Anybody else as excited about this falls hunts as I am?

It's like the countdown to Christmas when you were a kid, or going with your dad to pick up your first car as a teen.

Sometimes it seems like getting there is as much fun as being there.

I was shooting my Ruger Mark IV Tactical yesterday and I had to stop shooting when a whitetail doe materialized magically just behind and left of my targets. Crazy girl paid no mind to me, so I slowly moved down range, unloaded the Mark IV, and got almost to the targets, when she turned and fed her way to right behind the targets. I could hear her breathe and chew. She came past the target stand, and was ready to walk up to me, when, like she has never done before, my wife stood at the top of the trail that leads down to my shooting range, and yelled for me. I didn't move, and the doe didn't run. Wishing my hardest for the wife to go away mad when I didn't answer her, she came down the trail and scared off the doe. I really believe that doe was going to come and check me out. Man, I love being out in the woods!

Now, if only I can get a monster buck to do that here in a few weeks.

Mentally, yes. Preparedness, no way I'm even close.

Went to the farm yesterday and did some work.
THE PACE QUICKENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been watching a couple of does for the past couple of weeks. Took the 617 out this morning and shot from the bench at 50 yards. Twelve five shot groups averaged 1.71" with the largest being 2.25". I think the gun can do better as it was bright sun which made it hard to see the red dot on the target but I was well satisfied. Next is to take the 686 out and get it ready. I will limit my deer hunting to 50 yards with the 686 from a good rest. I need to get a blind built once I figure out where they come through the fence.

When I get that first hunting catalog, in the mail, from Cabela`s, the blood starts to move a little faster...Better then a diet pill

Been hunting since May. Those early hunting season jitters already left me.....Until next year that is.

me too!

Same here. I've got a lot of work to do before November.

Went and checked all my blinds this morning.

The ranch I cull for requested 30 buck and 18 doe Whitetail MLD Tags. Don't know how many of those I'll get to shoot. But, he wants to go heavy on the cull bucks this year. So, my boy and I will likely be busy.

Not to mention a few Axis deer he wants me to take.

On top of a couple other places I've got to hunt.

I've been out scouting and selected a few spots that I will be hanging some stands in soon, and I have a couple stands up and ready to go, with the trail cameras out and showing some good signs of activity. Still hoping to see some bucks soon.

I've also been practicing weekly shooting Goldiloks, my 45 Blackhawk Convertible, and been building some confidence in her.

This helps with the anticipation;

Been out mowing and plowing, cleaning wasps out of stands. Planting oat fields is next.

The SBH .44 is ready to go, been shooting all summer. Can't wait.

Already taken a deer & an antelope with the Ruger 357 Maximum so now I'll switch gears & go to another revolver for Idaho deer, probably my flat top 44 magnum & also the Bisley 41. I always carry 2 guns.
When elk season rolls around it will be the Ruger 480 & a different Ruger 44 magnum. For now I'll just keep shooting steel at different distances. Good luck to everyone!

Dick

41 degrees this morning. Fall colors starting to come out. My blood is pumping, my neck is swelling, shooting the shooting irons, running the hounds for training season and riding my butt off on the horses.

Yea, I'm excited!!!

For many years I looked forward to bow season but now bow season is something to help me pass the time till I can hunt with my handguns. I can not wait till I can break in my 30 30 contender.

