Wildlife 2019/2020 Deer Season

[Wildlife]

Thursday, October 24, 2019:

Okay,,, I fair warn everybody right now, this will be lengthy, but hopefully entertaining and perhaps educational for some.

Yesterday, I didn’t hunt because I planned on attending the 'FULL DRAW film tour 2019' in Columbus, put on by 'Sportsman Alliance'.

Earlier in the day I checked their website to make sure it wasn’t postponed or cancelled. According to what I read off their site; it was still on.

So, I got all cleaned up and headed down the road around 5:00 p.m. and I get there just before 6:00 p.m. As soon as I walked into the theater, I was quickly informed buy one of the guys at the counter that the event was cancelled due to not enough ticket sales.

“Shit!”

Needless to say, I was just a little pissed.

So, I jumped back in the car and headed back home, straight down SR104 once again towards Chillicothe. As I was driving within that ideal weather conditions for hunting, I scanned all the fields and field edges looking for any deer along the way home. By the time I got to my place, I ended up seeing at least 12 deer and 4 of them were right across the road from my driveway.

Then I walked into the house all cleaned up with no place to go really and decided to ask the wife if she’d like to go out for dinner. She was all for it, so I took her to downtown Chillicothe, right on Paint St to a place called the ‘R Kicten’. It’s a fairly new bar/restaurant establishment in the old section of town and I must say,,, the food, atmosphere, service & drinks were suburb! I’d highly recommend that place whether it’s for drinks and/or food if ever you’re in Chilli.

After dinner, we headed back home and as I was pulling in our long driveway, there were those 4 antlerless deer that I seen earlier, bedded in our front yard and they didn’t budge as I drove by them just 50 yards away.

Once I climbed out of the car, I headed straight to my workshop to top off the wood-stove for the night and my Pit-bull, ‘TieDye’ was waiting patiently for me just on the other side of the door. Apparently, he needed out to do some dirty business. So, I let’em out as I continued to replenish the stove and when I finished up, TieDye wanted back in immediately. After that, I pretty much went straight to bed because I wanted to get up early enough to do a morning hunt since I didn’t get to hunt yesterday at all.

This morning I woke up at 5:15 a.m., got a quick shower, dressed and headed for my workshop. Once I got to the shop, I checked the weather & wind conditions off my computer, threw on the rest of my huntin clothes on and out the door I went right at 6:45 a.m.

I decided to head for my ‘Northern CRP Stand’, which is approximately a 250 yard hike for me, right along the creek at the back of our property. I got to my stand without a hitch; I made sure I was super quiet and I finally got settled in just before 7:00 a.m.

Once it started to get light out around 7:20ish, shortly thereafter, I heard a tree branch snap just to the East/my right, approximately 40-50 yards away. I focused my attention to that area because that’s a big thick spot where deer tend to bed and it’s also the area where I first saw two shooter bucks this season about 10 days prior.

Sure enough, right at 7:40 a.m., 4 antlerless deer come shooting out from that area, nose to tail, running through the tall CRP field, heading due South, approximately 60 yards to the East/my right. A couple of them let out some blets while they were running through that field. Then another antlerless deer came running out from the same area, trailing way behind those first 4 by about 50 yards trying to catch up to’em. I quickly grabbed my doe-can and gave a few flips. That last antlerless deer stopped dead in his tracks, turned and looked in my direction. Then he slow walked right towards me looking for what he thought was another deer. It was a little button and he got within 15 yards of me. He stood there in front of my tree with his ass to me, scanning the CRP field looking for what he thought was another deer. After a minute or two, he continued his journey towards where the first 4 deer went, right across the CRP field and into the woods on the opposite side of me.

So, that was exciting start to my hunt first thing.

About 15 minutes later, just before 8:00 a.m., I hear some minor leaf crunching coming from my East/my right once again, coming from the same bedding area. I knew it was more deer, so I slowly grabbed my bow and waited.

