Late Season Hunt

Well I can't believe I am writing these words but our whitetail hunting is coming to a close once again. I was able to get out one last time this past weekend with the "Smoke Pole", I even convinced Mr. Lucky himself to come and run the camera for me. Eric and I set up the double bull out on the edge of a chopped corn field where the deer were coming to feed. I had been watching the weather and we had a big system coming threw the next day. I had a feeling we might catch a few deer coming to feed before things got nasty. Well I have to say I was pretty disappointed about 15 min of good camera light left and we still hadn't seen hide or hair of a deer. I actually started to pack things up and low and behold a little doe came out to feed, I let Eric get the camera rolling and thought I had my gun where I needed to be. I shot and the deer bucked up and took off running hard not an encouraging thing to see. We had blood but it was the spotty type that is just a drip here and drip there. We gave her several hours and then got back on the trail. She had never laid down once, we heard her running a few times a head of us so I backed out once again. I returned the next morning and looked for another few hours to make sure she wasn't down. I am confident I hit her low in the leg and am pretty sure that she will make it. I know that this is not a story most people like to read about but this is hunting and things like this can happen. Most of do whatever we can to make sure we are capable of making a good clean hit but once and a while stupid things happen. I feel we looked as hard as we could for this deer and just hope the best for her. This is not how I wanted my MN season to end but I am very fortunate to have taken 4 beautiful does this season.
Next up I have some coyote calling and ice fishing to take care of and also another hog hunt in Feb. Anyone that is bored of the same old websites make sure to check out www.backfortyoutdoors.com

The Rewards of Sucess

The deer hunting has been pretty slow since the last of the gun hunters tromped threw the woods. I have managed to get out bow hunting a few times before the muzzleloading season began but all my sits were very unproductive, not a surprise. My dad,uncle and I were lucky enough to draw a very good muzzleloader tag in Maria State Park outside of Monticello, MN. The park has never been hunted and we were stoked about getting the opportunity to hunt some prime real estate. We were able to scout the weekend of thanksgiving and we all had some locations picked out that we liked. Saturday morning rolled around and we were greeted with 13 degrees and 20 mph winds. Brrrrrrr My uncle AL was the first to strike with a young doe around 8:00, I forgot to mention that this was an earn a buck hunt so we all wanted to get a doe quickly. Al had a big buck stop broadside at 50 yards prior to him filling his doe tag, that takes some will power to let those walk on by. Around 10:00 we all met up and had a quick cup of coffee and got back to hunting and Al struck again with a nice big doe ( there is a lengthy story that go's with this deer but I do not have the time to write it all down for you. Just ask Al about it next time you see him Ha ha ) I have to admit I was starting to get a little down on myself, this is the first time in seven years I am hunting deer with a gun and I haven't even had a chance at a deer, not to mention I am hunting some awesome deer grounds. I went to my secondary spot and got set up on the ground old school style, find a good tree and kick all the leaves out of the way and sit down. I had a great vantage point in a tight funnel in between two CRP chunks. I wasn't there for a half an hour when 12 big does got right in my face literally 30 yards or closer I looked real hard for some antler but couldn't find any so I picked out my doe and stopped her in a clearing and put the TC Omega to work!! I have to say, I will always be an Arrow Slinger at heart but this muzzleloading is pretty damn cool. I have to thank my Dad for getting me interested in it. But I really have to thank Ashley for buying the gun for me last year on our anniversary I am a pretty lucky guy. I know Dad and Al had a good time so that is all you can ask for some meat in the freezer and good time with family. I am going to give her hard the rest of the season with the bow it will be miserable but I still have that buck tag.

Deer Camp 08

As most of you know I am a nut when it comes to bow hunting, but my passion for hunting started long ago during the Minnesota firearms season. Since I was about 4 years old me and Dad have made the trek to Deerwood MN to partake in the opening weekend hunt. We are lucky that my grandparents have a good chunck of land that we can hunt. I personally haven't carried a gun into the woods for 7 years now but I still go up north and hang out with the family and listen to the same hunting stories I have been hearing since I was a little kid. Also don't forget about grandmas cooking I look forward to that meal all year long. I rate it higher on the scale than thanksgiving or any Christmas meal.

We have had some banner seasons on the Sharp Ranch, We have put more than one deer head on the wall from the back 40. This year however was a little different. With only 2 people having Doe tags and a cold Northwest wind that ripped right threw you the hunting was about as slow as I have ever seen. We all seen does but it seemed the ones with the doe tags could never get into range with one. I had one literally 5 yards from me on the opening night sitting in my food plot. Out of the 5 of us hunting only the great white hunter himself shot the only buck.(my uncle Al, no really he is very white Ha Ha) Even though the hunting was slow it was still fun, I had the chance to share the stand with my cousin Monica the opening morning and I gave her a lesson on how to rattle and grunt a buck in, but the bucks didn't quite cooperate.

This was somewhere like my 20th year of Deer Camp up north and I am looking forward to passing the tradition on to my kids some day.

