The Voices In My Head

It's the second day of the second Illinois gun deer season and I'm sitting in the same place I was the day before patiently waiting for daylight.As the sky starts to lighten towards the east,I'm anticipating the day ahead.The lighter it gets,the more the day comes alive.The birds start chirping as i await the first shots of the day in the distance.

Suddenly there is movement to the west.I look at my watch,"Five more minutes" I say aloud to my brother as three fat green heads splash down in the decoys.Safe with their new plastic friends, well at least for a few more minutes any way. Green heads ? Decoys ? You thought this was a deer story right ? Well,I'm getting there.

The first weekend of December is deer season, it's also typically the week of a major migration of ducks into Southern Illinois.Yesterday we had two limits of six ducks pretty quick and are hoping for the same results today. So even though it's deer season i LOVE to hunt ducks,it's my passion,a sickness that I have in my blood that can only be cured buy hunting them. Since the ducks are here,and since it's been a long frustrating deer season so far,a break is in order.

I have been bow hunting hard since the opener and have blown one opportunity after another,my biggest was missing a tall,white racked buck not only during the first weekend of gun season,but yesterday as well.Even while I sit here and scan the skies,and shooting ducks, my mind is on that tall white rack. My brother keeps telling me not to worry about deer right now,and that i should go out this evening and shoot the first doe I see so I can focus 100% of my attention on ducks." You can't eat them horns" is his quote for the day.

My first encounter with this big boy was two weeks ago.It was midday and I was sitting my a big blown down cotton wood over looking a bottom choked full of buck brush.There was sign that a big buck was using this area and a few weeks ago i had one come in on me,but even at 30 yards it was to dark to take the shot. After sitting in this spot for the better part of 3 hours i decided to slowly make my way thru the bottom and get in a stand where i would finish out the day.

So many people deer hunt the first and last few hours of the day,but I like to be in the woods all day.You can't kill one if you ain't there !

As i slowly make my way thru the bottom I come up over a small ridge i see a tall,white rack just above the weeds.The next thing i knew a doe is on her feet,making an exit and the buck that the rack is attached to is hot on her tail.As they clear some trees my 870 is on my shoulder and the cross hairs are on the buck.I pulled the trigger and he fell down the steep creek bank,stumbles up the other side and is on the ground thrashing around.Thinking he is down ,I don't shoot again.he flops a few more times and is on his feet and disappears into the thick brush.I sit there for a few minutes thinking he is just out of site.

After 15 minutes or so I cross the creek and am surprised to see that there is no blood where the buck lay kicking.I follow his deep running tracks thru the brush,up a steep ridge and across a field never seeing one drop of blood. I holler at my buddy ,on the radio,that is hunting across the field and she said that a buck buck went thru hauling the mail, about 30 minutes ago,and was not hurt in the least. Broken hearted I made my way to the stand I had intended on hunting that evening.

That evening I ended up shooting what I thought was a doe,but turned out to be a buck with his antlers broken off at his head.The next two days i hunted hard,but not seeing anything I wanted to put my tag on.

Yesterday there was a light rain off and on most of the day.I had set out for my favorite area on the farm. It can only be hunted with a south wind,which there was today.It is a big bottom between two ridges with a creek running thru the middle and on the other side of the south ridge was a thicket that is a doe bedding area. From my stand I can see anything that walks thru here for three or four hundred yards so if anything comes thru here i will see it.

As I slowly made my way to the ladder stand I noticed several does in the bottom already.Then i saw movement and there was a buck with a wide set of antlers and long tines chasing one of the does in the bottom and up the next ridge.I stood there thinking about my next move when here he came again hot on the trail of the doe.I stood and watched this go on for 20 minutes.I had two options,climb up in the stand and pray that one of those does led him closer for a shot,or belly crawl in the semi dry creek and get close enough for a shot.Going back and forth between the options I decide for plan B.

