What a week in the mountains!

Big7

Big7

The Oracle
northgeorgiasportsman said:
I've long thought that there's no finer time to be alive and roaming the mountains than the week of Thanksgiving. This week has reaffirmed my belief.

Set up a cold camp at about 2800ft for a WMA hunt last weekend. Did a little scouting, mainly wanting to lay eyes on a ridge I had cyber-scouted. It's a secondary ridge running west, perpendicular to the main north/south ridge. It's got pines at both ends, a well-defined laurel thicket edge, and plenty of hardwood. If it looked as good in person as it did on Google Earth, it would be money. When I saw it, I knew I could kill a buck there. Scarlett oaks had hit and there was active feeding sign, as well as scattered rubs up and down the ridge.
The hunt started Wednesday. By 7:55, I had one on the ground.
First buck of the year.
View attachment 1344641

Went to check him in mid day and returned to camp. Fixed a late lunch and decided to go pull a camera that I had left on a scrape. My path to camera took me by a food plot, and much to my surprise, a 150lb boar was feeding in broad daylight at 2:45pm in the middle of a green plot.
View attachment 1344644View attachment 1344645

That's the only killing I managed on the management area. Camp was awesome and the food was hearty.

View attachment 1344648

Firelight dancing in the starlight
View attachment 1344647

I woke up with a flat tire on Friday morning, so after hunting till noon, I broke camp and came home to deal with that. I guess it all worked out.

This is where the story gets good!

I was planning to hunt at least one day on a new spot I found last week. I had found a high bench that was clearly in a travel corridor between two massive watersheds. Lots of scrapes and good rubs led me to leave a camera on one with a promising licking branch.

I had no idea who would show up...


Needless to say, that got my attention.
This morning, November 30th, the end of Thanksgiving week is one I'll remember. It was 19° and breezy when I left the truck at 5:30. I knew I had right at a mile of climbing ahead of me. I had all my base layers and insulated layers in my pack because I knew I'd be soaked with sweat when I got there. The last 300 yards, I climbed as slowly and with as much stealth as I could muster in the frozen leaves. I finally topped out onto the bench and with a cold NW wind in my face, I stripped off, put my dry base layers on, and settled into my hammock seat.
I haven't been this cold since I was a teenager. I had a handwarmer on the back of my neck, one on my throat, and one in each jacket pocket. I couldn't feel my toes for a couple hours. The wind never stopped. I haven't shivered like this since I was a kid in hand-me-down long johns and surplus Army BDUs.
I told myself at about 8:30, if I could make it to 10:30, I'd leave. Along about 10:00, the sun had started to warm my boots a little and I thought I might make it till noon.

And then I heard him walking.

I had my rifle shouldered when I saw his legs coming through the white pines. I caught glimpses of antler and knew he was a really good buck. When he emerged from the pines, coming to check his scrapes, I think he noticed me and paused. That's all I needed and I put a 140gr Sierra in his chest.


View attachment 1344695

He died not 40 yards from where he bedded on camera. I got him quartered and packed and then sat in the sunshine, contemplating the goodness of God.

View attachment 1344659

A heavy pack doesn't seem so heavy when it looks like that!

I'll leave you with a little scripture that's been on my mind this week. It comes from Lamentations,


It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, Because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness.
Click to expand...
Congratulations !
Nice Buck !

I believe I would have cut that orange up and tied it on his antlers walking out.

You never know who's in the woods on a holliday weekend.
:bounce:
 
slow motion

slow motion

Senior Member
northgeorgiasportsman said:
I've long thought that there's no finer time to be alive and roaming the mountains than the week of Thanksgiving. This week has reaffirmed my belief.

Set up a cold camp at about 2800ft for a WMA hunt last weekend. Did a little scouting, mainly wanting to lay eyes on a ridge I had cyber-scouted. It's a secondary ridge running west, perpendicular to the main north/south ridge. It's got pines at both ends, a well-defined laurel thicket edge, and plenty of hardwood. If it looked as good in person as it did on Google Earth, it would be money. When I saw it, I knew I could kill a buck there. Scarlett oaks had hit and there was active feeding sign, as well as scattered rubs up and down the ridge.
The hunt started Wednesday. By 7:55, I had one on the ground.
First buck of the year.
View attachment 1344641

Went to check him in mid day and returned to camp. Fixed a late lunch and decided to go pull a camera that I had left on a scrape. My path to camera took me by a food plot, and much to my surprise, a 150lb boar was feeding in broad daylight at 2:45pm in the middle of a green plot.
View attachment 1344644View attachment 1344645

That's the only killing I managed on the management area. Camp was awesome and the food was hearty.

View attachment 1344648

Firelight dancing in the starlight
View attachment 1344647

I woke up with a flat tire on Friday morning, so after hunting till noon, I broke camp and came home to deal with that. I guess it all worked out.

This is where the story gets good!

I was planning to hunt at least one day on a new spot I found last week. I had found a high bench that was clearly in a travel corridor between two massive watersheds. Lots of scrapes and good rubs led me to leave a camera on one with a promising licking branch.

I had no idea who would show up...


Needless to say, that got my attention.
This morning, November 30th, the end of Thanksgiving week is one I'll remember. It was 19° and breezy when I left the truck at 5:30. I knew I had right at a mile of climbing ahead of me. I had all my base layers and insulated layers in my pack because I knew I'd be soaked with sweat when I got there. The last 300 yards, I climbed as slowly and with as much stealth as I could muster in the frozen leaves. I finally topped out onto the bench and with a cold NW wind in my face, I stripped off, put my dry base layers on, and settled into my hammock seat.
I haven't been this cold since I was a teenager. I had a handwarmer on the back of my neck, one on my throat, and one in each jacket pocket. I couldn't feel my toes for a couple hours. The wind never stopped. I haven't shivered like this since I was a kid in hand-me-down long johns and surplus Army BDUs.
I told myself at about 8:30, if I could make it to 10:30, I'd leave. Along about 10:00, the sun had started to warm my boots a little and I thought I might make it till noon.

And then I heard him walking.

I had my rifle shouldered when I saw his legs coming through the white pines. I caught glimpses of antler and knew he was a really good buck. When he emerged from the pines, coming to check his scrapes, I think he noticed me and paused. That's all I needed and I put a 140gr Sierra in his chest.


View attachment 1344695

He died not 40 yards from where he bedded on camera. I got him quartered and packed and then sat in the sunshine, contemplating the goodness of God.

View attachment 1344659

A heavy pack doesn't seem so heavy when it looks like that!

I'll leave you with a little scripture that's been on my mind this week. It comes from Lamentations,


It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, Because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing that story and congratulations on 2 great bucks.
 
bany

bany

Senior Member
Amazing week for you! Congratulations on being there and thank you for sharing! I need some inspiration, I’m not sure why but thank you for giving me some. You got some fine animals and a pile of meat!
 
godogs57

godogs57

Senior Member
Congrats! Remember those hunts well when I lived in NW GA before moving to Lee. Pulling hills at 5:30 AM, you about had to do it in a t-shirt….had to force yourself to climb slow. If you didn’t…and busted a sweat, you were done for in a few minutes when that first chill hit your spine. My technique was to hike into my spot, stand for a minute or so…feel the chill…THEN pull your jacket, etc out of my pack and suit up. My feet never really got cold…you always laced your boots up loose. But my fingers…hoo boy they’d get numb. Frozen solid!

Kill a buck? Gutted him right there and get to dragging. I can still remember gutting a deer with fingers frozen solid…the split second you grabbed those warm guts your fingers ached in pain like a hundred needles sticking in them.

My #1 stand behind my house was 9/10‘s of a mile from my back porch. Nope….didnt own a four wheeler…..no way to drive to it either. I’d drag a deer the whole way back….crossing two creeks In the process.

The coldest I’ve ever hunted elk and mule deer was 10 below…..the coldest I ever hunted up there was 15 below. Wonderful memories up there….I‘m spoiled down here In comparison.
 
northgeorgiasportsman

northgeorgiasportsman

Moderator
Staff member
F.A.R.R. said:
Outstanding- quite an achievement North GA mountain hunting- congratulations

From following your posts you are a very fine hunter and trout fisherman
Click to expand...
I appreciate the compliment, but I'm nothing special.
 
northgeorgiasportsman

northgeorgiasportsman

Moderator
Staff member
That's the Badlands Vario. Very tough, very capable pack.
 
Jim Thompson

Jim Thompson

Live From The Tree
northgeorgiasportsman said:
I've long thought that there's no finer time to be alive and roaming the mountains than the week of Thanksgiving. This week has reaffirmed my belief.

Set up a cold camp at about 2800ft for a WMA hunt last weekend. Did a little scouting, mainly wanting to lay eyes on a ridge I had cyber-scouted. It's a secondary ridge running west, perpendicular to the main north/south ridge. It's got pines at both ends, a well-defined laurel thicket edge, and plenty of hardwood. If it looked as good in person as it did on Google Earth, it would be money. When I saw it, I knew I could kill a buck there. Scarlett oaks had hit and there was active feeding sign, as well as scattered rubs up and down the ridge.
The hunt started Wednesday. By 7:55, I had one on the ground.
First buck of the year.
View attachment 1344641

Went to check him in mid day and returned to camp. Fixed a late lunch and decided to go pull a camera that I had left on a scrape. My path to camera took me by a food plot, and much to my surprise, a 150lb boar was feeding in broad daylight at 2:45pm in the middle of a green plot.
View attachment 1344644View attachment 1344645

That's the only killing I managed on the management area. Camp was awesome and the food was hearty.

View attachment 1344648

Firelight dancing in the starlight
View attachment 1344647

I woke up with a flat tire on Friday morning, so after hunting till noon, I broke camp and came home to deal with that. I guess it all worked out.

This is where the story gets good!

I was planning to hunt at least one day on a new spot I found last week. I had found a high bench that was clearly in a travel corridor between two massive watersheds. Lots of scrapes and good rubs led me to leave a camera on one with a promising licking branch.

I had no idea who would show up...


Needless to say, that got my attention.
This morning, November 30th, the end of Thanksgiving week is one I'll remember. It was 19° and breezy when I left the truck at 5:30. I knew I had right at a mile of climbing ahead of me. I had all my base layers and insulated layers in my pack because I knew I'd be soaked with sweat when I got there. The last 300 yards, I climbed as slowly and with as much stealth as I could muster in the frozen leaves. I finally topped out onto the bench and with a cold NW wind in my face, I stripped off, put my dry base layers on, and settled into my hammock seat.
I haven't been this cold since I was a teenager. I had a handwarmer on the back of my neck, one on my throat, and one in each jacket pocket. I couldn't feel my toes for a couple hours. The wind never stopped. I haven't shivered like this since I was a kid in hand-me-down long johns and surplus Army BDUs.
I told myself at about 8:30, if I could make it to 10:30, I'd leave. Along about 10:00, the sun had started to warm my boots a little and I thought I might make it till noon.

And then I heard him walking.

I had my rifle shouldered when I saw his legs coming through the white pines. I caught glimpses of antler and knew he was a really good buck. When he emerged from the pines, coming to check his scrapes, I think he noticed me and paused. That's all I needed and I put a 140gr Sierra in his chest.


View attachment 1344695

He died not 40 yards from where he bedded on camera. I got him quartered and packed and then sat in the sunshine, contemplating the goodness of God.

View attachment 1344659

A heavy pack doesn't seem so heavy when it looks like that!

I'll leave you with a little scripture that's been on my mind this week. It comes from Lamentations,


It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, Because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness.
Click to expand...

Doesnt get much better than this! Thanks for the post and all the photos.
 
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