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

Yep, it's all in the hunt. Memories and the stories are often the best when you don't get the deer.

Yesterday was the type of day where I just like being out in the woods. About 3� of fresh weightless snow on the ground and more falling as you walked. Nothing shows you what�s been going on in the past 10-15 minutes like fresh snow that�s still falling. Well, that doesn�t do you a heap of good other than to show you that there are deer around & they are moving during the day. But, if you can�t be everywhere at once then chances are you are going to miss them. That was the case for me all weekend. They were where I was not.

That�s ok though, it is looking like there are more deer packing into our area, probably moving out of the open farm country to winter in the forest. They are grouping up, for the most part it looks like groups of 4 or better traveling together. It was just a bunch of track soup for me all weekend but I had a good time anyways.

Friday night the Granery shack boys stopped in on us as me & my oldest boy were just getting the chickenbuck shack warmed up. We had a couple of lanterns lit & the shove was huffing away. Within an hour after they showed up it got pretty comfortable, we had a heck of a good time. I cooked up some burgers & threw some other munchies out on the table, the beer was going down pretty good when the captain morgan came out

Oh we were just having a goofy stupid good old deer camp time when we see headlights coming in. More company we thought, good deal, the more the merrier!

Well it�s pam & she brought out a friend that stopped up by the house to say hello to me but I was gone hunt�n. I haven�t seen this guy for better than 5 years!!

What a surprise! So they joined in the festivities & I suppose we shut r down around 2:30 in the morning

I did make out to a stand Sat morning, wrong stand as it turned out. Some of the north stands had fresh tracks right under them, but I was in one of the south stands

Oh well.

Last week of black powder, I�m thinking about taking Friday off.

Oh yeah, and yes Craig, it was damn cold!! I had minus 18 when I went to my stand at 6:45AM yesterday.

yikes!!

That's how all the good stories start...

WEll, I must say that we had a blast at ND's Friday night, he's a great host! The time just flew by, come to find out it was early in the morning when we left. we seen quite a few deer on our way home to Dave. I just bout got the fish house sided yesterday so it was a great weekend with lots of fun to be had!!

Dave,The description of the woods in snow was really good.We don't get much snow here but there have been several times over the years when we got snow on a weekend when we were hunting.It brings a whole new dimension to the woods doesn't it?
Yesterday I was doing my periodic cleaning of the firearms in the two gun safes.I've had something in mind for several months now so I have decided to sell some of my collection.Some of them are ones I have just decided that I will never use ,some are duplicates and some are just ones for whatever reason I never shoot much.My heart bypass surgery has made me take a really realistic look at what I want to do,actually will do and have the capability to do in the future.Here is a link to a posting on my forum of the items I am listing.Take a look and if there's anything that might interest you,drop me an email or a private message.
http://www.guncollectorsforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4710

Stan

The stainless 45/70 kind of floats my boat. What's the barrel length?

I already have a 1895M (.450 marlin)

I like those too. I like the ones with the pistol grip stock. They fit me a lot better for some reason.

Nice collection of guns Stan.

If I didn't have so many irons in the fire now, I'd be taking a serious look at that Ruger .44mag. I had one in a bolt and liked it alot. That semi could be loads of fun.


Tom

Dave,A model 1895SS stands for sport safety or something.It is not stainless.It is a blued rifle.I hit a running coyote last year with it.(Lucky shot).It really spun him around a few times.

tzone,I have killed several deer with a Ruger carbine and out to 100 or so yards with iron sights they are really great.One shot..bang,flop.

The Mossberg .243 is a honey.I killed my first deer with it 11/15/75.Six pointer.

Stan

You'll probably catch some flack for trying to sell that one Stan. But I only have one gun that I will probably hang on to...or give to my kids. Nothing facny, an 870 express in 20ga.

I don't have an extensive collection of guns per say, but I have a hard time even thinking about getting rid of one of them. Maybe when I'm older my thought process will change but I like having them around.

FLACK! FLACK! FLACK! FLACK! FLACK! FLACK! FLACK!

I've always traded and sold them off. Of course there are a few I wish I kept.

The ones I have been getting lately, I'd like to keep around. Who know how much longer we'll be able to buy them.

Rooster7,flack duly noted.You are probably correct.Remind me to tell the story of how I got that gun one day if I haven't already done so.
A neighbor of mine purchased the lever 45/70 so that temptation is removed from Dave.It is for his 18 year old son whom I have watched grow for the last 11 years.
It is raining here today.

