Trip Report

[Trav]

Just wanted to share a quick trip report with all my friends out there. As I am sure most of you have seen I built these really cool big shooting houses/deer stands this year. Saturday morning I got into one of them about 5:45 AM which was well before daylight and I was sitting there waiting for the woods to come to life. I was sitting there with my head down and my eyes closed having a zen moment and just focusing on all the sounds of the woods. I could hear the squirrels moving around the birds starting to come to life and them my zen moment was interrupted by a loud crash into my stand. Startled I opened my eyes to find a ginormous and very irate owl tangled up in the burlap curtains just mere inches from my face. I swear all I could see were wings, talons and a pair of menacing yellow eyes. So there we were the owl flailing away on the window seal of my blind and me cowering in the corner opposite of him. I was trying to figure out how I was going to get out the door and down the ladder without breaking my neck if he made it in. After what seemed like an eternity but in all actuality was probably 60 seconds he untangled himself and flew off leaving me alone in my recently moistened fleece pants.

[Buckrub]

I have a bird phobia.

I'd have had the 2nd major M.I.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Once in a duck blind Mallard Fillmore and I got dive bombed by a redtail hawk. He didn't touch either one of us but he sure enough made us more alert!

I think it was my awesome duck calling ability that totally fooled him. Or maybe it was his total lack of fear of Mallard's wingshooting. I'm sticking with the calling.

BKB

[Bwana]

Having been up close and personal with a few owls in my day, I can imagine how that would have SERIOUSLY got your attention.

So one question, are deer repelled by the smell of human dung even if it is coming from inside a shack on stilts? :-)

[Thumper]

Not sure about the poop, but I was always told not to pee out of my stand as it would spook the deer. I once climbed down, walked a ways and peed next to a tree, then went back up in my stand. It wasn't 30 mins later a nice little 5-point buck with a doe walked up, stopped by that tree, sniffed around where I'd peed and continued on in a totally normal fashion. I was bow hunting at the time and took the buck. The doe ran off but returned shortly to see what the heck had just happened and was wondering why her boyfriend (brother?) wasn't getting up. She walked right by that "wet spot" a bazillion times and never paid a bit of attention to it. After that, I always just peed out of my stand and never had a problem with deer coming around and getting spooked. Odd, the guy who originally told me NOT to pee near my stand, would sit in his stand chain smoking all day!

[LJ3]

Pretty sure I would have turned myself inside out trying to levitate out of that cabin you call a blind. Could't you have just rung the servant bell and had the bellhop remove the creature?

[quercus alba]

When Patterson was hunting the maneaters of Tsavo, an owl nearly knocked him off his perch one night right on top of one of the lions. Nasty devils raptors are

[Big Muddy]

I once had two pack rats, screwing in the corner of my deer stand....they paid absolutely no attention to me, so I poured another cup of coffee, and just watched....I was trying to pick up some pointers, but those little f***ers are contortionists. ;)

[Thumper]

Pervert!

[Trav]

Big Muddy was probably trying to learn because he is working with comparably sized equipment.

[Captain]

Big Muddy was probably trying to learn because he is working with comparably sized equipment.

Bam!

[Trav]

Took a half day vacation today and heading to the woods about 1pm hopefully a good one comes by.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Trav has any of your group seen any of those bucks you had on your trail cam?

BKB

[Trav]

Yeah, two of them saw the big 10pt Sunday and one guy saw the 12Pt Saturday morning but couldn't get a shot as he was hunting with a bow even though it was ML season.

[Trav]

Saturday evening after the owl scare in the morning I had 4 does in front of me at the feeder for about 30 minutes milling around. Once I realized they were all does I put the gun down in my lap and was just watching them. I heard a buck grunt but I couldn't see him. That went on for about 10 minutes and he finally came in, I could hear him walking in and I thought to myself it's go time. I lifted the gun up and was ready to shoot and it was a decent sized 6pt. He started harassing the biggest doe and they both ran off. I really thought it was going to be one of the shooters but alas it was not.