Sure enough, I see a real nice size doe walking right underneath me. I was thinking of taking her about then when I heard more noises coming from my right still, and here came in tow, a young fawn. So, I gave Momma doe a pass because she’s one of my regulars that shows up at my feeder along with her little one.

What I noticed though about Mommy doe's behavior while she was underneath me, when set got to the area where I walked in at to get to my stand, she stopped and put her nose to the ground; started sniffing real hard like, intensely. I thought to myself, ‘WOW, she’s smart,,, & good!”

After a little bit, Momma doe and her little one continued to slow walk towards the feeder area. After they left the area, I turned and continued to focus on the area where the originally came from.

And it didn’t take long for the next deer to show up, about 2 minutes actually and it was young 8pt buck.

This guy is also another regular. He came off one of the major deer runs the head to and/or come from that same bedding area to my right.

Once he stepped out of that bedding area, he walked straight to the closest honeysuckle shrub and ate, then did a little rubbing on it. I continued to watch’em for about a minute and about the time I knew he was done; I grabbed my cellphone to get a short video clip of’em.

He ended going the same direction (West) as Momma doe and her little fawn, towards my place.
________________________________________________________________

Now, back to Momma doe and her heavy sniffing while underneath me earlier.

As I was watching that buck cross in front of me @15 yards, I noticed that I had dog shit on my right boot and I'm like, "WTF!!!".

Apparently, TieDye left me a nice fresh pile of his shit just outside my workshop door last night and I walked straight into it this morning as I headed out and didn’t know it.

My sinuses are messed up this time year usually and it’s difficult at times for me to smell, even dog shit.

So apparently, dog shit is a good cover scent because those last three deer were completely down wind of me, just within yards, and they didn’t act alarmed not one bit. They know I have dogs and I think they were trying to find them rather than me.

So, who knew that dog shit would be good cover scent?

Not me that’s for sure, but that’s what I learned today.

I ended getting down shortly after that buck left the area, because I literally have shit to deal with this afternoon.

I ended up seeing 8 deer altogether during this short morning hunt, right from sunup until 8:50 a.m.

I’ll be getting back out later this evening.

Good luck to whomever is hunting today!

 

[Wildlife]

Thursday, October 24, 2019:

I got settled into my ‘Hilltop Stand’ this evening @5:00 p.m. sharp.

@6:23 p.m. I heard my furthest neighbor’s dogs barking clear to the West about a mile away, then stopped after a few minutes.

@6:43 p.m. I heard my closet neighbor’s dogs barking clear to the West about a half mile away, then stopped after a couple of minutes.

@6:53 p.m. I heard my dogs barking clear to the West about a quarter mile away and continued barking right up until dark.

With all those dogs barking, that’s a very good indication that deer are on the move on that side of the property this evening.

At my setup, I was kinda giving up hope of actually seeing any deer when @6:58 p.m., the first antlerless deer showed up straight out in front me within the cut CRP field approximately 45 yards away and cruising West.

A couple of seconds after I seen her, another two antlerless deer showed up right behind her, all on a steady march heading West-Northwest/my left.

Another second or two after that, another adult doe was walking right along the field wood edge and stepped into my second field window @35 yards. I wasn’t expecting that to happen, so I quickly reached around to grab my bow and by the time I got turned back around, she was already at my first field window @30 yards still on a steady march.

I didn’t have the time to get my bow fixed on her and her vitals were already past that 30-yard window.

So, I sat and watched them all continue their march straight towards the back side of the cut soybean field, just to the NW of me about 150 yards away, which is the same field I cut across when going to and from my setup.

Once they stepped into the tree hedgerow, I started to pack things up and climbed down.

I walked the same path as they did within the CRP field, then I cut through the tree hedgerow and almost got to the corner of the cut soybean field when I saw all four of those deer standing within it, two of them within 30 yards of me, the closest one was probably more like 15-20 yards.

So, to keep them moving along, I pulled out my cellphone and started taking flash pictures of them, trying to simulate a trail camera basically, and it worked after about four pictures taken.

