Goph, please don't stand up during the "If anyone has any objections..."  part OK? 

I'd really like to go at some point but new job =less vacation

-Mike

Once you get to the KSTP site, then where do you go?

-Mike

Unfortunately, one of the things that happen when big deer are around is that the landowners get protective about them and my brother is no exception.  The boys are thru their learning years, and will need to be pretty selective about the deer they shoot there in the future as my brother would like to spread the wealth and have other relatives get big deer too.  In fact my brother shot a nice 130" 8 we hadn't seen before. 

I only hope the DNR continues the 4 point rule into the future, and even expands it to the rest of the state so everyone can have the kind of hunting we've had the last 2 years.  Many stories of Booners around the Rushford area taken with bows this year.  Before this, the best I could hope for was a decent 8 point just like Ry shot his first year. 

During gun season, they were busy taking data from the bucks shot at every check station including tooth samples so I'm sure they got data indicating more older, mature bucks taken and I hope this is encouraging enough to keep the rule.   I wouldn't hurt if sportsmen contacted the DNR voicing their preference for the rule too.

-Mike

Here's another pic of the same buck, much smaller than the one I almost shot last week, but very nice.


So I passed him and waited a while then all hell broke loose.  I could hear a large buck grunting and chasing around a bunch of smaller ones.  While all this was going on there were 3 other big bucks in the valley rubbing and scraping, it was crazy!  Bottom line I didn't have any luck that night but had a great experience.   I really wish I'd have been at that stand all day as the biggie could have easily walked thru.  None of the other bucks was with does, which was wierd.  I think the biggie had the only does with him.
 
Here's a smaller 9 I saw


So the gun season began and ol Ryley did it again.  After the taxidermy bill last year we couldn't do any more, but he had rock picking money saved up just for this:



AAANNNd his brother got a good one too:



They were both shot in the new stand Tyler put up where I saw the biggie.  They've BOTH shot big bucks from the same stand 2 years in a row.

One interesting thing to note, NEITHER OF THESE BUCKS WERE SEEN BEFORE BY ANYBODY ON THE BROTHERS FARM.  They both just materialized after Nov 1, so the rest of them are still out there!

So there you go Deja Vou!

-Mike

OK, so here's some of the best hunting this dude has ever had, without even filling a tag

I got to the brothers place on Wed after taking my daughter trick or treating.  He sat where he could see the whole valley and told me right where the big bucks went.  I sat there the next morning against my better judgement and the wind was wrong, I blew out the deer and only saw some does and fawns with some smaller bucks.  I got out of the stand, determined to sit elsewhere and sit the whole day.  I moved to a stand my son Tyler had wanted to have for gun season.  While sitting in it, at about 12:30 a monster came thru with his does.  I don't know what a Booner looks like but I would imagine he was close.  Somewhere around 15" tines, stickers, huge mass!  He wasn't coming down where I was, but his does were.  Eventually they busted me and took the party elsewhere.  I moved to the location I should have sat in the morning, a stand where I have shot several deer and the thick cover pinches them down nice.   The wind was good there and I waited for the fun to continue.  I heard chasing and a buck grunt behind me.  A nice 8.  He was a real dummy, staying underneath my stand smelling where I was and walking around the area for 5 minutes. 

Well after the last wedding took up Saturday my son Tyler and I went to my brothers farm for a 1 day hunt on Sunday.  I wanted him to sit Ryleys stand (Ry was at a national FFA convention, its the same stand where they shot their bucks last year) and he had encounters with 2 more 130-140 class deer plus other medium and small bucks but didn't get a shot.  I saw no bucks down at the other side of the farm and since Ty was going back to school that afternoon, we moved a stand mid day to a scrape/rub line which one of the bucks worked which was good for an east wind in the evening and near Ry's stand.  Ealry in the evening I heard deer back by Ry's stand, out comes a doe followed by a nice 130ish 8 pointer, not one of the deer Ty saw initially.  8 to 10" tines, long main beams with one terminating in a small crab claw, you need a heck of an 8 to make 130 and he had it.  I got a good look at him since he walked up within 5 yards of my tree quartering toward me all the way...no shot!  We should have put the stand off to the side to cover the trail that comes right under the tree, but had no other good tree options in the area.  The doe saw me slowly ease my way to shooting position and stomped off but the buck didn't care.  The wind held from the east so they didn't detect me and I was still in the game.  It was his decision, if he turned around the way he came it was a 10-15 yard slam dunk.  He turned around quickly and made 2 jumps into the thick brush and decided to live another day, slowly and seeming relaxed they made their way off, that was all I saw.  So I'm taking Thu & Fri off to try and get him, or the other 2 biggies, or anything else that big we haven't seen yet.   