Stan

Stan,

I'm hoping tomorrow you're going to say you sold the .44 mag. I like those little suckers.

No rain here....15 degress F, at least its above zero. For now.

goose egg here, zero. which is like neutral right? not negative, not possitive? must be just right?

-5 on the way to work this morning.

I think I'm taking the day off tomorrow. One more try for that damn buck, or any deer for that matter.

wish me luck guys, it aint been too good this year for the deer hunting, but we have snow now & more on the way so, you never know.

Stan, glad you sold that 45/70.

I'm trying to make room for a pair of ruger M77's one in 220 swift & one in 264 win mag.

the swift is home already, the 264 will be soon.

Have a good weekend everyone.

later Dave, good luck.

You hunting with the smokepole still?

Get a biggin Dave.

Hey Stan -
Tell us the story of the .243 accusition. I'm supposed to remind ya.

Ok.Kinda long but interesting story of two good friends.
In 1975 I was living in Atlanta.We had some really good friends named Martha and Bill.Bill was a deer hunter.I was not.He wanted me to join his hunting lease.I was kinda lukewarm.I gave him all kinds of excuses why I couldn't join.I didn't have the money right then.He offered to loan it to me.I didn't have a deer rifle.He offered to loan me one.I finally gave in and joined.I paid my own dues but did borrow Bill's rifle.It was a Mossberg Model 800B in .243 with a 6X Weaver scope.
In those days climbing stands were unheard of.We used ladder stands and other built stands.One of these was called "the round stand".It was the round end of a large cable reel mounted about 15 feet up between two trees.On November 15,1975 I was up in the round stand one afternoon and a six pointer ran down the hill and stopped about 25 yards from the stand.I grabbed the rifle from the nail it was hanging on and when it came to my shoulder all I could see in the 6X scope was hair.I kinda rough-aimed it along the barrel and then looked back thru the scope and saw the spot right behind the deer's front leg which I had been told was where to aim.I shot and the deer bounded off down in the creek bottom.I thought I heard him fall.I waited a few minutes and got down and started to trail a good blood trail.When I got about 60 yards down in the creek there he lay.He had hit a tree and knocked off one antler which I never found.As I stood there looking at him I heard a sound up on the hillside and looked up and saw a wild dog at just about the same time he saw me.He put on the brakes from a dead run and did a 180 to get away.I nailed him with the .243.My first deer.I gutted him and got him back to the car and then back to camp where I got blood rubbed on me.
I gave Bill his rifle back right before Christmas because my wife bought me a Marlin 30/30.
We spent three great years hunting that lease.Bill was a great friend and we were often mistaken for brothers cause we resembled each other in general build and appearance.
In 1978 Bill and Martha moved to Denver,CO. and a year after that they moved to Las Vegas.We stayed in touch and I visited them in 1982 and again in 1993.
In 2002 Bill had a rountine heart by pass surgery.He contracted a staph infection in the hospital and subsequently underwent six or seven major operations.In the process he developed diabetes and lost his left leg at the knee.His health was broken and he sold his successfull swimming pool business and returned to his native Kentucky as a semi invalid.We stayed in touch all of this time by both email and phone.
In 2006 I went to National Gun Day in Louisville,KY and then spent four days at Bill's house.We had a great visit.We cleaned all of his guns which he had been unable to do.We relived old times.
About six months later his wife called me one evening and told me Bill's heart had given out that morning and he was passed away.My friend was dead.
About a month later she called me wanting to know how she might go about sending me a gun.It seems that Bill had left me that .243 in his will.I made arrangements to have the rifle received at my local gun shop.
It had never been fired since I killed a deer with it but had been kept clean and oiled.
I took it to the range and fired it three times and it was right on but three inches to the left.I adjusted it and got it dead on two inches high at 100 yards.
It is a nice rifle and I know what you are thinking.You are thinking how can I get rid of a rifle with that much personal history that my very good friend left to me?And you know I think I will remove it from sale.Thanks Tzone and Rooster7.

Stan

Good luck Dave. Don't freeze your noogies off!

74 and sunny here, but I'm STILL NOT HUNTING!

Good to hear Stan...because after reading that stroy, if I had bought that rifle, you'd be getting it shipped back to you a second time.

Hang on to it, it IS imporntant to you. If your selling them for money reasons, PM me. We'll work something out on one of those other guns.