Creamer's 22/23 Season Journal

[Creamer]

Sit #6

Skunk #4. Three in a row. It's really looking like tough sledding on the local public this season. The good news is that I do know where there are a few pockets of deer based off scouting (seeing deer I've bumped) and some trail cam photos, but not too much. I've been trying to stay out of those spots until this coming weekend, so we'll see if that pays off.

The sit Sunday morning was one that "always" produces. It's a narrow pinch between food and traditional bedding. A cliff/drop off into a cave below pinches the deer travel on the bench down tight and I've had a lot of encounters here with deer using that bench to go to bed. The woods were dead all morning, though.

It stinks. I'm feeling pretty dangerous right now, shooting the bow really well, but no targets to shoot at. After the sit, I hiked in farther and pulled/moved a camera that I had farther back on the ridge that has been dominated by coyotes, with minimal deer pics. Hopefully that camera shows me something. I'm going to give it maybe a week or so, and if it's dry there, also...it's getting pulled and I'm staying out of that area.

 

[Creamer]

Sit #7

Finally, a good hunt. The weather sucked yesterday with daytime highs in the low 70's, but it's also Nov 6 and it's time to be out there. I hoofed it over 1.5 miles on public into a spot that has historically been good this time of year. Even hiking into the woods 95% of the way in athletic shorts and a t-shirt, I sweated my ass off. The saving grace was the wind on the ridge top was forecasted to be perfect for me. The setup was a high L-shaped bench where a point split away from the main ridge. I was where the two benches connected. Each direction had thick cover that I could mostly see over where I was, and behind me (my entrance) was a saddle in the main ridge. The wind helped cover me getting in and I went slow (left pretty early). I got in clean and was in the tree by 12:30 or so.

I didn't have to wait long, maybe an hour after I got settled I had deer chasing. It ended up being a small 8-pointer pushing a doe. She flirted with danger, looking like she was coming to me then veering up the bank at about 30 yards. I was going to shoot her given the chance. A while later, after they crossed over the point to the west, a forkhorn came through dogging a pair of does. Again, nothing in range, but they were skirting within 50 yards or so. Shortly after they worked out of sight, I spotted movement on the top of the main ridge, and it was my first bobcat sighting of the season in person. Not a large cat, but still cool to see. My goodness those things are silent. At last light, about in the same area the cat walked through, I had a spike and a doe walk the ridge top. I slipped down once they got clear of me, ending the night with a bobcat and 7 deer on a public sit. I'll take it.

It was hot and miserable but worth the hike and effort to get on some deer. I'd also add that this thing saved my bacon.

I've had a nasty cough the past couple of days and the Cough Silencer works really well. At one point, I had a coughing fit into it with a doe maybe 35 yards away. She had no clue. It's one of those things I may only need a time or two per year but it's worth it's weight in catalytic converters when I do need it.

 

[Big_Holla]

One thing you can do if you have that bad cough sneak out before you can muffle it is to immediately follow it up with a series of grunts off your grunt call. Had a bad chest cold one year and carried a ton of cough drops with me but every so often I'd have a coughing fit. Followed it up with a series of grunts that late morning and sure enough I grunted in a buck that now hangs on my wall.

 

[Creamer]

Sit #8

Grewwwwwahhhhh! I'm fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine. A smidge frustrated...but it's OK. I went back to the well one more time, same location as the last sit, because I had a good one on camera there and had finally found a pocket of deer on public. This time, a morning sit. Up at 4:30AM, cold, wet pre-dawn hike to the area, set up well before shooting light. Of course, I had deer around me in the dark. Deer were chasing below me in complete darkness, and another deer walked the little brush point behind me within 40ish yards. No clue what any of them were.

Once the sun came up...no deer seen until almost 10AM. That's actually pretty normal with this location, I see a lot of that 10-12 movement here. First deer spotted is a spike, cruising through and headed for the doe bedding behind me. Of course, he kicks up a few and runs one of them. The second doe he got up split off and meandered/wandered slowly below me. I pulled the chestnut doe bleat I had with me and made a couple of soft bleats at her when she had stopped and the woods were quiet. It immediately got her attention and she started up through the brush towards me. She had cut the distance to maybe 40 yards, browsing her way towards me, when she went full alert, turned, and bolted. While I was trying to figure out what happened, I hear something running at me through the brush.

A small 8-pointer comes galloping through. I knew he had been chased or spooked by something. Expecting to see a bobcat or maybe some coyotes, instead I see a human outline walking the ridge top. Wonderful. I've hunted that general area for 4 years, never seeing a human and never getting anyone on trail cam. But, here comes a guy and I assume his teen son. Sure enough, they drop off the ridge right in on me. I was about to whistle at them when the guy appeared to spot my trail camera and point at it. I whistled, he stopped, startled. I got a little wave and they turned and headed back up and over the ridge. My hunt was over, and they may have saved that doe.

Now I don't know those two, and I don't know their intentions, but guys walking through the woods, that far back in (over 1.5 miles from access), no weapons but wearing camo and backpacks...plus pointing at and walking towards my camera before I got their attention...I have a feeling those boys were hunting trail cams. Maybe they were just scouting, but who knows for sure. All I know, my best location I had found this season is now tainted, I pulled my most productive camera, and I'm not sure where to go from here.

Other than that, everything is fine.

 

[giles]

I was just hearing about how popular stealing trail cams has become.

 

[Creamer]

I was just hearing about how popular stealing trail cams has become.

A small part of me was thinking how fun it would be to watch them try to take it then the look on their faces when they saw me watching them.

