MUDRUNNER

Merry Christmas to my Realtree family! I hope everyone has an enjoyable holiday. What are every bodies holiday weekend plans? I am working this morning, and have a work function this afternoon. Tomorrow I need a shave and a haircut...been putting it off since the rut, but the wife wants me all spiffy for Christmas. Other than that tomorrow is a rest day. Found out I have a grade 2 muscle tear in my right arm, so it's pretty useless. That pretty much ends my hunting season. On Sunday we are going to Christmas Eve church service with my Grandpa in the morning, and going to the in-laws in the afternoon for brunch, drinks, and the kids to open presents. Christmas morning the kids are up at the crack of dawn to open gifts, then it's off to my sisters for our annual Christmas breakfast. We'll get home in the afternoon, and I'm going to park it on the couch (probably have some toys to assemble) and flip on "A Christmas Story" as the day winds down.

Johnny Cash "I heard the bells on Christmas Day". It's a little nostalgic for me and brings back memories of being a kid and memories of my dad and my grandparents that are passed on.

Well that doesn't sound like much fun. Good luck! It's been a long week for me. Work has been rough this week so plan to chill a little this weekend. I was planning on going bow hunting tomorrow, but pulled something in my right arm yesterday and it's killing me. going to rest it for a few days and see how it feels next week. Sunday my daughters softball team is having a gift exchange/luncheon at a pizza joint. After that my side of the family is having their big annual Christmas get together so we'll spend the afternoon there. It looks like we'll have a few days of 40 & 50 degree weather, so will probably enjoy it and do some grilling as well.

As far as packs so, I just have a cheap Realtree back pack that I picked up at Wal Mart years ago. In it I keep an extra release, toilet paper (you never know lol), extra flashlight, water bottle, gutting knife, snacks, a few deer scents, grunt & bleat calls, pull up rope, small pair of binos, extra gloves, folding saw, and small pair of pruning shears.

Congrats to you both Frank! Good times right there. That should just about top off the freezer. Was that a public ground draw hunt? I didn't muzz hunt this weekend, but a few guys ended up going to the farm that we hunt. They seen a few does but nobody filled a tag.

Cabelas has a heck of a deal on Millennium M25 treestands. http://www.cabelas.com/product/MILLENNIUM-M-HANG-ON-TREE-STAND/2278555.uts?slotId=10&avad=55963_e1056df9d&WT.mc_id=al41227&Subid1=SID&subacctid=41227&subacctname=41227&adname=Custom+Link&adtype=cl&adid=NA&utm_medium=AFF&utm_source=41227&rid=12&WT.tsrc=AFF $60 and comes with an HSS harness. If things weren't a little tight financially for us I would buy these suckers up.

Time for another Friday check-in. Three more of these and the year will be over. What does everyone have going on this weekend? Tonight we are going to my sisters for dinner and drinks. The women folk like to get together & bake a bunch of Christmas cookies so that is on the agenda after dinner. Tomorrow might be an off day. I have some things to get done around the house since I've been gone hunting the past few weekends. My truck didn't start this morning and I think my fuel pump took a crap, so trying to decide if I want to tackle that or put it in the shop. Sunday we are planning on going to church and lunch with Grandpa, and Emma has softball practice in the afternoon. Who's next?

So sorry to here this. Condolences & prayers for you & your family.

Congrats RangerClay! BB you only need a 13 point buck to put us in the lead lol.

So I finally pulled my cards on the trail cameras Sunday afternoon. Turns out I had a nighttime pic of this buck about a week before I shot him. This is only the second buck I've ever shot that I had a picture of, so that's pretty cool.

Congrats on the doe bbarcheryhunter! It's been a while since I checked in here. Nothing new to report on my end. I got that nice buck a few weeks ago, and got my daughter on her first deer also. Our gun season was crummy this year. Our first gun season weather was horrible, and our second gun season weather was perfect but I think the full moon had deer movement mostly nocturnal. I may get out a few more times this season, but unless I see a big buck everything gets a pass now that the freezer is full.

Congrats William! He's a nice buck. Looks like a big healthy body on him. That yote didn't stand a chance lol.

Well, not December just yet but I won't be around tomorrow so figured we would start this weeks check-in early. Tomorrow morning I'm headed to deer camp for our second shotgun season. I'm bringing my 11 year old, Evan with me for a few sits in the stand. He won't be hunting, but it will be good for him to at least sit in the stand with old dad for a few hours. He's a little too small for a slug gun still. Anyways, we will be hunting Friday & Saturday. The plan is to head home Saturday evening so that we can make it to at least a game or two of my daughters softball tournament. Plus she turns 14 next week, so it will be a nice time for her to celebrate her birthday with her team mates this weekend and have some cake & pizza. Whatchu got going on this weekend?

