this is my last tom of the season and was not an easy one to get to come in.i had to set up on him several different days before finally getting him and his hen to follow their previous day's travel.
day started off as usual, with no leaves on trees and typical winter type day,but at least rain stopped.two gobblers gobbling 100 yards apart and another on adjoining property.i got set up and the little gobble treeing house dog from neighbors house started barking at base of roost tree at tom.at daylight the two birds flew to next property to get away from the problem.still gobbling along with hen with other gobbler.made my usual round of the pastures and sat until 10.00am and remembered that boston butt sandwich at the truck and my boots and feet wet.rested,changed boots and decided to take folding saw and make blind for next day.leaned gun on tree and looked through binocs 300 yards away and tom strutting while another tom bred hen.i had to follow a creek to keep from being seen,cross back and crawl up bank into pasture toward where i thought the birds would be.in prone position with water saturating my clothes,i see a big chucklehead. kept crawing their direction and saw hen and i yelped three times softly.she came my way,the i saw the big head about 45 yards out.boom.game over .11/8'hooks,8' beard and probably 19#
no leaves on the trees and no gobbling but i have seen this bird since opening day with hens and knew the area well he liked.raining last two days and yesterday he saw me trying to turn with poncho on.same spot today with rain but only my all weather camo jacket and turkey vest and no friction calls to get wet.waited until 6.55 am to do tree yelps.at 7.00am he came in full strut to my right rear across small pasture from his tree.beautiful strut looking for me.i am under small cedar,could not move and my gun was leaned on small cedar to my right.line of small cedars below me and he stepped into them out of the pasture.i reached for the 870 and shouldered to my left shoulder and he appeared from the cedars as i lined the truglo to his neck.the end of perfect morning at 7.05am.101/4' beard and 11/4' spurs .don't know what he weighted as i put him in the vest,but he felt pretty heavy after the mile walk to the truck.
hope this pic is good enough to see.the gobbler is about 400 yards away on another hill with valley and ditch between me and him.took a while but was able to wear the hen down and convince her with soft feeding calls to come check me out.i was on other side of fence when hen passed by.tom was a minute or two behind and about five yards on other side of fence when he met his maker.another memorable hunt for this old man
it was another great year for me as i took my limit here in MS i have been lucky enough to take the limit every year since 1992.
for some of you new deer hunters.you read about mock scrapes and dispensers and such.here is one of my favorite tips.where i hunt there are no plots or feeders so i hit the bedding areas when scrapes start showing up in oct.find a primary scrape with a licking limb and only use dominate buck lure and doe urine and stay out of the scrape.use just a drop on end of licking limb,two or three drops in middle of scrape or where he pee ed and a drop or two doe urine next to that as you leave.hang a cam on your way out close by with a card in it.i like to use one drop of buck lure on bottom boot lace on one boot and one drop of doe lure on other to and from the scrape.this is an inexpensive way to find out what you have.check every 2-3 days pull card and view and replace.
this tom was my final bird of the year here in mississippi.he was in the pasture with a hen and the cows would not allow them to go where they wanted.i slipped into the woods and walked several hundred yards to try to get ahead of them and the hen busted me and scooted off to my left.i did not see the tom leave so i circled around to the direction i thought he went.the pasture was open with only a few sprigs of sedge grass here and there so i was afraid i had lost out.there was a small rise i was on and i saw his fan in strut so i laid down facing him and called softly with my mouth call.he started towads me but all i could see was his fan .he kept coming thinking i was his lost hen i guess.at about 35 yards i put the bead below his head and squeezed.SNAP! stood tall and i thought it was over.i had my face net and gloves on and must have blended pretty well as i eased my hand to the bolt and eased the shell out and let the other ease into the chamber.i put the bead back below his head and BOOM! i call this bird the 'low crawl' tom.his beard was about 10' but only had about 3/4' spurs. since, this keeps my consectutive streak alive,i'll be glad to take him.
i had hunted a bird until noon in a swamp but could not get him across a beaver slough and had hoped to go back this am to try him again. there was a hunter parked where i was going , so i went to plan 'b' across the road where i had hunted before.before getting where i was to listen, a gobbler sounded off. since,he was roosted on a small creek,i got above him on the ridge and backed against a large oak.he kept gobbling and i decided to use a copper/glass combo i had not used this year.a soft yelp or two and more gobbles.he knew where i was. i put the call away and slapped my leg and did a fly down cackle then scratched the leaves a few times. he flew down,gobbled once 40 yards away and my gun was on my knee looking at his head. he walked towards me, gobbled and died at 35 yards. it was 6.27am cst. this is what i call a classic flash hunt.he had a 11.375' beard and 1' spurs and weighted about 16#.
this buck, originally was thought to make the book,but came up a little short.i'd be proud of him regardless,of what he scored.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20110320/COL0503/103200324/-Chair-his-head-buck-falls-short-B-C?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Outdoors|p
great hunt with little gobbling except,when within 40 yards.he was in a thick pine thicket and i was on a fence line looking at a rye grass field.i had used three different calls over the last 45 minutes and he never gobbled until he got close to the fence bordering the thicket.i told myself,just don't move for anything if it is an hour. i could hear the drumming and was trained on the direction of the three gobbles. i saw his head bobbing and he ducked at a cluck and came under the fence into the rye grass looking for his hen.at 30 yards at 9.30am it was over.
