10/24/04
 
 Western Montana
 
 cold and snowy
 
 My 12 year old shoot his first buck today it is a 2x2 at two hundred yards i will try to post a small store and photo tomorrow

my buddy went out yesterday in the seeley swans and and seen four small bucks but he got his on the 10/26/04 I will be going out this weekend
 
 Good hunting everyone and be safe

My son got his first buck today, though it was just a nubbin, it is his. We thought it was a doe and were surprised by all the extra equipment  on board this "doe".
 
 Gun season starts next weekend so this weekend is the last weekend of Archery only and is a special Youth Weekend in Texas, where the kids get to use guns before the grown ups get out there and decimate the population. So my son and I went out at 0 Dark 30 this morning and got set up in my little honey hole. On the way to the ground blind, along a dirt road, we were treated to 3 deer crossing about 10 feet from us in a full moon, at a full dead on sprint. Sounded like a heard of mustangs rushing by. Really cool! We didn't see much after that except some dove, and even only one rabbit. About 8:30 we spotted some deer coming in, naturally from a direction I have never seen them come. It turned out to be a doe and her two fawns. They were still pretty small, though no spots. Due to their young age, she was looking a little worn as well, pretty slight. I imagine that she was probably bred during the second rut last year, as a yearling herself. Since she still had her young uns with her we decided to let her go. I figured more would be along soon enough. Well, nothing showed. My son claims to have seen one run by behind us, but I didn't hear a thing, therefore it didn't happen.
 
 About 10:30 we decided to take a break, and headed down the road to a BBQ/Skeet shoot with a bunch of fellas from work. Stayed there for awhile, then had to meet the wife at the school's fall fest, take the lil ones so she could volunteer, then finally back in the woods.
 
 It got pretty warm by 4 PM when we got on stand again and I was a little worriedthat the deer would all be bedded down till after sunset. Luckily? some heavy clouds rolled in, with only a smattering of rain and thunder. THe temp dropped and it got dark, things were looking up. About 5:30 I spotted some brown moving through the mesquite about 100 yards out and then nothing. I couldn't tell which way they were going, or where they went, so I grunted a couple of times and figured they would either come or not, and better not overdue it. After writing off that deer, my son spotted him. Of course he told me, and with the combination of that deer coming directly upwind towards me, and his whispe being blown right at him, we were busted. He stopped about 50 yards short behind a big bush and eventually left. Behind him was another that we hadn't seen. As he was leaving I couldn't see his rack, but did see a good sized body, maybe next time.
 
 At any rate, the deer were moving. I heard another blow off in the other direction, probably a couple hundred yards away. Finally it got to be about 30 minutes before end of shooting light. I had explained to my son that this is the golden time, and if there was any time they would be moving, it would be now. Right on cue, up walked 2 doe? or so we thought. I believe now it was a doe, this nubbin, and another doe that we didn't see until after the shot. I told my son that they were coming, but he couldn't see them yet. He went ahead and took aim on the trail where they would enter his view, and he waited just like I had told him for the second deer to come out, as the first is usually the smaller. Like I said, unfortunatley the older doe was hanging back considerably and we didn't see her.
 
 His deer was moving from our right to left and he hit him with his Remington 870 Magnum Express youth model 20 ga just a little high and to the left. He hit a vertebrae in the neck and shredded one lung. Didn't seem to hit the heart. The deer flipped over and never took another step. Several of the pellets were lodged under the skin on the opposite side. He was using #2 Buck 3" Magnums at about 25 yards. And to say that he was a little excited is an understatement. I believe the first thing he said was "Can we go again in the morning?" He was somewhat concerned that he didn't immediately expire, like on the hunting videos, and that he kicked for a minute or two, but I assured him that it was a very humane kill, and that the animal would dround in its own blood in just a minute, and that it couldn't have gotten much better. He might have hit an artery as well, there was a lot of blood in the body cavity.

Congrats to the both of you, Glenn.
Sounds like you both had a great hunt, & you sound like a proud papa!

Rockinbbar

RBH, that's a good story and a great picture. Good job.

Good job !! You've for sure got you a huntin' buddy now !!

Congrats to all.
My son is 9 and we are going out sunday morning for his first deer hunt.
He is still learning but I am hoping very soon he will get one of his own.
Not much today seen a doe here and there.
They seem to be moving between I believe 5:00 and 6:00 am it gets daylight here right about 6:00.
The afternoon I do not know about because I have not been able to observe them.
We are still awaiting that freeze here in south Texas.
Maybe in a couple of weeks we will get that cold blue north front blowing our way.

Congratulations to your son:D

Yep, lots of movement between 5-6.  I nearly hit one nice buck on my way out, and then had to chase another buck off the road a few miles down.  Didn't see much in the woods.  Saw one buck, a shooter it looked like.  Was still kindof dark, but I could see mass and big body, and at least 6 points.  Not sure about width, he never looked at me.  He walked in front of me, left to right with the wind at his back.  Fortunately for him, it was about 10 minutes before legal shooting light.  I found a fresh scrape about 50 yards back up the trail he came down, I assumed he had just made it, so I freshened it up with a spray of Doe P, maybe he'll like what he finds when he checks back.  
 
 Besides him, all I saw was a pair of Road Runners, hunting apparently.  THey were putting the stalk on several times, and were pretty neat to watch.  One of them also went into this strutting and drumming routine of sorts, very cool. They lingered about for an hour or so, and one of them roosted in the tree I was leaning on. A beautiful morning and a good hunt regardless.  Would have been better if that buck had of hung around for 10 minutes.

Sounds like good morning ! I bet your right about that ol' buck liking what he finds in that scrape. We have lots of road runners around here. I've heard them things will break turkey eggs open and eat them. I know a guy that shoots them just because of that. Hope you get that ol' buck ! Has it been your experience that they move with the wind like he was ? Good luck !

