Twas the night before deer season.........

It's the night before opening day!  The tags are bought, the bows tuned and sighted in, and the truck is loaded.  Hopefully tomorrow, I will have some pictures to share of a couple does my wife and I take.

I am soley dedicating this year to getting my wife her first deer.  Hopefully this weekend we can check that off the list and then focus on both of us getting a wall hanger.

Stay tuned......

Muddyhunter

Muddy Bloodsport Review

Well folks, the Muddy Bloodsport has finally arrived!  I got the call from Chad on Thursday that they would be in Friday morning.  I happened to be in Albia on Friday, so I swung by Muddy headquarters and picked it up.  I have been waiting a while for this stand to come out.  Muddy has limited production for this fall and they are almost sold out!

The Bloodsport is a sweet little stand.  It is basically the same as the Hunter Pro hang-on, but with the rope cam system for attachment instead of the two straps used on the other stands.  The stand weighs about 12 pounds and is super easy to setup; this is my new run-and-gun stand for this year.

One change Muddy has made to the Bloodsport since I last seen it at the Iowa Deer Classic is they added a piece that slides in front of the cam-lock for added safety.

 

The one thing that I don't like about the stand is the Muddy sticks are more difficult to attach to the stand.  With the other Muddy hang-on's, you can use the straps to make sure the sticks are secured to the stand.  The cam-lock system does not work as well, but I haven't had a ton of time to mess with that yet.  I may just have to use a bungy cord to keep the sticks attached to the stand.

All-in-all, the Bloodsport is a great stand if you like to pack in and setup quick and quiet.  When I hunt, most of my stands are already set, but I like to have a stand and set of sticks that I can use to get in a spot that I have seen deer moving through from one of those preset stands.

Muddyhunter

2011 Hit List

It's the time of year to dive into the hit list bucks.  I have struggled with trail camera reliability this year, but still have managed to get a few awesome deer on camera.  Still, I know that once Halloween rolls around I could see bucks that I have never seen before (like my 2010 buck).

2010 Buck

 #1 - The Big 8

I have a ton of history with this buck and he is a giant, but this is the year to get him on the ground.  I am pretty sure he is 6 1/2 years old and will start going downhill if he doesn't get shot this year.  I have seen him on stand a couple of different times, but could never get him in range.  Here are some pictures of this giant.



 

To view more pictures from the past few years of the Big 8, check out the Weekend Update from August 6th and 7th.  I am guessing this deer is in the mid-160's based off the score on the shed I found last year (72").

#2 - Randy Savage

Randy Savage was nicknamed the Macho Man, and that name fits this buck perfectly!  This is the first time I have gotten pictures of this buck, and I'm not sure what to make of him.  I think he may be 3 1/2 years old, and if that is the case, he may get a free pass this year.  I will have to make that call when the time comes.

These are the two bucks I am focusing on the most.  I plan to hunt these deer in two different locations; the Ridge Top Stand and Tom's Stand.  These two stands will give me the best opportunity to take down the Big 8 and Randy Savage.  Check out the Treestand Location blog to view the two strategies I have for these stands.

#3 - The Moose

The Moose is probably 4 1/2, but even if he isn't he is a deer that probably needs to be shot this year based on his rack.  The Moose has one nice 4 point side, and the other side has no points, but is very palmated.  The Moose is just a really cool deer that would make an awesome mount.

#4 - Crazy 8

Crazy 8 is a nice mature buck that will be a great buck for my wife or brother to shoot for their first buck.  He is a mature 8 pointer that will probably score in the low 130's. 

To go along with the Crazy 8 buck, here are some pictures of a few other mature bucks.

I will try and keep you posted on any other hit list bucks that may show up on camera during the season.  Hopefully I will be posting picture of the Big 8 on the ground come November!

Muddyhunter

Trail Camera Update

Moultrie Mini M-80

I wanted to give an update on one of the new trail cameras I have tried out this year.  I have been running two Moultrie M-80 mini cameras this summer.  The cameras are awesome to setup and compact, which I really like.  The downside to these cameras have been that it is about a 50/50 chance of actually having pictures on the card  when I pull it.  Sometimes I get an error on my computer that says the card needs to be formatted (I have formatted all my cards before I use them), once I had a bunch of folders on the card with funky symbols and only half the pictures were viewable, and other times I pull the card, put a new one in and the camera acts like it does not want to work.  Needless to say after this experience with both cameras, I have had enough!

This is not the first time I have heard this issue with these new Moultrie cameras.  I called Moultrie and they told me I needed to use a 4GB card instead of 2GB and that I needed to do a hard reset of the camera.  I think the card suggestion is bogus; if they recommend a 4GB card, put it on the packaging! 

DLC Covert 3.0

I have recently purchased a Wildgame Innovations Micro 6 Red and will also be purchasing a DLC Covert 3.0 to try out.  I have heard good things about both cameras, so I am going to give them a try.  I am going to return one Moultrie and keep the other.  There is a firmware update available so I am going to try that and then do the hard reset and see if that helps the M-80.

WGI Micro 6 Red

I wanted to put this out there so that others can be aware of these problems.  I will give a complete update on how these new cameras are working and if the new updates work on the M-80.

Muddyhunter

Weekend Update September 5th - Stands and Bucks

The weekend was all about getting ready for hunting season; which is less than a month away!  If you have read the treestand location blog, I put up Tom's Stand, the Ridge Top Stand, the Food Plot Stand, and the Logging Road Stand.

The shooting lanes are trimmed, the food plot is growing, and the stands are up.  It is almost time to hunt!  Here are a few pictures from the weekend. 

I also checked cameras and got some great pictures of some of the bucks I have history with, and also a couple new ones that I am really excited about.  I am working on my Hitlist Blog that I will post in the next couple weeks.

Muddyhunter