Wow, well I'm finally getting to my North Dakota trip report...grab a coffee, grab a beer or five...because it's gonna be a long one!
It's been a hectic, nonstop, dark to dark, day in and day out adventure spanning from the end of October through the end of November. It all started off with a much anticipated 10 days of bowhunting whitetails with my buddy DJ in his home state of North Dakota, my first time there!
Here's a breakdown of the trip, day by day!
Day 0 - Friday, 10/26/2007:
I pack all my gear up for North Dakota. Wow, how I wish I could just drive out there with my Tahoe stuffed to the brim. This is only my second time packing for a hunting trip out west where I've had to fly...and for those that know me, I tend to pack enough for an Alaskan adventure even when I'm headed to a local farm here in NJ for a few hours. So needless to say, trying to fit all my "needed" gear into the permitted bagged was quite a challenge!
Day 1 - Saturday, 10/27/2007:
Off to North Dakota!!! I arrange for a convenient door-to-door shuttle service to pick me up a few hours before my departing flight out of Philadelphia International Airport. Unfortunately, while checking in my luggage, one weighs 58 pounds, 8 pounds over the 50 pound limit and Northwest charges me $25 for an overweight fee...booooo! I'll have to re-arrange things for the return flight to avoid it. Considering my bow case counts as a piece of checked luggage, it's tough packing all your hunting gear into one bag under 50 pounds! I stuffed my bow case with extra gear, brought a carry-on which was borderline too big to fit in the overhead compartments, but the airline didn't give me any problems, and then a backpack for digital cameras, batteries, chargers, and various other goodies.
After a short layover in Minneapolis, MN...I take off and touch down in Minot, ND to be greeted by my good buddy DJ. Wow, he wasn't kidding...the airport at Minot seriously is only 2 gates...and one is never used. Felt like I was landing at a private airport somewhere. Hah!
Approaching Minot...
Was great stepping off the plane in Minot, leaving 70 degree temps in NJ to low 40s in ND...beautifully refreshing! I was pumped for some action!
Finally landed in Minot!!!
DJ, waiting at the airport!
We quickly get my baggage and head off to DJ's house to pick up a few things, then head off to the farm to get settled in. We arrive at the farm with plenty of daylight left, get unpacked and settled, then head off to drive around the area so I can get familiar with where we'll be hunting and the lay of the land.
Yes, that is the ENTIRE airport at Minot, ND!!! Haha
DJ all smiles...ready to go as we head on out!
First thing we notice is none of the sunflower fields have been cut. That's going to make it very difficult. We're hunting 700ish acres of PLOTS land (Private Land Open To Sportsmen), and 80% of it is standing fields, which naturally harbors deer and makes it virtually impossible to hunt them when they are in it. Under ideal conditions, we had anticipated these fields to be cut, thus forcing the deer into the wooded ravines and easier to hunt and cut off bucks searching for does. As it turned out, this was the first of several adverse conditions we'd face in our hunt.
We also noticed a few guys were hunting the PLOTS land that first night, DJ knows where most of their stand locations are and it's nearly all weekend pressure. Beautiful piece of land, but as DJ explains, the hunting pressure has increased over the last year or two due to this piece of PLOTS land becoming more well known.
A nice little sunset before heading back to the farm house...
And back at the farm house...
And a quick shot of the farm house from the outside...
So our plan is to take the next morning off from hunting to scour a few places and check existing stands so I know where they are at, and maybe get out for a PM hunt. We look over the aerials DJ has again and given the predicted Southern winds, we realize we need to adjust and hang another stand or two as our primary Northwest stand locations are gonna be locked out for the first few days.
I spot a nice ravine funnel that I've labeled "The Sleeper Spot" because it's literally 80 yards off the prairie trail and I figured it's overlooked by everyone. Factor in the standing fields, and the ravine points converging there, it looks like a great little spot. DJ is very familiar with it, but says it's spotty...he's had a cam not far from the area I picked before and says it's hit or miss with a lot of night time activity. We decide to put it on the list of spots to check out as it offers a perfect entrance/exit with no impact and is ideal for Southern winds!
Off to bed!
Day 2 - Sunday, 10/28/2007:
DJ and I wake up at daybreak, and step outside to a chilly 32 degree morning with an absolutely breathtaking sunrise. Wow, so rare in NJ but seemingly commonplace in ND almost every day!
Another sunrise shot at the farm...
We decide to head over to one farm where a portable and sticks are hung that we can use elsewhere. DJ takes that down and we throw up a ladder stand to replace it. The wind is kicking by mid morning, blowing 25 out of the SW with gusts breaking 40. Welcome to North Dakota! They should have a saying in North Dakota, "If it ain't nailed down, it might blow into Canada or South Dakota!". Yeah that would be fitting! Haha
A nice shot of the early morning sunrise at the first stand location we visited, although not one we had planned on hunting.
Little watering hole they created for the area.
And the squirrel in action!!! Haha
Alright, so off to the PLOTS land to check some cams, rebait a few spots, and check some new potential stand sites. We arrive at the PLOTS land, and the wind is hard and brisk. We hustle back for a mile hike to check out one of the deeper stands. We arrive to find absolutely trashed trails...littered with deer print...this spot looks INSANE, I mean beat down and riveted out trails. I can already imagine all-day seeking and chasing by bucks in this protected pocket of ravine oriented cover. Oh, it's gonna be good! The hike appears well worth it to get to this honey hole!