Twenty minutes later with the buck 50 yards away I ease up on one knee and get ready to give this big boy a case of lead poisoning when a doe that i didn't know was behind me,started stomping and blowing ending the party.I watch several white flags and one wide rack disappear over the ridge.

I stood up wanting to cry,second guessing my move,and there he was,the buck with the tall,white rack 50 yards away looking things over,wondering what happened.I quickly put the cross hairs behind his right shoulder and touched the trigger,but the deer just jumped.Now he's facing me looking,wondering where the shot came from and there he was,gone.Further inspection reviled a clean miss,again. Strike two.

After our ducks are cleaned and the gear put away I don't have time for the quick nap that I wanted before heading to the woods.I head out for a stand that will produce deer activity.After settling into the stand I look at my watch.It's 2;30 and I have time for a 30 minute nap before the action begins.As if an alarm went off exactly 30 minutes later I opened my eyes and thoughts are running thru my head about a blow down at the other end of this bottom where I saw a respectable 8 pointer a few weeks ago.

With little more thought I was still hunting the quarter mile to the other end of the bottom.Once I got to the fell oak tree I scanned the woods around me.Having seen only 2 deer on the way to my new spot I was dissapointed. As I sarted to climb up in the branches of the tree a voice in my head said"Get back to the stand that you came from." I thought to myself that by the time I got back there the day would be over and this would be a wasted trip.I again started up into the tree and this time the voice was almost audible,"Get back to that stand NOW ! " There I was off thru the bottom,not as slowly as I did the first time.

When I got close 3 does had just went up the ridge. UGGGGGG ! Blew it again ! The deer had no idea i was there so I settled the cros hairs on the closest doe and readied myself for the recoil of the 3" slug.Can't eat them horns,Right ? There was that voice in my head again."NO ! WAIT "

I let the does make their way on up the ridge and climbed into the ladder stand. Thinking to myself that I still had 2 days to hunt I started to scan the woods again.Not long afterwards the deer movement continued.This time a young 6 pointer chasing 2 does with all he had.

While watching the show I heard a deep grunt comming from the bottom of the ridge.I looked and saw a doe 30 yards away and closing fast and hot on her tail was a buck with a tall white rack on his head ! This was the third time I had encountered this buck,the second in 24 hours and i was not gonna let him get away this time.I watched to see where the doe was going.I put the cross hairs on the spot ,the doe runs past. WhenI saw the bucks shoulder,I pulled the trigger,and pumped another round in the chamber and shot again. There was no need for the second shot because the bucks legs gave out and he piled up 30 feet away.

I climbed down,at least I think i did,and was by the bucks side. I counted 12 points !

I thanked God for allowing me to take this beautiful animal and thanked the animal for choosing me,but thats another story.Most of all I thanked the voice in my head.

Two years later find me in a climbing stand on the same farm in my favorite bottom.It's a warm day in early November with a cool south brease.With several close calls and more mess ups and misses than I care to mention I had not killed a deer yet,but with fresh buck sign showing up daily and the cool wind in my face I have high hopes for the evening.

About an hour into my sit i see a doe and a yearling making their way down the ridge and thru the bottom.If they stay on course they will be right under me. Both of the deer step out of the brush and are standing on the side of the creek right where i thought they would.I drew my bow and settled the 20 yard pin on the bigger doe. Finger on the trigger there that voice was again."Wait" I let down the bow and watch the pair eating big white acorns.

With my atention on the two feeding i noticed a sound, a short burrrp,burrrp. I draw my bow again,this time intending to send the 2 blade Rage thru the smaller deer,and I hear the sound again,this time closer.As I get ready to punch the trigger I hear "WAIT !" Then i realized what the sound was,the doe turned her head and I saw a big bodied buck closing the distance fast. On the left side he had a perfect normal antler with 3 long tines and a respectable brows.On the right side he had an antler that was growing straight back. I quickly truned the bow on him and let the arrow fly.Right over his back ! I quickly reloaded and sent another arrow on its way,this time landing between his legs.And there he was,gone.

