2014 rifle season pics, keep the pics from your stand and trail cam pics coming too!

[kckndrgn]

Got my first deer yesterday, a small doe.  Puts some meat in the freezer and a big learning experience for me.

 

[mike243]

killed a doe  opening day and a spike on day 2. shot a yote at 48 steps this morning. savage ml2  smokeless pushing a 250g sst at  2320fps works great,im off all week and plan to hunt most of it

[rugerla1]

I sat in drizzle rain for an hour this morning then it started coming down hard. I started easing down the ladder to go across the property to a pop up blind and WHEWWW! Right behind me! Dangit! It bounced off away from where I was headed so I continued to the blind. Sat there for hour and a half, left and two houses from where I was, right in front of their house was a big 8 with a doe, both out of breath....figures! Tried WMA for a while but rain stayed heavy and I was soaked! Called it a day.

[Luke E.]

I got up early this morning in hopes of catching another glimpse of the big one that I caught a few glimpses of yesterday evening. I wanted to get in the blind at least an hour before daylight to ensure everything was completely settled back down by daylight. The guy that hunts the farm next door saw that I had put a food plot in so he decided that he'd put a stand up about 30 yards away to try to catch deer on their way in (yea that's a b!tch move) but anyways, they decided to drop someone off with the 4 wheeler at that stand as the sky was starting to light up, so much for letting everything settle down huh...
I was having a very hard time staying awake listening to the rain falling on the roof of the blind but a doe running at full speed caught my eye. She came straight over the fence from his direction headed straight towards me then made a hard left and into the trees she went. I wasn't sure if she'd busted him and was just getting out of Dodge or if a buck was after her but just in case I flipped up the plexiglass window and before I got it latched I saw another doe coming in at a fast trot//sprint with what looked like antlers growing from her back. The I realized there was a buck with his head up her rear end so I stuck the rifle out the window and had plans of grunting to stop him long enough for a shot but that wasn't happening. I tried grunting, whistling and finally I tried screaming all of which he paid zero attention to, I mean he never broke stride. I wasn't sure if he was the big one (he wasn't :( or not but I knew he was big enough that I was going to shoot him anyways so I took a quick shot as he ran by me. He ended up running about 30 yds down the hill into the woods before he fell dead. Here he is,

[Luke E.]

Got my first deer yesterday, a small doe. Puts some meat in the freezer and a big learning experience for me.

Congrats on your first deer! Was it a 1st ever or 1st of this season? Edited November 17, 2014 by Luke E.

[rugerla1]

I got up early this morning in hopes of catching another glimpse of the big one that I caught a few glimpses of yesterday evening. I wanted to get in the blind at least an hour before daylight to ensure everything was completely settled back down by daylight. The guy that hunts the farm next door saw that I had put a food plot in so he decided that he'd put a stand up about 30 yards away to try to catch deer on their way in (yea that's a b!tch move) but anyways, they decided to drop someone off with the 4 wheeler at that stand as the sky was starting to light up, so much for letting everything settle down huh...
I was having a very hard time staying awake listening to the rain falling on the roof of the blind but a doe running at full speed caught my eye. She came straight over the fence from his direction headed straight towards me then made a hard left and into the trees she went. I wasn't sure if she'd busted him and was just getting out of Dodge or if a buck was after her but just in case I flipped up the plexiglass window and before I got it latched I saw another doe coming in at a fast trot//sprint with what looked like antlers growing from her back. The I realized there was a buck with his head up her rear end so I stuck the rifle out the window and had plans of grunting to stop him long enough for a shot but that wasn't happening. I tried grunting, whistling and finally I tried screaming all of which he paid zero attention to, I mean he never broke stride. I wasn't sure if he was the big one (he wasn't :( or not but I knew he was big enough that I was going to shoot him anyways so I took a quick shot as he ran by me. He ended up running about 30 yds down the hill into the woods before he fell dead. Here he is,

Been waitin on this all evening! Man, he looks even bigger sitting by you. Congrats again brother!

[kckndrgn]

Congrats on your first deer! Was it a 1st ever or 1st of this season?

1st ever :)

 

Hoping to add to the count in the coming weeks.

[rugerla1]

1st ever :)

 

Hoping to add to the count in the coming weeks.

I assumed you meant this season too, BIG congratulations!  :up:

[Luke E.]

1st ever :)

Hoping to add to the count in the coming weeks.