You can see the two sets of eyeballs straight in front of me in a few of the pictures below, the other two deer were much further out into the middle of the field.

When they left the field, they didn’t blow but they did raise their flag, at least the two closets to me did from what I could see.

I then continued onward to get home without anymore encounters.
_______________________________________

Those four deer this evening plus the eight earlier this morning makes a total of twelve deer seen for the day and six of them got within bow range of me.

I’ll be back at again tomorrow evening.

 

[Wildlife]

Friday, October 25, 2019:

With the mild West wind and yesterday, hearing all the dogs barking in the area on the West side of the property, I decided to take my climber & bow to the far corner of one of the cut soybean fields this evening.

Didn't see Jack! I got skunked!

However, I did see other species of wildlife, like a couple of opossums, more squirrels, plenty of Cardinals, Doves and even some ducks flying overhead.

So, it wasn't all that bad. I still enjoyed my time being out.

Even all of our neighborhood dogs were pretty quiet this evening.

At this point, I'm not sure what I'll be doing tomorrow. It all hinges on the weather.

Rain is in the forecast for us around 8:00 a.m., then off & on throughout the rest of the day.

I'm gonna play it by ear. Perhaps try to get out in between the rain drops and/or I'll just hang some of my trail cameras while it rains.

Either way, I'll be doing something that'll be huntin related, you can bet on it!

 

[Wildlife]

Saturday, October 26, 2019:

Told you all I'd be doing somethin huntin related today.

I didn't go huntin this morning, however I did wake up in time as if I would've.

I drove to the local carryout to grab a few things @7:30 a.m.

On the way back home, I drove by one of the cut soybean fields near the house and saw 6 deer standing there in the middle of the field while it was raining.

I drove back to the same area a few minutes later, once it got light out enough, to see where they were heading for the day.

Now I know where they'll be later on for the most part.
__________________________________________

On a different note, but still huntin related, I received a well anticipated order of mine through the mail just before lunch. Most all the items are for my new compound bow that I purchased while down @Strouds.

I went ahead and installed some new broadheads that I had in stock on my some of my existing arrows that I had both in my inventory. Then I tuned them, so now they're ready to go.

I also installed my new bow sight.

I tried to calibrate it moments ago, however it's still pourin out, but I did manage to sight in for wind-age. I had to quit due the heavy rain, but I'll get back at it as soon as it lets up some.

Thanks once again @Beentown for selling that nice bow to me.

So far, I'm very pleased with it.

It's much lighter handling it than my older 'Mathews Rezeen 6.5.'

My New Compound Bow & Configuration:

• QAD HDX Mathews Edition Bow Ultrarest
• HHA Optimizer King Pin Sight 3519 3 Pin .019 Black
• Mathews Flatline Stabilzer 8" Black
• Mathew 6 Arrow Black HD Quiver
• Ace Two Tactical Bow Wrist Sling 550 Paracord
• 6 - Carbon Express Maxima 250 RED w/ NAP 125 grain Thunderhead & NockTurnal Lighted RED Nock
• TruFire Adjustable w/ Fold Back Design Compound Bow Release.

I'll be shooting my new bow often over the next few days and I don't think it'll take much in getting used to.

It's even more quiet than my 'Rezeen', which is hard to believe.

It has the same draw length of 28" & draw weight poundage of 70#, just like my older bow and I'm still using the same kind of bow sight more or less.

It's an HHA with 3 .019 different colored pins rather than just one, which is a new feature that I'll be looking forward to setting up and using.

Very easy to shoot and I want to it to be all ready for the 'Deer Creek Archery Hunt', which will be right after the up and coming gun season.

I'm still gonna try to get out for hunt today or either hang a few of my trail cameras.

It hinges on the weather cooperating. Hopefully the rain will either quit or dye down some.

So well see if I make back here later on tonight with any kind of update.

Until then, good luck to whomever is huntin today!

 

[Wildlife]

Still raining, but I couldn't wait any longer. The anticipation is killing me.

