2010 Deer Hunt WMU 66A Full Story PICS

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Set-The-Hook
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2010 Deer Hunt WMU 66A Full Story PICS

Post by Set-The-Hook »

I hunt deer in WMU 66A with approximately 13 people. We ended up with 4 doe tags this year and 9 buck tags.
We typically sit in the mornings...have some breakfast..."push" a few bushes and head out for an evening sit.
As you can see we have a good mix of male...female...young...old...and dirt...haha
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Despite all of our efforts nothing was seen or heard on Monday...there was very little shooting going on around us as well.

On Tuesday evening our luck changed and a fawn was added to the meat pole (first deer on left) by the camp "Razzer" Dunk (dressed in red plaid).

Wednesday morning "the plan" comes together as myself and my cousin have success at first light minutes after we reach the "midway" stand. I carried my shotgun to the stand and Steve carried his .270. The plan was to have Steve sit at a great vantage point and for myself to walk through a small section of bush and move the deer towards his ambush. We had just made it to the stand and were waiting for the morning to come alive when we were winded by a deer. He blew us off and bounded towards the bush giving us a quick glimpse of hide before he went behind a group of trees. Steve and I had guns up and our heart rates went from 40 bpm to 120 bpm in the blink of an eye. Not a minute later and we spotted the deer moving away from us at a brisk pace...not running...but not waiting around either. I grunted 3 times and stopped the buck about 200 yds away. My commands to Steve were straight to the point "shoot it". From Steve's elevated position he centered the cross hairs on the deer’s vitals and squeezed the trigger. At the report on the rifle the deer dropped. "He didn't move" was my response. After a few deep breaths and a cup of coffee later we retrieved his deer. An 8 point buck!
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The rest of Wednesday saw the gang push out two does to Richard who "let them grow" another year...and scared them to the next WMU over by missing them 6 times. Oh...Richard is the man with his arm around his daughter in pink in the picture of the gang.

Thursday afternoon saw Richard miss two more does in his backyard...yes...you read that correctly...his BACKYARD. To make matters worse...his backyard isn't even 50 yards deep! HAHA
Interesting story: Richard popped home for a visit with the wife mid afternoon. Wife looks out the bedroom window and sees two does feeding on the barley by the shed. Richard leaves the bedroom...goes out to the car at the front of the house...gets his gun and bullets...goes back into the garage...opens the back door...aims...and...click...Richard them proceeds to close the door...LOAD his gun...open the door again...and to his surprise the deer are still there. He raises his .303 "aims" and bang...the deer take off running...he fires one more shot before they disappear into the woodlot. A lengthy search for blood...hair...and deer turns up empty. His wife is in disbelief. The gang...is well...used to it. HAHA
It was time for the Thursday evening sit and I needed a change of scenery as I had hunted "My Stand" morning and evening since Monday. I opted to hunt at a different property with one of the younger hunters from the gang. (We have had some success before when venturing off together in the form of a fine doe 2 years ago). He graciously offered up "his" stand to me and headed to another part of the farm. It was a rainy evening and I stuck out like a sore thumb in my yellow rain pants and blaze orange hunting attire in the steel stand surrounded by...nothing.
From my vantage point I can see three fields. To my left is a hay field...to my right is the "long field" with a few rows of corn...and behind me is a scrub field. At 5:45 PM I spot something at the edge of the "long field"...I raise my rifle only to hit the barrel on the "steel" stand and make the loudest "DING" one could imagine. Fortunately for me when I raise my rifle to my shoulder I find the deer still there...but that the scope is fogged and I am having difficulty seeing through it perfectly. A quick rub with my sweater later I can see that the deer is a spike. I crank the scope to 10X...get a good rest...and the .270 WSM barks. He hunched up...and I knew that I hit him a bit back...with the swamp on the other side of the tree line I wanted to put him down for good. Two quick shots later and he laid at the edge of the tree line for me to pick up at dark. (Quick side...shot was 310...ranged with Bushnell range finder the next day...and all three shots connected...1st one just in front of the diaphragm...second front of right shoulder...and third right behind right shoulder...I would not have even attempted if not for extensive practice at long distances and a solid rest)
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I had recently changed pants to my yellow rain pants and was wondering (read "panicking") if I had brought my extra ammunition with me on this hunt. On the third time I reached my hand in my pocket I pulled out a rifle cartridge instead of a shotgun shell...man was I relieved! When reloading was completed I worked on clearing the fog and rain from my Bushnell elite. I wasn't completely finished my task...when I looked into the field to my left and noticed a deer directly in the middle of the field with his nose to the ground...moving quickly...was he moving at me...or away from me I thought? A quick check confirmed that he was indeed moving towards me. At approximately 75 yards I grunted...he stopped and the 130gr. WSM found its mark. He went 40 yards before pilling up in front of the stand at 6:00! I sat until dark admiring the two deer I could see in different fields. The young lad was happy when I told him that I had missed the deer out of his stand...haha...but he was even happier when I told him the truth and informed him that I had TWO down! I had no clue that the second one was a nice 8 point until we went to pick it up. I had seen the rack when he was coming to me...but made a conscious effort not to make it my main focus.
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Friday saw the gang move deer again on a push...only to have my uncle (far left coonskin cap) miss two does from the same spot Richard missed on Wednesday (not in his backyard) HAHA.
My Cousin Steve who shot the first 8 pointer missed another nice buck and hit a poplar tree dead center after it snuck in behind him. (The buck...not the tree! HAHA)

