Following is a my Personal Hunting Log, along with a few entries of my friends on their successful nights.
*Please Note* that if I mention that the deer were hit in the paunch, that this doesn't mean that these are gut
shot deer! Any experienced hunter knows that sometimes your not presented with a broadside shot, and due to
the angle of the shot you must pass through the paunch to get to the vitals!
I personally know of no deer that I, or my friends have shot, this year that hasn't been harvested! We do not
take a shot if there isn't a kill shot presented.
We can all make bad shots, please strive not to take a bad shot! This is what the Anti-hunters are looking for
and talking about!
Mr- Whitetail
SEPT. 19th, 1998
Opening night of Bow Season, here in Wisconsin. The weather was threatening a possible thunderstorm, and
the temperature was an unseasonably hot "90" degrees and very windy! I made it to my stand at about 4:45. I
saw a 6 Pointer as I was walking into my stand. I got settled in and anxiously waited.
5:15-- A smaller 7 Pointer came in. Too small to shoot, I just watched him mosey about a while and then he left.
5:40-- A Forkhorn came in for a while, again too small, but fun to watch.
5:55-- Thunder started to rumble and a very light rain started to hit the leaves.
6:10-- A small Spike buck came in for a while, and was there to greet 4 Does as they came through. He went
to investigate them, and they all walked off together.
6:15-- Rain got heavier and I decided that it was foolish to shoot anything, for fear of a lost bloodtrail. I
remained in my stand though.
6:25-- A Doe with her fawn came in for a while.
6:35-- A larger Spike buck came in and spooked the Doe and fawn away. The buck stayed though.
6:50-- A decent 9 Pointer came by for just a minute, though he wouldn't have given me a shot! 9 Pointer and
Spike left.
7:00-- Doe and fawn came through just as it got dark.
7:10-- All is quiet and dark, good time to sneak out of the woods.
All in all it was a promising opener, and it's good to see that the deer herd is healthy. Looking forward to
tomorrow!
SEPT. 20th, 1998
Windy, but no rain! Arrived at my stand at 4:15 and kicked a Spike buck out while going in.
4:45-- 5 Pointer came in for a while and browsed.
5:05-- A 3 Pointer came in and joined the 5 Pointer. They clanked horns for a little while then continued to
browse.
5:20-- A Fork horn came in and was met by the 5 Pointer. They also clanked horns for a bit, then they all
dispersed.
5:50-- A new lone Fork horn came in for a while, then moved on.
6:20-- A Doe and fawn came in and stayed for quite a while.
6:45-- PAY DIRT! My Tall 8 Pointer came in and stopped! My heart was in my throat, and I told myself to
relax and take a breath. I tried to relax as much as I could, but was still quite excited. I drew down on him
while he was pretty much broadside (I thought). I released the arrow quicker than I should have, but still made
a decent pass through shot, though it was farther back than I wanted to be. The Buck bolted off, along with the
Doe and fawn, in 3 different directions. I couldn't tell which direction the Buck went! I did know which way he
didn't go, which would help in the track.
After giving him 5 hours time, due to fact of possibly catching the paunch or liver, my friends and I set out on
the track. I knew it was going to be a tough track because of the numerous fresh fallen pine needles, and very
little brush. We couldn't find any blood at the point of impact, so we started making circles. After about 1 hour
and finding no blood, I was starting to wonder if we were going to find him. Just then I caught a glimpse of
white and "Lo and Behold" there he lay. The shot had caught the gut going in, punctured the liver, and just
clipped the top of the backside lung. He was slightly more angled away than I originally thought. He went a
total of 70 yards.
Registered him the following day. He scored approximately 110 inches, weighed 202 lbs. dressed, and had an
inside spread of 14 3/8 inches. I was very glad we found him, and it go's to show you that it doesn't matter how
practiced you are, you can still get excited and misplace your shot.
Thanks go out to my friends (Lance,Doug,Rob), who I can always call and rely on for help when needed!