Here's a shot of what we saw on the cam...very nice, VERY high, very symmetrical!
Unfortunately only one shot of him and late at night.
Oh, and for those that don't know...a few things about North Dakota and it's hunters.
1) There are VERY few trees that you can actually hang a stand in, nevermind having one that is near the trails you want to hunt!
2) To qualify for a "stand worthy" tree, it must be at least as wide as your pinky and angled no more than 60 degrees to any one side.
3) A stand is considered set and huntable if you can actually climb into it...some how, some way...without the aid of a parachute or helicopter airlift. It doesn't matter how...if you can climb IN it...it's huntable! Haha
I'd never think I was spoiled in NJ when it comes to hunting, but when you're talking about tree selection...ND doesn't hold a candle to NJ! The first day or two, I was totally lost as to how you could even effectively hunt ND from a treestand, but DJ began to educate me. Of course, this all just poses a different challenge...and that's why they invented ground blinds! Fortunately DJ has several blinds setup already and we set another natural blind up on our way out of the mile deep honey hole!
I took the opportunity to snap a few pics on the way in and out of the mile deep walk and area...
Here's a shot of the sunflower fields...
And another...
And part of a brushy ravine...see no trees! 
A shot of our walk...yep...we're going alllllllll the way to the end of that road and then some. And what you see is only the first leg of it!
Lots and lots of sunflowers...
They're everywhere!!!
And the other side...grassy fields.
And a shot walking back, to the truck...
Alright, so we get out, and head off to another section of the PLOTS land to rebait a SE stand location DJ has setup. Lightning hot area, one where he has seen and taken a few nice bucks, and also where his buddy Dan from Michigan shot a beauty last year. It's a proven area with some good buck sightings, and also where Taylor saw a monster earlier in the year but he came in downwind of the stand! Taylor, sorry for the reminder buddy!
Buck(s?) seen that day Taylor was hunting the SE stand, that Lisa photographed from a ground blind with DJ...
The spot is looking promising, but the stand is a little tricky getting in and out, a little repositioning needed for this NJ guy to level it out some more...but DJ gets it where it needs to be! BTW DJ may be part squirrel, I don't have any DNA records yet, but the way he climbs trees has me convinced! Haha
Alright, so we pack back out and it's off to another PLOTS spot where Dan hung a stand earlier in the year. We eventually locate the stand, DJ never hunted it before himself...but given the lack of sign at this time of year, we pulled it knowing we'd probably need it elsewhere sometime during the week. We tried narrowing down on another spot in the area, but it was a little too tight with the adjacent property line, and the other spot we had found literally JUST had a stand hung there by another hunter probably in the last day or two. Great looking trails and sign! Also found a gutpile and some moose droppings on the backend of the property...adjacent landowner might have taken a deer back there as there weren't any stands real close on the PLOTS land.
So we pack the stand and sticks back out to the truck and then head on over to check out "The Sleeper Spot". We park, walk over the railroad tracks and onto one of the points...not 30 yards in, we kick up a single deer...bedded all by itself on the point. Good sign, maybe a buck? We continue down into the ravine to find it ripe with sign, scrape after scrape after scrape, rubs...the whole nine. Looks like a mecca of buck activity and we're pumped! We power scout the area and find a nice tree to set a ladder stand in on the North side of the ravine so the South winds predicted blow our scent out toward the road where we don't anticipate much deer movement. We get the ladder stand up in short order, trim a couple shooting lanes, drop some corn and throw up a cam and we're out of there. Can't wait to see what shows up on the cam!
And our day ends back at the farm house with a beautiful sunset.
And another...
Day 3 - Monday, 10/29/2007:
First day of actual hunting...35 degrees in the morning with light SW winds.
We wake up nice and early and head on out. DJ heads to the deep honey hole natural blind we setup with a buck decoy in tow. The area looks prime with sign, lots of scrapes and an unreal natural funnel between fields into thick, thick cover!
I head to the ladder stand we setup the day before...little early to hit it up, but with the SW, no other option right now. The sign was hot, so hopefully I'd get lucky. I get settled in the stand to be greeted by not one, not two, not three, but four different families of coyotes yipping, barking, and howling in the rarely still darkness. I could have sworn I heard the faint sound of a rabbit in distress far off to my right near one of the coyote packs. Amazing how we chase coyotes around during the NJ predator night season in February for maybe ONE sighting all night. In ND however...wow, I can't even imagine how the coyote hunting must be...they are seemingly everywhere!
Sunrise finally dawns, but the action is slow as I sit from predawn until 11:00AM without seeing a single deer. I opt not to check the cam as it's only been an overnight sit...so not expecting much.
Here's a few shots from the morning...
Sunrise through the brushy tree tops...
View from the stand...
Another view...
Later in the morning, little more light...
Testing the Macro mode out on my W80...which BTW crapped out on me in ND and has to go back to Sony for review/repair.
The temps rise quickly into the afternoon, breaking near 70 degrees. Amazing swings in temps here, apparently not uncommon to see a 40 degree variation between morning and afternoon!
Given the slow movement, DJ opts to set me up in a ground blind on one of Scott's farm leases that still has standing corn. The Double Bull blind is situated in a cut hay field between the standing corn to the right and a ravine and cattail slough to the back left.
