2013 Pa Archery...

My Archery Season here in Pa.

Well this year has been crazy. I didn't make it into the woods untill Oct. 26th and sat in the same stand I had harvested my first archery buck a year before and had the opportunity on a doe that evening and for what ever reason,was not able to find my arrow, blood, or the deer. I looked for nearly 15 hours between that evening and into the next day and was not successful to locate anything... My conclusion is that I missed and my arrow was sent flying. I saw a total of 8 deer including one small buck that day. I was only able to hunt for around 3 hours and felt it was a great day!

With sick kids, work and life in general I wasn't able to get any time in the woods again until Nov. 2nd.  and was able to hunt with John. He arrived from VT. on friday Nov. 1st and was able to take a fantastic Pa. buck. (He will post the story later)... We sat in the stand I had hunted in and missed the doe the week before and only saw one doe that morning and was not in range. We had to leave early as I had a 50th wedding Anniversary party for Nicole's Grandparents not allowing us to hunt the whole day.

    With not being able to hunt Sunday's in Pa. and having little free time thought out the week we were not able to get back out again until Nov. 8th. I had a parent teach conference that morning so we didn't get into the woods until 10am or so. John had been doing some scouting all week and with the cold and wind we decided to hunt the top ridge. We had winds close to 20mph and snowed on and off all day long. Sadly we didn't see a single deer. I also learned that day my back isn't what it use to be and was hurting for a few days after such a long sit in the stand...





    Saturday Nov 9th was John's last day in Pa and needed to be on the road for Vt. by mid afternoon we weren't able to sit all day as we planned to.  We got into our stands Right at first light and got to watch an amazing sun rise. There wasn't much  deer activity until about 7:30am when I noticed a young deer out in the field feeding. We watched as the deer walked away from us across the field until it was out of sight never coming into range. So as time went by we hadn't been seeing much other then the dozen or more squirrels busily looking for food. But all that changed around 9:30am when shortly after John hitting the grunt tube a nice buck showed up in the same area that we had seen the young deer earlier.  We watched as this deer made its way to us on the same trail we walked in a few hours before. It stopped only 20 yards form the base of our tree but with all the brush in the way I was not able to shoot quite yet. We hoped this deer would follow the trail leading in-front of my stand. Sadly this wasn't the case it decided to cut into the woods behind me, requiring me to turn 180° in the stand to get the shoot. So as I began to make the turn with the deer no more than 10 yards form the tree I ended up bumping the tip of my arrow on a bow hanger strapped to the tree next to me sending the deer on his way. I was not able to get a shot and sat hanging my head as we watched him walk away... We had to leave shortly after so John was able to get on the road to Vt. and home at a descent time...

  Since Veterans day was the following Monday I was able to hunt most of that day as well.. So after taking the kids to School I was in my Stand by 10am and ready for action. My hopes were high as the rut was starting and the activity was picking up. I had put scent lines out along the fields edge and lead them right to my shooting lane 20 yards away... I was nearly noon and I had just received a text form John when I looked up and saw a nice buck standing 40 yards from me. I had no idea where this deer came form he just showed up. I slowly stood up in my stand and waited as he appeared to be following my scent trail. He came in to about 35 yards and stopped, put his nose in the air and didn't move for what felt like for ever. He then put his head down tucked his tail and went into the brush, walking directly away from me up the hill never giving me shoot again. I saw 2 doe shortly after, but that was about it until the last part of the day. I had a big four point come in to about 60 yards and make a scrape and move on in the opposite direction just before I left at last light.




   Again work and the time change kept me out of the woods until Nov. 16th which was the last day of the Pa. archery season. I opted to sit near the area john and I had sat in the snow thinking with the wind blowing from the south and having good rut activity I may find a nice deer cruising the top of the bedding area...I did see a lone doe at 8:00am well out of range and that was all I saw on my last day.  I was a bit disappointed, but I can say I had a fun Archery season despite not harvesting a deer or getting much time in the woods...

 






 Keep your eye out for Pa. Rifle season  update it could be interesting :-) Dec. 2nd starts it off!

Success! & a close call.