Took me just two shots to get it calibrated with the new HHA 3 pin bow sight from 60 yards.

I threw in a third shot just for safe keeping, which you see above aiming for the heart, so I'd say the bow is ready to Rock-n-Roll now.

And I'll tell ya, SHE"S SMOOTH & SWEET!

 

[Wildlife]

Sunday, October 27, 2019:

Due to the fact that I left my climber at the tree I hunted out of last Friday evening, I decided to head back to that tree this morning and do a hunt, then pack it up and bring it home.

Yesterday, I didn't hunt at all, however I did see 6 deer in the middle of that cut soybean field while it was raining at first daylight.

The weather conditions weren't favorable for deer movement in our area this morning due to the high WSW gusty winds of 10-30 mph, but I sat there anyways from 7:10 - 9:00 a.m.

Right when I was packing up, shortly before 9:00, I saw a mid-size tan & white dog on the opposite side of the field of me along the edge, approximately 200 yards away, then I seen'em step back into the wooded creek area and out of my sight.

Very shortly after that, about a couple of minutes or so, a small buck shot out into the field in front of me, about 70 yards to the South/my right, and bolted straight through the field heading East, towards my home, with two dogs now on its heels. Once mid-size short black haired dog leading that tan & white dog just 30 yards right behind that buck, on the chase.

As soon as they left the area, I climbed down, packed everything up and headed home, to the East, right where those animals went.

Once I got past the top of the cut soybean hill, walking in the middle of it, I seen that short black haired dog standing right along the field wooded edge lookin right at me.

I've never seen that dog before, it had no collar and the bread was a Pitt-bull with a cut off tail.

As I continued my hike towards the house and as I got closer to that dog, he bolted straight away from me and back into the creek wooded area, never to be seen again the rest of the way home.

I'll be getting back out later today for an evening hunt, but at a different location.

I just finished up updating my 'WEEK IN REVIEW' hunt data spreadsheet with the third week.

It's published on-line for all to view; https://view.publitas.com/wildlifeohio/2019-hunt-data/ .

I'll followup later after this evening's hunt.

Best of luck to anyone who's huntin today!

 

[Wildlife]

Sunday, October 27, 2019:

Weather conditions was completely different than what it was earlier this morning.

Temperature was 63 degrees with much milder 7 mph West wind when I left my workshop a little before 4:00 p.m.

I got settled into my ‘Hilltop Stand’ right @4:25 p.m.

@ 5:23, I heard deer movement to the East/my right, approximately 50 yards within the woods, moving around for about for 10 minutes, then it got quiet. I couldn’t see them; I could only hear them.

@ 6:23, I seen those deer, a doe & button, stepped out into the field from that same area where I heard them an hour prior, to the East/my right, and then started grazing on the alfalfa just within the cut CRP field. I watched them for about 10 minutes as they continued to head North, further out into the cut CRP field and finally out of my sight.

@6:30, I seen a very large doe, all by herself, way out into the cut CRP field, approximately 300 yards NE of me, clear at the top of the cut CRP field/hill. I watched her graze, then slowly head East and finally out my sight about 10 minutes later.

@6:50, I saw 4 antlerless deer pop out into the cut CRP field from the tree hedgerow, approximately 90 yards due North of me. They grazed until quitting time and/or dark.

I climbed down shortly thereafter and headed home without bumping those 4 deer. I’m not sure where they went exactly.

I hunted with my new Mathews NO-CAM HTR compound bow this evening.

I practiced quite a bit earlier this afternoon with it. I feel very comfortable & confident with this new bow now. So much so that I took off my blue-burst scope lights off my older HHA Optimizer King Pin single pin scope that’s on my older Mathews Reezen and installed them on my newer HHA Optimizer King Pin three pin scope.

I’ll be using my new bow for the rest of the season and keep my older bow ready as a backup.