I get settled in around 3:30PM with anticipated movement around 6:00PM as we about run out of shooting light shortly after 7:00PM.
Here's a few shots from the blind...
Inside the blind and out the window...cornfield in the distance...
Shot to the cattails out front...where I shot my buck a few evenings later.
Windows to the world...
Watching the sun go down...
Nice
Final shot...
So I do a few rattling sequences with no signs of deer anywhere all afternoon. Then around 6:50PM, I catch movement...a single deer about 150 yards away by the standing corn. I forgot my binos in the truck...so I couldn't even tell what it was, but just a few moments later it emerges from a dip in the cut hay field and is headed right for me. I quickly nock an arrow on my Ross CR337 and am ready for action. It's already nearly dark inside the blind despite low light outside the blind...tough part about hunting from an enclosed blind that I quickly learned.
As the deer approached, I could see it was a BIG body, high rack and heavy but couldn't quite make it out when it was 40-50 yards out. One thing I promised myself is that I wasn't going to take a low light shot at a buck I wasn't 100% positive I wanted to take. It's easy to have plenty of legal light left to make a shot, discern that it is a buck, but not be able to get a completely accurate picture of what it's rack really is. From my distant estimate, I was guessing he'd be in the 130s, and given the trailcam pics and caliber of deer around...in conjunction with this being the first day of the hunt, I decided to hold off as the deer approached closer. He put his head down to feed as he came in from 30 yards to 25 yards to 20 yards, and as light faded, I had trouble getting a better picture of how big he really was.
Well that was until another buck came in on the scene approaching from my left...it's dusky now, I already decided not to shoot some time earlier and un-nocked my arrow and set my bow aside as I didn't have sufficient light to shoot. Now I was just sitting back and watching what I could distinguish and listening...really waiting for the deer to leave as I didn't want to exit the blind and bust the spot. Well when this other buck came in, the buck I was initially watching started a stiff legged, aggressive walk right towards him. I could see their silhouettes in the fading light as the bigger buck just prowled down on the other one. In doing so, they actually walked by the blind at a mere 5 yards, and it was then that the bigger one turned and looked right at the blind (and me) with a sky lit background...where I saw the true scope of his rack...tight but heavy, real heavy and with a nice droptine off his right side and a broken brow tine off his left! Wow...how in the world did I pass on a droptine buck?!?! Then he turns his head to the right, and I see 5 points on his side...WOW...how in the world did I pass on a droptine 10 pointer!!!
All I could do now was swallow that lump in my throat and wait it out. I knew even if I was going to hold out for a bigger scoring buck, someone would certainly want to shoot this buck and I didn't want to risk blowing him out and ruining the chance of getting him. So there I sat...for an hour and a half after dark while these deer milled around, fed, other deer joined in...and all I could do was listen in the darkness. I had deer so close to the blind I could hear them breathing! It was a wild experience! Then finally, after not finding me back at the farm, DJ drove in and scared the deer off so I could exit the blind cleanly.
When I told DJ and Taylor the story, they couldn't believe I had even seen a droptine...none of them had seen one there the entire year or had any cam pics of a droptine! Cool!
Day 4 - Tuesday, 10/30/2007:
The morning greets us with cooler temps around 44 and SW winds...again...locking us out of the deep honey hole stand which requires a NW or N wind. I opt to hunt the ladder stand again in the AM...spot has to show some activity any time now...and we have some hot sign there! Well, predawn again greeted by more coyote howls, and post-sunrise nothing but squirrels and birds...nothing hitting the bait at all. Tried rattling and calling, but nothing showed any interest...slow, real slow...and seemingly no signs of bucks even seeking...hell no deer even moving!
I did get a few shots of the squirrels though!
One...
And Two...
This time I check the cam after getting down, and there's little deer activity and the bait's hardly been touched...just two does that came through and really didn't hit the bait at all. I talk it over with DJ and he recommended we run to the store in town and just grab a bag of apples to dump on the ground and break a few up to get the scent in the air. He can get bushels, but not that day...so we do a little patch work, and go with the store bought goodies.
We head back to the farm and talk about the game plan.
First thing is, we head off to the backend of another piece of property DJ has access to and check it out. We know another farmer has it leased out this year, so it's more of a future scouting effort and the sign looks promising! Some really good buck sign and some bruiser rubs in a relatively small pocket of cover. Definitely a great little spot for a food plot next year!
So, a nice cold front is moving in and winds are shifting to the NW...it's time to head into that deep honey hole stand and hoof that mile walk in. I head back to the PLOTS land for the afternoon hunt and drop the apples off at the ladder stand spot before my trek in.
I hike the mile back and get setup on stand around 3:00PM. The wind is really gassing, blowing 30mph+ with gusts well into the mid to upper 40mpg range...and here I am sitting in a pinky sized tree swinging around like an amusement park slingshot ride! Haha Then the rain comes, ice cold...but I'm pumped, really loving the change in weather and I'm in a prime spot...I'm certain something big is going to come through and we have a BEAUTY on the cams back there!
Here's a few shots from the stand...
And another...
One more...sorry focus issues apparently!
Haha pretty skinny and not-so-straight trees around huh?
Alas, 8 does came through, and some got behind and downwind of me but never busted. I guess the wind was blowing my scent towards South Dakota too fast! Haha
Surprising, but I figured the nasty weather might have kept the bucks hunkered down a bit.