this buck was taken out of my ground blind at 7.45am on 12-1.nothing special,except i have been hunting this area for many years and always manage to get 1-3 bucks.at least three year old and heavy.
well,the spring is inching closer and i am ready for the ticks,chiggers and cottonmouths along with the gobbles.this is my favorite time of the year.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20101226/SPORTS08/12260323/1127
here is a link to the current record:
http://www.mississippigameandfish.com/hunting/whitetail-deer-hunting/MS_0808_01/
took this guy at 7.45am.looked to be a three year old.bucks are following any doe they run across even though they are not hot.
i can't tell much about this guy,but there are several deer hitting the white oaks here so i think i will tote my ol'man the 3/4 mile early in the am and hang it for friday.
looks like i am not going to get any buck pics.after nearly,three weeks and 400 pics,the same doe and fawn and 11 turkeys are eating my corn as fast as it spins and looking up at the feeder for more.i guess,I'll take it down and move my cam to the first rubs that pop up.it is always, good to get turkey pics anytime though.lol
these two girls were sharing a meal for my first pics of the year.in fact,they ate up all my memory on the cam with 145 pics pretty quick.squirrels and coons also got into the action.
now that the turkey season is over,i find a shade tree where i know the creek is under the water and just relax.
[IMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j119/loner_album/catfish006.jpg[/IMG]
this tom was by himself in a pasture and fell to what he thought was a lonesome hen off the nest for a bite to eat.he fell 4-30-2010.
the antlers will be matured by labor day as far as size is concerned.some bucks carry velvet longer than others but most are gone by then.this time of year,the velvet makes it look bigger than it really is.this looks like a two year old.short tines but tall mainbeams.it would be interesting to let him go another year if there is no chance someone would shoot him to see if he gains any tine length or width.
thanks,for the heads up.i had another email addy on hotmail with windows live that got hacked.very few contacts on that address and could not sign in or change my password.i dumped it.there has been no id theft,only the scammers looking for free money from fools.
imagine,what the state record non-typical looks like at over 300pts.go to magnolia records and search tony kinton.
after,the deer season i pick a few days that are pleasant enough to get the mowers and blades,boat trailer bearings and general spring duties out of the way since,i'll be turkey hunting everyday until may.the boat will get in the water when the toms are limited out.
the view above,is from the side where i took some pics of rubs to the left of the blind.this small neck of woods runs parallel to a pipeline.in front of the blind is a narrow neck of pasture with cows. hay rolls are on the next hill about 400 yards away.it is a natural crossing from another property.there are no feeders or plots due to cows.
that is the kind we all hope for.
very good buck regardless,of score.i keep telling my sons that what a buck scores and what you think it will score are not necessarily,close.they have learned now since,i have put the tape to some of them.
beautiful buck!very symetrical.
he looks like a 140-150 buck.
not clear enough to tell the number of points or length of main beams,mass or other factors.he is a legal buck but won't score high.
all land in ms is legally,posted.however,someone has to be reported and confirmed by law enforcement to issue a citation.you need someone local that has the power in your absence to prosecute the tresspasser when caught.contact the sheriff's department and the MDWFP and give them notice of the problem.you could designate someone as your caretaker and allow him to prosecute through the law enforcement.the local LEO officer in your area can give you info on how to go about things.if not,comtact the law enforcement dept in jackson,ms in the MDWFP.
here is another:
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20101219/SPORTS08/12190329/1127
there are so many to choose from and all will do the job within it's capability.i used an open sight TC .54 cal black powder for years,then a .50 cal knight in line and now a 45-70 with hornady 325 gr bullet.they all will do the job under 100 yards and out to 200 or better if you know your gun and the ballistics.
deer harvest on your property or others next to you might not mean anything if the properties are fairly large.if you have 50 acres and there are lots of small parcels next to you with a lot of hunting and several people all taking several deer could mean over harvest.if you have a small place to hunt and take the limit of bucks and some does along with others next to you doing the same could soon have an impact on the numbers.the full moon has a lot to do with daylight movement unless,the rut or hunting pressure makes the deer move.there are many variables to your question without knowing any facts.
there could be many reasons for not seeing many deer:
*full moon
*adjoining properties feeding deer
*changes in feeding habits around you
*lack of hunting pressure to move deer
*deer harvest too heavy on your property or adjoining properties
i am retired,and hunt everyday but go for days not seeing deer because the 240 acres i hunt has 6 adjoining properties and 5 of them have feeders and plots and where i hunt has cows and they only pass through.i haven't taken a doe in years since,there are not that many and i need the bait.movement is picking up now and will be good until after new years day.
the deer are in the chasing stage here now.small bucks chasing every doe they come across.scrapes being worked at night by mature bucks looking for the first 'hot' doe.i did not see any deer until dec 1st to amount to anything.
here is the rut chart from the MDWFP.move your pointer over the area you hunt and the date will appear.movement,will start prior to these dates.
http://www.mdwfp.com/Level2/Wildlife/Game/Deer/deer_breeding.asp
finally,finding some rubs close to watering areas.
yep! you saw them before,mike.being retired,i have more opportunities than most.be sure to tell omeagaman.lol