Speed Scouting for Deer Season

 Fall is here everyone!  It's gotten a little chilly down here in central NC, especially after Sally came through and brought so much rain.  Either way, for those of you who see my social media posts, you know I've had quite the last few months!  Graduating college, starting a new full time job, and welcoming a new daughter!  

That doesn't leave a lot of time to scout for the upcoming deer season to pinpoint new spots.  If you're pretty familiar with the property, then great, head start!  You may not need to find out where deer hang out on the property, as you may have that down.  But, there may be new bucks in the area or some new patterns individuals may have.  So, keep your cameras going!

If you're unfamiliar with the area you're hunting, like trying out public land, then you need to get started quick!  Hunting apps like HuntStand or OnXMaps are really useful here to get a grip on an aerial view to identify possible pinch points and routes to and from food/bedding.  On the ground, if you find an oak ridge, or a flat spot between two slopes where there's an oak stand, great!  Or, maybe is a lower area between to slopes where deer may travel from bedding to food.  Look for natural barriers that may attract deer movement.  

If you're hunting a smaller property, like so many suburban hunters, deer are likely in the thick stuff.  Deer love the thicker sanctuaries because quite frankly, they don't have many other places to go.  And that's also where people are less common.  Bottom areas where there is a creek with woods and some thicker undergrowth is a good place to start when trying to find deer, as often those sites aren't buildable and therefore are left alone. Where law allows, you can possibly attract deer and hold them on a smaller property with some corn feeding or even a mineral site.  Quite possibly a small food plot can be planted and if well managed, you're in the gold.  But that's more of a long term thing, we're talking speed scouting!

Again, you're speed scouting, trying to narrow down quickly where deer are and aren't.  Not only scan for landmarks and land/food qualities, but be on the lookout for any rubs, scrapes, or beds in the area.  It's amazing how often you will stumble onto stuff like that.  When you see something of note, mark down that spot!  If you do so, patterns may start to emerge on the map that you may not have noticed otherwise.

My 2019 Experience

Better late than never, given that this is a reflection of 2019 coming in April 2020.  Since I've got some time, I thought I'd write about some thoughts I had during the close of last deer season.  As many of you can tell, I didn't write much during 2019.  During 2019, I was going to school full time, working 2 part time part time jobs, got engaged to start the year, married in August 2019, and have a baby on the way due May!
Needless to say, I didn't have much time to be an outdoorsy person.  That's not to say I wasn't outdoors.  I still went fishing, hunting, hiking, just not as much.  I went with some close friends to Hanging Rock State Park and had a blast, hiking and dipping into waterfalls to cool off.  I took a day trip with my family to a park up in Virginia where it rained cats and dogs on us halfway through a 3 mile trail.  My honeymoon in Ashe County, NC, and my wife and I hiked and fished at sites like Mount Jefferson State Park and New River State Park.
During the fall months, if I wasn't working, I was at school.  Sometimes, I was working at school as a tutor for my community college.  My first hunt didn't come till October during fall break.  I got my first deer of the year on November 17th, my youngest brothers 7th birthday.  Ironically, I think every deer I've ever shot, save maybe one, has come during or after mid November.  That story can be read here.
I had one evening where I had 5 or so deer in front of me three different times while I was hunting on the ground, sitting by a tree.  They got to within 20 feet of me several times.  Sadly most weren't big enough to shoot, and those that were, came when there were too many eyes close by for me to comfortably move.  Sitting so still never took so much effort.
My last hunt of the year was on the closing day of the season.  I had some luck, saw a few deer to start, then nothing.  After some still hunting, I came upon some does near the corner of a field, and one caught my eye.  A nice doe, perfect.  I stood up to shoot, the problem facing me, was that I was having to be offhand, nothing to rest on.  As I put the crosshairs on the deer, a good 75 yards from me, I paused.
And I thought of everything surrounding that moment.  I thought of the adventures I had that year.  Exploring parks with friends and family, having my siblings come over and help me with retrieving a deer from the woods.  Starting a new life with my wife and being on our own, yet still being close to family.  The experiences I had with my few hunting trips during the year, the crazy things that happened.  Sitting beside the fireplace on winter evenings and feeling content.  It's amazing what can happen in split seconds, all the emotions you can feel, even when looking down a scope at your target.
I was been blessed beyond belief that year.  God was good to me.  A man once said there is "a time to kill, and a time to heal."  This deer would live.  Sure, I had an offhand shot that  wasn't easy, and I could make it, but that wasn't the point.  Sometimes, it just doesn't feel right.  Sometimes, the right thing to do, is just to enjoy the moment and reflect.  Not every shot has to be fired. 

