Well, since my last entry, I have visited Ohio for a 4 day trip. It was a good trip, although I was a little sore. The trip started off in an ominous way. We were supposed to leave at about 4:00pm. My brothers plane would be landing at Philly International Airport at 3:00pm, he would come to my house, load up the truck and we would be on the road. Unfortunately, and predictably, a little bad weather caused huge delays at the airport and he didn't land until after 7:00pm. I shouldn't complain about it though, the rain that caused the delay was badly needed, and it brought cooler temperatures, which were also very welcomed. We finally got on the road about 7:45pm and after driving all night, and stopping at the local Walmart for food and my licenses and permits, we arrived at the house at 4:35am. Daylight would come by 7:00am, so it looked like we were going to miss the first morning hunt. We slept in until 9:00am, then did some quick scouting of a few locations to get ready for an afternoon hunt. Things looked good at a few of my stands, and the woods were full of acorns, but our green fields were starting to shape up too, so it was decision time. We both decided to sit on the field edges the first afternoon as an observation stand to get an idea of how the deer were using the property. It was a good decision, as we both saw several deer, but nothing huge. I spent the late afternoon watching a doe and two fawns, and a yearling buck feed in the field, until a trespasser on a 4-wheeler came through and spooked them back into the cover. At dark, I called it a night and started my trip out. The weather in Ohio had changed for the better, and the overnight low was forecast to be in the 30's. Dry heat had plagued this part of the country as well, and the rain that delayed our departure had also passed through here bringing cooler temps and a nice breeze. Now the bad news about the cold overnight temps...our heater quit working in the house. After a chilly nights rest, we headed back out in the morning. I was only carrying the video camera though as screwing in steps and hanging a few stands the day before really had my shoulders aggravated, and there was no way I could pull back my bow. We had a few double stand sets up for video taping hunts, so we headed to one of those. The morning was slow, but not uneventful as we did see a few small bucks, and that was how the next few days went...me video taping, us seeing small bucks and a few does. On Sunday afternoon, I decided to check out what footage we had aquired thus far and discovered that I was having some technical difficulties. Almost nothing I had been taping was actually recorded to the tape, and the camera would no longer read the time code on the tape. Looks like more camera repair after I get home. Sunday afternoon I set up on an oak flat that was loaded with acorns, and it was also loaded with deer sign. I saw deer all afternoon, with the same four deer staying around me for most of the hunt. I had a small buck come in and feed under me for almost an hour and took a few nice pictures of him.
Monday morning I decided to head back to the same area, but down the ridge a little ways to where I had found a nice shed antler back in March. Not long after first light I had a nice doe come in and offer me a 15 yard shot that I took. After the hit I let her scamper off, waited about 30 minutes and then climbed down. I took my stand out as I wanted to move it to another location for my return trip that would be closer to the rut, and this other spot is a good location to intercept a rut-crazed buck. I quitely slipped out of the woods and went and hung the other stand. After getting that spot settled, I returned to the house and packed my gear, picked up my brother, who had not seen anything, and returned to track my doe. She went a little ways, but we found her without too much trouble in a pine thicket. After a quick field dressing job we loaded her up, finished packing the truck, took a quick shower and hit the road for home. After just a quick stop at the check station we were on our way and back to New Jersey by dinner time. Even though my camera crapped out and I had sore shoulders the entire trip, it was still a success and just a great long weekend get-away. Can't wait for the next trip.
Good Hunting-DV
Monday morning I decided to head back to the same area, but down the ridge a little ways to where I had found a nice shed antler back in March. Not long after first light I had a nice doe come in and offer me a 15 yard shot that I took. After the hit I let her scamper off, waited about 30 minutes and then climbed down. I took my stand out as I wanted to move it to another location for my return trip that would be closer to the rut, and this other spot is a good location to intercept a rut-crazed buck. I quitely slipped out of the woods and went and hung the other stand. After getting that spot settled, I returned to the house and packed my gear, picked up my brother, who had not seen anything, and returned to track my doe. She went a little ways, but we found her without too much trouble in a pine thicket. After a quick field dressing job we loaded her up, finished packing the truck, took a quick shower and hit the road for home. After just a quick stop at the check station we were on our way and back to New Jersey by dinner time. Even though my camera crapped out and I had sore shoulders the entire trip, it was still a success and just a great long weekend get-away. Can't wait for the next trip. 
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