The spring and summer of 2022 were filled with numerous off-season activities for the gang from Mudbrook Valley. There was field burning in early spring, turkey hunting in late spring, golf during early and mid summer, and lots of tree stand work in late summer. Below is a collection of pictures from all of these fun activities.
Monkey's brother Aaron was the lone bear hunter on the farm this year and bagged his first bear ever on Tuesday, September 13th. Chakka, Lo Lo, and Pedro all went up to help track and drag the beast...it was heavy! Very well done young man! What a great time that was!
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH
For the 24th year in a row the boys of the Highbanks Hunting Club gathered together to celebrate the beginning of another bow hunting season in Mudbrook Valley. As in years past there was a golf tournament along with great food, trash talking, and lots of laughter. This annual celebration has become more about having everyone together again than it is about the actual hunting...but we still love to hunt as well. It is all very special!
The 2022 Mudbrook Golf Outing participants were...Front Row L to R: Chapper & Monkey. Middle Row L to R: Bee Sting, Lefty, & Pedro. Back Row L to R: Paco, Axman, Chakka, Barnacle, Pablo & Odie. What a crew and what a fun time!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH - OPENING DAY
The 2022 Opening Day of bow hunting was hot and muggy. Temperatures soared into the 80's with a hot sun beating down. Only three hunters went out for the morning hunt but when the evening hunt rolled around everyone in camp headed out to the woods.
Monkey drew first blood in the 2022 bow season when he took this nice looking doe from the Honey Hole stand on opening night. The kill was quick and recovery was easy. Great way to start the season Monkey!
2022 Mudbrook Golf Champs Bee Sting and Axman. Well done boys!!
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH
The second morning of our opening weekend saw only two hunters head out to the woods. One of them was Odie who was hunting with a long bow he had made himself. What happened was an epic day of frustration and success which will provide the foundation for a good story to be written about it.
Odie poses with his very nice doe and the longbow he made by himself. He was only going to be in camp for these first two days of the season and made it happen. What an awesome accomplishment and what a story! Way to go buddy!
Odie on the blood trail with arrow knocked hoping for another shot.
Lefty and Odie look for blood early in the tracking process.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7TH
A few of the Mudbrook Boys were at the Church to build a new storage port for some of the four wheelers and to get a couple of hunts in. The leaves were turning and the weather was cool...ideal conditions for a great bow hunt.
Paco broke out of a slump and downed this doe from the Backfield Edge stand in early October. He's back in the game!
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9TH
Chakka, LoLo, Jayhawk, Barnacle and Pedro were all in the woods for a Sunday evening hunt. The weather was sunny and warm and the fall colors were spectacular.
Chakka shows off the nice Tom Turkey he shot with his bow from the Lucky's Pine stand. Lo Lo was sitting with him and captured the event on video which can be seen at the Highbanks Hunting Club Youtube page. Beautiful bird!
OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER RUT HUNTING
Starting in mid-October until the beginning of gun season in November the Mudbrook Boys of the Highbanks Hunting Club dedicate all the time they can to hunt rutting bucks in Mudbrook Valley. This usually includes numerous group weekends at the Church and lots of great memories both in the woods and at deer camp. Some seasons are more successful than others but it is always a great time!
Barnacle knocked down the first buck of the season on Saturday, October 15th during an evening hunt from the Honey Hole Stand. This tall racked 8 pointer came walking right past him and he made a great shot. The buck only ran 70 yards before expiring. Way to go "Old Man"...you are now the Camp Kitten!
On Friday, November 4th Paco killed this very unique 12 point buck from the Dead End stand. We named this buck "Blade Runner" because of his flat brow tines. Way to go Paco!
GUN HUNTING SEASON
The traditional nine day gun hunting season is a special time in Mudbrook Valley. Not so much for the hunting but for the family ties and historical memories of seasons past. Gatherings at the "church" after each days hunt have taken on a life of their own with visiting friends and relatives. The evenings are filled with food, stories, beverages and more laughter than you can imagine. These are always great days! Oh, and there are some bucks killed as well.
