Opening day - good luck, be safe.

Hometown » Georgia

Site Notices

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Opening day - good luck, be safe.

Posted: 10/19/2018 11:30:53 PM EDT

I've been a fishing machine all summer and fall. Caught a 3 lb LM and a big spot today, in fact. Now...

TIME TO DEER HUNT!

The truck is loaded, and I ran a couple patches thru the ol' Win 70. I'm off to camp in the morning. I'll get there about 9, sneak around and check for trespassers like I always do on opening day. After lunch, I'll go sit in my new TALL tripod in a killer spot that we put up in June. The land has been human-free since then. Well, until tomorrow. Also can't wait to check trail cams. Its gonna be gooooood.

Posted: 10/21/2018 3:20:14 PM EDT

[#1]

Got a nice doe with my son ( 7 yo) yesterday afternoon. Hunting with a 16 inch 300 blackout that I built, suppressed of course. We’ve seen a couple of monsters on the cameras but they are only showing up at night right now. Looking forward to seeing anyone else’s stories or pictures about opening weekend.

Posted: 10/21/2018 10:48:50 PM EDT

[#2]

Quote History

Quoted:
Got a nice doe with my son ( 7 yo) yesterday afternoon. Hunting with a 16 inch 300 blackout that I built, suppressed of course. We've seen a couple of monsters on the cameras but they are only showing up at night right now. Looking forward to seeing anyone else's stories or pictures about opening weekend.

View Quote

Isn't it buck only until 11/03?

Posted: 10/22/2018 10:27:06 AM EDT

[#3]

Depends on the county, Turner is buck/doe all season

Posted: 10/22/2018 11:45:42 AM EDT

[#4]

I havent gotten a chance to get out yet, stands are only 40 yards and 250 yards from the house so thats no excuse. The massive play set assembly and the tractor work needed to prep the area is the time suck.

Looking forward to finally getting some meat in the freezer again.

Posted: 10/22/2018 12:04:21 PM EDT

[#5]

Quote History

Quoted:
Depends on the county, Turner is buck/doe all season

View Quote

Gotcha. I hunt in Elbert County and had to let 3 good size does walk about 20 yards in front of me on Saturday.

Posted: 10/25/2018 1:42:14 AM EDT

[#6]

Well rain moving in, what's left of Willa. I hunted hard but temps were hot, wind was changing a lot, and movement was mostly after dark under that huge moon. Today I was up in a 16' tripod trimming some vines and small treetops back with a long manual trimmer, sweatin' like a coolie. I packed it in, and headed home until the rain moves out; probably head back down Sunday. Gonna be windy, and a bunch more rain coming next weekend, too.

Good news is the deer are really scraping hard all over. Bad news is the acorn crop is spotty and patterns are not like last year at all, so I'll be scouting more and moving stands. Also couple cams show some new dogs are running around my lease, and at least one possible poacher is slipping over the line - again. I'll be all up in his grill as soon as I catch him, it won't end well.

Posted: 10/25/2018 11:57:59 AM EDT

[#7]

Ugh. I'm new to Georgia and would love to go hunting

Posted: 10/25/2018 1:35:03 PM EDT

[#8]

Opening morning nice doe. Had to watch her moving around in the dark, until it was light enough to shoot. For shits and grins, I was using the Marlin 1895GBL (45.70) that I bought during the Academy coupon sale a few months ago. Didn't have to track the deer lol.

Posted: 10/25/2018 9:34:12 PM EDT

[#9]

Got a nice 8 point buck this morning.

Unfortunately it was with my truck and not my rifle.

Posted: 10/26/2018 8:07:06 AM EDT

[#10]

I had 7 deer sightings opening morning. I can't say for sure they were all different deer, since 6 of the sightings were all does. Nothing stepped out that I wanted to shoot. I'll be back at it again in the morning at my hunting club and probably at my house in the evening. There's a line of 3 scrapes right beside one of my stands at my house, so I'm hoping the big 8 will step out.

Posted: 10/26/2018 8:08:57 AM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:
Ugh. I'm new to Georgia and would love to go hunting

View Quote

Check out some of the WMA's. That'll get you started. Then next year you can focus on finding a club or land to lease.

Posted: 10/26/2018 10:32:44 AM EDT

[#12]

I think I'll finally get a chance to sit Sunday. First big doe that isnt part of a huge group is mine.

Unless one of the 1.5YO 4 point twins shows themselves.

Posted: 10/26/2018 11:01:05 AM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:
I think I'll finally get a chance to sit Sunday. First big doe that isnt part of a huge group is mine.

Unless one of the 1.5YO 4 point twins shows themselves.

View Quote

I'll be looking for a good buck until at least Thanksgiving unless I get one sooner. After that, it's time for some does. I'm taking Nov 13-19 off to do nothing but hunt.

Posted: 10/26/2018 11:40:05 AM EDT

[#14]

Quote History

Quoted:

I'll be looking for a good buck until at least Thanksgiving unless I get one sooner. After that, it's time for some does. I'm taking Nov 13-19 off to do nothing but hunt.

