up and my stand is just below it at about 17ft. I can see the entire peninsula and I am facing the way he should be crossing. I am also facing due west so for the most part the winds should be in my face. I can even get a shot off from behind me if needed because the "Y" in the tree is big enough for me to shoot through.

I ranged my distance to the creek bed and other spots that I see signs of deer crossing (two major paths in and out of the creek)and nothing is longer than 30yds and that's to the other side of the creek! It's a small creek and very low this time of year so if need be I can get him before he evendecides to cross.

I don't think I will see as much action as where the other stand was even though it wasonly about 40yds awayto the south,(I moved due north) but if this is where Mr. Big is crossing I don't mind. I can always move it back later in the season.

I will have about two weeks before I go down to southern Illinois for the gun weekend (and some bow days down there as well) I would like to get him before I go. I would like to take advantage of the rut because I think he will beharder to find once he stops chasing.

Well.....all I can do is wait till tomorrow or Wed. to get out and see if my plan works. I may just give it one more day for things to settle down so I think Wed. is the ticket. Very hard to wait though.

I have another stand further south about 175yds away from the creek that I will hunt. More does on this side, but you never know

later...