Lucky 7's

Well, spoiler alert, one isn't so lucky.  However, I couldn't help but realize the crazy coincidence of this story.  I had been watching a buck on this one property, whom I considered naming Lucky 7, but hadn't decided on it yet.  He was a nice 7 point, very active in the area I was looking to hunt.

I decided to see if I could pattern this buck.  He wasn't the biggest one on the property, there were two massive 8 points on the property too.  But this guy showed up the most so I thought I could give this one a shot.  I hunted in October during my college fall break in what seemed to be a secluded buck haunt, no luck.  That and the fact that with no treestand this time, the tree root I sat on gave me a lot of discomfort so I wasn't out as long as I'd like to have been.  I would hunt soon after, no luck, I saw three does but they decided to turn around before they would get in bow range.
November 17th was my little brother's 7th birthday.  After a lunch celebration, I decided with some prodding from my wife, to hunt some that evening, even though I'd be getting out later than I'd prefer.  I set up near a field, but didn't see anything after a while, so I decided to still hunt some.  I had gone about 60 yards, and stopped near a tree.  Light was starting to fade when I hear the familiar crunching sounds of a deer walking.  It was to my right, and the way I was facing I knew I'd have to shift my whole body in order to possibly get a shot.  Not only that, but there was an old fence that was between myself and the deer, so I'd have to stand up as well to make sure the bullet cleared the fence.  So I've got some things to work out here.  I notice the antlers now, it's the seven point.  Keep in mind, I had thought of naming him, never officially did.  I waited till he was behind a big tree to shift myself to face him.  He stopped and looked, hearing the leaves rustle from my movements.  Now came my biggest challenge, having to quickly stand up, look through the scope, aim, fire, before he realizes what's happening.  And deer are usually pretty quick at realizing danger.  He clears the tree, he's now full broadside some 20 yards from me, I jump up and aim, place my crosshairs on his shoulder, and fire.  It all happened so fast, but surprisingly, so slow.  He took off running, crashing just out of sight.
I decided to track him down with the help of my siblings, birthday boy included.  They enjoyed it very much.  It was an easy tracking job, the hard part was getting him out of the woods.  But they helped me with that even.  Be it helping drag the deer or lighting the way for us to walk with flashlights.

My siblings who came out and helped

Birthday boy!

A seven point, on my brother's seventh birthday, on November seven-teenth, how's that for ya?  Yeah  I get it's not a perfect 777, but it's close enough!  He ran out of luck before I could even name him Lucky 7.  But, maybe that is a fitting name.  He may have run out of luck, but I think I had some on my side that day.

Drury Outdoors Video Highlight

How's hunting going for everyone?  NC Central rifle season starts tomorrow!  Even so, I'm still tempted to try with my bow.  Maybe I will.  We shall see.

Anyway, this is the highlight I have for today.  The video is from Drury Outdoors Heartbreaker series. 

It truly is a hunting heartbreak.  To chase a deer so long and to hope for a even better deer the following season only to have the deer die of disease would really disappoint.  But, this is hunting.  Not all stories end in success, and this is a great example of a great story that still had "a silver lining".

