Wildlife 2021/2022 Deer Season
- Thread starter Wildlife
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Ok.... Here's my take after doing some research... First off this is a hunting site ( or I thought when I joined ).... That freaking covid thread should be removed as it can and does create friction between members.... It has nothing to do with the outdoors.... I stay away from that thread like it was cancerous.... Early on I made a comment something like You make your bed so sleep in it... This caused a member to lash out at me... It's water over the dam.... Hey... I got the shots and if I drop dead tomorrow that's my problem and I don't expect anyone on here to lose any sleep over it... I really don't think Denny said anything wrong pertaining to any member on here... Jesse on the other hand got his panties in a wad and jumped on Denny for no reason at all... Giving him the finger and calling him out was wrong.... PERIOD.... I will say this..... IT TAKES A MAN TO APOLOGIZE AND SAY IM SORRY.... AND DENNY DID THIS.... MAYBE SOMEONE ELSE SHOULD DO THE SAME....
Stressless
Active Member
@bowhunter1023 since this thread has been well and truly highjacked - for the time being/
Yes, but, My mom and mother in law were lifelong RN's, my daughter is a ICU Cardiac RN - I saw his post and took it that the direction this country is heading in general is that folks are just rolling over, they have theirs and 'many' aren't willing to risk their current lot in life as opposed to taking a stand. Which I generally agree with - not his specific words.
That's my personal interpretation - you chose to take it as a very personal slight. I don't have the baggage of history on TOO that many of you do, referring to past keyboard cowboy episodes or drunken rants at campfires.
You came onto the thread I started and were very aggressive and similar to Denny's made de-facto comments that were taken, reflected inwardly - those two instances were in the last week bud. I choose to generally discuss volatile issues in private as I did with you. Neither are right or wrong - just an observation since it seems that's what we're doing here.
I believe mid to high-tier members of forums like this cue off the admins and the tone they propagate. I've not seen that aggression in your posts prior to my thread or @Wildlife 's poor choice or words in his. Again not condemning or condoning anything but an observation.
I really hope you are well and happy. Sometimes the anger and stress in life need a good venting which maybe what this is?
If not and I'm way off base - well it wouldn't be the first time. I mean he's not trying to get everyone to ship dead coyotes to someone out of state....
Ibid: While I was writing mine above @Fletch posted his - I didn't read it until I posted... That's from someone with the history of this sites baggage - @bowhunter1023 I hope you read them with the intent in which they were written. .
Yes, but, My mom and mother in law were lifelong RN's, my daughter is a ICU Cardiac RN - I saw his post and took it that the direction this country is heading in general is that folks are just rolling over, they have theirs and 'many' aren't willing to risk their current lot in life as opposed to taking a stand. Which I generally agree with - not his specific words.
That's my personal interpretation - you chose to take it as a very personal slight. I don't have the baggage of history on TOO that many of you do, referring to past keyboard cowboy episodes or drunken rants at campfires.
You came onto the thread I started and were very aggressive and similar to Denny's made de-facto comments that were taken, reflected inwardly - those two instances were in the last week bud. I choose to generally discuss volatile issues in private as I did with you. Neither are right or wrong - just an observation since it seems that's what we're doing here.
I believe mid to high-tier members of forums like this cue off the admins and the tone they propagate. I've not seen that aggression in your posts prior to my thread or @Wildlife 's poor choice or words in his. Again not condemning or condoning anything but an observation.
I really hope you are well and happy. Sometimes the anger and stress in life need a good venting which maybe what this is?
If not and I'm way off base - well it wouldn't be the first time. I mean he's not trying to get everyone to ship dead coyotes to someone out of state....
Ibid: While I was writing mine above @Fletch posted his - I didn't read it until I posted... That's from someone with the history of this sites baggage - @bowhunter1023 I hope you read them with the intent in which they were written. .
Chancegriffis
Active Member
Those crack me up@Chancegriffis from another Florida Man -- https://floridaman.com/You're not wrong...
View attachment 135945
Chancegriffis
Active Member
It sounds like everyone on this thread needs a nice cold Busch latte. I can’t really speak on this whole situation, but I miss that guys videos already. They were pretty neat to watchNot you Chance, you are cool.
There's so much contradiction and hypocrisy being spewed forth at this point, I dare not dig into for fear of ending up with a Denny-esque dissertation. Plus, I'd hate to finish the day -3 on hurt feelings.
Chancegriffis
Active Member
Thanks for the kind words Giles lolNot you Chance, you are cool.
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Congrats on taking a logical approach and not only avoiding a thread that causes you concern but also moving past an early disagreement. That's what makes the world go round and is a very mature approach instead of just running off.
As in life, apologies don't fix everything. Simply saying I'm sorry isn't a magic wand. People are not required to accept someone's apology. Denny said what he said, Jesse said what he said. It is what it is. If there is a problem to fix it exists between the two of them. Nether of those two grown ass men require a cheering section and our opinion of the matter doesn't matter.
As for site content. I appreciate the advice, however, we are not in the habit of banning topics of discussion. People can choose to participate or choose to ignore it as you have done. If it causes issues with members (also known as grown-ass men) they can work it out, or not. We're not in the business of running a daycare where people's feelings need to be managed. If someone chooses to participate and make a sweeping generalization that healthcare providers are cowards, they better have their belt on tight when a member defends his wife who works in healthcare. Such a response is to be expected regardless of the perceived title of who responded. "I'm sorry" isn't always accepted. If he left over that, then so be it.
I would also like to take a moment to point out that @giles is finally not the one getting blamed for issues.
.
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Stressless
Active Member
Picking this journal back up and I'll try my best to keep it current.
Over the recent years, I have been in the habit of documenting nearly all my wildlife experiences/encounters while afield, which typically is during the deer hunting seasons most primarily.
Keeping notes, and/or this journal up to date does help me, whether it be any kind of prepping for the following deer hunting season, or to make changes to any kind of an approach to the newer season, or to just simply get a little bit of entertainment every now and then, just looking back at any of the successes and/or failures. Regardless of what it may be, I refer too much of my documentation each year.
I usually learn something new after looking back, whether it be wildlife encounters, animal behaviors, habitat changes, seasonal changes, hunting setups, locations and types, hunting implements and whatever setups I arranged for them at the time, so on and so forth.
There has never been a time during hunting and/or outdoor adventures of my past where I haven't learned something rather new. It's perhaps one of the primary reasons why I love the outdoors and the sport of hunting as much as I do.
Going forward, please let it be known that I do appreciate a little bit of patience, some understanding, common courtesy, and the fair treatment of others with respect and dignity. I always try to treat others the way I wish to be treated, and that's how I've conducted myself throughout my life. It's how I was raised, and it's been ingrained as far back as I can remember.
Again, I will try my best to keep this journal up to date with respect to the rest of my deer hunting season. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you for your patience and understanding, sincerely!
Over the recent years, I have been in the habit of documenting nearly all my wildlife experiences/encounters while afield, which typically is during the deer hunting seasons most primarily.
