Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Axis quest....the final chapter

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    What a great way to spend my lunch hour.....

    I intentionally avoided this thread like the plague for the past few days

    Awesome coverage -- congrats on the animals!

    Comment


      I think I have 4 tapes of footage. I'm not an editor. I can burn them on my burner, but all the fancy smancy stuff is above my pay grade. Might be nice to have one done.

      Mitch, if that deer had walked out in front of me and turned broadside and gave me a 2 inch spot over his heart to aim at I wouldn't have shot him. As much as you talked about that deer, I wouldn't have wanted him. I'd have felt bad. There're enough big ones on that place, and there are some that we haven't seen, to not get competitive over a specific animal. Get after him next year. I think I'd put a feeder over near that treeline where you killed your buck last year to get them in sooner and cut off their route to the house feeder. I bet you could kill him as soon as he came out of velvet. However, I bet you have to wait again next year for him to come out late. This weekend, he'd probably be ready this year and you'd only have a few days. Pressure time.

      I've been going through my TC pics. I used my cams to do a lot of scouting. The first week, I don't think I got a single axis on a camera. By the end, as we figured out where they were, I'd get 20 or 30 pics per session of axis. I'm one of those idiots that checks them at least once, and usually twice, a day. LOL

      I started figuring out how much corn Bobby and I used. I took 25 sacks of old, weevilly corn from the Junco. We used about 15 sacks of the "free" corn from the ranch that the fall hunters left, and Bobby/JamesL/John bought about 25 sacks, as best I can remember. That's at least65 sacks. I also took about 7 backs of recovered Antlermax that were big pellets that wouldn't run through the Boss Buck. shoveled that stuff off the ground when we dumped what was left out of the feeders. The deer and axis devoured those pellets. Also used about 10 or so Chaffehay.

      I had 3 or 4 failures as blinds. some I never sat because the trail cams showed nothing but hogs and cows and whitetails. Some the deer just never used. So, as usual, it's not just about putting out feed and waiting. It's about finding where the deer are, and THEN pouring the feed to the spot. I found the spot for the Spring Blind by glassing midmorning several days and seeing axis in the area. I found a big cedar tree and cut out a blind. Fed it, hunted it, videoed big axis. when bobby saw big axis also, he popped his 360 into the cedar and we kept it fed. Probably saw a dozen deer over 30 inches there. LB, 5/2, bobby's big bowed buck, ol' man, cry baby, Freak Nasty, and several more. I believe it's the kind of spot that I could go back next year and pop the blind in the same spot and kill a big one. It has a spring about 150 yards, a travel corridot to some slopeing hills, and a draw nearby to travel up and down the valley. Just a perfect spot. Here's pics of the blind from near and from the shooting zones of about 18 yards. We hunted this blind over and over and it almost never failed to have axis, whitetails, and hogs. some tried to cut through the cedar and the blind stopped them. A super spot.

      Click image for larger version

Name:	Spring Blind.jpg
Views:	2
Size:	139.8 KB
ID:	23845909

      Click image for larger version

Name:	Spring Blind 2.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	142.3 KB
ID:	23845910

      Click image for larger version

Name:	spring blind from kill zone.jpg
Views:	2
Size:	94.8 KB
ID:	23845911

      Click image for larger version

Name:	spring blind from road.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	118.7 KB
ID:	23845912

      Comment


        Way to go!

        Outstanding coverage. Thanks for taking us along on some great hunts.

        Who knew that Mitch talks a lot?

        Comment


          Thanks, everyone, for the accolades. I never dreamed it would end up becoming a phenomenon. LOL Glad everyone felt llike they were in the middle of the hunt. It was an enjoyable experience for me and one I hope to be able to do again next year. Maybe it'll help us get ready for the big event coming up in three months

          Everyone has been great. I've had about 4 volunteers to help me edit my tapes and make me an organized version of the month. That might be a daunting task. I think I have 4 tapes and a BUNCH of TC's and pics.

          I used a new product on this hunt. I've been using that corn gel stuff for a few years. I've also used Buck Bombs the last couple years. The Bombs are great because I can just spray them around the area and put up a scent screen. Well, in Bass Pro, I bought some Hog Bombs, but in corn scent. I'd get in the blind and spray it out the shooting holes and in the blind. I'll have several of these when the season starts. Maybe they'll make them in cedar, acorn, and earth. I like the way they can be utilized.

          Now, most of you know what I think about "playing the wind" when hunting a destination. You might THINK you're playing the wind, but any deer that comes in from downwind, and they do, will mess up that strategy. The predominant wind on the ranch we hunted was SW. Most of my blinds were on the north side of the roads that I corned or the north side of the open areas where I expected the deer. That's fine, but the axis came from 360 degrees, along with the whitetails and hogs. I couldn't just go out and "play the wind". I would have been constantly busted. So, I went to the extreme with my scent control.