He looks like a great buck. Congrats! Did you figure out what his injury was?

Looks like a big body on him. A little bit of a gut, fat neck, and decent mass on what is left of his rack lead me to believe he is mature as well.

My goodness Rhino, that sucks. That is a big loss I'm sure. Thankfully nobody was hurt & it didn't make it to the house. It looks like it must have went up pretty quick. I would imagine your spring just got a little busier.

As many of you know my daughter has a pretty aggressive schedule for a 13 year (almost 14) old lol. Between school, friends, and softball she only gets to make it out with me a handful of times a year. We finally got to get out Saturday for a hunt. The last two years I've been trying to get her on a deer with the crossbow, but it just never happened. We weren't even seeing deer so I know she was getting frustrated. Saturday just felt different for some reason. Conditions were perfect and we had the whole farm to ourselves. Clear skies, not too cold, light northwest breeze...just a beautiful morning to be in the woods. At 6:45 we heard footsteps behind us. A real nice 3 year old 8 pointer skirted us at about 15 yards, but never got a shot off. There was a small window for a shot but he never stopped, so we just watched him. It was her first big buck she had seen from a tree, so she was fired up. About 7:15 I hear footsteps to my left. Two does come around the ridge heading directly in front of us. I tell her to get ready, and when she feels comfortable to take the shot. The lead doe stops perfectly broadside at 20 yards and she lets it go. These crossbows shoot so fast I had no idea if or where she hit it. The doe ran about 30 yards and stopped looking back at us. She stood there for a few minutes and I didn't see any blood or holes in her. I went ahead and got the crossbow pulled back for a follow up shot, but she seen us moving and bounded away. We sat in the tree for about an hour and had a few more does moving around the area. We kept seeing a little tail flicker and brown moving around in a thicket about 80 yards from us. I got down to check the arrow and found some hair, a few drops of blood, and the arrow did have guts on it. I climbed back in the stand and we sat a little longer. All of the sudden we seen another tail flicker, and heard something thrashing around in that same thicket. It had to be the doe going down. About 9:45 we get down to see if it was her. We find really good blood. Emma gets on the trail, and sure enough the doe was laying right were we thought she would be. The shot was a little back, but thankfully she got liver and the doe didn't go far. There is nothing this girl can't do. I'm one proud dad. She makes the fourth generation of my family to harvest a deer on this farm. My Grandpa hunted here not too long ago, my father hunted here, myself, and now the next generation....pretty special stuff.

With most everybody have a long weekend I thought we would do another early check-in this week. What are your plans for the long weekend? Tomorrow the plan is to get a few hours of bowhunting in before heading to the in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner. I should be home from hunting in time to see the Vikes stomp the Lions. Friday I plan on sleeping in and relaxing. The wife & daughter are going shopping, so it will just be me & the two boys. Saturday it looks like I will be able to take my daughter out with the crossbow for her first hunt of the year. Sunday she has softball practice but other than that not a whole lot planned. Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving!

Awesome Frank! Your Dads buck looks like a nice one. I always look forward to seeing your deer camp pics. You guys fared better than we did over the weekend. Saturday was pretty much a wash out a couple of hours north where we were. It turned to a little freezing rain & sleet by the afternoon. The wind was brutal Saturday & Sunday.

Wow that's a great buck Ruth! Congrats! He'll make a great shoulder mount.

Whole lot of nothing during gun season. Weather was horrible and deer just were not moving.

I'm heading off to deer camp for Illinois shotgun season early tomorrow morning, so thought we would start our check-in early this week. The weather looks pretty crummy until Sunday, but we'll see what happens. That is pretty much my weekend plans. I get to spend some time with some old friends, eat like a king, play poker every night, and sleep in a drafty old abandoned house trailer....can't wait! What does every one else have planned for the weekend?

Either one of you guys doing any good? Our firearm season starts tomorrow, so I'll be in deer camp all weekend.The weather looks pretty crappy, but hopefully I can get one down with the old slug gun.

Thanks everybody! Upon further review this buck was better than I gave him credit for. Turns out it is my biggest buck with a bow. I thought he was a 3 year old, but last night I compared him some of my 3 year old European mounts. He had just a little more mass, just a little more tine length, a little bit wider, and his teeth are worn a little bit more than the 3 year old skulls that I have. I'm pretty positive now that this deer was a 4 year old, which is outstanding for the property I hunt.

Man that is a unique buck. When I seen the trail cam pics you posted I was hoping you would get a crack at him. That deer is a stud...Congrats Rhino!