Keeping notes, and/or this journal up to date does help me, whether it be any kind of prepping for the following deer hunting season, or to make changes to any kind of an approach to the newer season, or to just simply get a little bit of entertainment every now and then, just looking back at any of the successes and/or failures. Regardless of what it may be, I refer too much of my documentation each year.
I usually learn something new after looking back, whether it be wildlife encounters, animal behaviors, habitat changes, seasonal changes, hunting setups, locations and types, hunting implements and whatever setups I arranged for them at the time, so on and so forth.
There has never been a time during hunting and/or outdoor adventures of my past where I haven't learned something rather new. It's perhaps one of the primary reasons why I love the outdoors and the sport of hunting as much as I do.
Going forward, please let it be known that I do appreciate a little bit of patience, some understanding, common courtesy, and the fair treatment of others with respect and dignity. I always try to treat others the way I wish to be treated, and that's how I've conducted myself throughout my life. It's how I was raised, and it's been ingrained as far back as I can remember.
Again, I will try my best to keep this journal up to date with respect to the rest of my deer hunting season. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you for your patience and understanding, sincerely!
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Saturday, November 20, 2021:
Right about quitting time, after I already packed up my binoculars, grunt tube, range finder and bow already lowered to the ground, I was just about to climb down when a young spike showed up coming from the NE wooded area.
Now, I had to wait on him obviously to leave the area before I continued to make my way home, and I did. While doing so, I then observed four more other deer that stepped out into the South field from near my other tree-stand to the SE, my ‘Northwestern Stand’.
The first leading deer was well out into the middle of the field, when I noticed the last deer that stepped out was in a big hurry trotting straight towards the first deer, passing the other two.
I could tell by the share size and behavior displayed that the trotting deer was a buck but didn’t know which buck.
As the buck approached the first deer, that first deer immediately fled away runny to the West, up to the edge of the property, then stopped. The buck followed but stopped approximately 30 yards shy of that first deer, then both stood there for about a minute or two.
Then that first deer turned to the South and ran again to the far side of the field and the buck took chase. I continued to watch both the spike that was underneath and all the other deer within the South field.
The young spike got spooked by the two of the three opossums that were in the immediate area, two at the corn with the spike and the other was roaming somewhere underneath me at the time, but I couldn’t locate it while the spike was right in front of me.
Eventually, the spike walked off out into the South field headed South and then turned East along the field/wooded edge, and I am unsure where he ended up at eventually.
Meanwhile, the buck that took chase to that first deer was making his way towards me and I knew he was going to come all the way to me based on how quickly he was walking, never stopping while traveling all the way through the field. He must have given up on that first deer and I never seen that first deer again once it reached the far side of the South field, perhaps went down into the wooded area over there, but IDK for sure.
Once the buck arrived just 15 yards away from me, I continued to film while listening to all the other wildlife in the immediate area, both opossums and cottontails. I thought for a moment there was more deer underneath me, but there wasn’t.
I could tell that the buck was a good buck through my thermal monoscope, but again, I was unsure which buck it was.
After the buck left the immediate area and back out into the South field, headed towards the other two that were still in the middle of it, one grazing and the other bedded, the buck walked right up to the one that was bedded, bumped it, and then another chase pursued. The buck chased that deer back to the original location were all four of them came from, which is nearest to my ‘Northwestern Stand’.
The last and final deer that remained in the field continued to graze and slowly was working towards me.
I figured I had enough time to climb down, pull the SD card out of my trail camera and leave the area before that deer reached the immediate area, which I did.
I heard no deer while swapping the card out and I was able to leave the area without disturbing any other deer, just the opossums. I heard them go over the creek bank and down to the creek bottom as I walked right by them.
Once back at my workshop, I went through the data from the TC SD card. The second and bigger buck is one of my other project bucks with no name yet. He looks a lot like a younger version of ‘THUNDER’, in fact, it just might be ‘THUNDER’s kid possibly. It’s the first time I had this kind of close encounter with this buck, but I have seen him already before while out hunting, but from a much further distance.
So, once again, I got stuck up into my tree-stand at quitting time waiting on most all the deer to leave the area.
Tomorrow just might be the first time in over 30 days at least I will most likely not hunt, which is a heart breaker. I have been truly enjoying this year’s hunting season due to the wonderful weather conditions over the previous two.
It’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow, a lot of rain, and I think I’m going to sit this one out and try to catch up on some of the things indoors, however, if there is a chance of a significate break in the rain, I still may slip out and try to get a hunt in, but we’ll have to wait and see.
So, for today, I saw eight deer this morning during the three-hour hunt. Two within bow range, a big doe and a young 8pt buck, and there were six antlerless and two bucks combined for that entire morning hunt. For this evening, all the deer seen where right at quitting time, which were at least two bucks and perhaps three antlerless. The two bucks being well within bow range at 15 yards or less. That’s a total of 13 deer for the five in half hours hunted today. None of my target bucks were seen though. I believe they are traveling, making their rounds to the pockets of does.
‘November Rain’ came to mind for this evening’s video. Hope you all enjoy! BTW, the video starts off with a fresh scrape that I discovered on my way to my tree earlier this morning under the moonlight, which is on my cleared path, not the deerz. On the way out after this morning hunt, I took a photo of it, and it’s extremely fresh.
Good night!
Right about quitting time, after I already packed up my binoculars, grunt tube, range finder and bow already lowered to the ground, I was just about to climb down when a young spike showed up coming from the NE wooded area.
Now, I had to wait on him obviously to leave the area before I continued to make my way home, and I did. While doing so, I then observed four more other deer that stepped out into the South field from near my other tree-stand to the SE, my ‘Northwestern Stand’.
The first leading deer was well out into the middle of the field, when I noticed the last deer that stepped out was in a big hurry trotting straight towards the first deer, passing the other two.
I could tell by the share size and behavior displayed that the trotting deer was a buck but didn’t know which buck.
As the buck approached the first deer, that first deer immediately fled away runny to the West, up to the edge of the property, then stopped. The buck followed but stopped approximately 30 yards shy of that first deer, then both stood there for about a minute or two.
Then that first deer turned to the South and ran again to the far side of the field and the buck took chase. I continued to watch both the spike that was underneath and all the other deer within the South field.
The young spike got spooked by the two of the three opossums that were in the immediate area, two at the corn with the spike and the other was roaming somewhere underneath me at the time, but I couldn’t locate it while the spike was right in front of me.
Eventually, the spike walked off out into the South field headed South and then turned East along the field/wooded edge, and I am unsure where he ended up at eventually.
Meanwhile, the buck that took chase to that first deer was making his way towards me and I knew he was going to come all the way to me based on how quickly he was walking, never stopping while traveling all the way through the field. He must have given up on that first deer and I never seen that first deer again once it reached the far side of the South field, perhaps went down into the wooded area over there, but IDK for sure.
Once the buck arrived just 15 yards away from me, I continued to film while listening to all the other wildlife in the immediate area, both opossums and cottontails. I thought for a moment there was more deer underneath me, but there wasn’t.
I could tell that the buck was a good buck through my thermal monoscope, but again, I was unsure which buck it was.
