fly

I didn't bag a big buck this year, but had a great time making memories of another classic deer camp. The guy in the middle is my good friend Matt and the old timer in the red shirt is my dad. Last year I introduced Matt to deer hunting (second weekend only) and although he wasn't successful he loved it. This year he was able to make it for opening weekend. Opening day I set him up at my favorite spot and I showed him where I would be on a map and told him to come get me if he got one and I'd help drag it out. Well he got one at 7am and came looking for me and got LOST in the Shawnee Forest (100,000 acres +). Unexpectedly his Nextel phone service was a lot worse than my Verizon. He could not get a signal to call me. About 8:30am I went to his spot and found his deer and some gear but no Matt. I waited a while hoping he would return, nope. Then I started looking for him. I started getting worried when I heard my phone beep. It was a voice mail from Matt that said: "Hey I'm super lost in the woods" then cut out. I tried to call and finally got through (Here's the real kicker... instead of figuring out where he was we started talking about the deer!). Then the signal cut out and we lost connection again. After another 20 minutes of trying to find the one spot we could connect we finally got through, I said shot your gun and I'll shoot mine. Matt said ok and the signal was lost again. This was the last time we were able to connect. His shot was really far away! I walked towards it for 10 minutes then shot again (he did the same). After 6 shots we met up and boy were we relieved. I'm getting a GPS for next year and maybe one for him if I can find a couple that are not too expensive. I asked Matt the next day if he needed some more shells. He said I only need for to kill a deer with, but I'll need an additional 6 so you can find me.

Well I coverd as much area as I could in 4 more hours this morning along with dad coverign about half as much. Nothing. My goal for this season was to harvest everything i shot. No such luck. I gun hunt near the town of Anna IL. Well going to bed now, thanks for the prayers and crossed fingers.

Looked for 3 hours, until my kids were wore out. No deer. I found the spot he had stood still for so long. Big blood pool, but he got the bleeding to stop there because there was no blood leading away from that spot. Pretty bummed out. Going with my dad in the morning for one more try, but I'm not counting on finding him. Hate it when it turns out like this. Makes you want to quit bow hunting, but I've been through it before and in a couple weeks I'll wonder why I ever thought of quitting.

xj's advice is what my taxi told me on my 09 turkey. (I used a trash bag due to the size).

Thanks everyone. Thirty degrees out right now. I'm in Jersey county this week. Next week Union then Greene for ML season. Taking the kids to church at 8am then we're all headed out to look. Will let you all know how it turns out later today. Hopefully pictures will accompany. I missed this same deer clean 2 weeks ago. Saw him last week at 20 yards, but never got a shot (you all know how it goes sometimes). Anyway, I'm thinking he's a 130's kinda deer, but I always do poorly on the guess the score contests here. Hopefully I'll be proven right, but I'll be glad to be proven wrong as well.

Shot and hit a nice buck this morning. He ran 60 yards and stood there for 20 minutes arching his back. Then slowly walked up the hill and out of sight. Arrow had blood and hair, but the first 10-20 yards of the blood trail were just specs. The hit looked good, but he sure acted like a gut shot deer so I'm giving him 24 hours. Will look in the morning. Keep your fingers crossed.

Seems like places within an hour of each other can be different. Major rutting activity (buck hearding a doe, running into trees like he was crazy) 3rd week in October. Other place I hunt it's just now staring. Scrapes, rubs, saw a buck bedded with 2 does. All in all the first 2 weeks of Novermber is your best bet.

Nice job on the 6-pointer flint! Haven't had much luck my last couple outings. That October lul has hit. I did see a fresh scrape this morning. The tracks inside were small. Hoping it was from a visiting doe and not the buck that made it. Two more weeks and it's go time! This is my favorite time of the year right now, the hardwoods are alive with color!

Way to go NJ! Had a 1.5 year old 7-pointer at 10 yards yesterday morning. Never had a clue I was there. After he walked off eating leaves I grunted, then doe bleated. He had no reaction except to keep eating. The rut is no where in sight yet here in IL. Another 3-4 weeks.

It sure was great hitting the stand yesterday for the first hunt of the season. 15 mph winds kept me from shootign a does at 40 yards. If she would have come in a little closer I would have took it. My goal this season is to harvest every deer I shoot at. No misses and nothing left for the coyotes. Nice job Flint.

The roller coaster was in a casino so I did filter through one. Steve, it was sad seeing all the people outside the casino asking for money or holding signs with a hard luck story - asking for money. I've heard unemployment is at 15% in Vegas (the highest rate in the US).

Went to Vegas over the weekend and had a great time. Here are some things I did not do... 1. Gamble 2. Go to a show 3. Go to a strip club 4. Get drunk 5. Suck the life savers off a bachelorettes shirt for a buck (she was not happy with me either). What I did do... 1. Visit Hoover dam in a convertible 2. Hike in Red Rock Canyon 3. Boulder in Red Rock Canyon 4. Ride the roller coaster 5. Grill steaks at the pool

Hey 92xj, you know you're going to bag a 180 incher now. Hope you are able to get out a little. Any name is fine with me.

I'll be the first to check in. Primary mission is meat hunting this year, I'd like to fill the freezer with 3 or 4. Big bucks are always welcome though. >Frank

OK, I wrote my numbers and came up with a lot higher for number 3. I'll stick with my original guess, but when everyone is around the 200 inch mark I'm thinking I'm going to be off. 1: 148 2: 169 3: 232

1: 122 2: 131 3: 115

Welcome and feel free to post some of the pictures.

If it has any type of electronics it would disqualify any animal from the P&Y record book. Currently there are none on the market (that I know of) that would be acceptable.

A picture I have of Tim Andrus, Buckee, and Gary sitting around a table drinking beer in their underwear. Works great on all game animals.

Can't wait for my tape measure Alan. Boys, the winning scores are posted below. :yes: 1: 129 2: 141 3: 115

IL has a 3.5 month (105 days) deer season. The past few years I'll hunt about 40-50 times. Most are 2-3 hour hunts after or before work. While hunting on private land I'll see a couple 125-160 class deer per year. On public ground one every 3 years. I'll see a B&C (while hunting) once every few years while on private ground (I've never seen a B&C on public ground). I've only seen 3 deer that I believe would have made B&C (all while bow hunting). One I got, one I did not shoot at because it was a little too far and a little too dark, and one I missed (when I was a 16 year old punk) - the shot was about 100 yards.

I'd go with fixed over mechanical. I used 100 grain steelforce phatheads this past spring, but never saw a bear from the bow stand. Took 2 bears with the rifle from my ground blind.

Every year! Only way to get an elevated 30 yard shot from my property.

I wonder if it's because of all the positives he's done for hunting and gun rights as opposed to stardom? If the baiting was done to get a good shot for the show I would be opposed, but in honesty it wouldn't change my overall opinion of him becasue the scale tips too far to the positive side even with this incident. We all screw up and most of us have likely broke game laws at some point in time. I know some of the IL laws I strongly disagree with and some I even believe to be unethical. I just avoid situations where I would have to follow those laws.

I have shot 3 deer that have a net score over 125. The first two were with a Bow and are entered in P&Y. The bigger one is also in B&C. The third one was shot with a shotgun. 2006 season: Gross: (161&3/8) Net: (149&1/8) 2007 season: Gross: (171&2/8) Net: (162&2/8) 2008 season: Gross: (131 4& 0/8) Net: (129 & 2/8)