.
The weather for the opening weekend of muzzleload season turned out to be outstanding. It sure was a welcome change from the humid days of bow season. As a matter of fact I had to wear some light thermals and a jacket to handle the 4 mile 4-wheeler ride opening morning. I expect it was 58-60 degrees that morning.
Even better than the cool down was the fact that I shook off the streak of bad luck from last week and downed a nice 5pt on opening morning! I even remembered to punch the record button this time and got some great video of the hunt.
The buck I shot had been on the trail camera a few times but there is a 6pt that had been coming there pretty regularly in the daylight in the mornings. I really thought the 6 would be the first to fall.
I got into the stand about 20 minutes before shooting light and got all my equipment prepped and operational. As the sky started to lightened and I began to be able to see the ground, the same ritual I have seen thousands of times before began. First the hoot owls started in the creek bottom, The red birds start up next and in a short time every bird that chirps is singing. Once it was light enough for the squirrels to be able to see enough to jump from limb to limb they were crashing cabbage fans all around. With the high pressure and cool temp.’s, all the critters were stirring. The moon was even in about the right position for a major feed.
About 7:40 AM I heard a faint noise to my left across a small drainage. There was one small hole that I could see thru, to the leaf covered hammock floor, no more than 30yds distant. Just then I saw the back end of a dark deer slipping through. It paused for a moment behind a screen of oak limbs to test the air before crossing the drainage. I could just make out his legs through the limbs.
Once he felt the coast was clear he eased ahead, not making a sound. He walked out into the opening in front of the stand at about 18yds. I already had the rifle up, supported in my left hand at the ready. My right hand was busy operating the video camera. After a few moments, the buck through his head up kind of suspicious like and that was all I could take…..It was time to drop the hammer, literally. I shoot a T/C Encore which has an exposed hammer.
I touched her off and instantly the whole area in front of the stand was engulfed in white smoke. I just caught a glimpse of a flash of white from the buck at the shot, within a couple seconds came a faint crash and I knew the buck was down.
With almost no wind to push the smoke away, it just hung in the trees below and it seemed like forever before it drifted away enough to see the ground and realize the buck was not within sight. I was a little surprised actually.
I gave him a few minutes and reloaded the gun.
Once on the ground I started looking for some blood in the direction I thought the buck had gone. I missed the beginning of the blood which was faint and just small specks and drops in the leaf litter. I started after approx. 15 yds but with the smoke, I really had no clue which direction he had gone. He had actually left going straight away from the stand to the west and jumped the drainage on the way. About 20 yds beyond I could see his white belly showing. He had made it only about 45 yards, shot thru both lungs, just in the back edge of the shoulders.
I have to admit, this was the least blood trail I have ever seen from a T/C Shockwave bullet. As a rule, these things leave a blood trail that is as good as you will ever see from any weapon. Not this one, though the buck suffered some devastating damage.
I was able to get my 4wheeler all the way to the deer so there was no dragging to be done. It was all down hill coasting from there.
That evening I was running late again. I had to go to work to finish up a small house plan and got held up by a drunk, crack-head prostitute! No really, I’m serious…..
----------I saw a nice little spike buck Sunday morning but decided to let that one pass.
----------I had just enough provision to camp again Sunday night. Hunted Rick’s stand in the Buck block but did not see and deer. The wind was back and fourth.
----------trail cam pics, bear, buck standing on back feet, squirrels ate up my feeder bucket.
It was a one great opening day, perfect hunting weather, great video footage and the harvest of a fine buck with the ole smoke pole. It don’t get much better than that!
Best of hunts,
Larry S.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Florida Muzzleload Hunting Report 10-23-12
Monday Oct. 22,12 AM Hunt
I was able to scrounge up just enough provisions to make it one more night in camp so I decided to stay Sunday night and Hunt Monday morning and drive to work from there.
I found one white potato that had been in the bottom of my floor board just a couple days to long and I knew I had a couple top sirloins in the cooler that I could not wait to get on the cook fire. Unfortunately, they were just a little to old also and looked like something that was more fit for my coon hound than me. However, it was all I had so I shaved off as much as I could to get down to red meat and rolled the dice.
Well, I am still here to recount the story and didn’t poison myself. I hunted the next morning at the west fence stand but did not see any deer movement. All the other creatures seemed to be feeding and doing their thing but the deer were just not cooperating. The squirrels were really active, feeding and chasing each other all over the place.
I was dying to get back into this stand as I could not hunt it Sunday evening due to the wind direction. I had to hunt a stand I call Rick’s stand in a little scrub oak hammock but did not see any deer on that hunt either. When I pulled the trail camera card there. The deer activity was weak with on two deer there during the day and none were bucks. There was a tall 3pt there in the dark and I got some great pictures of him raring up on his back feet to stand straight up in the ait to smeel and hook some oak limbs over a scrape.