Also, I must share this,,,

I was truly amazed what a one-pound different feels like when handling/carrying a bow. That’s exactly the weight difference between my older Mathews Reezen 6.5 w/ 5 arrows/broadheads in a quiver & my new Mathews NO-CAM HTR w/ 6 arrows/broadheads in a quiver, being the lighter of the two Mathews, weighing in @6.5 pounds total.

I'm mentioning this because I carried that new bow for two miles this evening, one mile to my stand & one mile back, and it wasn't 'TOO' bad at all.

Tomorrow, I’ll be huntin somewhere…

 

[Wildlife]

Monday, October 28, 2019:

Another fun day!

(Morning & Evening view from the stand.)

This morning I hunted out my ‘Northern CRP Stand’ from sunup until 9:00 a.m. sharp. I didn’t hear nor see any deer during that sit. It was very foggy this morning in our valley and I don’t think it cleared out until 11:30 a.m.

This afternoon, during the lunch hour, I replenished the deer feeder with another 200lbs. of whole corn and blew away all the debris & leaves.

After that, I headed to my ‘Western Stand’ to begin prepping it for the rut. I haven’t hunted out that stand yet this season, if fact, I haven’t been to that stand since summer.

I cleared all the shooting lanes and prepped it for a new ‘Pine Licking Branch’ that’ll be hung tomorrow afternoon, along with making up a mock scrap. I’ll also be fixing up my crow’s nest with some fresh pine branches, which will provide a natural cover & scent when I go to hunt out of it here soon.
______________________________________________

This evening, I hunted out my ‘South Eastern Stand’. I got settled into it at 5:10 p.m.

@6:00 p.m. sharp, Momma doe & her young one walked out from the deer run that goes right underneath my ‘North Western Stand’, just inside the wooded area, on the opposite side of the field from me, approximately 150 yards away. I watched her and the young one walk right to my ‘Western Stand’, approximately 300 yards to the North West, which is the location I cleared those shooting lanes this afternoon. After about 10 minutes, they were completely out of my sight and well into the woods.

@6:45 p.m., I heard some very minor leaf crunching happening right behind me at the creek bottom.

Two, maybe three antlerless deer came for the East/my right, walking the creek bottom heading West, approximately 35 yards just below me. I watched one of them jump up on to the creek bank, furthest from me. The other deer, which was a good size doe, hopped up on my side of the creek and started her way towards me for the first 10 yards, up the hill following the deer run that goes right underneath me. I was gonna take her, but she moved to the right, off that path and into the honeysuckles. I lost complete sight of her at approximately 25 yards away. For a moment, I thought she was gonna pop out into the field right in front of me, but I believe she circled back around within those honeysuckles, cause I seen what I believe was her, heading back down to the creek bottom and hopped up onto the opposite side of the creek, and then followed where the first deer went, traveling due South, away from me.

I was completely downwind of the two, maybe three deer, and way above them. They stuck around for nearly 10 minutes before they left the area entirely.

I believe they came from the bedding area, just on the other side of the creek, approximately 50-60 yards away.

And that was it.

So, the only deer I seen today, were the four, maybe five during my evening hunt.

As I was walking home, Momma doe and her young one was in my front yard. They watched me walk down my driveway and never did leave the area. I believe they’re bedded right now under one of our big pine trees.

Tomorrow, I think I’m gonna try something different since the weather is supposed to be nice, like take the 'Lone Wolf Alpha Stand' and head out to the furthest Eastern point of the property, which will be nearly a 2 ½ miles away from my workshop.

It’ll depend on me getting my ‘Western Stand’ setup completed first.

It’ll be a workout kind of day for me, which something I really enjoy doing during this time of the season, when the weather is this nice.

So, we’ll see what happens…

You'll be able to read about it right here tomorrow.

 

[Wildlife]

Tuesday, October 29, 2019:

I didn’t hunt this morning and I won’t be doing that hike to the most Eastern part of the property today because we have people target shooting right now as I type this post, which is along the way I typically go to get there. So, I’ll try to make that hike tomorrow if it’s not raining to bad. Although, I still plan on doing a hunt at one of my current setups later.

