6 pt Stag down

[osprey]

Went out Thursday evening before all the rains and winds hit (still NE 10-15), had a heck of a hunt. Kayaked into one of my state land spots I've scouted in previous winters, first time actually hunting this location though. Got set up a pine by 4:45pm, the ground was TORE UP with sika tracks and trails and wallows. Small tip of woods, lots of phrag, few scrubby hardwoods, surrounded by big salt marsh.

Bonus - - between the wind and temps I never felt more than one mosquitoe until I got down that evening!!!!

Saw a total of 14 sika, some were just parts going through the phrag and brush, but missed a doe early at 30 yards (didn't know I'd missed until later, or I'd have shot one of the other ones...), had 3 more doe and 2 fawn directly under my stand throughout the evening, all of which came from straight downwind to that apple Buck Foam, one of the fawns even ate the phrag leaves I'd sprayed it on!!! Finally heard a splashing commotion running toward me, while 3 doe/fawn were under the tree, it was a 6 point chasing two spikes. Again, directly under me. When I drew one of the does alarm chirped, everybody froze, the stag was at 5 yards and I drilled him. Ran maybe 75 yards, toward the boat even, and piled up. Not the boss of the marsh, only about 10" tall antlers, but 6 good points and 68 lbs dressed.

The kayak was LOADED on the way out, me in the seat, stand bow and gear strapped on the back, stag shoved in the front with his antlers tucked under the gunnel and his front shoulder between my knees. That was fun! Can't wait to do it again for Blackpowder season.

[Hardcorehunter]

Congrats! That really makes me want to go, sounds like a great hunt full of action. 68 lbs is a big sika. You said you were hunting on public land. Is the best way to do that by kayak. I've heard of other people getting to a remote spot accesable by boat only. I also see you went wioth the food scent lure. I've never tried that before, would you recomend food scent or go with a sika urine for our trip next friday? Post some pictures if you get a chance, those things are awesome looking. I'll be happy with a hind or stag next week (preferabley stag). Any other tips before we go would be great.

Also if you have your blackwater permit your more than welcome to join us on the 13th. Two or three of us are going, the more the merrier.

[osprey]

However you can get to a spot nobody else hunts is the way to go. Long hikes, kayak or canoe, johnboat (BWRefuge doesn't allow boat access though), bicycle logging trails, etc. I've got some spots I leave Cambridge at 2:30am to get to the ramp and go for a 30 minute boat ride at full throttle down tiny winding creeks in the dark!

It's been my experience that if you want big stags you've got to get in and get them the first hunt while they are undisturbed where they haven't been pressuered. Stags can live up to 20 years and once they get some age on them they know every bush, phrag patch and scent in their area. Once they know you're after them it gets 500% tougher.

Never had a bit of luck with sika scents, I'm guessing the game farm sika are a different sub-species. But some guys have had great luck, so maybe it's just me. They are very curious animals, lots of times they'll just come to investigate something new. I just tried the apple because I know they love apples. Have much better luck calling - cow mewing and even bugling when they're close. Inside of 100 yards a big bugling stag will charge in to challenge if you have a call and sound decent. I've had great luck with Doug Wigfields Sika Seducer call. I was mewing and bugling a bit the other night, but there was so much going on I can't say that's what sealed the deal.

Thanks for the invite, but haven't had the BW bow permit for years. Hunted the area around the wildlife drive for shotgun 5 years running until 2003, took a spike, a huge 6 pt and 3 does in that span, but been gone for gun season since then (North Dakota bowhunting for mulies and turkeys by then each year). Hope you guys have some luck, ask away if you have any questions, I'll help any I can...

[BuckMaster]

Thanks for the feedback. I just received my sika seducer today and went over the CD on how to call. We were thinking about hunting hardwoods in the morning because we know of a spot to go. Then we were thinking of getting down around 10am and heading over to a marshy area to find a good spot. Do you think this is a good idea or should we just stay put all day. We really want to hunt the marsh because everyone tells us that is the place to be during the rut, but we don't want to just walk in blind.

[Hardcorehunter]

Osprey thanks for the info. The boat in the dark would scare me a little.(Getting lost in the dark = no fun) I've heard the same as far as pressure goes. Thats why we wanted to go as much as we can before the first gun season. I guess like deer hunting we will learn the most thru trial and error, but your tips may save alot of the error part. I had no idea they live so long., thre or four times the average whitetail lifespan. When you hunt mulies you have an outfitter you use or public land? Thanks for the great story of your hunt. I am so pumped up I can't wait!!

[THE DEER HUNTER]

SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAD A GREAT EVENING. Sure must be nice to see all of those deer. When my buddies & I went, we saw a total of 2 between the 3 of us. Good luck on the blackpowder hunt.

[osprey]

The oaks are a good idea for the morning, they feed heavily on acorns when they are available. I was scouting for youth day and jumped one feeding along a hardwood creek branch about 8am this morning. With the rut wherever you get stay put at least until 10am, they'll be moving. If you've got the call and hear one bugling like crazy, don't be afraid to get down and go to them if you can. Get within 100 yards and bugle, good things can happen.

The marshes are good, some of my favorite spots are a 1/4 mile from any real trees, but they live in the woods too. Just as long as it's thick. I've actually sat in the needle rush on a boat cushion way out in the marsh and had shots during late BP season.

The funny thing about sikas is that one day they'll seem dumb as stumps and walk into the parking area, next they are all but impossible to kill. Hard critters to figure out. The first deer I ever killed, at 16, was a sika doe with the shotgun at BW. I'm 36 now and just feel like I've got them down in the past few years. If you really want to learn about them catch a snow in late bow season and spend the day tracking them, it'll teach you more in a day than you'd normally learn in 5 years. Just keep after 'em, woods time and experience is the key, and really the only fun part anyway.

For mulies I cook for and help out an outfitter in the badlands, Little Missour River Outfitters, www.123hunt.com. Got to be friends with him and I get to hunt while I'm there, normally stay for 6 weeks. Bow killed P&Y mulies 3 years in a row now (biggest was last year, a 181" score, 31 3/8" wide buck), and took 2 Tom Merriams last winter. Awesome trip, I'll post on it when it happens. I write an outdoors column for the Daily Times in Salisbury, normally do a series on the trip while I'm out there each year as well.

[BuckMaster]

Congrats on the Mulies! Are they as hard as P&Y Whitetails to hunt?

[osprey]

Just different. Like anything the key is finding a good spot. We hunt on a 14,000 acre ranch that's been bow only for over 12 years, so they aren't pressured and have a chance to grow big. Plenty of whitetails there too, but they're much spookier, just the nature of the animal. I may actually chase whitetails for awhile this year, there's some big ones there. Largest taken while I've been out was a 163" 10 pt, but I've seen much bigger. Heck, I passed a 150" 10 point two years ago waiting for mulies, was on the ground hidden and he was broadside at 25 yards working a scrape!!

Course there's a big 7x7 mulie, well over 200", on a far corner of the ranch I've been after, he'll probably get my attention.

You guys may get some sales on that apple foam scent, I wrote about that hunt and the foam in my column yesterday in the Salisbury paper, already had 3 e-mails this morning asking me about it.

[BuckMaster]

Wow that sounds like a big Mulie. My first big Whitetail buck had antlers that looked like a mulie, I'll have to post the pic so you can see.

I'm not sure what apple foam you are talking about. One of our sponsors "Downwind Scents" sells foam scents as well as spray can scents. They are a Maryland Based company out of Severna Park. They have a huge variety of scents including Sika Scent which we will be using this weekend at Blackwater NWR. We are going to write up a review of the stuff on our website as we will be using it all season long. They also have acorn scent which I think I may use for the sika, what do you think?

[BIG FOX]

need some pics of some of the Sikas you have taken

[osprey]

It was the Downwind Apple foam scent, I got the site address off a card advertising their scents, thought it was all the same group, sorry about that.

I've never had any luck with any sika scents, not liquids, sprays or anything, but that apple really brought them in. Let me know how you do with the acorn.

I haven't done the photobucket thing so I can't upload any pics yet. I've got them all here on disc, but guess that doesn't help much!

[BuckMaster]

Thats cool,

We have acorn, corn, vanilla and persimmon scent. Do you think one would be better than the other?

[osprey]

I'd probably try the vanilla or persimmon, they're curious creatures and something different will often make them come in for a look.

[BuckMaster]

Thanks again for the feedback. I think we will try Vanilla and persimmon in the morning, and try the sika doe pee foam in the afternoon when we have found some sign near the marsh.