After the buck left the immediate area and back out into the South field, headed towards the other two that were still in the middle of it, one grazing and the other bedded, the buck walked right up to the one that was bedded, bumped it, and then another chase pursued. The buck chased that deer back to the original location were all four of them came from, which is nearest to my ‘Northwestern Stand’.
The last and final deer that remained in the field continued to graze and slowly was working towards me.
I figured I had enough time to climb down, pull the SD card out of my trail camera and leave the area before that deer reached the immediate area, which I did.
I heard no deer while swapping the card out and I was able to leave the area without disturbing any other deer, just the opossums. I heard them go over the creek bank and down to the creek bottom as I walked right by them.
Once back at my workshop, I went through the data from the TC SD card. The second and bigger buck is one of my other project bucks with no name yet. He looks a lot like a younger version of ‘THUNDER’, in fact, it just might be ‘THUNDER’s kid possibly. It’s the first time I had this kind of close encounter with this buck, but I have seen him already before while out hunting, but from a much further distance.
So, once again, I got stuck up into my tree-stand at quitting time waiting on most all the deer to leave the area.
Tomorrow just might be the first time in over 30 days at least I will most likely not hunt, which is a heart breaker. I have been truly enjoying this year’s hunting season due to the wonderful weather conditions over the previous two.
It’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow, a lot of rain, and I think I’m going to sit this one out and try to catch up on some of the things indoors, however, if there is a chance of a significate break in the rain, I still may slip out and try to get a hunt in, but we’ll have to wait and see.
So, for today, I saw eight deer this morning during the three-hour hunt. Two within bow range, a big doe and a young 8pt buck, and there were six antlerless and two bucks combined for that entire morning hunt. For this evening, all the deer seen where right at quitting time, which were at least two bucks and perhaps three antlerless. The two bucks being well within bow range at 15 yards or less. That’s a total of 13 deer for the five in half hours hunted today. None of my target bucks were seen though. I believe they are traveling, making their rounds to the pockets of does.
‘November Rain’ came to mind for this evening’s video. Hope you all enjoy! BTW, the video starts off with a fresh scrape that I discovered on my way to my tree earlier this morning under the moonlight, which is on my cleared path, not the deerz. On the way out after this morning hunt, I took a photo of it, and it’s extremely fresh.
Good night!
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Sunday, November 21, 2021:
Well, around quarter after three I noticed that the rain was tapering off and down to a mild sprinkle. That’s when I decided to get ready to head out. I wasn’t planning on doing anything extraordinary as far as hitting a specific area really. I just wanted to get out.
So, I choose to hunt out of the closets stand that I have near my home, which it is literally 60 yards from the back of the house, just on the other backside of the seawall of honeysuckles, inside the woods.
That hang-on stand is like 10’ off the ground attached to a very large Sycamore Tree. I use that stand more as an observation stand than hunting really. I’m able to see down through the Lower CRP field when the trees drop nearly all their leaves, and it’s just above the top of nearly all the honeysuckles.
Anyhow, I got up into the stand right at 4:00 p.m. and there was a slight misty sprinkle rain happening still, however I could tell it was about to stop at any moment, which it did roughly 15 minutes later.
Then right at 4:25, I saw my first deer, which it was a real good mature buck. Not sure which one, but I could tell it was a good one by how he was walking through the Lower CRP field. That dreadful slow grind back and forth type of marching walk where each step looked as if it was a rather chore for him to take another step. Never once did he stop nor turned his head. He was focused on crossing that field and seemed as if he had a specific place to be. I was only able to see the left side of him and his rack looked heavy and tall as well. Again, I am not sure which buck he was, and he was approximately 125-150 yards away, headed straight to my ‘Northern CRP Stand’, no question about that either. I have yet to hunt out of either one of my Lower CRP stands this season too. I’m holding off on those for next weekend, just before gun season if needed.
The photographs below are where I saw the first real good buck at 4:25 p.m., coming from the South, just off the bottom of the South Ridge, headed due North towards the main creek area.
Then at 4:45 p.m., I caught some more movement to the SE of me coming from the Lower CRP field as well, heading SW, through some thicker and taller weeds, approximately 70+ yards away. At first glance through the trees, I could tell it was another good buck and I quickly grabbed my binoculars. As soon as I was able to see the deer through my binoculars, I immediately recognized the deer, which it was ‘THUNDER’!
“HOLY MOLY! GAME ON!!” I said to myself.
I quickly grabbed my range finder and ranged out an area in front of him as he was slowly making his way through those taller weeds. I was like, FUGG, he’s too far away if he continues that same direction by about 10-20 yards, that will put him about 50-70 yards away for an attempted shot.
I still hooked up regardless, waiting patiently to see what he was going to do once he reached the end of those tall weeds, which puts him straight out in front of me at roughly 55-70 yards.
Well, as luck would have it, as he broke through the end of those weeds, then he made a sweeping turn towards the South, and walked further away from me, straight towards my ‘Northwestern Stand’.
As soon as he left my view and through some more tall weeds and some thicker lower trees, I quickly threw my stuff in my bag, lowered my bow to the ground, and then I climbed down.
I figured I’d attempt to put a stalk on him because I had the wind in my face and the ground was saturated and super soft, plus he had no glue that I was in the area as well.
So, once on the ground, I traveled straight to where he first made that sweeping turn. Once I reached that spot, I noticed the heavily used deer trail, so I decided to cut him off if he were to continue his original sweep through the bottom of the South Ridge area. Basically, that would put him right under my ‘Northwestern Stand’ location.
So, I headed SE as his last known direction was heading South. I thought I could beat him to the middle of the South Ridge and catch up with him there.
By the time I reached the bottom edge of the South Ridge, I never did see him. At that I point I thought, okay, he must have gone up into the South field, going right by where my ‘Northwestern Stand’ or very close to it, heading West possibly.
So, I continued to hike up the South Ridge, headed due South, thinking once I reached the edge of the upper filed, I’ll wait on him to round the wooded finger, thinking he would be traveling SE by that time towards the cup area of the South field since that’s where the does generally pop out from first thing in the evening. So, I waited, and waited some more and nothing after about a few more minutes or better.
So then, I hiked towards the West, making it around the wooded finger from the South field cup area while looking to the West-NW area within the rest of the field. I didn’t see him anywhere. "FUGG!!!"
At that point, I believe I had about 20 minutes of good hunting left, so I turned back into the wooded area, climbed up into my ‘Northwestern Stand’ to finish out the rest of this evening’s hunt.
Once I reached the platform, I pulled out my binoculars and started glassing the entire area, down to the Lower CRP field, the cup area of the South field and then the rest of the entire upper South field to the South, SW, West to the NW, and no deer was seen anywhere.
Then shortly after, right at 5:37 p.m., I spotted two deer coming from the Lower CRP field, heading up the same trail that I took up to the upper South field into the cup area not even 30 minutes earlier.
I originally thought they were antlerless deer as they traveled up the ridge, however once those deer reached the upper South field, they separated. One headed to the SE, towards the back of the field to the wooded area, and the other was cutting up through the middle of the cup area, heading West through the middle of the field.
