Wildlife 2019/2020 Deer Season
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Tuesday, December 10, 2019 – First sit at ‘Deer Creek State Park’ Archery Hunt - The Follow up:
I took off from my home right at noon heading for the park for the very first time. I never did make it yesterday.
At the time I left, the outdoor temperature was in the high 20’s with a stiff West wind and some occasional gusts.
I already had a plan in mind before I left the house, focusing on a particular area within the park that’s part of section two, the area I’m supposed to hunt.
Once I got there, I changed into my hunting clothes & boots that I had packed in my totes. Then I threw my ‘Lone Wolf Alpha Stand w/ 5 LW Sticks, plus a small pack of hunting gear over my back, then I grabbed three numbered trail cameras that I already had setup within their own lock boxes & steel locking cables, grabbed my compound bow and then I took off afield looking for good deer signs.
It didn’t long at all for me to come across a few good Buck tree rubs, and several heavy deer runs.
So, I placed a trail camera at each of the more significant fresh tree rubs and the final camera at a major deer run that leads out into an open field, which actually gives more of an appearance of being a major interstate highway for deer.
After that, I continued heading further East to a little creek valley. I walked that creek heading North that goes through some serious thick areas that are absolutely loaded with deer trails.
I finally got to a spot where there are several White Oaks on top of a ridge overlooking the creek bottom on one side, and thicket area on the other.
I found nice size Silver Maple tree that had a good size crotch in it about where my stand platform would end up, providing more cover for me. It worked out perfectly!
So, that’s where I setup for the rest of the day.
I finally got settled in around 2:30 p.m. and once in the tree, it obvious to see all the deer runs on top of that ridge coming/going to the thicket area right behind me, to the West, which I believe was going to work out perfectly because of the type wind at the time.
Sure enough, right 4:50 p.m., three antlerless deer came from the West, right from the thicket area heading towards the creek bottom.
I singled out the one that was closest to me, which was a decent Doe. I had a Doe to my right, one to my left and one right behind me, all within 40 yards.
The one behind me was the one that offered up the best opportunity at 20 yards, slightly quartering away slowly, and once she cleared a couple more tree limbs in between us, I let her have it.
I watched the arrow hit exactly where I intended to go, which was upper high right, mid rib section and down through in front of the left front leg. It was a complete pass through, and the deer immediately turned back around heading back to where she came from.
I heard her crash within 50 yards of me and the other two deer still stuck around until I decided to climb down a little after 5:00 p.m., which they didn’t go far because they blew a couple of times while I went to recover my deer.
Before I climbed down however, I could see from the stand that my arrow was soaked rich in blood and I could also see the heavy blood trail right next to it leading back to the thicket area.
Once I reached my arrow, it was very obvious that the shot was absolutely devastating to her.
The blood trail was extremely heavy, and it was so easy to follow, even a half blind man could’ve followed it. It led me straight to the deer with no hiccups whatsoever. She bleed out quickly because the arrow not only took out a lung, it severed her aorta, right above the heart.
So, I grabbed her and drug her back to my arrow with the lit red nock, then headed to my truck, which was a good ½ mile away. I placed some reflective tacks in some trees along the way so I could easily find my way back in the dark.
Once I got to my truck, I changed out of my hunting clothes, threw on an old pair of hunting bibs and an old pair of Muck boots, then drove over to an area that was much closer to where the deer was.
After I parked, I grabbed my field dressing pack with everything needed to dress her out, grabbed my deer harness with rope and headed for the dead deer.
Once I got back to her, I dressed her out, hooked up my harness and took off down the ridge, through the creek bottom and back up the other side to where my truck was parked approximately 100 yards away.
After I got her loaded into the bed of the truck, I turned back around to get my stand.
After I reached the truck once again, I threw the stand in the bed, changed out of my bibs & old Mucks and got into regular work clothes, jumped into the cab, called DOW for my conformation number, then took off straight for home, right at 8:00 p.m. sharp.
I got home by 8:45 p.m., hung the deer for the night, went to get cleaned up for dinner because the wife made some fresh deer back straps that came from my previous deer harvest, which was freaking fantastic and very fitting to end the day of good huntin.
