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Messages - Bukmastr

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1
Whitetail Deer / The hunt for a public land buck...
« on: December 04, 2011, 02:52:19 PM »
Last year during the rut I 1st saw the buck while shining ( a legal practice here ) the public land. He was with a doe in a private field ajacent to the public marsh. It was just after dark and I new where the big bucks that used that field bedded most of the time, at least if they were arriving in that field that early. The next evening I was slipping to the big buck bedding area to cut it off between the bedding area and the field and had to pass thru a small doe bedding area that only gets used every now and then. As I was walking thru the doe bedding area a doe jumped up and ran and then the buck stood up. I could see he would be close to B&C size wise and new instantly it was the buck I shined the day before. He was only about 30 yards from me standing broadside, but I did not have an arrow nocked. By the time I got an arrow on the rest he bolted...  He went the complete opisate direction of the doe and ran right to the big buck bedding area that I had expected him to be in in the 1st place...  I decided my best bet was to set up right where the doe ran off the other way hoping he would come back before dark looking for his girlfriend. And he did, but he was smart enough to make a large circle downwind and catch my scent and blow out of there.

  I noticed there were some great rubs that were in the vacinity of the buck bedding area. The rubs were stomach high on me indicating it was a mature buck. This is a VERY high pressure area and hunters were set up over all the rubs and scrapes. You are not allowed to leave stands over night here, but several were indeed hanging in the trees.

 It was obvious that the hunters were misreading the sign and believing the buck was coming up the trails from the doe bedding areas where the rubs and scrapes were. But he was in my opinion crossing the doe trails checking for does in heat and marking where he crossed there trails.

 The big buck bedding area is located in a way that everybody overlooks it and hunters rarly ever go into this little patch of brush.

 After my 1st encounter with that buck, I did not get another chance to see him while hunting. But did see him on private ground a few times with the spotlight... Meanwhile a lot of hunters around the little town of Rome were talking about shining this buck, and a few had claimed to see it in the woods near where he was seen by me during the rut.

 This last summer leading up to this deer season I shined the buck on private and public land in that area. But I was not alone. There were many hunters shining and talking about this buck. When early season arrived the buck dissapeared...  and his rubs did not show up. I kept hope that he would come back after the does in the prerut. About the 2nd to 3rd week of November talk around town was that the buck was being shined again...  I took a walk along the rubline and found the big high rubs opened back up, and treestands, groundblinds, and scent bombs everywhere along his rought. The wind was wrong for a hunt that day... 

  I went shining that night and seen him cruising the private field adjacent to his bedding area on the public just after dark. There was a line of others shining him as well...

  We had several days of bad wind. But on Halloween evening, we had the right wind. So I slipped into the planned set up tree for the 1st time this year. I had to really sneak because the tree is only about 75 yards from the buck bed. I had to set up really high because of braches in the way ( we are not allowed to cut shooting lanes on public here )

On the way to the stand I passed up several other hunters sitting over the rubs and scrapes.

I used 5 sticks and climbed the back of the tree to avoid being seen from the bed in the cattails. It was a pretty uneventfull evening till the last 20 minutes or so when the buck rose up out of his bed 75 yards from me.

He slowly headed straight for me. There was no clear shot till he passed by the tree at 7 yards. It took him about 15 minutes to get 75 yards, and it was almost closing time when I shot him.

My hit was a little high, but took out his spine and dropped him in his tracks.






2
For Sale Misc. / Camera arms... Film your hunt!
« on: October 23, 2010, 07:38:35 PM »
I have been working on a camera arm for around a year now and finally like what I have and I am ready to make some for resale.

3 arms. Some arms come with 2 pc. arms making it hard to self film if a buck comes from the opposite side of the tree than the camera is mounted. 3 arms will reach around to film the other side.


Folds flat to fit in back pack or bungee to your stand like I like to do.


A 1 1/2 spacer between panhead and arm...  On other models the panhead arm is to close to the arm and in some cases caused me problems. Its hard to see with the panhead thats on this arm. But the raising of the panhead was a significant improvement for me.


It will come with this panhead, a regular panhead, or no head at all for those who wish to use there own.


I like the panhead pictured. You just squeeze the trigger like a pistol and you can smoothly turn or tilt the camera any direction.


A fine adjustment tilts the arm a little either direction because you never seem to get the other brand arm on perfectly square.


Hooks up like a tree stick on top.


