thebig1's Journal

[thebig1]

Date: 8-10-04
Time: 9:30-10:30 P.M.
Weather: High Pressure, lightning, storm moving in
Animals Seen: Skunk, Owl, Porcupine, 1 Doe (in front of camera), 10 deer (spotting on way home)

Tonight i walked down to check my camera. After about 16 days of leaving it go i had 99 events. Upon entering my setup i used my spotlight to see if there was anything there. i practically had to chase the doe out of there that was in front of my camera. I also noticed lots of 4 wheeler tracks on the way down, and noticed bright eyes posted right next to my camera and marking a trail down through the woods.

upon developing the film i noticed that i had a whole role of film of the same doe over about a 1-2 day period. and that the last photo was of someone mooning my camera.

my concern is the fact that i've been scouting the area since January and now someone, either trespassing or someone the owner knows, thinks that they are going to hunt there. and the fact that they know my camera is there. (thank god for billkay and his lock box invention)

I have to talk to the landowner to find out what the heck is going on.

[thebig1]

Date: 8-19-04
Time: 2:15-3:00
Weather: High Pressure, storm moving close
Animals Seen: none

Today i walked down to check my camera. About halfway there the mosquitos were so terrible i thought i was going to get carried off. got down there and had 10 pics. I decided to pull the camera and possibly change spots since someone knows its there and where it is. I tried to rewind the film but the batteries were so dead it wouldn't. Eventually took it to wal mart to have it taken care of by them. i also noticed that the minerals that i put on the stump, that didn't work, are working now. they are digging the stump right out of the ground. since last time i was there and noticed that someone had put bright eyes right past my camera i decided to follow the trail and see where they went. Of course they went right over to the rub line that i was going to hunt. I still have yet to get ahold of the landowner to find out if its someone he knows or is a trespasser. on the way out i decided to forego putting the camera in a different spot because of the mosquitos and the fact that the batteries were dead. since someone thinks they're going to hunt there, i will scout an area to the east to catch the deer before they get to this person. after having the film developed i came to find out that it was the same doe that has been using up all my film. I'M GOING TO KILL HER THE FIRST CHANCE I GET!

[thebig1]

Date: 24 Aug 04

Well i talked to the landowner tonight about the bright eyes that go right by my camera and the fact that someone has been down in there. he says he doesn't know who it would be but if i run into them to tell them they are on private property and to leave. also to retrieve their tag number to have some action taken against them. who knows if this will fix the problem. he has posted his land but really doesn't do anything to anyone who trespasses. namely, 4 wheelers. they ride all over his land and he says he can't stop them but i think he won't try hard enough. i'm feeling as if my best choice would be just to find a new spot.

[thebig1]

I arrived home on October 17th. I did some scouting in some of my favorite spots. found lots of deer sign.

One spot inparticular caught my eye. its one of my "go to" spots. I call it "Dick's Woods" after the guy who owns it. its a little patch of woods about 20-30 acres where the deer come from all 4 sides. its as if these woods are a crossroads for the deer.

I went up to the cabin to get settled in.

Monday, the 18th, i woke up late. i woke up at 5:30. so instead of ruining a good spot by getting there late i decided to stay at the cabin. that was one of the hardest things i had to do. so i helped Harvey cut wood all day and then he and i went out for some awesome trout fishing that evening. I enjoy spending as much time with him as i can, he's like a grandfather to me.

Tuesday, the 19th, i got up at 4 a.m., and of course it was raining. well i drove down to where my spot was to see if it was raining down there and decided not to go. I went to Yoders, the local Mennonite restaurant, for breakfast and of course at 7 a.m. it had stopped raining. Another blown morning. well it drizzled all day long but i decided to go hunting anyway in the evening. i had heard a rumor that there was now turkeys in these woods. the rumors were correct. although i saw no deer the turkeys kept me entertained. it was a small group of hens with all of their polts. i witnessed some of the most amazing things first hand and sometimes within 10 yards of me. it was as if, everything these hens did, was to teach the polts. their center of operations was about 40 yards away in a brush pile. all but about 2 hens would stay there while the other hens took all the polts around the area in a circle feeding and working with them. and then finally, for the first time, i got to see turkeys roost. this turned out to be a very funny thing as about 3 of the polts flew into the trees and would fall out of the trees. man, i was laughing watching them come all the way down and hit the ground.

Wednesday, the 20th, i got up at 5:30. Late again but i went anyway. later my father said it looked as if i scared the deer out of the woods by showing up late. he saw their path in the wet field. so i set up and got to watch the turkeys wake up and begin with their morning ritual. it was raining again and i decided to stay either until my father came to my stand or until about 10 a.m. he showed up at about 9:10 and i started getting down. my jeep is only parked about 75 yards away and on the way there i saw 2 doe that were working their way into the woods about 20 yards from my jeep. and of course, they were coming right to my stand. so there was a blown opportunity.

my father and i went for breakfast and he decided to come up to the cabin with me for a couple of days. even though i had to go home the following day for work.

i ended up not hunting wednesday evening or thursday morning.

wednesday evening some of the senior members of the camp came in to participate in the senior/youth rifle hunt on thursday-saturday. of course they go out for 3 hours and each shoot a doe. so atleast i got to see what a deer looks like.


anyway, i'll be out there again from Oct 30-Nov 3. we're gonna try it again. this time i'll hunt much harder and Git R Done.