Ah well, tomorrow looks promising...more NW winds and I can return to this stand for an all day hunt!
DJ hunted the droptine blind in the evening but did not see a single deer.
Day 5 - Wednesday, 10/31/2007:
Halloween...always a good day to be in the woods...seems like things tend to break open around Halloween...at least, that's what we were hoping for.
Well the morning wasn't treating us any better. DJ had to go into work, so no AM hunt for him...I, on the other hand, would have to brave the 20mph+ winds greeting us at 4:30AM knowing they were only going to get worse once the sun came up. Temps were around 34, but with the windchill was probably more like 20 degrees. It was cold for NJ standards, but for those NoDakers...hell, that's T-shirt weather! Wait until February when it's -60 with the windchill...then you're talking cold!
Alright, so I'm off early for my trek into the deep honey hole stand. I'm pumped, despite the windy conditions, DJ reassures me it's not uncommon to have 30mph winds daily in ND and the deer are used to it. In NJ we consider that approaching typhoon warnings...in ND it's just another day! Hah!
So I hoof it in and get setup...the morning is looking promising and I'm actually shielded a bit from the wind down in the ravine a bit. Around 8:30AM, I have 4 does come in from my right...they're uneasy from the gassing winds, one gets directly behind me and busts me...at eye level, gets a perfect whiff of my scent stream and blows 6 times letting me know I smell to her...bad, really bad!
The does depart, I remain motionless until they are well out of sight not wanting to give up my stand location. Then around 8:50AM, I hear a little rustle to my right again, and get into position, bow at the ready...glad I hear something beforehand because those other does came in silent! Well, here a nice heavy but short tined 8 pointer...perfectly symmetrical...emerges from the thicket, probably 110" buck. He passes right in front of the stand, a mere 18 yards away, wide open...ahhh why couldn't you be that 140 class 8 we have on cam?!? I let him walk on by as he goes on the prowl for does I assume, a promising sign to see a buck on his feet and cruising during daylight hours!
Well, I was hoping that was the beginning of the action to come, but as quickly as it started, it ended. I didn't see anything for the next few hours, so I decided to get down and do a quick stalk and scout to the left of the stand where all these deer seem to be headed and where I was seeing deer the afternoon before. From a distance it appears to be a point or convergence of points about 90 yards to my front left. So I head over that way to find a nice scrape line headed right for it...one of which that 8 pointer hit this morning.
The spot looks great...a deep ditch with a natural high ground saddle crossing between two points right across the ditch. Sweet spot! I deliberate about moving the stand as I look around for trees...looking is about all I did...NO TREES on the South side to take advantage of the North winds. So I scout around a bit more, and 100 yards up on the ridge I find a nice series of crisscrossing trails...and a treestand with a scent dripper! Ack! Well that kills any chance of moving over that way. This guy must be coming in from the backend of the property, having access from the private piece...no other way he can really get to that stand. So I back out and head back to the stand I was in that morning, opting that it's in a great spot and should only be a matter of time before something strolls on by!
I hop back in the stand after a quick power nap. Around 4:05PM, I spot a few does over in that natural saddle crossing again, milling around. Then things are slow until about 5:05PM when I see a single deer moving over in that same saddle crossing. And that was it for the evening...slow again.
DJ hunted the droptine blind again in the evening but did not see a single deer and missed a shot at a pheasant.
On my way out after the all day sit, I decide to run over to The Sleeper Spot and check the cam...and I'm sure glad I did! Turns out those apples did the trick as suddenly like 10 different bucks appeared on the cam, including a nice 130 class 8 pointer and another 130 class 10 pointer. Odd thing is, many of the bucks were feeding and traveling together. At this time of year you'd think they wouldn't tolerate each other, nor would they be feeding so heavily. Strange.
Here's a shot of one of the bucks that showed up early that morning! Apples did the trick!
DJ nor I can believe we aren't seeing more activity while on stand. This is peak pre-rut with an early rut predicted...we should be seeing some serious seek activity going on by bucks, but they are hardly moving...mostly feed to bed in AM, and bed to feed in PM...first hour and last hour movement. Our only explanation is all of the standing fields. They should have been cut already, but with them standing, they offer entirely too much bedding and cover for deer and makes it far more difficult to hunt them. They could be moving, seeking, chasing in there all day long and we'd never know. And it doesn't look like they're going to be cutting the fields anytime soon...although it could be any day, it will probably take a couple days to cut and for the deer to adjust.
So it's decision time. NW winds are predicted in another day or two...and given the deep honey hole is running slow, we need to get something going in that SE slammer spot that has been so productive in the past. DJ and I discuss tactics that evening over dinner and I decide I'm going to hang a stand on the opposite side of the ravine from the SE stand to take advantage of the area and expected NW wind shifts coming. That setup is on the agenda tomorrow!
Day 6 - Thursday, 11/01/2007:
I'm up bright and early for the morning hunt, DJ has to work again...but he's up too so he can work early and get out for another PM hunt.
Temps are cold when we get up, around 32 degrees with winds blowing SW...again...at 15 to 20mph.
Weather predicts a shift to WNW around midday, so I head to the ladder stand for the morning sit with plans on getting out around 10AM to hang that other stand in the SE Slammer spot. Around 8:00AM, a small 6 pointer comes in and hits the bait for 45 minutes. Good entertainment, but that's all I saw all morning long.
