WOW! An epic weekend of deer hunting has come and gone. Great to see all the guys again. There is something special about deer camp, and it’s an honor to spend time with a quality group of men. I know we all feel the same way.
HUNTERS: Dan, Mike, Bill, Tom R., Jared, and Brian. Joe came Sunday, and hunted for a little bit, but wasn’t feeling very well.
HUNTERS: Dan, Mike, Bill, Tom R., Jared, and Brian. Joe came Sunday, and hunted for a little bit, but wasn’t feeling very well.
WEATHER: It was one for the record books! We all commented that we may never see an opening weekend that warm. Lows were in the 40s and highs were in the lower 70s. For the first time I can remember, NOBODY got cold. In fact, the afternoon hunt required t-shirts.
STANDS: Dan went to his climber stand in the state land west of Palace. Mike went to Western Portable. Bill went to his stand near Grandview. Tom R went to Brush Hill Draw (new stand this year). Jared went to Ghost Hill (new stand this year), and Brian went to Cutover Alley (new stand this year).
SIGHTINGS: Dan saw a 6-point buck early on opening morning, but couldn’t get a good shot. Tom R saw three deer on opening morning, but couldn’t get a real good look at them. Around 9:00am, Dan texted the group thread “Just had a buck and a doe run through…I was facing the wrong direction!” Jared texted a little bit later, and said “I had the same just now…6-pointer and a doe.” And just a little while later, Dan shot a different 6-point buck out of his stand west of Palace (pic below). Well done, Dan!
Brian fired a shot at a buck out of Cutover Alley. He and Tom R followed the blood trail for a few hundred yards before giving up the search. Brian also saw a group of four deer for a second, but they ran off into the distant field by Cutover Alley.
On opening day, evening hunt, Brian fired a shot at a 6-point+ buck out of Ghost Hill. He pulled the trigger for the kill shot and forgot to cock the hammer! By the time he tried again, he couldn’t get a great shot. No hair; no blood.
Brian shot a spike buck out of Western Ladder on Sunday morning (pic below).
A bunch of the guys saw variations of does running around the property throughout the weekend. Oddly enough, we had 5 doe tags, and didn’t shoot a doe!
FORWARD: 24 was too thick. Recommend moving the stand for next year.
DRAMA: On opening morning, the three vehicles left the Sylvan Lake homes around 6:20am. About 20 minutes later, Brian called Dan to let him know about a big black cow wandering on the side of the highway. At the exact same time, Dan texted the group thread that Bill’s vehicle had hit a deer. Thankfully, nobody was hurt, except for the deer. Bill’s vehicle had some minor damage on the front.
On opening day, evening hunt, Brian had to yell at a group of four guys trespassing on Joe’s land. Brian was in Ghost Hill, and one of the guys attempted to put up a climber stand. After an exchange of words, the trespassers left the area.