I waited for that one headed West to step out into my window from the within the woods as it was slowly grazing within the field. I’m not certain, but now I believe that the both of them were bucks. Which ones, I have no clue.
After the one crossed my window, I packed up and climbed down from the tree and hiked up the hill, right towards the deer, and just into the field.
Once I reached the field/wooded edge, I then turned North and walked along the entire edge of the field, all the way past my ‘Western Stand’ and didn’t see that deer or any others, nor did I hear any either.
I continued my hike the rest of the way home without seeing or hearing anymore deer.
So, for the hour and half hunt this evening. I saw two confirmed bucks, and possibly two more, or possibly the two of the same of the first two that I original saw, but IDK for certain.
All I can say is, if wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all!
It was another supper cool encounter with ‘THUNDER’ where I got another real good look at him, however I wished he zigged rather than zagged this evening for obvious reasons.
Tomorrow I am headed to the other farm to setup in the afternoon and hunt the rest of the week up there and finish up by E.O.D. Friday.
I’m gonna try my luck up there and see if I can capitalize on any good antlered deer at that farm, and give my home hunting grounds a nice break just before gun season kicks off.
I'm also going to self film those hunts up there, taking my camera mounting apparatus that attaches to the tree I'll be hunting out of. We'll see what happens...
Good night!
Well, around quarter after three I noticed that the rain was tapering off and down to a mild sprinkle. That’s when I decided to get ready to head out. I wasn’t planning on doing anything extraordinary as far as hitting a specific area really. I just wanted to get out.
So, I choose to hunt out of the closets stand that I have near my home, which it is literally 60 yards from the back of the house, just on the other backside of the seawall of honeysuckles, inside the woods.
That hang-on stand is like 10’ off the ground attached to a very large Sycamore Tree. I use that stand more as an observation stand than hunting really. I’m able to see down through the Lower CRP field when the trees drop nearly all their leaves, and it’s just above the top of nearly all the honeysuckles.
Anyhow, I got up into the stand right at 4:00 p.m. and there was a slight misty sprinkle rain happening still, however I could tell it was about to stop at any moment, which it did roughly 15 minutes later.
Then right at 4:25, I saw my first deer, which it was a real good mature buck. Not sure which one, but I could tell it was a good one by how he was walking through the Lower CRP field. That dreadful slow grind back and forth type of marching walk where each step looked as if it was a rather chore for him to take another step. Never once did he stop nor turned his head. He was focused on crossing that field and seemed as if he had a specific place to be. I was only able to see the left side of him and his rack looked heavy and tall as well. Again, I am not sure which buck he was, and he was approximately 125-150 yards away, headed straight to my ‘Northern CRP Stand’, no question about that either. I have yet to hunt out of either one of my Lower CRP stands this season too. I’m holding off on those for next weekend, just before gun season if needed.
The photographs below are where I saw the first real good buck at 4:25 p.m., coming from the South, just off the bottom of the South Ridge, headed due North towards the main creek area.
Then at 4:45 p.m., I caught some more movement to the SE of me coming from the Lower CRP field as well, heading SW, through some thicker and taller weeds, approximately 70+ yards away. At first glance through the trees, I could tell it was another good buck and I quickly grabbed my binoculars. As soon as I was able to see the deer through my binoculars, I immediately recognized the deer, which it was ‘THUNDER’!
“HOLY MOLY! GAME ON!!” I said to myself.
I quickly grabbed my range finder and ranged out an area in front of him as he was slowly making his way through those taller weeds. I was like, FUGG, he’s too far away if he continues that same direction by about 10-20 yards, that will put him about 50-70 yards away for an attempted shot.
I still hooked up regardless, waiting patiently to see what he was going to do once he reached the end of those tall weeds, which puts him straight out in front of me at roughly 55-70 yards.
Well, as luck would have it, as he broke through the end of those weeds, then he made a sweeping turn towards the South, and walked further away from me, straight towards my ‘Northwestern Stand’.
As soon as he left my view and through some more tall weeds and some thicker lower trees, I quickly threw my stuff in my bag, lowered my bow to the ground, and then I climbed down.
I figured I’d attempt to put a stalk on him because I had the wind in my face and the ground was saturated and super soft, plus he had no glue that I was in the area as well.
So, once on the ground, I traveled straight to where he first made that sweeping turn. Once I reached that spot, I noticed the heavily used deer trail, so I decided to cut him off if he were to continue his original sweep through the bottom of the South Ridge area. Basically, that would put him right under my ‘Northwestern Stand’ location.
So, I headed SE as his last known direction was heading South. I thought I could beat him to the middle of the South Ridge and catch up with him there.
By the time I reached the bottom edge of the South Ridge, I never did see him. At that I point I thought, okay, he must have gone up into the South field, going right by where my ‘Northwestern Stand’ or very close to it, heading West possibly.
So, I continued to hike up the South Ridge, headed due South, thinking once I reached the edge of the upper filed, I’ll wait on him to round the wooded finger, thinking he would be traveling SE by that time towards the cup area of the South field since that’s where the does generally pop out from first thing in the evening. So, I waited, and waited some more and nothing after about a few more minutes or better.
So then, I hiked towards the West, making it around the wooded finger from the South field cup area while looking to the West-NW area within the rest of the field. I didn’t see him anywhere. "FUGG!!!"
At that point, I believe I had about 20 minutes of good hunting left, so I turned back into the wooded area, climbed up into my ‘Northwestern Stand’ to finish out the rest of this evening’s hunt.
Once I reached the platform, I pulled out my binoculars and started glassing the entire area, down to the Lower CRP field, the cup area of the South field and then the rest of the entire upper South field to the South, SW, West to the NW, and no deer was seen anywhere.
Then shortly after, right at 5:37 p.m., I spotted two deer coming from the Lower CRP field, heading up the same trail that I took up to the upper South field into the cup area not even 30 minutes earlier.
I originally thought they were antlerless deer as they traveled up the ridge, however once those deer reached the upper South field, they separated. One headed to the SE, towards the back of the field to the wooded area, and the other was cutting up through the middle of the cup area, heading West through the middle of the field.
I waited for that one headed West to step out into my window from the within the woods as it was slowly grazing within the field. I’m not certain, but now I believe that the both of them were bucks. Which ones, I have no clue.
After the one crossed my window, I packed up and climbed down from the tree and hiked up the hill, right towards the deer, and just into the field.
Once I reached the field/wooded edge, I then turned North and walked along the entire edge of the field, all the way past my ‘Western Stand’ and didn’t see that deer or any others, nor did I hear any either.
I continued my hike the rest of the way home without seeing or hearing anymore deer.
So, for the hour and half hunt this evening. I saw two confirmed bucks, and possibly two more, or possibly the two of the same of the first two that I original saw, but IDK for certain.
All I can say is, if wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all!
It was another supper cool encounter with ‘THUNDER’ where I got another real good look at him, however I wished he zigged rather than zagged this evening for obvious reasons.
Tomorrow I am headed to the other farm to setup in the afternoon and hunt the rest of the week up there and finish up by E.O.D. Friday.