Monday afternoon had me back in Bunnell and I wanted to watch the last Presidential debate so I hunted at the property and camped at the house that night. That was the first night I had been home since Thursday. Besides, I needed some clean cloths.
The hunt was a bust and I didn’t see a single deer. I pulled the camera card there and found that a number of does had been there but only (2) bucks and both in the dark. One was the big 5pt and the other was a 5” spike. Both are deer I knew and I had actually saw and got just a little video of the spike. The 5pt is a least a 2.5 yr old buck and has only been on trail camera once in the daylight. That was at 12:30 in the afternoon.
Tuesday morning, Oct. 23, I went back to the pond stand again but only hunted until 8:30 AM as I needed to get the meat from Saturday’s kill in the freezer. I cut up another batch of jerky from the scraps and got it marinating in my special Jerky seasoning formula. That is some awesome stuff. I literally, can’t stop eating it.
Anyway, I had found a really interesting spot Sunday and hung a test camera there to see what is using there. I pulled the card Monday morning and discovered no less than 4 different bucks had crossed there between midnight and daylight! That was all I needed to see. I couldn’t wait to get in there Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday afternoon Oct. 23,
I took the climber in to the new fence crossing spot but was much later getting in the tree than I wanted. Also, daylight is getting less and less everyday now. Besides that I was in a hammock strand with a heavy canopy which cuts the hunt down even more.
I did not see and deer but I and camping again tonight and will hunt it in the morning. It promises to be a good one!
Wednesday Oct 24,
Well, so much for the morning hunt being a good one. I got into the stand well before daylight and listened to the mosquitoes buzzing around for a half an hour until I could begin to see the ground. The morning came and went without seeing a single deer.
The feed time was good, the location was hot but no deer. Strangely enough all activity, squirrels, birds etc. was very weak. By 8:45 my gut feeling was that this was just not going to happen so I jacked down the tree and packed all my gear out.
It’s about a 3-4 mile 4wheeler ride back to the camp and I was humming right along when I passed a little sink hole filled with some waste high weeds. I looked over just in time to see some deer piling out of the sink. I slammed on the brakes, whipped it sideways and grabbed the rifle out of the rack all in one more. By the time the bike settled out I had the cross hairs on the lead deer. Deer after deer piled out and up the hill until 5 in total were visible. I could not find a horn on a single one.
This is interesting as I have seen a total of two does all bow and most of the muzzleload season! Last year I saw one. I guess an optimist might say, sightings are up 50% but something is wrong with the deer herd. Last year I blamed it on the massive acorn crop. Deer sightings are always low when large mass crops are available. The deer can fill up quickly and go lay back down. Of course the bucks are still going to be visible when out looking for receptive does.
However, this year the acorn crop is off and we are still not seeing does? The only other thing that I can fall back on to figure this out are the trail cameras which are all set up on feed stations. They are telling me the doe population is off. I am seeing very few does and yearlings on the cameras. The camera at the stand that I killed the two bucks is seeing ONE doe a week! Incredible.
It’s not over yet but I might not inflict the hurt I was planning.
Best of hunts,
Larry S.
Monday Oct. 22,12 AM Hunt
I was able to scrounge up just enough provisions to make it one more night in camp so I decided to stay Sunday night and Hunt Monday morning and drive to work from there.
I found one white potato that had been in the bottom of my floor board just a couple days to long and I knew I had a couple top sirloins in the cooler that I could not wait to get on the cook fire. Unfortunately, they were just a little to old also and looked like something that was more fit for my coon hound than me. However, it was all I had so I shaved off as much as I could to get down to red meat and rolled the dice.
Well, I am still here to recount the story and didn’t poison myself. I hunted the next morning at the west fence stand but did not see any deer movement. All the other creatures seemed to be feeding and doing their thing but the deer were just not cooperating. The squirrels were really active, feeding and chasing each other all over the place.
I was dying to get back into this stand as I could not hunt it Sunday evening due to the wind direction. I had to hunt a stand I call Rick’s stand in a little scrub oak hammock but did not see any deer on that hunt either. When I pulled the trail camera card there. The deer activity was weak with on two deer there during the day and none were bucks. There was a tall 3pt there in the dark and I got some great pictures of him raring up on his back feet to stand straight up in the ait to smeel and hook some oak limbs over a scrape.
Monday afternoon had me back in Bunnell and I wanted to watch the last Presidential debate so I hunted at the property and camped at the house that night. That was the first night I had been home since Thursday. Besides, I needed some clean cloths.
The hunt was a bust and I didn’t see a single deer. I pulled the camera card there and found that a number of does had been there but only (2) bucks and both in the dark. One was the big 5pt and the other was a 5” spike. Both are deer I knew and I had actually saw and got just a little video of the spike. The 5pt is a least a 2.5 yr old buck and has only been on trail camera once in the daylight. That was at 12:30 in the afternoon.