What have I done

My long time hunting buddy and best friend going on a good 18 years is on a roll and I don't mean just a good streak it is quite honestly something that doesn't happen much here in central Minnesota. Lets go way back to the first years of Eric and I hunting. We all have good seasons and bad seasons well I would sum Erics career thus this far as good, or maybe that's awesome. Erics first years of hunting were all with the shotgun and he put some real nice deer down his first 2 were 115 - 120 inch 8 points not bad for a little squirt that had a hard time lugging his 870 around in the woods. Know this Eric is very picky with his deer, he has watched many bucks walk by his stand to let grow another year and I have to give him credit for that is not an easy thing to do as a young kid. Fast forward a few years of eating tag sandwiches and it brings us to his first wall hanger a beautiful 10 point tight racked whitetail at the time none of us thought he was wrong in mounting that buck but boy what we didn't know. About the time Eric got that deer back from the shop he had another on the ground that well whats a nice way to put it, dwarfed his 10 pointer. I don't know if I have ever seen a 8 point that big I believe he scored in the high 140's or even 150. That gets to be pretty expensive shooting big deer back to back just ask Eric I don't really have much experience in that department. One more good buck with the shotgun and that is the end of Erics gun hunting career. I thought it would be cool to share the bowhunting woods with Eric, longer seasons and much more challenging got Eric hooked right off the bat. Erics first deer with a bow was a great eating doe. The second, Third and fourth have all been bucks and not one will score under 135 and this brute pictured will go around 150-155. I had this buck on film a year and a half ago in full velvet and he is everything I thought he was. Congrats Eric I am happy one of us three can put the big ones in the freezer.

I don't know if I mentioned this but everyone of theses bucks have been shot within 100 yards of Erics house. When you have a good spot you have a good spot.

Not so sweet november, for some of us.

Well after all the scouting and practicing and time spent tuning your bow the season really comes down to one or two weeks. These two weeks are usually called the rut. The rut? I am starting to wonder what happened to the rut, don't get me wrong I see signs of it the rubs the scrapes and every once and a while a small young and dumb buck will come to the horns. Honestly for the last 3 years I haven't seen much of a intense rut type of activity. This fall was suppose to be different, the end of October was awesome, good pre rut activity and temps in the 30's and low 40's it all seemed it was coming together beautifully. I headed to Peppin county Wisconsin on the 2nd of November and my timing was horrible the next 3 days the temps were in the 70's not the best for deer to be moving in, heck I didn't feel like walking up and down those hills. My last night I finally heard some grunts and seen a few deer. Unfortunately my short time in Wisconsin didn't produce a deer but I did learn some of the terrain and found some awesome areas to mark in the GPS.

I rolled into the central part of MN about 1:00 on Wed. the 5th and headed right to the woods to set it up for a hunt the next day. I found a tree I used to hunt way back in the day and it looked hot. The following morning I only got about 2 hours of hunting in before the skies opened up on me. After a good breakfast and about 4 hours of hunting DVD's the rain finally let up so Forrest and I headed to the woods. I was only hunting for a short time before I had a nice doe come in. I only thought about shooting her for maybe a second and decided the best thing to do was let the Montec loose! it did its job and the rest is history. As I write this I am proud to say that my dad put the smack down on a beautiful 8 point tonight with the old smoke pole. Congrats Dad

Sweet November !

Now is the time all deer hunters look forward to all year long. We've all been in the woods a good month and a half now and most have probably put some meat in the freezer. Hopefully we have all gotten dialed in here for the next three weeks of hunting for it is the time that at any point the bucks can start running the does hard. I have had some good time in the saddle already this season 2 does and some chances at others. But now is the time to really try to sit longer and be patient. I will have 3 days next weekend at home then it is off to wis. to try filling my buck tag, then back home for a few days before heading up north for the gun opener which I will only be using my bow once again. The season is getting primed this year with some actually cool temps and good moon times falling the first week of November. I just get jacked up thinking about big mature whitetails cruising midday threw the timber on the field edges checking for does. So good luck to all of you this primetime of the season. The picture I added here is of my hunting buddy Eric Williamson and his 06 buck a prime example of what putting time in on stand can get you.

08 MN DOE

One week ago exactly I harvested my first out of state deer and tonight I am pleased to say I put a nice home grown central Mn doe on the ground. I hurried from work at 2:00 and headed home to grab my check and get it to the bank on time and then busted tail to the woods. I had a strait east wind which ruined my original plan to hunt behind the farm. I went to my little honey hole that works well with a east wind and scurried up the tree with my saddle, I can't say enough good things about the saddle; quiet, versatile, and most of all comfy. I was hanging out for about 1 1/2 hours when out came my doe all by herself, she bee lined basically right for my tree as if she was on a string. She turned broadside at 22 yards and I grunted to stop her and let the ole Montec get in her and eat! No tracking necessary. That was my 3rd hunt in a row that either I or someone else harvested a deer not a bad streak to have going. Beautiful weather and just a great night to be in the woods.