AWESOME, man! There's something to be said for going out a getting your own food. Wish you the best of luck adding to your count. Edited November 17, 2014 by Luke E.

[Luke E.]

Been waitin on this all evening! Man, he looks even bigger sitting by you. Congrats again brother!

He was a big bodied deer. Had to field dress him to get his weight down enough to hoist him into the 4 wheeler.

[reed1285]

I got up early this morning in hopes of catching another glimpse of the big one that I caught a few glimpses of yesterday evening. I wanted to get in the blind at least an hour before daylight to ensure everything was completely settled back down by daylight. The guy that hunts the farm next door saw that I had put a food plot in so he decided that he'd put a stand up about 30 yards away to try to catch deer on their way in (yea that's a b!tch move) but anyways, they decided to drop someone off with the 4 wheeler at that stand as the sky was starting to light up, so much for letting everything settle down huh...
I was having a very hard time staying awake listening to the rain falling on the roof of the blind but a doe running at full speed caught my eye. She came straight over the fence from his direction headed straight towards me then made a hard left and into the trees she went. I wasn't sure if she'd busted him and was just getting out of Dodge or if a buck was after her but just in case I flipped up the plexiglass window and before I got it latched I saw another doe coming in at a fast trot//sprint with what looked like antlers growing from her back. The I realized there was a buck with his head up her rear end so I stuck the rifle out the window and had plans of grunting to stop him long enough for a shot but that wasn't happening. I tried grunting, whistling and finally I tried screaming all of which he paid zero attention to, I mean he never broke stride. I wasn't sure if he was the big one (he wasn't :( or not but I knew he was big enough that I was going to shoot him anyways so I took a quick shot as he ran by me. He ended up running about 30 yds down the hill into the woods before he fell dead. Here he is,

very nice, congrats

[Luke E.]

very nice, congrats

Thank you, sir.

[musicman]

I'm not a hunter (yet) but I am really enjoying all the posts and pics. I hope to be joining your ranks next year. There are no open hunter's safety courses until nearly March next year!

I grew up in the city and had no close family or friends that hunted, so I'm kinda' trying to feel it out and figure out the how/when/where/why on my own. The sticky at the top of this subforum and everything you guys are talking about has really helped already. I've got the gun... a Marlin XL7 in 270, and plan on decking out in the rest of the gear when stuff goes on clearance after the season is over. ;-)

Keep up the good posts! :-D

[mike243]

musicman you can get a pass with a apprentice lic,it lasts for 1 year and you have to hunt with somebody that is licensed and can take control of your rifle. you can only buy it 1 time. this might be a good way to find out if you will enjoy it or not.

[mike243]

oh and congrats on a great buck,lost part of my first post trying to correct my spelling lol

[RED333]

Congrats Luke

[musicman]

musicman you can get a pass with a apprentice lic,it lasts for 1 year and you have to hunt with somebody that is licensed and can take control of your rifle. you can only buy it 1 time. this might be a good way to find out if you will enjoy it or not.

Awesome! I had never heard of that before. Great idea. Thanks!

[rugerla1]

As everyone is aware, I'm 0 for 1000 this year, no deer as of yet. SOOOOOOOOO, I will be getting up in the morning when the wife and daughter are still warm and dreaming about Christmas shopping and go out in the artic air for a 2.5 hour chance at getting a deer with my bow. It's gonna be COLD and I hope they move early :up:

[Luke E.]

oh and congrats on a great buck,lost part of my first post trying to correct my spelling lol

 

 

Congrats Luke

 

Thanks fellas, I appreciate it. It is the biggest I've taken thus far. I've seen bigger but never had an opportunity to shoot them.

[Luke E.]