Recently my fiancée took the Firearms Safety Course and the Hunters Education Course. She came to visit on Saturday and was going to enjoy the evening sit with me. There are only two options that we have for stands that can be occupied by two hunters at one time so our spots were limited. I asked Jimmy (father of young hunter) if we could use HIS stand at "the corner" and he agreed...how could he not...Shannon looked mighty cute in her new camo outfit! Its a great stand for us as she is a bit fidgety and there are walls all around the blind.
After some camp banter Shannon and I headed to the corner a bit later then I would have liked. We parked the buggy and tip toed to the stand. I proceeded up the ladder first...and then helped her climb up into the stand. I placed the rifle in the corner...put down her seat cushion...helped her get comfortable...turned to my right and thought...holy #$%ing @*^%...there's one right there. I hadn't even placed my butt on the seat yet! I quickly handed her the rifle and was ready to provide her with any information/advice she needed. Unfortunately...it was quickly apparent that I had not taught her very well as she was having difficulty picking the deer up in the scope...and her eye was dangerously close to becoming black and bloodied. I think I muttered "you are going to hurt yourself" and commandeered the rifle. The doe jumped...horse kicked and took off on a "dead" run. Being only 5:04 there was lots of time to slow down and teach the art of tracking. We got out of the stand and went to where the deer was standing when I shot. Hmmm...no blood...no hair...nothing. I asked again what the deer did when I shot. "Ran" was the response...I prodded for a bit more information. "Jumped...kicked...then ran" was more like it! We searched some more and found white deer hair...I was really starting to doubt myself now...had I hit low? Still no blood and we started doing grid searches...at one point I smelled something and called her over to verify. "Smells like wet dog" she said. "It's got to be around her somewhere" I replied. Within minutes SHE found some blood. I took the time to teach her how to mark the blood and search for more...making sure I informed her to take a knee and look around sometimes as you might be surprised to see the "deer right there"!
I have never been more excited to hunt at any time...it is beyond words...I was proud as a peacock as she helped me drag it from the cedars to the trail.
I won't go into details about getting the buggy stuck...and waiting in the dark for my dad to walk a mile through water to get help...but believe me...Saturday November 6th will be etched in my mind FOREVER!.
It is unfortunate that I don't have a picture of my huntress. She was fantastic!
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Sunday the gang spent cutting up and packaging the 5 deer. We have done it for years and everyone knows their station. This year I tried my hand at skinning as I wanted to try something new.
Does anyone know a good place to get pepperettes made?
Here are some pictures of the three deer together...and a coyote I got on the Sunday evening.
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Thanks for reading.
PETE
Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught!
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Out4trout
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Post by Out4trout »

Fantastic!!

I enjoyed the report - esp the play-by-play. We all live out our hunts for the next year - and you've done a great job with the rundown.

Thanks for sharing
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TLunge
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Post by TLunge »

Great report! having good times with the gang
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Post by Bass Addict »

Wow........

What an Absolute Fantastic read 8)

High Fives to all parties involved
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IgglesD
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Post by IgglesD »

Awesome report...Thanks
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SeaMonster
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Post by SeaMonster »

Great read!
Sounds like quite the gang!

We're a gang of 10.
Makes for some fun stories.
I'm kind of jealous that you get the fiancee out hunting. Of course I'm just thinking how that setup could increase the days I would get to hunt. 8)


We've always gotten our peprettes done at McGarroch Meats in Micksburg. It was always busy and a bit of a wait, but I never had better. Might be a bit of a trek for you though.
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Set-The-Hook
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Post by Set-The-Hook »

Thanks everyone! It was a pleasure to write the report.
SeaMonster...thanks for the tip on the pepperettes.
I hope everyones hunt was as interesting as mine.
Perhaps I could find some more pictures.
PETE
Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught!
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ASK
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Post by ASK »

Good report abd awesome bucks.

Good job

ASK
Just Dive................
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Yannick Loranger
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Post by Yannick Loranger »

Nice Report! Thanks for that and congrats on the successful hunt.
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Post by Maple »

Set-The-Hook

Thanks for the great report.

I like the pepperettes from Scotch Corners Meat just past Carleton Place.
613-257-3421
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Set-The-Hook
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Post by Set-The-Hook »

Thanks for the info Maple...I have a few lbs of venison that needs to be made into delicious pepperettes!
PETE
Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught!
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Doug
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Post by Doug »

Set-The-Hook wrote:Thanks for the info Maple...I have a few lbs of venison that needs to be made into delicious pepperettes!
PETE
If you have a meat grinder (or access to one), you can make your own VERY tasty pepperettes with the kits shown on the top right on page 5 of Halford Hide and Leather (Edmonton) catalogue:

http://www.halfordhide.com/catalogue/bu ... pplies.pdf

I have always had my pepperettes done up by a butcher, but this year the lad who has been making them for me went out of business. So.....I did a bit of research, and found that they are really not at all difficult to make. I bought the hickory flavour, and they are just excellent!

Doug
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Set-The-Hook
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Post by Set-The-Hook »

Thanks for the information DOUG! I do have access to a meat grinder...and I have many lbs of ground venison already to go.
I will let you know how they turned out.
PETE
Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught!
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Post by Doug »

Set-The-Hook wrote:Thanks for the information DOUG! I do have access to a meat grinder...and I have many lbs of ground venison already to go.
I will let you know how they turned out.
PETE
If you (and your gang) have a lot of burger meat and want to make sausages as well, the seasonings and collagen casings from Halford's are very easy to use. I use about one-third pork to two-thirds venison, in a 25 pound batch, and the 30 mm collagen casings. The last batch I made turned out to be a bit sticky to run through the stuffer, so I added about two bottles of dry red wine to the 25 lb, and it was just perfect.

EXCELLENT sausages, and since you made them, you know what is in them. :wink: And there is something very satisfying to me to be eating my own sausages, or indeed to give them away as special gifts.

Enjoy!

Doug
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