Average Joe's 2018

Good luck guys!!

I got in to Kansas this morning around 1AM, “slept”, and my buddy woke me up at 5 with some treats his wife baked me the night before....

Am I hunting or at sandals?



This mornings stand








This morning was unreal. I saw a spike, three solid bucks, and about 12 does.
It was the most deer I’ve ever seen in a sit and the three bucks were all 3 year olds, so good Kansas bucks, but not monsters.

The spike gave me a shot, but he got the pass. I’m filling my antlerless tag on a fat doe and I’m still not sure what will meet my buck needs. We will see when I hit the release!

There was one moment when I had 7 does within 7-55 yards of me and all around. Naturally one sensed something was up and sent all her friends home.




Spike ^



So now we are about to eat some BBQ and then head out for the evening hunt!

SPDSpappy said:

Good luck guys!!

Click to expand...

Thank you!!!

You are in a fantastic genetic potential area. Good luck and wear some warmish weather clothes this afternoon. Middle of the week cold front gonna get things revving.

kansasdad said:

You are in a fantastic genetic potential area. Good luck and wear some warmish weather clothes this afternoon. Middle of the week cold front gonna get things revving.

Click to expand...

I’ve got a very light shirt on and very light weight pants. It’s warm, but very nice out.
I’m really looking forward to those mid week temps! Halloween should be awesome this year.

NSTR so far. (That's, "nothing significant to report" for you non-abbreaviated folk out there.)

------------

Day 1

Pretty tough conditions yesterday morning. Rain, fog and clouds weren't helping, and no elk walked past me that I know of. I could only see a hundred yards or so for most of the morning.



Saw a lot of hunters on foot and horseback so I packed up and relocated to a different area that doesn't have a camp with 4 or more vehicles every 1/2 mile. I feel pretty good about this spot.



Saw a couple deer on the way over here too. Maybe it's a good sign.



----Evening day 1----

Yesterday afternoon, through my spotting scope, I watched 2 bulls getting packed out by successful hunters. So congrats to them. One of them was a stud of a bull. I also had a cow come out to say hey right at last light. No bulls though.



--------

Day 2

I spent most of today under various fir trees trying to stay as dry as possible. The morning was clear, but pretty windy. I didn't see a single elk, unfortunately.



I ventured down into the canyon today, maybe a bit further than my bum knee would have liked, but I found some promising sign. They've been here before, and I imagine they'll be back again.

The afternoon sit was basically useless, as you see in this pics...






So much for having a good view. Haha. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. So far the level of misery is almost appropriate.

Last evenings hunt was fun. No deer yet, but it was a wonderful first day.







There wasn’t much action until the last 30 minutes of the hunt. The only thing I had seen was a rabbit playing over near me. Around 6:32 a coyote came in and offered a 30 yard shot. I don’t often shoot coyotes, but he was coming after my little rabbit friend so I shot and missed. Those coyotes are quick!

My arrow found a nice tree though


Final shooting minute was 7:02, so I stood up, took off my arrow, took off my wrist strap, hung it too my limb, turn around and there is a giant buck standing in the soybeans at 25 yards. I just laughed!
A lot of people try to give me crap about the way I do things and this is one. When the hunting day is done then I’m done!

So all in all is was an amazing day.



Now it’s a nice cool morning and I’m going to a stand I’m SUPER excited about. I’ve got a good feeling about today.

Best of luck to the two of you and thanks again for taking us along on your hunts.

Stick with it guys.

Good on you for being an ethical hunter.Don't want to lose a deer in the dark.

Can't wait to hear more success stories shortly. Best time of the year is coming up, so I hope you bag some giants!!!!

Yesterday was another phenomenal sit.
I saw 16 does and this buck



None of the does presented any shots, but it’s crazy seeing this kind of numbers in just one sit!

Then last night I had a doe pull a slip on me because it was so windy and once I saw her she was already about half way through my shooting lane.


