Official 2010 annual bowhunting picture thread

[Holm-Made]

Time to start this topic up again, it is my favorite thread.  This is the place to share your hunting pictures.  It is not necessarily designed to share only kill pictures although we love to see the effectiveness of our equiptment.  Please take pictures while in the field to share.  Pictures are fun to look at and are truely the highlight of the message board.

Last weekend, Shane and I went to ND to scout out some new properties and sit a stand or two.  We saw few deer but had a good time.

First rub I found for the year.


Nice deer runway coming out of the swamp.


We found one skull and one shed.  The landowner gave us two sheds she found last spring.

[Holm-Made]

I have a 6 year old son who loves hunting.  This past summer, when we talked about bowhunting in the Fall, Jacob started saying "we" instead of "you".  I knew it was time to start incorporating Jacob with me once in a while on my hunts.  I do bowhunt on my 19 acres here at the house some and decided to use that as Jacob and I's hunting grounds.  I originally thought I would build some permanent ground blinds for obvious reasons but have never had much confidence shooting/hunting from a blind. 

Menards sells 15' ladder stands for 49.99.  I bought 3 of them and set them up on the property.  At platform level, I hung a hang on stand off to the side for my "co-pilot".  He has no fear of heights so the 15' wasn't a problem but I had to come up with a safe way to get him to and from the stand.  I called my rock climbing friend Brad to have him tell me how to tie a Prussit knot that would slide up and down a fixed rope that was tied off 5' above the platform and then to the bottem rung of the ladder.  The knot slides easily up and down the rope by pushing it with your hand but will lock up tight in a fall.  We were good to go.

Saturday night we were late getting to the stand and the deer were already on the field.  I didn't think Jacob would be able to sit more then an hour and a half, that's why we were late.  We still saw 3 deer moving through the brush and had a good time eating a couple granola bars.  Jacob even shared his Laughy Taffy that he picked out of the prize box at school for being good.  He saved it for 3 days, just for the stand.

[Holm-Made]

Sunday night were on stand by 5:20.  We weren't going to miss out on the action again.  The first hour and forty-five minutes was uneventfull.  About 7:00 I could barely see through the leaves that there was a couple deer on the corner of the alfalfa field feeding.  They came off the neighbors property.  I told Jacob to keep an eye out that way in case they came into the woods.  I thought a car may come by and spook the deer to us.  About 15 minutes later, a fisher came through the woods and we were watching it.  I heard a car coming down the road from the farm and stood up and got ready.  A doe ran into the woods about 60 yards away.  Jacob started "running" the Can call, you know the bleat cans even a 6 yr old can use.  The doe walked within 30 yards but to far for me.  I knew there was at least one more deer on the field, so we just waited.  About 15 minutes later, two deer entered the woods from the field and started meandering around.  They looked like young deer.  Jacob threw some bleats at them from the can and one of them started working our way.  As it came to the stand we whispered back and forth.  Jacob was excited.  The deerwalked right under the stand, never offering a shot.  As it went past the tree, Jacob whispered, "He's going behind us, turn the other way and shoot."  I was already there.  I whispered to him to turn his head and not take his eyes off the deer, just keep watching it.  It stopped at 7 yards.

[Holm-Made]

At this point the deer was becoming suspicious of the two coons up in the tree whispering back and forth.  It kept looking up at us.  I told Jacob to keep watching the deer.  The deer started to relax and eventually turned enough, offering up his flank.  The shot angle was a nice quartering away shot at 7 paces.  Too good to pass up, especially with the boy along.  It let out a grunt as the arrow went where it needed to go.  It wheeled around and ran between the ladder rungs and the tree, bulldozing brush for 30 yards before going down.  Two things I remember seeing/hearing as the deer took off.  The cedar shaft broke off and the bright feathered end cartwheeled in the air.  The other thing was the excited yell of the little boy next to me.  I will never forget that yell of excitement.  Jacob later told me he was shaking from the excitement.

If anyone ever tells me that a nubbin buck should NEVER be shot but left to grow old and develop into a trophy.. well.....They can kiss my back side.

[Scooter Trash]

       Priceless  !

    I bet neither of you will ever forget that hunt.

    I have a niece that will be 4 next month and I look forward to memories like yours.

[DeadOn]

Way to go Chad, he will never forget that hunt!  Just Awesome

[BadShotDad]

Awesome! My heart was beating faster just reading your story.
A great hunt and a better time with your son. What a great hunting story. My son and I have been bowhunting the last two years with no kills but plenty of good times. Time in the woods with your kids is precious.

There are some kid-sized full body climbing harnesses that might fit him well for treestand work.

[HalfRack]

Hey now that's cool!  I purposly took my time reading to savor every word. 

Here's how it goes:
-They come along on your hunts
-They get a bow and start practicing
-They get old enough to be the hunter, the law states you must accomany them.  Lots of whispering in trees, fun times you don't want to end.
-They want to be on their own in their own stand, so they get your best stand locations (but you don't care) and you wish they could stay in the tree with you all the time but you realize it's all part of the process.
-They become your best hunting buddy...

Enjoy the process.

-Mike

P.S. Ryley has been dilligently practicing and I will test him this weekend, full hunting gear with broadheads shooting from a tree at a 3D.  I'm pretty sure he'll pass at 10-12 yards which is where most of my shots are taken.

[Holm-Made]

Thanks.  I'm still excited about the deer "me and my boy got together." 

[The Gopher]

awesome story Chad! that got my heart beating. Dylan is only 2 and a half but i help him "hunt bears 'n bucks" (stuffed animals) in our living room with his little bow, i can't wait for the real thing.

[TomBow]

THAT is B-E-A-utiful!  You are teaching him well and he will not forget this special time that you have shared.  Teach a man to fish, err, bowhunt and he will harvest his own venison and share it with others but, most of all, he will fill his head with great memories of being at one with his surroundings in nature.  mmm, hmmm, yes. It is good.

TomBow

[oneeye]

Excellent!!!

[Silvertip Marc]

Congrats on a fine deer!!  Will be a great memory for a long long time.  Also thanks for pointing out the trail that the deer are using in the picture of when you went scouting!!

[Passin Through]

Sometimes you have to teach to the bottom of the class, Marc!

[Joeingrandrapids]

Chad,

That was awesome. Just awesome.

Taking them early works, my oldest is 14 and is her own hunter now. With two more coming up the ranks that accompanied me on a blood trail this week those tag along experiences ensure our legacy.