Deer Society "Mr.Maybe" Video Highlight

As I sit here on a Friday evening listening to the rain pour down on the North Carolina countryside, and thinking about the buck I saw in the front yard this morning, I got an itch to watch some hunting videos.  Yeah yeah "you might be a hunter if (fill in the blank)".  That may be a good idea to try sometime, let me know in the comments if you have a "You might be a hunter if..."!  But seriously, if you can't hunt during deer season, do the next best thing: watch footba, I mean, hunting videos.  So, here's a thought.  I'm going to be posting some video's of hunts/stories with the tactics they use to get the deer, and provide my thoughts.  With my own story of Prince last year, I may do a little video of my own if that appeals to anyone!  I don't have any hunt footage, but I can share pictures and narrate my story!

Normally the video's will be fairly short, though this one is a little more than 10 minutes, but worth the watch to me.  So here's my video highlight pick, a video by Deer Society of a buck called Mr.Maybe :

The tactic of using buck scent, in addition to the water source, is a fantastic setup.  Given the conditions of drought, in combination with the fact he was a dominate buck, just shows how a little ingenuity can tip the odds in your favor.  Being the dominate buck, he would need a challenger to face him for him to even be interested.  But he knew all the bucks in the area.  So by using unfamiliar scent in his core area, it nagged and annoyed the buck.  Which was the bucks undoing, and the arrow that shot him literally had his name on it.

Hope you like this new spin on things.  I plan on bringing out a couple more video's in the future, in addition to telling you about my trip to Montana back in the summer!  Keep hunting!

Wildgame Innovations Mirage 14

Last year I decided to buy a new game camera because the ones I have are wearing out.  After shopping around a little at Dicks, and with the help of a sales associate, I decided to buy the WGI Mirage 14.  In brief, I am very pleased with this camera.

Excuse my cell phone being reflected by camera

User Interface

The camera is very simple to operate, you use up, down, and enter keys to make selections.  And you see what you select on the screen.  Normally at the top of the screen the camera will show many pictures have been taken and the time, but with no SD card inserted when the above image was taken, nothing was shown.
You can set it to take pictures day and night, or just day or night.  You can select the quality of the pictures, the higher quality, the fewer pictures that can be stored on the SD card.  The tradeoff is better quality pictures allow you to pick out details of individual animals and just better viewing quality.  However, if you were just planning on leaving your camera out for weeks at a time without checking it, say in the spring and summer at a food plot, then for just scouting and deer census, lower quality/more volume of pictures might be more useful.
On top of that, you can adjust camera light exposure, how sensitive the motion sensor is, and how often it takes a pic, even set it for (soundless) video.  The customization of the camera is one of the big selling points for me.

Performance

The performance is very good in my opinion.  It is a 14 MP camera with less than a 1/2 second trigger speed with an illumination range of 75 feet, and an invisible flash (specs from WGI website).  I've already shown some pictures taken by this camera on the blog, but here's a few more just to show.

The video is bright (and sped up!), yes.  I don't know whether it's the camera's fault or my own.  Facing the camera angling down toward the ground might have caused the light to reflect back towards the camera, making it really bright.  I'll have to experiment more to find out.  However, having the capability of video is always a nice feature.

 

This owl seemed to like this perch

And this fox likes the mineral block

So, theres a little taste of the camera.  I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new game camera.  Right now it's about $70, but you might be able to find it cheaper.  Until next time!

Happy Birthday SCO!

Snow Camp Outdoors has been up and running for 6 years!  It's crazy to see how far things have come since I first started writing.  Back then, I wrote about anything from hunting techniques and equipment to survival, a lot of which I honestly never used myself!  Deer drives, Dakota firehole, minnow traps, and so on.  Ok, I did try the Dakota firehole, once.  Now I try to stick more to stories or some tips and strategies...that I actually use.  When I first started writing in 2011, I had yet to shoot a deer.  I had gone squirrel hunting before, but I would not shoot a deer until 2014.  I found out writing this that I don't think I posted a pic of the deer, or even a story about it, so, here's the pic:

If you want to hear the story of my first deer, let me know in comments!  Afterwards, I got deer each year, but I wouldn't shoot a big buck till 2016.  If you want to see that story, go here.

