The final set

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Buckfever
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The final set

Unread postby Buckfever » Thu Feb 23, 2012 11:18 am

Due to circumstances beyond my control I wasn't able to hunt this property last year. I had a Sycamore cut and ready from a year ago but family comes first and I just couldn't fit it in this year. So I put out the camera to take some inventory.

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And then:

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Buckfever
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Re: The final set

Unread postby Buckfever » Thu Feb 23, 2012 11:19 am

It's just not enough inventory to make an assessment. If some of those crab claw 8s are 1.5 year olds the genetics are excellent, but the one 8 looks to be 2.5 and he'll go make 100 and the body on the second to last one that main frame 8 looks like it might be 3.5 and he won't go 115. Hard to know and I clearly am not putting another cam out, looks like the thief knew what he was doing.

Any way I proceeded further down the trail in the direction the thief would have been going and crossed the creek and found what is his likely setup. Looks like he had a ground blind and cut a lane in the thicket:

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It's a decent setup but it would require a NW wind, which would blow his scent into the premary bedding, which tells me he doesn't know where the primary bedding is. It would also force the deer movement South from the bedding, which may explain, why I saw 14 deer come through the funnel the last time I sat there.

Anyway I had nothing to lose now so I decided to check eveything again and reevaluate.

I came down off the shelf again I didn'tt find a bed but I did find this:

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Buckfever
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Re: The final set

Unread postby Buckfever » Thu Feb 23, 2012 11:20 am

So I got company and he's a thief. Very likely one of the 3 regulars on the property and I cut his track 3 years ago so he has time invested in this hunt. Which means he's motivated to disuade me from hunting it. Which mean he'll probably steal my stuff on a preset.

So my idea to do a preset on the Sycamore which but's up against the bedding is out. So now I need to evaluate, can I go in and up and pull it off this close to the bedding? Well I got to go into the bedding to evaluate so I go in and take the trails and evaluate. IMO there's no way in . In and up on a preset would be pushing it, but to setup no way. I need to move back to the funnel and I need to get up higher so that I'm invisible and I need to be able to cover all the runs. So back to the funnel and tree selection.

And there it is:

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Standing on the West trail which would be the furthest trail, 24yards. I'm not sure how high that is but it's 25 for sure, might only need 6 sticks, but I'm going to bury the stand in the fork of the Oak and I checked every run, I can be dancing up there and I'm not getting picked off. And it's far enough so that the contours completely hide it from the bedding so I can go in and up.

I just got to make the set and precut the lanes and clear out all the trimmings, this wed. I need to beat the Buck and the hunter on this one.
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Buckfever
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Re: The final set

Unread postby Buckfever » Thu Feb 23, 2012 11:21 am

Problem with this tree:

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Oh I'd be hidden, the trunks at the split are so thick that I'd be invisible, problem is so would the deer, I have no shot to the east. But from the vantage of the Oak, oh how the Sycamore looked so good. What would I have to do to make it work? Well I have to loop to the west side and come out of the bottom. Done.

Got on the ground, I just got to get a little higher and trim out the lane a little better and rotate the stand so that I'm behind the tree from the vantage of the bedding.

Okay let's do it.

Here a coupple shots of the bedding from stand:

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The lanes:

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From the ground on the trail I got the buck pics before they stole my camera:

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I only had to cut one limb to get up higher and I hid it, the rest I broke to clear the lanes, no trimmings, no evidence.

6 sticks stretched, 26 feet. I'm set 20 yards from the edge of the bedding. I have to take my time on the set to not make any noise, to not get busted.

On my way out I was being watched from the road, the truck turned and headed to the subdivision. That's one of the regulars, I wonder if he stole my camera? Now I know his truck.


Ok, it's on.
Scot
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Re: The final set

Unread postby Scot » Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:15 pm

Pretty darn sad that you have to go through all of that to keep your camera from being swiped!


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