6 hunts in the books.  4 by me.  2 by dad.  Let’s just say he didn’t not hunt the 2 other sits because he was sick.  I’ll let you fill in the blanks on that one.

I’ve decided to recap the hunt live-hunt style, but not until I get back in Alabama.  All I’ve got to say so far is Kansas is a whitetail deer mecca.  More on that in a couple days.  I’m such a tease.

Dad connected on his best rifle buck ever on Monday – second day of North Carolina’s firearms season.  8 pointer that scored 126.

Also, his hunting buddy Todd took a 130-ish class 10 pointer tonight.

As dad said on the phone yesterday – “hopefully just an appetizer for the rest of this week and next”

That’s right.  I hop in the truck at 1:30 a.m. to drive to Memphis to pick dad up at the airport and then continue our trek to the land of Oz.

I’ll try to get out updates as frequently as possible.  Then again I might just wait until the hunt is over and trickle out reports one hunt at a time after I get back in the eastern United States.  We shall see.  Best of luck to everyone the next 10 days or so.  I hope to bring reports of my best deer ever.  I know it will be a great hunt regardless of the death toll though.

Gave Tuskegee NF one last hurrah before the legions invade with smoke poles then rifles for the next 2 months.  I sat in the same white oak stand that I harvested my archery doe about a month earlier.  I got skunked even with acorns still dropping around me.  One of my other hunting buddies also got the skunk treatment, but a third hunter (first time hunting with him this year) saw a doe that wandered through too far for a clean shot and had a coyote make 2 passes within an hour but again — out of range.

We discussed it.  Seems like beginner’s luck rules at this place.  First time you’re going to see critters.  After that, you’re better off staying in bed asleep.

Anyways, that was probably my last time in the AL deer woods before my trip to Kansas.  I’ve been wearing out the practice sessions (2-3 daily) for the last week and I’m shooting about as good as I have at any time this year.  Seems I am as ready as I am going to be.  Big buck sightings have been at a premium the last 5-7 days in SE Kansas as they appear to be locked down with does, but hopefully this cold front that passed through on Saturday will get them on their feet moving again.

We will be well into the 6,000s in terms of page hits for the month.  I believe this is our second best month ever here at The Outdoor Smorgasbord.  Thanks to everyone who keeps up with the website.  It really has become truly enjoyable to share my experiences with the readers.  From hunting to research to product reviews to who knows what else…it’s all interesting to write about and I hope it’s as enjoyable to read on your end.

A little taste of what is coming up:

*AL’s deer season is just now in full swing – 2+ more weeks of archery.  I’ll be trying to take down at least a couple more does with my bow and who knows…maybe Mr. Big!  I’m excited to hunt that “perfect 30 yards” I found the other day.

*Archery/Muzzleloader combination hunt back in North Carolina next weekend.  That’s right, home is calling my name loud and clear.  Dad has tons of nice bucks on camera and we’ll see about closing the deal on one as the rut should be reaching a boiling point in the next 10-14 days.

*Kansas Archery hunt before Thanksgiving…need I say more…

How was it that I am supposed to be getting work done…

Kara and I are headed to Pennsylvania for my cousin Scott’s wedding over the weekend.

I intend to wrap up my buck darting tonight and I’ll get whatever kind of related update to you on Monday when I return to Alabama.

Have a great weekend.  I hear the acorns are raining in the deer woods.  Make em’ hurt.

The end is in sight.  We had a great night of darting Tuesday and now I only have one radiocollar left to deploy.  We’ll be in the woods tonight trying to accomplish that – because of sample size distribution, yearling bucks have a big bullseye on them now.

A new fella came  and helped out and he got the job done.  I must say that rarely does a person succeed on their first darting attempt just because there are so many variables to think about it.  It’s just a different experience.

That being said, no rookie mistakes here.

#59 – a previously marked buck from years ago.  This 7 year old doesn’t have much of a rack but he was hog-bodied for sure.

We had just finished processing #59, when my other help called on the radio saying he had shot one.

150 yards later, there was buck #13 sleeping.

4 year old 8 pointer.  Scored 126 and change.

By this time, my helpers had to get some sleep because they were working first thing in the morning.  But all I could see was the finish line.  2 more collars.

I climbed back in a stand at 11:30 p.m. and at 2:00 a.m. I was waving the telemetry antenna in the air trying to locate Buck #14.  Mission accomplished.

Really nice 2.5 year old 8 pointer.  He’s got the potential to be something special in another 2 or 3 years.

Just went to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission website and checked the draw results for this year’s tundra swan permit hunt.  I was happy to see my name on the list chosen.

Don’t know if I’ll be able to squeeze in a trip to the coast this winter to chase those B-52s, but it’s one of those things I’d love to do once.

Anyways, the option is open now with a permit in hand.

As promised, here is the beast from last Thursday night.

160 4/8″.  24 4/8″ beams.  11″ longest tine.  Split G2.  Good mass.

Just  a pretty buck.  Not really a good story to go along with it.  He came in to the stand site, stood broadside, and got darted.

I’ll get some better pictures from my friend’s SLR and post them in a day or two.  Trust me, this picture doesn’t do justice.

I guess it wouldn’t be fair to postpone these posts anymore.  Really, I’ve just been busy as all get out trying to put out the rest of my GPS collars.  We had a good run over the course of Wednesday evening to Friday morning though.  We put out 5 collars.

Here’s the first on Wednesday morning.  I sat from 1:30 a.m. until 4:30 a.m. until the first racked buck came in to my set-up.  When I clicked on my night vision it was a half rack busted up buck that I quickly drew a bead on.  Unfortunately, he spooked a ran off 10 or 15 yards.

I thought he must have seen me, but when I swung my gun back to where he had been standing, there was a bigger buck in a dominance posture.  Mistake.

175 yards later, there he lay.  “High Rack” with only a 12 1/2″ inside spread.  Gross score of 118 and change.  3 year old with lots of potential.

I took the boat out for an hour yesterday on the lake after I spent all night darting deer.  I was just slow cranking a deep diver across the main lake point and this guy swallowed it.  A big bait too…gone!  Just the bill peeking out.

Scales said 4-7.