This year, I tagged another big buck, named Prince.  So far that's been a highlight of mine for the year, other things include fly fishing fairly often in the spring and summer, and having my blog post, "A Six Year Wait" put on the RMEF web page.  You can see that here, along with a lot of other cool stories! 

Here's to another great year!

A Prince of the Forest, Part 3

Where had he gone?  How could he?  Did I just miss somehow and get a flesh wound?  Nothing made sense.  A few hours before, I was so happy to get Prince.  Now, after two hours of searching and nothing much to show for it, the guys; Justin, Caleb, and I headed home.  I would return in the morning and look some.

I planned to get up fairly early Thursday because I had somewhere to be later in the morning, so getting an early start was imperative.  I had planned to wake up a bit before 7, but restlessness woke me an hour before my alarm, I couldn't go back to sleep.  It was just impossible.

I went out that morning, expecting to find him in a particular area where we had heard crashing the night before.  Unfortunately, though I found blood, I didn't find him.  The trail stopped, and I didn't know where to search.  After an hour and a half, I headed out of the woods.  That afternoon, the guys dad, Mark, came out to help me look some more, still nothing.  There was one last area to look at before I called it quits, the woods across the field from where I shot him.  However, it was going to be Saturday afternoon before I got the chance.  Who knows what could have happened to him by then?  Can I even find him?  The answer from the search that afternoon was no.  I couldn't find him.

Now is when questions and replays of the encounter start going through your mind.  Was my shooting technique bad?  Was I not holding steady on the shoulder?  I told myself: "I know I got buck fever, but I've dropped deer before, I'm not a bad shot."  Did coyotes get him?  And this sounds weird, but is he still alive?  Who knows if he's still alive? The camera will have to tell me. 

Heavy hearted, I grabbed the SD card from my funnel camera and headed back home.  As I pulled out of my grandparents driveway and pulled into mine (we live next door), my grandpa's tractor came out from behind me and headed towards my cousins cow pasture.  Hmm, he doesn't head that way often, whatever.  I got home and started checking photos.  Nothing.  Is this really how it was going to end?  A huge deer just, wasted?  Sure, the meats bad by now, but having some token that said "you shot this deer" would be nice.  But he had just vanished.

Then mom gets a phone call, it's from Grandpa.  He had gone to help with something in the cow pasture, and my cousins son, who was with him, had spotted him while in the tractor.  This deer had ran well over 300 yards from where I shot him. 

Finally, the search was over.  I could see him up close, look at his size, hold his antlers.  All the questions, while still largely unanswered, didn't matter anymore.  All I wanted to do was savor the moment.  We got his antlers off, thanks to my cousin.  Could I have mounted him?  Yes, but my last buck mount was my Christmas present last year.  Kinda wanted something different this year, not to mention limited wall space, haha!  But, I think an antler mount might be in order. 

This buck give me a lot of twists and turns, highs and lows, but in the end, it was worth it.

A Prince of the Forest, Part 2

Recently, I've had a father and his two sons start hunting on the property along with me, they had heard about Prince and they agreed not to shoot him because I had been watching him. 

The evening of November 15th was calm.  Very little wind, maybe a slight breeze.  The two sons had come out that night to hunt and after coming up with a game plan for hunting spots and exit times, we started out towards our spots.  I went to a blind at the edge of a field, they went to a stand around 150 yards from my spot (give or take distance).