Call me crazy,but I think that after you spend several years in the woods we develop an instinct,a sixth sence,and when we listen to it we are rewarded.There has been more than few times i have changed stands or moved to the top or bottom of a ridge evan after being set up because it just seemed like the place to be.I may need profesional help for these voices I hear in my head,but I'm gonna keep listening to it.

Keep on keepin on . . . . . . . .

The ups and downs of my son Jamison's last two years of deer hunting has came down to this,a nice fat doe 40 yards away broadside.

The 2009 youth deer season was not good to him.The first day he had scout activities and that evening he got sick and could not hunt the next day.Altho his older brother Josh and I saw several deer that next day we went home empty handed,due to rookie mistakes that everyone must learn. Even with me coaching him along he missed an opportunity at a deer 10 FEET away from him.It happens.....

November came around and brought with it colder than average temps.Our first morning on stand we saw some does that never gave him a good shot.The morning ended with my son Josh killing his first antlered buck an 8 point.Jamison and I hunted hard for the next two days with no dead deer to show for our efforts.

Second season brought him one chance to kill a deer,a nice one,but him thinking he was an LAPD sniper left us caught with our pants down.

We were sitting between some round bales of hay in the middle of a cow pasture and he was not so sure of the spot that I had chosen for us. I had never hunted right here,nor seen any deer here,but I had a gut feeling this was the spot. In between the hay bales James could not see anything so he was laying on top of a bale trying to convince me that he can shoot from this position. While I'm trying to tell him he can not shoot from there I look over to see a 130 class 8 point buck standing 50 yards away LOOKING AT US ! ! ! !

James is afraid the deer will see him,I'm telling him SHOOT,and a bad case of buck fever result in a clean miss.That evening we have several deer come into the small field we were watching,but his again resulted in no dead deer.

The 2010 youth season ended with us putting a stalk on a field full of deer that contained 4 antlered bucks,two of them being huge,but a flock of wood ducks in a creek gave away our intentions and we were still 50 yards from a shot.

Fast forward to the last day or the 2010 first gun season. Josh and Cody had both killed a deer,Jamison is really feeling the pressure. He and I were sitting on a ridge overlooking a pasture that was covered in deer tracks.

We sat until 10:00,watching squirrels chasing each other up and down a tree,and gathering hickory nuts for the winter,and a flock of long beards searching for something to eat,but had not seen a deer.We decide to sneak to the other side of the property to finish out the mornings hunt.We had been on our feet for less than two minutes and a doe jumps the fence 40 yards in front of us and she has a buck hot on her tail. I whisper to him "Wait till he moves out of the brush and shoot". The doe takes a few steps and he shoots,at the doe and misses ! Thats when he saw the buck,and I could see that he was holding back tears. We double time it to the edge of the field and see the buck,a tall wide 8 point, standing on a pond dam 90 yards away. Jamison says that he knows the shot is to far for him to take,so he tries to get me to shoot.While the thought went thru my mind tow things keep me from pulling the trigger,one a small bush,two Jamisons feelings. Finally the doe took off across the field and the buck was right on her tail.A few seconds after they entered the woods three shots rang out.

Two weeks later during the second Illinois gun season it was the same old story.We were on a different property,loaded with deer but Jamison can not connect with one. We are seeing an average of 15 deer a day,most all of them are kill able to an experienced hunter,but I want him to learn to take only shots he knows he can make.

Several close calls and a few missed shots over the last two days James is at the end of his rope.He wants to kill a deer bad and is very discouraged.I have worked my butt off trying to get him a deer. We are sitting from daylight till dark,only taking a break at the truck long enough to eat lunch then right back into the woods. We we have a new set up now, a ground blind wedged between two large cedar trees and covered in cedar limbs in an area that has a LOT of deer traffic.He whiffed on a 30 yard shot that evening and he is feeling low.He tells me he is really thinking that deer hunting is not for him.

