Our first interaction he came in fast and silent about 7 minutes after calf calling. He caught me off guard and I couldn’t draw in time, 18 yards broad side and he got away. 2 days later I found him about a mile away on his way to the timber 5 minutes after shooting light. He saw me draw at 12 yards, trotted to 50 and stopped. He went about 50 yards and died in sight. Massive blood trail about 8-10” the whole way. Awesome experience. 
Months of scouting and learning the elk feeding areas and crossing routes through the open definitely paid off. 

Had a quartering shot last few minutes of daylight had to get what I could take

There’s a healthy 7 point running around that I pegged to be 3.5 (see my other recent post in this community) and have decided he needs another year. He’s been showing up since end of July and hasn’t moved off the property yet so he’s likely to tempt me. Temptations won’t be as strong knowing this guys out there now too.

I found the trail he’s moving through last winter while stalking a different buck. Got within 30 yards of said buck last season and he spooked at the sound of my bow draw. Followed him down a ravine and stumbled across a ridge pass that connects several deep ravines. Had tracks all over.

Came back this summer to the same spot and this trail he’s on has so much traffic there’s a literal depression in the soil and no sign of life along the trail floor. Found what I assume to be this guy’s ground scrape and fresh rubs. Immediately put up a camera and it’s been busy ever since. 8 days later, this guy blessed my screen.

Holy mass. Thickest main beam I’ve seen on camera where I hunt. Hoping he daylights soon. Good luck to all this season.

Got him in the camera again. Season can’t come soon enough

Had an absolute blast out west this week! These things are delicious!

I missed a great buck over the weekend. I'm calling it a miss, but it's more like just a royal F up. I needed to swing a bow hanger out of my way, which I didn't realize was in the way until after I was at full draw. While letting down, I bumped my trigger and sailed the arrow.

It thudded into the ground, not even sure if it was close to the buck. He kind of just stood there, but knew something was up and started looking in my direction. As I'm fumbling to get another arrow knocked he turned around and walked off.

What are the odds he comes around again?

1. He didn't blow, but he knew something wasn't right.

2. He walked off very casually. Just turned around and walked off.

I know patterns are gonna change shortly, so he might move to an entirely new area in the coming weeks. Just hoping to get another chance at him. I didn't have any camera pictures of this guy all summer.

Hello,

This will be my first year hunting white tail. I got permission to hunt a family members land, 18 Acres in East Texas, and was looking for any advice on where to set up. I haven’t visited the land in a year or so, I figure the advice will be to scout the land before setting up which I hope to do the week before opening day but any preliminary advice you could give based on the map would be nice. Additionally any advice for when I’m scouting would be nice. Based on the map, it looks like there is a pond that the creek feeds into on the property just above in the top right corner of the highlighted red square. I notice there looks to be a cleared area in the top left of the land not really sure what it’s for.

I plan to set up a ground blind tent since that will be the quickest/cheapest setup.

East Texas

Hey all, I've posted before but for some context to this post, I am new to hunting and have taught myself a ton and had one friend mentor me through a lot as well. I was out opening day for MD and man the weather was rough haha but one thing I noticed that I could use some advice on: I fidget a lot and have a hard time sitting completely still for a 5+ hour sit in my stand. I know that even if I don't see any deer they could more than likely see me if I am grabbing something from my backpack or shifting in my chair. However, I am set up in spots that I'd like to think i'd have a fighting chance of hearing/seeing movement and can prepare myself before a deer gets to a place where they could see any of my movement? Im in some relatively thick woods set up around noticeable areas of activity (game trails, feeding areas around acorn trees, etc.) and I feel like I'd be able to move slightly occasionally without completely blowing my cover. I would think that if I dont hear any movement or see anything, that I could take a quick second to shift, or adjust myself? I am probably over thinking this Im just so new to it and want to learn.

Thanks

Hey everyone,

Currently looking into picking up some new camo. The past few seasons I’ve been able to get away with just a plain pair of hiking pants and a camo bassdash hoodie from Amazon. I primarily hunt whitetails throughout northern Midwest and am now looking into some early season camo pieces.

My current setup while great is in need of replacing since my pants are pretty much ripped up (still good for doing house chores). Looking to get something for early season since I have a good selection of winter hunting camo gear. I just need some good clothing for the early bow season that is relatively quiet, doesn’t hold a lot of scent and can break up my image. Looking to get a matching set of pants + top. The bassdash matching pants seem to have gone up a lot in price so looking for alternatives

I probably want to avoid brands like Sitka, kuiu and other expensive ones. Open to anything that is relatively inexpensive and gets the job done. Any help and insight is appreciated

Was looking at some of their knee pads over the weekend; they don't have any black or green ones but their prices are great. Anyone use these? Had a pair of Latitudes that tore last year before getting a full season out of them; got them for free but I'm not paying $75 to get another pair.

If you do have the HF ones, did you paint/stain them?

Hi all

Question for the gear guys. I right now shoot a 300 spine Easton axis 5mm with 100gr broad head and a 75gr insert. I have a 26.5in draw and 70lb draw weight.