On the bottom, after tightening the strap by hand as tight as you can pull will the screw handle backed off as far as it goes, then turn the knob tightening until level. Notice the large head point that has a stop. The arms with just a point on the end of the thread screw right into soft wood trees and don't get tight, or loosen after tightening. This point eliminated that issue.


  Anywho, I would like to get $169.99 each if anyone wants one  8-)
(camera not included)

 EDIT:
  The pictures above were of a proto-type unit. The one pictured below is the exact model.













3
Wisconsin Fishing / Lake Michigan
« on: June 05, 2010, 08:09:33 AM »
Last fall I had a big buck contest and one of the sponsors to this contest was Adrenalin fishing charters. I was excited to have them donate a lake michigan salmon fishing trip because I know Gerry and Russ always do whatever it takes to get on fish. They are diehards!
 One of the winners to the contest was Robert Richer who chose to bring his son Nick. Robert warned us that he gets sea sick but hoped to make a go of it anyway.  Our other winner, "Hill hunter" could not make the trip due to family obligations.
 We finally got to go on the trip yesterday. We went out of the Racine WI port. Adrenalin uses several different ports depending on where the fish are hitting best. We got an early start getting out at sunrise.

 The water was a little rough. It did not take long before a big king salmon hit a deep bait. Nick got 1st go, and him and his father Robert took turns fighting the aggressive fighter.

  The next fish was a Coho, I took the fish cause Nick was starting to feel ill.
  Unfortunately they decided to go in. Can't blame them. Fishing is supposed to be fun. Me and Carol had taken dramamine before the trip and were fine. When the lake gets rough sometimes it has that effect.
 We went to port and took some pictures..




  Russ glanced over at me and said you guys drove a long way to get here, you wanna go back out?  Heck yea we want to go back out was my reply!  We said our fairwells to Robert and Nick and headed back out.
 I was really appreciative of Russ and Gerry wanting to get back on the water, most captains won't do that cause of the expense and time of porting.

  At 1st the fish were a bit slow, and not as many were showing up on the graphics. They had moved since the last outing Adrenalin had done.
So Gerry worked hard on trying different colors and presentations while Russ phoned and radioed some contacts that told him the fish had moved out to deeper water, a hunch that the team already had..  We started heading out deeper and a couple of the newer presentations started hitting and we started catching fish. Gerry and Russ worked hard to change over all the rods to whatever was hitting the best. The more they worked the better the fishing got, and soon there were multiple rods going at once. We had no time limiting out and everybody had a blast.
Past charter trips with other outfits I have been on seemed more like a boat trip. Adenalin really worked to get us on the fish. I would recommend them to anyone wanting to get into some great action on Lake Michigan.

www.adrenalinfishingcharters.com


















4
Wisconsin Fishing / Big blugills
« on: June 05, 2010, 08:06:34 AM »
I caught some giants today under the rome pond dam in Jefferson county... You had to work for them, but they were huge.

5
General small game topics / 1st coyote hunt of the season...
« on: January 01, 2010, 07:47:03 AM »
Woke up early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Thought I would go coyote hunting if I could find my electronic call.  So at 5:00 AM I went rummaging around in the garage till I found my call in a box in the corner. When I got it back into the house it wouldn't work, so I took it apart and put it back together, then it worked. It seemed like maybe it needed to be warm to work...  Anywho, I grabbed my rifle, a white shirt, and an orange vest ( in case I ended up hunting past daylight ) and headed out.

   I am not an expert at coyote hunting, but I get by. I don't follow the way most people hunt coyotes. The common way is to cover a lot of ground and keep moving. I agree its not worth it result wise to spend a huge amount of time in one area, but I believe in skipping the mediocre areas and hunting areas I have pre-scouted for sign.

 While deer hunting the last couple years on a buddies farm near Farminton Wisconsin I have noticed a ton of coyote sign and see them quite frequently. I also took note where I had seen them bed, and travel the most both with sign and actual sightings.

   My plan was to set up along a fence line that divided a hay field covered with snow and an old brushy CRP field. The fence line ran from west to East and intersected with a swampy thick area that the coyotes always seem to hang on the edge of, but more out into the bean field than towards the edge. When I got there the wind was wrong for the treeline / fenceline. So I changed my position to an island of trees in the middle of the bean field hoping my scent would drift off more to the North exposing the coyotes in the open field if they tried there old trick of winding the set up...  

