FIELD JOURNALS ARCHIVE - BOW HUNTING 2007
 

Nov. 18 - Clint and Roger Vanatta have a Heck of a Weekend!

It is a gorgeous Sunday afternoon with a slight breeze out of the West, not my preference to hunt the particular stand that we were in, but we had already had an exciting morning with the harvest of Charlie's buck. We crawled in the stand at about 2:45 this afternoon and waited patiently for the sun to set. At 4:29pm, with plenty of sunlight, a nice buck and a doe raise from their afternoon beds. They stood less than 100 yards straight north of our stand, but in some very thick brush, of course. We spotted the buck from the sunlight beaming off his rack. Corey and I had 45 minutes of viewing pleasure watching this doe toy with the buck. During that time they had moved approximately 80 yards through the brush into a clearing that offered me a 30 yard shot. Though there is not a great deal of challenge with a rifle at thirty yards, I was very proud of the buck that I had harvested. We also had plenty of time to video this entire outdoor experience. 

Also, I wanted to share a picture of my father's buck harvest from Friday afternoon. Take a look at this 160" giant . . . too bad we were unable to capture the hunt on video!

                                           Roger Vanatta

 

Nov. 18 - Charlie Steps in Front of the Camera
Entry By:Charlie

Charlie Ramsbottom has been filming with Clint and Corey for a few years now, and we want to thank him for his dedication, hard work, and fun in producing quality hunting footage. Here is Charlie's story:

It is pitch black, Sunday morning, a moist brisk breeze blows from the southeast. We have given up on the brush pastures and wooded draws - we are heading for the big oak timber this morning. I scent up my drag line with doe-in-heat as we approach the draw that leads to the swamp stand. We make our way to the stand and the light creeps over the horizon. We sit the stand, with no deer activity, until about 9:00am when it begins to sprinkle. I call Clint on the cell phone to see if they are going to climb down or stay in the stand. Clint likes to hunt in foul weather - his answer is to stay put! I no longer hang up the phone and my cameraman Riley (Clint's son), spots a good buck coming in our direction. Riley has already wrapped the camera up for protection from the weather. He carefully unwraps the camera as the buck nears the stand. With the camera rolling, I harvest this nice Missouri 10 pointer! Be sure to watch this exciting footage in our upcoming DVD.

Nov. 17 - Kristen's Chance to Hunt
Entry By: Robin

After being too busy to get away for the youth season weekend here in MO, Kristen was ready to head out for her own weekend of hunting.  With this being her 6th deer season, I was confident enough in her ability to handle herself enough for me to be her cameraman instead of a third person going with us.  Kristen said she didn't want to shoot a doe right away in the hunt, and would hold out for a buck that was at least bigger than the four she had already shot.  She held true to that the first morning, passing up an easy shot at a smallish 8 pointer, and not even raising the gun when a couple does went by.  She said she would shoot a doe if a perfect chance came along on Sunday...and she made a perfect shot when that chance came.  The doe folded right where it stood, and soon another buck came along on her back trail tempting Kristen.  Again she held true and didn't give in.  A bit later another doe stepped out and Kristen declined to shoot, but then a second doe stepped out, limping badly.  A quick discussion between us was to end this doe's suffering from its wound and another perfect shot did just that.  She had mixed emotions upon recovering the second doe, but I am proud of her for making the right decision quickly.

Nov. 15 - Big Ohio Doe
Entry by: Jake Kerstetter

My morning hunt started out promising with seeing two different mature bucks.          That evening cameraman, Gary Fogle, and I returned to the same stand in hopes of crossing paths with one of the bucks I had seen in the morning. Unfortunately, no shooter bucks showed, but this mature doe did presented herself and I was able to make a great shot with my Bowtech Guardian. The Victory arrow carrying a Muzzy MX3 found it’s mark, and she only went a short distance before going down just out of sight. This bow season has been difficult but good things can happen in a short time during the rut. Hopefully I'll get a good opportunity at a mature deer as the season continues.

Nov. 11 - Day 2 of MO Gun Season
Entry by: Corey

After a great day of hunting Saturday, opening day, Robin had his buck down and offered to video me. Sunday brought warm temps and a lack of deer movement. During the morning hunt we only saw a hand full of deer. Robin and I debated on where to sit for the evening hunt, but we ended up in the same old tree. Around  3:30 pm we had a coyote run directly under our stand. 20 minutes later we heard leaves crunching, we both got ready in time to see 2 dogs, on the scent trail of the coyote. At 4:00 pm we heard a thrashing sound, hunting in a pasture with cows in it I didn't think much about it, but when I looked in the direction of the sound I could see a buck tearing up a tree. As the buck was working over the tree, Robin spotted a second buck behind him, after they stepped into the open I picked out the bigger of the two and smoked him. The other buck ran down the hill right at Larry and Charlie sitting in a stand 200 yards away…. And well, that's another story!!!

