First let me say thanks to Quick for all the help (always) and to everyone in this forum. I don't really post much but it is my favorite. Unfortunately, I didn't harvest anything with my H&R this year. I did however have what I would call and great H&R year helping get three kids shooting (two with H&R 243's)as posted earlier.
After hunting season last year, I started plotting and planning for this season. I knew my jobs would take alot of my time since I started teaching. I did a good bit of welding. Two ladder stands: one 27ft the other 20ft, rebuilt my friends ladder stand, designed an new deer/hog drag that worked fairly well (needs a little modification). I worked up a new load for my H&R 45/70, one for my winchester '94 30/30, as well as for my 270 Howa. We started building 5 new shooting houses (that are still unfinished at the hunting camp). Started shooting my bow again. I gathered a bunch of new equipment and overall planned my attack. Then as figured work consummed me.
Hunting season opened Oct. 1 for bow and I had long ago quit practicing. I probrably made one impromptu hog hunt in Oct. Helped friends find a few hogs. November arrived with no time for scouting, planning, etc. I made three hog hunts basically unplanned and one planned with my friend scoring during muzzle loader. November was nearing its end and finally light at the end of the tunnel. Dec. 3 ended my teaching obligations and my other job requirements finally ended on the 16th. Vacation and Hunting Season Started.
Unfortunately things started slow. 4 days of hard hunting without seeing a single deer near Laurel, Ms. Went home a couple days and back at it again. 2 days no deer - even hunting all day. Swithched to hunting land around Meridian, but can only take decent bucks. Saw a few does and small bucks. One evening, as my luck would have it, I had 5 yes 5 spikes all within 25 yards and no does. I've never seen 5 spike in one evening before, much less within 25 yds. Then it was back home again for Christmas.
Headed back to Laurel area and my 27 ft ladder. I've seen deer at this stand before (previously had a 20ft ladder) but its been does with yearlings just out of spots and 3pts (Miss. states 4pts). Nothing I wanted to shoot anyway. Well at this point with no meat in the freezer I'm "meat hunt'in". Well as my luck has it I see nothing. Next morning I hunt a box and only yearlings. What's going on. That evening I climbed into my stand, spent 2 min getting situated, picked up my '06, looked out, saw and doe - guess what meat in the freezer. I wasn't real happy about it for some reason but again meat in the freezer.
The biggest problem with my season so far was that the owner of the property in meridian and his son were shooting some very nice deer and kept telling me about it. Here they are:
I had a game plan (sort of) where I wanted to hunt and when, so I couldn't make it to Meridian area (hunting plans with friends, working on camp in Laurel area, etc). It was now new years eve and I headed home.
Back again hunting 27ft ladder. Had several good bucks on the trail camera during the day at the corn feeder 200 yards from my stand. I have high hopes. With the way my season is going I'm still meat hunting at the least. Beautiful morning, not a deer to be seen, its 9:30 and I see a doe feeding in a thicket. '06 in hand she disappears and I know by the way she's heading she is going to come into an opening. Out jumps the deer Bam the '06 roars and 2 deer take off. What 2 deer? You guessed it, if you haven't, my luck wasn't the best. I shot a deer, the yearling I didn't see jumped out first. So at least I'm one and a half deer in the freezer. I'm finally off to Meridian. Weather is calling for rain and boy did it that night. The weather called for high winds and cold in the morning. I arrived at the box on the powerline right at daylight with high hopes. Greg and his son have shot several good bucks off the powerline this year all I could say was OH Yea! here we go.
The morning starts off sort of as expected. The old gray doe was finally noticed in the middle of the powerline after the sun came up pretty well. I've been telling Greg we need to take her out and he keeps saying "I know". She ducks into the tree line. 30 min later here comes one of those spikes I saw at the other stand and hour later a doe, then a 3pt., another doe, a 4pt with an 11in spread. Of course about 20 min after seeing the 4pt a gun shot was heard at the neighbors plot, just in time for him to arrive there (they shoot just about anything, while Greg is trying to "Manage" the deer). I had to laugh to myself. At this point I can say I was seeing deer and the bucks kept getting better with another doe and eventually two young 6pts. Its now noon and I'm determined to stay all day. I'm seeing deer and I love getting a wind burned face and lips. Everyones texting saying they haven't seen anything all day and were heading back to Louisiana. I felt honored to text them my lunch menu consisting of post hurricane Katrina MRE peanut butter and cracker. My nephew texted, upset that my brother-in-law wouldn't take him hunting. I texted back what I saw. I looked down the powerline and there was a heavy horned at least and 8pt already half way across the powerline. The '06 hit him hard at 200 yds, just like on tv, he dug hard reaching the tree line and disappeared. I called my nephew and gave the buck a little time (I knew he was down). Here is his pic:
I'm not complaining by any means, first decent buck that I've seen. I saw the left side when I shot and felt like something was taken away from me when I saw the right. Extremely happy with the hunt I headed to another box over looking the river that evening. I didn't see anything on our side but spent the remainder of the day watching two wall hangers chase does on the other side. I cleaned my buck and headed home for a day.