We get to turkey ridge and Kyhl and I head to the field. Just about at the field I do my best bard owl hoot. Right away two toms gobble about one hundred and fifty yards away. This is going to get good I tell Kyhl. We make our way into the field and look for the best place to get set up. It is getting light out fast. I stick Wilma out in the field at fifteen yards and scramble back into the brush. Kyhl is set up just in front of me and to the right. He has a good view of the field. I get my bow all set up with my bow sticks and dig my calls out.
I grab my slate pot call and do a few yelps and clucks. They both gobble again. They know we are here.

I look at my clock and it is 5:45am. We sit quiet for about ten more minutes and I call again. This time nothing. I get a little down. My brain just starts running a mile a minute. Did we make to much noise getting set up? Did my calling spook them? Maybe someone else is in here? So many possibility. I was convinced that they were gone. I let what feels like and hour go by and I grab my call again. Again a few light yelps and a cluck or tow. They hammer right at the end of the field. My heard skips a beat and Kyhl said he can see them. Three! and they are running at us. The first bird in was a big hen.

 She ran right up to Wilma and started pecking and kicking the crap out of here. Then the two jakes came in. One in full strut and the other is quarter strut. I tell Kyhl to kill the one in full strut. But to wait a second and see if I could get a shot off with my bow. Now we have a hen and Two jakes at fifteen yards. Both jakes are in full strut. spitting and drumming. All three are very interested in Wilma. I wait for the toms to turn away so their tail feathers block their view of me and draw my bow. I line up my top pin on the closest tome and squeeze my release trigger.
I watch the arrow hit the bird and hear the sound of the hit. All hell breaks loose. The bird I shot starts flopping like crazy. I tell Kyhl to kill the other tom and he throws the safety off the mossburg and pulls the trigger. The tom is still standing! get him again I said as he takes two more shots. The smoke clears and we watch the tom and hen fly away. Talk about some excitement. I look back at my clock and it is only 6:02am

We gather our selves and head out to have a look at the aftermath. I walk up to my turkey and he is dead. Hop down on my knees and take a closer look. This is the first tom I have killed with a bow. I tag my bird and snap a few pics. Find my arrow about twenty yards past the turkey.  I stash the bird along the road so I can grab it on the way out and Khyl and Igo after the one that got away.

We head in the direction the tom flew and set up and call. Nothing. The temperature is starting to rise so I would like to get my bird taken care of before the temps get into the high seventies

 One more set up. a little farther down the logging road and set up. Call a few times and nothing. Back to the car we go.



 Kyle wanted to see the check station process and cleaning of the animal.

He came in at 14lbs and had a 3.5 inch double beard.

Turkey Ridge.

After a few days of seeing nothing on the properties I had permission to hunt. Kyhl had one more farm we could go look at. This one looked good on the map. Had a 12 acre hay field smack dab in the middle of the woods. We quit hunting early and came back to my place and Kyhl gives them a call to see if it is okay if we stop by. The farm owner said "sure but I don't think we have many turkeys". The farm is a little over 400 acres. It takes about twenty minuets to get there from my house. We arrive at the farm and chat a bit with the property owner and his kids. He grabs a map for us and sends us on our way. The hay field is our first stop. Looks nice. Has a lot of clover. We made it about half way across the field and Kyhl said look, turkeys! I grab the binoculars and two jakes, a hen and one more I cant make out go running into the woods. Time to back out. Back at the road we debate on going back to the car and getting our shotgun and bow. But decide that looking around today is a bit more important.
After wandering around for an hour or so we decide we will be coming here in the morning.

2013 Spring Turkey

This year I had a partner in crime. My friend Kyhl had just finished his hunter ed class the week before spring turkey opened up. We decided that I would take my bow and he would carry the shotgun to improve his chances of bagging his first bird. I went out the night before opening day to roost a bird on out neighbors property. As I pull up into the field I notice a pickup truck parked in the field. So I hope out and see what is up. He is from up the road and said he is planning on hunting here in the morning. As we are chatting I can hear a tom gobbling on the side hill.That is when he said that there are two more people up there already.
I hung out a bit longer and chatted about what our plans were for the following day and decided I was going to head someplace else in the morning. The last thing I wanted to be in the middle of is five people all hunting the same bird on a small farm. I got home and called Kyhl and asked if he wanted to try out a new farm he had gotten permission to hunt a few weeks back. He said that it would be fine to head over there. I set my alarm for 3:30 and time to catch some Zzz's.