I’m gonna try my luck up there and see if I can capitalize on any good antlered deer at that farm, and give my home hunting grounds a nice break just before gun season kicks off.
I'm also going to self film those hunts up there, taking my camera mounting apparatus that attaches to the tree I'll be hunting out of. We'll see what happens...
Good night!
Monday, November 22, 2021:
Did an hour hunt this morning at the back of my property from the ground, right behind the barn, just on the other side of the main creek with the wind in my face. A place that I have seen deer graze both mornings and evening, plus a good buck cruised through it just days prior.
Didn’t see nor hear any deer at all this morning though. The neighbors was having some construction work being done just West of me before sunrise, which I think it kept the deer at bay this morning.
The rest of the morning, I packed up the pickup with everything needed to go hunt the rest of the week at the other farm.
I arrived at that property roughly 1:30 p.m.
I was ready for this evening’s hunt just after 3:00 p.m.
The NW brisk wind was truly a stiff one with some occasional intense gusts that were well within the double-digits, causing me to nearly fall asleep within the stand from being rocked back and forth. The wind never did laydown after sunset either, making it quite difficult to hear anything coming from the woods this evening.
I didn’t see my first deer until approximately 5:20 p.m., which was a good size buck at first glance with the naked eye from a couple hundred yards away that entered the beanfield from the North, right where I go in at. He had to have walked right by my truck.
Anyhow, the buck had his nose to the ground while trotting quickly through the furthest side of the wooded finger within the field, heading South.
As he reached a rained/washed-out deer scape at a Cedar Tree, right along the field/wooded finger edge, that’s when I started to glass him with my binoculars.
After seeing him through my binoculars, the buck appeared a whole lot bigger than what I first imagined after I spotted him originally. I continued to stay on him with my binoculars, observing every move he made, which at that moment, he was going around in tight circles very feverishly near that Cedar Tree/scrape area, with nose to the ground still.
Then he turned back towards the South again, still nose to the ground, trotting faster than I have ever witnessed a deer cut across the field while having his nose to the ground the entire time. I actually saw through my binoculars, dust and debris lift from the ground at his nose just inches off the ground, as he was trotting, obviously sniffing and breathing as he continued to track/seek. It was like seeing one of the construction street sweepers vehicles that cleans off all the debris from a freshly new paved road, or a Beagle that on the heels of a cottontail or something to that effect. It was an unbelievable sight to bare witness to and something I’ll most likely never forget.
He reached the end of the field to the South very quickly, right where I watched a big doe bed the last time I hunted the property, which was two weeks ago to the day.
The buck spun around in circles again while sniffing all around that area, apparently trying to pick up whatever scent of any potential hot doe that obviously he thought was completely ready.
Then he stepped into the tree hedgerow, just beyond those tall weeds within the cut soy-beanfield, and turned back around almost immediately, totting back through the tall weeds once again, and leaving that location, now angling right towards me while still trotting and covering some major ground very quickly.
That’s when I got my best look at him, as he was angling right towards me at a very quick pace.
As he was continuing my direction, apparently, he picked up the scent and that made him turn again to the East, right towards the wooded/field edge, just to the South of me at 70 yards. At that point, I was only able to see him through small open sections of the tree leaves. From what I could tell, he started spinning in circles again, trying to figure out what direction to go next.
I was hoping that he was going to continue to trot right along the East side of the beanfield, right towards me heading North, so I got ready with the bow and re-ranged the area of my shooting lanes/window to reconfirm one last time.
Then I peered over towards the South again, hoping to see him headed my way, but instead, I saw nothing.
After a minute or two of not seeing him anywhere, I rehung the bow, grabbed the binoculars and started glassing down along the field/wooded edge towards the South where I last saw him. Again, I did not see him, so, I suspect that he headed right into the woods just South of me at approximately 70 yards away.
At this point, I’m thinking, he still may come my direction, but through the woods. So, I watched the wooded area intensely and tried to listen for him, however the wind was still quite gusty and made it very difficult to judge if anything was moving at all within the woods.
Every once in while I’d look back out into the open beanfield and during last time of doing that, I saw what I originally thought was a young deer standing there at 20 yards right behind me within my best window/shooting lane, however it was not a young deer, but rather a huge coyote. I figured that out rather quickly when the coyote looked right up at me. Apparently, he spotted my movement when I turned to look but, he didn’t immediately flee, instead, he put his nose to the ground and started sniffing again.
I reached for my bow as the coyote was still standing there, nose to the ground, but I could tell he wasn’t going to remain there very long.
As soon as I got hooked up, the coyote turned, then trotted slowly to the North edge of the beanfield, the end of the cup area, and stopped, intensely looking into the woods.
Then I ranged him at that location, which put him at 40 yards, and I was still going to try shoot him, however he turned one last time as I was about to draw, stepping well within the woods and out of sight completely.
Damn it!
He was a huge coyote with some red tin in him, and I should have him captured on my trail camera because he was standing right in front of it. Tomorrow when I hunt the farm again, I’ll pull the SD card and share whatever TC photographs captured of him, right here within tomorrow’s journal update.
This is the same property that I arrowed my biggest coyote 10 years ago, which he was just over 50lbs. I will be coyote hunting this property this winter and intend on taking a few of them out.
So, back to the buck that I saw just prior to the coyote encounter. That buck is one that I never seen before whether being captured on any of my trail cameras or previously scouting the farm property weeks/months ago. IDK if he’s a home range buck, or not, however based on his displayed behavior this evening, I kind of suspect not.
I hope he walks by my TC tonight, if so, I’ll share that as well within tomorrow’s journal update. He's real good one and the biggest one I've seen yet this year.
Good night!
Did an hour hunt this morning at the back of my property from the ground, right behind the barn, just on the other side of the main creek with the wind in my face. A place that I have seen deer graze both mornings and evening, plus a good buck cruised through it just days prior.
Didn’t see nor hear any deer at all this morning though. The neighbors was having some construction work being done just West of me before sunrise, which I think it kept the deer at bay this morning.
The rest of the morning, I packed up the pickup with everything needed to go hunt the rest of the week at the other farm.
I arrived at that property roughly 1:30 p.m.
I was ready for this evening’s hunt just after 3:00 p.m.
The NW brisk wind was truly a stiff one with some occasional intense gusts that were well within the double-digits, causing me to nearly fall asleep within the stand from being rocked back and forth. The wind never did laydown after sunset either, making it quite difficult to hear anything coming from the woods this evening.
I didn’t see my first deer until approximately 5:20 p.m., which was a good size buck at first glance with the naked eye from a couple hundred yards away that entered the beanfield from the North, right where I go in at. He had to have walked right by my truck.
Anyhow, the buck had his nose to the ground while trotting quickly through the furthest side of the wooded finger within the field, heading South.
As he reached a rained/washed-out deer scape at a Cedar Tree, right along the field/wooded finger edge, that’s when I started to glass him with my binoculars.
