Arcadia Lake 2022
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Hey Bratch, no dice. I hunted Thurs night after work through Saturday eve. I saw a handful of does and only got to draw my recurve back once. Right when I was about to release an arrow she bolted. I was still-hunting my way back to the truck Saturday night and came across some does heading to private property. That was my only shot opportunity all weekend. Didn't go Sunday at all, too hot and windy.
It was hard, the deer were still keying in on corn feeders on private property. My buddy hunted over a draw blanketed with acorns and saw one doe the entire time.
Anyways, I really hope there are some buck tags left the weekend you go, that's a prime weekend. There should be 5 buck tags left, currently so you never know. Best of luck to you, I'm done with Arcadia for this year.
It was hard, the deer were still keying in on corn feeders on private property. My buddy hunted over a draw blanketed with acorns and saw one doe the entire time.
Anyways, I really hope there are some buck tags left the weekend you go, that's a prime weekend. There should be 5 buck tags left, currently so you never know. Best of luck to you, I'm done with Arcadia for this year.
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You gave it every chance available. Sorry to hear you didn’t score but that’s hunting.
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Oh yeah, I gave it a good college try. That part of the lake has become kinda difficult to hunt. So many homeowners run feeders all year, the deer just sleep underneath them all day and don't really go back to the "woods" until it gets too cold for them to go out and refill the feeders or rut kicks in and does run for cover.
There's plenty of season left and the best parts should be ramping up the next few weeks. Nothing to be discouraged about.
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You got your eye on any other public land hunts?
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Oh yeah. My weekend plan fell through to go visit the folks, so I'll likely go to my regular public spot this weekend. Need to look at the weather/wind to figure out the details. I'll be pounding the public pretty hard the rest of the year, got a buck and some pigs picked out I'd love to slip an arrow through. I'm trying to wrap my head around Lexington WMA, would like to try some hunts out there later in Dec-Jan when the pressure, hopefully, drops off a bit. Never been there though.
My old hunting buddy extended an invite to hunt on his property. He's acquired some of his neighbor's property so he's got a pretty nice spread out there now, 400+/- acres. I'm still just a bit uncertain about rekindling that friendship after the stuff that happened a couple years ago. I won't go into details, but he was having some major emotional/behavioral issues after years of substance abuse and I didn't feel safe around him anymore.
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Hello y’all. Going to zone 6 next week. Be my first hunting trip so hoping to harvest some meat.
Any pointers for an new fella? Excited as this has been a journey of trying to learn a life skill at an older age. Lot to experience and learn for sure.
I’ll be hunting from the ground. Trying to keep mindful of wind and scent.
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Any pointers for an new fella? Excited as this has been a journey of trying to learn a life skill at an older age. Lot to experience and learn for sure.
I’ll be hunting from the ground. Trying to keep mindful of wind and scent.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Welcome to Oklahoma Hunter!
I’m sure you’ll get some pointers from our members.
I’m a new guy too so here’s what I have learned this year:
Escout before you go out morning to have a plan where to go. I just used the maps on my phone but just downloaded OnX and am liking it.
It’ll look different in the dark, I thought I had found a great opening on the map but could never find it the first morning.
Pay attention to your shooting lanes, you’ll be limited hunting from the ground with the brush. You can not trim any vegetation so you have to work around it. I plan to try and get in the trees next year because of this.
If you have a rangefinder range a bunch of trees around you to know distances incase you don’t have time on the deer.
Plan to spend time walking the property after the first morning hunt to find better sign. The place I started the first morning was garbage and I never went back.
Take flagging tape to mark spots you like and trails so they are easier to find. I flagged the tree I was going to sit under.
Be prepared to adapt. I hunted the first few sessions behind a blind but it had horrible sight lines so I gave up on it and moved to a turkey lounger. I’m shooting a crossbow so I can shoot low easier.
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Hey ChicagoMike. Welcome aboard. I just hunted 6 this last weekend. Good thing you're a ground hunter, there aren't too many good, mature trees to climb on that zone. There is some timber in spots. A lot of the timber is scrubby blackjack oaks, not great for stands. Watch out for briars and blackberry bushes, lots of locust trees too, there are plenty of thorns and spines on zone 6. My legs are currently cut all to hell. There's a couple good mowed paths to get through the zone though.
It's also worth mentioning, it's a half mile walk from the truck just to get to the closest edge of your zone. If you're concerned about dragging a deer out very far or walking, zones 5-6 aren't a great choice. Generally, the hunt manager will not help you retrieve a deer either. I shot a doe in there last year that ran to the north end of 6, it was literally a one-mile drag back to the truck.
There was almost no activity for us last weekend. If I were you, I'd probably hunt hard up close to the thicket edges, you'll know what I mean when you see them. It's like a jungle in some spots and the deer weave their way through. You might get lucky and see a coyote or two walking the mowed paths at twilight, those are fair game if you see them. Good luck!
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Sure do appreciate it! Being my first time and trying to harvest some meat, I’m excited for the adventure.
I don’t have real high hopes, but I’m going to give it an go.
Again, thanks for the info!
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I don’t have real high hopes, but I’m going to give it an go.
Again, thanks for the info!
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I started deer hunting in 1982, I’m still learning.
Don’t get discouraged if you don’t score this season. Use it as a teaching time to make you smarter next year.
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If you didn’t feel safe or that this guy could be threat it’s not worth it at all. Listen to your gut
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The weather peeps can't predict what will happen the next day accurately.
Prepare for it and move forward.
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I’m in 13 this weekend, was hoping for 11 since I hunted it earlier but it was already booked. We’ll see what happens.
You have any luck?
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I’ll be out in my first sit this weekend in 6.
Sounds like rough weather so we’ll see.
I’m having all sorts bow tuning issues with my bow at this point. So frustration is high.
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Sounds like rough weather so we’ll see.
I’m having all sorts bow tuning issues with my bow at this point. So frustration is high.
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Good luck for some reason I thought you were hunting last weekend.
Friday looks like it could be a bust maybe Saturday morning but other than the wind rest of the weekend looks workable, warm Thursday and Friday morning.
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