Thank you to those of the Aim Low crew for coming up and sharing opening weekend of gun season with Clint and I. Now after downing 2 bucks in 3 days, I can run a camera for the rest of the season, so that Clint can fill his tags!

Nov. 10 - MO Gun Season
Entry by: Robin

  Being in the woods for the MO gun opener was something almost foreign to me.  It has been around 12 years since the last time I hunted opening morning, and probably 10 years since my last gun kill.  In those past years, I was always found in another state bowhunting.

This morning started off right though, because I didn't even finish my opening remarks to the camera when a nice buck came within 40 yards of us.  It was a very nice 8 pt, that I decided was just small enough to let go this early in our hunt.  We saw several deer, and 2 very nice bucks that were plenty big enough, but just didn't give us a good show.  I shot a coyote around 10:00 am, and then at right around 11:00, everything went into high gear.  A nice buck stepped out of the brush at a whopping 12 yards and started circling towards the downwind side.  My initial glance told me he was big enough, and quickly my shot was taken.  The buck went 60 yards and was down.  The whole thing was over in 15 seconds.  Though the buck wasn't quite as big as all 3 of us thought (I was lucky enough to have 2 cameramen this morning, Clint and Corey), it was still a nice buck taken on an exciting morning.  Once again, with a buck down early in the hunt, I could focus on running the camera for some of the other Aim Low team members.

 

Nov. 9 - Illinois 12 Point Archery Buck
Entry by: Keith

With only 1 more weekend to bowhunt the IL farm before shotgun season, cameraman Nick Govero and myself decided we would do whatever it took to fill my buck tag. We left my house at 1:30AM on Thursday and arrived at the farm with only enough time to change into our hunting clothes and hit the woods before daylight. We decided to stay put until dark since it is that magical time of year when anything can happen at any time. We saw a few bucks but had no opportunities. After a nice warm meal and some well needed sleep we hit the stand before daylight on Friday. After we saw a huge deer that would score well over 200 inches, we slid out of our stand and moved to another location where we thought he might be heading. The giant never showed up, but at 4:30PM another awesome buck did. He is a beautiful perfect 12 point, and as you can see by the photos, he didn't get away. A well placed Muzzy MX3 through the lungs put him down within 40 yds., making me one happy bowhunter! I will definitely be sending this trophy to Brian Almberg at Almberg Taxidermy.

 

Nov. 9 - Corey Scores in NWMO 
Entry by: Corey

It has been a rough season for Clint and I in North West MO, well, it was until a couple days ago. We set a new stand hoping for a change of luck, and the first time in it we saw a shooter, although he did not give us a shot, he gave us some hope. The next morning it was Clint's turn to shoot, And we had deer all around us. At about 7:15  I spotted a shooter heading right to us. He came to within 30 yards, but a limb was blocking the camera angle, and Clint let the buck walk off. The third morning once again it was my turn to shoot, and the deer activity was slow early. Around 9:00 Clint spotted a shooter 200 yards away, he was on the trail of a hot doe, and nothing was going to pull him away from her. We stood in the stand talking about what could have been, when Clint looked down to see a buck standing DIRECTLY under our stand. The buck got nervous and bounced into an opening I stopped him at 38 yards, and put a Muzzy into the boiler room.

    It is funny what the power of the rut can do, we had only seen two good bucks all season, and in the last three days we have seen five!!! 

 

 Nov. 6 - Big Half Rack
Entry by: Eric

Nov. 6 was my turn in front of the camera. We both had a good feeling climbing into the stand the 25+ mile and hour winds had calmed a bit with high skies. Not long after climbing into the stand Robin was reading me the script of how he was sure it was to go down. Oh yeah followed with a HEY DON'T MESS THE SHOT UP! Well not sure if he could see the future but he was about 15 minutes off on the time and there was only 1 doe instead of 3. It was about an hour before dark when I got the tap on the tree. With the sweetest words I’ve ever heard Robin say, "Here comes a Doe and I think she has a shooter buck with her". Well it took the pair 15 minutes to travel 35-40 yards from the thick stuff right into my shooting lane. The new Black Ice passed the 30 yd. shot test, which put an MX3 right threw his ribs and he went down in sight.

