RonM

You said State land , were you on the Ennis Farm or somewhere else?

Duckmastor2

Yes Ron, the Ennis Farm. It was nice finally meeting up with you in person tonight. I got the weeds cut around our goose pit. I wasnt too happy that Snow had tilled the field under after he cut the corn. I hope he at least planted some winter wheat or something. A couple good rains and that field will turn into a bog. Guess we' ll have to wait and see.

No deer tonight. The wind was ok but I got there later than I' d wanted. Walked right up on a red fox on the way in. Camo must have been good because he looked at me 3 times and never saw me. I got within 20 yds of him and he didnt take off until I stepped on a branch. Pretty cool.

What really hurt tonight was some clown was shooting up the place either in the marsh or the woods behind me. The only thing that you can shoot at that I can recall at this time are Snow Geese, Squirrels and Rail Birds. None of which can be hunted at the place I was and definately none of the legal hunting hours go after sunset. Also, at one point, the guy fired 6 straight rounds. No Time to reload. I left the area 10 mins earlier than I wanted hoping I' d catch the @sshole in the parking lot on the way out, but by the time I got out, there was no one else around. Where' s a warden when you need one? Its been that kinda year. [:' (]

Dont know what saturdays plan is. Geese or deer? I' ll have to sleep on it.

Goodnight.

Duckmastor2

Copied from the Muzzleloader Thread. It is an Archery Report anyhow...

I was out this morning. Took the Bow. I dont smokepole Did see some deer movement at the leased place which had been ice cold the last 2 week. All does. One was a big ass doe though. She just never got in range. Had 2 yearlings come within 30 yds, but they were too small. I' d been embarrased to take them to the butcher...

I heard just 2 shots over by woodland beach. One 10 mins after shooting time and one about 8:20am. Pretty quiet out there today. Later in the week its suppose to cool down nice. Maybe that will get things going. Good Luck!

RonM

Scott, if Bruce Snow tilled that field he will be planting wheat in it, he wouldn' t till it and leave it lay fallow. Wheat will be better for your goose hgunting. I cchopped stalks last nite Fri until 8 pm saw a ton of deer , coming north from Ennis around sharp curve past cross road first field on left, joins up to state laand, some were nice size/ saw one laying in fieeld that an archer had hit and it didnt make it.

lemond33

taking the bow wed..and i hope that i dont get shot. u ever see some of the guys out there with gunssss....lordy '

how many turkeys are u guys seeing in DE??? i havent seen one in the st augustine area...i am lying ...i saw one for 3 days alone around houses. i would like to turkey hunt this spring. can anyone give me some leads.

thanks

Duckmastor2

Heading out tomorrow (10/16). Geese in the morning , Deer in the afternoon. Should be a full day. Hopefully i' ll something besides my lunch!

I' ll report on results.

Duckmastor2

Been hunting the leased farm hard. Hunted Thursday and Saturday. Lots of does working the area. On Saturday, had my dad covering one side of the swamp bottom and myself in the my stand on the edge of the field. 6-10 deer came by me out of range with just 5 mins of light left and by the time the 1st one got to my dads location, it was too dark to shoot. When he stood up to leave, deer were running everywhere. They came back by me, but it was just too dark. If they did what they did 10 mins earlier, I think this story would be a little different.

Commited to a duck hunt tomorrow in NJ in the morning, but I' m going to try and get back down in the PM. Might move out of the stand and move into the woods and just sit be a tree or something. No use sitting in the stand and watching them parade by every night just out of bow range. I just wish there was some cover in there and it wasnt so swampy. If I go, I' ll report.

How' s everyone else doing?

lemond33

duckmaster.....where are they hiding...inthe swamp??? how do they walk through that stuff. i hunt the same situation. they come to dry land though...probably more than we realize. nov is about here and the action should heat up. i am hunting the second week hard. any rut activity out there??

Duckmastor2

I choked tonight. But let me start from the beginning.

Got down to the leased farm about 2:45pm. The wind was SSE so I couldnt hunt my stand. But, I wanted to put some corn out and I decided to get down and dirty in the bottom where all the deer keep passing me by. Got all geared up and headed out. Now I didnt want to use the wheel barrow for the corn because its so noisy, so I decided to just throw the 50 lb bag on my shoulder. It was cool, so i figured I wouldnt sweat. All was going good until I got about 30 yds from the stand. The corn bag kept slipping down my shoulder so I went to shift it back up and my back went into a major spasm. I put everything down and stretched. Didnt do much good. I took the corn the rest of the way to the stand and put it out.

