fly

Sweet!

Went out this AM for a few hours before heading to work. Saw a non-mature 6-point sniffing all around on the ground. Definitely checking. 30 minutes later here comes a mature doe with it's fawn from this past spring. It's about to bust loose here in IL!

Congratulations Marty. Beautiful buck right there. My son and I did some management in KY last weekend with our smoke poles. Would that be a Remington Genesis in your picture? Mine has a Nikon Buckmasters scope (it's leaning against the tree).

Went out yesterday AM as the weather has been much better. Had a 2.5 year old 7-point walk by around 8am. He wasn't displaying any rut behavior at all. No scrapes and no fresh rubs yet. I expect them to start showing up any day now.

I'll participate this year.

If the deer was shot in the evening I am generally too tired to mess with it that night. Additionally, the lighting in my carport isn't that good to skin and remove the meat at night. I generally ice the cavity, wrap in a tarp and wait till the next morning (unless I have to work - then I'll do it that night). If the deer was harvested in the AM I would skin and remove the meat in the afternoon. Sometimes I'll just keep the meat in a cooler and trim/grind the next day or evening (just depends on how tired I am and what else I have going on). The trimming and grinding I do in the kitchen so the time of day doesn't matter. It's likely that Cabela's partners with another grinder company to produce their grinders. Might even be LEM. They do that with other products they sell. I'd go with the best deal on a LEM or Cabela's model.

I read the above and you have a lot of good information to soak in. There really are numerous methods and it's up to you to discover what is worth the time and effort and fit you budget. I've spent a lot of time researching this topic and have my own personal philosophy I'll share below. I also want to point out that I've processed somewhere around 100 deer over the past decade when I started doing it myself and I have never once had bad meat or any problems with how I go about deer processing. I don't add anything to the venison and i trim as much fat away as possible on every deer. I only make steaks, roasts, and ground venison to keep my cost and time commitment down. 1. Aging venison: Never intentionally. Sometimes I have to work and simply can't get to it for a few days. 2. Time commitment: (3.5 hours) Generally an hour to hang, skin, and remove the meat from the bone. Two hours to trim fat, cut into steaks / roasts, grind into burger and package. I use small freezer bags and use a marker to write dates on them. A half hour to clean up. I use a hide puller and electric hoist installed in my carport (100 dollars and worth it). I use an older 1HP grinder from Cabelas (400 - 500 dollars)- I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than 1hp if you do more than one deer a year. For big bucks over 200 pounds add a half hour and subtract a half hour for small deer. 3. Temperature: I will not process a deer that has been dead in the field for more than 8 hours when the temperature is above 60 degrees. If below 50 degrees I will harvest and process a deer that has been dead in the field for up to 20 hours. When the temperature is between 50 and 60 degrees it's a judgment call that depends on the location it died, amount of sun exposure, shot placement, bugs, and what it looks and smells like. When in doubt throw it out. 4. Field dressing: I try to get the deer field dressed as soon as possible and get a couple bags of ice inside the cavity. I also wrap in a tarp when the temperature is above 50 degrees. When below 40 degrees I don't even use ice. Yes - remove the tenderloins soon and refrigerate till time to prepare and eat. The tenderloins are a celebration item that I prepare and eat right away. Be careful not to cut them out when field dressing. I do save the heart and years ago I saved the liver. Once field dressed I personally leave the hide on the deer until I am ready to butcher or store in a walk in refrigerator or freezer. It will help keep bugs off the meat and serves as an insulator when ice is inside the cavity. My taxidermist will store any early season deer in his walk in freezer for free if I don't have time to process. Don't let the warm weather scare you - hunters in the south have been deer hunting for decades and many have a more relaxed philosophy than I do. Happy Hunting!

Same here Patrick - only been out one AM since the 7th. Weather hasn't been good at all and I've been very busy at work. Probably won't get munch hunting in till after Halloween.

Thanks everyone. Indeed Shaun - I had that deer gutted within an hour and had him iced within 4 hours from the time he expired. I wrapped him in a tarp and butchered the following AM. The bacon wrapped tenderloins were fantastic!

No kidding - heading in a direction from the GPS wasn't too helpful as the swampy terrain wouldn't allow me to drag a buck in that direction. I'll place reflectors on the trees marking the way in and out next time. There were areas I only had a few feet of dry land to walk across. He's not the giant I'm used to seeing out there but was the biggest buck I saw in my week long hunt and I was glad to get him.

Hopefully you find the buck that did that at the end of a blood trail!

Great first bow buck!

I'm from IL (20 miles from St. Louis) and have looked at land for many years. It's not a bad time to buy right now. A friend of mine bought some land in KY because the price was half of that in IL. The problem is the drive! Four hours is a hassle and when you add up the cost of gas over the years I'm not sure it is really worth it. For him he plans to retire there but it's a pain to put in food plots and a cabin (just like you're talking about). My friend plans to retire in KY in a few years so it makes more sense. However, I don't think I'd buy land more than 2 hours away from where I live. If i lived in Chicago my plan would be to move and buy land where I moved to. However, if I couldn't I'd look at IL land north of Peoria or east of Moline. No limit on doe tags in IL and two buck tags each year. If IL was out and distance wasn't a problem I'd look at Iowa over Wisconsin and MI for a good hunting area. I'd pick MI for non hunting activities. Stay safe up there!

And early too!