In my blind, I prayed we would have a successful hunt, that the guys could get a deer, and that I could get Prince, well any good deer really, but especially him.  After a while, about the time the deer start moving around this area, I hear movement.  At first I thought it was a squirrel, given how rapid the footsteps seemed to crunch the fall leaves.  But, it sounded, bigger.  I looked to my right, and I see a deer walking just inside the woods bordering the field.  Ugh, it's just a doe.  She walks parallel to the field through the woods and into the clearcut and disappears.  Guess I just have to sit and wait some more.

At this point, I was hoping to have seen more deer enter the field, but it was 5:20 pm and light was about to start fading fast.  I sent a text to the guys and said I would get out of my blind at 5:30 if nothing showed up in the field.  Put down my phone, and hear crunch, crunch, crunch.  It's coming from behind me now, the one place I can't see while in my blind.  I knew it was a deer, no mistaking that.  It had come down a path behind my blind that deer have come down in the past, an old logging road through the clearcut leading to the top of a hill.  I leaned over to see through the window on my left.  I saw a big deer, with antlers shooting skyward.  It was Prince.  A stroke of luck to see a buck come out so early when all I had were night pictures and the fact that there were no does in the field to "attract him".  My guess is he was hungry.  Quickly, I put on my ear muffs and cocked the hammer on my Winchester and aimed.  He was now about 45 yards away, and walking down the edge of the field.  The gun was pulled up, I made a "MEH" sound, at he stopped broadside.  Perfect.  Crosshairs landed on his shoulder, the hammer came down, BAM!  He hunched his shoulders and ran up into the woods.  Thank you Lord, I got him!

The easy part was over.  The guys came and helped me blood trail, but we only found little splotches of blood on the ground.  Sometimes we'd lose the trail, but we'd pick it back up again.  In the end, after two hours of searching, we couldn't find him.  Where was this buck?  How could he run this far?  Didn't I get him with a heart shot?  Just, how?!? 

A Prince of the Forest, Part 1

There are bucks that have pep and are fun to watch, but are too small to shoot.  There are good bucks that you see, but not shoot.  There are bucks that love a certain area, a certain time of day, have unique antlers, all sorts of things can set a buck apart.  This buck, he liked a certain time of day and had unique antlers.  A nice bodied 8 point with a curved main beam, long G2s and 3s, and loved the night.  His name is Prince, named after Bambi's father, the Great Prince of the Forest.  I thought it fit, whether or not it was an original name.  Here are some pics of him:

Sorry for the blurry pic!

Pic from my new Wildgame Innovations Mirage 14

I had a problem.  As you can see, all these pics were taken at night, and not just that, but well before (or after) shooting light.  The earliest he ever came out is 6:50 pm, just 20 minutes after I had left my stand that evening.  The latest in the morning?  5:55 am, too early to shoot.  He wasn't coming out when and where I want him to.  So I had to figure out where he was in the daytime, which can be a challenge if you don't exactly know where to start.  So, I set another camera out in the woods to hopefully catch him in the day time, meanwhile, my other camera kept getting pics of him at night.  

With the whitetail rut coming up I knew and heard the best time to get him would be the next three weeks or so (about mid to late November).  I knew a doe group was in the area, not to mention all the other does that liked to hang out by themselves, so I would have plenty of chances to see rut action.  All I could do at this point was be where does were and patiently wait for him to show.  

SCO Update with Pictures!

It's November y'all!  Time for the whitetail rut to start, not to mention all the other small game seasons kicking in!  I thought I'd give you guys an update on what I've been up to recently.

My deer hunting is business as usual.  I haven't gotten anything yet, but believe me I will post when I do!  The last 3 times I've been out in the stand, I've seen 13 deer and haven't gotten a shot.  I take that back, I could have shot.  However the deer was much to small, must have been a yearling at most.

Secondly, I bought a Wildgame Innovations Mirage 14 game camera.  14 MP, shoots video, adjustable light exposure and picture/video quality, stylish little camera.  I have it out in the woods at the moment so I'll try to do a product review once I see what the camera can do.

And, here are a couple pictures!