 

Nov. 4 - Stocking the Freezer
Entry by: Keith

Sunday was the last of my 3 day hunt in eastern Illinois. Buck activity is starting to pick up for the youngsters. We saw several younger bucks hanging out with does and occasionally pushing them. Unfortunately, the big boys seem to still be nocturnal for the most part. Since things were slow and my freezer is empty, I couldn't resist taking this nice doe with a twenty yard shot. It was a good chance to try out my new Muzzy MX3's and boy did they do the job? She dropped within sight, and as you can se from the photo, there was quite a hole. I can already taste the tenderloins!

Nov. 3 - Rut Starts Kicking in Northern MO
Entry by: Robin

The weather forecast for North MO looked perfect for the next several days and I had high hopes for a great rut hunt for myself and cameraman, Eric Gregory.  The first evening of the hunt was one of those hunts that make you look forward to the rut all year long.  Not long after settling in, we saw a nice buck cruise by out of range and meet up with a second cruiser.  Soon after, lots of noise was heard in the brush, and we could see another nice buck rounding up a doe, not wanting to let her out of the thick stuff.  The other bucks were staying back hoping to get in on the action.  But...the doe had other locations in mind, and she took all the bucks with her.  Just before dark, another cruising buck was seen, and he finally heard my grunts at about 150 yards away and came trotting in on a string.  At 24 yards, I made a perfect shot with my Bowtech Allegiance and the Muzzy broadhead put him down in sight, just 45 yards away!  Just that quick, I had a nice buck down and now had plenty of days ahead to see if I could video Eric getting a buck too.

 

Oct. 29 - Youth Hunt Success

Youth season proved to be a success for a couple of the Aim Low lads. Zac Parks, age 10 takes down his first buck ever and Clint's son Riley takes a beautiful 10 pt. trophy for the wall. 

Here is Zac's story as told by Robin:

MO youth season was here, I found myself high up in a platform stand with Zac (and Clint and Corey both with cameras in hand).  Zac had decided he would pass on does and wait for a buck.  Just about the time Zac was getting cold, some does showed up.  He held true and didn't change his mind, leaving them for me to try with my bow.  Well...that is a whole other story there.  His decision paid off quick when five minutes later 2 bucks showed up.  The bigger of the two walked thru an opening so I stopped it with a couple loud grunts.  Zac took his time lining up the scope and pulled the trigger as soon as the "G" in "Go ahead" came out of my mouth.  A perfect shot put the buck down right on the spot, and Zac's reaction was a priceless "Oh man!....I just shot a buck!"  With two cameras rolling, some great footage was layed down.  You won't believe what happens when we kneel down next to the buck and start to talk about it...you'll just have to look for it on the next DVD or perhaps on our hunt of the week next season on the "Bowfishing Journals" TV show.

 

 

Oct. 28 -  MN Duck hunting
Entry By: Darrell and Tammie Schreiber

Sunday morning we rose to cooler weather with high hopes of seeing some ducks. We drove to the freshly combined corn field, positioned all of our decoys just right, and settled into our layout goose blinds. The birds took flight after a nights rest from a slough and headed towards the fields to feed. It was an awesome sight to see the groups continously rise and head our direction; sometimes in flocks of 2, other times in flocks of 30. We shot a lot of holes in the sky that morning, but did have the opportunity to connect with a few mallards and geese.  

Oct. 19-21 Darrell Goes Shedding for Muley's
Entry By: Darrell

My hunting buddy Rob had previously been to western North Dakota in early Sept bowhunting mule deer. He had several sightings but no shots. He asked if I would come with him for a second go around and be a spotter for him and guide him in with radio (legal in ND). I was more than happy to knowing that I'd get the chance not only to look for sheds but to also scout for next year. In our three day adventure we spotted over 80 deer; 35-40 were bucks with 5-10 being shooters to us - 150+ class. I radioed Rob in on several good stalks, but no arrows were fired. We did end up with antlers in the truck on the way home, but they were sheds that I had found - 1 was discovered through the spotting scope at 1/2 a mile away. It's not always about the kill so much as the adventure. I had a great time and made some memories. We'll be back next year, but next time I'll have a bow in my hand.