The "Barn Boss" took down this excellent 10 Pointer from his Eagles Nest stand on the first afternoon of gun season (11-19-22). It came trotting straight at him and he was able to drop it with one shot. This deer was large!! Way to go Boss Man!!
Uncle Pablo continued the "old guy" barrage just a few minutes after the Barn Boss when he dropped this awesome 9 Pointer from our Flash Back Hill stand. He shot this buck at 15 yards!! That is some good luck right there! Great job Pablo!!
Our Tennessee buddy Wes dropped this 8 point buck from his Pine Island stand on the morning of 11-20-22. He said there was some "ground shrinkage" when he walked up to this buck in the swamp. Funny stuff but still a nice buck for a very nice young man!
The Black Clover got in on the fun of gun season when he harvested this really nice doe from the Funnel stand on the evening of 11-26-22. He put a great shot on this doe as she dropped right where she stood. Excellent work Clover!!
Brucie was able to come back from his busy out of town college life for one day of gun season and got himself from venison! He downed this big doe from the BMM stand on 11-23-22 while doubling up with Chakka. There are no photo's of Chakka's doe available for public viewing. :)
LATE BOWHUNTING SEASON
The 2022 Late Bow Season included a dumping of wet heavy snow that cluttered the woods and then freezing cold temps that challenged hunters to keep warm. Despite the brutal elements there was plenty of deer action and fun to be had. It all began when Pedro and Monkey started the first annual
"December to Remember" late season hunt. They spent the weekend of December 16 - 18 at the Church hunting in the deep snow. The season ended with Pedro spending the last evening hunt in the Skyscraper stand watching 34 deer make their way to a standing corn field 200 yards away. Among those deer sightings were the wide Salad Swamp 10 Pointer and another dandy shooter buck that survived the season and will certainly be on the hit list for next year. The 2022 season saw some hunters have great success and left others re-thinking there strategy. But regardless of deer harvests and antler sizes, the season was a huge success because friends and family of the Highbanks Hunting Club were together for another epic Mudbrook Valley autumn.
The 2022 Rut Gang. Front Row L to R: Jayhawk, LoLo, Chakka, Black Clover. Middle Row L to R: Bee Sting, Pedro, Paco, Chapper. Back Row: Lefty.
The Rut Hunt always brings with it an elevated level of celebrations. Here are Bee Sting, Paco, Pedro and Chapper enjoying a favorite shot of adult beverage to celebrate the hunt.
The "Fearsome Foursome" spent an evening out and about to celebrate a buck kill and have some fun. Pedro, Chapper, Bee Sting and Paco are shown here at Flaters Resort.
There really are no words to describe this picture of Chapper...but that bear sure seems to be smiling.
Barnacle is the elder statesman of the HHC and was noticeably absent from all Mudbrook activities from October 24th (his birthday) through the end of the season in January. The reason for his absence appears in the picture above. Definitely not a normal looking knee. The boys of the HHC certainly missed have the "old guy" in camp all fall and look forward to having him back next year.
Pedro took is first and only shot of the season on December 17th when he knocked down this doe from the Fire Pit Point stand. This was just part of the fun had during the December to Remember weekend.
After harvesting dandy bucks early in each of the previous two seasons Chakka had a tougher time of it in 2022. He had a couple of encounters with really nice bucks but the results just didn't go his way. But on January 2nd he killed an absolute slob of a doe at the Bank stand. She's huge!!
The heavy wet snow that defined the 2022 late bow season reeked havoc on some Mudbrook stand sites. This view from the Loop Road stand shows the large opening in front of the stand almost fully enclosed by tree tops.
Bee Sting took this great picture of the backfield as seen coming out from the EAD stand on the evening before seasons end. This tranquil scene of serenity displays a stark contrast to the previous picture of turmoil in the woods. These pictures perfectly illustrate the magic and mystique of each Mudbrook hunting season...they are all so unique and special!
