TheMadCatter
Well-Known Member
Figured I'd start a Journal for the rest of the season and keep live updates. I'm transferring schools and heading to the University of Wyoming, so shed season will be interesting! Can't wait for 2016 and the new journey I have ahead of me.
I'll get some video put together of some of the deer I've seen this year too.
October 4th 2015,
Last Wednesday I hurt my shins running Cross Country and then when I went home last Saturday I hurt my ankle videotaping at a rodeo. You might ask, what does this have to do with hunting? It has EVERYTHING to do with it. This Wednesday was the first day I could run and I knew I wouldn't be ready for the meet this weekend in Arkansas. My Coach told me that I wouldn't be going and I was a little bummed but I was excited because I wasn't going to be able to hunt until October 24th. Friday I packed up, grabbed my bow from security and headed out. I was home just in time to sit out, I went to one of my spots where I knew some shooters MIGHT be. I walked out there and while I was walking to my spot I noticed my trail camera was gone. It was 4pm already and I had to go see if the neighbor took it, and he said he didn't touch it. I was upset because the two weeks before I had two SD Cards stolen and somebody drove through my soybean plot. I sat back down at 6pm and only had an hour and 30 minutes left. Saw two does on the way back to my Jeep after shooting light. I walked home ate and went right to bed, woke up Saturday morning and was excited but didn't know where to sit. I had hung a stand Sligh gave me back in July, and decided to go on the east side of the farm instead of the west side (Where my foodplots are) I walked down there thinking I wasn't going to see much because not very many deer used to go through there. I sat down at 6:20am and everything just went crazy. I had four coyotes come and start messing around, I shot one and watch him go into the corn. 10 Minutes later here comes this buck and a doe walking down the fence line. The buck knew something was up but the doe didn't care, I had the buck come into 20 yards and stand broadside for 5 minutes. I saw this buck during the summer when he was first growing, I thought he was the son of one of the bucks I had sheds of. I passed him up, and then the doe came right under my stand. Coyotes came back, and I missed a different one. Then I had skunk, badger, squirrel, raccoon, opossum, and crows moving all day (sat all day) At around 6:40pm the same doe came back without her man and I saw her look and stomp at something, a little six point buck came right under my stand and looked at me and just kept walking. He didn't care I was there, nor did the doe. They even went down wind of me. Side note...TIP: Let your cats sleep on your hunting clothes, never had a deer downwind me since I started doing this. Happened on accident when I left my clothes downstairs and the cats got hair and everything all over my clothes and had deer go down wind of me and none of them blew. Anyway, nothing else exciting happened that night besides when I left my stand (to look for the coyote) I went to the other side of the creek and there were scraps, rubs, and a crazy deer trail that's almost like a cattle trail. I went home debating on where to go, I figured since the big boys were moving at night (what I heard from everyone) I'd save my "better spot" (Clover/Turnip plot) for the night and let my buddy hunt it in the morning. I walked to my stand and it was DEAD SILENT, I walked down the soybeans that were still green making so much noise I figured every deer in the county heard me that morning. I was at my stand and twigs were snapping and then I heard something behind me and I almost bet it was that same doe. She took off and I climbed up the stand. I swear I was about to freeze to death, I didn't know it was going to be THAT cold. Around 6:50am the doe came back, alone. She walked under my stand, looked at me for a good 10 minutes and got a drink and left. I was texting my Cross Country Coach asking how much he wanted me to run, and I saw legs through the leaves about 40 yards away. I put my phone away quick and grabbed my bow, and forgetting to press record on my Sony Handy Cam that was on my bow. He was the lead buck, he came out at 30 yards and I waited to see what was behind him. There was an eight point that would have been a 10 point if he didn't break tines off just as big as he was, then a sixteen point was behind him that was a little bigger but had ZERO mass, and then a buck I kind of wanted to shoot at the beginning of the year but I'm thinking I'll give him another year. I don't know if there was anybody else behind that buck because I had my 20 yard pin on this buck. They were all making scrapes and there was one little twig in the way, I had to hold there for ever for him to move just another foot. I can't believe the other bucks didn't see me draw back, they