What a way to end the season!

I told my daughter (Alexa) at the beginning of this deer season that if she came with me on at least 5 hunts this year she would finally get to see me shooting a deer. As it turned out I was a little too optimistic. We hunted hard together early season and all we had shots at were little bucks. Of course every time she could not make it out we had does all over us. With the cold weather front that moved in this past week I was afraid the conditions were going to be a bit too extreme for her to be sitting on a deer stand with dad in single digit temps. We decided to give it a shot and after 6 layers of clothes, 3 layers of socks, 2 foot warmers and a hand warmer we were ready. Wednesday night was her 10^th time out this year and I thought it was finally going to come together. Alexa was on my lap and we were getting ready to do a pre hunt interview when Skyler saw a doe coming in at 10yds. Somehow I was able to get my bow and get drawn before she busted us and trotted out to 23yds. Never having a chance to range her I thought she was at 30 and with the combination of her jumping the string and me misjudging the distance I hit her high in the back…..man were we disappointed. All that work for it to end like that just did not seem fitting. After finding the arrow and no sign of any blood trail it looked like my daughter would have to wait another year before seeing her dad shoot a deer.

I was planning on filming Skyler the next evening which would be the last evening I was able to hunt this year. After talking it over a bit, Skyler really wanted to give it one more shot with Alexa and as luck would have it her school was cancelled again due to the cold temps. With our last night out we decided to go hunt a new set we put up this year that had been pretty productive during the rut. It is a good pinch point between 3 thickets and after walking in and seeing all the tracks in the snow it looked as though we had made the right decision. It wasn’t long and the deer were on the move. After seeing a couple does out of range I looked up and seen a doe and two fawns heading our way. It all could not have come together any better. The big doe came in at 32 yds and stopped perfectly broadside in a wide open lane. I remembered to aim a little low this time and let the arrow fly. A short 50yds later and I was finally able to keep my promise to my daughter.

A special thanks to Skyler for giving up his hunt and coming along with us one more time. Looks like I owe him another good turkey hunt this spring. Most of all I would like to thank my little girl for sticking it out till the very end and never complaining or giving up. She is quite the trooper.Daddy loves his little girl!

 

Busy work

With the Rut only days away from busting loose anxious bowhunters need work to keep their minds busy. Sometimes hanging new sets helps to pass the time until the midday sits become a regular occasion. Danny and I decided to go check out a new piece of ground this morning and we are really excited by what we found. The property isn’t huge only 80 acres but it has everything a bowhunter would want. Water, Milo, Corn, Cover, and the perfect tree for a set! Once again the hedge trees bailed us out again. They make you earn a seat in their canopy though. Anyone who has ever hung a set in a hedge tree will understand that comment 🙂 We hung a Reconyx not 20 yards from the tree to keep an eye out for us and we can’t wait to check it next week. Like I said it’s a completely new area and we are really excited to see what calls the place home!

Checking food plots, cameras, and blinds

It’s a busy time here in Kansas and things are about to get a lot busier! With the early muzzleloader season closing today we are dying to get into the woods without wearing every bowhunters hated color, BLAZE ORANGE. The bucks here are finally starting to scrape and we are getting pictures of the same bucks ranging miles already so they are for sure on their feet. Now if we can get them to do that during daylight we’ll be all set! We ran around doing some deer chores the other night and checked our silo plot and were amazed at the growth! It looks awesome! I can’t wait to sit over it on a rainy day when the silo will come in most useful. We also put out another haybail blind that will be a perfect December spot. First things first though, December can wait. November is King and I love the anticipation of the rut and sitting on stand mid morning with the sun warming a cold face.

HBTV Season 3 DVD – Digital Dowload

We are working on the Season 3 DVD as we speak and hope to have it available by the end of the month. That being said, for those of you who don’t want to wait for the DVD to get duplicated, we have considered releasing a digital version.

Corn coming out/ Pictures coming In!

For us in Central Kansas this year a record number of acres have been planted to corn. This is great for the deer and wildlife but not so great for getting trail pictures and seeing your hit list bucks. Here recently some fields have been cut and immediately our pictures picked back up. Now if we can get the milo out of the fields and get bucks making scrapes the list will be complete! Here are a few of our bucks that are on the list! We are still waiting on a handful of mature bucks to show their faces again.

Herd Management with Dr. Grant Woods

I was fortunate enough share a hunt with Dr. Grant Woods from GrowingDeer.tv yesterday evening. After meeting Grant earlier this summer and attending his field day last month, we decided to try and get together on a hunt this fall. We were planning on doing something sometime in October, but it just some happened that Grant was able to stop by on his way to KS to see if we couldn’t shoot a couple does. The wind was perfect for the Midwest Haybale Blind that I put up only a few days ago, so we jumped in it and watched the deer start pouring into the field. We were COVERED in deer, including several nice bucks, but of course the does kept their distance. We had a very close call with a 5.5 year old management buck I call half-rack. This is a deer that, as long as I have known him, has only had half a rack. Last year at 4.5 he had a pretty strong right side, but this year he even got smaller. If given the opportunity, I was going to take him. He managed to slip around us without giving me a shot when Skyler could get the camera on him. Shortly after that encounter, Skyler looked out the side window and said “Guys, doe….5 yards”. Sure enough this doe fed RIGHT NEXT to the blind for another 3-4 minutes occasionally looking our direction. Our hearts were all pounding..talk about intense! Finally she started walking out in front of the blind and gave Grant a shot and he laid the smack down on her! It was a blast spending time in the blind with Grant and Skyler and I hope we can do it again soon! This hunt will be featured on next weeks episode of GrowingDeer.tv. Grant is headed to KS now to scout and hunt a new piece of property that he has never been on. Good luck Grant!

Mike

Grant – Field Day at The Proving Grounds 2010

Midwest Haybale Blind – Worked like a charm!

Grant’s Doe

The HB Streak Continues!

After my first sit on opening day of South Dakota I was able to kill a good mature 8 point.  Clayton Miller of Miller Mathews has been watching this buck most of the summer with numerous trail camera pics.  I shot him last night but left him overnight because the shot was back.  Recovered him this morning in a pond!  Hunting up here is a lot different than at home but none the less I am having a blast!  Hope everyone else is having the luck I am this season!

Shawn

Midwest Haybale Blinds

Clayton from Midwest Haybale Blinds stopped by a few days ago on his way out west and dropped off a couple of their blinds. I couldn’t wait to get them set up, so Shawn and I got right to it! In a matter of a couple hours we had both frames built and finished putting on the cover today. These things look awesome, and I can’t wait to hunt in one…Just need to cut the windows out and we will be good to go!

Check these things out at http://www.midwesthaybaleblinds.com/

THE BIG 9 HIT THE GROUND

After getting trail cam pics of this deer all summer he pulled the disappearing act on us. We went out opening day to where we were getting pics and saw nothing but does. Knowing that the deer are transitioning to white oaks
we made a move to the bottoms where the acorns where falling. After getting in the set it wasn’t long before we had some does come by. About 6:40 he showed up and met the Trophy Ridge shaft. What a way to kick off the Missouri season.

Missouri Opening Day Success!

After patterning this deer, passing him in previous years and waiting until he was mature to shoot was one of the most rewarding things I have experienced as a hunter.  Last night was opening day of Missouri’s Archery Season and fortunately a buck we call Junior was still sticking to his pattern that our Reconyx cams were showing.  After watching him close a distance of 150 yards for about an hour he offered me a 15 yard shot.  He didn’t leave the field before crashing.  I cannot wait for this to air on Season 4!  I really owe Mike a big thanks for scouting this deer out most of the summer!

Shawn