Antler3,
 I've been told that deer like to move with the wind in their face, same as us when we are stalking them.  But, just like my mother couldn't really walk uphill both ways to school, deer cant always walk with their noses pointed upwind.  Here I haven't been able to see any pattern as far as wind is concerned, except that the mature ones tend to circle my blind before coming in, checking the scents.  They know what a blind looks like and what it is for.  Guy I know says the same things about Roadrunners, and also shoots them onsite.
 
 Update, ol Mr Big or perhaps better, Mr Bigger than the others has been thrashing as many bushes and trees as he can get ahold of lately.  He has been developing a rub line about 100 yards east of my stand, so I know where to ambush him.  He even had the audacity to create a fresh rub 30 yards from my blind, in the middle of the day, while I was gone.  Seems the rut has been heating up, we have bucks herding does, rubbing, and the scrapes are showing up.  I tried some rattling at 4 different rub lines and no luck.  Went out this morning but called it quits after 2 hours of the rain getting harder and harder.  Had to leave while I could still get my truck out of there.  One unidentified deer (buck most likelydue to his body size) ran up, parked in front of my son and I for a couple minutes and then left the area, unfortunately it was still dark, and with no moon and the rain clouds coming in, I mean dark.

Opening morning today. Got on stand right at daylight. About 9:30 A.M. Coyote came through didn't give me a shot. Didn't see anything else all day. Sure did enjoy being in the woods though...Maybe tomorrow will be better. Ratherbhuntin sounds like your on to a big one. I sure hope ya get 'em. And thanks a bunch for the info. ! The whitetail is sure a hard one to figure out but there in lies the fun !! Good luck to you !

RatherB, just yesterday evening I had a decent 8 pt walk 25 feet in front of me, traveling WITH the wind. Knowing the trail he was on, he had come at least half a mile with the wind at his back. When he got down wind of me, he angled off to his right. Had he gone left, he would have crossed my scent stream and no doubt winded me. He was headed to a staging area that does use before they come out into a field to feed in the evening. I guess those bucks aren't much different than teenage boys when it comes to doing stupid things when it involves finding the girls.:D

Been raining for 36 hours and I have been sitting here lookin out the window, waiting for it to let up. I left the hunting area yesterday while it was raining and good thing. My buddy that I hunt with stayed and ended up pulling out 1 truck and giving another couple of kids a ride out, no tellin how far they had walked. They said that help was already on the way, they just needed a ride to the road to guide em in.
 Point is, rain has just started to let up, couple of hours before dusk and the hunting ought to be just about perfect and there aint no way I can get back in there and out with my truck, and my friend isn't going out.
 
I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER 2 WHEEL DRIVE TRUCK AGAIN

Well I am a day late with this I was so tired when I got home last night I fell asleep right after I ate.
 
 
Day one we all settled in to are hunting spots about 4:30am we hunt along the Missouri river so in the mournings we hunt looking out over open fields to catch the deer going back into the tember to bed down and in the evening we are set up out in the fields in ground blinds to catch them coming out to feed.
 
Now on with the story just before shooting time I cought some movement to my right and I could just make out the outline of a nice sized doe in my Nikons but it was about 10 min. to early so I had to let her pass man I could just about taste those backstraps!!!!! about 30 min. later I saw my son getting ready to shoot from his tree and boom and just a few seconds later I see a doe go busting across the field about 300 yards in front of me and I kept an eye on her thinking she would fall but she never did???
 
I saw a few more but all to far away to shoot no one else in our party got a shot at anything either so I asked my son what he was shooting at he said a doe at about 50 yards I said how did you miss he just shook his head and said I have know idea, but he looked for any sign of hitting her and found none and he walked the trail she went down so I told him I saw her and she sure did not look like she was hit but we could go look because I saw where she went into the tember we never did find any sign so we think it was a clean miss he's a very good shot so when we headed back to town we stoped at the range and he shot 3 times and was 1" high at 100 yards just where he wants it so we think he just pulled the shot.
 
So we drove back to town and got some lunch, and headed back out about 2:00 we got set up and about 4:10 I saw a nice buck hot on a doe but just out of range!!!!
 
I herd a shot about 4:30 coming from the direction of my son's stand so when shooting time ran out I headed that way to see if he needed help about that time my cell phone buzzed and he said bring the 4 wheeler I got some meat for my freezer, it was a nice sized doe, myself his girl friend , her dad and my son-inlaw still have not seen anything close enough to shoot!!!!
 
 
Day 2
 
Well about 7:30 I had a doe coming my way so I kept my eye's open for a big-ol buck to be right on her trail but none showed up so I let he get to about 150yds and she took a turn and gave a good shot so I put her down so now I have my back straps:D
 
 
About 10 min. later a shot from the spot my son-inlaw was setting at so I looked thru my bynos to see if I could see him hell I could see the smile from my stand!!!!
 
We all got together around 10 and went and got both of the deer field dressed them and headed back to town we stoped off and checked them in I asked the guy doing the checking how many had been taken and he said we had 498 checked in Saturday so I asked if there was a lot of does taken he said they are very happy with the number of does taken he said about 35% and thats up from opening day last year.
 
 
We all saw deer in the evening but all I saw was does and a couple of fork horns, my sons girlfriend saw a nice buck but just could not get a shot she thought she could make so she let him pass, her dad let a couple of small does pass him by looking for an older doe or Mr Big, my son let a small 6 point walk to get bigger down the road and the son-inlaw saw a couple of nice bucks but just out of range.
 
 
So all in all it was a very good weekend, quality time out doors!!!
 
 
Take care everyone
Tony