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

Well, I got no explaination for ya.

Unless maybe ma is using catnip dryer sheets on my clothes or something? I have no idea. Never seen a mountain lion before in my life, almost got ran over by one in CO while on foot during elk hunt this year.

we were talking about bobcat just recently, I enjoyed the company of my dad & my uncle at deer camp, both guys in there 60's. We talked about how rare it was to see a cat even from the car or truck (bobcat). Talked about the fact that none of us (including the 2 avid outdoorsman in there 60's) had ever seen a bobcat while walking in the woods or even while sitting in an elevated stand for hours on end watching for deer.

My late cousin was the only one we could think of that had seen and shot one while out on foot in the woods, he did that about ... maybe 5 years ago? Well this year I did too.

Luck being accidentally in the right place at the right time with all things accidentally perfect such as wind & maybe some prey that has the animal out of focus... It's got to be a whole bunch of that sort of thing that you can group into the luck catagory.

Or it's the catnip dryer sheets, one of the 2.

rifle, lever action. 9422M winchester.

no sights, not even irons, I shoot instinctive.










Ok, I made that part up, 3-9X 40mm burris FFII.

That explains it nicely. Something I hadn't thought of. Karma.

Craig

could be, we identified the coincidence immediately as well.

.22 Magnum is an amazing cartridge.It will do a number on a full grown coyote and if the shot is placed right,a feral pig.
I had a friend who regularly shot deer on his own property with one and never took more than one shot to bring a deer down.This,by the way,was perfectly legal being under a crop depredation permit.

Stan

I shot my red fox with that rifle. the 9422M with the remington 33 grain acutips.

I like the .22WMR everyone should have one. Who aint got one? Put your hand in the air, Stan will buy this round, I'll get the next

ND,

Me and two of the kids also saw a bob cat this year during the early doe hunt. I am thinking that we may take a try at it now with winter coming on by doidn some predator calling.

Last time I saw them was 7 years ago when I was copping up in Red Lake.

However now around here we are all watching for the bigger type kitty cats you ran into in CO.

A horse was attacked over by Bagley and a guy was attacked by an unidentified animal this summer. A cougar was hit over by the Amigo theater here not to long as well.

In any event i think there are more around then folks realise.

An ex-girlfriends brother from Montana hunts deer with a .22 mag all the time. He claims it's legal in MT. I guess I don't know if it is or not but it kills deer.

lots of cougar stories floating around from deer hunters up this way this year.

It seems it is becoming as common of a sighting as timber wolf.

There are a lot of deer killed every year with .22's and .22mags. Legal or not.

Speaking of cougar kills,there was one killed last week in Georgia near my home town of West Point.The DNR examination showed that it was a western US strain of cat(how do they know that?) and the general condition indicated it was one which had either been released or escaped from a private owner.
The DNR in Georgia and in South Carolina staunchly deny any native population of cougars or panthers although sightings have been reported.Some people in Georgia got upset over the hunter shooting this one.I think if one walked under my deer stand I'd pop a cap on his butt.

Stan

I have to say, building a hunting camp is very memorable. My dad and I did his in 1983 near Bigfork. He passed in 2005, and the memories of building the cabin, along with the hunts, I will cherish forever. Coming in from a day in the field to the smells of Mom's pork roast ( she passed in 2000) are burned into my memory. We ended selling the place in 2002 as dad needed the money and we started hunting more at Schoolcraft near Bemidji. I think all of the memories there were too much for dad, but he talked about that place with such pride 'til the day he died.

Congrats and best of luck!

Glen
Meas.AZ

Thanks very much for posting Glen.

Welcome to the campfire forums.

Dave

Welcome to the fire Glen.

Don't be stranger there, we want to hear some of those stories from your camp....

Tzone, you just reminded me that I havent posted much for stories from my camp. First of all, my camp is a little different than NDs. We have been hunting the same property near Alexandria, Minnesota, since the 70s (I started in 1982). We are blessed with a very productive area of about 550 acres of private land. There are 10 of us that hunt this area. It is a mix of fields, a 50 acre hardwoods, and quite a few willow swamps.

Our "camp" is actually a shed. My uncle pulls out his camper and we have a little woodstove in there. That is where we eat our meals, spill our BS and plan our strategies. I usually bring my camper up and park it in my uncles yard and we sleep there. Although this year, I didnt get the camper out even once, so I left it winterized and we drove back to my dad's house about 30 miles away.

Our hunters are a varied bunch. Some old, some young, some in the middle (me). Some dedicated (me), some weekend warriors who dont always even make it on the weekends. The core group never changes though.