   Wouldn't you know the call wouldn't work again after setting it up 40 yards from me to keep the yotes attention off of me. I kept hitting the remote, but it just wouldn't turn on so I went back into the field and got the call and returned to me seat. After messing with the call for several minutes it turned on and I was forced to sit with the call right beside me..  I let the cottentail rabbit squeal call run for over 5 minutes solid then shut it off. Within seconds of shutting it off I saw a dark object come over the hill in the moon light and circle to catch my wind. I new he would catch my scent fairly quick where he was heading to so I slid my 30-06 to my shoulder and found him trotting in my scope. I was hesitant about shooting a trotting animal at over 350 yards, but felt it was now or never. At the crack of the rifle the coyote spun around and ran a wide circle allowing me two more shots. My second shot appeared to hit him. He ran over the hill and back towards the big swamp.

   As it got lighter out I gathered up my stuff and headed towards where I last saw the coyote. As I closed the distance I could see blood on the snow . My 1st and second shots both hit him. Not bad for a hillbilly, eh?

 I followed the blood about 100 yards up to the edge of the swamp where I found the coyote dead...  One interesting note, I always like to back track in the snow and figure out where the animal came from, and what he was doing while I was calling. interestingly he did not come from the swamp where I had expected, he came from my right where on the other side of the CRP field is a little swamp. He came straight at me out of the swamp ( while the call was going off ) and as soon as he hit the open CRP field, he stopped, paced a little then ran in a huge circle about 600 yards to almost straight down wind of me where he finally exposed himself to me just before getting down wind.   8)

Hear is a pic of the island in the middle of the bean field. I set up on the right side of the island near the tip. The tree / fenceline is just to the right.
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4446.jpg?t=1262273857" border="3" alt="" width="400">

Here is where I set up. I kicked the snow out and put down my vest to sit on.
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4447.jpg?t=1262276269" border="3" alt="" width="400">

From a little farther back
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4448.jpg?t=1262276376" border="3" alt="" width="400">

View from my set up. The trees way back there is the big swamp. The coyote was shot just as he came over the hill as far back as you can see snow.
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4449.jpg?t=1262276436" border="3" alt="" width="400">

Blood trail in a circle on the top of the hill...
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4450.jpg?t=1262276549" border="3" alt="" width="400">
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4451.jpg?t=1262276629" border="3" alt="" width="400">
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4452.jpg?t=1262276671" border="3" alt="" width="400">

An actual piece of coyote liver lying where the second shot hit him...
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4453.jpg?t=1262276698" border="3" alt="" width="400">

Track in snow
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4455.jpg?t=1262276814" border="3" alt="" width="400">

End of the trail
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4457.jpg?t=1262276905" border="3" alt="" width="400">
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4459.jpg?t=1262276946" border="3" alt="" width="400">
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4460.jpg?t=1262276975" border="3" alt="" width="400">

<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4461.jpg?t=1262277045" border="3" alt="" width="400">
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4465.jpg?t=1262277422" border="3" alt="" width="400">

<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4464.jpg?t=1262277486" border="3" alt="" width="400">
<img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r118/bukmastr/CIMG4466.jpg?t=1262277581" border="3" alt="" width="400">


6
Post your Whitetail Pictures HERE / Quest for the white deer...
« on: September 20, 2009, 02:04:46 PM »
Those of you that have known me for a few years probably have figured out that I have an obsession with "freak" deer... I love the odd ones more than the "big" ones.
Anywho, I have always wanted to shoot an all white deer. I refrain from calling them "Albino's" because most of them in my area are really "white phase" deer. I have been watching one all white doe in a public marsh for a few years and have been hunting it for 2 years since they opened the season for all white deer within the CWD area.  Its amazing to me that a deer that stands out as "Snow white" can survive two seasons of hunting pressure in the public marsh. Shows you just how elusive they really are...

  Last tuesday, I set up my stand in an oak tree less than 100 yards from a bedding area i had seen her use in the past. It was a very remote spot that takes nearly an hour to walk (or should I say swim) to in daylight...  1 hour on the stand and I was already being entertained by several deer close to my stand eating acorns when I looked up and saw her heading my way.  Her ghost white appearance was breath taking and I felt my heart race as if it were a 200 inch buck...

 I turned to fire up my video camera and a noise caught "Snow Whites" attention. She did not know where it came from, so she continued, but now a little more cautious.  I tried again to get to the camera and she locked onto me with eye contact.

It was either shoot her or film her running away so I eased the LoBo back and just as I squeezed the trigger she bolted. I was sure she moved just before the arrow released and was unsure of the hit, if I hit her at all... I watched her as she trotted off looking like she was not hit...  I got down and looked. No arrow, and no blood. So I walked about 10 yards up the trail and saw there was good blood, then I saw my lit knock blinking on 1/2 my arrow shaft... 