Tomorrow, I’ll take care of my deer and try to get back out there as soon as possible. If not by tomorrow, definitely the next day while the weather is still decent.
I took off from my home right at noon heading for the park for the very first time. I never did make it yesterday.
At the time I left, the outdoor temperature was in the high 20’s with a stiff West wind and some occasional gusts.
I already had a plan in mind before I left the house, focusing on a particular area within the park that’s part of section two, the area I’m supposed to hunt.
Once I got there, I changed into my hunting clothes & boots that I had packed in my totes. Then I threw my ‘Lone Wolf Alpha Stand w/ 5 LW Sticks, plus a small pack of hunting gear over my back, then I grabbed three numbered trail cameras that I already had setup within their own lock boxes & steel locking cables, grabbed my compound bow and then I took off afield looking for good deer signs.
It didn’t long at all for me to come across a few good Buck tree rubs, and several heavy deer runs.
So, I placed a trail camera at each of the more significant fresh tree rubs and the final camera at a major deer run that leads out into an open field, which actually gives more of an appearance of being a major interstate highway for deer.
After that, I continued heading further East to a little creek valley. I walked that creek heading North that goes through some serious thick areas that are absolutely loaded with deer trails.
I finally got to a spot where there are several White Oaks on top of a ridge overlooking the creek bottom on one side, and thicket area on the other.
I found nice size Silver Maple tree that had a good size crotch in it about where my stand platform would end up, providing more cover for me. It worked out perfectly!
So, that’s where I setup for the rest of the day.
I finally got settled in around 2:30 p.m. and once in the tree, it obvious to see all the deer runs on top of that ridge coming/going to the thicket area right behind me, to the West, which I believe was going to work out perfectly because of the type wind at the time.
Sure enough, right 4:50 p.m., three antlerless deer came from the West, right from the thicket area heading towards the creek bottom.
I singled out the one that was closest to me, which was a decent Doe. I had a Doe to my right, one to my left and one right behind me, all within 40 yards.
The one behind me was the one that offered up the best opportunity at 20 yards, slightly quartering away slowly, and once she cleared a couple more tree limbs in between us, I let her have it.
I watched the arrow hit exactly where I intended to go, which was upper high right, mid rib section and down through in front of the left front leg. It was a complete pass through, and the deer immediately turned back around heading back to where she came from.
I heard her crash within 50 yards of me and the other two deer still stuck around until I decided to climb down a little after 5:00 p.m., which they didn’t go far because they blew a couple of times while I went to recover my deer.
Before I climbed down however, I could see from the stand that my arrow was soaked rich in blood and I could also see the heavy blood trail right next to it leading back to the thicket area.
Once I reached my arrow, it was very obvious that the shot was absolutely devastating to her.
The blood trail was extremely heavy, and it was so easy to follow, even a half blind man could’ve followed it. It led me straight to the deer with no hiccups whatsoever. She bleed out quickly because the arrow not only took out a lung, it severed her aorta, right above the heart.
So, I grabbed her and drug her back to my arrow with the lit red nock, then headed to my truck, which was a good ½ mile away. I placed some reflective tacks in some trees along the way so I could easily find my way back in the dark.
Once I got to my truck, I changed out of my hunting clothes, threw on an old pair of hunting bibs and an old pair of Muck boots, then drove over to an area that was much closer to where the deer was.
After I parked, I grabbed my field dressing pack with everything needed to dress her out, grabbed my deer harness with rope and headed for the dead deer.
Once I got back to her, I dressed her out, hooked up my harness and took off down the ridge, through the creek bottom and back up the other side to where my truck was parked approximately 100 yards away.
After I got her loaded into the bed of the truck, I turned back around to get my stand.
After I reached the truck once again, I threw the stand in the bed, changed out of my bibs & old Mucks and got into regular work clothes, jumped into the cab, called DOW for my conformation number, then took off straight for home, right at 8:00 p.m. sharp.
