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Late season help

Diane

*Supporting Member*
4,715
66
Newark
I stopped dumping #50 of corn at a time and switched to dumping a tiny little bit instead. 4 pounds of apples and a coffee can full of corn each afternoon. Sure enough (like Mike Rex said) the deer are all now coming in, way before dark. I don't know job-wise if you can try that, but it's a thought.
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,050
124
Centerburg, Ohio
Thanks for coming along on the ride everyone lol. I'll be at it some mornings and every evening until it's over. I asked my 6 year old daughter if she thought I was going to get my buck tonight. She said probably not but maybe lol. Kids.
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,050
124
Centerburg, Ohio
The corn has stayed untouched so far except for the birds and rabbits btw. Pretty much just hunting their main trail and checking the corn pile from my window throughout the day. The deer haven't found it yet.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
40,489
288
Ohio
this thread is almost as good as hunting with joel, but a lot warmer, can,t wait to read his post,really hoping to see this buck go down with his arrow, as good as reading a novel, get er done:smiley_coolpeace:

Shoot. This thread is BETTER than hunting with Joel BECAUSE we get to stay warm. lmao

I am rooting for you Joel. I have hunted until the last day of the season before. It takes some serious stamina and as bitterly cold as this winter has been. . . .it is not easy to maintain the momentum and enthusiasm. Hats off to you buddy. You have my respect. Looking forward to some hero shots.
 

xbowguy

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
31,419
260
Licking Co. Ohio
I'm on your side Joel. I think you're gonna get your shot pretty soon. I'm looking forwards to a hero pic with a smile that say's it was all worth it! Good Luck Joel!
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,050
124
Centerburg, Ohio
I had what looked like 2 mature deer at the corn pile during daylight this morning at about 9am! Stuck working today but they found the corn and appear to still feel safe in the area. Looking good for this weekend! :pickle:
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,050
124
Centerburg, Ohio
That was unreal. I just spent the last half hour surrounded by deer. At about 5:45 I saw a single doe coming from an unexpected direction. She looked skittish and took off so I thought that's all I was going to see. About 5 minutes later the same three doe I've been seeing started coming down the trail. I lifted my crossbow up expecting the buck to be close behind. The small one was in front and I froze, safety off crosshairs on her vitals and she stopped. She stood there and stomped staring right at me and I thought it was over, waiting for her to bolt.

She snorted at me and lifted her tail up, the other two right behind her. Then she walked straight to the corn and the other two followed her! I held that crossbow up so long my arms still hurt. The big doe came back and stared at me some more. Then a small buck another doe and a button buck. All just hung out and looked at me for the longest time. I looked toward the corn and there was another one there.

I have never seen that many deer in one hunt. Three of them came within 10 feet of me...

They would not leave so eventually I had to stand up and walk away. They did run off but not until I had walked 20 feet or so towards my house. Believe it or not all this happened while I was sitting in a chair next to a tree stump. No blind and no stand. I did not see my buck but I don't even care- that was nuts.
 

rsmith

Member
1,835
52
Joel that's awesome!! I just read through this whole thread and I am so rooting and praying you get a opportunity to wack this buck! That's awesome that you got all those deer coming in!! Hopefully tomorrow you will get a good chance to get one if not Saturday and Sunday are going to be in the 20's so they should be up with the spike of warm weather! Good luck!
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,050
124
Centerburg, Ohio
I gotta get this done soon. We are getting a ton of work all of a sudden and this forecast is looking crazy. Normally this is my slow time of the year but spring came early as far as work orders go (not so much weather wise). As much as I'd like to get a big buck, I think the first one I get a shot at with antlers is going to have to go down. Fingers crossed that it's a big one. That would make this a perfect season as far as I'm concerned but a first deer and first buck with a crossbow would be pretty sweet for me this late in the season regardless of size. The two doe I got this year have both been with the muzzleloader. Now that they're hitting the corn pretty hard I wouldn't be shocked to see a new buck come in one of these next couple evenings. So far I've only seen the big 8 point and a couple small bucks but last night I saw probably 4 new deer I haven't seen before so who knows.

As much fun as I've been having, I have no choice but to start working dawn to dusk starting Tuesday or Wednesday. We're going to be so far behind I may only have a few evenings left to kill something and put up my gear until next season. This extreme cold weather coming in combined with corn and having a hunting spot with loads of deer less than 100 yards from my back door is a good recipe for a dead buck. Next year I'll have my crossbow to start the hunting season so big antlers will be a very achievable goal if it doesn't happen this year...
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,050
124
Centerburg, Ohio
Tonight's weather sucked. Covered in snow and wind changing directions and speed every couple minutes. Had one button buck 15 yards away and ALMOST talked myself into shooting him. He stuck around for about a minute and then a plow truck coming down the road scared him back into the thicket.
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,050
124
Centerburg, Ohio
Well, I think this could be my last hunt of the season tonight. Other than the deep snow, conditions are really about perfect as far as temps and wind direction. This will probably be my last chance to get a buck for the year. I also learned that the neighbor next to this area I'm hunting has been getting nuisance permits for deer in the late summer because of them damaging his trees (he has a tree farm). Because of all that and the way we have been going through the deer meat I will shoot the first one that gives me a shot tonight. I'm really kind of bummed out as I didn't want to shoot another doe. But, if the neighbor is going to be picking them off with high powered rifles they might as well go in my freezer. I will try to talk some sense into him next year and see if I can hunt his land too but there is a lot of deer around here and he's had his farm since before I was born.

I'll go out around 4:30 and probably shoot one by 5:30 the way they've been coming in. Normally the buck has been right after the doe but he was in the front of the line one evening so I may get lucky and see him first. Hard to explain but I'm actually a little sad about shooting a doe or small buck tonight as well as the season being over for me.