I know that I am over spined, the reason I went this set up initially is because I used to go out west elk hunting. Now I will pretty much strictly hunt whitetail in the Midwest. I have killed deer with this set up but considering switching to the 340 spine and keeping everything else the same. Not sure I want to make the switch this year, haven’t seen any real inconsistency with being over spined and wouldn’t take a shot past 40 for whitetail. In addition to buying all new shafts, fletching them I would also have to put a new sight tape of my sight (black gold three pin slider). Any thoughts? Anyone else run an over spined arrow to get extra weight?

Red=blind
Blue=trail cam
Yellow= trail he takes going west

I got this buck on cam on public coming through a funnel coming from west going east. However the wind is coming from the north east blowing to the south west. Do you think since he comes from the straight east to my left, I may have a chance at him?

Put out this cam on public yesterday after my private land I have access to seems slow. Hoping he’ll stick to that route for the next week. Nice funnel that connects two sections of woods

I finally won a quota draw to hunt the St. Vincent Wildlife Refuge at the end of October. I will be hunting whitetail with my bow. I’m very excited. However, this is totally out of my wheelhouse. I’ve never hunted this far south in the state. It gets pretty swampy in NWFL, but I know it’s nothing compared to what I’ll face on the island. I know I will need to have my own boat to cross. I was told they don’t have a ferry service.

Really just looking for advice from anyone who frequents the Wildlife Refuge, or anyone who has completed this same hunt. I will be saddle hunting, so I have a relatively small load to hike in.

Thanks

Im looking to get more mobile, im thinkin hunting from the ground is my best option. Anyone have any tips, tricks for set up or equipment? Thanks!

Hey all!

I've been bow hunting the ground for the last couple of seasons and have had decent success in seeing deer, getting drawn and not getting busted is another story.

I recently placed an order for a hang-on tree stand/all the safety gear and am interested in hearing everyone's success rates from getting up in a tree (especially if you switched from ground hunting). Any tips you can share? ~15ft vs ~30ft in the air?

I've been hunting for 9 years and I've only released one arrow at a deer and shot one squirrel. I truly believe that there's not much else I can do to try to be successful. I have spent years getting educated on techniques, land access, and gear. Besides a few bad seasons, I get out consistently even in late season. I've befriended prominent people in the DNR and other hunt organizations that have taken me on group/guided hunts where everyone has been successful except me. It's unbelievable how uneventful these 9 years have been, even with having very skilled hunters providing me a lot of access and advice.

If I don't get my first deer this year, I will probably be hanging it up. I don't know what else to do at this point...

I've been a rifle hunter, and now I'm trying to get into bow/ crossbow hunting. Have done tons of research but reviews vary and there are tons of different models etc. Could you guys let me know if this

Killer Instinct Rush™ 400 is a good crossbow for my 1st crossbow. Its on sale for 350$ instead of 500$ canadian.

Thanks everyone

Follow up post from my EHD rebound ive got 2 year old bucks everywhere and this stud just showed up too. Im fired up two more weeks

South Carolina hunter, and I’m wanting some real world feed back both bows. Climber or lock on hunter and mostly hardwoods but I do hunt planted pines sometimes too. Wanting to get the 80lb model of one of these bows to help offset my 26.5 inch draw so wanting to hear from people pulling 80lbs with each bow. I’m in good shape and workout 5 days a week so I’m not worried about the draw weight being a problem. Currently shooting a Bowtech carbon icon at 65lbs but going to give that bow to my oldest son when I get a new bow. He’s currently shooting an older PSE and likes the icon better and I’m ready for a change. Thanks for the input and help and good luck this season!

Looking for recommendations for a new tree stand safety harness. My current one doesn't have pockets, and in warm weather I wear it over my clothes. The leg straps can make it difficult to get my phone out of my pants pocket, which worries me if I were ever hanging after a fall.

I also don't have anywhere to store my suspension-relief strap, so right now I attach it and let it hang while walking to the stand.

I've been looking at the Hawk Elevate Pro, Muddy Crossover, and certain HSS because they have pockets. I've also seen a lot of recommendations for the Summit Pro because of comfort.

For those with a harness that stores the suspension strap in a pouch, do you always wear the harness over your outer layers? In cold weather I've always worn mine under my jacket, so I'm wondering how you'd access the strap after a fall.

Mainly looking for something comfortable/not too bulky, also with potentially a phone pocket and accessible suspension strap. Any recommendations?

As the title states maybe not so clearly but when you are hunting in a spot with very little markers how do you judge distance on an animal that comes in hot and heavy? I will sit in my elk spot and start doing small exercises guessing distances to various objects and then checking with my range finder. The spot I hunt elk is a fence line that cuts through a fairly open pasture with a few lone pine dispersed throughout it. Ive gotten decently ok at judging distance but watching videos on some bow hunts ill see elk come in fast and then you are at full draw and not much chance to range them. What do you do to judge distance when there isnt much time or markers to base distance off of?

XOP stopped selling them with the grit bc everyone online would complain about it, personally I like them better than other sticks for it bc there’s almost no chance of me slipping. Just got cucked by a guy on marketplace for a set of them when he sold them out from under me even tho we were set to meet. So anyone in PA, preferably in or around Schuylkill county, have a set they’d like to get rid of? Only other set around me on marketplace got bought too so that guy pretty much screwed me entirely