My 2017 deer season is off to a good start. I was lucky enough to get drawn for a local public ground 7-day hunt from October 1st - 7th. The area is very flat and swampy but holds an abundance of wildlife. While I was lucky to get drawn, I wasn't as lucky with the weather. I had been successful in years past hunting a field corner from a large Sycamore tree but this year was HOT and HUMID with temps in the 80's and periods of rain and storms throughout many of the 7 days. While I was seeing deer from the stand they were all does or small bucks. After a a few days I decided I needed to find a new location if I was going to put my tag on a buck. I decided to move a half mile north to a large area of timber bordering tall grass and a swampy area (thinking this might be where the bucks were bedding). The first evening I was glassing from my stand in the timber and about an hour before dark and I could just make out a decent buck about 120 yards away. I looked closer and could see he was drinking from what appeared to be a small pond I wasn't aware of previously. He moved on after a minute or so and more does filtered in. It was very difficult to see them through the early October foliage but I knew the next evening my stand would be set up on that murky mosquito infested pond. The next evening brought more humidity and temps in the high 80's. Thank the Lord for my Thermacell. A small 5 point came out and was drinking and eating the scum on the pond for an hour. A couple does joined him a little later but the bigger bucks were not to be found this evening. Below is the 5 pointer viewed from my pond stand. Thursday evening (day 5 of the 7 day hunt) brought the worst weather of all. It was the first time I had to hunt without my glasses because they would continually fog up while on stand. Of all the days I brought my water bottle this was the one I forgot it. Finally, at 5:30pm the buck I had seen earlier came out of the timber from behind me (right under my stand). He could smell the ground I had walked on and got a little spooked. He bolted quickly but made a mistake that cost him. He stopped at 30 yards turned and looked back giving me a quartering away shot with my TenPoint crossbow. The shot was perfect - hitting both lungs. The buck ran about 50 yards and crashed. I'd like to say this is where the story ends... but it's not. After gutting the buck it got dark on me I had a long haul to get him back to my truck. The timber I was hunting had swampy areas that are impassable on foot. Trying to navigate in the dark with it being so hot and humid was not going to be easy. Indeed I got turned around and came out of the timber in a location twice as far from the primary trail I intended to reach. I knew where I was but had to go back through that swamp in complete darkness. I wanted to rest but the mosquitoes were relentless keeping me on the move. After another hour I was finally out of the swamp and on the main trail but still a long distance from my truck when it hit me. I got light headed, nauseated, and felt like I was going to pass out. As a nurse I knew I was severely dehydrated and suffering from exhaustion. I sat a while and got up and tried to drag the deer and about fell over again. I was now getting a little worried. This is when having a charged cell phone and good hunting buddy comes in handy. I called my friend Dave and he was happy to come out and help me get the deer to my truck. I spent some time re-hydrating in the air condition of my truck and after an hour felt well enough to drive home. It was the first time I had experienced dehydration and hopefully the last.

Team 4 fly 8 - point buck - 13 points October 5th, 2017 - IL

The weather in IL has been terrible. Actually hunted the AM of the 4th and saw ZERO deer. First time that has happened in this particular special draw area. With my hunt drawing to a close, temps in the 80’s, and humidity at infinity% I decided to take the first decent buck to give me a good shot. Well, it happened. This eight point isn’t breaking any records but I’m happy with him. Having two IL buck tags made the decision easier. A lot of time and effort went into this buck and that’s what makes it a trophy regardless of score. I’ll post more pics and details in the deer hunting room later.

Saw a big one this AM as soon as I got on stand. Too dark for a shot and couldn't tell any thing except that he was a shooter.

Frank (fly) checking in. I'm hunting IL and KY this year. My season already started - passed on some smaller bucks and a doe that didn't present the shot I wanted. IL has legalized Xbow the entire archery season and my special draw hunt is Oct 1-7 and that will be my best chance at a monster. I've been scouting and hanging stands already - saw a couple 3.5 year olds in the 120's and a monster 160+ inch 50 yards from where my stand is located. Wish me luck!

No Xbox! Dang it! I got a 200 inch 14 point earlier today. Oh well. LOL

Frank Lyerla fly 46 Kentucky: Sept. 2-Jan. 14 Illinois: Oct. 1-Jan -4 Bow, Xbox, ML, Shotgun, Rifle

"Just out of curiosity how much did it run you per set to get those tested and did they send the teeth back to you?" If you send in teeth for 5 or more deer the charge was 18.00 per deer. I sent in 8. I will not get the incisor teeth back as they are destroyed in the process (cut in half). " Now you know how molar wear in your hunting area looks at those age classes and can create your own aging chart based on that information. " Yep - I have the jaw bones for all of them and will now have a good reference. One thing I learned is that on the hoof it's pretty tough to figure out if a deer is 4.5, or 5.5, or 6.5, etc... unless you have seen it in previous years and know its history. It's easy to ID a 1.5 and not too hard to field age a 2.5 but after that there are many variables that come into play making it very difficult. Generally I underestimate.

I sent in several incisors of deer I have shot in the past and got an official age. My identification based on molar wear was off on most and every time the deer were older than I suspected. Check out the results below. This buck I estimated to be 4.5 years old when I saw him walking in the woods. Molar wear indicated he was 5.5 years old and cementum analysis found him to be 6.5 years old. This buck I estimated to be 4.5 years old when i saw him and molar wear also found him to be 4.5. The cementum analysis found him to be 5.5 years old. This one I didn't really have time to age in the field - just n]knew he was a shooter. Molar wear also found him to be 4.5 years old but cementum analysis found him to be 5.5 years old.

I'm done with photobucket - they are charging to post pics on other sites now - like HERE. Can you post pics from Facebook or is it easier to upload directly to the forums now? It never used to be.

Has happened to me several times. I have one spot left and I have three stands I leave in place year round so he knows I'm there to stay. I also call every May and ask if there is anything he needs help with on the farm. He has never accepted my offer but I call anyway. Been hunting there 11 years now.