McAlester AAP! Daily Updates starting 10/18/2012 live updates from the hunt to come.

Jeramie

By Jeramie
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Jeramie Monster Buck

Jeramie

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Woke up this morning to a very cold morning. Its probably low 50's or cooler. Thank God I brought a coleman max mummy bag or I would have froze last night.

After a 2 hour drive I didn't get setup until 9:45. They have a bonfire in camp so we sat and talked until 11:30. I had marked several spots on a map and some regulars were giving me advice, looks like the same spots!

Looks like I'm pretty well set. The only thing I forgot is my rubber boots. Was offered a pair of hunting boots but decided ill run to walmart later and just buy a cheap pair of rubber boots.

Almost 7:00 stirring everywhere in camp. Time to get dressed and eat some cereal. Check in starts at 8:00.....

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Jeramie Monster Buck

Jeramie

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Stand in place. McAlester does a quality deer pass. If you kill a hog or a doe you get an automatic pass next year. If you kill a 115+ buck your second tag can be used for a buck.

We scouted several hundred acres of rolling hay meadow. Three of us set three stands roughly 500 yards apart. We scouted from 1:00 - 6:00. This entire place is hunted hard during deer season but otherwise, being an Army Base, it sees little outside traffic. The deer for the most part are conditioned to trucks, cars, and even people as long as you don't look like you're hunting.

I setup over a small pond. One possible scrape, lots of hog sign, trails everywhere. Most of the trees are scrub so I'm only up about 8' but conditions are perfect tomorrow at 40F in the morning. Should be a great morning. The pond has a big draw on the backsidre and shallow shoreline. Longest possible shot at roughly 20 yards, keep your fingers crossed.

On the way out we saw several does, two small bucks, and them finally a 150" drop tine. Another 200 yards down the road stood an honest to God 185" deer. The largest I have ever seen on hoof. It looked fake. My blood is pumping now.

I'm sitting by a dwendling campfire, eating two boloigna sandwiches. As soon as I'm done I'm hitting a hot shower and tucking into my sleeping back.

Its 9:15 here. Convoy leaves camp at 4:30. I'm done for the night. Camp is already quiet.

Good night realtree..... And if anyone asks, Yes..... McAlester AAP is as good as they say it is.

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Jeramie Monster Buck

Jeramie

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No wind and cold again. Saw 4 does at daylight. They were headed my way until a yote yelped a couple of times and they turned away.

A guy I'm hunting with shot a 110"'ish deer last night. We looked for a while but the blood just ran out. I saw 8 does out at 200 yards last night and heard a buck gruntinh behind me but no luck. Its an awesome hunt but very, very tough.

More updates to come...

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Jeramie Monster Buck

Jeramie

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Lance,

Acorns are good in certain areas. Keep in mind that parts of Hominy have little to no oaks. Other parts of Hominy have TONS of oaks. The area I was in had very, very few. Persimmon trees are a big draw as well as native pecan. However, Pecan trees down there are not loaded by any stretch. We found one and it was pretty much bare.

You should be in for a good hunt as they were already starting to chase. Bring a grunt but DO NOT OVER USE IT. Keep in mind these bucks are grunted at weekly. If they aren’t chasing it will only run them off.

Good luck, let us know how you did, and let me know if I you have any questions about the hunt.

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Jeramie Monster Buck

Jeramie

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Slow to update the final post gang... sorry. Very, very busy.

Final tally, Deer 1 - Jeramie 0

Still had an incredible time. I hunted so hard I literally have a sunburn (well, suntan now). I had coon eyes from the sunglasses, my hands were burned, and my face was peeling from windburn.

Sunday the temps were mid 80's with 30mph wind. I didn’t even go out Sunday morning, came back early. The deer were moving very little.

I have a huge takeaway from this trip. First off I will only put on during the rut and cold weather. The second being that the deer do not pattern like normal deer. Pressure is VERY low so it’s nothing to see a 140" buck standing in the middle of the field at 11:00 a.m. Third, water source is also a no go. Like much of Eastern Okieland there are ponds and creeks everywhere. As I biped I can walk from water source to another in just a few minutes, given that deer only require about 1.5 - 2 quarts per 100lbs of body weight it’s easy for them to find water. Fourth, a 185" deer looks MUCH bigger on hoof than it does in a magazine.

All in all this is an incredible hunt. The guys that put it on for the state are great. We had two white-hats (basically guides), Jeff and Sherman. Both were more than willing to answer questions and help out.. Sherman helped us look for a deer one of our guys shot.

The bucks in McAlester are a thing of legend here (and on any stick and string forum). There is a lot of truth to that legend. In just two afternoons I saw easily 5 - 6 bucks that would score 150" +. The facility itself is great too, hot showers, camp ground or cabins, Lodge type buildings for the staff, a walk in freezer for hunters who kill but aren’t ready to head home, dressing poles for people hanging deer, biologist, game wardens, etc. Well run outfit, something I will easily throw the $5 annually to enter for a chance to be drawn.

To get a scope of how great the deer are, one of the guys in my group shot an 8 point. Well, technically he was a mainframe 8 with a 1 1/8" sticker off of the base. I figured 3 years old. The biologist told me he was a young deer. They pulled the jaw and he was a 2 year old. His score was 101", the buck was just over 120lbs. ....at 2 years....

Amazing time but like so much in life the first round goes to experience. I’m better suited for next year and will come ready if I am lucky enough to be drawn again.....

Keypoints for anyone drawn:

* Campgrounds are nice. If you like to camp don’t worry about getting a cabin.

* Hot showers are free.

* There is a laundry mat within 75 yards of the campground (standard wash/ dry fee)

* There is a large bank of targets for practice, bring field points for practice.

* Entry in and out of the main gate if fairly easy, just DO NOT forget your pass once it is issued to you.

* Take what you know about deer hunting and forget 90% of it here. If it’s not during the rut look for a heavily traveled trail through junk and setup right off of the trail. Typical fingers, funnels, water, and even setup inside of a timberline will do you relatively little good unless you just get lucky.

* Typically a hog kill or a doe kill will get a quality pass (invite back for the same weekend next year). You can also kill one bearded male turkey but it has to be a tom. DO NOT kill a bearded hen. Also, use caution about killing a deer really late. Yotes are everywhere because the lack of guns allowed on base. You will hear them all night and most of the morning. If you kill a deer at dark-30 you better be able to find it or there will be nothing left.

Good luck to anyone hunting McAlester AAP or thinking about hunting McAlester AAP and let me know if you have any questions.....

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