At 10:00AM I got down and headed up the road a short ways to organize some gear. A set of sticks, a stand, a polesaw, and various accessories later and I'm on my trek into the middle of the PLOTs property. It's a long haul, and it's funny because I kept thinking about this article I read from Cameron Hanes in Eastman's Bowhunting Journal where amidst his adversity he kept saying to himself, "The greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward." That stuck with me on this hunt and it's even sticking with me back in NJ. I'm not going to lie, it sucked lugging that stuff in the woods, but it needed to be done. And 3 hours later, after meticulously scouring the area and learning the lay of the land and the trails, I picked what I considered as perfect of a tree as I could come across in ND for the setup. It wasn't a thick tree, but with an intersecting tree around the height I wanted the stand, it looked perfect. I had high hopes as I hung the sticks and stand, and diligently trimmed selective shooting lanes for every possible shot imaginable. This stand site covered all the trails in the area...the only downside was having the enter and exit walking right through the ravine, but there was no other way (after all, that is why DJ hung the SE stand, so you didn't have to cross the ravine).
By the time I get out, I'm totally exhausted...long day, and I contemplate taking the evening off to rest up for tomorrow's hunt. DJ convinces me otherwise and recommends hitting up the blind and taking a short nap as the movement has been late, I'd have plenty of time. Factor in Scott is going to cut the adjacent corn the next day, well...it's now or never for the blind, since once that field gets cut, things may shift significantly as their cover is gone and that blind may go cold.
DJ opts to head into The Sleeper Spot but hang a stand on the opposite side of the ravine to hunt the NW winds that were coming...because with all the buck activity in this area, much of it being daytime...he knows we have to get a stand in there for Taylor, Randy, and himself to hunt on the upcoming days before rifle season!
So I arrived at the blind around 4:30PM, sounds late but you have shooting light here until about 7:00PM and the deer movement hasn't seemed to start until maybe 6:00-6:30PM. So after my long day, I got organized in the Double Bull blind and took a quick power nap. I got up from my nap around 5:30PM and hung tight, got settled in again. Around 5:45PM, I hit my rattling bag and simulated as hard of a fight as I could muster with that bag for about 2-3 minutes and mixed in some grunts at the end. Nothing happening. Then around 6:15PM, I repeated the same fight sequence except I grunted in the beginning a bit. Quiet still, nothing moving. At this point, I'm keeping all eyes on the edge of the corn field about 150 yards away, as that is where the droptine came from 3 evenings ago. It's about 6:45PM and still nothing happening, getting down to low light...so I decide to take a few scenic shots with the camera.
This shot shows the direction of the ravine the buck I shot came out of...
A little sky...
Ironic...the cattails the buck I shot stood in front of shortly after taking this pic.
Reverse angle...where he was standing when I shot (taken later).
So I put away the camera and hang out for a bit. Then I hear a little rustle to my left and peer through the mesh screen to see the droptine standing 25 yards to the back left of the blind! He actually came in from the exactly opposite side and must have bedded in the small ravine behind the blind.
At this point, I don't even have an arrow nocked on my string! I crouched down off the bucket stool, and hugged the floor as I maneuvered around for my bow. I moved the bucket out of the way so I could kneel comfortably without making any noise. I grabbed the bow, keeping my head hovering the floor, get an arrow out of the quiver, nock it, and slowly rise to look out of the blind window...but there is nothing there! Wow, did he bust out? Hear me move?
I keep scanning the foreground and eventually pick up his movement as he was circling around the cattails. He comes around the right side of the blind about 40 yards out and looks at the blind for a second, then turns to come in and let's out a low contact grunt as he proceeds. He's coming in broadside at what I thought was around 25 yards, I get up on my knees and into shooting position to see a wide but short tined 8 pointer 40 yards behind him looking right at me! I use a tree to block between the 8 pointer and myself, and get drawn on the droptine buck. He's broadside, and all I can see in the darkness of the blind is the outline of my pins (darker in the blind, less light than outside). I settle the 20 pin high on the top 1/3rd the lungs and the 30 pin just below midchest as the arrow leaves the bow on it's way to the droptine buck. It impacts with an audible THUMP, so I'm confident I nailed him right in the chest...he shouldn't go far. He hauls off at full bore through the cut hay field...directly away from where I shot him...running hard, I see the dirt kicking up in the air as he makes it about 80-100 yards before either falling or running over a dip in the field.
I pack my gear up quickly, text around to my friends that I just shot the droptine buck, and head out to confirm the shot and blood. I get to where he was standing and find nothing...no hair, no blood. My stomach sinks. How can it even be possible...I heard the shot hit him! I scan around with my headlamp for 5 minutes or so, can't find anything in the grassy stubble...so I back out to get DJ, Taylor, and some better lighting.
We return about an hour later, drive down the field to see if we can spot him, but no luck...so we take up the trail starting from where I shot him. DJ brings a long a Coleman lantern to help in the tracking. Wow does that thing pick up blood great! DJ finds blood almost right away...we find a swath of blood on a high piece of grass with what appears to be a small piece of lung. Good sign! Relief comes over me as we have some sign to follow now! We pick up the track, and follow it slowly about 90 yards little by little until I spot a brown patch about 35 yards ahead of us. Is that him? We shine the light, we're unsure...he's buried in cut grass stubble...I run over to him and the celebration begins! My first North Dakota buck finally down!
