2015 Most Wanted

Suspect #1
This guy is a typical 8 point and there are a number of suspects that look like him.  They are considered to be the foot-soldiers of the mob.

Suspect #2
This guy goes by the alias "The Mutant".  He has been confirmed in the neighborhood for several years. 

There is a possibility that he has been wounded or may be deceased.

Suspect #3
This individual is a nine pointer and has been relatively elusive.

Suspect #4
This individual may have fallen into disfavor with the mob.  He is displaying evidence of abuse with multiple broken tines.

Suspect #5
Nick name "Captain Hook".  He has a distinctive right brow tine shaped in a hook.

The balance of his rack is a nine point with a heavy G-2 on the left side.

He has been frequenting the neighborhood for months.

Although his rack is relatively large, he appears to be fairly young.

Suspect #6
This individual has had very few daylight appearances.  He has a typical 10 point rack.

He may have look-alikes or brothers.

Suspect #7
This individual has a typical 10 point frame but it appears that his right browtine may be forked.  Is it possible that he is related to our final suspect?

Suspect #8
This suspect has been eluding capture for a number of years.  He appears to be at least 12 points with at least one forked browtine.  He has been referred to for several years as "The Beast".

His browtines are long and dangerous weapons.  He has been intimidating residents for several years and he is the chief suspect in the beating that was administered to Suspect #4.

He has a complete and total disrespect for authority.  This makes him Public Enemy #1.

Archery Hunt Fail

 For several years we have had both photos and live sightings of this buck.  We call him the mutant because of his right side antler.

 This is him enjoying an apple.  On Sunday, Joan was in the middle of a project and didn't want to leave at the normal time.  So I headed out to a stand while she finished work.

 At about 4:40 a doe came out and crossed the field.

 Shortly after her, a buck came out on her exact trail.  It turned out to be the mutant.  He paused in front of my stand at about 30 yards.  I was quite a bit higher than him so I put my 25 yard pin on him and let an arrow fly.  It hit him about 3" higher than I would have liked and about 3" farther back than I would have liked.  Still a good shot in the boiler room on a steep down angle.  I could see the fletching hanging out so not a pass thru shot.

 He jumped, then walked a ways thru the field.  He paused, walked onto the ridge trail and paused again.  Eventually, he walked into the woods.  I gave him 30 minutes and then got down to check the field.  No sign of the arrow and no blood at point of impact.  I found this blood where he stood at the end of the field.

 The camera on the ridge trail caught these two images.  The camera clock never fell back at the time change.  He stood in front of the camera for about a minute.  Clearly no exit wound on this side.  Just a high entry wound on the other side.

 I searched and searched.  Joan and I went back out after dark and searched some more.  We stayed the night and I was out waiting for the sun to come up.  I found a little more blood not too far from this picture and nothing else.  I heard a coyote howling down in the valley at sunrise.  I finally had to give up.  I hate this aspect of archery hunting.  I covered miles of ground down to all drainages.

This was Sunday morning sunrise.  The rut was definitely peaking this weekend - lots of deer moving.

On Saturday evening I saw 9 does and 4 bucks.  None of them were in big groups - it was individuals being chased around.  The largest buck I saw was a small 6 point.

 I chased down TC customer service this week.  After phone calls, email, and Facebook messages, I finally spoke to a live person.  Ray was very helpful and promised to send me replacement "locking bolts".  He said it was the only repair that I could do myself.  They didn't arrive before the weekend so I broke the gun down to get at the existing ones.  They are the spring loaded lugs below the breech plug.  They look chrome plated with the plating wearing off.  I cleaned, oiled, manipulated and then reassembled.  It worked.

 The first shot after a year in the safe was 3" high off bags at 100 yards.  The next 3 were in the 10 ring.

 For yucks I took two shots standing off sticks at 150 yards.  Not great but more about my hold than anything else.

 Last week I dragged some doe pee on a wick past this camera.

 It seemed to get a lot of traffic this week.

 Including the beast.

 Even daylight buck activity.

 And the beast again.

Out for a spin a week ago with Dave and the boys.

Coming in from the morning hunt last week.

 And again the next day.

 I put a few of the apples back out from the fridge.

 They enjoyed them.

 Including the possum.

 Rabbit action shot.

Tough to see but there's a fox in there.

I hate not recovering a deer.

Time for the Rut

Most of the trailcams are in a separate post.  Due to the birth of our fourth grandchild, it had been a few weeks since we were out to check on the cameras.  It was a pleasure to help welcome Elliott to the world. 

Dave and Grant joined me for the hunt.  Graham came along as an observer.  Grant is awfully accurate with his crossbow. We had high hopes due to perfect weather and lots of deer sign.

 They have been tearing up the trees.

 There are rubs all over including on some very large trunks.

 This is the kind of beast that causes the tree damage.  He's bulked up and itching for a fight. His neck is huge.

This is what we were hoping to encounter.

 I had this small doe come running out and looking backwards as if something was chasing her.

 And this is what it was - a small 4 point buck.  I also had a 6 point directly under stand one evening.  Grant had a chance at a spike buck but he didn't stay in range long enough for Grant to get the shot off.

 Poop of the week.  In my travels thru the woods I found this white stuff that looked like somebody spilled a quart of latex paint.  It was scattered all about in a 10' area under a large oak tree.  I don't know what it was from but it had to be a big bird.  I'm guessing an owl?

 Grant noticed this preying mantis on the window screen.

 Sunday morning sunrise - Grant chose to sleep in rather than hunt.

 Dave and I tried to get our guns sighted in for gun season - coming up in two weeks.

 My TC Encore once again would not break open.  This happened once before and it required shipment back to the factory.  If that has to happen again, it will miss the season again this year.  It has been less than reliable.  I am not happy.

For prime time during the rut, we didn't see that many deer.  I'm not sure where they were.

 We did clear a few trails with Graham and Grant running ahead to collect moss and other treasures.

 Main field stand view.  I had a 6 point walk directly under me here.

 View from the pond hi-rise.

 This is where Grant had a chance at a spike for his first deer.

 Orchard foodplot had an 8 point in it when I drove in Thursday evening.

The future prairie plot was seeded in some annual rye grass to hold soil for the winter.  It's up a little bit.

 Sorghum in the main field.  The deer have eaten the seed heads from the perimeter of the field.  They are starting to work their way in.

A possum/deer showdown in the apple orchard.