Week Three

Week three sees me back in this spot. Found a big rub nearby and another hunter a few hundred yards away in a nice looking spot. Hope he gets some there.


Week three has seen most of us settling into the hunt. Well, it is week three for me, for others it is week one and for some places it is muzzle loader already. Several friends have scored this week, I will try to get them listed but they have been busy so if I miss you, Sorry, I’m old and forgetful.

@BigBuckPW Rob Freyer continues to lay them down, this week it was a double on does during an afternoon hunt. @t_marsh83 dropped a nice 8 pt, his first deer in four years. @sfritz took an 8 pt. @mkotzum thumped one Sunday morning early just as I started to write this a nice spike at 2 yards. @SkinnyDman got a nice doe the same afternoon Rob Freyer got his double. @deer_commander got a bit sidetracked and shot a 200 lb hog or it might have been his Dad but either way I wish I had done it. I’m ready to go pig hunting. @HuntingStories did a spot and stalk on a doe while I was writing, guess he wanted in this week. @GlennClute took a nice 8 pt on public land near me Saturday afternoon but I just found out so he is a late addition. Congrats to everyone and if I didn’t list you sorry but you will make the wrap up I promise.

There were a couple of near misses by folks. @MonicaJo4 gave one a shave while trying for her first bow kill. She will take a ribbing for that for awhile :0). I don’t think there were any turkeys or coyotes taken this week but one gray squirrel was with a 20 yard shot. Sometimes you just can’t take any more abuse from treerats. I swear I remember a moose or few taken and I know some folks are elk hunting, too. Remember folks the @ symbol with their name will let you find and follow them on Twitter.

Saturday October 15th sees the start of the @Huntography Deer Tour. It is kicking off in Wisconsin so if you use Twitter just check the hashtag #deertour for updates. Good luck to all the hunters on the tour this year. It is also the start of our fall turkey season so I have 14 days to see if I can get one with a shotgun or in my case a muzzle loading shotgun.

I have been sneaking out for a morning and evening hunt on the new farm and I’m seeing tons of turkeys plus deer. I went out Wednesday afternoon to hunt the tree where I got the cull buck Friday, I wanted to see if a doe or the 6 pt would come out. I got set up only to have a bunch of new cows released into the field behind me. I don’t mind them but these wouldn’t shut up so I could hear. Then about an hour into my set some guys start driving the treeline about 100 yards away checking for trespassers.

These are the same guys that messed up my hunt the night before when they decided to set a shooting house in a field just about the time I had been seeing a couple of bucks. They received a good cussing both times and both times I stayed in the stand after they left. The difference on Wednesday was the deer did come out. As I sat there tweeting with some friends saying I was getting down, I had had enough, everything got quiet again. I told myself might as well stay a little longer just to see what happened. I had already seen about 30 turkeys and thought maybe the deer was ease back in.

After maybe 30 minutes I saw what I thought was a cowhorn spike come out, right behind him was the little 4 point I see there all the time. They made the left turn toward me like they always do when sun hit the rack on the first one I knew it was the 6 I had jumped the first day. Now it was on, I have never taken a 6 and he had a nice rack. I got ready, waiting for them to feed down the soy bean row. The 6 came down, stopped at 35 yards broadside, looked like a backyard target. I drew, set my pin and touched the release. Just about 5 yards from him the arrow hit some Johnson grass and went who knows where. SOB!!

He ran about 30 yards, stopped to look back at what ever it was. His buddy was standing there looking at him like he was nuts for running. As soon as he stopped I knew what was coming. I have taken more than a few because curiosity got to them, this one had all the signs. I nocked another arrow then watched as he circled, stuck his nose in the air trying to find a scent always focused on where he was standing and never looking my way. He went behind a big cedar where I couldn’t see him but I knew he wasn’t leaving yet. He would either turn in front of the tree which would put him at 13 yards in front of me or slip into the woods at 16 yards. I watched as he slid into the woods and stopped perfectly broadside. When he did I drew, tucked the pin in tight to the shoulder and shot. I heard the hit, he took off tail down only to run about 40 yards just into a field then crashed.

I was thrilled. I had wanted this buck since I first saw him. He had a regular path he walked every afternoon and that combined with curiosity got him. I had watched him fall but habits run deep. I got down to look for my arrow and blood. I couldn’t find my arrow but did find a trail so I tracked it around to the field edge looking for the arrow until I saw him laying in the weeds a few yards away. When I walked up to him I saw my arrow had passed through but still had about 3 inches inside. This one continues my year of WTH shots. He was PERFECTLY broadside when I shot but the arrow exited at the next to last rib on the other side. When I skinned him the entry is in the shoulder but then hit the middle of the ribs on the near side. I can’t imagine how that arrow did what it did. Nothing about the path makes sense but it did the job and that’s what counts I guess.

The funny part was when I went to get my truck the guys I had cussed were parked in a field just across the fence. I yelled to them and we talked then I said I was going to load up my deer, telling them to come check him out. They drove around, introduced themselves and one of the first things said was “Boy, I bet you were cussing us.” I laughed and said yes I did. Then to make up for it they loaded my deer for me. Really good guys and now I know who is hunting next to me. Locals that know everyone around there.