After seeing him through my binoculars, the buck appeared a whole lot bigger than what I first imagined after I spotted him originally. I continued to stay on him with my binoculars, observing every move he made, which at that moment, he was going around in tight circles very feverishly near that Cedar Tree/scrape area, with nose to the ground still.
Then he turned back towards the South again, still nose to the ground, trotting faster than I have ever witnessed a deer cut across the field while having his nose to the ground the entire time. I actually saw through my binoculars, dust and debris lift from the ground at his nose just inches off the ground, as he was trotting, obviously sniffing and breathing as he continued to track/seek. It was like seeing one of the construction street sweepers vehicles that cleans off all the debris from a freshly new paved road, or a Beagle that on the heels of a cottontail or something to that effect. It was an unbelievable sight to bare witness to and something I’ll most likely never forget.
He reached the end of the field to the South very quickly, right where I watched a big doe bed the last time I hunted the property, which was two weeks ago to the day.
The buck spun around in circles again while sniffing all around that area, apparently trying to pick up whatever scent of any potential hot doe that obviously he thought was completely ready.
Then he stepped into the tree hedgerow, just beyond those tall weeds within the cut soy-beanfield, and turned back around almost immediately, totting back through the tall weeds once again, and leaving that location, now angling right towards me while still trotting and covering some major ground very quickly.
That’s when I got my best look at him, as he was angling right towards me at a very quick pace.
As he was continuing my direction, apparently, he picked up the scent and that made him turn again to the East, right towards the wooded/field edge, just to the South of me at 70 yards. At that point, I was only able to see him through small open sections of the tree leaves. From what I could tell, he started spinning in circles again, trying to figure out what direction to go next.
I was hoping that he was going to continue to trot right along the East side of the beanfield, right towards me heading North, so I got ready with the bow and re-ranged the area of my shooting lanes/window to reconfirm one last time.
Then I peered over towards the South again, hoping to see him headed my way, but instead, I saw nothing.
After a minute or two of not seeing him anywhere, I rehung the bow, grabbed the binoculars and started glassing down along the field/wooded edge towards the South where I last saw him. Again, I did not see him, so, I suspect that he headed right into the woods just South of me at approximately 70 yards away.
At this point, I’m thinking, he still may come my direction, but through the woods. So, I watched the wooded area intensely and tried to listen for him, however the wind was still quite gusty and made it very difficult to judge if anything was moving at all within the woods.
Every once in while I’d look back out into the open beanfield and during last time of doing that, I saw what I originally thought was a young deer standing there at 20 yards right behind me within my best window/shooting lane, however it was not a young deer, but rather a huge coyote. I figured that out rather quickly when the coyote looked right up at me. Apparently, he spotted my movement when I turned to look but, he didn’t immediately flee, instead, he put his nose to the ground and started sniffing again.
I reached for my bow as the coyote was still standing there, nose to the ground, but I could tell he wasn’t going to remain there very long.
As soon as I got hooked up, the coyote turned, then trotted slowly to the North edge of the beanfield, the end of the cup area, and stopped, intensely looking into the woods.
Then I ranged him at that location, which put him at 40 yards, and I was still going to try shoot him, however he turned one last time as I was about to draw, stepping well within the woods and out of sight completely.
Damn it!
He was a huge coyote with some red tin in him, and I should have him captured on my trail camera because he was standing right in front of it. Tomorrow when I hunt the farm again, I’ll pull the SD card and share whatever TC photographs captured of him, right here within tomorrow’s journal update.
This is the same property that I arrowed my biggest coyote 10 years ago, which he was just over 50lbs. I will be coyote hunting this property this winter and intend on taking a few of them out.
So, back to the buck that I saw just prior to the coyote encounter. That buck is one that I never seen before whether being captured on any of my trail cameras or previously scouting the farm property weeks/months ago. IDK if he’s a home range buck, or not, however based on his displayed behavior this evening, I kind of suspect not.
I hope he walks by my TC tonight, if so, I’ll share that as well within tomorrow’s journal update. He's real good one and the biggest one I've seen yet this year.
Good night!
Stressless
Active Member
Tuesday, November 23, 2021: 'Morning Hunt Only'
23 degrees when this photograph was taken at 9:32 a.m. and I had frost building up on my compound bow and arrows too at the time.
Didn’t see any deer during legal time, however I did see one while on my way to my tree-stand as I rounded the end of the wooded finger within the beanfield.
The deer was within the beanfield, nearest to the East field/wooded edge, right in front my tree, approximately 80-90 yards away. I remained at the end of the wooded finger until the deer moved on, which it did, because the deer definitely heard me coming long before I reached the end of the wooded finger due to the crunchy, frosty and the frozen ground, but it didn’t know what I was, and eventually went slowly into the woods headed East, right where I think yesterday’s big buck went in at, without blowing or throwing a flag.
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So, when I got to the farm this morning and changed into my hunting clothes at the back of the truck, I grabbed my cellphone to see what the outdoor temperature was, which it stated that it was 18 degrees at the time. Boy, I knew it was chilly, however the wind was nonexistent for the most part, supposedly coming from the NW, then it did eventually change midmorning, coming from the SW by 9:30 a.m. with a little more speed.
After not seeing or hearing any deer in the immediate area nearly most of the morning, I decided to climb down at 10:30 a.m., go home and grab some leftover venison roast from last night’s dinner that the wife threw in the pressure cooker yesterday with some onions, peppers, potatoes, celery and some carrots, and man, was it fantastic, especially after yesterday’s bummer of a hunt!
So, that’s what I am doing right now while getting thawed out near the woodstove and eating some more venison, and it’s still excellent, while I’m multitasking, providing this update from yesterday’s evening hunt with a couple of TC captures.
Now, I admit, I do feel like a real idiot for sharing this little bit of information with you all because I said previously that I only saw just the one deer yesterday during the evening. Well, apparently there were more than just the one deer. There were at least four more that showed up within the immediate area, and they snuck right by me, straight out in the middle of the cup area well inside the beanfield, directly behind me, shortly before I saw that big buck.
Granted, my tree-stand does face the woods (using the tree for cover when deer are in the beanfield), not the field, and I was sitting down at the time when those deer scooted right by me, however I also thought at the time that I was doing a decent job of keeping an eye out on the field as well. Apparently, that wasn’t the case as you’ll get to observe the undeniable evidence below, which is a trail camera photograph capture of at least four antlerless deer that cruised by me. I think all of them were just out of bow range when the photograph was taken, but I’m not certain of that either.
I also have a TC capture of the coyote I encountered as well from yesterday. It’s the only TC capture of him that I have, and I did not capture any photographs of yesterday’s big buck, but I did capture at least one other decent buck at 6:30 p.m. and the one from this morning at 6:08 a.m., which was a year-old buck.
I’ll be headed back out to the farm for another evening hunt here shortly, and I do expect to be in my tree-stand no later than 3:00 p.m.
I will update this journal later today when I get home after this evening’s hunt.
I’m expecting far better deer action for this evening than what occurred this morning, at least I hope so anyways.
23 degrees when this photograph was taken at 9:32 a.m. and I had frost building up on my compound bow and arrows too at the time.
