| DEER HUNTING REPORTS 2003 page 1 Click Here To Go To Last Page |
| Oct 23, 2003 Went out this afternoon and hunted out of my stand on the property out in Greene Co. for the first time this season. I had to walk through the rows of standing corn in both fields to make it back to my spot. Before I got up in my stand I made a mock scrape with a stick and added some buck scent to the ground and on a licking branch above it. At 5:30 I heard the gal at the stables behind me call to the horses. A few minutes later I notice movement to my left in the approximate area where I put the mock scrape. I could see a white rack bobbing up and down sniffing the ground. I couldn't tell whether or not the buck was sniffing the scrape or my scent where I had walked. There were a bunch of trees, vines and honeysuckle blocking my view. I grunted at it a few times and it didn't hear me. There were airplanes flying around all evening making a lot of noise. Finally after I made a doe bleat with a can caller and grunted louder, he look my way and started coming. By the time I put the can back in my pocket and attached my release to the bowstring he was passing in front of me no further than 15 yards! I grunted with my mouth to stop him but he kept going. He was a young 6 or 8 pointer. I didn't get a good look at him because when I looked at my string to attach the release to it he covered the 40+ yards that quickly! I don't know if he ran by me that fast responding to the grunt of if he smelled my scent on the ground and booked. Anyway it was my first time out this year and I had some action. My plan is to take either a doe or a big mature buck, whichever shows up first. I have two tags and an empty freezer. I'll be using my Martin Panther compound bow again and I hope to arow my first buck with it......Steve |
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| Nov 6 Thursday morning, Greene Co., a buck with a half rack came down the hill to the right of my treestand. He hung around awhile before moving back up the hill. At dusk I got busted by a young deer in the back cornfield as I heading back to the van. Nov 7 Hunted until 9:00 out of my stand in Greene Co. As I was climbing down the tree a young deer walked by and didn't even pay me any attention. Nov 10 Went back out to Greene Co. and set up a ground blind in the NW corner of the back cornfield. I wasn't there for 10 minutes when I heard limbs breaking and footsteps coming through the honeysuckle to my right. The sound soon is at the edge of the brush and I could see the bushes moving. This was only about 10 yards from me. I ready my bow and attach the shooting release to the string. I now can see a leg under the brush, then a head pops out and it is the half-rack little buck that I saw a few days ago. He nibbles on the honeysuckle and then browses the cornfield and disappears on the far side. About 20 minutes later I again hear limbs breaking and sound of more that one animal coming my way through the honeysuckle covered hillside. I then hear the grunt of a buck. Again I ready my bow and prepare for a potential shot. As the sounds get closer a small 6 point buck, a doe, and half-rack pop out into the corn field. They chased each other around and eventually run over to the other cornfield. As the morning goes on I watched them in the cornfield roaming around. They finally come back the field that I am watching and the 6 pointer chases off the little half rack. They all were running around until about 10:30. That evening all I saw was the little half-rack again. |
| Nov. 2-4, 2003 Sunday Piff and I stopped and hunted a place in Ross Co. Sunday afternoon on our way down for a two-day trip to Scioto Co. It was hot and near 80 degrees! We scouted out this place last spring and found a lot of deer sign and a few sheds. Piff witnessed a hawk swoop down and grab a squirrel out of a treetop. He also had a doe walk in front of him but he passed up the shot hoping that a buck would be following her. I on the other hand spooked a few deer while walking back to the van after forgetting my release. I did walk up on a grouse in full strut. Monday It was foggy and warm as dawn broke in Scioto Co. We both set up near the pond where we have seen a lot of deer movement in past years. We had a young deer trot down the hill behind us about 9:00. It kept looking back and we waited to see if a buck was following it but none showed up Around 10:30 we heard footsteps coming down the hill in front of us, heading toward the pond. It was a red fox and we watched it get a drink and then move on. On the way back to the van for lunch we busted up a covey of quail. I haven't seen any quail since before the blizzard in the late 70's! |
| Upon arriving at the van we met the landowner and he told us that he found a skeleton of an 8 point buck while bush-hogging that morning. He showed us where it was and I pick up the rack for my antler collection. |
| That evening we had a young 8 point buck come to the pond to get a drink. He sensed that something was amuck and scampered away about 40 yards into the woods and stared at up for about ten minutes before turning and walking away. Tuesday Once again warm and foggy at the pond set up. We had a doe and a small buck walk up on us in the fog and snort at us when they were only about 25 yards away. We didn't even see them coming. That was about all until right at dark a deer came down to the pond when we were packing up. It skirted the pond and it never came close enough for us to get a look. |
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