I killed a doe during black powder season, and have let quite a few walk during bow season, including several 6 pointers. I’ve got a very nice 8 pointer showing up at night, never seen him during the day so far. He’ll mess up eventually and that’s what I’m waiting on. I may take a smaller buck later on, but for now I’m waiting.

No go. Season opened Saturday and saw a couple of small bucks but that was about it. Hopefully things will improve.

I got a medium 8 pointer at my uncle's farm in southwest St. Charles County where I've been hunting since I was 14 or so. My dad hasn't hunted in 4 years due to cancer so he lives vicariously through me and a trail camera I put up. A friend of his who has hunted there since the 70s got his biggest buck ever Saturday, a 200lb 13 pointer. I helped him get it up into his pickup bed. He said he was done until next weekend when he might try for a doe. I wasn't seeing much from my stand so I tried out a new stand he put up. I was bored out of my mind seeing nothing for 4 hours until the 8 pointer comes by. Right after I drop it I see what I thought is a trespasser go by in a nearby field, with rifle but only wearing an orange hat. I'm in an orange stocking cap and orange jacket and he doesn't seem to notice me, but I am in the woods a bit and he is wide in the open. (The side story is, last year, right after I shot a deer a trespasser walked over and helped me load it and took my pic for me). I let him go past because I didn't want to deal with it and managed to get this deer loaded myself.

Turns out the "trespasser" was really our friend, he forgot his rifle where he cleaned his deer and went back to get it. I am sure Sun Tzu said somewhere "When there is a deer to be loaded, maybe that trespasser is really a friend."

I enacted my revenge for the Iowa doe that put our Suburban in the shop since September (waiting on a new headliner). I had some more close calls on my journey back to Iowa from Iowa deer (three different times they were standing by the side of the road and two cars along the way were on the shoulder with deer hits).

Took our youngest (14 yr. old) today. He’s killed several does over the last few years. Today he got his first buck and was ecstatic. Good shot on a small 7 point at 100 yds with a 7mm-08. (Youth gun season opened a week ago).

Friend of mine from church killed a 206” monster in Illinois a few days ago. No details on it yet.

Michael

Spent all day yesterday in a ground blind with my 11 year old daughter. She was a trooper It was 10 yesterday morning and never got above 25.

She had several opportunities at does throughout the day, but wanted to wait for a buck. She finally got her opportunity right before sunset and dropped a small buck. Her first deer. I'm not sure which one of us was more excited.

Gun starts here next weekend, can’t wait!

Love this time of year!

Saw one mule two days ago, but could not shoot (no time; she re-entered in about 5 seconds).

Will go again today.

My hunting vacation starts this Wednesday, the 14th. I will be off from 14 Nov to 9 Dec.

Our gun season for bear starts on 17 Nov and runs the 17th, 19-21. In my area, I can still hunt bear during the first week of deer, Nov 26-Dec 1.

Deer continues for another week until Dec 8.

A month and a half of bow hunting in NewYohkistan and I haven’t seen anything close enough to shoot. Rifle/Shotgun starts on the 17th and I’m hoping to fill the freezer.

I went on my yearly elk hunt Oct 11 - 17. We walk in 7 miles then setup camp. The second and third night it was single digits. It snowed twice as well. Saw lots of elk track, but couldn't find them. I tracked one for 3+ hours then gave up. He knew I was after him. My GPS says I walked 35 miles. Basically "armed camping", lol. Maybe next year.

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The second and third night it was single digits. It snowed twice as well. Saw lots of elk track, but couldn't find them.

You're a better man than I am. I thought it was cold sitting in a deer stand for several hours with temps in the upper 20's. That sounds painful.

Our buck season with rifle starts on November 26 and I will be out for 3 days, hoping I finally get one this year.

I have a Big Agnes "Storm King" down zero degree bag. It tested the limits of the bag I can tell you that! We are very dry here and the lack of humidity makes the cold temps not too bad. But single digits is still single digits! BRRRRRR I had the draw strings pulled tight and only had a small opening for my mouth.

My father in law took me hunting for the very first time. I've shot hogs that were rutting up our fields but I've never shot anything other than that.

The night we arrived I shot a hog that popped out as we drove out to check game cams.

The next morning, we saw a group of 5 doe and a small buck. They were eventually ran off by another group of hogs. I took another hog after they ran off all the deer. We left to eat lunch and got back around 13:00. We saw a buck around 14:30 that I took. In hindsight, I kinda wish I would have let him pass and grow for a few more years.

We took him to processing and came back to see if we could take a few more hogs. We saw a few more groups of deer. About 10 all in all. We even saw two young bucks have a bit of a fight.

Amazing trip and I really had a great time with my FIL. I'm very blessed.

thirty pointer video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6x29TfeI6E

Daughter (14yo) got her doe during the Junior/Senior 3-day hunt in October. Two years in a row now. 120yd-ish shot with the 25.06.

Now she wants a buck, so she got a bow for her b-day.

Taken during Muzzle loader season 10/14


Taken 11/11 during general gun.

11 Y/O daughter missed a 8 pt. that week too. First buck she shot at, shes taken a doe last 2 years.

Early archery I flubbed a shot at a big 8 with my bow (first season hunting with bow). Shot high, elevated shooting.