New bow and bucks are locked down!

I opened my email yesterday morning and read a letter from Bear Archery that said: Marc, UPS will be delivering you a Bear “Attack” bow this morning. Make sure your door is open”. Sure enough, the UPS man arrived an hour later and there it was, a brand new Attack with all of the accessories! OK, so off to Wolf Hollow archery to get a peep sight and to have Larry Pollack adjust everything for me. It’s nice to know that I can take any of my bows to a place that can get everything done right the first time! That’s important when you live in Goodfield and have to drive 40 miles or so! From there, it’s back home to fire off a few test shots. What a sweet bow!  It shoots fast, hits hard and draws very nice. I’ll put it through the wringer in the next few weeks and let you know what I find. Here’s a link to their website: http://www.beararcheryproducts.com/

OK, it’s official, we’re hunting in the “lock down” period. Those bucks are undoubtedly attached to the does now. Where the does go is where you’ll find the bad boys. If you’re not just hunting for the meat, you may want to allow a doe to pass by your stand now as a big bad buck just may be a minute behind her. For those of you who will be gun hunting this week, keep your eyes peeled farther out before you squeeze off some lead. I’ve seen some big bucks, mostly at night, almost attached at the hip with their does. They’re very active now, even if you can’t see them near your stand, so be patient as they won’t necessarily be moving great distances.

Good luck and lets hear some stories!

Work hard, play hard, hunt hard!

2 days in the rain and not much to show for it except for some wet gear. I oiled my bow down and put on my camo rain suit, grabbed my rattling antlers, grunt call, etc. and headed out again…in the rain! Hunting in the rain isn’t really so bad….if you don’t have to do it every day!

Not seeing much here again, although last Friday the action was hot. It won’t be long and these bucks will be holding tight with their favorite does! With shotgun season just days away, I really want to hit it hard to avoid the added pressure from the gun hunters. Even if I don’t score, the period between both gun seasons (first and second) is usually pretty good though. My prediction is that second season will be better than the first due to the late corn harvests! We still have a ton of standing corn here in central, IL. but chances are it will be gone by the second season, that is if the rain ever stops.

Whatever you do, don’t give in to this rain! Hunt it hard! There have been many, many great bucks taken during the rain. Look under downed trees, small ditches, sides of gullies and other inconspicuous places. You’d be surprised to find how tight these big bucks will hold when pursued in really wet conditions! Put on a rain suit, and fight mother nature. This is what its all about!

The greater the pain, the greater the reward! Illinois hunters have what it takes!

What an evening!

These afternoons are really heating up! At 3:00 pm., a nice 10 pointer walks within 20 yards of me and doesn’t even know I’m standing there with an un-nocked arrow. It was un-nocked because I had just (and I mean JUST )finished walking into the woods again. As he leaves, I decided it was a good time to nock an arrow, since I just missed an opportunity to whack him. So I brushed off a little bit of mud I noticed on my broadhead and blew on it several times to get the residue off. Out of nowhere, that buck came running at me thinking I was snorting at him! Again, I’m holding an un-nocked arrow! He got close enough to notice I was a threat and bolted.

Thirty minutes later, a buck screams by me chasing a doe. Another 20 minutes or so goes by and I was snorted at by a buck behind me! That’s twice I’ve been busted this week by a buck coming from behind me! (That’s the risk you take when hunting from the ground). Thirty more minutes went by and I decided to rattle some antlers only to have another buck come in. He was a nice 140 class buck that I decided to let walk. Wow! This is a far cry from the dead zone I hunted in for the last 6 days!

I purposely set out today in the afternoon as I could see the weather changing. Any time the weather changes, especially from good to bad (or at least worsening), it’s a great time to hit the timber! For some reason, this change gets them really moving. I noticed this type of behavior 20 years ago when the weather went from good to bad and have tested this theory over and over. With the rut being on, it just made it even nicer! Not sure what the weather is going to do to us this week, as they are forecasting rain for days but I can tell you this, once the weather hits, get out and hunt when it breaks for the good! (I’m not saying don’t hunt in the rain, just make sure you DO hunt when the weather breaks). When deer are holed up (not so sure they will be for long with the rut going on), they can’t wait to come out once the weather turns good! It’s that first good day that seems to get them motivated. That may just happen to be the gun opener this Friday!

Good luck to all!