View Quote

Big bucks start moving here around rut. We have 20-25 does that hit the feeder in waves every morning and evening. I've seen one nice 9p and several little 4 pointers (two of which i assume are twins and are always together).

I'm just hunting for meat, if I see a nice buck I'll take it.

Posted: 10/26/2018 2:12:30 PM EDT

[#15]

Quote History

Quoted:
Check out some of the WMA's. That'll get you started. Then next year you can focus on finding a club or land to lease.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Ugh. I'm new to Georgia and would love to go hunting

Check out some of the WMA's. That'll get you started. Then next year you can focus on finding a club or land to lease.

My understanding I am going to have to learn a different style of hunting. We didn't sit much back in Colorado.

Posted: 10/26/2018 2:28:57 PM EDT

[#16]

Quote History

Quoted:
My understanding I am going to have to learn a different style of hunting. We didn't sit much back in Colorado.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Ugh. I'm new to Georgia and would love to go hunting

Check out some of the WMA's. That'll get you started. Then next year you can focus on finding a club or land to lease.

My understanding I am going to have to learn a different style of hunting. We didn't sit much back in Colorado.

Yeah. There isn't much stalking done here. Get a climbing stand and harness then learn to use it. It'll give you a lot of flexibility. Check out the regs to see when the WMA's are open for deer hunting. Some of our WMA's have drawings for hunts and I think some are open hunts. Do some aerial scouting, then get out there. Get away from the roads and you'll probably see some.

I don't know where you're at, but start looking now for a club or land to lease. The GON forum has a section for that. The going rate for a lease these days starts around $10/acre. That typically gives you year round access.

Posted: 10/26/2018 2:33:10 PM EDT

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:
Big bucks start moving here around rut. We have 20-25 does that hit the feeder in waves every morning and evening. I've seen one nice 9p and several little 4 pointers (two of which i assume are twins and are always together).

I'm just hunting for meat, if I see a nice buck I'll take it.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:

I'll be looking for a good buck until at least Thanksgiving unless I get one sooner. After that, it's time for some does. I'm taking Nov 13-19 off to do nothing but hunt.

Big bucks start moving here around rut. We have 20-25 does that hit the feeder in waves every morning and evening. I've seen one nice 9p and several little 4 pointers (two of which i assume are twins and are always together).

I'm just hunting for meat, if I see a nice buck I'll take it.

That's mostly how it is on my lease too, but you never know. I watched 2 8's and a 10 at about 20 yards one morning during bow season. They were nice bucks with racks outside their ears, just not quite big enough.

Posted: 10/26/2018 6:34:27 PM EDT

[#18]

I'm not shooting anything this year except a real big buck. There are some huge ones around. I don't need the meat as I still have plenty from last year, and red meat is pretty much off the menu for me, anyway (gout). Its either give up alcohol or red meat, so the decision was easy.

Posted: 10/29/2018 7:30:37 AM EDT

[#19]

Quote History

Quoted:
I'm not shooting anything this year except a real big buck. There are some huge ones around. I don't need the meat as I still have plenty from last year, and red meat is pretty much off the menu for me, anyway (gout). Its either give up alcohol or red meat, so the decision was easy.

View Quote

Have you tried eliminating fructose from your diet? I started having problems with gout a while back and read that without fructose, gout can't happen. I was eating a lot of grapes at that point. When I stopped eating them, it went away.

Posted: 10/29/2018 8:44:11 AM EDT

[#20]

I killed this one last Monday morning...

Attached File

Posted: 10/31/2018 5:59:05 PM EDT

[#21]

Quote History

Quoted:
Have you tried eliminating fructose from your diet? I started having problems with gout a while back and read that without fructose, gout can't happen. I was eating a lot of grapes at that point. When I stopped eating them, it went away.

View Quote

Yes I have; you've mentioned that before, but it isn't a trigger for me. Deli cured meats, beef, and venison are the big triggers, but since I rarely eat that anymore (can't remember my last steak) and give the venison away (except the tenders - those are worth a bit of toe pain) all is good.

I passed on a big 8-pt this morning 0930, watched him work a scrape and pee on himself (I'm holding out for a bigger deer, I've killed several big 8s already, and there are a few much bigger ones on cam). Saw several other bucks cruising; they were really moving this morning. Then it got hot - then the cruising stopped - then I went home.

Going back Saturday AM!

Posted: 11/1/2018 8:44:41 AM EDT

[#22]

Quote History

Quoted:
Yes I have; you've mentioned that before, but it isn't a trigger for me. Deli cured meats, beef, and venison are the big triggers, but since I rarely eat that anymore (can't remember my last steak) and give the venison away (except the tenders - those are worth a bit of toe pain) all is good.

I passed on a big 8-pt this morning 0930, watched him work a scrape and pee on himself (I'm holding out for a bigger deer, I've killed several big 8s already, and there are a few much bigger ones on cam). Saw several other bucks cruising; they were really moving this morning. Then it got hot - then the cruising stopped - then I went home.

