Hunting Season 2007
Pablo's Crew Dominates The Action...With Their Guns
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Spike Shot A Heavy 11 Pointer At The Junk Yard.
Pablo Picked Off This 7 Pointer From The Tripod.
Wes Downed This Fine 8 Pointer At The Big Pine.
Opening Weekend
Just as they had for the previous 8 years the Mudbrook Boys gathered once again for their annual opening weekend celebration. This event occur's every autumn to mark the beginning of bowhunting season and is always filled with lot's of fun, laughter and trash talking. There is also, of course, the annual Mudbrook Open golf outing which has taken on a life of it's own in regards to entertainment value. This year was the largest turnout ever for the golf outing which included the following teams: Paco & Pedro, Barnacle & Pablo, Chapper & Odie, Bee Sting & Red Squirrel, Lefty & Honest Abe and also the trio of Ricardo & The Outlaws Jesse & James. Cabin Boy also showed up about half way through golf and joined in with some timely insults and sarcastic remarks. The day's weather was unseasonably cold and the winds were harsh...but everyone stuck around for 27 holes of golf torture. The competition was very tight the whole day but in the end it was Odie and the Shty Poet who came out victorious. A great time was had by all and everyone appreciated the simple fact that the group was able to be together again. What a crew!! After golf it was back to the "church" for refreshments and a fine meal of venison prepared by Lefty & Barnacle (an annual tradition)...the "real" celebration was on.
Bowhunting Season
In 2007 the boys from Mudbrook got their first taste of "earn a buck" requirements. A few of the guys had killed does in 2006 which qualified them for buck tags but those who didn't were scrambling to shoot a doe. The season got off to a fast start on opening night when Jimmy wounded a doe from the Chute stand. Unfortunately, after searching that night and then again the next morning the doe was not recovered. This is always the worst part about hunting. Jimmy and everyone else in camp were bummed. The very next morning saw another opportunity arise as Paco and Bee Sting put "the stalk" on a doe and fawn out feeding in a field near the church. Bee Sting launched an arrow from 35 yards away but it missed it's mark and the whitetails were flying. Nothing but air...a feeling Bee Sting would experience again later in the season when he missed and then grazed a doe from the Triangle stand. Following is a quick summary of the 2007 bowhunting season for each official member of the Highbanks Hunting Club...
Barnacle
After a stellar season in 2006 Barnacle was expecting even better results in 2007. It certainly started out that way as he drilled a mature doe from the Tent Blind on September 23rd. After that, however, it all went down hill. Barnacle wounded an 8 point buck at the Wedge stand on November 4th but after a full afternoon of tracking the deer was not recovered. This was a very disappointing end to an otherwise successful hunt...and a scenario that played out for other hunters in the group during 2007 as well. For Barnacle, it was his only shot at an "8 points or better" buck all season.
Odie
It would be an understatement to say that Odie's 2007 season was heartbreaking. This young man of 15 years has had many great opportunities to harvest mature bucks over the past few seasons but has just not been able to close the deal. On September 23, 2007 Odie hit a doe from the Chute stand but drew only a few small drops of blood. After a lengthy search the doe was never found. On October 20th Odie was able to try out his new bow again when he shot a nubbon buck from the Tent Blind. This deer was recovered and the youngster was "on the board". Then, on October 27th, Odie was in the Loop Road stand when a group of bucks arrived chasing a doe. He was able to fling an arrow at one of the bucks and after a desperate search in the dark a decent blood trail was found. It was decided that the tracking would be left until morning in hopes that the buck would lie down and die overnight. Unfortunately for Odie the buck was not found the next morning. The poor boy was crushed. He will be back in 2008 more determined than ever.
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Despite Having A "Buckless" Season Barnacle Was Still Happy With His Doe.
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Odie Wasn't Available To Track His Deer So This Picture Was Taken In His Yard.
Lefty
The number one goal for Lefty in 2007 was to shoot an arrow at a deer. After a number of consecutive seasons where an arrow never left his bow this was the year of "the shot". On November 3rd it finally happened while Lefty was hunting from the Barefoot Stand...which is where he came face to face with a monster buck the previous year but didn't get a shot off. The scene this year was very much the same and the object was once again a dandy buck. Lefty drew back and released an arrow that, unfortunately, missed the buck completely. The good news is that Lefty shot at something...and next year could be the year that he scores on one of those monster bucks!
Poison
For the third straight season Poison had his chances to kill a deer with his bow and had the opportunities pass him by. It started with a "double miss" on a doe at the Chute stand on September 22 and ended with a "no shot" on a nice 10 pointer in November after spooking the buck by scraping his arrow fletchings on a tree branch. The positive thing about Poison is that he never lets it get him down and every year he has opportunities...he'll get it right one of these years.