Didn’t see any deer during legal time, however I did see one while on my way to my tree-stand as I rounded the end of the wooded finger within the beanfield.
The deer was within the beanfield, nearest to the East field/wooded edge, right in front my tree, approximately 80-90 yards away. I remained at the end of the wooded finger until the deer moved on, which it did, because the deer definitely heard me coming long before I reached the end of the wooded finger due to the crunchy, frosty and the frozen ground, but it didn’t know what I was, and eventually went slowly into the woods headed East, right where I think yesterday’s big buck went in at, without blowing or throwing a flag.
So, when I got to the farm this morning and changed into my hunting clothes at the back of the truck, I grabbed my cellphone to see what the outdoor temperature was, which it stated that it was 18 degrees at the time. Boy, I knew it was chilly, however the wind was nonexistent for the most part, supposedly coming from the NW, then it did eventually change midmorning, coming from the SW by 9:30 a.m. with a little more speed.
After not seeing or hearing any deer in the immediate area nearly most of the morning, I decided to climb down at 10:30 a.m., go home and grab some leftover venison roast from last night’s dinner that the wife threw in the pressure cooker yesterday with some onions, peppers, potatoes, celery and some carrots, and man, was it fantastic, especially after yesterday’s bummer of a hunt!
So, that’s what I am doing right now while getting thawed out near the woodstove and eating some more venison, and it’s still excellent, while I’m multitasking, providing this update from yesterday’s evening hunt with a couple of TC captures.
Now, I admit, I do feel like a real idiot for sharing this little bit of information with you all because I said previously that I only saw just the one deer yesterday during the evening. Well, apparently there were more than just the one deer. There were at least four more that showed up within the immediate area, and they snuck right by me, straight out in the middle of the cup area well inside the beanfield, directly behind me, shortly before I saw that big buck.
Granted, my tree-stand does face the woods (using the tree for cover when deer are in the beanfield), not the field, and I was sitting down at the time when those deer scooted right by me, however I also thought at the time that I was doing a decent job of keeping an eye out on the field as well. Apparently, that wasn’t the case as you’ll get to observe the undeniable evidence below, which is a trail camera photograph capture of at least four antlerless deer that cruised by me. I think all of them were just out of bow range when the photograph was taken, but I’m not certain of that either.
I also have a TC capture of the coyote I encountered as well from yesterday. It’s the only TC capture of him that I have, and I did not capture any photographs of yesterday’s big buck, but I did capture at least one other decent buck at 6:30 p.m. and the one from this morning at 6:08 a.m., which was a year-old buck.
I’ll be headed back out to the farm for another evening hunt here shortly, and I do expect to be in my tree-stand no later than 3:00 p.m.
I will update this journal later today when I get home after this evening’s hunt.
I’m expecting far better deer action for this evening than what occurred this morning, at least I hope so anyways.
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Tuesday, November 23, 2021: 'Evening Hunt'
I got to my stand a little late due to these two young ins.
As I about to round the wooded finger within the beanfield, I saw these two deer roughly 60 yards away to the SE, in the middle of the back section of the beanfield.
One of them caught my movement when I first reached the very point of the finger but did not catch quite all of me. I saw her first and quickly stepped a little bit closer towards the wooded finger area, right behind one of the big honeysuckle shrubs.
She tried to figure me out, however there was a good SW crosswind between us, and she did not bother to investigate any further so, she went about her business once again after a minute.
I watched each of them slowly graze within the field, heading further to the East and eventually, they both made it to the back of the field and into the woods.
I continued to stand in place and waited until I could not see any of them anymore within those woods, which still took forever for them to travel just a bit further East inside those woods once they got in there.
They held me up for about 10 minutes from getting to my tree-stand on time. I finally settled in for the hunt about 20 minutes after three.
The next group of deer that stepped out into the beanfield were three different does, two big ones and another young one. That happened at a quarter to five and it went on from there, right until after quitting time.
All three of them grazed slowly towards the wooded finger area first, then made a sweeping turn towards me.
Once the first one got in front of me, I started filming, which ended up being a total of 38 plus minutes’ worth when all said and done.
All three of them ended up straight out in front me within the beanfield, grazing the entire time with the furthest one away leaving me with a 25-yard shot opportunity at most.
Meanwhile, as they continued to graze, I was patiently waiting on a good buck to pop out somewhere and show up.
Occasionally, the biggest of the three does would act out, rather stressed and/or fidgety at times, popping her head up occasionally, then looked intensely towards the woods with her ears highly perched, but it seemed like she never looked to the same direction more than twice each time she did that. I assumed she too was on the lookout for one of those bigger bucks as well.
She also was the first one to leave the immediate area, all on her own, still acting bothered somewhat and I doubt it was because me.
The next one to leave was right a quitting time, which was the second biggest doe, and finally, the littlest one left roughly 5 minutes afterwards.
All three of them headed back into the woods right behind my tree and walked straight back to the thick tall pines area.
As soon as I could not hear them anymore traveling within the woods, I immediately packed up and climbed down, however before I left the area, I swapped SD cards at the TC.
The last one to leave the beanfield this evening.
Again, those three deer held me up too for about 10 minutes after quitting time, which there was still plenty of daylight left to be able to see without any artificial light.
So, for both hunts combined for today, which was about 6 hours worth hunting, there were a total of six deer seen, with three well within bow range, which were the last group of deer that entered the scene.
No antlered deer was seen nor heard during legal time, just the one as I was trying to get to my tree at 6:10 a.m. this morning.
I will be back at the same setup first thing tomorrow morning once again looking for a real good antlered deer come daylight.
Good night!
I got to my stand a little late due to these two young ins.
As I about to round the wooded finger within the beanfield, I saw these two deer roughly 60 yards away to the SE, in the middle of the back section of the beanfield.
One of them caught my movement when I first reached the very point of the finger but did not catch quite all of me. I saw her first and quickly stepped a little bit closer towards the wooded finger area, right behind one of the big honeysuckle shrubs.
She tried to figure me out, however there was a good SW crosswind between us, and she did not bother to investigate any further so, she went about her business once again after a minute.
I watched each of them slowly graze within the field, heading further to the East and eventually, they both made it to the back of the field and into the woods.
I continued to stand in place and waited until I could not see any of them anymore within those woods, which still took forever for them to travel just a bit further East inside those woods once they got in there.
They held me up for about 10 minutes from getting to my tree-stand on time. I finally settled in for the hunt about 20 minutes after three.
The next group of deer that stepped out into the beanfield were three different does, two big ones and another young one. That happened at a quarter to five and it went on from there, right until after quitting time.
All three of them grazed slowly towards the wooded finger area first, then made a sweeping turn towards me.
Once the first one got in front of me, I started filming, which ended up being a total of 38 plus minutes’ worth when all said and done.
All three of them ended up straight out in front me within the beanfield, grazing the entire time with the furthest one away leaving me with a 25-yard shot opportunity at most.
Meanwhile, as they continued to graze, I was patiently waiting on a good buck to pop out somewhere and show up.