Wow, what an experience! My first North Dakota buck, my first droptine buck ever, my first deer from the ground with the bow, first deer from a blind with the bow...a lot of firsts going on! My plan entering the blind that evening was if that droptine gave me a shot, I was going to take it! With how hard the hunting has been, I know I'd be kicking myself on the plane ride home had I not taken advantage if the opportunity presented itself...again. I know I had come out here with the intentions of holding out for something in the 140-150+ range, indicative of what DJ has seen on his cams all summer and throughout the fall, but with the adverse conditions and the crop fields still standing...we had a ton working against us and the hunting has been just plain tough. He's a great buck and has a lot of significance given the sequence of events, the personal firsts, and the rarity of being a droptine buck in this area! Definitely stoked to have him, and given how my entire year has been going...I was long overdue for something good to happen!
Here's a couple shots from that night...
After that, we got him tagged and back to the barn. DJ has a scale, but the length of the deer was longer than the rafters to the ground...even with his head slightly resting on the ground he was around 225-235 pounds...so we figure he was probably around 240-245 pounds or so, live before gutting him.
We let him hang for a bit and headed inside to relax for the evening!
DJ had some activity in the new stand, seeing a few does minutes after getting settled on stand...and I believe he also saw a small buck a short while later.
Day 7 - Friday, 11/02/2007:
DJ and I head back to DJ's house, so he can run some errands and do a little shopping while I catch up on emails and phone calls as there's no internet and hardly any phone reception at the farm.
I write up a "short" report (excerpt above is from that report) and email it off to friends and family, also post it on a couple forums I belong to.
DJ returns, and we head back to the farm for a daytime picture session with my buck. DJ takes some great photos...here's a few from the session!
Afterwards we head back to the farm house and find Randy has arrived and is ready to roll for some hunting. DJ sends Randy off to the new stand he hung in The Sleeper Spot, while he heads to the new stand I hung the day before!
Shot of DJ and Randy before they head out...
I hang tight at the farmhouse waiting for Taylor to arrive with plans on heading to the blind I shot my buck out of. His father Scott tells us he started combining that cornfield near the blind that day and kicked up a wide 8 in the corn, so he stopped allowing us to hop in the blind and hopefully the 8 would come out.
On our way in...Taylor and I spot this porcupine crossing the field we enter from...guess the combining kicked him out of the corn?
So Taylor and I got setup around 4:30PM or so, and the winds are gassing bad...gusting an easy 40mph+ nonstop...I'm sure DJ is getting blown around in the stand.
Around 5:30PM, wind still blowing hard...it's gonna be hard for the bucks to hear the rattling bag, but we give it a go with no response.
It's around 6:10PM when I get a text from DJ saying "I just shot big mine" (yes MINE)...followed a minute later by "I just shot big doe". At this point Taylor and I don't know what the heck is going on...did he mean NINE? But then how did he shoot a doe? How could he get a nine and doe confused? I text him back, "What's going on...did you shoot a nine or a doe?" Then we get another text from DJ saying, "I just shot a big nine and a doe! I am a god!" Taylor and I are laughing our butts off in the blind!
Eventually darkness falls and we only manage to see a few does trot across the field in the distance. No buck to be seen on our side of the corn, but apparently Preston saw a nice 10 pointer emerge from the other side while spotting from the road! Ahhhh!
Taylor and I head back to the farm quickly to get the news from DJ and check out his buck and doe. DJ said the doe and a fawn came in with the nine trailing behind about 2 minutes. The nine walked right through a shooting lane I cut 20 yards away...and DJ made a perfect shot...double lunging the 130 class buck and putting him down in seconds a mere 60 yards away. Then not a few minutes later, the big doe decides to go back on the same trail she came in and DJ figured, hell he has a doe tag, why not...the doe steps into the same 20 yard lane and DJ double lungs her too! Crazy! How awesome is that? I tag an awesome buck the evening before, and DJ sits the area we've wanted to hunt all week but couldn't...in the stand I hung yesterday afternoon and not only shoots a nice 130ish 9 pointer but also a doe in the same night! Sweet!
The whole crew heads back to retrieve DJ's deer with a game cart: Scott, Preston, Taylor, Dixon, Randy, DJ, Travis, and myself.
Plenty of spare lighting and a great time shared between friends, highlighted by the comment of the entire week when Travis, DJ's co-worker who happened to shoot a dandy of a near 150 class buck back in mid October, says to DJ: "Man, you gut deer like a poacher!" after DJ promptly cleans both deer in record time! Hilarious!
Here's a few shots of DJ with his deer that night...
So we strap both deer on the cart and head on back to the trucks, and then back to the farm for some celebration! It's a great time, tons of fun and laughter between all as the evening's story unfolds...that's what it's all about!
It's Friday evening, so the whole family and friends are coming to the farm house for weekend activities. A few of us plan on heading out goose hunting in the morning and I'm game...picked up my waterfowl and pheasant stamps earlier that day knowing I'd have a few days to burn before I fly back to NJ...why not enjoy some more ND hunting!
Day 8 - Saturday, 11/03/2007:
Preston, Taylor, Dixon, Bryce, Dave, and Cindy decide to meet up early in the morning for a little goose hunting...my first time ever!