 

[Creamer]

Sit #9

I tried to pick up a "cheap" doe. We've had a lot of does coming to the feeder behind the house. I can only watch this for so long before I have to try something. Knowing the general route the does have been traveling at dusk, I mounted the Stalker decoy to the Stalker bow (Stalker Squared?) and decided "let's get nuts."

True to form, about 5:25PM, I heard footsteps in the leaves. Just one issue...it was behind me where I was exposed. It was two doe fawns, literally walking 10' behind me, never having a clue. I could have easily shot either of them but I wanted old nanny doe. She, being not dumb, walked the low side and stayed just out of range like she knew I was there when she clearly didn't. I got brave, after she saw the Stalker decoy and didn't seem to care, and took a step towards them. I needed to cut about 10 yards off before I could shoot. Well, she didn't care for that at all. She got nervous, stomped, and walked away. The fawns followed her. It was worth a shot.

 

[Creamer]

Sit #10

After the previous attempt, I got smarter. After watching their route in along the creek, and knowing there was an old brush pile down there I could easily tuck in behind, I had a better plan. I left the decoy at home this time and trusted I could just hide well enough with the cover around me. Right on time, here they come again.

Doe fawn #1 walks by me inside 10 yards. Nanny doe was coming next followed by fawn #2. About a half step from me starting to draw, she picked up on something (me) being out of place. I thought I had good enough back cover to break up my outline, but she saw something. Again, I got stomped at. Again my brilliant plan was foiled. Nanny stayed there about 20 yards off shielded by the brush pile where I couldn't shoot. The fawn that had walked by me turned to come back to her, and I wasn't able to resist this time. The itch in the trigger finger was going to win.

She was quartered away hard, but only about 10 yards and completely oblivious to me. I anchored, settled, and released probably the best arrow I've ever let go on a deer with trad gear. The arrow impacted right where I wanted and I knew she was toast. She sprinted maybe 40-45 yards, stopped, and tipped over. Regardless of her size, damn that felt good. The arrow entered about the second to last rib and disappeared. The arrow just barely came out of her and lightly jabbed into the ground. The Magnus Stinger did a number on her. Entrance:

Exit:

It feels great to finally be on the board and do it with a good shot. This was a long time coming in a difficult season.

 

["J"]

Nice job, Jeff!!!! Congrats buddy!

 

[giles]

Hell yeah. From the ground...with a stick...TROPHY!!!

 

[Dustinb80]

Congrats

 

[Wildlife]

Congratulations on the harvest! I've been enjoying your excellent write-ups! Keep it up and best of luck the rest of the season!

 

[switchhitter]

That is awesome!
Congratulations on scratching that itch

 

[Sgt Fury]

Congrats! Harvesting a deer with trad equipment is quite a feat.

 

[Isaacorps]

Congrats!

 

[JARHEAD]

Nice!

 

[brock ratcliff]

Congratulations Jeff! Well earned!

 

[Big_Holla]

Congratulations

 

[Creamer]

Sit #11

For the gun opener morning, I took a lengthy hike into public where I had a cell cam set up. I had pics of doe groups 3 days in a row passing along this pinch mid-morning. I was nearly to the tree when a big doe spooked off the path, she had let me walk within 10 yards before she bounced. I got settled in before daylight. I saw nothing. I heard very few shots, with maybe a couple I would consider close but I'm not so sure they were shots on public. The woods were dead. I even noticed on the long hike out that my boot prints were the only boot prints in the muddy trail. I had the place to myself and it just didn't happen. I did pass on two small does on the hike out that were close to a trail hub.

Sit #12

For the afternoon, I went into private where I had dumped some golden seduction last Friday by another cell camera. I was getting alot of doe pics and a few small bucks, one of which I had already passed last time there with the recurve. Right off the bat I bounced three does getting in. This was the biggest hurdle here, a clean entry, and I knocked that hurdle over. I went old school and sat my butt on the ground for this one up against a tree.

In the last hour of daylight, it felt like I could hear deer for 15 minutes and could never see them. Finally, a doe and doe fawn came out of the brush and the fawn worked to the corn. Mama doe stayed off to the left in some cover and I never really had a clean shot at her. I passed on the fawn. I ended up with no other shot opportunities.

 

[Creamer]

Sit #13

Lucky 13. Almost. I had a solid setup in an area I had several bucks I'd shoot on camera. It was the closing afternoon of gun season, and I had the muzzleloader with me. Wind was good, entry was clean (as best I could tell), it felt like it should be a good evening.

A whole bunch of edges come together in this spot. You drop into a bowl of sorts, kind of U-shaped, from a field up top. I walk in on the point formed on the left. Usually there are deer around the right hand point, and they also bed on the bench formed behind the point you walk in. farther out the bench as you walk down the point is an old field, with deer traveling the low edge side of that field a lot.

I'd already had a pair of does walk up the opposite point, out of range. I kept hearing multiple deer in the bottom below me but couldn't get a good look at them. I knew I saw antler, though, and it sounded like there was some chasing going on. While I am trying to get a bead on them, I hear deer coming out the bench from the bedding area. A doe and fawn walked literally right to me. I let them walk under me, I could have dropped the gun on them. Sure enough, the buck never gives me a shot but I finally got a solid look at him. Big 9-pointer with a white hairless patch along the base of the back of his neck. There was a smaller buck and doe with him, also, and they eventually worked away from me. Saw 7 all together, good hunt, no damage done.

Also, this battery heated vest is awesome. I wore minimal layers and still stayed warm on a cool night.