On the hour drive home I tell him that due to our new spot,and all the sign in the area that there is no way that he wont connect the next day,remember what Joe Dirt said "Ya got to keep on keepin on ".

The next morning brings 20 mph wind,and 20 degree temps. We are sitting a hundred feet into an over grown pasture.There is a draw that is 40 yards wide and several hundred yards long.Over the last 3 days wee have seen deer on either end of this draw and we are now sitting right in the middle of it in our very well hidden ground blind. The area is low enough that it is protecting us,and the deer,from the wind. We are armed with a back pack full of snacks and lunch,so we would not have to leave,and a Mr. Buddy heater borrowed from my friend Bob.

Soon after day light James spotted 3 deer making their way up the draw.In just a minute they will be right in front of us.They slowly make their way to us and end up right in front of our position 40 yards away,and the best part is they have no clue we are in the world. The worst part of this is they are in the brush offering NO SHOT ! After a little convincing on my part Jamison lets the deer pass by.

An hour or so later we are sitting in our blind whispering back and fourth to each other I look up and see a nice fat doe standing broadside 40 yards away.There is nothing in the way,so he raises his gun. I coach him thru it,tell him to stay calm,dont rush the shot when you feel good squeeze the trigger. At the shot the deer goes down in its tracks.The celebration had already began.Hugs and high fives,screaming and yelling. We go over to the deer and find the shot just a bit high and a follow up shot later,Jamison had his first deer.

It had been two long years for him,and me.There were lows and then there were lows. I have sat by my oldest son,Josh, when he pulled the trigger on several deer.I have killed some very respectable deer myself,but I was more proud that day of Jamisons deer than I had been of any of them. We worked and worked for this deer. If you want to feel a since of accomplishment take a kid hunting,and dont give up.

Just in time for coffee................

For the first time in several years I actually remembered to apply for a spring turkey permit. In December all I have on my mind is killing ducks,not chasing toms.I was surprised to see mail from IDNR and opened it to find my first choice,Jackson county first season.

Alot of my favorite hunting areas were destroyed in the May '08 storm so I was gonna have to do a little more scouting than I normally would. Two weeks ago Jamison,Josh,and myself scouted an area that I had deer hunted before and had always wanted to turkey hunt,so we spent the better part of a Sunday looking at areas that I thought looked good in the past. After our 4 mile hike we saw several hens,alot of turkey sign and brought back SEVERAL beer cans. Even though we saw a few other trucks parked in the area I would probably hunt here for at least a few mornings.I do have another farm that I can hunt that always has a few birds there so I did have a back up plan.Even though I had a plan B I always like to have several options when it comes to hunting.

April 2..............

I had plans all day to squeeze in some scouting ,but since my wife and I have been working opposite schedules,I hung out at the house for the most part of the day and didn't leave myself alot of time. My original plan was for Mason and I to just walk down the road in one of my favorite hunting areas,but the sun was low in the west so I decided to go somewhere a little closer to home.

Five minutes later we were in the parking area and could hear atleast 2 gobbling .Checking the sign in box,no one was on there during the youth season so I have high hopes. Down into the woods we went. We had reached a field and what sounded like a big tom was hammering REAL close to where we were.After a short sneak down a holler and up a ridge there he was,a nice tom gobbling every time a crow called. Mason took his gun out of his pocket and went "BANG BANG" " I got him daddy." Mr Turkey didnt really like that or the white and red Handy Manny hat Mason had on so he went down the ridge into the next holler.After we walked around for a few more minutes Mason was ready to go home.

April 3.........

After a long day at the St. Louis Zoo we were home and I was off to the woods with about 2 hours of day light left.The plan. . . . to roost a turkey for the next morning,the problem. . . . 40 mph winds and 50 mph gusts. My thoughts are that if I do actually hear a turkey,chances are that with the wind he may be blown into the next county by morning.