Oct. 19 - Nick's Muley Hunt
Entry by: Keith

Nick Govero took some time away from his busy concrete business to slip off to Wyoming last week to chase some Muleys with his rifle. Thank goodness he had a cameraman along, because he had one heck of a trip. They were hunting just outside of Dayton, WY, and were cut short because of bad weather. Fortunately, for Nick, he had already put a tremendous stalk on a trophy mule deer buck, and was in cruise control. Take a look at this beautiful 5X5 below.

 

Nick didn't stop there, he had another tag to fill. The next day, he took this nice big doe for the freezer! What a great trip...You can see all the action on our upcoming DVD.

Oct. 12 - Tammie's 1st Archery Whitetail
Entry by: Tammie Schreiber

Every year we get together with a couple of friends at their farm for a weekend of bowhunting. Friday night I sat the "pit blind"; the pit blind consists of a dugout ground blind built into the hillside of a field with 2 "windows" for shooting purposes overlooking a food plot. I saw my 1st deer at 5:50pm about 60 yards out. I sat back and got comfy as I knew it was out of range for me. I watched him for a while until I noticed movement to my left; I brought out my binoculars to see what they were - 3 bucks! Patiently I waited as they munched on food, slowly moving closer. As they made their way closer, more deer continued to come into the field. The 1st deer I had seen turned out to be a smaller yearling, which at one point was within 2 yards of me! I could've poked him with my arrow. Pretty soon 2 of the bucks began to spar. What an awesome sight! All their commotion caused the other 8 deer to come running within range. The bucks that had come in were not mature whitetails, so I carefully checked out the rest of the deer - I was actually hoping for a doe that night. I zoned in on what I truly thought was a doe. "She" came to the window on my left, I started to draw back and was busted 1/2 way to full draw. "She" proceeded to come around to the right side of the blind and I drew again - busted again. I was given a snort & foot stomp warning. I was finally able to get a full draw and let the arrow fly. It was a beautiful complete pass through shot. Darrell came to pick me up and we tracked "her" 30 yards. To my surprise, "she" turned out to be a young "he". I was shocked that it had nubbies, but completely pumped as this was my 1st deer kill with a bow. We've got a couple more months left & I'm hoping to fill my final tag with a nice buck.

Sept 20- MN Black Bear
Entry by: Darrell Shreiber

We made our way up to Northern Minnesota the 3rd weekend in September with hopes of seeing and shooting a bear..  Not all of the baits were being hit, but our spirits were still high.  The 1st night was Tammie's turn to hunt.  We put up our stands over one of the active baits; no bears came in.  The second day the wind had switched so we changed locations.  We decided to set up our Double Bull ground blind at a new bait that I had made.  The bait was across a riverbank about 20 yards; it was a perfect setup for a ground blind.  We had found nice bear print around the logs so we hoped we'd see some action.  That night at 6:30 we were surprised by not 1, but 4 bears; 2 black and 2 chocolate colored.  One of the black bears was substantially larger than the others, but it did not present a shot for Tammie.  It actually shoved one of the logs down the riverbank and scared all four of them away.  The 3rd evening gave us rain, so we decided to try sitting the river bait again protected inside the Double Bull ground blind.  The wind was blowing the wrong direction but we were hoping that by being across the bank, our scent would drift down the riverbank instead of across it.  Like clockwork all 4 bears came in again.  However, the big old black one didn't like the wind and would not come into the bait.  It sat behind trees and logs and watched.  The 4th night, Tammie decided to sit with our son Devin as it was his final evening at bear camp.  The wind was perfect so I decided to sit the river bait alone with high hopes that the larger black bear would present me a shot.  I went in with the Double Bull blind and got all of the camera equipment set up.  6:30 came and went with no signs of the bears.  The sun was fading fast and I thought that they weren't coming.  Suddenly I spotted movement along the river bank.  I got the camera rolling and waited patiently for that one opportunity.  All 4 bears kept moving around each other and I drew on the larger black bear 3 different times before it finally presented me a shot.  I talked my way through each movement; relax my arm, align the pin up the front leg just behind the shoulder, squeeze the release and I watched through my sight as the Victory arrow buried into my trophy.  I watched the bear run only 20 yards behind the bait where it dropped and gave me "the death moan".  My hunt was over, but the work just started.  I went back to camp to get everyone else to help haul it out.  We found her right where I watched her fall; she was a beautiful black sow with a white blaze on her chest.  It was a lot of work to get all 320 pounds of her across the river safely, but that's what good friends are for - ha ha.  Tammie hunted the following 3 nights with no luck as the weather presented us rain and the bears began to hit the baits after shooting hours.  We still had a great time and hunting season has just begun!  

