Ridgerunner7

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
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Edcyclopedia
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Ridgerunner7

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Tue Jul 17, 2012 8:17 am

In the short amount of posts you have made I like how you roll!
How about some of your stories afield, maybe some pics and setups?

Could be your cool avatar or call name - how did you come up with your name?


Expect the Unexpected when you least Expect it...
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Ridgerunner7
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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby Ridgerunner7 » Tue Jul 17, 2012 10:03 am

It probably won't be to entertaining to this crew but I'll throw something together.

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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby PLB » Tue Jul 17, 2012 10:25 am

Ridgerunner7 wrote:It probably won't be to entertaining to this crew but I'll throw something together.

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I love these Beast profile threads!! Lots of great hunters on this site. We can all learn something from each other!

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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby moondoondude » Tue Jul 17, 2012 12:33 pm

This should be pretty good.

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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Tue Jul 17, 2012 12:47 pm

Ridgerunner7 wrote:It probably won't be to entertaining to this crew but I'll throw something together.

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I have you pegged as a black knight ;)
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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby Ridgerunner7 » Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:17 pm

Well I'm from Michigan..land of the fork horns and 350,000 bowhunters and twice as many gun hunters so my bucks probably won't be that impressive to some of you. However, I worked hard for each and every one and am proud of them.

MY AREA
My area gets extreme amounts of pressure. 20-40 bowhunters per square mile is the norm around me so deer plain just don't survive long. A 2.5 is a solid buck and a 130" will turn everyone's head. I hunt small private parcels and a little public here in Michigan. Sizes range form 5-80 acres but I did just get permission on a few larger parcels that anyone can hunt also. The land hear consists of 50/50 ag/woods mostly and is relatively flat with some gentle hills. There are some suburban type spots too if you can get permission. I also hunt NW Ohio, southern Ohio public, Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana when Im able.

MY HUNTING
I started hunting at 18. Noone in my family hunted except for my cousin. I really had no interest in hunting but I had a huge interest in archery. I quickly found out I was very good with a bow. I entered archery leagues and typically won and I quickly developed an urge to hunt.

I killed deer the first few years but my third year I killed two good bucks, one of which was the biggest ever on a farm that was hunted by several men for 30+years. The next year I killed one bigger..and the next...and the next. Unkowingly at the time I began to teach myself to hunt beast style. I would typically hunt a field edge and when I'd see a buck come from a thicket I would move in on him and hang the following day. I made a million and one mistakes but I learned from each and every one and tried to eliminate them instead of repeating. I think early success on good bucks was key because I never had any interest in shooting anything smaller after that. I have man friends that learned poor habits from their fathers and relatives in regards to hunting mature deer and it took them years to break. I never had that because I never had any guidance...just my own trial and error. I shot a 140" buck on that farm and it went on to the neighbors property. He would not let me recover the buck and it sparked a huge fude between my landowner and him. It ended badly for me with no buck and now only family member could hunt. I began knocking on doors relentlessly with some success.

2000-2005 I killed deer with increasing consistency. Most were 2 year olds...some 3 year olds..and then I started getting into some older deer. Most of my deer at this point were killed more through persistance I think than actual skill..lol.

In 2003 I got permission on a 62 acre farm in late summer. I scouted the property one time and found large tracks exiting a marsh and entering a corn field. I set up as close to where I though the deer was coming from as I could and didn't return until opening day. I arrowed my largest buck to date and this is when I really started bed hunting seriously. This buck was the biggest bow buck taken in that county in 2003.

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2006 was really a turning point in my hunting. My father passed away that winter and I remember spending 6 days a week scouting all winter, spring and summer. My success skyrocketed as I killed three big bucks that fall two of which are here:
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This buck was shot on my birthday the year my dad died. I somehow think he had something to do with it. I took a page of out Dan's book on this buck and was scouting with a Lone Wolf on my back. I set up on fresh sign and shot him that afternnon. He scored 171" and was the biggest grossing typical with a bow that year in Michigan. Im not big on score or stats but I thought that was cool. This was the first time I hunted that stand and that property for that matter.

Two things became clear to me..it was obvious my success on older deer was directly related to my scouting. The other was ...almost all of my big bucks were killed my first time hunting the stand. My scouting got better, my set ups became better. I started predicting buck bedding areas and was able to set up on these deer and get opportunities.
My mind was always thinking about the "WHY" and "HOW" about why I was successful or unsuccessful and I tried to improve.

I scouted relentlessly from their on out and my success continued. I also started traveling out of state around this time. I work at a school so I'm unable to take a week or two off for hunting. My out of state trips consist of 3-4 day short trips. I hunt aggressive and target 4 yr old bucks or older but I have taken a few 3 year olds as well. Here are a few:
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I also became intrigued with various techniques..not just bed hunting. I studdied and tried decoying, rattling, stalking, and other off the wall tactics with success. I loved new techniqes and tackling new ground. I've been fortunate enough to be in regular contact with some excellent hunters as well like John Eberhart, Bill Vale, my buddies Jesse from NY, Skip from Iowa, Mark from Nebraska and our very own MOONDOONDUDE and JML2 on the Beast. I've had some lengthy conversations with Dan as well on the old site that he probably doesn't remember but I've learned a ton from all of them. We talk daily about hunting, tactics, strategies, theories and have learned a lot from each other.