I have one of my Bow Stands in the back of the truck. I have a folding Stick Ladder in the back of my Ranger UTV Both need a little pre-season tune up work. Sunday evening my brother and I made the rounds and put a new camera on a big cedar that gets scraped every year to see what the culprit looks like doing it. I believe he has read or wrote the Manual with the Instructions "Dark Means Dark" in it. Never see him during season.
We swapped cameras in three locations. My feeder is not in a hunting location, it is just in the edge of the woods line visible from the house. It is a Drum Feeder set to spread for 2 seconds at 7 PM. We had several slick heads and a few Turkeys using it. Good selection of Raccoons, etc. using it. Nothing too exciting, and mostly at night.
Then we looked at the video from the Valley stand area. A long narrow field on the South side of our property, with woods on all 4 sides. We should have had pen and paper ready. We had at least 10 different bucks if not more. We had 2 Ten Points together, we had a Nine Point with a Notched Ear, We had at least One Eight Point and could have been more. Loads of smaller bucks down to spikes. This was by far the most big bucks that we had ever gotten on a camera. The last buck was a Ten Point yesterday Morning. It was not just one sighting of the big bucks. We saw them all several times, one buck morning and evening the same day. We also had lots of Turkeys including some small ones. This year we are not seeing hardly any small Turkeys. Probably from all the flooding we had in the Spring.
We picked up another Double Wide Ladder Stand yesterday. I may start putting it together today. This one is built different than our other stands. We will have to do the Square Tubing differently on this one for the Plywood Top.
I had just finished brushhogging Four small fields in the same valley we got all the buck pictures in on the neighbors property "Down Stream Side". We were checking the small fields out for the new stand location. We settled on a good straight tree, in a very good spot where the valley intersects another dry creek bed. Open woods at the edge of the upstream field. Perfect spot lots of directions to shoot in good handgun Range. We have a strip of woods between the small fields and the main field on the Ridge. We also have a continuous strip of woods that extends 1/4 mile to Lumber Company property. A gravel road is between the Lumber Company Property and this property. We have multiple trails crossing the road headed towards the smaller field we picked for the stand. I did not mention that just over the fence is a lush valley with some good looking grass. This is on the back side of a big field down in a hole with woods around most of it. This is one of those make you breath hard spots. Good for the 480 Super RedHawk, 35 Bullberry Contender, 357 Maximum CVA V2, CVA Optima V2 50 Cal, etc. So many good hunting handguns, so few tags.
I need to remind the wife to start using up items in the freezers. I think we will need to make some space for deer.

Bob

Same here.
Archery season now is usually the time I spend in the woods scouting with a weapon. I haven't even touched the crossbow yet, but I just ordered new bolts and broadheads, so that counts, right?

Did score a piebald doe last year with the crossbow. Still waiting to get that rug back from the taxidermist.



Some folks say it's bad luck to shoot one of these. I don't know about that, she tasted pretty lucky to me.

I shot a piebald back in 1998. Still have the rug. No bad luck came my way either!

Guns are sighted and ready ... more than enough ammo loaded. I have a new Millennium ladder to put together and a couple of other stands to move. I'll trim my shooting lanes and plant next month.

We have had a few piebald deer on our ranch but they tend to be a little drawrfish. Have y'all found that to be the case?

I've only seen two piebalds in my life while hunting and I brought one home with me. Funny thing was, she was walking with a very dark, like almost black, doe that was at least 150 lbs, so my piebald looked very small next to her.

I think this is my first post here. Shot a 5 point bull (elk) with my muzzleloader last Saturday. Now the fun starts with a private land cow tag. I had one yesterday at about 25 yards. I had crawled out of a tree lined irrigation ditch into the grass at the edge of the hay field and could just see her through the grass. Just as she was stepping into a lane where I could shoot through the grass I pulled the hammer back on the FA .454 and she heard the click. He ears went up and her eyes got big and she turned and headed back to the timber. I'll be back out tomorrow evening when I finish irrigating. Got last years cow at 63 yards with the .454 after a 45 minute stalk.

cobrad, it sounds like you are having all the fun. It is bow season here so I am hunting with my crossbow but we have a early muzzleloader season coming in a couple of weeks and I plan to take my Optima V2 muzzle loading pistol. Good luck on getting a cow elk.

Still excited!

After having a successful opening morning of archery season getting this Spike Buck, I had three big Tom Turkeys just barely out of archery range, friday night, and a doe with a fawn smelling the tree I climbed yesterday morning, I'm still excited!

I love getting this close to animals, just wish it was gun season, so I could use my handguns. That doe yesterday would have come home with me if I had one.

BRASF0311, I have been pretty absent here on the forum in the past few years. I purchased a small form in eastern Nc and have spent the past 3 1/2 years building my retirement home. Not retiring anytime soon! During this time I have worked hard at preparing food plots habitat for deer, turkey, and quail. After 5 years of working the land this is the first year I am truly stepping off the tractor and spending time in the field. My toys have been quiet in the gun cabinet for way to long and are ready to come out and play. Feeling like I did back when I was a kid night before opening day.

cfish2, good luck and we want to hear about how all the hard work pays off.