Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Birth of a deer camp

Since this is all working now...Here are a few pics from the past deer season and a few from fishing.

We didn't get to hunt opening morning in WI, since the new baby decided to come a few weeks early. She arrived 2 days before deer season. We needed her and momma to come home before we left. For some reason, I had the bags and the gear packed into the truck before I went to get them though.
I had a VERY antsy boy pacing the house when we came home Saturday morning. Once everyone was settled, we took off for camp. A 2.5 hr drive. I told Jack that the weather, the wind and the day was perfect to shoot a deer in the afternoon. I told him, expect to shoot at 4:00 P.M.

Well, at 3:58 P.M. Jack shot a big ol cow headed doe in WI from the double ladder he shot his deer from the year before. It was the second year in a row that I've got the privilege to sit with my son and watch him shoot a deer. This time was much different than the first but the same stand that he shot his first deer from the year before. It's a peninsula of old growth that juts out into a 5-10 year old cut. Deer cross it like crazy. The spot has had tons of rut sign on it all 4 years I've hunted this spot. The ladder was set up for about a 40yd shot at the furthest spot. We don't hunt it much because the wind get funky and swirls in there. It just happened that opening day the past 2 years it was a good wind to be in it.

After the season, we went back up and did a little scouting. We moved the stand about 100 yards NE. We can still see the clearing the deer cross, but we can also see into the bedding area about 150 yards to the south and about see to the north 50 yards that we couldn't see before. The best benefit of moving the stand though...We have a new way in and out so we won't have to cross the clearing and the wind will be in our favor more often. I'm hoping anyway. I feel a bit dumb that I didn't discover the new spot before. But we were seeing a few deer come past us where a shot wasn't presented or busting us to the south.

This year we sat for about 4 hours before we saw as deer. The first deer came into our right, where Jack couldn't see it, but I could. It was coming right at us. When he moved his head to see it, she stopped and busted us. She was a good sized doe and one he would shoot if she gave us a chance. Being about 20 yards away there was almost no way he could move without her blowing out of there. They had the old stand off. Then, to the north the big ol girl came through on a trot right past everything on a hard 1/4'ing away shot. Neither of us saw her before she was making all the racket. But, before I knew it the kid has his rifle up and BOOOM! Down she went, on the spot. He made a beautiful shot.

Just before the action started.


Here he is checking shot placement. That's the entrance. Exit was through the heart and out the other side in front of the opposite shoulder.


Hero Shot. You can get an idea of what the bedding area looks like. Waist high grass, scrub oaks, and Jack Pine. West is behind him. We rarely see a deer come from that way, but almost all of them leave to the west into that grass or to the north in thick brush.


The gun he used is a M7600 in 30-06 that he inherited from his Grandpa Pete last year when he passed. There have been dozens of bucks shot with that rifle. It was a touching moment for us both. He was a wonderful man. He'd have been very proud to see this.


For a size reference, this is in an XL Otter Sled.
[/URL]


Here is pic from the blind in "The Hole" I referenced earlier. As you can see, it's a bit tight for seeing them come in. You need to be ready. The gun is pointing down a shooting lane about 3' wide, looking East.