Off I go to another area that I have been to once last fall squirrel hunting that looked promising. With a mile hike to the place I wanted to start looking and a crow call in my hand I'm off. About half way from where I wanted to be I top and take a breather and noticed a skunk !

Now Im were I want to be blowing a crow call but cant hear anything and I'm sure they cant hear me so I cross two ridges and head up a good looking ridge. I find deer hair,some bones and an arrow. 50 or so feet from there lays a 8 point deer skull !

I'm seeing fresh turkey sign with every step and I'm thinking more and more THIS is were I'm gonna be sitting in the morning.

Out of the woods and on my way to the truck I decide that i want to look on the other end of the field just to see what is over there.I make the turn to step into the other part of the field and there stands a hen ! I looked a little more and theres a gobbler ! No wait 3 gobblers ! ! ! A few hundred yards down from them are several jakes and hens for a total of 15 ! This place looks like a turkey hunters dream. A winter wheat field 70 yards wide,400 yards long and a strip of last years corn in the middle. I watched them till they flew up. I know where I'm gonna be in the morning.

On the way back to the truck I bust up another flock of aprox. 15 birds,hens,jakes,and atleast 3 long beards.I'm in heaven.

On the way home I call my brother to see if he has a full choke for an 870,or his Benelli. A few days ago I realized that I couldn't find my box of choke tubes,and could not find one for my SX2.he had one so after a quick stop at home to eat I was on my way to get his gun.

By the time I get home its 11:30 and i had another realization,now I need a hunting licence ! Not wanting to drive to the evil WalMart I bought it on line,quick and easy.Now all I have to do is find my turkey hunting gear.I rumage around and gather it all up,stuff it into a back pack,every few minutes remembering an item that was not in there.Somewhere around 12:30 I make it to bed.

The forcast for the next day is rain,lots of rain,but atleast the wind will only be 20 mph !

0500 came way to soon after a night of wind and the power flicking on and off most of the night,but I'm wide awake and ready to be in the woods,get soaked,and hopefully shoot a turkey.

I pull up in the parking area at 0520 and happy to see that I was the only one there.I slowly gathered my gear,and 2 trucks pull up.They jump out and start gathering up their gear. I walk up to them and ask where they plan to be. I'm very pleased to hear" Bub you where here first,you tell us where you are gonna be". I tell them my plan was to sit by the narrow field till at least 10 and then off into the woods. They tell me their plans and after a few "Good Luck" exchanges I'm off into the field. It is getting lighter by the step so I pick up the pace.Once I was just about in the middle of the field I looked for a place to sit. There it was,a nice big pine with brush on either side and a nice wide shooting lane.

Once my Hunters Specialties hen and jake decoy were out,I headed to my new home away from home for the next few hours.By now it's 0612,shooting time. I start to settle in. As I'm getting my calls where I want them,I think I'm as ready as I can be.At 0618 I make a facebook post,"Thunder Chickens will die today" As soon as I close my phone I hear a turkey gobble,CLOSE. Gun on my knee, Knight and Hale " Yeller Hammer" slate call in hand I give him some soft sweet talk. I pop a mouth call in just in case and wait. Calling moderately loud because of the wind,hoping the bird is not just out of view.

Just as I was thinking he was gone here he came. Walking,his beard draging the ground, 20 feet away from the woods straight to my decoys ! He closed the distance fast and just as he got up to the decoys I cut pretty loud on the mouth call wanting him to gobble........for the last time. He was not interested in preforming for me,all he seemed to care about was the jake that had a hen. 20 yards away from me he stood and looked at the impostors for a few seconds,and pecked the jake decoy on the head.The second peck was on its back and it made a hollow "THUD". Mr long beard didn't like that and started to walk back the direction he came from. Gun on my knee I have the bead on his head following him .Then the unthinkable happened.the gun barrel hit a small tree in front of me ! I almost lost it,but I calmly moved the gun around the tree,put the bead in his head,and squeezed the trigger.