Well...of course we decided to meet up early...real early...like 5:00AM...so I get up, make some breakfast, get cleaned up and I'm ready to go at 5:00AM...heck it was 5:05AM and I'm running around like a madman because I don't want to hold up the goose hunting!
It's 5:20AM when Bryce, Dave, and Cindy arrive at the farm house...but no sign of the three boys. Hrmmm...what's going on here? It's now nearing 6:00AM and still no sign...and none of us can get any phone reception to give them a call. Alright it's 6:15AM when we finally see headlights coming! The boys have finally arrived!!!
Of course, I had to razz them a little about being on Mountain Standard Time...and sure they claimed calling DJ to let him know, but DJ's phone was in the truck...so basically Matt lost an hour of sleep! Thanks boy!!! Haha
So we gather the TRAILERS worth of goose gear...geez, I thought I had a lot of stuff for deer hunting...you seriously need trailers to move goose hunting gear around! Alright so we're off to the fields Preston, Dixon, and Scott scouted the night before.
While we're out goose hunting, DJ and Lisa slept in, while Randy headed to hunt The Sleeper Spot!
We arrive and spend quite some time laying out the spread of decoys. I mean seriously...we have two trailers filled with decoys and blinds...this goosin is serious! They have these realistic felt heads and all...crazy! But as the boys tell me, those geese have unbelievable eyesight, so the realistic decoys help.
The conditions were perfect as we had the spread out and ready to roll for daybreak. Shortly after the sun began to peak over the horizon, we were poised in our blinds waiting for approaching geese. Those NoDakers have eyes like eagles I tell ya...they spot those geese off in the distance miles away! Then the flagging and calling begins...and the geese get a lock on the dekes and cruise on in...good stuff!
As it turned out, the geese were mostly snows...and based on what DJ told me, they are old...like 10-15 years old generally...which means they have superb eyesight as all geese do, AND a lot of experience being duped by hunters and decoys! So needless to say, they made the hunting difficult and would fly down just out of range and then pull back. We managed to pop a few shots off at them and knock a few down though! It's still in question as to whether I got my first goose or not...Taylor and I fired around the same time...and we both believe we hit it. So I'll say each of us got half a goose that day! Regardless, it was an awesome time and a great experience for my first goose hunt! Oh, and those homemade blueberry muffin's Kat made for breakfast were awesome!
Here's a few shots from the goose hunting morning!
Dixon...it's like 6AM dude, who you talkin to? Haha
Couple of geese in the spread...not the best of lighting...
The sun is coming...
My blind setup...I spent forever brushing that thing up with corn stalks!
Nice!
Taylor and Preston with a nice background.
Sun is creeping over the horizon...with the decoy spread.
View from the inside early...
The cut corn field...those three silos is where the geese approached from.
A little bit later...
And that's all she wrote...time to head home. And I totally forgot to take after pics of the geese we got! :|
Alright so after goose hunting, we head back to the farm to stow the goose trailers and gear. Turns out Randy saw one small buck and had an squirrel duck his arrow and then perch right on top of it as if to laugh at him...ahhhh those tree rats! Haha
So, shortly after catching up with everyone, DJ, Lisa, and I head out for a picture session with my buck, DJ's buck, and DJ's doe. Some nice shots from that session too!
Lisa and I started things off snapping some pics...Lisa took this one of me trying to be a photographer!
Shot of DJ with his buck...
Another shot of DJ with his buck...
Another angle...
And another!
And a shot of DJ's buck and mine together!
OK, after the session, it's around noon time when Taylor and I head to the ground blind as Scott is finishing up the combining of the corn field. Maybe that wide 8 or the 10 that Preston saw will be in there and get pushed right by the blind heading to the cover of the ravine!
Well it didn't work out that way unfortunately, although we did see a buck run across the field about 150 yards in front of the blind and dip into the ravine...but nothing came by in bow range. I was at the ready with my bow and some judos for pheasant, but no roosters came out of the corn and near the blind!
After our short blind hunt, Taylor and I headed back to the farm. Once I arrived, DJ and I got to work on caping out the two bucks and butchering the three deer. Well, being from NJ and living in a condo, I'm not very experienced in butchering, so I pretty much just helped out while DJ did most of the work. And Travis, you thought this guy guts like a poacher huh? You should see him butcher a deer! Hahaha In short order, we had the deer butchered out and bagged up. Later we'd wrap and freeze the meat at DJ's place for some sausage and slim jims he'll make over the winter...can't wait for that package to arrive in the mail!!!
For the afternoon sit, Randy planned on heading to the stand where DJ shot his nine and doe, but the strong winds and other hunters parked in that area prevented him from hunting it. So he backed out and hunted the blind Taylor and I were in earlier that afternoon in hopes that the buck we kicked across would meander out of the ravine and past the blind in the evening, heading to the cut corn. Unfortunately, no dice, as Randy didn't see any deer that evening.
I did manage to snap a few nice sunset pics on the way back and at the farm though!
On the way back...
At the farm...
One more...
OK, and after all of that...darkness set in as we finally kicked back and relaxed for a Saturday evening dinner at the farm between Scott, Kat, Randy, Lisa, DJ, and myself. It was really nice to wind down and enjoy some good conversation with some new friends!
Amidst the conversation, since Scott had finished his combining for the season, he was down for some goose hunting in the AM! DJ joined on in as well, myself, the boys, Bryce, Dave, and Cindy were in too! Was gonna be a good spread! Scott had already done some pre-scouting that evening at sundown to see where the snows were feeding...so we had a good idea where we were going the next morning!