 I got a call today from the guy that hunts the 800 acres next to me and do y'all remember the picture of the big buck I posted towards the very beginning of this thread? Yep, you guessed it, the neighbor shot him (: I actually heard the shot as I walked up to the buck I shot Sunday morning. He was driving the 4 wheeler out to pick his sun up from a blind and saw him about 100yds out tending to a couple doe so he bailed of the 4 wheeler, grabbed his muzzle loader from the gun rack and took the shot. Now anyone who was a part of the thread at the very beginning knows that I had HIGH HOPES of taking this deer  myself or having the opportunity to put someone that I invited out on this deer but not only did the neighbor shoot him, he also lost him!!! It was really coming a hard steady rain when he made the shot so the blodd was washed away very quickly but he did mention that it is possible that in all the excitement that he may have made a bad shot and cut through the muscle in front of the shoulders which might and might not kill such a big and tough deer. He obviously isn't as bothered by losing a deer as I am but he is torn up about it. They looked for a few hours after he shot him Sunday and he even took off of work today so that he could look again but he was done looking and back home by 10am this morning. There's not much I won't do to find a deer so as not to let it go to waste, even a doe, but with a buck like this,,, I would have had to take off today due to lack of sleep because I wouldn't have given up Sunday until I found him! Heck he's not even my deer and I spent more than an hour this evening searching my side of the property line just in case he made it that far and I would have kept looking but it got dark.He text me tonight and offered me $100 if I found him for him to which I responded that if I found him I wouldn't accept the money. There is a not so small part of me that's hoping that he made a bad shot and the big fella isn't dead and that I jump him in a thicket. One things for sure, I won't be going any where on the property without a gun for a while. I just hope that he either lived or one of us finds him and that has nothing to do with the size of his rack.

[Luke E.]

As everyone is aware, I'm 0 for 1000 this year, no deer as of yet. SOOOOOOOOO, I will be getting up in the morning when the wife and daughter are still warm and dreaming about Christmas shopping and go out in the artic air for a 2.5 hour chance at getting a deer with my bow. It's gonna be COLD and I hope they move early :up:

 Man, I sure hope you get one in the morning because anyone that sits in a tree exposed to the weather when it's below 20 degrees deserves to get a deer! Part of me wonders if you haven't kinda burnt that spot up.. All these short morning hunts means an awful lot of trips in and out, not to mention the fact that you've jumped them on your way in and out several times haven't you? I know it doesn't do any good to try giving a spot time to cool off when everyone else is gonna keep on burning it up but that could be why you're seeing deer regularly on neighboring properties and the such. I know this doesn't do you any good on weel day mornings before work but you should take your but to this place of mine here by the house whether I'm there or not on the weelends

[Ron Padilla]

Musicman you might look into taking the class and exame on line then you would have to go to a range for the shooting portion, now if you go this route you do have to pay.  Dont hold me to the cost but I think it will run you 25.00 for online plus the cost of the shooting portion.  There were people that cam in to the Saturday class that I had taken my son to that were there from the online way of taking the class ready to do the shooting portion, it is an option if you want to look at it and go that route.  You wouldnt have to wait till next year if you didnt want to.

[Luke E.]

Musicman you might look into taking the class and exame on line then you would have to go to a range for the shooting portion, now if you go this route you do have to pay.  Dont hold me to the cost but I think it will run you 25.00 for online plus the cost of the shooting portion.  There were people that cam in to the Saturday class that I had taken my son to that were there from the online way of taking the class ready to do the shooting portion, it is an option if you want to look at it and go that route.  You wouldnt have to wait till next year if you didnt want to.

 

 

I may be wrong but the shooting portion is likely what he'd have to wait on. I saw something onlune the other day where a guy was going to have to wait a few months (2-4) before there was another shooting portion of the class available. I'm unsure of what the shooting portion is comprised of these days but when I took mine a long time ago we did it in the middle of Murfreesboro at the Sports Com (baseball fields,indoor basketball courts swimming pool, etc..) and they handed us each 3 shotgun shells and had a skeet sling set up in the back of a pickup. There were no hit/miss requirements so as long as you didn't point the gun in an unsafe direction you were good to go.

[kckndrgn]

You can take the hunter safety course online, as it has been mentioned, the do the field day part.

Go here to find a field day that is available:

http://www.register-ed.com/programs/tennessee/84-tennessee-hunter-education-field-day

 

The field days in Bartlett have openings for tomorrow, Dec 7th & Dec 10th.  It might be a bit of a drive, but if nothing is available in your area this would get you in the woods this season.

 

Looks like there might be a cost for the online version of the course but if you go to a class it's free?

[Ron Padilla]

ya there is a cost for the online class i think it is 25.00, and not sure how often a person can get into the shooting portion which like mentioned above, 2 or 3 rounds of 12 guage you just need to show that you can take it off safety fire safely and back on safe.  they also have them at the Montgomery shooting complex just not to sure how often they offer them there, just another option to get out in the woods with a smoke pole or what ever flavor of choice you have.