This group regularly visits the area

And a squirrel for you

Until next time!

Predator

No, this is not a movie review of Predator starring Arnold Schwhatshisname.   This is a short story about a recent hunt of mine that ended, well, unexpectedly.

I was in the stand about 4:30ish.  Maybe some people will get on to me and be like "be in the stand earlier!" Don't care.  I've got it down to where I know deer appear around 6 in the early season and 5:15 in the late season.  So I'm there a while before the deer are.  After about an hour and a half, right at 6, I look right and there is a 6 point buck, he just kind of appeared, I never heard him walk up, but ok then.  Not big enough to shoot (maybe half the size of the 8 point I got last year) , I decided to let him pass, a doe came out.  I stood up slowly when the deer weren't looking, but I never got a shot on the doe.  They simply walked off into the woods at my 2 o'clock.  Still standing after about 5 or so minutes, I look to my left into the woods at my 9 o'clock.  I see 4 legs walking through the brush, but I notice it's not a deer...this is a coyote.  Now I beg for him to turn right, towards my stand, so that I could have a shot.  Sure enough, he does.  I wait till his head goes behind a tree to draw, and hold on my anchor point and aim.  The coyote, after coming from behind the tree, is still hidden by briars grown up next to the tree.  I hold the bow back for another 10 or 15 seconds (forgive me for inaccurate time, it seemed like I held the bow forever when it was probably just a few moments), and finally I get a shot.  20 yards, WHAP!  The sound of an arrow hitting its mark.  The coyote did not make it a few feet before it fell, the Muzzy Mx-4 having done it's work.  After giving it a few minutes to expire, I got down from the stand to see my first coyote kill.

Sorry for the blurry selfie

Now to attempt at a deer!  Keep hunting and stay safe! 

Summer Pictures

Been a while since I've done one of these!  I honestly haven't had my camera out very much this year, so I don't have a ton of pictures, but heres a few I have gotten recently:

Most of the coyotes in my area have been trapped by neighbors, but looks like at least one got away...

I saw these bucks hanging out with each other, or another deer, a lot.  During the summer, it is interesting to note that while bucks are normally solitary animals (with the exception of the rut), during the summer they will group up together in "bachelor groups".  Sometimes these groups will contain up to 4 or 5 animals (possibly more!)

Ooh, nice little 8 point

And I believe this is him again

I know it's a very short post, but I hope you enjoy the pictures!

The End of a Season

On January 2nd, the 2016-2017 deer season ended in North Carolina.  With that, I had a few thoughts looking back on it.  Not to mention personal records :) Always have to have those.

• Record: I harvested my biggest buck to date, a nice 8 point.  You can see details here
• Record: I harvested two does in one night, one may have been my biggest ever.
• Record: All three of the deer I shot this season were during Thanksgiving week, does on Tuesday, buck on Saturday.
• Lesson: I learned that you should never shoot from a position your not comfortable with.  I should have already known that, but I know now.  I was crouching in a weird way, not sure exactly how I was positioned.  It cost me another doe, whom I missed...twice.  I was 3 for 3 before that night, now I hit 3 of 5 shots...ouch.
• Lesson: Never give up.  The buck I got is the first big one I got after six years of hunting.  Six years!  You will get one if you hunt long enough and try hard enough.  
• LIFE TIP!! I should also mention that prayer helps tremendously.  I prayed for that buck that evening, and he came.  No, not every single one of my prayers are answered, but without prayer, I don't think I could have shot that deer.  Why, you ask?  I had never seen that deer before, in person or on camera.  It was a gift from God Himself.  When He gives you a gift (whatever it may be, even a deer), thank Him for it.

Hope you all enjoyed this, and enjoy what's left of the North Carolina snow!

