Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Deer Camp is Open!

I came down early and opened up Deer Camp. The rest of the crew will start coming in tomorrow Noon.

We have a new Plebe this year joining the Shamanic Dream Team:

Introducing Foxtrot Charlie

I've been scouting the property. We had a nice 8-pointer that has been showing up frequently, but last weekend, he showed up with half his rack missing. The good news is something bigger must have knocked it off.

I can't wait. I'm like a poodle leaving puddles. I already have my gear sorted and the Savage 99 on the rack, ready to go.

Good luck!

A good deer camp is a special thing!

Moose and Mooselette arrived after midnight. She's looking for her first, taking a 30-30 bolt gun. She'll hunt with Daddy Moose on the Opener and me in the Evening.

Best of luck!

I scouted from the back of the house this morning. It was looking like rain, so I didn't want to go far.

About 45 minutes after sunrise, I was rewarded with the sound of a buck rising out of his bed back in the weeds less than 50 yards from the house. He grunted a bit and then moved on, going towards the stand where Foxtrot Charlie is going to be.

After that, I came in and got breakfast. When I went out on the front porch, I was pleased to see a very wide backside with tail skywards bounding off towards Hootin' Holler, about 200 yards out from the house.

Good luck, shoot a big un

Just about sundown, we were all sitting around the fire and a big 10 pointer walked up and checked us out about 30 yards from the fire. He then wandered into the bushes and regarded us.

Two more shootable bucks showed up in the pasture a little while later.

It's looking like the start of a good season.

Good luck out there this morning, I will be down the hill from the house this morning myself here in Roberson county. I've got 2 shooter bucks that have been traveling through my property and getting their pictures taken the past few weeks of the rut looking for does, hoping they might decide to come by but I will be just as happy with a doe for the freezer.

Good luck fellas

Best of luck!

I’m chewing on the tenderloins of my first one, wrapped in flour tortillas with cheese and butter, as I type this…

We're in from Opening Morning.


Moose and Mooselette bagged the half-racked 8 pointer at 0730. The rest of us drew a zilch.


​Pictures and story to follow.

Why did y’all come in if you didn’t get a deer?

Good luck hunting!

Heard quite a few shots this morning in my neck of the woods, they are definitely in the rut, neighbor saw 2 bucks chasing a doe nextdoor this morning, he wasn't hunting. I passed on a nice 8 this morning that in hindsight I probably should have shot have several trail cam pics of him, holding out and hoping for a shot at a 10 point I saw last year, local fellow found his sheds post season last winter right next to the back of my property line but haven't seen him since.

All the neighbors saw nothing. Moose's buck was the only deer taken within a square mile. This evening Mooselette and I saw 3 doe at last light, but she couldn't see well enough to make a shot. The neighbors across the creek were chasing a wounded deer up the creek.

Overall, we're seeing a slow start, but I expect things to improve as the week develops.

What’s the temps down there?

Tea and crumpets.

You reach a point in life when a good crumpet is good enough….

Overnight lows 38F highs are nearing 60F



Back at it this AM. Mooselette is going with me to Midway.



I used to try to pull all-day hunts, but I seldom saw anything move past 11. Nowadays, I need a few hours to get a meal in me and rest. I'm diabetic and have a bunch of other things wrong. The rigors of an all-day are beyond me.

Aside from a gimpy knee, I’m in good health. When I was working, I used to stay out all day because the number of days I had was limited, seasons were short, and it was a long drive. Now I can hunt from the end of September into January with one weapon or another, so I pick my days, and don’t turn them into marathons. Don’t even pack a lunch or a thermos. When I’m hungry, I hike back out and drive the 20 minutes it takes to get home. Generally, I hunt the mornings, as it gives me time to track if needed, and to bring ‘em out. Once I get one in the freezer, I become even more casual about it.

Still have a week of Archery before the Firearms Buck (and does with a tag) season. Hope to get a doe down and punch my Earn-a-Buck ticket so I can shoot ‘em all on opening day, but gotta take wifey fishing first.

Keep at it. You know better than most that every day matters.

I get ant in my pants around 9:30 got to move😂

that's living the life 👍

We try…

Update:


SupeCore bagged a doe yesterday, 164 lbs live weight.


At 4:20 this afternoon. Foxtrot Charlie managed to bag a whopper. 11 points and probably 175+ lbs of live weight. He was hunting out of a tower blind near me-- we'd both just settled in. This is easily the #2 buck at our camp. FC is leaving puddles.


​All the processors were closed. We're keeping it in the truck untill tomorrow.


Sorry about the lack of pics and detail. Things have been hopping. I've not had any downtime, but I hope to get something published soon.

Monday Update:

Wifey got her fishing trip. Beautiful day. We took four nice rainbows (if those slimy buggers can be called nice), and a crappie, so Pappy’s cleared to go back in the woods….

Shaman, that’s a huge doe. Congrats to all the lucky folks!

Keeping it in the truck ? What the hell kinda deer camp doesn't have a place to hang deer ? Sheesh.

It was just a bit too warm to hang mine, so I left it in the truck overnight with 120lbs of ice in bags, then the next day drove the truck under a tree and pulled it off with a hoist. Skinned it, cut it down just enough to go in a 150-quart cooler. Five days later, I boned it all out, then the next day cut, wrapped, ground, and froze.

Would’ve been easier to skin the first day, but Grandpa was whipped from all the hiking and dragging.

Must be a hellova buck. No pics....don't want the new guy to show everyone up.

The Pics were posted in another thread

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...ar-hiatus-another-whitetail#Post18927719

I think the shaman gets a second helping of brisket FC! Lol. You’re uninvited next year.

Oh, I gave him a triple portion of brisket tonight! I gotta be sure to stay in his good graces.

FC

I have to admit, it is good brisket!

Good to see, grown men, having fun !!

It's been raining and the wind has been fairly brisk. SuperCore and I opted to stay in and get caught up on sleep and chores. I also managed to get everything together for a post detailing our hunt so far.

Report From Deer Camp, 2023

Moose and Angus are due back out this afternoon. FC has returned triumphant back to town.

I saw the "Scoresby on an empty stomach" requirement. You guys run a rough camp.

We have to remove the wheat from the chaff if we are to maintain our standards of excellence. Actually, we agreed to waive FC's Scoresby requirement in lieu of the brisket. We're still eating off that thing.

I saw some deer running about in the treeline this AM. Outside of that, we've drawn a zilch.

It seems FC shot all the good ones ( the ones that pose for a shot) .

Moose picked up his deer today from the processors. We're about to eat smoked backstraps.

Yum.

We pulled out early and came home. I had planned on sticking it out until Monday evening, but there was no sense in beating this dead horse. There were hardly any deer showing themselves in daylight. We heard very few shots from the neighboring ridges. It is solidly an off-year, and it's happened to us before; about 1 year in 10 are like this.

Well that's a kick in the shorts. I endeavored to bring success to the camp, not leave a turd in the punchbowl.

I could bring a smoked pork shoulder next go 'round. That oughta make for better luck.

Perhaps we can do a Gordo's meetup next week, to strategize.


FC

No need to apologize. It was plenty fun just seeing you with that deer. The brisket more than made up for anything.

I'll be indisposed until after Sunday. After that, I'm fairly free. The job of a camp Patriarch is never ending.