I did however finish setting up my ‘Western Stand’ during the lunch hour.

I’d like to explain something though and I’ll be honest, hoping that some you might possibly chime in with some good advice or suggestions.

See, I haven’t taken a good buck since the 2011/12 season. I didn’t hunt at all during the 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15 seasons due to work reasons. I was ‘TOO’ busy traveling the country working on conversions and other type projects within my field of work.

We moved to our current home late in 2015 and I did manage to hang some trail cameras on the property, but still didn't hunt that season. I soon discovered that there are some good bucks within the area that cruise through our property during certain times of the year.

We live in a creek valley in Southern Ohio and over the past two seasons, I’ve learned that the more mature bucks come down off the big hills from the surrounding areas seeking out the ladies during the pre-rut/rut times.

What I’ve learned is that there are two areas/setups that are more prime to catch a good buck on the move seeking out those does.

Typically, they’re the travelers from neighboring properties.

We’ve had mature bucks hooked up with does in our front yard on occasion during the rut, bedding under a couple of our large 50+ year old pine trees.

During those times, I was always hunting well within the wooded area straight behind our property. My trail cameras have confirmed to me, that wasn’t the place to be during those times.

Last season was the first time I hunted out of my ‘Western Stand’, which was a new setup at the time, and I almost pulled it off on a real good mature buck. It was close, but no cigar.

My plan for this season hasn’t changed, my intent is to take a good buck from either one of the two locations/setups of mine because what I’ve learned over the past three years.

BTW, I let dozens and dozens of younger bucks walk and never considered taking either one of them. It’s just what I care to do.

Speaking specially about my ‘Western Stand’, it’s located just within wooded area that funnels right towards one of our creeks. History has shown via trail cameras, that those bucks use those creeks to gain access to the property, then head out much further out into the bigger wooded/field parts.

(Here are a few examples of the caliper of bucks that I’m talking about over the past three seasons that cruise right by my 'Western Stand' in November, well within bow range.)

I try to keep the does close to my hunting areas with the deer feeder to hopefully continuing drawing those kinds of bucks during the pre-rut/rut times.

So far, it seems to be working. I haven't put any of my trail cameras up at any of my hunting setups still yet and I'm not sure whether I'm going to or not. I'm still debating it...

There are some good bucks that currently live on the property; however, they tend to hangout much further East and/or South within the property and occasionally I'll catch them too while traveling, seeking out the ladies. I pretty much know generally where they’re at, and I don’t have any existing setups near those locations. I usually take my climber or now, my new ‘Lone Wolf Alpha Stand’ to the seek them out within their normal living/corridor areas. I’ve yet to do that this season, which I intended on doing today, but I’ll try to get there tomorrow, weather permitting.

So below is my ‘Western Stand’ setup. I placed a new pine licking branch that’s approximately 25 yards away with a mock scrape just underneath it.

(Photo #1 is the tree, photo #2 is me in the stand with new pine branches just underneath the platform, photo #3 is taken from the cut field edge to the South, approximately 40 yards away and photo 4 is taken just within wooded area off of our property, just within 30 yards of the tree.)

(PLB w/ Mock Scrape along with looking to the South from the stand into a cut field.)

(Creek to the North & our property)

(Looking to the East and then to the West from the stand.)

Last season, I’ve had a few bucks hit the PLB more than a few times during the daylight, including some does as well. Below is an example young buck from last November.

So, if anyone has any suggestions or advise that might possibly help me increase my odds in harvesting a good buck this season off of this property, I'd certainly love hear from you!

I know many of guys are real pros.

Trust me, I know I can go to other places (old honey holes of mine) to increase my odds on harvesting a decent buck, however I’m chopping at the bits wanting to harvest a good one right here at our newer place.

Appreciate any input, thanks!

 

[Tipmoose]

I would suggest hunting with a muzzle loader.