Opening day up and atom. Grab breakfast and throw everything in the car and take off to meet Khyl.
I have not been to this farm at all. Going in blind  always sucks. We make the long walk up the driveway and hit the fields. I spot a logging road that leads back into the woods and up the ridge a bit. The road ends at a steep drop into a big valley. This looks like as good as spot as any so we set the decoy on the road and get set up. We sit for about two hours and hear nothing and see nothing. Time to move. It has not rained in almost two weeks and the woods are very noise. Trying to sneak along the ridge we come to the property line and call and try and get something going but nothing.

We walk back down the road to the fields and set up there for two more hours and nothing again. We decide to call it a day at around eleven.

Patterning Video

http://vimeo.com/63703984

My shotgun made it back home.

It is that time of year again. When I start my turkey season preparation. Last year I bought a Mossberg 930.
I have had some problems with the barrel scratching the mag tube. Also the barrel never lined up just right with the receiver.

 After some calls and emails I tried contacting them on facebook. I got a response right away. They sent me a Fed-Ex shipping label the next day.  I boxed the mossberg up and shipped it to Texas. Where it got a new barrel, mag tube, and new gas system parts. Mossberg covered all cost of the repair.  With in two weeks of shipping it, I had it back.


I remounted my shotgun scope and screwed  my .660 tight wad choke in the muzzle. I made the short drive up to Sportsmen Inc to pattern the new barrel. I brought along some Feddarl #4 & #5 and Hornady #5.

  I set up my targets at 30 yards. I had some old Tyvek in the basement. I drew a eight inch circle on the paper. I also put a small piece of tape for an aiming point. What I look for in a pattern is how many hits in the circle and are the hits spread out within the circle.  Some good info on patterning from the Randy Wakemen:
 http://www.chuckhawks.com/shotgun_chokes_pellets.htm
  http://www.chuckhawks.com/graphic_patterns.htm














  Hornady and Federal are non-tox shells
Hornady are nickel plated lead
Federal are copper plated lead
Hornady   3"- 1.5oz of #5
Federal  3" 2oz of #4 & 5







 First up Was Hornady

The Hornady did not pattern well. At 30yrd my best pattern was 37 hits with a modified choke in a eight inch circle .Hornady recommends the modified. I tried it with the .660 first and only got 30 hits.










The federal #4 & #5 were about even.  I had more hits with the #5. This comes down to that there are just more pellets.


 The #4's best was 77 hits.















And the #5 got anywhere from 90 hist all the way up to 101 hits!








A short video of the day.  http://vimeo.com/63703984

Pa Rifle Season Short and Sweet!

Waiting for the sun to appear!

Pa. Rifle Season

With Matt and Gaven!

Waiting for the deer to show up!

 Matt,Gaven and I waiting for first light to get the day started. We sat in a rock cut at the edge of a nice draw full of oaks!







We sat for about a hour before the sun started to rise and light the woods to start our 2012 deer season



As the sun came up the woods came to life. we saw 4 deer at first light but were not able to get any clear shots for Gavin to fill his tag.






Once the sun came up the wind picked up as well and was blowing right in our faces making it a nice and cold morning for us. So we made do and made a nice little camp fire!

Was Cold till we warmed up our little hunting spot!

 It really got cold shortly after the sun came up and the wind picked up so we built a small camp fire to warm up. those rocks really held the heat in and warmed us all up nice and toasty!









Our goal was to get Gaven a deer that day but sadly nothing would stop for him to get a clean clear shot! he had more opportunity to see deer that day then i had in my first 4 years of hunting. We saw a total of 14 deer that day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deer number 1 down!

After seeing over a dozen deer I was able to connect with this one. What a day it was!










We were all ready to head to the truck when this deer showed it self. One clean shot and we had two deer down. Gaven unfortunately was not able to fill a tag but I believe he has caught the hunting bug!

Two deer down. My season is done!

      Shortly after getting the first deer field dressed and ready to head for the truck a second deer showed is self in range. I was able to put yet another good shot on a second deer taging me out for the year!