looked right at me. I spent another minute waiting for him to quarter a little more. I shot, the shot was good! He ran a couple yards and laid there, I was for sure he was dead. He didn't move for 30 minutes and I took out my phone and started recording and telling people. Then while I was taking a snapchat he started moving. I grabbed my Handy-Cam and started recording, one I got it out he started spazzing and took off! I didn't understand, the shot was good blood was everywhere? He was dead!? I waited until 10am to get down and I got down at EXACTLY 10am. I started blood trailing, found my arrow broken a covered in blood with air bubbles still in it. I went to where he was "down" HE GOT STUCK ON THE FENCE. I decided even then with the shot he should be dead, I walked 50 yards and the blood was insane. I kept pushing and went through a gap in the fence and into the corn. Blood was all over the corn, it's like someone painted it red on both sides. Then he went into an open area in the corn and there were only little tiny drops. I spent a good hour trying to find drops to get to where he went through the corn again. I found it and got to the edge of a creek, he had gone 100+ yards by this time. I kept thinking he had to be dead! He went back by the edge of the corn and I could tell he kept falling over, but didn't think to lift my head...by the time I saw him he was 8 feet in front of me and he took off. I kept an eye on him as he only ran 50 yards along the edge of the creek and bedded down. I wasn't going to wait, I snuck up to him and shot him at 20 yards almost in the same exact spot but he was quartering away pretty good (no downward angle to mess me up). I watched him run 50 more yards and just stand there for 5 minutes, I only had one arrow left. I went up to him at 10 yards and smoked him, he then charged me! I dropped my bow and ran like a little girl, he started stumbling and stood there for another 15 minutes and then fell down the little hill he was on. For reference, the final shot is on the other side of the buck. The first shot I hit the top of his right lung, the second shot I hit the tip of both of his lungs, and the last shot hit the bottom of his heart. I don't know how he could physically stand there and not be dead with three arrows in him with two in his lungs and one in his heart. This buck was TOUGH, it's making me think if I should invest in some new broad-heads because I had the same problem happen last year with both of my archery deer, I had to shoot them both twice with shots they should be dead from.
July 30th Departure - We packed up and sighted the bows in on the 30th of July and we were set to head to Texas in the morning around 3AM. My buddy Corey, his newly-wed wife and myself went down. We drove through Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and almost touched Arkansas on the way back up. 
All I remember was it was HOT, I believe the temp. this week was 95-105 Degrees. 
Stopped by and checked out the Bass Pro and the Arena while we were in Oklahoma City. 
We rolled into the small south Texas town around 9pm and got some things unhitched and settled into our hotel for the night since our guide wasn't ready for us yet. Never been in a hotel that only cost $45 for the night with two beds, let's just say that was an experience I won't be wanting to have again couldn't ask for a nicer people though. Morning couldn't come fast enough! July 31st - First sit... 
Woke up super early and headed toward a town called Del Rio. This area was less populated than where I went in Colorado, and the ranches were huge tracts of land. Thousands of acres and we had to go through private roads and gates to get to our destination. We finally arrived after hitting a couple jack rabbits because those things were EVERYWHERE. EXAMPLE: 
I was settled into my blind before the sun came up and I wasn't in the blind 5 SECONDS and I saw 4 buck whitetail and 2 doe whitetail walking around. I realized I forgot my camera in the Jeep and went back to grab it, figuring my hunt was over for the morning. Boy, I was wrong! I got back up into the tower blind and all of them were still there waiting for the feeder to go off. At this point in time I didn't know they'd wait for the feeder to go off. I sat there watching these deer for a while and heard a strange sound. Something I had only heard on TV and crummy calls. I saw two Cow elk moving along the fence and I thought "Man, sure wish I had an elk tag." I had a couple Axis come through and it was pretty neat seeing them! 
This place has WAY too many whitetail, I'm talking I saw 30 deer EASY every morning. Anyway, I get back to camp and I tell my guide I saw two cow elk...he informs me I could have shot one of them and that Texas doesn't have elk tags. I should have definitely read my regulations a little better. Oh well! August 1st - This day was boring, hot, long, and only saw 100+ deer and turkey. 