Going back Saturday AM!

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Have you tried eliminating fructose from your diet? I started having problems with gout a while back and read that without fructose, gout can't happen. I was eating a lot of grapes at that point. When I stopped eating them, it went away.

Yes I have; you've mentioned that before, but it isn't a trigger for me. Deli cured meats, beef, and venison are the big triggers, but since I rarely eat that anymore (can't remember my last steak) and give the venison away (except the tenders - those are worth a bit of toe pain) all is good.

I passed on a big 8-pt this morning 0930, watched him work a scrape and pee on himself (I'm holding out for a bigger deer, I've killed several big 8s already, and there are a few much bigger ones on cam). Saw several other bucks cruising; they were really moving this morning. Then it got hot - then the cruising stopped - then I went home.

Going back Saturday AM!

I'll be out of the game at least until Monday. The wife has to work Thurs-Sun so it's daddy daycare. The good news is I'm off work from the 10-19. I'll be hunting hard those days.

Posted: 11/10/2018 8:24:19 PM EDT

[#23]

Cool weather has them roaming, and chasing, too. Twice today I was in the wrong spot for 2 different whopper bucks. The second one was chasing a doe, grunting hard, and they got right downwind of me. That doe scented me, blew a couple times, then tail up running , in the other direction- big boy right behind grunting .

Get in the woods. The rut is nigh. As usual, my hunting buddies are no-shows.

Posted: 11/10/2018 9:58:27 PM EDT

[#24]

I have killed a big 8 and a 5 this morning. I would have let the 5 walk except the property I hunt goes on the market in January. I expect it to be developed into a subdivision.

Posted: 11/11/2018 9:23:45 AM EDT

[#25]

Already passed up 3 bucks this morning. One was a big mature buck - with one side broke off.

Posted: 11/11/2018 9:50:42 AM EDT

[#26]

I’m going to church this morning, then it’s on for the rest of the week. I killed a 15.5” wide 10pt that was following a doe after work on Monday.

Posted: 11/11/2018 10:47:19 AM EDT

[#27]

I could have limited by now, but if it ain’t at least 140” gross I pass.

Too bad the weather is deteriorating with cold rain moving in. The wind has been weird as well, the usual NW dominant pattern is gone. I’m off all week as well. I knew I should have put a roof on a couple stands. I do have a tree-brella.

Posted: 11/11/2018 12:05:16 PM EDT

[#28]

nada yet for me.

Posted: 11/11/2018 4:46:54 PM EDT

[#29]

Hunted since last Thursday, saw deer every hunt, just not ready to take a doe or a small buck. The rut should be on in Macon county, didn't see it myself. Felt great to sit in a stand in the rain and the wind, been a long time.

Posted: 11/11/2018 5:13:51 PM EDT

[#30]

Quote History

Quoted:
Hunted since last Thursday, saw deer every hunt, just not ready to take a doe or a small buck. The rut should be on in Macon county, didn't see it myself. Felt great to sit in a stand in the rain and the wind, been a long time.

View Quote

I hunted Macon Co for years. We moved 3 years ago and now I hunt Houston and Twiggs.

Posted: 11/11/2018 6:53:40 PM EDT

[#31]

Another day and another dozen does with fawns let to continue living.

I swear if I could just get a nice fat alone doe or even a spike or button I'd be eating.

Posted: 11/12/2018 11:04:51 AM EDT

[#32]

Quote History

Quoted:
Another day and another dozen does with fawns let to continue living.

I swear if I could just get a nice fat alone doe or even a spike or button I'd be eating.

View Quote

Those fawns will survive, another doe will take them in. Most are weaned now unless they were very late drops. I did see a yearling try to nurse yesterday but the big doe kicked its ass, may have been a button she was about to run off though.

Posted: 11/12/2018 11:16:12 AM EDT

[#33]

Quote History

Quoted:
Those fawns will survive, another doe will take them in. Most are weaned now unless they were very late drops. I did see a yearling try to nurse yesterday but the big doe kicked its ass, may have been a button she was about to run off though.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Another day and another dozen does with fawns let to continue living.

I swear if I could just get a nice fat alone doe or even a spike or button I'd be eating.

Those fawns will survive, another doe will take them in. Most are weaned now unless they were very late drops. I did see a yearling try to nurse yesterday but the big doe kicked its ass, may have been a button she was about to run off though.

My level of being sentimental changes the further into the season we get. I did see a nice 8 pointer show up on the cam last night so we'll see if he sticks around.

Posted: 12/14/2018 8:21:40 AM EDT

[#34]

Posted: 12/14/2018 9:23:53 AM EDT

[#35]

I really want to go hunting. Ugh

Posted: 12/14/2018 11:40:02 AM EDT

[#36]

I shot a button the friday before tkgiving just to get some meat in the freezer. Now that the pressure is off I find myself slacking with this shitty weather.