With my deer freezer full, I headed to the camp in Laurel area. I promised a friend that I would get him a deer to get sausage made and decided to give up the buck meat. So I figured I would at least get another doe to replace it. The trail camera showed alot of does but no bucks, they must be running. The buck in Meridian appeared to be rutting, he had "the smell". No buck sightings after all day hunting, I took my replacement doe that evening. Now the freezer was full.
I hunted several different spots with my tree climber over the next several days without seeing a deer. I couldn't believe it. I have basically only seen eight deer in Laurel this season and shot two and a half of them. Was the rut over, peak breeding was not until Jan. 13th. With my doe quota met and one buck I was very happy and went to bed trying to think how I could change things.
I woke and decided I'm not going to hunt early today. I figured I'd hunt a stand where Kenny heard two bucks chasing a doe, about two weeks earlier. I arrived and lazily gathered my gear from my truck. Mr. Louis came driving up on his 4 wheeler. Mr. Louis is elderly, can't walk to well and hunts from another camp down the road from us. He put up a pop up tent on the edge of some young piney woods (about 10 acres) that borders my hundred acre lease. He is actually hunting my lease but I'm not complaining he's older and I know he can't get into a stand anymore. Their lease property has recently been clear cut (2-3 years) and this is and easy spot for him to hunt. He says "I hit a good buck last night and couldn't find it". Of course, this is fiftey yards from the tree that I was going to hunt for the day. I spent about an hour helping him look. I couldn't find any sign that he even hit the deer. He kept telling me, man go hunt'in I'm keeping you from hunt'in. I said thats ok Mr. Louis we need to find your deer. Oh thank ya, he said. Finally we called off the search. Its 8:30 now and Mr. Louis told me at least ten times how much luck I was going to have today for helping him. As we all know deer hunting is a series of events that play out for the good or bad. Sometimes the cards fall perfectly.
Mr. Louis made me rethink my plans. The wind was blowing out of the west and I knew it wasn't blowing how it should have but decided to hunt a spot that I never hunted before. Its just about a fiftey yards down from where I usually go but felt I needed a change. I packed my stand, climbed a pine tree that I picked out last season and settled in at 18ft up. I couldn't see much. The land owner burned all the grass that is usually covering the hill and the burned area stoped right in front of me. Its thick, I could see behind to my left, an opening in front of me about 25 yds down the hill. The road is 25 yds to my right. I can see the road through the trees with just a few shooting holes. I drug a drag rag up the road and hung it in one of the holes. 30 min in the stand, a spike came right under me from the burned area behind me. I thought thats a good sign, but the wind was blowing right over him and he didn't wind me. I started complaining about the wind, how it was blowing wrong for this stand. I shouldn't have set up here with the wind blowing right to left into the thicket. Oh well I'm not changing now.
An hour goes by and crashing comes from my left side. It sounds like a buck chasing a doe hard comming down my wind. They wind me, circle and a doe runs across the opening 25 yds in front of me. I'm excited of course, but I'm hunting with my 30/30. I've never killed anything with it after five years owning it and I throw it up, waiting for the buck. No buck instead three does come out into the opening, walk up the hill and stand 10 yds behind me for 20 min. The wind blowing just right. One leaves to my right, crosses the road. The other two take off running directly behind me. I figured they winded me. After 15 min, I hit my buck grunt and doe bleat a few times. After another 15 min, I think I hear a deer being real quiet. Its noon, and I can't see the deer. I know the sound, a doe walking very slow and very quiet, only your gut is saying I hear a deer. I'm looking around trying to be slow in my movements, but I can't see her. I look to my right and finally I see it. Its a buck trying to pull my drag rag out of the tree. He would have walked right down the road and I would not have seen him if it not for that drag rag. I have only one shot, mid back/gut and I have to shoot. Bam the 30/30 roars! The buck just stands there, looks around. I look at my gun (literally) and try to determine if I missed, but he didn't run from the gun shot. The buck turns and starts walking directly at me. I don't have another shot because I'll shoot his antler off with the angle of the hill. He stops at 15 yds and looks around. I want him on the ground, I've heard stories about bucks bolting. I can't see blood. I notice him appearing to get a little weak and I must have hit him. Then I kind of make a mistake. My mind is battling, shoot again and put him on the ground/no wait and let him fall. I can't stand it anymore and want him on the ground. He finally lowers his head and click, I forgot to cycle the action in the shock. I cycle the action and again no shot he has his head up looking around. He lowers his head and Bam! I shoot again. He falls. I can see that I shot some of the top of his G2 off on the right side, that was my mistake. It cleared the scope not the bullet path. but he was on the ground.
My best buck ever. Here he is:
This is exactly where he fell. Here is another photo of the shot off G2. I didn't bring my camera with me and all of these are cell phone photo's:
I packed my gear, headed to my truck and unloaded my 4 wheeler. The first thing I did was go thank Mr. Louis for wishing me luck. If it wasn't for him missing that buck and the cards falling the way they did, this buck would not have been possible.
Vince