August 2nd - Took this picture during the morning, it was pretty neat. 
Today I was tired of sitting in those other blinds and asked my guide if there was any place I could move to. He told me I should go over to the water or another feeder right of a private road. I decided to hit the feeder and see what was there, I started setting up my blind and the feeder went off. Not thinking much of it, I was putting a few things in the blind with my Jeep on and me right there two little 2 year old bucks step out and start feeding 10 yards from me. I grabbed my camera and recorded it (One of these years I'll edit it). It was super funny and I drove my Jeep back and hid it on the road. I went back and those deer were still standing there just minding their own business. The bucks where I was at were super small, smaller than our does and not as tall. As I sat there and the night went on I had a horse come through and then leave, 10 minutes after the horse left I had 5 cows come in. I spooked them off and about 30 minutes later I had a group of hogs start coming in. I turned my camera on and the hogs were just messing around, then they took of and left. I figured they just saw me. I grabbed my gun and then it happened. They came back in, but one didn't stay very long! Watch the video below: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10205750194288847&id=1075719817 
Went back into a different town and grabbed some King Burger! 
Here's the crazy story, we were minding our own business checking trail cameras and we had a bull elk come to one of the feeders we were just looking at those pictures when I noticed smoked outside and I freaked out because I thought my Jeep was going to be set on fire. We get out there and we have a fire going nuts, it's dry and over 100 degrees out and the fire didn't help anything. We were afraid the entire ranch, cabin, and vehicles might go up. The first thing I did was grab the truck and my Jeep and move them and just in time too. Took us an entire 4 minutes to get it out. 
August 3rd - Went back to the tower blinds and sat there for over 24 hours because he had little lights on the feeder and I could shoot anything with those lights running. I had a couple hogs and a ton of whitetail and turkey come in but never connected with an Axis, Fallow, Sika, or Aoudad. I think I'm going to head back out in March. 
(EARLIER IN THE YEAR) 
Saw a small Axis and a Black Buck on this day and a ton of whitetail. I went up and made a blind out of a tarp, pieces of wood, and a windmill. Worked great! But nothing I wanted to shoot and eat came in. 
August 4th - Just hunted 24/7 and headed home, picked up some show rabbits on my way home too. 
I'll get some video put together of some of the deer I've seen this year too.
October 4th 2015,
Last Wednesday I hurt my shins running Cross Country and then when I went home last Saturday I hurt my ankle videotaping at a rodeo. You might ask, what does this have to do with hunting? It has EVERYTHING to do with it. This Wednesday was the first day I could run and I knew I wouldn't be ready for the meet this weekend in Arkansas. My Coach told me that I wouldn't be going and I was a little bummed but I was excited because I wasn't going to be able to hunt until October 24th. Friday I packed up, grabbed my bow from security and headed out. I was home just in time to sit out, I went to one of my spots where I knew some shooters MIGHT be. I walked out there and while I was walking to my spot I noticed my trail camera was gone. It was 4pm already and I had to go see if the neighbor took it, and he said he didn't touch it. I was upset because the two weeks before I had two SD Cards stolen and somebody drove through my soybean plot. I sat back down at 6pm and only had an hour and 30 minutes left. Saw two does on the way back to my Jeep after shooting light. I walked home ate and went right to bed, woke up Saturday morning and was excited but didn't know where to sit. I had hung a stand Sligh gave me back in July, and decided to go on the east side of the farm instead of the west side (Where my foodplots are) I walked down there thinking I wasn't going to see much because not very many deer used to go through there. I sat down at 6:20am and everything just went crazy. I had four coyotes come and start messing around, I shot one and watch him go into the corn. 10 Minutes later here comes this buck and a doe walking down the fence line. The buck knew something was up but the doe didn't care, I had the buck come into 20 yards and stand broadside for 5 minutes. I saw this buck during the summer when he was first growing, I thought he was the son of one of the bucks I had sheds of. I passed him up, and then the doe came right under my stand. Coyotes came back, and I missed a different one. Then I had skunk, badger, squirrel, raccoon, opossum, and crows moving all day (sat all day) At around 6:40pm the same doe came back without her man and I saw her look