October 23rd ..........Let the Games Begin

[Mike P]

I must really be getting old. Like the very animal I am after, I have yet to show myself. The Phoenix has not been handled since opening day. It seems like a long time ago.

The bachelor groups are long gone. Those early food patterns are also history. The young bucks are getting frisky and making territorial scrapes along the edges of the crop fields. I see a couple of basket sixes in the front yard most every morning now harassing the doe's. And as much as I long to grab the bow, hang the climber on my back and head out to the funnels and saddles here in the neighborhood, I know it is too early.

I have collected all the trail cams I had out. I will not risk blowing off a mature whitetail buck now with occasional visits to the cams to collect the photos. The last thing I want to do now is tip off the old boys to my presence. I know what is out there. Additional photos will only confirm what I already know.

Like my quarry, I also know every nook and cranny of the neighborhood. I know every food source. I know every bedding area. And I know every trail that connects the two. This knowledge has been accumulated over decades. And like a long running Broadway play, the story is always the same.

Doc calls every day and asks if we should start hitting the ridge behind his house. It has a trail coming up from the bottoms, up from the creek bed and cedar thickets where the old boys are bedding. It is the same ridge where Doc arrowed his ten point last October. I sense his disappointment when I tell him it is too soon. Doc always wants to hunt early and often. He suffers in the cold and knows those days will be here shortly. It is everything I can do to keep him from jumping the gun.

According to my journals, we still have ten days to wait. October 23rd is the official launch date. It is the day that the big boys venture forth. It is the date my quest starts again. I will hunt every day from the 23rd of October through the entire month of November. It will be a five week grind.

I will not hunt a specific buck here in the neighborhood. There are some very good bucks here, don't get me wrong. I have glassed many from the bed of the pickup truck and have lots of photos courtesy of the cams. There just has not been a buck that reached out and grabbed me. Well, not here in the neighborhood.

Two have grabbed me but good out at the farm. One is a longtime favorite that we have known since birth. I have described him here before; we called him the wrestler for the past two years. We started calling him "Rourke" this summer because of the movie starring Mickey Rourke called "The Wrestler." He is now five and a half and is a brute. His rack has finally caught up with his body. He is a perfect ten and his mass is off the charts. While viewing the photos of "Rourke" at our farm meeting this past week all scored him conservatively at 180 inches. The second buck I am not allowed to talk about under threat of death. And when my buddy Shrader threatens you, it is not something you take lightly. He is a scary guy.

I am going to enjoy this season. I will not be as frantic as I was last year pursuing the palmated buck. That buck took a toll on me both physically and mentally. This year I am going to kick back and smell the honeysuckle. There will be no weekly reports of my failures pursuing a specific animal. There will not be countless days spent watching bedding areas through the Leica's trying to pattern some savvy old man of the woods. Gone are the days of watching a ten foot opening in heavy brush for hours on end hoping for one fleeting shot. Nope, this season I take it easy. This season I kick back and enjoy the ride.

I was talking to awshucks on the phone last week. We were reviewing some things regarding the Excalibur Kids program. He asked me what buck I was after this year. I told him the same thing I just told all of you with the words above. "I am not going after anything special," I told him.

"You are such a liar," he replied.

I don't care what Grizz says. Shucks is a very smart guy.

[Kenton]

The second buck I am not allowed to talk about under threat of death.

Aw, c'mon. You can tell us. lol. Good luck buddy.

[Grizzly Adam]

Go get 'em, Mike!

'Shucks just has antler envy.

[MADMAX2]

As I was reading your post I caught a whiff of horse sh#t good luck with this years quest Mike P!!

[one shot scott]

Man, I would have a hard time holding out like that. Good luck MikeP!

[Normous]

The second buck I am not allowed to talk about under threat of death.

Aw, c'mon. You can tell us. lol. Good luck buddy.

We can call that buck "Threat of Death"

[dick195252]

Great reading and Good Luck on your pursuit of the BIG one.

[R.J.]

Great read Mike ... Go get em ... Looking forward to the success story and pic's !

[sumner4991]

Remember to take that camera along.

Good luck out there!

[saxman]

Good luck Mike
Have fun and BE SAFE OUT THERE
That goes for everybody

[hetichunter]

Mike P you have made my creative literature course at the community college a breeze. All I do is print out your posts and take them to class for discussinon. The lady professor teaching the course loves your writing and i think it reflects in the grade i am getting.

[awshucks]

Go get 'em, Mike!

'Shucks just has antler envy.

No envy just an inate ability to recognize addicts. Look at the hell he put himself through last year for the Palm-ate-ed Buck. The year[s] before that.

He admits to watching these monsters on cams all summer and fall. He drools. He plans, plots, and dreams about them until he comes up w/ his particular HIM.

This year, you can bet your bippy it's the one he won't describe. The dead give away is those two magic words, "Above 180". I knew instantly when I read that he was bsing me on the phone. I only suspected it 'til now.

Think of Richard Pryor staring at a brick of cocaine for three months. That being said, Good luck, Mike!!!