Chestatee

[chrislibby88]

Anyone going to the Chestatee for the big game hunt this weekend? Me and a few guys will be camping looking for deer and bears.

 

[strothershwacker]

Yup. Post to rain like a cow peeing on a flat rock Friday and Saterday but after last week I'm getting use to it.

 

[chrislibby88]

Yup. Post to rain like a cow peeing on a flat rock Friday and Saterday but after last week I'm getting use to it.

Hoping the weather man is wrong about this one. Haha.

 

[tree cutter 08]

Yeah I'll be going hopefully. Gonna be a little wet

 

[strothershwacker]

I may get wettern' John the baptist, but ye can't kill em if ye ain't with em!

 

[chrislibby88]

I may get wettern' John the baptist, but ye can't kill em if ye ain't with em!

I’ve got some good rain gear. Passed a small bodied spike just a bit ago at first light. Hope I don’t regret it. About to cruise some ridges.

 

[chrislibby88]

Yeah I'll be going hopefully. Gonna be a little wet

Gonna be good today, and I think Sunday. Friday and Sat are looking pretty miserable.

 

[Timberman]

any updates?

 

[Rabun]

Haven't heard of any bear, but...Congrats Tree Cutter

http://forum.gon.com/threads/chesstatee-mountain-buck.932765/

 

[Christian hughey]

Haven't heard of any bear, but...Congrats Tree Cutter

http://forum.gon.com/threads/chesstatee-mountain-buck.932765/

NICE ONE !!! CONGRATS, love seeing good public land deer

 

[chrislibby88]

any updates?

No deer for me. I saw that spike on my first sit, bumped a doe at 50 yards later that day scouting a ridge line, sat down and tried to see if any bucks were bedded in the laurels she ran through, but we just saw and heard her moving higher up the ridge. Bumped two more deer Sunday morning still hunting down a different ridge. I was trying to pick my way through a birds nest of dead trees, and I think they saw me moving from across the drainage. I didn’t get a good look at them, just saw tails.

On a side note, the trip was a success. We took our vegetarian friend Garret, who has never hunted before. He set up on a food plot Friday evening about 200 yards from the food plot I sat on. About 10 minutes before last light I heard his shot, scared the **** out of me. I smiled, and decided to keep sitting for the last few minutes, then get down if he didn’t come find me. Maybe a minute later I heard him shoot again, and light was getting low, so I climbed down. Went to his plot and hooted, faintly heard him from a few hundred yards into the bottom, so started walking. Sure enough, he was standing near a wounded deer in the creek, but it was still alive, and he only carried 2 rounds. The first shot broke both shoulders, but was low and not immediately fatal. Missed his second shot while pursuing the deer. He asked if I would finish it off. I only had my pistol on me, I left my rifle at the base of my tree so I wouldn’t have to carry it and drag. I did have my pistol on me. I offered to let him shoot, but he declined, since he was on a pretty hard adrenaline ride. I shot the deer broadside in the vital zone, and it started bucking, rolled over in the creek, and it’s head went under. We both thought it was dead, but a few seconds later he picks his head up, and starts breathing erratically. Then stops, then starts again. We debate on shooting more holes in the meat, and before we can reach a decision the deer starts trying to get up again, so I shoot for the base of the skull, and it finally goes stiff.

Took us about 2.5 hours to pull the deer back to the closed road, retrieve my game cart, and get him back to the truck. Raining the whole time, dark, and we had to cross about 4 creeks and ditches getting the cart, and pulling the deer back too. The creek rose a few inches from when we walked in too, so we were completely drenched head to toe, but it was a dang good time, and I’m almost happier that he walked away with some meat. Broke the deer down at camp, and he cooked and ate some tenderloin. That was his first meal of meat in over two years, and he is going to eat some every Sunday.

Edit: It was a 3.5 year old 7 point. Nothing crazy, but still a beautiful animal, and a nice buck for the mountains. I would have been proud to shoot it if it walked out on me.

 

[jbogg]

No deer for me. I saw that spike on my first sit, bumped a doe at 50 yards later that day scouting a ridge line, sat down and tried to see if any bucks were bedded in the laurels she ran through, but we just saw and heard her moving higher up the ridge. Bumped two more deer Sunday morning still hunting down a different ridge. I was trying to pick my way through a birds nest of dead trees, and I think they saw me moving from across the drainage. I didn’t get a good look at them, just saw tails.

On a side note, the trip was a success. We took our vegetarian friend Garret, who has never hunted before. He set up on a food plot Friday evening about 200 yards from the food plot I sat on. About 10 minutes before last light I heard his shot, scared the **** out of me. I smiled, and decided to keep sitting for the last few minutes, then get down if he didn’t come find me. Maybe a minute later I heard him shoot again, and light was getting low, so I climbed down. Went to his plot and hooted, faintly heard him from a few hundred yards into the bottom, so started walking. Sure enough, he was standing near a wounded deer in the creek, but it was still alive, and he only carried 2 rounds. The first shot broke both shoulders, but was low and not immediately fatal. Missed his second shot while pursuing the deer. He asked if I would finish it off. I only had my pistol on me, I left my rifle at the base of my tree so I wouldn’t have to carry it and drag. I did have my pistol on me. I offered to let him shoot, but he declined, since he was on a pretty hard adrenaline ride. I shot the deer broadside in the vital zone, and it started bucking, rolled over in the creek, and it’s head went under. We both thought it was dead, but a few seconds later he picks his head up, and starts breathing erratically. Then stops, then starts again. We debate on shooting more holes in the meat, and before we can reach a decision the deer starts trying to get up again, so I shoot for the base of the skull, and it finally goes stiff.

Took us about 2.5 hours to pull the deer back to the closed road, retrieve my game cart, and get him back to the truck. Raining the whole time, dark, and we had to cross about 4 creeks and ditches getting the cart, and pulling the deer back too. The creek rose a few inches from when we walked in too, so we were completely drenched head to toe, but it was a dang good time, and I’m almost happier that he walked away with some meat. Broke the deer down at camp, and he cooked and ate some tenderloin. That was his first meal of meat in over two years, and he is going to eat some every Sunday.

Tha'ts a hunt neither one of you will soon forget.

 

[strothershwacker]

Take more than 2 rounds when hunting anything other than salad.

 

[chrislibby88]

Tha'ts a hunt neither one of you will soon forget.

Oh I know man. It was awesome. All the mountain hunts are. The miserable hunts wind up being the most rewarding too.

 

[chrislibby88]

Take more than 2 rounds when hunting anything other than salad.

Yea that’s pretty much what I told him. He knows now. Haha.

 

[ripplerider]

I used to carry 5 rounds. Then came a day I needed all 5 and walked out with an empty gun. So I started carrying 6. If I ever need all 6 I guess I'll start carrying 7. If you ever read Colonel Jim Corbett's books about hunting man-eating tigers and leopards there was a time when if he'd carried 5 bullets instead of 4 he could have finished off a man-eater that took many many more victims before he got it in front of his sights again. I'm not hunting maneaters however.

 

[tree cutter 08]

After getting into shooting a pack of yotes on morning and missing a big buck with my last shell that broke me from only toting only what my rifle held. I carry a box of a double handful now.

 

[chrislibby88]

After getting into shooting a pack of yotes on morning and missing a big buck with my last shell that broke me from only toting only what my rifle held. I carry a box of a double handful now.

Now that sounds like a fun morning.

 

[chrislibby88]

I used to carry 5 rounds. Then came a day I needed all 5 and walked out with an empty gun. So I started carrying 6. If I ever need all 6 I guess I'll start carrying 7. If you ever read Colonel Jim Corbett's books about hunting man-eating tigers and leopards there was a time when if he'd carried 5 bullets instead of 4 he could have finished off a man-eater that took many many more victims before he got it in front of his sights again. I'm not hunting maneaters however.

I usually only carry what will fit (4 in my go to rifle) and I usually have a pistol on my hip. I’ve though about carrying more but never needed them. I have used my pistol to finish off more than one downed animal though. Still on the fence on dragging more shells.

 

[Christian hughey]

I got broke of carrying only a few over on the oconee. Got surrounded by a large pack of yotes that wanted my deer and I only had one shell left. That could have been worse than it ended up. Never run into a pack that large or aggressive before and I've hunted every chance for the last 20 or so years.