I was in pain, but I didnt want to go home. I began th slow trek across the bottom. Hopping from high spot to high spot. I found dry high ground right around the thicket I always see them pass through from the stand. I back off as far as I can from the major trail (5 - 10 yds) and built a small ground blind. Winds in my face and its now 3:45pm. I sit until 5:45pm. Alls quiet. Sunset is 6:15pm. I decide to stand up and move 10 ft to my right and stand behind this tree. If the deer come the way I' ve seen, it' ll be a 4 yd shot, and they' ll never wind or see me. Well, when I move I dont bring 2 things, 1) my grunt call, 2) my quiver. I figured one arrow would be all I need and I was planning on just staying quiet tonight. Well, I no sooner get set up and I hear something directly behind me. I turn and see a Buck working a tree over. Looks like a 4 pt. He' s directly down wind of me and I figured I' d be busted for sure, but the I guess the scent lok and marshy odor gave me enough cover, because he never smelled me. He worked around the thicket for a while and headed, yes you guessed it, right to my stand! There, he met up with another buck, looked like a 6 point, and the spared a little. When they were through, one went to eat the corn I just threw out and the other walked right under my tree!!! They never do that when Im in it! B@stards. After about 15 mins, the walk off, not to be seen again.

Well, now its past sunset. 6:30pm. I look across the woods and here comes this doe. Not hugh, but nice. Shes heads right for me. I get ready. When shes 20 yds out, I draw and hold. Well, she stops. Didnt see me, but stopped. My back is screaming at me. Cant hold the draw and let down. Unseen. To the right now comes what appears to be a button buck. The two deer meet up and continue to walk towards me. I' m running out of light. Finally, they stop and turn broadside 4 yds away! The doe turns her hear away to lick herself so I draw, put the 15 yd pin behind the shoulder, release..... Deer scramble, the doe I shot at is now standing 4 yds off to my right, unhurt!! I F' ing missed!! And to add insult to injury, she' s stand 4 yds away, with a perfect quartering away opportunity, and my quiver is 10 feet behind me. I' m standing there shaking in disbelief. Pissed, dumbfounded, in pain, all at once. Eventually the doe walks away. But before I can even turn to start packing up, the Button comes back! Its getting dark and I want to look for my arrow, so I just say screw it and turn my back on him (remember he' s 4 yds away) and walk away. He lets me walk to my stool, sit down, grab my arrows and doesnt move! I look at him and say " Dude, you better run" That got him moving.

I grabbed my flashlight and quickly found my arrow. From where it was I had to have shot over her back. No blood or hair. Thank goodness, a complete miss. I grabbed all my stuff, and quickly exited.

So, I blew it. Had the perfect plan, and they came just as I thought, but I didnt execute. Its only the 2nd time I' ve released on a deer and I was excited, but its no excuse for missing such a short shot. Im just glad I missed clean. I will chalk it up to a learning experience.

Things I learned tonight: 1) Relax and concentrate before you shoot. 2) When they are that close, compensate. I should have aimed at the low vitals instead of right on being she was that close. 3) bring the F' ing quiver with me when I move! I give myself the dumb F@ck award for that one. 4) Dont carry 50 lbs of corn on your shoulder for 1/2 mile and if I hurt my back again just go home. I couldnt hold the full draw long enough and I was uncomfortable when I shot. Its not an excuse, but it didnt help matters.

Well, I cant get out again until saturday. There are plenty of deer in the area there, so I' ll be back. A little wiser and hopefully a little more successful.

Goodnight, good hunting!

Duckmastor2

Since Mondays screw up I' ve been out in the back yard practicing. Making sure the bow is still tuned and making sure it was just me that choked. I made some minor adjustments but they were more to make me feel better. Before any adjustments, I made 5 shots with the same arrow I missed with from the same distance on my decoy and all 5 were in the boilermaker. The bottom line is, I got doe fever on monday. [X(] It had been 2 years since I actually got a deer in range and she was so close, I figured even with the low light, it' d be an easy shot and I got sloppy. It wont happen again.

With this cold weather moving in, the deer should be really on the move. Anyone else been out lately and if so, what have you been seeing. I' m planning on making a day of it Saturday. Of course, that afternoon its suppose to warm up [:' (] But the morning will be cool. Lord, give me that 4 yard shot again!