A Six Year Wait

     On the evening of November 26th, 2016, it was chilly and windy.  I was in my stand at 4pm, and planned to be there until around dark.  Once I got settled in, I prayed "Lord, please let me get a deer tonight.  I would love a buck. Please Lord, let me get one.  I've never gotten a big buck.  I've had so many close calls, so many hunts, so many times seeing big bucks on camera and never in person.  Please Lord.  Amen."
     After sitting in the stand for close to an hour, I heard something almost directly behind me to my left side.  My stand is positioned on the edge of a field, the field being on my right side, I have a funnel directly in front, and the woods on my left. At first, I thought it was a squirrel, but it sounded too heavy. When I looked back, I spotted a small doe. I looked to my right, and saw a head sticking out out the brush at the edge of the field.  It stepped out, and it was a small buck.  The doe I spotted came out the same spot soon after. Then I heard more rustling.  Another doe came out.  All of these deer were too small to shoot.  "Well," I thought, "at least they'll be fun to watch."  Then I looked back where they had come out.  I saw a much larger body through the brush.  Then some antlers.  Big antlers.  This was a nice buck, one I had never seen before, not even on camera.  No matter, I was going to take him. I slowly swung my gun around and "bing!" My gun barrel had hit the metal of the stand.  My heart sank.  I knew I had just blown my first chance at a big buck.  There was now no way they would not be able to look in the direction of the sound, spot me, and run, and me having to watch this majestic animal bound away.  The deer all looked around, but thankfully, none of them seemed too alarmed.  I breathed a sigh of relief as the smaller ones went back to eating.  But the buck still stayed put, he wasn't coming out until he was sure it was safe.  After taking another look, he thought everything was ok and stepped out.  I aimed, the shot rang out.
     I've been hunting since I was 12.  I started with squirrel hunting, and even did a little deer hunting. Since then I've taken multiple deer and a couple small bucks, but no buck of decent size.  I've seen nice bucks on camera, sometimes seeing fair ones in the field, but no big ones.  This has been the case for 6 years.  Seeing plenty of does, maybe a couple of bucks, if any during some years, and never getting a shot at a nice one.  For 6 years.
   Finally, the 6 year wait and longing for a great buck ended in an instant.  He dropped.  God had answered my prayer.  With a nice tall tined 8 point.  And you know what?  To celebrate, it's headed to the wall.

November Double Stike

Since my last post, things have been roughly the same, cold and some wind thrown in.  I have seen deer, just none close enough.  Two does came close, but then walked away.  It's gun season, so they we're in range, but it was a risky shot.  Then Tuesday, Nov 22, came.  I went out to the stand at a normal time of 4 o' clock.  I prayed that God would grant me a deer tonight after so many close calls.  Around 5, there was a doe behind me in a field.  It wasn't a great posture to shoot from, with the tree stand harness restricting some movement, not to mention my stand is on the edge, so branches still block some shooting lanes.  But she came closer.  I waited.  She looked back, and another doe entered the field.  Their feeding led them in my direction, I told myself I would take whichever one gave me the first shot.  One stepped to where she gave a good view "Bang!"  She dropped.  I quickly cocked my Winchester for another shot if needed, while the second doe ran to the other side of the field. She stopped and took a look at what had just happened "Bang!"  She dropped as well.  2 shots, 2 deer, no trailing needed.  After the shot, I was shaking all over, not from cold, but from excitement!  God had answered, not with one, but two great does (one may have been the biggest I've ever shot).

What makes it worth the trouble, sometimes not seeing deer, other times not getting a shot, or when cutting up the deer, doing all the work to get the meat processed?  Good question.  I'm not sure of the answer. Other than the experience of the whole endeavor.  The expectation of a deer showing up out of thin air.  The adrenaline rush before and after the shot.  Holding steady aim when you're shaking all over.  The blast of the shot.  The reward of success.

What's next for me?  Well, I hope to get another one before the season's over!  And a certain buck I'm getting pictures of is on the list of "next ups" as well.