SEPT. 22, 1998
I sat a stand in a new area.
5:00-- Settled into my new stand.
5:45-- 2 Does and a button buck came in.
6:00-- 6 inch Spike buck entered, forcing the 2 Does and button buck to leave.
6:10-- Another smaller Spike buck came in and confronted the first Spike. They fought, trying to prove who
was superior. The first Spike won.
6:20-- 2 Does came in and were chased off by the Spike number 1.
6:45-- 2 deer approached from a distance. They were both Spike bucks. Spike number 1 once again confronted
them and won. They left the area.
6:55-- 2 smaller does approached and the Spike went to greet them. He investigated them and they got
nervous and left.
7:10-- 2 more different Does and 1 fawn came in, but were aware of the presence of the Spike. They kept
their distance and the Spike left them alone.
7:25-- 2 New Bucks came in. They were both also Spike bucks! Spike number 1 chased them for what seemed
to be 20 minutes, back and forth in the pine plantation. This scared the 2 Does and fawn off.
7:45-- Spike number 1 returned (1 tough Spike!) The sun, which was my back cover went down. This made me
stick out in the trees and the Spike became alerted and fled, allowing me to leave my stand.
Can't believe the number of Spike bucks in the area!
SEPT. 24th, 1998
Sat my stand that I got my 8 Pointer at.
4:30-- Settled into my stand.
5:15-- Watched a 10 inch spread 7 Pointer come in. He walked a complete circle around my stand and then
ended up standing underneath me for about 15 minutes. Could have shot him several times.
6:20--Lots of Shotgun fire in this area, many bird hunters out tonight disrupting normal deer movements.
Never saw anything else!
SEPT. 25th, 1998
Sat my new stand again.
4:30-- Settled into my stand, after walking up to a young doe by my stand.
5:10-- A small button buck came in, browsed for a while, and then plopped down 25 yards from my stand.
5:30--2 Adult does and 1 doe fawn came in, scaring the button buck away. They stayed for quite some time.
6:15--A 7 inch tall Spike buck came in, scaring off the Does. He ate for about 15 minutes in the area, and then
he left. He was the last deer I saw that night.
7:15-- I went to pick up my friend Lance from his stand. He has passed up 9 different Bucks from this stand
this year. He informed me that he had shot a nice Buck, probably an 8 or 9 Pointer. His patience paid off!! His
shot was a straight down shot and he wasn't sure what vitals were hit. All he knew is that he heard a loud
crack upon impact and that he did find the first blood. The blood was watery, and being the experienced hunter
that he is, he was worried that he might have caught the gut.
We decided to give him plenty of time, because we didn't want to take a chance on jumping the deer out of his
bed, so we gave him about 5 hours.
Lance, Doug, Rob, and myself went on the track at 11:30 pm. We found the first blood. The Buck was bleeding
high in the brush and didn't seem to be bleeding very bad. We tracked him for about 50 yards into the edge of
a grassy slough, where the blood dwindled down to nothing. We separated, checking all options and trails. We
even checked throughout the grassy slough and other less likely options, with no luck. We thought that he had
committed himself to following the edge of the slough, but couldn't find any evidence of that.
The weather was flashing lightning quite severe and threatening rain within the hour. We had looked for over
2 hours and decided to resume in the morning. I don't know why, but just having a gut feeling, I decided to
check a thickly brushed spot off of a point in the slew. The others continued to search while I checked. I
walked down the hill, through the brush, and hit the slough at the bottom. As I hit the slough, I thought I saw
something laying in the grass about 15 yards out! I approached it to find Lances buck!
I whistled the best that I could with the wind blowing as bad as it was. Doug heard me and yelled "What did
you find, blood?" "No" I answered. "What then?" Doug asked. I replied "I found the Buck!"
Lance ran about 150 yards in 10 seconds. He was quite happy that I found his buck. The Buck was a 15 5/8
spread 8 Point -183 lbs.- and nice mass. The shot missed the spine by 1 inch, caught the liver and buried the
broad head into the front of the back leg. The Buck only bled out of the top of his back (which explains the
high blood trail). The buck died on the run and was dead before Lance got out of his stand.
Lance will be able to sleep much easier tonight.
OCT. 17th, 1998
Sorry, I haven't entered into my Journal for a while!
I've sat a couple more times, and didn't see anything worth mentioning.
October 13th I had a severe gall bladder attack and required emergency surgery. I will be recovering slowly
for the next few weeks. Can't lift for about 6 weeks!
I will keep you up to date on my friends seasons.
OCT. 25th, 1998
A friend of mine (Doug)went and sat in his "hot" stand tonight (he passed up a shot at a nice 8 pointer 2 nights
before).
The night was calm, cool, and overcast. A 6 Pointer came by at 4:15 feeding and browsed his way to a green
field.
Two minutes later 2 Does came through. As he was watching the Does, he heard a twig snap behind him! He
slowly turned to see the nice 8 Pointer had returned! He heard the Buck grunt, and figured that he was
following the does.
He anticipated that the Buck would pass through his shooting lane, at 25 yards. The Buck kept on a steady
walk through the shooting lane, and presented Doug with a tough "walking" shot.
He made what he felt was a good shot, and the Buck bolted for 30 yards and then slowed to a trot. Doug
waited for about a 1/2 hour, before climbing out of his stand. He knew the arrow had passed through the deer,
and went to inspect the arrow. Immediately upon looking at the arrow, Doug knew that his arrow had
obviously missed it's mark, and passed through the paunch. The waiting game started.
Wanting to wait to the following morning, the weather dictated that he start his track earlier (due to the
threat of rain).
Doug, Lance, Rob, and myself went out on the track at midnight. We had minimal blood, but enough to follow
him 125 yards to his 1st bed. 20 yards from there we found his 2nd bed. We took 1 step from his 2nd bed, and
heard the Buck get up about 25 yards away! We couldn't see him through the thick brush. Knowing not to push
the deer in this situation, we decided to wait until morning (he wouldn't go very far, if we didn't push him!).
At first light, we returned to our last position. Unable to find any blood trail from his 2nd bed, we went to
where we heard him get up the night before. Still no sign of blood!!
Knowing the direction that the deer was taking, we split up and combed the area. Approximately 50 yards
from the spot we jumped him, Doug found his Trophy, still warm!
It was a 180 lb., 8 Pointer with a 19 1/4 inch inside spread! It was the widest Buck that Doug had ever shot!
Let this be a lesson to all hunters that tracking a deer shot in the paunch "should not be rushed"! Had we kept
tracking this buck after we jumped it, who knows how far we would have pushed him, or if we ever would have
recovered him.
OCT. 26-28-31, 1998
I managed to feel good enough to get back out in the stand! I saw quite a few deer, but only a couple of bucks.
Their just getting into the rut here and I hope to get out some more next week!
NOV. 4th, 1998
Sat in a new stand. I saw only 1 Doe right at dusk. Lots of buck sign, but no luck tonight!
Nov. 15th, 1998
I've been quite busy with work, so I haven't been in the woods much.
I sat my new stand again. I saw a Button Buck with a Doe, a Spike, a 4 Point, a 6 Point, and a couple more
Does. The reason that I am sitting is to view the deer (being that I've already filled my tag) and to learn more
about their habits in the Rut. This is the last night of Bow Season, Rifle Season starts next Saturday the 22nd.
Nov. 22nd through Nov. 27th, 1998
My daughter Ashley (age 12) had taken her Hunters Safety Course, and decided that she wanted to hunt with
me. She informed me of this 2 days before the season, so I had a lot of preparation to do in a short time. I hung
double tree stands and we were in the woods on opening day 1 hour before first light. At sunrise we heard a
deer running our way through the dry leaves, from about 200 yards away. At the last minute he decided to
change his course and veered off at an angle and followed the tree line. We never got to see it, but I feel in my
heart that it was a nice Buck. We sat the rest of the day and never saw a deer!
To make a long story short, we hunted mornings and evenings and never saw a deer for 4 days! We were
getting pretty discouraged! We had hunted 2 completely different areas, including sitting on one of Lance's
stands, with no luck.
Ashley had originally planned on holding out for a Buck, but at this point she would settle for a Doe. We
decided to try out another spot, and on Wednesday, Ashley got her wish. A Doe came within 45 yards and
stopped! Ashley slowly rose from her seat and leaned against a tree. She was quite nervous, but managed to
get her shot off. The shot (high) broke the Does back, and dropped it on the spot. Ashley was quite excited and
proud (as was I), and it took a while for her to stop shaking.
I think she's hooked on hunting now, and next year we will be more prepared.
Thanksgiving Day- I went hunting in the evening on one of Lance's stands, that Ashley and I had sat 4 times
and not seen a deer. Lance mostly group hunts (makes drives, still hunts, etc.) and said he probably wouldn't
be hunting this stand during Rifle Season. This stand has had 12 different Bucks at it during the Bow Season
(photographed by Cam Trakker), including a nice 9 Pointer. Lance and I knew that the Bucks didn't just
disappear. They had just gotten pushed around.
I tied my 30-06 to my rope with the barrel aimed down, and climbed into the stand. Just as I got settled and
reached for the rope, I heard a clunk underneath me. I looked down to see my gun laying on the ground. The
rope had broke!! I climbed down to find that my gun had scraped and hit the pine tree that I was in. The last 2
inches of my gun barrel had gotten plugged with pine bark and sap! I about blew a gasket and almost went
home! I decided to try to clear out the barrel. I climbed up the tree, broke off a limb, got out my knife, and
proceeded to whittle myself a ramrod. It took a little while, but the ramrod worked! I was worried about my
scope getting knocked out of wack, but the gun didn't hit very hard. Due to the location of the stand, my shot
(if any) would be a short one, so I decided to stay on stand.
About 1 1/2 hours later, I heard a noise coming towards me from the swamp that I was hunting next to. I kept
watching, and the first thing I saw was horns! They were quite white and seemed to almost glow. As the Buck
got closer I could see that it was a decent 8 Pointer. Being that he was walking towards me, I waited until he
was about 20 yards away, and then I took my shot. He ran about 25 yards into the swamp and stopped. He
took a few more steps deeper into the swamp, and not wanting him to go any further, I put a final shot into
him. I began wishing that Ashley had come with me so that she would have been the one to shoot it. How
exciting that would have been!
I walked 3/4 of a mile to my truck, and called Lance on my cell-phone. I informed him that I had shot a nice
buck off his stand, and that I needed help getting him out of the woods. He was quite excited, and asked if it
was the 9 Pointer. I said "No", but it was a nice 8 Pointer. He met me at my truck with his 4 wheeler, and we
retrieved the buck. What a blessing it is to have a friend with a 4 wheeler-(Gonna buy me one soon)! I would
have had fun dragging the buck that distance.
The 8 Pointer weighed 197 lbs. dressed and had a 16 3/8 inside spread.
We only saw 2 deer, but I guess we saw the right 2. So ends my Rifle Season!
Lance and Doug's Rifle Season
Lance and Doug both hunt in the same hunting group, which consists of 11 men.
On opening day the group shot a total of 5 Bucks, Lance and Doug each shot 1 of these. All 5 bucks were 1 1/2
years old.
The group ended up with 10 Bucks total (No does!) for the season, the largest being a 15 inch-8 Pointer. Lance
and Doug combined shot 5 of these.
The season was the worst they had ever experienced for putting racked Bucks on the Buck Pole!
This just goes to show you that there are "No Guarantees" when it comes to Whitetails! That is why they call
it Hunting, you never know what the next season will bring!
Mr- Whitetail