 

[Sgt Fury]

I was going to suggest a mock scrape but you have that covered. One way I make my mock scrapes a bit better is to go to another area miles away from where you hunt, find a natural scrape, cut the overhanging branch and place in a heavy duty trash bag. Place the real licking branch over your doctored scrape. Make sure to wear rubber gloves/boots when doing this.
Second observation is that from the one angle, it appears that your stand is lacking in good background cover....is there another tree near that has better cover?
Third, bait will bring in the does, which will bring in the bucks. How far is your feeder from the stand? You don’t need to hunt over it, but you should be within 80-100 yards of it so that you can intercept bucks going there to scent check. Just my 2 cents. You’ve definitely got some mature bucks roaming around...good luck with them!

 

[Wildlife]

I was going to suggest a mock scrape but you have that covered. One way I make my mock scrapes a bit better is to go to another area miles away from where you hunt, find a natural scrape, cut the overhanging branch and place in a heavy duty trash bag. Place the real licking branch over your doctored scrape. Make sure to wear rubber gloves/boots when doing this.
Second observation is that from the one angle, it appears that your stand is lacking in good background cover....is there another tree near that has better cover?
Third, bait will bring in the does, which will bring in the bucks. How far is your feeder from the stand? You don’t need to hunt over it, but you should be within 80-100 yards of it so that you can intercept bucks going there to scent check. Just my 2 cents. You’ve definitely got some mature bucks roaming around...good luck with them!

Thanks Sgt!

I like the idea of acquiring a natural licking branch and placing that over the PLB. During my travels tomorrow, I'll keep my eyes peeled for one.

The feeder isn't to far, perhaps a few hundred yards or better.

And as far as a better tree, there really aren't many that will allow me to cover both sides of that funnel and the creek bottom. I'm not a big guy and the tree trunk itself is used for cover at times.

Appreciate your suggestions, thanks!

 

[Wildlife]

Tuesday, October 29, 2019:

Hunted out the same setup that I did last evening, my ‘South Eastern Stand’. I got settled in right @5:15.

The deer didn’t move until late this evening.

@6:53 I heard a deer moving below me at the creek bottom, just to the South of me, approximately 25-30 yards away, but I couldn’t see'em because of the thick patch of honeysuckles between us.

A few minutes after that, I heard more movement, this time to the East/my right. I knew it was a deer because I heard a large tree branch break as it was walking down towards the creek bottom I believe, again within the honeysuckles and I couldn’t see it too.

Then right at quitting time, a deer walked out into the field straight out in front me from the opposite side. Its behavior led me to belief it was buck, but I couldn’t tell how big he was other than his decent body size. He had its nose to the ground walking straight across the field kinda towards me and got as close as 50 yards.

Eventually, he made his way into the thick honeysuckle patch off the field, to the East/my right, where I heard that tree branch break from the another deer walking around 10 minutes prior.

So, I waited up into the tree a little longer than normal just to make sure I didn’t spook or push any of those deer completely out of the area.

After that, I hiked it home through the middle of the field slowly.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I hope to have a more adventures type of hunt, hiking clear to the opposite side of the property, which is an area that I know bucks tend to reside most of the year. I’ll be taking my ‘Lone Wolf Alpha Stand’ with me and try to find a decent spot with buck signs nearby.

It’ll be a long day for me. Most likely I won’t make it back here until late tomorrow night and very late if I become successful harvesting a deer.

So we’ll see what happens…

 

[Tipmoose]

Good luck!

 

[giles]

Box blind

Stop walking across open fields

Don’t hunt until rut

Only hunt when conditions are great to excellent

Do prep in summer/early fall

 

[Crappieking15]

If you have bucks that big in there they feel safe... cover food and water low hunting pressure keep it that way... they are staying in that area for a reason.. like said before keep traffic minimal and hunt only when the wind is in your favor..