Paco
This is the third season in a row that Paco will get his name engraved on the Highbanks Hunting Club Big Buck Award. Each year he just seems to find a way to shoot a buck with his bow...although this years buck turned out to be a six pointer after he thought it was bigger. Nonetheless, he was the only member of the club to shoot a legal buck with his bow and therefore deserves all the credit for "closing the deal" when nobody else could. His kill happened on October 28 from the Wedge stand during an evening hunt. The buck came out of the swamp at dusk and Paco thought it was an 8 pointer. He let loose an arrow and watched the buck travel only 30 yards before tipping over dead. Good job Paco!
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Paco Once Again Earned Top HHC Honors With His Six Point Buck.
Pedro
After having an outstanding season in 2006 Pedro experienced frustration and disappointment in 2007. The most glaring defect of his season occurred on the opening morning of gun season when he wounded a very large buck and wasn't able to recover it. This happened at the Salad Swamp stand which is where he killed his dandy 11 pointer the year before. It was heart wrenching. The bow hunting season wasn't much better as he did not have a single shot opportunity at a "shooter buck". There was a 45 yard encounter with a solid 8 pointer from the Circle stand in October and a 20 yarder with a great 8 pointer in December but the shots just weren't there. Finally, on December 31st, Pedro avoided is first "dry" season in years by sticking a nubbon buck from the Pine Point stand. This may not seem like a huge accomplishment but it happened at crunch time when the season was winding down and deer sightings were scarce. Pedro was very proud of this and shared the tracking duties with his 7 year old son Hopper. He's now looking forward to 2008 with high expectations.
Gun Season
As stated in the title of this page the 2007 gun season was dominated by Pablo and his "crew" which consisted of Spike (his son-in-law) and Wes (his grandson)...but it was Poison who made the first kill of gun season when he downed a doe AND a 7 point buck within 12 minutes of each other on Sunday afternoon of opening weekend. This was an awesome accomplishment considering it was an extremely windy day and nobody else saw any deer. Pablo's crew arrived in Mudbrook on the Wednesday of gun season and didn't waste any time getting on the bucks. Before the day ended Wes was able to shoot a doe and also a dandy 8 point buck from the Big Pine ladder stand. This was the second year in a row that Wes was able to connect on a big Mudbrook buck. Ironically, on that same Wednesday afternoon and within minutes of Wes's shot, Pedro's Uncle Jer (Poison's Dad) also downed a very nice buck...this one a 10 pointer from the Sling Shot stand. Two very good bucks within minutes of each other and in the same general area. What a day!
On Thanksgiving morning they were back at it. This time it was Pablo's turn to shine as he dropped a 7 point buck at 200 yards from the Tripod stand. After the morning hunt Pedro stopped in at Pablo's cabin to speak with the boys and look at their deer. During the conversation Spike mentioned that he hadn't seen anything to shoot at yet so Pedro gave him directions to the Junk Yard stand and told him to give it a try the next morning. The stand was on the edge of a corn field and had not been hunted since the early bow season. Sure enough, Spike was in that Junk Yard stand the very next morning and shot an 11 point bruiser buck with a heavy rack. What a three day stretch!! There were no other kills during the Mudbrook gun season but those boys had all the meat and antlers they could handle for one season. Good job!!!
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Poison Drew First Blood During The 2007 Gun Season By Shooting This Doe & Buck Within 12 Minutes Of Each Other...As You Can See, He Was Thrilled!
Pictures From 2007
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The Start Of Spring Turkey Season Was Cold...Just Ask Odie!
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The Red Squirrel's Unique "Tactics" Once Again Resulted In A Big Tom.
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Pedro's Son "Hopper" Came Turkey Hunting Again...And Loved It!
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Lefty Scored On His First Mudbrook Turkey...A Very Respectable Jake.
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Barnacle Bill...Golfing Legend!
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The Final Hole Of Opening Weekend Golf...Everyone Survived!!
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This Crew Came To Hunt On The Last Weekend In October...
Back Row: TyBone (Pedro's Nephew), Choctaw (Pedro's Bro-In-Law, Pablo, Lefty, Spike. Front Row: Logjam (Pedro's Nephew), Zach (TyBone's College Buddy).
TyBone Was Very Proud Of His Nubbon...Can You Say "Earn-A-Buck?
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The 2007 Rut Hunting Gang...Back Row: Barnacle, S. Poet, Poison, Odie, Rattlesnake. Front Row: Red Squirrel, Paco, Lefty.
The Dynamic Duo...Poison And Rattlesnake.
2007 Bow Kills
Hunter Deer Type Tree Stand
Barnacle Doe Tent Blind
Odie Nubbon Tent Blind
Paco 6 Point Buck The Wedge
Pedro Nubbon Pine Point
Hunter Deer Type Tree Stand
Jimmy Doe The Chute
Bee Sting Doe Field Stalk
Poison Doe The Chute
Poison Doe The Chute
Bee Sting Doe Triangle
Bee Sting Doe Triangle
Odie Doe The Chute
Odie 8 Point Loop Road
Lefty 8 Point Barefoot
Barnacle 8 Point The Wedge
2007 Bow Hits & Misses
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