and stomp at something, a little six point buck came right under my stand and looked at me and just kept walking. He didn't care I was there, nor did the doe. They even went down wind of me. Side note...TIP: Let your cats sleep on your hunting clothes, never had a deer downwind me since I started doing this. Happened on accident when I left my clothes downstairs and the cats got hair and everything all over my clothes and had deer go down wind of me and none of them blew. Anyway, nothing else exciting happened that night besides when I left my stand (to look for the coyote) I went to the other side of the creek and there were scraps, rubs, and a crazy deer trail that's almost like a cattle trail. I went home debating on where to go, I figured since the big boys were moving at night (what I heard from everyone) I'd save my "better spot" (Clover/Turnip plot) for the night and let my buddy hunt it in the morning. I walked to my stand and it was DEAD SILENT, I walked down the soybeans that were still green making so much noise I figured every deer in the county heard me that morning. I was at my stand and twigs were snapping and then I heard something behind me and I almost bet it was that same doe. She took off and I climbed up the stand. I swear I was about to freeze to death, I didn't know it was going to be THAT cold. Around 6:50am the doe came back, alone. She walked under my stand, looked at me for a good 10 minutes and got a drink and left. I was texting my Cross Country Coach asking how much he wanted me to run, and I saw legs through the leaves about 40 yards away. I put my phone away quick and grabbed my bow, and forgetting to press record on my Sony Handy Cam that was on my bow. He was the lead buck, he came out at 30 yards and I waited to see what was behind him. There was an eight point that would have been a 10 point if he didn't break tines off just as big as he was, then a sixteen point was behind him that was a little bigger but had ZERO mass, and then a buck I kind of wanted to shoot at the beginning of the year but I'm thinking I'll give him another year. I don't know if there was anybody else behind that buck because I had my 20 yard pin on this buck. They were all making scrapes and there was one little twig in the way, I had to hold there for ever for him to move just another foot. I can't believe the other bucks didn't see me draw back, they looked right at me. I spent another minute waiting for him to quarter a little more. I shot, the shot was good! He ran a couple yards and laid there, I was for sure he was dead. He didn't move for 30 minutes and I took out my phone and started recording and telling people. Then while I was taking a snapchat he started moving. I grabbed my Handy-Cam and started recording, one I got it out he started spazzing and took off! I didn't understand, the shot was good blood was everywhere? He was dead!? I waited until 10am to get down and I got down at EXACTLY 10am. I started blood trailing, found my arrow broken a covered in blood with air bubbles still in it. I went to where he was "down" HE GOT STUCK ON THE FENCE. I decided even then with the shot he should be dead, I walked 50 yards and the blood was insane. I kept pushing and went through a gap in the fence and into the corn. Blood was all over the corn, it's like someone painted it red on both sides. Then he went into an open area in the corn and there were only little tiny drops. I spent a good hour trying to find drops to get to where he went through the corn again. I found it and got to the edge of a creek, he had gone 100+ yards by this time. I kept thinking he had to be dead! He went back by the edge of the corn and I could tell he kept falling over, but didn't think to lift my head...by the time I saw him he was 8 feet in front of me and he took off. I kept an eye on him as he only ran 50 yards along the edge of the creek and bedded down. I wasn't going to wait, I snuck up to him and shot him at 20 yards almost in the same exact spot but he was quartering away pretty good (no downward angle to mess me up). I watched him run 50 more yards and just stand there for 5 minutes, I only had one arrow left. I went up to him at 10 yards and smoked him, he then charged me! I dropped my bow and ran like a little girl, he started stumbling and stood there for another 15 minutes and then fell down the little hill he was on. For reference, the final shot is on the other side of the buck. The first shot I hit the top of his right lung, the second shot I hit the tip of both of his lungs, and the last shot hit the bottom of his heart. I don't know how he could physically stand there and not be dead with three arrows in him with two in his lungs and one in his heart. This buck was TOUGH, it's making me think if I should invest in some new broad-heads because I had the same problem happen last year with both of my archery deer, I had to shoot them both twice with shots they should be dead from.