Day 9 - Sunday, 11/04/2007:
Another early rise...but fortunately an hour later since we ALL know what time we're heading out this time!
DJ and I are up and ready to go...but not before DJ hits up his choice breakfast of champions!
We head back out to the predawn fields to setup the decoys once again. The weather and conditions look very promising, not too cold, nice steady breeze and overcast with some light rain even! Everyone's pumped for some action and there were 1000s of geese in this field yesterday evening!
Shot of Taylor, DJ, and Preston at the field...getting ready!
Just one morning shot...
Well we get setup, and settled in the blinds just in front of that decoy spread as sunrise approaches. Another beautiful morning in the making! Shortly, we should have 100s to 1000s of geese flying overhead and virtually landing on top of us!
That was the plan anyway! Haha As it turned out, there were an absolute TON of geese in the air, but for some reason they did not hit the field they were in the evening before! They headed off in the distance and landed in another field...we heard some gun shots, so apparently some guys were setup over there too. We could do nothing, but sit back and breath in that fresh air while the geese just seemed to laugh at us in the distance.
At one point a large flock landed just a few hundred yards out in front of us. DJ decided to try to circle and flank them in hopes they'd take off and land near our decoy setup. Well he got them up...but they didn't come to us.
Ahhh so frustrating as we head home empty handed around midmorning. That's why they call it hunting!
At least we had a fresh stash of Kat's breakfast muffins!!! They didn't last too long!
Afterwards, Scott, Preston, Dixon, Taylor, and myself headed to the PLOTS land to do a little pheasant hunting. We managed to kick a few hens up, but no roosters.
In the meanwhile, DJ and Lisa went to pull a stand and cams in one of the spots.
After pheasant hunting, I headed over to The Sleeper Spot to show Taylor where it was at in case he wanted to hunt it after school later that week. We run into DJ and Lisa coming out of that spot, where DJ pulled the cam.
DJ, Lisa, and I decide to head way back into the mile deep spot to pull that final stand and sticks, and get it out of the way. It was a long hike with the gear, but we got to check out the area some more and looked at a few spots and picked some trees for next season!
After that, we were beat...so we headed back to the farm, as everyone started parting ways after an awesome weekend! DJ and I cleaned up a bit, organized our gear and dispersed of the deer carcasses before heading on back to DJ's house for the night.
DJ putting the pole saw away for awhile! 
Shot of the farm as the sun is going down, right before we leave.
And one on the road to DJ's place...
On the way DJ places a call to a local taxidermist, John Plesuk, to find a time where we can drop my head off for a mount. We eventually find a good time to meet up, and head over to John's house and shop. His trophy room is, in a word...insane! Dozens and dozens of animals taken all over the world, with many from his local haunts and some big bucks at that! We BS for awhile, exchange some stories, while DJ and I learn a few things from John before parting ways and heading on back to DJ's house to get some sleep.
Day 10 - Monday, 11/05/2007:
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh I finally get to sleep in one morning and catch up on some much needed rest!
DJ heads on back to work for the day, while I do some wash to save time for when I hit NJ...I'll be hunting again right away! I also take the opportunity to catch up with some friends on the hunting and even receive a call in the afternoon that my buddy Ed shot a real nice, wide 8 pointer on his private piece in NJ! Sweet! I'm pumped to get back for some action!
DJ gets back home from work and we're off to meet up with Scott, Kat, Preston, Taylor, and Dixon for some dinner at Up The Creek in Minot. We all had a great time and a nice dinner before saying our goodbyes as I head back to NJ tomorrow afternoon.
Day 11 - Tuesday, 11/06/2007:
Time to head on back to New Jersey after an awesome time in North Dakota!
DJ takes a half day off of work and we head on over towards the airport, but not before swinging by a sporting goods shop and checking out all the goodies! I pick up a little fleece silencing material and the Primos Buck Roar call to use back home...which BTW has amazing sound and tone regardless of how hard you blow into the call! Good stuff! So we eventually grab a little pizza to eat and then chow down on some Cold Stone Creamery ice cream...good! After eating PB&J in a treestand for a week...a man's gotta indulge a little (DJ, ya like that line don't you! Haha). So DJ eventually drops me off at the airport and shortly thereafter I'm back to smog laden NJ!
Final Thoughts
Wow, what an awesome, fun-filled trip out to North Dakota to meet up with DJ for another hunting adventure. I finally had an opportunity to hunt those big NoDak whitetails and both of us were fortunate enough to score! I even got some time to hunt geese and pheasants for the first time, although the hunting was a little tough...the experience was great!
The scenery, sunrises, and sunsets in North Dakota are breathtaking...definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me!
It was great to meet Lisa, as well as all of DJ's friends: Randy, Scott, Kat, Taylor, Preston, Dixon, and briefly Bryce, Dave, and Cindy! What an absolutely great group of people! I can't tell you how much I appreciate DJ having me out again, and the hospitality of Scott and Kat at the farm house! North Dakota truly is a great escape from New Jersey...and to think all those lucky folks get to live it every day!
DJ, what can I say man...as your friends tell me, you are one in a million, and I couldn't agree more! I can't thank you enough for having me out, again! One of the most memorable hunts I've ever had, and hope we can do it again real soon!
Until next time...