The Winchester Supreme 3 1/2" #5 did its job and he dropped like a rock.0625 turkey season had been in for 13 minutes and it was over for me.When I shot 3 other birds gobbled.I walk out to my bird and it keeps getting bigger.Than never happens.I take a quick pic and send it to my wife and friends,tag him,gather up my stuff and off i go.

On the way back to the truck I saw 2 of the guys I talked to earlier.They were climbing out of their blind to see what I had. After we chatted for a few minutes I told them that there was at least 3 birds where i just left and told them to get over there and kill them.

I called my buddy Terry to see where he was working.I told him to put on some coffee.After short drive to the Ava ambulance base I pulled my bird out to show them.He handed me a cup of coffee I checked the time 0701.

April 4 2011

24 pounds

10" beard

1" suprs

2010 youth deer season.

I had made several frantic phone calls for the last two days looking for someone to sit with one of the boys durring the youth firearms deer season October 9th and 10th . The temps have been on the cool side but the forcast is looking like typical early October weather HOT .

I find out that Cody(my step son) has a scout activity that he has to attend , I'm releaved knowing that now I only need to find one person to hunt with us. It turns out that everyone had things to do on that Saturday morning and The plan was that Jamison,Josh, and myself would just all sit togeather somewhere. After a little bit of talk and some thinking Josh said that he would be willing to stay home so Jamison could hunt by himself.

The next day we are sitting beside "our" tree before daylight waiting for a deer to show. We ended up sitting in two more spots on the farm that had produced deer sightings in the past, but the warm/hot dry air and the full moon has their daytime activity limited.By eleven o' clock we are heading in for the morning.

After a quick nap , some food and a scent free shower,we are off again. This evening My brother Josh is going to sit with Jamison while josh sits with me. We are heading over to Burning Star 5 which is open for the youth season. After a quick check of the wind we are off into the brush.We had been walking for 5 minutes of less when we came to the haulage road. As we stopped to take a breather a small doe runs out of the brush where we just came from,and stood there looking at us. Jamison rushes the shot a bit and results in a swing and a miss.

Now Josh and I are finally were I want to sit for the evening.We are getting our gear settled in for the 4 hour wait until dark. We had been there less than 5 minutes when a doe and a fawn come out of the brush 75 yards away and make their way to where we are hiding . They come up to the road,stop, turn to look across the field. I whisper to Josh " Shoot the bigger one" He settlesw the cross hairs on the deers right shoulder and squeezes the trigger. The deer takes off in a dead run,but doesn't make it far. Thirty yards from where Josh too the shot the deer stumbled and fell within sight.Another one on the ground with the H&R 20 ga Ultra Slug Hunter,and Lightfield Slugs. After some hugs and high fives we hear Jaminson over the radio, " Josh Just killed one didn't he ?" All I said was ""dead deer"".

Now the tough part. Geting the deer back to the truck !................................. to be continued

I know it has been a LONG time since I have posted anything,but it seems that I never take the time and do this,but anyway........

This years hunting season was mixed with good,bad,and ugly....Talking about the weather that is. A work injury resulted in me having surgery in mid September ,which resulted in me not being able to bow hunt until late October.

My first time out was one of those"killing time" days. It was 75 degrees with a 20 mph south wind. Not very condusive for killing anything,but it was much needed time spent in the woods.After a phone conversation with a friend I saw my first deer of the evening and of the season. At frist glance I thought it was a doe,but after a second look I could see it was a buck, a BIG buck.He worked his way thru the timber and ended up 8 FEET away from the base of the tree I was in. I watied for his head to be behind a tree to draw my bow,took aim,and when he was in the wide open with a broad side chip shot I touched the trigger . As the arrow left the bow I got a sick feeling that I should have aimed lower. I was 20 plus feet up in the tree,and the deer just feet away resulted in a very bad angle. I can make any excuse I want but the result was the same. I missed. My arrow just skimmed across the top of his back, resulting in a puff of hair and the buck ran off into the woods unharmed with a little more education than he had a few minutes before.