My success continued over the next several years. Here are a few:
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I was able to take 3-4 bucks most years between Michigan and my out of state trips. Not all mature slobs, but some older bucks and some 3 year olds mixed in.

I can post some of my set ups but I doubt it's anything ground breaking. Beding hunting is my bread and butter but I enjoy using various techniques. I have some setups that I only decoy...others I only hunt from the ground,etc. I typically hunt the early season and most of October either bed hunting or sitting in observation stands and moving in when I see something good. All day hunting is the norm during the rut and a large portion of my bucks were shot at midday. December hunting revolves around weather for me. The more severe the better. Access to and from your stands is key in my opinon for most setups. Some spots are great but if you can't get in without alerting deer I let it go and hunt where I can access better. I spend time trimming and raking quiet paths to some setups that are especially close to bedded deer. One spot I carred large stones out every time I scouted as to make a quiet foot path could step on instead of slopping through the soft mud. I hunted a buck in 2010 while standing on a step stool so I could be just high enough to shoot over the marsh grass and killed him. I sneak to all my set ups...crawl through areas if I have to. Like one guy mentioned on here...you sometimes have to sneak 2 hours into a stand to hunt for an hour. Not always of course but...the point is..do whatever it takes. Timing is of equal importance. I utilize wind direction, moon, and weather to move in for my kill hunts and like I mentioned before..most of the time it's the first time in. All three of my bucks in 2011 were killed during moon times and the perfect wind and all three in spots or stands that hadnt been hunted. Man..I make a lot of mistakes..every year...a ton, but that's how you learn right?

Here are most of my mounts. I have one at the taxidermist and 5 other euros are missing from this photo.

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Sorry for so many pics. My house is small and my mounts are spread all over between my home, family, friends, and cottage up north. Some day I'll have a trophy room like some of you.

This is a great site...and a great learning tool. I'm relatively young 34 and hope to have many more years in the woods. I've learned some from several of you and hope to continue to.
Last edited by Ridgerunner7 on Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby Ridgerunner7 » Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:30 pm

I forgot to answer the OPs question. I just made Ridgerunner7 up and really has no relevence to where I hunt in Michigan (no ridges). I will be climbing some ridges in Southern Ohio public this fall though.
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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby Ack » Tue Jul 17, 2012 6:02 pm

You da man Andy! :clap: I'd like to see all those bucks together on the side of a barn or something.....it's a very impressive collection!
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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby BuckHunter1988 » Tue Jul 17, 2012 9:56 pm

You Truely are a Beast Congrats on all of your deer and if its not obvious how much effort you put into hunting its nuts you and dan are two very good hunters. I also thought this was a great read.
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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby Tadmdad » Tue Jul 17, 2012 10:01 pm

Like the writeup....to the point and no BS. As i read through the dedication to the sport was very apprant, much time spent doing what you have passion for, hard work and dedication are keys for success, really isn't any shortcuts.

Your success speaks to itself, and very impressive from a early age. Have a sense of how it changed over time, by making mistakes and learning from them. Like to understand how you have learned from others, and have adapted new stratgies or locations and used that information to shorten the learning curve.

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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby Troutking » Tue Jul 17, 2012 11:00 pm

Awesome deer & great breakdown of your progression over time. Thanks for sharing. I took several things away from this including how your success skyrocketed once you scouted a ton and overcame the adversity of losing permission on that farm. A modest hardworking hunter who its get it done every year, real cool. Good stuff!
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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby KLEMZ » Tue Jul 17, 2012 11:20 pm

Wow!
You are a serious big buck killer. Way to go!
One theme I see amongst the GREAT hunters on this site is lack of any "traditional" hunting training at an early age. Just plain old common sense, learning by personal observation and correcting mistakes as you go. Dedication (passion). Hard working (carrying large rocks to build a silent bridge thru the muck)!!!
One other common idea that all the great hunters have at some point is " hey, i bet if i hunted closer to the big bucks bed i could kill him".....

Very impressive Ridgerunner7
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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby Uncle Lou » Tue Jul 17, 2012 11:24 pm

BuckHunter1988 wrote:You Truely are a Beast Congrats on all of your deer and if its not obvious how much effort you put into hunting its nuts you and dan are two very good hunters. I also thought this was a great read.


X2
Tadmdad wrote:Like the writeup....to the point and no BS. As i read through the dedication to the sport was very apprant, much time spent doing what you have passion for, hard work and dedication are keys for success, really isn't any shortcuts.

Your success speaks to itself, and very impressive from a early age. Have a sense of how it changed over time, by making mistakes and learning from them. Like to understand how you have learned from others, and have adapted new stratgies or locations and used that information to shorten the learning curve.

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X2

Then I add my own - [glow=red]WOW[/glow]
yep definitely glow text worthy
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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby JML2 » Tue Jul 17, 2012 11:51 pm

Great read Andy. You are a big buck killing machine and have earned every one of them.

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Re: Ridgerunner7

Unread postby Southern Man » Tue Jul 17, 2012 11:54 pm

Very impressive kills. Thanks
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