Occasionally, the biggest of the three does would act out, rather stressed and/or fidgety at times, popping her head up occasionally, then looked intensely towards the woods with her ears highly perched, but it seemed like she never looked to the same direction more than twice each time she did that. I assumed she too was on the lookout for one of those bigger bucks as well.
She also was the first one to leave the immediate area, all on her own, still acting bothered somewhat and I doubt it was because me.
The next one to leave was right a quitting time, which was the second biggest doe, and finally, the littlest one left roughly 5 minutes afterwards.
All three of them headed back into the woods right behind my tree and walked straight back to the thick tall pines area.
As soon as I could not hear them anymore traveling within the woods, I immediately packed up and climbed down, however before I left the area, I swapped SD cards at the TC.
The last one to leave the beanfield this evening.
Again, those three deer held me up too for about 10 minutes after quitting time, which there was still plenty of daylight left to be able to see without any artificial light.
So, for both hunts combined for today, which was about 6 hours worth hunting, there were a total of six deer seen, with three well within bow range, which were the last group of deer that entered the scene.
No antlered deer was seen nor heard during legal time, just the one as I was trying to get to my tree at 6:10 a.m. this morning.
I will be back at the same setup first thing tomorrow morning once again looking for a real good antlered deer come daylight.
Good night!
Wednesday, November 24, 2021: 'Morning Hunt'
It was a 28-degree outdoor temperature start with virtually no South wind as I headed out into the beanfield once again trying to get to my tree-stand on the far backside, to the East, within the cup area.
Before I got too far along, I pulled out my mono-thermal scope and scanned to the far East backside of the field near my setup and I immediately noticed that there was a small deer right out in front of it so, I was in no big hurry to get around the wooded finger to get to my tree.
Once I got around the wooded finger while still scanning up ahead of me, I saw that small deer all of sudden dart into the woods very close to my tree and it was not because me either, but rather a coyote that just stepped out into the beanfield right behind the deer coming from the North.
Then I began to record the encounter while watching the coyote travel clear across the field along the wooded/field edge, only briefly stopping just a couple of times to investigate and looked towards my direction while doing so.
The coyote eventually made it back into the woods to the East and completely out of sight seconds after. The whole encounter was just over a minute and below is the TC capture of the small deer that was in front of my tree-stand location at the time the coyote stepped out, and the film recording of the coyote cruising across the field from my thermal scope.
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While finally up into my tree without having any more hold ups in getting there, I first noticed while scanning still into the beanfield that there were at least three rabbits hopping around in the far NW corner of the field, right at the top of the cup area, near the wooded finger.
I suspect that is what the coyote was originally after just prior to the small young deer that he ended up spooking away.
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I was hoping to see much better deer action this morning, as soon as it became light out however, instead, all I really saw was a lot of big birds and squirrels.
It basically started off with this lone soul of a Wild Turkey stepping out in the beanfield just to the North while hearing an owl in the background hooting its ass off, crows going ballistic to the SE beyond the pines well within the woods, and Canadian Geese honking while flying by above my head.
This turkey ended up strutting past me about 30 yards and turned into the woods headed straight to the tall thick pines, then stopped just before getting to them, gobbled a couple times, waited a few minutes, then turned back around and back out into the beanfield once again, then headed to the SE corner of the field. I finally lost track of it after he got beyond 80 yards of me.
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The first legal time deer showed up just before 9:00 a.m., which was another young antlerless. It stepped out into the beanfield just South of me, about the same place the turkey stepped out last, at 30 yards, stood there for a couple of minutes while looking intensely out into the field.
Then the deer turned towards the South and began slowly walking with its nose to the ground, and finally stepped into the woods just off the SE corner of the beanfield. The deer was in no hurry, and I suspect it was headed to a fairly fresh picked huge cornfield for breakfast much further to the South.
I climbed down from my tree at 9:30 a.m. after not seeing or hearing anymore deer in the area, which was disheartening to say the least, but I was starving to death because I missed dinner last night, and I need to catch up on things around the house this afternoon. Plus, the outdoor temperature was quickly on the rise as so were the Southerly winds. In fact, as I began to walk out, it was raining tree leaves all over the place as the frost was quickly melting within the area.
I will be headed back to that same location later this afternoon for another evening hunt. As usual, I will follow up here afterwards with an update.
It was a 28-degree outdoor temperature start with virtually no South wind as I headed out into the beanfield once again trying to get to my tree-stand on the far backside, to the East, within the cup area.
Before I got too far along, I pulled out my mono-thermal scope and scanned to the far East backside of the field near my setup and I immediately noticed that there was a small deer right out in front of it so, I was in no big hurry to get around the wooded finger to get to my tree.
Once I got around the wooded finger while still scanning up ahead of me, I saw that small deer all of sudden dart into the woods very close to my tree and it was not because me either, but rather a coyote that just stepped out into the beanfield right behind the deer coming from the North.
Then I began to record the encounter while watching the coyote travel clear across the field along the wooded/field edge, only briefly stopping just a couple of times to investigate and looked towards my direction while doing so.
The coyote eventually made it back into the woods to the East and completely out of sight seconds after. The whole encounter was just over a minute and below is the TC capture of the small deer that was in front of my tree-stand location at the time the coyote stepped out, and the film recording of the coyote cruising across the field from my thermal scope.
While finally up into my tree without having any more hold ups in getting there, I first noticed while scanning still into the beanfield that there were at least three rabbits hopping around in the far NW corner of the field, right at the top of the cup area, near the wooded finger.
I suspect that is what the coyote was originally after just prior to the small young deer that he ended up spooking away.
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I was hoping to see much better deer action this morning, as soon as it became light out however, instead, all I really saw was a lot of big birds and squirrels.
It basically started off with this lone soul of a Wild Turkey stepping out in the beanfield just to the North while hearing an owl in the background hooting its ass off, crows going ballistic to the SE beyond the pines well within the woods, and Canadian Geese honking while flying by above my head.
This turkey ended up strutting past me about 30 yards and turned into the woods headed straight to the tall thick pines, then stopped just before getting to them, gobbled a couple times, waited a few minutes, then turned back around and back out into the beanfield once again, then headed to the SE corner of the field. I finally lost track of it after he got beyond 80 yards of me.
The first legal time deer showed up just before 9:00 a.m., which was another young antlerless. It stepped out into the beanfield just South of me, about the same place the turkey stepped out last, at 30 yards, stood there for a couple of minutes while looking intensely out into the field.
Then the deer turned towards the South and began slowly walking with its nose to the ground, and finally stepped into the woods just off the SE corner of the beanfield. The deer was in no hurry, and I suspect it was headed to a fairly fresh picked huge cornfield for breakfast much further to the South.
I climbed down from my tree at 9:30 a.m. after not seeing or hearing anymore deer in the area, which was disheartening to say the least, but I was starving to death because I missed dinner last night, and I need to catch up on things around the house this afternoon. Plus, the outdoor temperature was quickly on the rise as so were the Southerly winds. In fact, as I began to walk out, it was raining tree leaves all over the place as the frost was quickly melting within the area.
I will be headed back to that same location later this afternoon for another evening hunt. As usual, I will follow up here afterwards with an update.