July 30th Departure - We packed up and sighted the bows in on the 30th of July and we were set to head to Texas in the morning around 3AM. My buddy Corey, his newly-wed wife and myself went down. We drove through Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and almost touched Arkansas on the way back up. 
All I remember was it was HOT, I believe the temp. this week was 95-105 Degrees. 
Stopped by and checked out the Bass Pro and the Arena while we were in Oklahoma City. 
We rolled into the small south Texas town around 9pm and got some things unhitched and settled into our hotel for the night since our guide wasn't ready for us yet. Never been in a hotel that only cost $45 for the night with two beds, let's just say that was an experience I won't be wanting to have again couldn't ask for a nicer people though. Morning couldn't come fast enough! July 31st - First sit... 
Woke up super early and headed toward a town called Del Rio. This area was less populated than where I went in Colorado, and the ranches were huge tracts of land. Thousands of acres and we had to go through private roads and gates to get to our destination. We finally arrived after hitting a couple jack rabbits because those things were EVERYWHERE. EXAMPLE: 
I was settled into my blind before the sun came up and I wasn't in the blind 5 SECONDS and I saw 4 buck whitetail and 2 doe whitetail walking around. I realized I forgot my camera in the Jeep and went back to grab it, figuring my hunt was over for the morning. Boy, I was wrong! I got back up into the tower blind and all of them were still there waiting for the feeder to go off. At this point in time I didn't know they'd wait for the feeder to go off. I sat there watching these deer for a while and heard a strange sound. Something I had only heard on TV and crummy calls. I saw two Cow elk moving along the fence and I thought "Man, sure wish I had an elk tag." I had a couple Axis come through and it was pretty neat seeing them! 
This place has WAY too many whitetail, I'm talking I saw 30 deer EASY every morning. Anyway, I get back to camp and I tell my guide I saw two cow elk...he informs me I could have shot one of them and that Texas doesn't have elk tags. I should have definitely read my regulations a little better. Oh well! August 1st - This day was boring, hot, long, and only saw 100+ deer and turkey. 
August 2nd - Took this picture during the morning, it was pretty neat. 
Today I was tired of sitting in those other blinds and asked my guide if there was any place I could move to. He told me I should go over to the water or another feeder right of a private road. I decided to hit the feeder and see what was there, I started setting up my blind and the feeder went off. Not thinking much of it, I was putting a few things in the blind with my Jeep on and me right there two little 2 year old bucks step out and start feeding 10 yards from me. I grabbed my camera and recorded it (One of these years I'll edit it). It was super funny and I drove my Jeep back and hid it on the road. I went back and those deer were still standing there just minding their own business. The bucks where I was at were super small, smaller than our does and not as tall. As I sat there and the night went on I had a horse come through and then leave, 10 minutes after the horse left I had 5 cows come in. I spooked them off and about 30 minutes later I had a group of hogs start coming in. I turned my camera on and the hogs were just messing around, then they took of and left. I figured they just saw me. I grabbed my gun and then it happened. They came back in, but one didn't stay very long! Watch the video below: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10205750194288847&id=1075719817 
Went back into a different town and grabbed some King Burger! 
Here's the crazy story, we were minding our own business checking trail cameras and we had a bull elk come to one of the feeders we were just looking at those pictures when I noticed smoked outside and I freaked out because I thought my Jeep was going to be set on fire. We get out there and we have a fire going nuts, it's dry and over 100 degrees out and the fire didn't help anything. We were afraid the entire ranch, cabin, and vehicles might go up. The first thing I did was grab the truck and my Jeep and move them and just in time too. Took us an entire 4 minutes to get it out. 
August 3rd - Went back to the tower blinds and sat there for over 24 hours because he had little lights on the feeder and I could shoot anything with those lights running. I had a couple hogs and a ton of whitetail and turkey come in but never connected with an Axis, Fallow, Sika, or Aoudad. I think I'm going to head back out in March. 
(EARLIER IN THE YEAR) 
Saw a small Axis and a Black Buck on this day and a ton of whitetail. I went up and made a blind out of a tarp, pieces of wood, and a windmill. Worked great! But nothing I wanted to shoot and eat came in. 
August 4th - Just hunted 24/7 and headed home, picked up some show rabbits on my way home too. 