I just need to remark that the trophy hunting seems to have really improved in the southeast part of the state due to the point restriction, the 100 acre farm I hunt is totally reloaded with nice deer after 2 dandies were shot last year by my sons.  Near my house is not in that zone and the quality just isn't there.  I've heard gun hunters remark that it's not just the point restrictions, but the fact that they need to IDENTIFY before they shoot, which saves many bucks. 

Stay tuned, as I'll certainly have more installments to this tale next Monday.  Last night was spent rewashing all my clothes and hanging them to dry, practicing and retouching up arrows I hunt with.  I'm very superstitious about practicing with the exact arrows I plan to hunt with, sorting in terms of accuracy, so I feel totally confident.  All practice arrows flew good and I don't have much hair left on my forearm for sharpness testing so I'm ready.

-Mike

Ryley busted his butt to get the barn cleaned out and his chores done so we would let him go hunting.  He was rewarded by seeing many deer including a nice 6 point, really an 8 with no brow tines.  He passed a 5 yard shot as the buck sniffed some of the brush I'd sawed off yesterday.  Next time he's taking my camera!  He wants to see what is at the brothers farm this year.  After all, he's now got a Trophy Hunter reputation to uphold, ya right!  The stand is perfect for him as its either a 5-10 yard shot or nothing and the stand is nice and low, only about 10 feet up. 

All the clothes are washed and hung up drying, all should be ready to go for this weekend. 

-Mike

We went out and set up 2 more stands for Ry near home.  He can hunt those after school when he doesn't have Cross Country practice.  We are practicing more today and sharpening broadheads to get ready for next Saturday.  No buck scrape activity yet.

-Mike

Good going Tombow!  Looks tasty!

We got our stands hung and tags purchased.  We will not hunt until the moon is in a better phase, probably Oct 13th. 

I hate this new fad of fall weddings, why screw up a perfectly good October?  I have 2 this year, messing up 2 perfectly good weekends. I'm playing at one, and the wife and I are host/hostess at the other so theres no getting out of it,  UUGG!

-Mike

Very Cool! I was a little ticked when I sent Ry's buck into them and they did not make mention of the bow, the crafter, or the weight, but this is good..

-Mike

Dan you did create a monster!  You can make cigar box banjoes, mandolins, ukies, amps, it never ends.  Crappercaster?  I've got to see that..

-Mike

I'm looking at the fretwire instead of the nails, it pounds in, you snip it to length then dress the ends, done.  And also the fret saw, google cigar box fret install and see it in action.  Ordering extra fretwire since I know of relatives that would get a kick out of this..  I will be making a 4 string using basically the four highest strings on a regular guitar, with the same width spacing I have on my Taylor.  I will use varying height nut and bridges to get the best result.  That way I won't have to relearn chords! 

-Mike

I'm ordering tuners, fretwire and strings so I can try to set up as low an action as possible.  May try a funky headstock to add a coolness factor.  Looking around I can't believe all the stuff available to dress these things up.  Looking at what needs to be done to electrify!  Slide?  We can get pretty crazy with these things.   

-Mike

Hmmm, Mike and Ryley starting 30 miles above Chads house, paddling down to Chads house then coming to the BBW.   Eating wild edibles along the way (hopefully Mountain House and fish are in this catagory or we go hungry).  Something to think about..

Great time again, thanks Chad and Amy. 

I've got a feeling the Cigar Box Guitar Band will be have their first gig next year, thanks to BS101 for supplying the boxes and Chad for the necks.  I will be looking for good sing along campfire songs to do until then.  I got home and someone left the coop door open and something got one of my chickens...Ghost Chicken In The Sky...

Good luck everyone in the fall hunts.

-Mike

I'm now expecting horrendous traffic for B.I.R. weekend.  Even starting out a 12:00 Friday and a typical 4.5 hour drive, I'll bet we don't even get near there by 5:00.  Then a humongous traffic jam on Sunday...UGHHH

-Mike