  I backed out and recruited help. We found Snow White less than 100 yards from the tree. What a sight to walk up on. I got lucky with the hit. She had moved as I shot, but the arrow caught her in the main artery in her neck and exited between her front legs.

The 2 year pursuit was done...

7
These DVD's really rock! Not only does it describe in detail how we hunt hilly terrain, but it also shows many great hunts that detail the information as well as show the hunt... Two of the bucks gross score over 200"... There is really some shocking info given that has always been "secret" in the past... Wait till you see the tense hunts for huge bucks right in there bedrooms.. Watch as Andrea D'A'quisto gets stuck in his stand with a 211" buck bedded 17 yards away and see how he deals with that situation... Over 3 hours long! and there ain't even one boring part!!!

  THEY SHOULD BE AVAILABLE ON THIS WEBSITE SOON!!!  ;D

8
Quote
The Conservation Congress, Sporting Good Retailers, the WI Wildlife Federation; WI Hunters Rights Coalition and the WI Bowhunters Association.

  Its good to finally see some of these organizations standing up for the hunters like they are supposed to... 

9
General Discussion / Merry Christmass
« on: December 25, 2008, 09:10:24 AM »
Merry X-mass from Santa Dan and friends!

10
Quote
“Our goal is to aggressively remove these animals from the landscape and we are encouraging any hunters who encounter them to shoot them on sight,” said Koele.

  I would not consider it an "Aggressive" approach when you will not allow gun deer hunters to shoot wild pigs unless they also purchase a small game license. Gun deer hunters will cover most of the huntable ground where this invasive species lives. Getting greedy for revenue and forcing a small game license purchase is not going to "aggressively" remove the problem.

11
You can go to this link to respond to the DNR your thoughts on there "War on Whitetails"
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/opinion/313707

Here is my response:
Quote
CWD cannot be eradicated or stopped in any way... Its in our soil forever. It does not harm humans or other animals outside of the deer family. The only thing endangering our hunting traditions is the DNR and there disgraceful war on whitetails. Killing all the deer won't save them. CWD does not wipe out entire populations. Its been out West for over 40 years and nobody out there cares... I had great hunting on the public lands in Southern Wisconsin prior to your slaughtering the herd. Both my sons quit hunting because of lack of action and because it turns them off to see the DNR promoting killing deer just to fill dumpsters. Earn a buck forced on a young bowhunter is like telling him he is not allowed to shoot bucks. Just getting a deer with a bow is a huge accomplishment for a 12 year old. Now tell him or her they can't shoot bucks is like telling them they have no chance... All of my out of state hunting friends stopped hunting in Wisc. Not because of CWD, but because of the DNR's reaction to it. Nobody is bothered by CWD. We are only bothered by your slaughter of our herd and disrespect for a animal we love. Thinking hunters should be happy shooting fawns and baby deer is ridiculous. True hunters are quitting or traveling to other states. All you have left is killers. I am sickened the way you treat whitetails and use CWD as an excuse to murder our population.... What are you going to do when you don't have any license income coming in cause you have chased us all away? Your sitting on a goldmine if you managed the herd for quality and dispersed age class of deer rather than turning it into a blood bath that makes hunting and hunters look barbaric. SHAME ON YOU!

Additional statement:
Quote
When you slaughter finally gets the population down to your 5 per square mile your breeding bucks ( which are the main carriers of CWD ) are going to greatly increase there home range and spread CWD much faster.

Opening rifles in zones closed to rifles for safety reasons is asking for people to get hurt or killed... Giving unlimited tags to shoot anything that moves in these zones is insanity. I hope your willing to take the blame when the accidents happen.

Rabies actually kills people, how come you don't kill every thing in the state to "eradicate" rabies??? Sounds to me like it has nothing to do with CWD and more to do with hidden agendas

Nobody has ever died from CWD and people have been eating (deer meat that could contain prions) for 25 years

12
Whitetail Deer / Re: Sales of hunting licenses up 53,000 from 07
« on: November 30, 2008, 12:02:06 PM »
 Good point Rancid...  I know more people who are quitting hunting in Wisconsin than I do new ones buying permits.