          Check out this bag of clothes. That's camo and silver impregnated undergarments called Abscent and Xstatic. I believe in the silver. It was hotter than hunting in shorts, but when following my regimen, I did not get busted one time. Not from downwind. I used Primos Silver emolient body soap also. Don't know what affect the silver has, but it foamed up well and fit right into my regimen. I bathed before every hunt. I usually use Scent Shield Hair and Body gel, but for this hunt, due to ease of application, I used the Dead Down Wind Body Foam. Applied to hair and body liberally. After that, I usually use baking soda, applied everywhere but hair and delicate areas. For this hunt, I used the Dead Down Wind Body Powder. I think it's talcum based, but it seemed to do the job. Every layer of clothes was sprayed with scent control spray, either Dead Down Wind or the "99% replicated human order" stuff. Sometimes I used both. I wore each suit twice, unless I sweated a lot. Then it went into the clothes bag. I took enough changes to change socks and underwear every hunt. I have about 8 sets of Xstatic socks and the rest were just lightweight socks.

          Most of the evening hunts I just wore the Abscent or Xstatic as my top. works well in the dark blind.

          Believe what you want, but I'm a firm believer in scent reduction and hunting where the hunting's best, not where the wind tells me to hunt. I had deer after deer, hog after hog, and axis after axis walk within feet of my blind. some coming from downwind, some going downwind. I never got busted.

          The last morning, when I had to take down my blinds, I didn't shower that morning and just put on an abscent top for the black. I didn't gel or spray. I just "played the wind". I was going to hunt an hour or so and kill hogs. I had deer and hogs and axis out front. The trail that comes up behind and to the left of me is utilized a lot. For a week, no problems with anything busting me. I even had one rip a tree within yards of my blind, downwind, for about 30 minutes. No problem That morning that I didn't go through all the pain of getting ready to hunt, I had an axis scare the crud out of me by coming up behind me and blowing. Enough for me. What I do works, at least for me.

          Comment


            Oops. Here's my big ol' drum liner of clothes.

            Click image for larger version

Name:	clothes for the week.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	107.3 KB
ID:	23845916

            I shot 58 lbs on this hunt. My strength ain't what it used to be and that was a poundage I could get back easily. My bow was an 05 Allegiance. It shoots 290 at that poundage. That's with just a loop and peep on the string. I have no silencers. silencers to me are a waste of energy. If you noticed the captured pics, none of the animals I shot moved until the broadhead hit. Axis are some spooky animals also. Axis and Sika may be spooker than whitetail, at least from my experiences.

            I usually go afield after deer with Rocket Hammerheads. The 2 inch cut heads have NEVER let me down. I've killed more animals with them than I care to admit. However, I had heard of the thick hides of axis and was afraid to shoot them. I also love First cut 1 1/2 mechs. At least I did until this year. Seems this years batch loses a blade way too often for me. They aren't tightening the screws. I killed several hogs with them this week, but won't shoot them at a deer until the problem is figured out and fixed. For this hunt I bought a pack of Rage 3 Blade and a pack of Rage 2 blade. bobby also used a 3 blade. I've heard a lot of good things about them, and from what I've seen, they are true. I hate 39 dollar broadheads, but I've never been one to let money shy me from something good. Once I figure out how to carry them in my quiver without them coming open, they may take the place, or at least get equal time, with the hammerhead. The holes are simply mind boggling. My little brother shot all his animals this past season with them and what he said and showed was true. Awesome head.

            I also used a product that AP pointed me to. chaffehay. One of the pics above showed the sack that it comes in. The deer, both axis and whitetail, seemed to love the stuff. Another benefit is the smell. You could come up to a blind and smell it over 100 yards away if you came in downwind. I rubbed it on my clothes and carried a handfull or two with me in my pocket to rub occasionally to put out more scent. A little over 10 dollars a sack, but well worth the price.

            Another thing that came in handy was my little fold-up game hanger. It's not bulky, packs easily, and worked a lot better than Mitch's rebar run through the hocks. Huh, Mitch? LOL

            Comment


              Hey now, the rebar worked great until we hung a real deer on it. Only then did it bend under the enormous weight of Krivoman's deer! I only shoot the big ones! But yes, That was a very handy tool to have in the tool box...

              Comment


                Awesome Doc! A lifetime's worth of big axis!!! Best thread in quite some time! Thanks for sharing

                Comment

                Working...
                X