 

[finelyshedded]

Those are some impressive deer you’ve gotten on camera cruising by your Western stand and the 3 nicest did it during plenty of daylight. I’m curious of the times and dates if there is any correlation to pinpoint a more precise time for you to be sitting there. If I were you I’d be hunting that stand when wind allows you to and I’d also put up another stand for the exact opposite wind so it would allow you to hunt it more often. Other than that you’ll just have to be careful how you enter and exit this location and if possible I’d definitely be using the creek system.

 

[Big_Holla]

Giles kind of hit it for me. Stand prep just before a hunt is recipe for making deer go nocturnal or at least avoid that area. Unless you are absolutely perfect with scent control I would be reluctant to go trimming lanes and hanging licking branches then expect deer to suddenly come flocking to an area so you can kill the big monarch of the woods. I do understand you have to do it at some point, I have more than been in that situation. We were down a little over a week ago doing some of the same stuff. Only difference is it will be over 2 weeks since then before we even step foot in those spots again. Now at this time of year I would get into a stand and do nothing but hunt. If there is a branch or two that are in the way I would seriously think do I absolutely need to get that out of the way or can I live with it for this year and get by? Slip in, slip out and think about your entry and exits more.

 

[Fletch]

I gotta ask: Why are you blowing leaves away from your feeder DURING HUNTING SEASON????

 

[Wildlife]

Those are some impressive deer you’ve gotten on camera cruising by your Western stand and the 3 nicest did it during plenty of daylight. I’m curious of the times and dates if there is any correlation to pinpoint a more precise time for you to be sitting there. If I were you I’d be hunting that stand when wind allows you to and I’d also put up another stand for the exact opposite wind so it would allow you to hunt it more often. Other than that you’ll just have to be careful how you enter and exit this location and if possible I’d definitely be using the creek system.

Appreciate all the suggestions gentlemen!

I'm confident it'll happen sooner or later as far as taking a good buck that I'll be satisfied with off this property.

Things will be heating up here real soon and the following photographs proves that.

All of these were taken within just yards from stand locations from previous seasons and I have more captured on camera, but these are the ones that I shared in the previous post. Each of them cruised right through my front yard to those areas. All these deer with the exception of the first are roamers from different properties. I expect them to return once again. They don't stick around very long, but maybe a few days.

I have several setups that allow me to hunt regardless what the wind is doing for the day. I choose the one that is best for the wind & weather conditions to hunt when I head out. I hardly ever get busted and the scent control that I use is a homemade recipe that is the best I've ever used in all the years I've hunted. The wife makes it for me out of pure natural ingredients. I bath with it, brush my teeth with it and wash my clothes with it and it works wonders! I'm a smoker 'TOO', but not while I hunt.

I take whatever route that is necessary to get to my setups to minimize disruption to the deer in the area. I'm hardly ever tracked. I live in the same area as the deer and I see them daily.

Example, I drove out of my driveway this morning and I had two deer cut across the road from my front yard. The second photo shows the amount of leaves and debris I contend with this time of year, which is a month long project to get rid off. I clear the feeder area when I'm get rid of the leaves in the yard. The feeder is just inside the woods, across the creek from what you see in the bottom photograph. The deer are used to me working in the area as I am used to them being in the area and that goes for my dogs too.

Same field hangons

1. South Eastern Stand
2. North Western Stand

Same field hangons

1. Northern CRP Stand
2. Southern CRP Stand

One to the West & one to the North hangons

• Western Stand
• Hilltop Stand

I have a ladder stand, popup ground blind, climber & Lone Wolf Alpha still at my disposal and ready to go whenever I feel the need for them on the 1,200+ acres I have access to, however at this time, I don't think I'll need them at this point.

This season, I haven't put up any trail cameras cause I believe the cameras mess with the more mature deer when they hit the property. I may put them up later into the season though.

I live to hunt and if I'm able to get out, I will!

Trust me, I'm grateful and feel very blessed to do what I do. I've worked hard to get where I'm at today and sooner or later, I'm sure I'll have that opportunity to take another good buck, it'll happen.

Thanks again and best of luck to all of you this season!