This year was a good year for us. We got 3 really nice bucks...a decent 8, a nice 10, and a huge 8. Then we shot 3 little bucks (one of these was ok as it was a kid's first). We are trying to pass on those with mixed results. Some guys just cant do it. But we are making progress. It wouldnt be so bad, but these are guys who have shot plenty of deer and dont value the horns at all on little bucks. Of course they want to shoot big ones. Oh well, I better get off the soapbox before I take a tumble.

This year, would be my 13 yr old brother's second year (yes, there is a big gap in age betwixt us). he has shot a doe, but never a buck. He lives and breathes for hunting. my wife says i have created a monster. He has incredible patience and stays on stand all day from before light til after light. Along about 11 am on the 2nd day of the season, here comes a buck. you know the feeling, a 13 year old and his first buck.

The heart is hammering away. The buck gets closer...only 35 yards now. he hunts in the willow swamp with tall yellow grass. He is just getting ready to drop the hammer and the deer disappears. gone. there one second, nothing the next. No sound, no nothing. a few minutes go by and nothing. pretty soon the excitement level comes off redline. Then he sees it. A subtle movement where the buck was. yes, a horn. The buck layed down. Gun up, ready to rock, lil bro sits there for 2 hours until that buck stands up. he shoots and it runs into the willows.

Dad and I come out to help him look. I scour the bed. no blood. 1 hair. This aint lookin' so good I am thinking. As we coached him, he memorized the exact route the buck took and the very last place he seen it. We look hard. No blood. after a half hour, dad and I give each other the "look". This doesnt look good. no snow by the way either...that would have helped. As I continue to search for any hint of a hit, I notice that the stand is always in site as I make an arc around the trail the deer was last seen on. Hmmm. then why wouldnt lil bro see the deer farther than he did. It hits me, the deer died and jumped to the left or right at the last place he saw it. Sure enough, before I can get back there, Dad finds him. He had ran about 50 yards and was hit perfectly on a quartering at him shot. no blood from a 12 ga slug that entered at the front edge of the shoulder and came out behind the offside shoulder. not a big buck, but a perfect one for a kids first. A year and a half old 7 pointer.

good story!

congrats to your little brother.

Welcome Glen! Stick around and share some stories!

So what made you leave God's country?

Great story. Tell your little bro congrats from tzone.

Do you have any pics?

Welcome aboard Glen! You and BMan keep the stories coming PLEASE!!! Wonderful way for me to come back home tonight. Thanks to All..

Well after about 9 hours on the road I'm BEAT but I just got back from Kiddo's Next New Specialist and she is going to have surgery in March on her heart. Supposedly she will only be there 1 day for this and shouldn't have anymore problems after this. For now more meds and hang tough. On a side note I did promise Kiddo a New Bolt in .243 Win if she hung in there and toughed it out alittle longer. She has been eyeing one on the local gunshop shelf lately and I knew she liked it alot. Soo sometime in March as soon as the schedule allows for the Doc to do it, we'll be notified then.

Me I have more test for myself tomorrow at yet another Hospital and Hopefully they get me firgured out and all of this crud over with SOON.

Gonna finish catching up on the booard and Momma rented me a new western for tonight to watch. Gotta Run, Please keep the Deer stories coming guys. My mind is FULL of other things so I don't have much to share lately, but your stories help take away some stress. Thanks!!!!

A few years ago......

I'd been at camp for a week. Deer populations were at a nasty low after the high snow winters in the mid/late '90s. I hadn't killed a deer in two years. Last shot was a miss the year before on a logging trail just 300' from the shack. First miss ever.

I woke to a bitter wind and about -5 degrees. After a week of hard hunting I tossed a oak log in the stove and tucked the sleeping bag under my chin. It was going to be a late start. Everyone else had gone home. Given up.

After some pancakes and a beer, I headed out at 10:00. It snowed that night and with the cold, each step squealed like a rabbit. Figured I'd better move so slow so I couldn't be heard or not move at all. It took me 45 minutes to make 300 feet.

At the exact spot of my miss the year before I dropped to one knee. Waited. I just felt it was right. Spotted movement and shouldered the .348. Little buck stepped into the trail and the old lever barked. Hunch, buck, run. A good hit.

Waited for a few, found great hair and red blood on the trail. Tracked for 50 feet and recovered a nice buck.

I remember how I felt. Redeemed. Cleaned. Said little prayer of thanks and started the work.

I'm ready for that now. Haven't shot a deer in two years. It's building.

Craig