Morning stand






Evening stand

I figured I’d share my set up while I’m out here too. My buddy was nice enough to put me in his trailer and let me use his “toy” to drive around. He’s lived here for 62 years, so everyone knows him. It’s easier parking in these farms with a familiar vehicle verse an out of state one.


Where I’m packed






Then I’ve been making sure to “support the local economy”. Mom and pops shops are a must on hunts...

That looks like a perfect breakfast.

Love seeing all the pictures and updates. Good luck guys!

Lookin' good.

Yesterday was one of those days you'd rather not have.

The morning started out like this....



It was pretty obvious that glassing wasn't going to be effective. So I burned a bit of boot leather in hopes of sneaking up on something.

Around 10am the weather turned to snow and the clouds got even thicker. But while I was sitting under a fir tree, imagining what the view would look like without clouds, a gap in the fog opened up and there they were.

A large group of elk were feeding in a clearing across the drainage and within range. It was so foggy that I had a hard time figuring out if any of them were bulls. After a few moments I determined that the herd consisted of 13 cows and calves, a spike and a tiny raghorn. I wouldn't say I necessarily passed on them, but in my effort to find a mature bull in the surrounding area, I didn't hurry to get a shot off. And as quickly as the fog cleared, it swept out my view again. They were gone.


(The elk were scattered across the clearings below the light cloud)

I stayed put, hoping the fog would clear, and wishing the elk would still be there when it did. But after an hour of fog, my hope went with it. They weren't it the open.

I caught them cruising over the top of the distant ridge around midday and decided to go after them.



This is when things didn't go quite as planned.

As I was following their tracks across a very steep and slippery, grass covered hillside, I made a wrong step and fell....

I tried my best to fall into the hill, but I just couldn't get it. I tumbled 20-30 yards down the hill before I finally arrested myself with my right ankle in mess of alder bushes.

After all violent motion ceased, I took an inventory of the situation. I was pretty lucky to have caught that bush, but my ankle might not agree. A few more feet and I would have been into another steep clearing, and who knows what would've happened after that. All of my gear seemed to be ok, and I was able to stick my rifle perfectly in the spot I slipped.

I sat and texted Dan and my wife to let them know what happened. I wasn't looking forward to the 1800 foot climb back up to my truck.

I made it back just in time to watch the sun go down.



Not exactly the turn of events I was hoping for.

Coincidentally, I got a call from work saying I needed to come back for something extremely important. Additionally, someone messaged me to buy something I've been trying to sell for a while... I decided it would be best to take the day off, regroup, take care of a bunch of work and personal stuff at home.

I'm almost finished up and will be heading back to the mountains shortly. I'm going to relocate to an area with a few more roads, but it's much thicker. I don't think the elk are too keen on hanging out in the open, and it doesn't help that I can't see very far most of the time anyways.

I'm pretty sure my ankle will hold up ok, but I'll play it safe and try not to push my luck.

SPDSpappy said:

Very nice mounts!! Kirtland?

Click to expand...

Thanks.

If I move, I'll be going to Clovis. Better for work, but the location is .. well... Clovis. It's still not official, but I do have an unofficial, bro-network very solid yes... Which could mean nothing. Lol. My entire life is kinda up in the air right now. Gotta love the military.

So yesterday morning while walking into my stand I walked up to about 20 yards from a skunk and almost got sprayed. Little did I know, but that was foreshadowing my hunt for the day... I didn’t see a thing!
It was unusual weather from what I had been dealing with; cloudy, humid, not too hot, but not too cold, and low winds in the AM until the winds shifted and started bringing in a cold front.

No biggy though. I had some wonderful sits, pigged out again, and today is going to be killer..... I’ve always wanted a Halloween day buck! Let’s see if it happens!



Mom and pops place’s version of a homemade cinnamon roll... with icing and butter...








Today I am taking my climber and setting up in a creek bottom near where a lot of does are bedding. With the moon going down from being full the 24th, cloud cover last night, temps dropping, and the rut nearing... I have a feeling that some bucks may start cursing these areas soon.

We shall see!

If they are not cruising them I'm sure you will be cursing them!lol!