First Day at Silver Springs

Today I wanted to get up at about 4 AM and get there real early.  Little did I know a huge storm was coming through that would ruin those plans.  I was up at 4 to hear the wind pounding the sides of the house.  I checked the weather reports and not only was it a storm but a tornado watch had been issued for the greater part of IL.  I tried to get some sleep but the wind kept me in and out.  I finally woke back up at about 9 AM and stayed up.  The storm seemed like it was going to pass but it was still windy to the point where there was a wind advisory.  I waited until about 11 AM before I decided that I was going to give it a shot.  I knew I missed the prime morning hunting time but I figured the deer may be active after the storm.

I checked in and found that I was the only person listed today.  This was good because I wanted to browse around and get a little more familiar with the area.  I geared up and headed into the woods.  The weather was a little chilly with strong gusts of wind.  Once in the woods the wind didn't seem to play much part in anything besides being aware of which way my human smell as going.  I kept checking up ever so ofter to make sure a branch or tree wasn't about to come down on top of me.  There were a few spots I remembered from last year that I wanted to check out.  I found a nice little area with a little cleaning, some water, and green plants.  I sprayed some doe scent around and sat on it for about an half hour or so.  I wanted to explore a little so I left that spot and made my way up the hillside.  I found a lot of tall trees, good spots for a stand if I ever get one, and some scent packets that someone had left a day or two before.  I sat on this spot for a while.  I sprayed a little scent and used my Primos call every few minutes.  I didn't see any deer activity, a few squirrels and a hawk that was playing around with something on the ground.  I moved around until I pretty much explored everywhere I wanted to check out.  I took note of a few spots that I wanted to try out with a ground blind and a tree stand, both of which I do not own.

On my way out I took a different path.  I had seen someone the other morning with a head lamp on setting up over in that general area and wanted to take a look on my way out.  While I was walking I took note of some good spots, I went around a downed tree and heard leaves moving just in time to see the famous white tail waving good-bye to me.  I followed her into the area but was unable to locate where she had run off to.  I packed it in a headed back to the check out area, where 3 does were eating off of a tree across the street.  No hunting is allowed over there but I'm pretty sure I heard some snickering.

I had a pretty good time over all.  I was a little disappointed that I wasn't keeping my eye open and just walked right past the only deer I've seen all day to scare it off.  I'll never make that mistake again that's for sure.

Keep checking in with my progress, hopefully I'll have some interesting stories for anyone that wants to hear them.

First Hunt of the Season

So I woke up at about 4:30am to get ready to go hunt the Silver Springs area.  The night before I had washed my hunting clothes in Primos Silver XP Scent Eliminator, I also used the shower wash and spray on the clothing I couldn't throw in the wash.  I have Rage 3 mechanical broadheads on three of my arrows currently.  I have a Primos can caller and a set of plastic antlers that I took off of my practice buck.

So I arrived at the sign in cabin.  There are a set of rules for the area.  There are two sections B and C.  I will post the link for the map of the area below.  I have hunted B last year and planned on using this area again this year.  You are allowed 10 hunters for the whole area, not 10 each section.  I got there at about 5:15am to find that the area has already been filled.  I was pretty disappointed about this.  The earliest hunter signed in at 4:25am, looks like I should have gotten there earlier.

Silver Springs Hunting Map

I packed it in and decided to hunt the back yard.  There is plenty of room here and it is about 7 minutes from the area I wanted to hunt.  I have spotted a number of deer crossing the empty corn field behind the property a few times.  I set up shop on the deck and started a few calls and a little antler rattling.  I did this a little bit on and off but I made sure not to over do it.

After about an hour of motionless sitting I saw three does come out from behind a tree.  I got so excited my hands started shaking.  I've heard of this happening before so I calmed my nerves down a bit and waited to see if they would cross the fence into the yard.  The deer were about 120 yards away, too far for me to take with my bow.  They started walking farther away so I attempted a little call and rattle.  The stopped, moved a little more sideways and a little closer.  I thought for sure they would cross the fence but ended up taking off the other way.

A little while later I noticed a big buck a ways away.  I waited to see where he would go and crossed over into the farmers field.  I did a little calling and rattling, he stopped.  I got down off the deck to see where he was headed because I lost him in the tree.  By the time I got to see behind the tree he was gone.

I stayed out there until about 9 am and packed it in.  Not a terrible day, at lease I saw some deer, which is better then I did last year.  I'm looking forward to Tuesday morning.  I want to get out there on a weekday when I may be able to get the jump on the other guys.

Thanks for checking in!

Hello All

My name is Mike, or as I am commonly called, Spizz, on account of my last name.  I am a big fan of the outdoors; hiking, fishing, shooting firearms, and hunting are a few of my favorite activities.  The only thing is that I am pretty new to is hunting.  I have been shooting bow for a few years now and last year was actually my first time hunting.  I went out and stalked around for a while and ended up empty handed on the two runs I made in the end of the IL season.  I have been fishing for as far back as I can remember.  I can chalk that one up to my Grandfather Darrell Taylor, who is a pretty well known outdoors writer, who had gotten me into and progressed my fishing skills and interest.  I have a great respect for the outdoors, wildlife and the capabilities of firearms and projectiles.  I feel like this is very important and may not be instilled in many people these days.

I wanted a way to share with everyone the experiences that I have.  I am pretty new to the hunting scene and am attempting to learn anything that I can about it.  Please keep checking in with my blog to see how I am progressing.