Deer Hunting Opening Weekend -- 3-4 November 2018

Another epic weekend of deer hunting is in the books! Great to see all the guys again. There is something so 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.

The Reese Men - Nov 2018

A special thanks to Joe and Tom R. for putting in countless hours and $ to get everything ready for the season. It’s nice to just “show up and hunt,” but we know there’s a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes.

HUNTERS:  Dan N, Dan F, Mike, Bill, Tom R., Jared, and Brian. Joe came Sunday, but wasn’t feeling very well, so he didn’t hunt until Monday.

WEATHER:  It was a scary couple of days leading up to the opener. The forecast called for rain both Saturday and Sunday. We got really lucky though, no rain, and no snow! Lows were in the 30s with highs in the 40s.

STANDS:  Dan N and Dan F went to their climber stands in the state land west of Palace. Mike went to Western Ladder. Bill went to Bill’s Stand. Brian went to Brush Hill Draw. Jared went to Corner (new stand this year), and Tom R went to T-Bone (new stand this year).

SIGHTINGS:  We saw a TON of deer this year to include a record number of buck sightings. Dan saw a 6-point buck AND an 8-point buck early on opening morning but decided not to shoot (smaller bodies).  Tom R saw a doe at T-Bone opening morning but wasn’t going to shoot a doe.  Around 8:45am, Dan F texted the group thread “Just had a 6-point buck go by…would have taken a shot but couldn’t get a clean shot. Big body.” Mike watched a spike buck for a while at Western Ladder but didn’t want to shoot. Jared didn’t see anything opening morning. Brian didn’t see anything at Brush Hill Draw … DEAD SEA!

On opening day, evening hunt, Brian saw two does at Ghost Hill for 10 seconds or so. Those deer were lucky; when Brian sees brown, they go DOWN! LOL.

Brian shot one of the biggest bucks we’ve shot in the property since Joe bought it in 1989. The inside spread measured 17 ½” making it a MONSTER buck. Huge 8-pointer with a thick rack.

Brian with The Monster Buck!

Dan F shot a really nice 8-point buck on day 2, evening hunt out of Bill’s Stand. He had to make a really nice shot standing up.

Brian shot two does walking out to Corner on Monday morning around 7:45am. He pulled a Grandpa Reese special! Joe, Bill, Tom R, and Brian decided not to walk in early since it was raining a bit. So we all went out a little bit later and WHAMMY, Brian blasted two of three does standing in the swampy area across from the old deer-hang area off the main trail.  

A bunch of the guys saw variations of bucks and does running around the property throughout the weekend. We saw more bucks this year than at any point we can remember. This was an encouraging sign for all of us.

Tom R, Dan F, Jared, and Dan N - New Deer Hang!

FORWARD:  T-Bone is too cut-off and not enough huntable land. Recommend moving it. We think we should put a stand back in the Ambush Alley area. We might also want to put a stand in the old Gunsmoke area. This is probably the last year for Jimmy Crack Corn. It’s an old stand and the wood is starting to rot.   

OTHER:  Tom R, Bill, and Brian built a brand-new deer hang right next to the parking area. It was a fun project and we got to hoist two big bucks! See pics below: