Western Kentucky report!

Well Western Kentucky had its ups and downs but overall it was an excellent trip. All of our members were in the Bluegrass State together and although plenty of deer were seen, we were only able to put one on the ground. However its not all about the numbers of animals you can harvest, for me its the whole experience that makes it a good trip. Don’ t get me wrong you always want to fill your tag but I enjoy the whole camp mentality more than anything. Sitting around the campfire with people you only see a few times a year, telling stories, laughing and eating great food that’s what does it for me. There is absolutely nothing better!

The first day was perfect. We started off with temps in the 30’s the skys were clear and the deer were moving. We had 4 hunters do all day sits and it proved to be a good choice for two of us. As the afternoon wore on a front began to push through and the winds picked up but it seemed to have little effect on the deer movement. Early in the evening Bill had a nice mature buck move into one of Tad’s whitetail institute plots and give him a standing broadside shot. Well as it happens in muzzleloader hunting the gun misfired and did not go off. Bill re-cocked the rifle and was able to get a shot off, the buck ran about 60 yards stopped and looked back at Bill before walking into the woods. About 15 minutes later the buck returned to the field and began eating in the food plot just out of range. That evening just to confirm a clean miss 5 of us searched the area and found no sign of a hit.

That same evening about 500 yards from Bill, J.R. was also sitting over a beautiful whitetail institute plot and had two shooter bucks show up. As the deer walked closer J.R. prepared himself for the shot and when the buck turned broadside at about 115 yards he took the shot and unfortunately missed the deer. As only his luck would have it the two bucks ran a short distance and had no idea where the shot came from. He quickly reloaded for a second shot and was able to drop the buck in his tracks at about 135 yards. You can see the full video on our YouTube channel by following this link. The buck was a true Kentucky tank and a true testament to Tad’s management plan and how well the Deer30 minerals work. He tipped the scales at 250 lbs and was sporting and impressive set antlers with 6-1/2″ bases.

As for the rest of us on the second day, plenty of deer were seen even had a few opportunities at a shooter or two but unfortunately were unable to get it done. Rain had moved in and made the hunting conditions a bit harder. Deer movement was still good but reduced from day one. We had a few issues with coyotes and the farmer which I am sure also contributed to the reduced movement. At the end of the trip we should have been coming home with 3 mature bucks and coolers full of meat, but as it happens in hunting sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. That’s why its called hunting and that’s what keeps us coming back year after year season after season. Never the less we all had an awesome time the hunting, food, and people were all great. We topped it off with one beautiful buck and even got some great video to share with you.

The rut is getting ready to jump into full swing and I will be doing a rut update post soon. So until then everyone should be heading to the woods for this magical time of year. As always get out there and Stay Safe!

Chris