standman Report post Posted January 22, 2012 My run of luck continued today. Turned out to be pretty windy and had a few sprinkles throughout the day. Only had one doe come through today. She went right to the scrape that I have sprayed the doe in heat scent on. She smelled it for a little bit and then decided she didn't like it. She shot out of there so fast mowing down every bush in her way. LOL. You would of hought she was shot through the heart as fast and hard as she run. Still getting pics of bucks just that when I'm there they come through checking at night and when I'm not they come through checking in the daylight. Anyway, back at it again tomorrow. Brian Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted January 22, 2012 Good luck Brian, hopefully tomorrow is better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted January 22, 2012 Good luck today Brian. Hopefully this will be the day for you and your Dad. Thanks for keeping us along on your hunt. I've really enjoyed it. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
standman Report post Posted January 23, 2012 To say this weekend was tough would be an understatement. Did not see a deer today. They were just not moving at all for me this weekend. Kind of tests your sanity and your will to sit there hour after hour. So hopefully they will change their patterns by next Friday and be back to their normal run. Three more days left for us in January. Hopefully a good three days. If not the hunt will continue in August . I hope others had a better weekend than I did. Good luck. Brian Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1easystyle Report post Posted January 23, 2012 Based on your notes, I believe we are hunting at about the same elevation and the deer patterns in the area I’ve been hunting are very similar to what you’ve described. I’ve been hiking into areas I know hold deer and I've been still hunting out of natural ground blinds (bushes, downed logs, etc…) whenever I come across fresh sign. I’ve been using code blue to bring them in for the past 4 years; I’ve noticed that it works really, really, well in the peak of the rut ~Jan 8th but it loses its effectiveness about the 15th, that could explain why the doe you saw on Friday acted so weird.… I had the same luck as you this weekend, I didn’t see or hear a deer, the rut sign I found was at least a week old so it looks like this round of the rut is over. I imagine the estrous may start working well again in early Feb as the unfertilized does go back into heat. Hopefully a big one walks by before then. Best of luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues 'n' Sheep Report post Posted January 23, 2012 Keep after it Bud... the Giants are on partol now... looking for that last piece of tail... it is tough hunting but the rewards can be Huge, especially where you are hunting. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
porman Report post Posted January 23, 2012 Good job and great deer...but Im guessing this is a N. Az whitetail and a bit different than the southern 'ghost cues' from the sonoran desert ...? I'm no expert but he looks like a giant by comparison Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
standman Report post Posted January 24, 2012 Good job and great deer...but Im guessing this is a N. Az whitetail and a bit different than the southern 'ghost cues' from the sonoran desert ...? I'm no expert but he looks like a giant by comparison I don't know if there is much of a difference between them. Maybe a little in body size. We have killed bucks in both places, don't know if we could tell a difference. Just have to remember the one in the pic is all swelled up from the rut. That will make him look bigger. Again thanks everyone for reading and posting your kind comments. Brian 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
standman Report post Posted January 28, 2012 Well today ended up being a day just like last weekend. Not a deer seen. Had one deer wind me and blow out. The well on this spot looks like it has run dry. No buck pics on camera all week. Just a doe and a fawn that has come through a couple times. So tomorrow and Sunday I will be sitting at a different spot. Good luck to the rest of you hunting this final weekend in January. Brian Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
standman Report post Posted January 29, 2012 At least today was a little better than the previous ones I've had. At 9:40 am, I see deer legs moving down the trail. It hits an opening and notice it's a buck, shooter buck. He works his way down the trail and is just really nervous. He crosses in front of my blind at 17 yards, I start to draw my bow but only get it half way back when he starts trotting. I have to let down and watch him go out of site. Oh man I was disappointed. So close again. An hour later I see him coming back through and he is still just as skiddish. He gets to almost the same spot as before when I start to draw my bow. Just before I get to full draw he turns and starts walking straight away from me. Not wanting to take that shot I remain at full draw hoping he will turn, but he doesn't, and he walks out of range. Guess I should start playing horseshoes because this year all I ever do is get close So I am down to one more day for my January hunt. I'd take a last day last hour buck. Brian Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted January 29, 2012 Wow another close call! I hope it all comes together for you today and your time and effort pay off, one way or another it's been a great ride and I really appreciate you sharing it with us all! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
standman Report post Posted January 29, 2012 As it turns out, I was not able to hunt this morning. Ended up having to pick up and head home. So that is it for me for this January deer hunt. Sure was a lot of fun. Seen a lot of deer, passed some bucks, and saw some great bucks. Just didn't have it go my way on them. Made a few mistakes to learn from. Experimented with some stuff, like the Code Blue. Still not sure if it will work or not, but will try it again. Like to try it a little earlier during the prerut. Killed a great pig and helped my cousin kill a great buck. I actually will get to go hunt in August for the third time in ten years. Thanks everyone for taking the time to read my journal and post all your encouragement. Good luck to everyone during the upcoming year. Now bring on fishing season! Brian Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
highsierra Report post Posted January 29, 2012 It's been great following your posts...thanks for taking the time to report on your hunts. Good luck in August, and catch some fish in the mean time! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted January 30, 2012 Thanks for taking us along on your January hunts. Good luck to you the rest of the year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
standman Report post Posted January 31, 2012 Since my hunt is now over, I thought I would share a few of the many bucks that I have pics of this January. Brian And of course this one that we got to ground check. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