I know a lot of the people that hunt areas where anything less than 150 inch deer isn’t worth a mention but here this deer is was better than many 8-10 pts I see. High racked matched on both sides, big, healthy, beautiful. He might not go 100 inches and I could care less. He was also number 45 for me. I realized as I looked at my journal I have taken every one of my best bucks with a bow, kinda proud of that. As I checked him in I ran into another guy, Mike Cunnigham, who was checking in a nice 7 pt he had just taken. Pretty deer and congrats to Mike.

Good luck everyone and be safe. Keep posting so I can add my friends to the weekly list.

Huntography Deer Tour Equipment List PT 1

We took a look at where I plan to hunt on the Huntography Deer Tour in the last post. Just after I posted it I got invited to hunt an additional 320 acres of private land about 30 minutes from my house. I haven’t seen it yet but it is supposed to be covered in deer plus the neighbor that invited me doesn’t bow hunt and just started muzzle loading, I am loaning him gear so we can hunt during early season.

Since Rudy will be here during a short break between muzzle loader and gun season I will be using archery tackle. This summer I traded for a sweet custom Bama long bow to go along with my Bear Primos series compound and Ten Point crossbow. I hope to take a deer with the traditional bow but will probably leave it at home during filming. But we will see. Any who, let’s take a look at what I use, spend my money on and trust to do the job.

My main bow for several years now is a Bear Primos Done Deal. I pull 64# shooting a 29 inch arrow. I haven’t sent one through a chronograph so can’t give you the technical details on speed and to be honest I don’t really care that much. It is fast enough and if not I can change arrows to make it shoot faster and flatter. I picked this bow up to replace my Bear Golden Eagle II which had thumped several deer and a yote or two. It is the model just below their Truth II which I looked at but didn’t see the $100+ price difference for 5-10 fps.

When I bought the bow I added a new Whisker Biscuit rest, Bohning 4 arrow quiver, Simms Limb Saver S-Coil stabilizer, leather wrist strap but the things I did not buy was a new sight or release. I have used a Cobra Sidewinder for years along with a Cobra release so when the Golden Eagle was sold those stayed to go on the new bow. Why? I just like the sight it has what I need and works. I did upgrade it with the low light kit which is a bit on the weak side but does help in a ground blind. I haven’t asked to see if the bulbs in them have been improved.

The Whisker Biscuit rest is my favorite. No rattle, arrows falling off, works no matter what with easily replaceable parts if needed. The new ones have all manner of micro adjustments but my simple model works just fine.

The quiver, wrist strap and stabilizer are all pretty basic which keeps with my idea of the kiss principle. My release is one I have shot for years, a Cobra I picked up in a hurry one day when my old release failed. I found out it worked better for me than any of the more expensive models so I have never changed.

For arrows and broadheads I have two set ups for my compound. I shoot Carbon Express 6075 Terminators or Speed Pro 5.5. The Carbon Express are fairly common but the Speed Pros are harder to find. Speed Pros are very light at 5.5 grains per inch but still spined for my bow and FAST. They add ten yards to each of my pins. The down side is they are hard to find, loud and a bit fragile but did I mention FAST? All arrows are fletched with 2” vanes. I always carry at least one arrow with a Lumenock for low light shooting.

For broadheads I started shooting Grim Reaper 3 blade mechanicals years ago. I really like these because they don’t use a rubber band to hold things in place. The nice tight design and bone breaker tips let them fly exactly like a field point from any of my bows. I have taken my only two 8 pointers with them, both with the same terrible shot, both fell within 75 yards. I shoot the 85 grain model on the CE and Speed Pros. Another good point is the ease with which these heads can be rebuilt. I have used the same heads for many deer, simply replacing blades. I do take the time to soak them in alcohol then wipe them off with an old toothbrush to remove any debris. After that they come apart and go back together without a problem.

A new set of Rage and 2 sets of many times rebuilt Grim Reapers. All of the GR have traces of past hunts on them.


To be fair I also have a couple of sets of 100 gr Rage 2 blade that were given to me and use them, too. I had seen the videos, heard the hype but never spent the money to try them. When I started using a crossbow that was what was on it so kept them. Just like any good design they work, I don’t care for the rubber band much or how you have to reset them but they do leave a big hole. The worse part is the rebuild on these. The old style had a tiny allen screw holding them together which was almost impossible to remove. They changed this to a tiny pin that has to be driven out. Not an easy task unless you happen to be 20 years old with tiny hands and perfect eyesight.

The crossbow I use can be seen in several other posts. I use a Ten Point that was one of their package setups. Complete out of the box with a three dot electronic sight and a cool crank to help draw it. I am shooting 20 inch Carbon Express bolts. This thing is fun and I have taken several deer with it but still prefer my other bows. Crossbows are heavy, slow to load and loud. But for those that like them or need to use them to get out they are a great tool.

So, there is a look at my archery equipment that will go on the hunt. Most likely the Done Deal but who knows. Not the latest or greatest but I have put many deer on the ground with these setups, I have no need to keep up the Jones so this is what I shoot. I had planned to add what I carry in my pack but this post is long enough plus that will give me something else to post about.

Now for the disclaimer: I did not receive anything from any of the companies mentioned to be listed in this post although a couple do know they will be in it. These are the products I spent my money on and have worked for me