Tuesday morning, Oct. 23, I went back to the pond stand again but only hunted until 8:30 AM as I needed to get the meat from Saturday’s kill in the freezer. I cut up another batch of jerky from the scraps and got it marinating in my special Jerky seasoning formula. That is some awesome stuff. I literally, can’t stop eating it.
Anyway, I had found a really interesting spot Sunday and hung a test camera there to see what is using there. I pulled the card Monday morning and discovered no less than 4 different bucks had crossed there between midnight and daylight! That was all I needed to see. I couldn’t wait to get in there Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday afternoon Oct. 23,
I took the climber in to the new fence crossing spot but was much later getting in the tree than I wanted. Also, daylight is getting less and less everyday now. Besides that I was in a hammock strand with a heavy canopy which cuts the hunt down even more.
I did not see and deer but I and camping again tonight and will hunt it in the morning. It promises to be a good one!
Wednesday Oct 24,
Well, so much for the morning hunt being a good one. I got into the stand well before daylight and listened to the mosquitoes buzzing around for a half an hour until I could begin to see the ground. The morning came and went without seeing a single deer.
The feed time was good, the location was hot but no deer. Strangely enough all activity, squirrels, birds etc. was very weak. By 8:45 my gut feeling was that this was just not going to happen so I jacked down the tree and packed all my gear out.
It’s about a 3-4 mile 4wheeler ride back to the camp and I was humming right along when I passed a little sink hole filled with some waste high weeds. I looked over just in time to see some deer piling out of the sink. I slammed on the brakes, whipped it sideways and grabbed the rifle out of the rack all in one more. By the time the bike settled out I had the cross hairs on the lead deer. Deer after deer piled out and up the hill until 5 in total were visible. I could not find a horn on a single one.
This is interesting as I have seen a total of two does all bow and most of the muzzleload season! Last year I saw one. I guess an optimist might say, sightings are up 50% but something is wrong with the deer herd. Last year I blamed it on the massive acorn crop. Deer sightings are always low when large mass crops are available. The deer can fill up quickly and go lay back down. Of course the bucks are still going to be visible when out looking for receptive does.
However, this year the acorn crop is off and we are still not seeing does? The only other thing that I can fall back on to figure this out are the trail cameras which are all set up on feed stations. They are telling me the doe population is off. I am seeing very few does and yearlings on the cameras. The camera at the stand that I killed the two bucks is seeing ONE doe a week! Incredible.
It’s not over yet but I might not inflict the hurt I was planning.
Best of hunts,
Larry S.
Deer vs Chevy!
Talk about a freak accident......I was driving across my hay field after dark last night when a young doe busts out from around an island of trees and dead centers the nose of my Chevy pickup! BAAAM!
I had been floundering the night before and speared a few fish. The fish parts were in a bucket in the back of my pickup and I intended to stop by the property and dump them in the pond for my catfish to enjoy.
Unfortunately, I got off work pretty late and by the time I got to the property it was well after dark.
I turned in the dirt drive between two small hay fields and headed for the pond. As I neared the end of the road I saw a doe take off across the field ahead but quartering away to the NE. I had to turn a 90 to the west along a small island of trees that is only about 30' long. Just as I was getting to the end of the trees another deer bolts out from behind the island running full out! This happened so quick I barely got my foot on the brake.
The yearling crashed dead center into the nose of the truck and busted about half of the license plate cover off. The deer was running so low to the ground she did not even impact any of the grill and ended up just under the left front of the truck. I couldn't have been going more then 8-10 mph.
The deer was dead by the time I got out of the truck. The collision had broken its back in 2 locations.
There was nothing that could be done at that point except to salvage the meat. I had a cooler in the back of the truck so I pulled the deer out and skinned and quartered her right there on the ground like it was a pack job.
I thought I was done with any deer cleaning chore, at least for another year!
The whole thing was such a fluke that I shot a little video of the aftermath to post here.....
Larry S.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Recent Hog Trail Camera Photo's!
I just pulled some trail camera cards and found a pile of sows and pigs using the area again.
There was a massive live oak acorn crop this year at this property but there were so many deer, hogs and turkeys using this hammock that they just wiped them out. Also, the woods have really dried up and this pushed the hogs back to the creek swamp. I just recently got my feeders going again and the hogs area starting to show back up. Not much for shooters on the camera but I'm sure they are around close.
I'll be offering some reasonably priced hog hunts coming up so if your interested in doing some hog hunting in North East Florida, leave me a comment and I will get back to you.
Here is a link to my guiding site where you can get some more information on both guided hog and turkey hunts...... http://guidedturkeyhunting.com/
I'll be posting a lot more photo's in the up coming weeks and hopefully a few new bow hunt video's.
Best of hunts, Larry Stephens
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