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470 Posts
Well my season I'll start with Turkey. This year hopefully will be one I never expirience again. Turkey season someone sabotaged my hunt and tried to lie on me all different kinds of ways saying I've for several years shot before day light or shot a bird on the roost still. Which verified by a CO is not illegal just frowned upon, which I NEVER DID. Any bird I have shot I have shot legally and on the ground. I ended up getting a beautiful bird that scored over 70 points on the NWTF scale would have been higher had I noticed the 3rd beard before but anywho, killing a bird of that caliber 5 minutes from my house was awesome for the 2nd year in a row. The summer provided down time as I didn't hit the water and rolled on into 2018 Deer season. Opening morning was spent in the worst every skeeter infestation I have ever seen, I left my thermacel at the house so I was down by 10. I met a young fella turned out to be one of my best friends during turkey season and my priorities shifted to helping him get his first archery deer which we accomplished with a beautiful public land 7 point which to him was a booner. This year I passed 15 different bucks from small to what some would consider big because I again did NOT give in on my Booner or nothing mentality. I know its hard yes it is. I don't care how hard it was I was NOT giving in on my goal of Booner or nothing and I only picked up a gun 2 times for the Big Oaks Gun Draw which is an incredible property and some true giants are killed there I was not that lucky. Like any property you have to get in there and scout and hunt and put in your time. I see people say ohhh big oaks is a waste of time. Let me tell you this, that place is absolutely some of the most beautiful untouched rolling hills, water falls, creeks animals and just majestic beauty you will find in Indiana. An extra buck tag allows you to hunt a property and gain expirience. Most of the fellas I talked to have hunted it many many years. Some get lucky sure but I am positive I'll get a biggun off it eventually. I ended up killing a beautiful Doe in Brookville again with my bow that made me search for her crossing a slu of the lake which idk if you've tracked a deer in water but its hard. I passed idk how many does after I shot her waiting for the big one but never saw a deer over 140-150". I saw 3 at 140-150" the closest getting to 22 yards. This year I learned Friends arent' your friends when it comes to hunting. Public land is PUBLIC LAND and you leagally while frowned upon cannot stop anybody from setting up 3 feet from you if they want. I learned that no matter how much information you give a person or you help them get theyre first buck with a bow or gun they won't care speaking of my former friend that sabotaged my turkey hunt. I learned that having a Booner mentality is hard and you'll see alot of big deer fall and wander why you arent seeing any. Well they arent hunting the same places you are. Booners on public land are like unicorns but they are there somewhere. Especially Brookville Lake. I'm very proud of myself and learned alot in the woods this year. Now its the offseason so I'm going to be scouting for old sign for next year and looking for sheds. I did get burned out becuase the deer disappeared after gun season so I imagine I no longer will hunt after gun season because on public land its pointless. I didn't even see a single deer after gun season and thats hard on the family life, with the fiance wanting you home and you trying to fill a tag and not even see a deer. Thats hard. I won't sacrafice any family time anymore after gun season. So the naysayers, no I didn't get my booner again but I will continue to keep my beliefs in Booner or nothing and Bow or nothing unless on big oaks. I like the challenge. This year I also will only carry my bow for turkey season. I want the challenge and I still stand firm, Gun season ruins deer hunting for the state of Indiana. While some do care about the herd some don't. Some are careless and shoot a million times at anything that moves and that hurts us bow hunters on public land. I too have learned that people on this sight are just nasty and ugly. That knock your beliefs. There isn't enough traffic for this sight to be meaningful. This is all for fun and means nothing to anybody I thought it was more than it was obviously but truth is this is just a forum and nobody really looks at it. Alot of people have been lost. You kill a booner nobody is going to care, you kill a monster turkey nobody is going to care. You attempt to run an actual big buck contest based on inches not points nobody is going to care and you give more points for the more challenged hunt which is archery and you get chastised. For that I'm out. I hope this sight turns into something that it used to be and maybe one day I'll revisit but 2018 just seeing people cast judgement on my for my beliefs nah I'm good. Good luck to all outdoorsmen on this sight and kill a biggun thanks for the memories.