  It's off to our next adventure.

 Darrell and Tammie Schreiber - Team MN   

Sept. 19- First Aim Low Deer of 2007
Entry by: Corey

 After returning from checking out a new hunting property, Clint and I climbed into the stand around 6:45 PM. The spot we were hunting is awesome, in August we filmed two 160 class bucks, two 140 class, and a 130 class all in the same night, our expectations were high. As the sunlight faded Clint spotted two does entering the field 150 yards away from the stand. We have seen deer enter the field in that same spot hundreds of times, they usually just step out and feed, but these two made a B-line toward the stand. When the bigger of the two stepped into my shooting lane, I eased my Bowtech to full draw. The first arrow of 07 was low… The doe bounced forward stopping in another shooting lane. I grabbed another arrow and placed it right behind her shoulder, she only ran about 25 yards before crashing. The first deer of the 2007 is down, and this is the first deer I have taken with my new Bowtech Tribute.

We are off to a fast start this year; I hope the rest of the year continues on the same pace. ;

April 23- MO Turkey - First Weekend
Entry by Robin

After a slow opening day earlier this week, Saturday in the Double Bull was more of the same.  Not much happening and nothing coming to check on the decoys for a good bow shot.  I needed a change, so for Sunday, opted for a gun hunt.  Keith did the same, and we both had good action.  Keith had a close call, but no shot, while I blew the bark off a triple sapling that happened to be right in front of a nice turkey's head!  Keith and Eric had to head home for work, but Larry talked me into one more day since he and I both had off already. 

Monday morning brought high winds and heavy clouds rolling in.  Just a couple very distant gobbles is all we heard.  It was looking like one of those days when we headed out on a long walk through the river bottom hoping to find a willing bird.  We just happened to find that one willing bird at 7:45, and by 8:00, we had him at 60 yards just across a small ditch full of water.  He had come 200 yards already, but looked like he might not fly across to get into the woods with us.  I hated to call with him so close, but a soft yelp on the Turkey Whacker convinced him and he flew right over.  Pretty soon I was picking up my biggest turkey ever (and my first spring bird caught on video).  He was a hair over 26 lbs with a 11.5 inch beard, and 1 3/8 inch spurs.

Thanks to Larry, and thanks to JT Uptegrove for his custom made slate call.

April 1- MO Youth Turkey Season
Entry by Robin

The youth season would be Zac's first hunt for turkey.  Kristen went along with her gun just in case we called in a pair.  We were hunting in NW MO with Clint and Corey.  The weather was only mildly cooperative, and the hunting was tough, but still a great weekend hunting with the kids.  The best action Saturday found 2 gobblers that came in silent yelling in our ears 30 yards directly behind us.  Zac never did see them, but he sure heard them!  Sunday brought lots of wind, and quiet gobblers.  Zac did come within a hair of downing his first bird, but just as he was squeezing the trigger, the gobbler walked into the brush.

Like most hunts, next thing you know, it all turns around.  We saw some birds from the road that were approachable.  Well...probably too much so, because after the first 2 calls, we had the whole group right on us.  We hit the ground as fast as possible and got the kids ready.  They were just 10 or 12 yards right behind some brush, but Zac just could not line up on any of their heads.  Kristen found an opening as they were leaving and let a nice jake have it after passing an iffy shot on a mature gobbler that hung too close to his girlfriend.

Zac was happy as could be for Kristen and he is now waiting for the regular season to get here to try it again!

February 12- Back From Eastern Texass
Entry by Keith

The biggest surprise of our hunt was the cool temperatures. We thought we were escaping the cold by heading south, but that wasn't the case. Shane Allman, who invited us down, says it's because of the damp air. Whatever the reason, we nearly froze. The hogs were not as active as we had hoped. Between Robin, Corey, Clint, and myself, I was the only one lucky enough to get a shot at a hog. I can't wait to BBQ!! Clint passed on a so-so shot at a nice boar, but opted to wait, thinking he would get a better shot opportunity that never panned out. All in all we had a great time and can't thank Shane enough for the hospitality and sharing his hunting grounds for a weekend. 

February 5 - Can't wait to get to Texas!
Entry by: Keith

Our Texas hog hunt is finally here. I cannot wait to get down to Texas this weekend and chase these awesome pigs. Here is a recent trail cam photo from one of the spots we will be hunting. If this doesn't pump a guy up, what does?