Sensed, Avoided, Busted

Hunting season is in full swing now, and it's nearing the end of October, and in many places, not far from the whitetail rut.  I still haven't tagged a deer.  I've seen plenty, but they simply haven't come into range.  But I think I figured out the problem.
Every time a deer enters the field to the right of my stand, they feed for a while and when they get about 40-50 yards from the stand, they stop and lift up their heads and sniff.  They know something is there.  It's quite fascinating actually.  It's as if there is a circle drawn in a 40 yard radius from my stand.  No matter where the deer enter the field, they don't act like anything is wrong until WHAM!  They hit an imaginary wall just outside of my bow range and they know something is there.  Every. Single. Time.  I had 2 bucks, one a nice 6 point, do it.  I had a group of 4 does do it.  I've had numerous other deer do the same thing: 40 yards, stop, lift up nose, sniff, walk the other way.  They don't see me, they don't hear me.
They smell me.  I believe you can be as quiet and as hidden as you want, but if deer smell you, they will bust you every time.  The oddest thing is, I believe I'm controlling my scent.  Last year all I did was rub fresh pine needles against my clothing and gear and it worked, I harvested 3 deer, I don't think any knew I was there, not to mention all the other deer I encountered that season. This year is different.  I have some scent killer spray, maybe I should use instead.  I know I should pay more attention to the wind, but I can be careless because I want to hunt every chance I get.  I'll see how it pays off.  Hopefully with good results.

Opening Day(s)

I was going to tell a story about a hunt I had, but as I wrote it, I realized it would have been a little boring, no matter what I did to make it intriguing.  The quick version goes a lot like this: I saw three deer, I snuck over to the edge of a field to intercept, and when I got there, they had vanished.  I tried to quietly head in the direction I thought they headed, but I didn't see them.  On the way back, I scared a doe.  Go figure.  Anyway, how's opening day for everyone?  I haven't had much luck, but I've only been out two times.  I think my plan going forward is to continue to get data from pictures (time of day, weather) to find patterns and to just keep trying.
Want a quick tip?  Get ready to hunt oaks.  The acorns are starting to fall, albeit they're not "ripe" yet, but nonetheless they are falling.
Want another?  Carry a call with you.  I'm going to start doing that, you never know when you may need it.

Til next time!

The Season Approaches

It's almost hunting season!  Are you ready?  I know I'm not, as far a prep goes!  BUT, here's a few things to help rev up for the season:

• Glass fields and crops such as soybeans at dusk.  It's also a great way just to sit out in nature and enjoy it, take someone with you too!
• Put out trail cameras.  I have a camera out, I need to check it :) I've been away lately, but I can't wait to see what it has captured in pictures!  As far as trail cameras go, look for patters in activity.  If you have consistent pictures of deer at 8am and 5pm during the summer, then during the early season they should still be following that same pattern.  Thus, you know when you should be in your stand.
• Shoot!  Shoot your rifle, shotgun, your bow.  Sight in the scope.  Pattern your shotgun and perfect that lead by shooting some skeet.  While shooting your bow; perfect your anchor point and release, not to mention arrow grouping.

Enjoy your prep time!  Can't wait for fall!

The End of a Season: Reflections

On January 2nd of this year, I had to cope with a realization...deer season was over.  Yes, there are other seasons going on and it will come again this fall, but still.  It's over.
This year was a year of firsts. It was the first season that I got more than one deer (at least, more than one recovered deer).  It was the first season I shot a deer with a bow.  It was the first season where mom went on a hunt with me to witness food from field to table.
Mixed with the firsts were the usual things. Some near misses, and shot-but-can't-finds.  This year I went without tagging a big buck, but then again, I never have.
Animal sightings were a plus this year.  I saw coyotes at close range, and fawns playing with their friends and mothers.
As always, deer vs. you staring contests are always fun, especially when you realize during the contest that you haven't hardly breathed since it started seemingly an hour ago.

Yes, this was a good season.