Bowhunr

^^^^Thats what its all about right there!! ^^^^

Great lookin bull right there! Cool that you had the family with you

I have hunted ground blinds for years but never out of one of the new store bought ones. I use the natural cover that is around. I actually find it adds to my sense of accomplishment when I am successful knowing that I built the blind. The buck in my aviator was killed in the evening from a ground blind I had built late morning that same day. When building a ground blind positioning it to be down wind of where the deer/elk or whatever are most likely to come in is key. As someone else stated if it is a pond/tank you are setting up on the tracks around the edge will give you that info. If its a convergence of multiple trails try and understand the direction of travel the animals will be headed at the time you plan to hunt it and position the blind accordingly. Remember wind direction changes in the warmer part of the day. Besides having good cover in front of you I think it is essential to have the blind built up behind you as well to breakup your outline. This will also help to conceal any movement you might make. Try and use something that is already there such as a fallen tree or brush thicket for the location of your blind. Animals are less wary of a simple change versus a great big bile of brush that has never been there before. Make sure you sit in your blind prior to hunting out of it the same way you will when you do hunt it. Draw your bow back in the direction of all your shooting lanes to be sure you don't bump something. Finally make sure you are comfortable! If you are not you will be figiting and shifting around making too much movement. I make use of a very low to the ground bench style seat. I like the idea of the blanket on the ground to help reduce noise. That makes good sense and I may try that this year. You would need to be sure it is as scent free as possible. For you guys using the store bought blinds it definately makes sense to brush them. I would use the same principles as above in the location of the blind including utilizing something that is already there such as a fallen tree. I have been considering purchasing one but have a few questions. It does seem that it would help suppress some of your scent, have you found that to be the case? Also someone said "We had a coyote come in to drink at 20 yrds and he busted us because the canvas was shaking with the wind". This has been one of my concerns. All the blinds I have seen are built out of material that is fairly noisy when you shake it or scratch the side of it with something like a branch. Some are worse that others but I have yet to see one that was a "quiet" blind. Has spooking of deer or elk been a common problem for you guys/ladies that use them frequently? Great thread by the way. Definately lots of good info here.

+1 on the above. This is exactly how I do long hunts if I am not packin in some place and can just drive to camp. The key to your dry ice cooler is to pack it full. Put only dry ice in it (no wet ice) and fill the cooler. Use newspaper to fill any voids and to add extra insulation. Duct tape the seal and don't open it until you are ready to grab your first meal from it.

Thought I would share these. These three come into a tank I was sittin while archery elk huntin in New Mexico. Its hard to tell but the bigger one had 7 on each side. Never knew I was there. They were 26 yds or so in this pic and walked past me at 18yds. NM_bucks.bmp NM_bucks_1.bmp NM_bucks_2.bmp

Thanks it was definately a great hunt. I have been mostly a lurker on this site but have enjoyed all the good info you all put out there. I can tell you all work hard to get those Coues!

I go to South Dakota every year to archery hunt with my Dad. It’s more of a hang out with Dad trip but I do usually get my deer as does he. I treasure every minute of it. He is in his mid 70's and still huntin, I sure hope I am too! We have hunted the same area for over 20 years so we know it pretty well. It is in the Black Hills and all public land. We don't see near as many deer as we used too and I am not quite sure why. We now see more elk than we do deer, possibly there’s a connection. It was a quick hunt this year. The weather was hot, mid 70's during the day. The first morning I still hunted an area that I usually see bucks in and sure enough I saw one that I decided would be my target for the week. I sat back and watched him and made a plan for future mornings and tried to figure out where he might be watering. He was the only deer I saw that morning but I did see a rag horn bull that I played with for a little while with some cow calls. I went by a tank that I thought he might be using before heading back to camp and sure enough there was plenty of sign around it. I had taken bucks off this tank in the past so I decided this would be my evening hunt spot. I made a ground blind with the natural brush around. I prefer ground blinds as I think it adds a little extra challenge over a tree stand but that’s just me. Besides I tend to doze off sometimes and that’s not good up in a tree! That evening I got to the tank a little later than I wanted and sure enough there were four does on it when I got there. I waited for them to drink and move off before I headed into my blind. In the first hour I had two other does come in and I took a couple of pictures. After a short dry spell in the deer action and a few head bobs (good thing I was on the ground) I heard some deer coming in from behind and to the left. I peered through the brush I had behind me and saw two bucks coming in. Both were four points and I decided the first one was good enough to be a shooter. They were coming in on a string so I came to draw well before they got to the tank. The first one steps out at 25 yards, this is going to be easy I thought, and stops. Suddenly his head comes up and ears were forward. He spun around, still broadside but nervous, I released the arrow and... dropped my arm. CRAP how did I miss!! I put the bino's on him and sure enough it was a clean miss. The bucks were spooked a little but not much, pretty much wondering what had just happened. I put the bino's on the second buck I couldn't believe it, he was way bigger! Much wider and definitely heavier. As I was trying to figure out how I had mis-judged I saw the other buck. Three had actually come in and I thought it was only two. I watched them for 45 minutes behind me and was pretty sure I was going to get a second chance. They were nervous, even came in to about 50 yards and blew at me a little but they had never seen or smelled me. I knew I just needed to be patient. Another small 4 point buck came in for a drink but I let him pass hoping for an opportunity on the bigger one. After he came in the others started to settle down and ease their way toward the tank. Since I had been busy watching them I hadn't looked toward the pond for a while. When I turned around there was another nice 5 point just coming in to water. This was a nice deer and I was torn as to shoot him or not. I thought the 4 point may be a little better buck so I waited and watched. He drank for a long time and was facing directly at me. I kept looking at him and looking at the 4 point trying to decide what to do. When he finished drinking he turned broadside and was at 18 yards looking at the other bucks. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up… The others may have come in but would have been very nervous and certainly more eyes to bust me. I came to draw and released the arrow, no arm drop this time. The buck dropped on the spot and rolled over backwards into the tank. I knew it was a good shot but I always tell myself if you have a chance to get a second arrow in a deer or elk, DO IT! I grabbed another arrow and put a second good shot in him. It was only a minute or so before he expired. Fortunately for me he had just enough in him to swim to the shores edge. I thought for a minute I was going to have to go for a swim. It was definitely an exciting evening hunt with 5 bucks coming into the tank. When it was over I actually think overall this buck was probably better than the 4 point. He certainly was prettier. It ended up being a short hunt but made for more time to hang out with Dad This is the tank I shot him at. It has a spring and always has water in it. I have shot other bucks here also. It is a killer spot in the warm weather. My ground blind is next to the big aspen on the left. Doe drinking shortly before the first two bucks came in (actually three and I didn't know it). This is the same spot the buck I shot was drinking from. Pleased with this one. He is decent for a Black Hills buck. Doing a european mount. The bigger bucks in SD come from the river and creek bottoms where they feed off of corn and alfalfa. Andrew

It was great to meet you Amanda. Thanks for the shirt and more importantly thanks for a great website! Andrew

Fun game, crazy ranges of guesses out there but here is mine. 3646 beans

That is a bonified TOAD right there! dang nice buck!!! Congrats on that one for sure!

Nice, that will have you looking over your shoulder next time you are pullin that SD card

The story makes that pic even better than it is. Congrats!

Thats awesome dude congrats! Nice little buck right there!

+2... Lets see em!

9 turks and stick the bear. It is skinny but the head looks decent.