woolybear

Wondering who gets excited over a good rub line...or in this case circle? I've been keeping track of these from back in October to pressent. These cover a mile or so diameter. This first one has a sort of signature to it with the two straight gouges. 3 years ago I came across another tree scarred the same way. If these are brow tines they have 7 inches between them. This next set has another bit of character to it that has shown up this season. Usualy 2 trees about 3 feet apart get hit from both sides. Between the trees is an active scrape. I call these 'field goal rubs'. Next two pics are set up the same way but taken individualy as they occured. After the second rub appeared later that day, another field goal scrape right down the middle. 2 feet from that one.... The rest of the pics are just a few other decent ones I took note of that completed the circle. Heigth and size of the trees as well as their locations were of interest to me at the time they were made. Rumors from some of the neighbors are beginning to surface about a mature buck showing up in close proximaty to their backyards again at last light where some of them were found. Others are between these areas and some swampy cover I don't have acess to. Basically I'll be trying to formulate a gameplan and timeframe to ambush him come our late bow/ML season. So my question is how much faith do you put in hunting rub lines and what kind of information do you gather from them to establish a solid strategy to bag your buck by or do you feel they are just a waste of time at this point in the year?

Without putting a # goal on the upcoming season, I'd like to find a match to any shed from consecutive years in a row. Would be nice to have a little history with a particular buck, so an match to any of last years finds.

2.5 1.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 1.5 1.5

WOW..... what a doe. She looks like a 4 y.o. shed out buck! WTG Ruth- nice shot:yes:

Got a crowbar.....? PM Randy for his lucky horseshoe!:yes:

Speedy recovery Mike. Hopefully you'll have some venison to swallow Saturday night.:pacman:

When someone scrapes their teeth down a fork at the dinner table. My sisters would torture me as a child with that when they learned of my weakness. I never got over the sound.

Didn't want a fake Christmas tree so I typed in Real-tree and this site popped up.:bang:

Never tried it on a gun but Easy Off Oven Cleaner works great on cutting through that kind of gunk. Used to use it to erase old sticker advertising residue on the side of vans when the company wanted to re letter them. Effortless. Spray it on, let it set, wipe it away with minimal elbow grease.

Very nice vid Steve. Realy enjoyed that.

Pretty sweet Anthony! By the looks of the old one, he probably thought your house burned to the ground. Very nice gift indeed.

woolybear team #2- Sweet String Music 8 point ML 11-29-09

Thanks guys. I had a pretty long drag back home through some thick creekbottom thickets. I was winded, overheated, alone, and just physically wooped from the ground I'd already covered with him tangling everything behind me. When I got to the creek it was uphill to the road another 1/2 mile or straight downstream to the neighbors across the road from me. We could get the truck down the rest of the way. I blew up my field dressing gloves and a few empty ziplocks I had in my pouch from my sammich lunch and stuffed them in his carcass. Worked like a charm and drifted him right along with the flow. No waders just my 18" LaCross in the waist deep water. I'll take cold and wet with a normal heart rate anyday over pushing myself to far, overheating and no heartbeat.:hammer1:

Congrats to Sully! Sure he will match witts again against a wiley buck someday. Nice doe.

No shame in that. Congrats.

LOL, yeah trust me the polar plunge was worth it. I was starting to overheat. Almost hopped aboard and trolled for trout while in there.:clown:

Enjoy your jerky,lol. WTG man. Super NY buck!

Well I suppose persistance finaly payed off. I got to the creekbottom blind around 7:00am and settled in for yet another day in the quest for a buck....ANY buck at this point would do. The hours passed like molasess in wintertime and I was growing impatient by 9:30. Another morning of hardly any shooting in the area had me wondering why I was staying put. Oh yeah.....the leaves were still frozen and crunchy but the sun had began to peak through and melt down the morning noise. I forced myself to stay put untill the woods were entirely soft enough to still hunt my way to my next ambush site wherever that was going to be. I lit another ciggy and waited. At about 10:30 I noticed a doe browsing in the bottom through a briar/redbrush thicket. I pulled out the video cam and began rolling film. I followed her through the viewfinder for a while before I lost her in the brush. Time to put the camera aside and find that old girl with with my own eyes and not the aid of the zoom on the cam. Looking around I finaly spotted her again but she was alot closer already and headed my way. I threw the cam to the ground and snuggled up close to the blind walls. When "she" stepped into a very narrow lane, "she" bacame a "he"!!! WHOA........ Now I had to get to my gun resting on the tree on the other side of the blind and ready for a shot without getting noticed. I ducked below the walls and pulled off the feat suprisingly to myself. Raised the barrel over the wall and waited for a clear shot. There were no more lanes for him to cross and he wasn't coming out but now going east to west away from me. I found the thinnest section of brush and prayed him through it on a rope!! Crosshairs followed his vitals to the spot where I let a 50cal ML blast break the silence of the quiet morning. He took off for about 30 yds and slowed to a snails pace before dissapearing in the thicket again. I sat tight for an hour before going to look for blood but once I got in there i could not pick the exact spot he stood. Frustration set in so I went back to the blind for another ciggy to calm my nerves before trampling through again. Found his tracks where he took off and followed them to where he entered the thicket. 50 yards in every pricker to the face was worth it when I found him piled up in the junk! Now let me intoduce to you all......., Mr Gr"8"! Easiest way home was right down the middle of the creek. They sure drag easy that way floating down the river,lol. You guys can have that dragging the bigger ones, lol. Not for me anymore.

Sounds good Snipe...now we're rolling. Took a young meat doe and I got a 8 today to submit soon as I get a chance.. Good luck snake!

MB48- I got mine about a month ago. Really have no complaints about the bow. Fast, smooth, good balance, lightweight, solid wall, minimal handshock and the grip is very comfortable compared to others I've shot. I thought that would be a concern I would have with the Madness but that's not the case at all. The price is right too for the performance it delivers compared to its competitors models with similar specs. I have heard some not so good reviews on the string and cable quality but it's hard for me to say until I've actually shot the thing in. Other than that, so far so good. Originally wanted the XS model but my shop didn't have any in stock. After shooting the regular BM I was sold on the ATA and not dissapointed at all with how it handled. Overall, I'm happy with mine and looking forward to some time on the course with it this summer. Still have a 1 week late archery season in December I'll be looking to fill a tag with.

Hey- good deal Dakota! Looking forward to following along your line. Looks like you're getting the hang of things right quick. Congrats on your rat and mink.:clap:

Great job Andy- real nice 10! Congrats.

Gorgeous buck coles! congrats

Oh man Randy......tube of lube on the way!:helpsmilie: WTG! Another great buck.

Great field photo and story! Felt like I was right there with you.:clap: