Deer season 2019

So I'm running on about 9hrs sleep for the last 3 days, but I can say that my deer season has started on a positive vibe.
Every year we hunt the Pee Dee wildlife refuge draw hunts, but this year was special. We were able to share alot of new hunter joy, share our love of the outdoors, and pass on the torch to a new generation of up-and-coming sportsmen.

1st off, my youngest son scored a button buck on the Youth hunt 3 weeks ago. At the time he was the only kid on the board, but we checked and one other young hunter scored a decent doe. I even got that on video!



I was happy then but that set the tone for this weekend. I am tired and my feet and back hurt but it was worth it. And no I never pulled the trigger, and I walked about 20 miles total in 3 days time so I am definitely ready to sleep in Sunday.

This week we took my wife's brother, his 2 sons, my 2 sons and our other nephew. My brother-in-law has hunted a long time but this is the first time we were on a draw hunt together, along with his 15 and 20 year old sons. They're pretty green hunters so we wanted to show them a good time.
Right out of the gate, my wife killed a deer Thursday morning. We got up at 2:30AM, got to the spots before 5AM, and at 5:05AM there were already loud open exhuast turbo diesels riding by and making a racket. I set up in beanfield in a ground blind, and she set up in the woods near a body of water. Shortly after daylight, there was a dense fog and I saw about 8 does' heads above the beans around 200yds. No shot other than a headshot which I don't take on deer. They ran way from where my wife was, and then back to her. Wasn't long before I heard a shot, and I radioed the wife. Just like my youngest, she thought she shot a doe also, but turns out to be a small button buck. Very tender meat! Any deer on public land is a trophy to me, and the smile says it all.
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I think we're gonna smoke the hams whole and slice into venison roast beef.


Friday we persevered thru the hoards of hunters cruising the roads before daylight, found a decent spot off Dennis rd, and walked down to Brown creek. Pee Dee refuge DEFINITELY has a hog problem now, and a half dozen dogs up to 300lbs were checked in. We saw evidence of hogs rooting up the ground all over the creek area. That's why I wear a 17-rd 9mm with +P loaded gold dots any time I walk those deer woods nowadays. Jumped a couple of deer later in a different spot on the creek after lunch. The deer are definitely hiding on the creek during the day in the heat. I don't blame them. It was 83 degrees on Friday afternoon :confused:

We ended up hunting fields on Friday (on my brother in laws request). He convinced us he had been there since noon and not one truck had drove past him on a dead end road. Of course we came down, parked, walked in about 300yds and ran into a couple (half a dozen) guys. These guys must've been stealth operators that basically hid their truck in woods, walked 500 yards across a finger of woods, thru a huge field and set up on it in a canopy where you couldn't tell there was anyone on that road at all. That is about the dumbest thing you can do on public land. I parked across from where we walked in, and when the guy finally saw us and started yelling :eek: (at 2pm....heat of the day). I told him flat out that we had no idea anyone was in this spot, and I had no thoughts of leaving. I was like dude where are you parked? He motioned that he already had 3 guys in the woods blah blah. I'm like bro......there are plenty of acres (probably 150) in that area and I'm gonna hunt a few. We proceeded to walk in a half-mile to the creek and marked a few nice stands in there. My wife while walking out finally said she saw one guy 50ft in a tree above the canopy where you wouldn't even see the ground due to green leaves. I laughed and kept walking. These guys looked to be from Laos so maybe hiding your presence on a dead end public land road and hiding from actually seeing the deer is part of the tradition. I like people to notice I am already hunting in an area - that's one reason why everyone looks like an orange safety pumpkin out there.

Regardless of the (not unusual) public land drama, my nephew managed to kill his very first deer every, a 130lb small 6 point buck. I got to help him drag it about halfway. I noticed our neighbors didn't appreciate us killing a deer 1000yds from their location, and I didn't loose sleep over it. :D
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This morning was a 'late' morning, we got to the spot we had picked out last week around 5:30am. My sons and their cousin hunted a ground blind along a creek and field area close by. However, my wife and I got to take a little nap for about an hour before walking in. Around 7:10am I heard a shot and the radio crackled so I knew it was one of mine. About 30 minutes later, my wife came to show me pics. My son had killed a doe in the fog with his trust ol .35 Remington (his backup gun since his Rem700 wasn't sighted in on time) and they already had it in the truck by 8AM.
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Went and got it cleaned and in the cooler and a trip to Cookout for lunch. This afternoon the weather turned on us so I knew my chances were pretty slim.

All in all my wife and boys put deer in the cooler, I got to put them in good places with good equipment and they put good shots on deer. I can't ask for anything more :D


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This is not my pig nor my farm ;)
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Had a pretty good Monday. Bigger doe & 3 others walked into view about 8AM. I'd seen them the evening before from across afield, too far away; the big doe was limping; she seemed fine in the morning, and alerted on me a second too late.

Xbow, about 15yds. Didn't think to take a pic, but a friend did a little later!
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With a 2 month old it has been hard to get out here. But I am still looking for this guy....(p.s.) do not judge the very old/cheap trailcam
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Can't believe nobody put one in the freezer this past weekend. The weather was perfect. I basically had the morning to hunt and that was my muzzleloading season. Got my son and nephew up and walked in to my buddies' woods (too cold for him evidently!) since he wasn't gonna hunt the opener. We had just moved a stand the week before from a tree to a power pole in a line cut thru his woods. I guess Duke won't mind since it's on private land. We ended up moving it again anyhow. Some people won't move a stand this late in the year, but I ain't one of them. Heck, what is a climbing stand but a portable intrusion in the deer woods? I have killed a crap ton of deer from a climber too. But this is for the youngun's to hunt from.

SO..........walking in LATE (daybreak) Sat morning, my nephew was dragging arse until I took him to Bojangles...........so we walked in together then I walk down and cut in to my woods stand; it's a little 1 man skinny little stand that has produced the largest buck taken off this land in 15-20 years by my youngest son 2 years back. It's more or less an archery stand since it overlooks the thick bedding area along a creek, overlooks a small watering hole, and several deer trails funneled together.

As I walk in, I bumped a deer and heard it scurrying thru the woods before legal light. Crap! But I knew there were deer close by, so I sat there hoping when the sun pushed the cold wind thru the bottom, they would start moving. No such luck. Sat there until 8:45 not moving but the old man bladder had other ideas. And you know I left the gatorade bottle in the truck. So......about 10 mins of urinary tract pain, and I couldn't take it. Had to piss out of the stand. I said, well while I'm making all this racket I may as well check my phone messages. As soon as I pulled my phone out and started to flip thru it.......and then I heard noise behind me bigger than a squirrel. Turned around saw a white tail bouncing down toward the creek. Crap!

So this is about the 5th or 6th deer encounter I have had this season so far, without a shot fired. Luck has to turn sooner than later I hope
 
I got one on Sunday afternoon. 8 point, not as big as I thought he was going to be considering I was hunting on a creek bank deep in the woods with lots of birch and tall grass.

ETA: shot from about 80y with 308 165gr SST. Stuttered two steps sideways and drt. May not have been the biggest buck, but it was a good clean kill and he didn’t suffer, so I’m good with it.

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I ain’t believing they pulled that for graphic content...

Buncha commies. Once I figure it out I’ll post @BBD280 ’s kill shot and tell him how to do it too. Neither one of them moved. And I filmed his horizontal
 
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I ain’t believing they pulled that for graphic content...

Buncha commies. Once I figure it out I’ll post @BBD280 ’s kill shot and tell him how to do it too. Neither one of them moved. And I filmed his horizontal

I reported it for holding his phone vertical.

Homie don't play dat.
 
If I had the slightest idea what I'm doing I'd shoot one of the fat bastards I see swanning around behind the house. Apparently nobody hunts near me because they aren't very shy even with all the rifles popping off in the background.
 
Hate I can't hunt this year. My back locked up & sent me to the ER last Wednesday. MRI on Tuesday & an appointment with the UNC Spine Center the first week of December. I'm movin' kinda slow & unsteady, so trampin' through the woods, climbing trees & draggin' deer ain't gonna happen in my near future.
 
Hate I can't hunt this year. My back locked up & sent me to the ER last Wednesday. MRI on Tuesday & an appointment with the UNC Spine Center the first week of December. I'm movin' kinda slow & unsteady, so trampin' through the woods, climbing trees & draggin' deer ain't gonna happen in my near future.
That sucks, man...... hopefully they get you straightened out.
 
I am heading to the woods in a couple weeks. WoooHooo! Finally, a little bit of peace and quiet.
 
My 12 yo son and I went hunting on Saturday in an area where the folks we hunt with said that "A Big 'Ol Bunch" of bucks and does hang out and had pictures to prove it. We got in the blind before light and waited. And waited. And Waited some more. Didn't see ANYTHING (deer, squirrel, nothing) before we came out for lunch. Went to another blind about 1PM and saw NOTHING save 6 or 8 big, fat squirrels for the rest of the day! I am beginning to think that one of us is deer repellent! o_O
 
My 12 yo son and I went hunting on Saturday in an area where the folks we hunt with said that "A Big 'Ol Bunch" of bucks and does hang out and had pictures to prove it. We got in the blind before light and waited. And waited. And Waited some more. Didn't see ANYTHING (deer, squirrel, nothing) before we came out for lunch. Went to another blind about 1PM and saw NOTHING save 6 or 8 big, fat squirrels for the rest of the day! I am beginning to think that one of us is deer repellent! o_O
It's still early man. Even though y'all's season starts about 6 weeks too soon for the rut, that time is NOW so........be in the woods as much as you can between now and Thanksgiving (that's my plan)
 
If I had the slightest idea what I'm doing I'd shoot one of the fat bastards I see swanning around behind the house. Apparently nobody hunts near me because they aren't very shy even with all the rifles popping off in the background.
Shoot one and haul it to the processor. You'll get about 20% of the meat back in little bags ;)
 
Shoot one and haul it to the processor. You'll get about 20% of the meat back in little bags ;)

Yeah, throwing a deer who is leaking from 30 22LR holes into my car seems like a great idea lol. I'd rather wait and learn to do it myself.
 
Yeah, throwing a deer who is leaking from 30 22LR holes into my car seems like a great idea lol. I'd rather wait and learn to do it myself.
Shoot em in the high center of the noggin and wrap it in a plastic bag and it's all good. I recommend using CCI velocitor ammo and limit range to 50yds [emoji1787]
 
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It's still early man. Even though y'all's season starts about 6 weeks too soon for the rut, that time is NOW so........be in the woods as much as you can between now and Thanksgiving (that's my plan)
Sadly, I think we will only get the one hunt this year. :oops: I don't really have any other place to hunt but that one place our group hunts (an awesome Christian hunting and fishing group, Cross Trail Outfitters) that is reasonably close and I'm not familiar with the public land that isn't in Wake County(I'm not a birdy so I won't be in a tree stand). We had a guy from our church say he would invite us to his place but he hasn't followed through and I don't want to be pushy. I would love for my boy to get a nice deer soon, just not sure how to go about it. Sadly the other CTO hunts for the year are full except the Daddy/Daughter hunt and I don't think that my son would wear a wig for that one! :p
 
Sadly, I think we will only get the one hunt this year. :oops: I don't really have any other place to hunt but that one place our group hunts (an awesome Christian hunting and fishing group, Cross Trail Outfitters) that is reasonably close and I'm not familiar with the public land that isn't in Wake County(I'm not a birdy so I won't be in a tree stand). We had a guy from our church say he would invite us to his place but he hasn't followed through and I don't want to be pushy. I would love for my boy to get a nice deer soon, just not sure how to go about it. Sadly the other CTO hunts for the year are full except the Daddy/Daughter hunt and I don't think that my son would wear a wig for that one! :p
If I lived in Wake I would be all over the Jordan lake area. Plenty of public land over that way. Or drive an hour east and be in deer heaven
 
If I lived in Wake I would be all over the Jordan lake area. Plenty of public land over that way. Or drive an hour east and be in deer heaven
Yes, but you have to be up in a tree to hunt in Wake with a rifle. If you could see me, you would understand why I DO NOT get up in trees! :eek:
 
Hope to get out Saturday and Monday.

CD
This Saturday and next Saturday look like absolutely perfect deer hunting weather. Both cold mornings on a rising barometer, after cold fronts blowing through during the oncoming Rut...........you honestly can't ask for anything better as a hunter in NC.
 
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Yes, but you have to be up in a tree to hunt in Wake with a rifle. If you could see me, you would understand why I DO NOT get up in trees! :eek:

Because you're green? I don't see a problem with that. Well, unless it's like a really bright green.
 
We had to toss the meat..... best we can figure, maybe he was shot with a bow and the arrow bounced off the backbone. It left a hole I could fit my fist in. You could smell the wound when you walked up on him. Not getting the meat sucks but at least he won't die a slow death.
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