13
Whitetail Deer / Yesterday I shot the "World record whitetail"
« on: November 30, 2008, 11:59:03 AM »
Yesterday I shot the "World record whitetail" by getting the worlds smallest buck. 
In my defense, a deer with a body that size could not possibly be a fawn... So I just new it was a doe when I could see the head at 75 yards and could not see antlers. Heck, you wouldn't even be able to see the antlers in the pic if it were not for my great ability to exaggerate rack size in photo's...  Anywho, after following the blood trail backwards a while in the dark and ending up back at the treestand I learned a valuable lesson about tracking...
 This weeks hard luck story don't begin with the hunt, thats the boring part... Nope it begins when I leave the parking lot. It was kind of strange but, I got stuck and my tires were spinning as I tried backing up hill out the access. My tires are in great condition this week so it was hard to understand. The tires in the back were bald last week, but this week they had finally worn in and the gription wires were stating to come out. I notice a lot of other drivers change there tires way to early before they get there gription wires to come out. Thats where I step in and grab the tires they toss...  Another great tip right there!
 They also light up the road as they spark and I know thats why the town cop ain't given me a burnt out tail light ticket yet. They leave you alone when the observe such respect for safety...
  Well... back to the story. I kept rolling back to dry ground and getting my speed up as fast as possible to try and make it back up onto the road but it was hard to see thru all the smoke and piles of sometimes used equipment stuffed in the back with the deer...
  Finally with and all out pedal to the metal my gription wires grabbed and I flew up onto the road at a high rate of speed and in a cloud of smoke. Trouble was now I was headed  across into the other ditch  :shock:  No problem my break pads have finally worn down to the right thickness where you get the metal on metal stopping power you need in a time like this. And did they ever work! the two metal pads welded themselves right together and brought me to a sliding stop. Trouble was all that V-6 power in my Toyota 2X4 with 355,000 miles on it had all ready sent me into the ditch on the far side of the road. But Dan the super Genius Instantly threw it in 1st gear and dropped the excelerator to the floor. With a neck breaking change of direction I was doing the worlds greatest burny and was back on the pavement headed for the registration station to get there before they closed. After the 20 minute drive I pulled up and was about to run inside to get my buck tag ! ( Here in Wisconsin they give you a buck tag in exchange for shooting a tiny buck.. Only in Wisconsin  :roll:  :lol: ...
  But, I just had to look at the incredible buck I had just shot..  Just one little peek wouldn't hurt. Soooo, I get behind the truck and guess what?  The tailgate is wide open. The deer deer is missing  :shock: My rifle is missing  :shock: My bin of hunting stuff ( video cameras, tapes camera mounts, etc. ) missing  :shock: Lone wolf stand and sticks :shock:
 Man... I new I shoulda fixed that tailgate latch! 
So I jump in the Yota lay rubber in a half circle as I spin around to collect my gear...  I go 90 miles an hour... Er, I mean I go the speed limet ( there are cop forum members here  :lol: ) And race back to look for my gear...  I drive all the 20 minutes back to the spot where I was stuck in the ice... Just my flash light and treestand laying there  :shock:
 Where is everything else?  I drove back to town, this time a little slower and really looked hard ( it was easier at a slower rate of speed ) Then I see it, there is my rifle leaning up against a fence on the side of the road. There were tracks in the snow where someone must of taken it out of the middle of the road and leaned it where I would find it when I came looking...  A little farther and there was my coveralls hanging on a fence... All the way back to registration and there in town up on the side walk dragged out of the road was my gear bin and deer.  8)
  Its all cool when there is a happy ending!  We learned some valuable lessons. And found out there are a few honest people left on this planet.  :D



14
Post your Whitetail Pictures HERE / Trip to Iowa...
« on: November 10, 2008, 07:45:23 PM »
Im Back from Iowa. I took a buck Saturday that should gross around 140. I passed several 130 to 140 class bucks early and seen a lot of deer. I shot a 140+ buck a few days ago and did not recover it  searched for it for a few days then finally gave up and got back in the saddle and shot this one. I had my hopes on two bucks and held out for one of them till towards the end of the week. One was a giant fatso that would of dressed near 300 pounds. and the other was a massive 7 point. I got good video of the buck I shot, but I hit him a little back ( liver ) so I waited over night to track. 2 hour track job and I found him dead bedded in a river.

Here he is right where I found him.















Pic's taken whilescouting







The cave...


I was able to walk right up to some deer while scouting.




15
Whitetail Deer / Bowhunter magazine!!!
« on: September 07, 2008, 07:24:25 PM »
Did anybody get the October issue? They did a big article about me and my two hunting partners  I have not seen it yet, but I heard they put a buck walking thru cattails on the cover and a cover mention stating: Marsh madness page #

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