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

did you say "below twenty"?

we usually switch those words, makes more sense.

"twenty below"

You guys can keep those minus temps up there. We had 10* with wind chills near zero one day a couple weeks ago and that was plenty cold enough for my old bones. I am not bred to handle what you deal with up there. I bow to your toughness.

Ron

thats just crazy talk there.

Until I did it, I would have agreed with you.

I couldn't agree with that. turkeys are fun to shoot, but I hunt for meat, I aint bought beef in years thanks to deer. I gave up waterfowl, fun but too damn expensive. pheasant tastes great but takes a lot of time and I don't have a lot of extra so I invest my time in chasing whitetails. got tons of mule deer around but they taste like poo IMO. I'm sure once things slow down a little I'll get into chasing them B-52 grouse. I always buy tags and will shoot them if I get a chance, but I know it aint the same.

I love me some Deers!

I have to let Missy know that the solar lights that she installed on the out house and on the front of the cabin are working. It was below zero the other night when Nate and I opened the road to the cabin. We finished up out there at around 11:45PM and the lights on the cabin and on the out house were both working.

We're heading out there tonight to take the chill out of the place and stay the weekend.

-1 degrees this morning felt nice. What a heat wave! They say we are heading for that 20 degrees above the zero tomorrow! Wow!!

did you see much for tracks when you were out there?

Yeah...from the plow truck.

Well I don't hunt deer or turkeys strictly for meat. I enjoy deer camp WAY more than actual deer hunting or spring turkey hunting. Fall turkey hunting in central WI a guy could fill a freezer if he wanted to.

I enjoy turkey meat but I love the hunt. Trying to see how close I can get them to me. Lots of folks like to talk of thier 60 yard turkey kills. Anyone with a tight choke and a 12ga can do that. I like shooting or not shooting them at 10-15 yards. I like to get them in close and see how fired up I can get them Bright red/blue/white head, full strut, spittin' and drumming in a cirlce. THAT fires me up.

Low 20's and lots of white stuff today. It's very pretty out right now. Nice, "snowy quiet", beautiful hunting snow today.

tz,
I like turkey hunting and after a few years of good success, I think I really should do this with a bow because the gun is too easy. Then after a couple years of failure, I go back to the gun. Ever tried a bow hunt for turkeys?

Turkeys are only "easy" for me because I have a little honey hole where I can't help but whack a couple on most years. Hard hunted turkeys are in a class over my head, even with a gun.

I have shot about a dozen with a bow. Two in the spring and the rest in the fall while bow hunting for deer. In WI (only place i've done it) you can shoot hens in the fall. I'd sometimes see dozens at a time on deer hunts so I'd buy OTC tags. I think I shot 4 or 5 one fall, including a tom. It's not in the same league as spring hunting. Not as fun. More of "right place-right time" deal.

I have also shot several fall birds while grouse hunting and come across them. After the first one, I carried #5 Federal phesant loads in my 20ga when I thought I may have a chance at a turkey in the same area.

I've shot one tom and one jake with a bow in the spring. Both from blinds. The jake was 7 yards and the tom was just under 15. I dont head shoot with the arrow,so you do lose a little meat, but nothing serious.

Hard hunted birds are something else. The best trukey hunt I've ever had was last srping in a hard hunted area and I never fired a shot. Here is a link below if you'd like to read the story.

Best Hunt Ever

4.3" of new snow here at 7:30 AM. 2 - 3" more before it ends Saturday morning. They must have picked up quite a bit more South and East of us based on the school closings.

"T", I saw 3 large Tom's under a bird feeder yesterday South of Wisconsin Rapids.

Don't worry about the TV Dave, not your fault. We meant to get a mounting bracket for it, but have not been up there.

The lights were really working? I had kinda given up on them, so that is awesome!!

Thanks! Won't be snowmobiles, but probably 4 wheelers. Would like to do it up nort, but around here would be closer for most people. Talked about gettin er done in the middle of this big mud hole where we go riding. Most usually get stuck in that spot. Tried to tell our friend Glen (Gladys) to go online and get ordained so he could perform the ceremony, but he didn't think that would be a good idea. So we made him the flower girl instead.

That's where I usually hunt. Under the bird feeders, not WR. I seem to be a much better caller when I'm by the bird feeders. The lady at library seems angry about it all the time and chases me out with a broom.

ROR!

That's the trouble with libraians, no since od humor.

TZ, that was a great hunt! I can imagine that happening.

I see turkeys while bow hunting and I can get a fall, any-bird tag but I never do. This year I regretted it as I was slinking along in plain sight of about 18 birds and some were under 20 yds away. But it's always easy when I don't have a tag.

I pretty much suck at calling so I do not call much - just an occasional yelp or two is enough. I use my homemade box call or a mouth call when they are in up close and tight.

It will not be too much longer before the season is on again and my hotspot is looking really good this winter. Should be excellent again this year.

Muffy,
They have a TV show for people like you. It is called My Redneck Wedding and your mudhole nuptuals would fit right in! That is just too funny. If I tell my wife that I frequent a thread where one of the WOMEN have suggested a wedding at a mudhole she will make me take a class to get "cultured" I fear.

I'm counting on ole yeller to teach this here thing how to push snow.



The plan is to ease yeller into a partial retirement. Or easier work anyways. Haul a load of wood now and then, haul a deer home, go grouse hunting etc. Hopefully it works out ok.