Successful Hunt! Five in the Cooler!
In the October Zone T Hunt we saw atleast five different 8 point bucks so we were excited to head down to the regular season with seven buck tags in hand so any of us could bag one of the biggies. We came back with four large does and a half of a four pointer but it was one of the best hunts in several years. The deer were all over the place during the mornings and the cold chill hardly got through the multi-layers of clothing because the adrenaline was kicking in by 6:45 each day.
On Day one, we left Manitowoc at 1:45 and took the new bypass around Fond du Lac which saves about 15 minutes of driving time atleast. We picked up Chris and arrived at Theobald's at just after 5 am. We suited up and headed out. Devon took the Pine Tree stand, Chris took the strip woods, I took Rob's stand and Dad tented it in his favorite spot on the hillside. Just after the shooting started Chris had some deer exit the woods across from him. He lined up the 30-06 on his 150 yard shot and squeezed the trigger... the deer took off. They raced past Dad who fired a shot and then worked their way up the ravine towards my position. One came up and boom, down. The second one came up and stood on the other side of the tree the fronts Rob's stand. It just stood there, five yards away, oblivious to my presence for about two minutes before it took off up the hill running. Even I could hit one this close running (I have a hard time with moving deer) and sure enough, down.
Chris texted asking if I had gotten any. I called him and told him two. He went to grab the ATV and come over to help. As he walks to see if he had wounded any of those deer, he finds the one he shot ad, right where it had dropped. Three deer before 7 am! We field dressed and loaded them on the ATV, took them to town to register and came back. After a short noon hour hunt, Chris and I came back to cut them up and get them in the cooler. We got back out in the woods before 4pm but noone saw anything that evening.
That night, we stayed at the Pine Ridge Motel in Dodgeville as we do every hunting season. This is the cheapest hotel in all of Wisconsin I think. However, we were in for a really great surprise this time. We were the last of the hunting groups to check in so we got the last available room. That's usually not a good thing, but we were okay with it when we found out it was a two-bedroom suite. Yes, you heard me right, the Pines has suites. We never slept more comfortably. Where else can you get a suite for four people for $55 a night. Even William Shatner would be proud.
The next morning, we set up a little differently. Chris went across the creek, I went on the flat at the end of the drainage ditch, Devon went in Dad's spot from the previous morning and Dad went in Rob's stand. Once again, at 6:45 some deer came over the hill, this time towards Devon. He fired and the deer took off. They headed towards Dad who dropped the biggest of the group, a large doe. Two hours later, Dad and Devon got together to see if Devon had hit a deer as well. The didn't find any blood and Devon was checking the draw in the woods to no avail. Devon had downed several Monsters and really needed to relieve himself. So he walked over into the woods to pee and found his deer, a four point buck who had lost its right antlers somehow earlier this year. They came back to the farm and Devon, Dad and I went back out to collect the deer. We field dressed them and brought them back. We put them on the trailer with the ATV and headed home. I missed an 8 pointer down on the flat with my 20 gauge shotgun. I walked off the distance after I got out of the tree and it turned out to be 230 yards. I was estimating 200 so that wasn't so bad. It was big enough to warrant a try. Chris didn't see anything.
Chris had some work to do for final papers (he's really graduating!) so we got him back to school by 1:30. When we got home, we dropped off Dad's deer at Jost's and hung Devon's buck in the tree.
On Day one, we left Manitowoc at 1:45 and took the new bypass around Fond du Lac which saves about 15 minutes of driving time atleast. We picked up Chris and arrived at Theobald's at just after 5 am. We suited up and headed out. Devon took the Pine Tree stand, Chris took the strip woods, I took Rob's stand and Dad tented it in his favorite spot on the hillside. Just after the shooting started Chris had some deer exit the woods across from him. He lined up the 30-06 on his 150 yard shot and squeezed the trigger... the deer took off. They raced past Dad who fired a shot and then worked their way up the ravine towards my position. One came up and boom, down. The second one came up and stood on the other side of the tree the fronts Rob's stand. It just stood there, five yards away, oblivious to my presence for about two minutes before it took off up the hill running. Even I could hit one this close running (I have a hard time with moving deer) and sure enough, down.
Chris texted asking if I had gotten any. I called him and told him two. He went to grab the ATV and come over to help. As he walks to see if he had wounded any of those deer, he finds the one he shot ad, right where it had dropped. Three deer before 7 am! We field dressed and loaded them on the ATV, took them to town to register and came back. After a short noon hour hunt, Chris and I came back to cut them up and get them in the cooler. We got back out in the woods before 4pm but noone saw anything that evening.
That night, we stayed at the Pine Ridge Motel in Dodgeville as we do every hunting season. This is the cheapest hotel in all of Wisconsin I think. However, we were in for a really great surprise this time. We were the last of the hunting groups to check in so we got the last available room. That's usually not a good thing, but we were okay with it when we found out it was a two-bedroom suite. Yes, you heard me right, the Pines has suites. We never slept more comfortably. Where else can you get a suite for four people for $55 a night. Even William Shatner would be proud.
The next morning, we set up a little differently. Chris went across the creek, I went on the flat at the end of the drainage ditch, Devon went in Dad's spot from the previous morning and Dad went in Rob's stand. Once again, at 6:45 some deer came over the hill, this time towards Devon. He fired and the deer took off. They headed towards Dad who dropped the biggest of the group, a large doe. Two hours later, Dad and Devon got together to see if Devon had hit a deer as well. The didn't find any blood and Devon was checking the draw in the woods to no avail. Devon had downed several Monsters and really needed to relieve himself. So he walked over into the woods to pee and found his deer, a four point buck who had lost its right antlers somehow earlier this year. They came back to the farm and Devon, Dad and I went back out to collect the deer. We field dressed them and brought them back. We put them on the trailer with the ATV and headed home. I missed an 8 pointer down on the flat with my 20 gauge shotgun. I walked off the distance after I got out of the tree and it turned out to be 230 yards. I was estimating 200 so that wasn't so bad. It was big enough to warrant a try. Chris didn't see anything.
Chris had some work to do for final papers (he's really graduating!) so we got him back to school by 1:30. When we got home, we dropped off Dad's deer at Jost's and hung Devon's buck in the tree.
posted by James, Jen, Owen, Gavin, Quinn and Pip | 4:21 AM
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