I got home by 8:45 p.m., hung the deer for the night, went to get cleaned up for dinner because the wife made some fresh deer back straps that came from my previous deer harvest, which was freaking fantastic and very fitting to end the day of good huntin.
Tomorrow, I’ll take care of my deer and try to get back out there as soon as possible. If not by tomorrow, definitely the next day while the weather is still decent.
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Hell yea Denny. Glad to see your efforts are rewarded. Great shooting and thanks for sharing
Thursday, December 12, 2019 - Second sit @ 'Deer Creek':
Heading to the park this morning.
Gonna try to find a different area to get setup in.
Temperature will be on the rise and end up in the low 40's by mid afternoon. A mild wind will be coming from the South, which is the reason why I'll be looking for a different spot, going in with the wind in my face. I intend to go in deeper into the wooded area, specifically looking for more fresh buck signs. I hope to get setup by mid morning and sit for the rest of the day.
I'll also pull my trail cameras after today's hunt and set them up at different locations if I don't successfully harvest a buck today.
Should be a good day to get out according 'So-lunar Day Detail Report' for today.
I'll follow up later...
Day Best Overall Time to Fish or Hunt
Morning (6:56am - 8:00am)
Very Good
Overhead/Underfoot Periods✣
✍11:27pm - 1:33am
11:29am - 1:31pm
Minor Periods✣
5:58am - 7:02am
5:30pm - 6:30pm
Moon/Sun Details
Thursday
Dec 12
100% Waning
Next New Moon 12/26/2019
Moonrise: 5:29pm
Moonset: 7:44amOverhead: 12:30am
Underfoot: 12:30pm
Sunrise: 7:27am
Sunset: 4:52pm
First Light: 6:56am Last Light: 5:22pm
Available Light: 10h 25m 38s
12/12/2019 EST
Heading to the park this morning.
Gonna try to find a different area to get setup in.
Temperature will be on the rise and end up in the low 40's by mid afternoon. A mild wind will be coming from the South, which is the reason why I'll be looking for a different spot, going in with the wind in my face. I intend to go in deeper into the wooded area, specifically looking for more fresh buck signs. I hope to get setup by mid morning and sit for the rest of the day.
I'll also pull my trail cameras after today's hunt and set them up at different locations if I don't successfully harvest a buck today.
Should be a good day to get out according 'So-lunar Day Detail Report' for today.
I'll follow up later...
Day Best Overall Time to Fish or Hunt
Morning (6:56am - 8:00am)
Very Good
Overhead/Underfoot Periods✣
✍11:27pm - 1:33am
11:29am - 1:31pm
Minor Periods✣
5:58am - 7:02am
5:30pm - 6:30pm
Moon/Sun Details
Thursday
Dec 12
100% Waning
Next New Moon 12/26/2019
Moonrise: 5:29pm
Moonset: 7:44amOverhead: 12:30am
Underfoot: 12:30pm
Sunrise: 7:27am
Sunset: 4:52pm
First Light: 6:56am Last Light: 5:22pm
Available Light: 10h 25m 38s
12/12/2019 EST
Thursday, December 12, 2019 - Second sit @ 'Deer Creek State Park':
Finally settled in at an area that's full of Oaks with super thick brush that surrounds it all.
I found a good tree that will allow me to stretch the legs out on my compound bow.
I should be able to see them coming from a long distance away.
I'm up higher into the tree than normal 'TOO' because of the down tree that's up against it, allowing an additional 4' further up, which is where I strapped my first climbing stick.
I stopped in at the park office on the way in and met Bob, the Park Ranger.
He was happy to hear that I took a Doe out of the herd already. In fact, he asked me to keep shooting more because he seen eight of them on his way in earlier this morning.
I bumped at least two on the way to this setup, no real shot opportunity though because of them being in that thick area. That was about 80 yards away from where I'm at currently, in the super thick stuff, just to the NW. They were within bow range of me as I continued my hike to where I'm at now.
Well see what happens here for the rest of the day. It does look promising to say the very least.
Morning full moon as I first walked to my workshop before 6:00 a.m.
Finally settled in at an area that's full of Oaks with super thick brush that surrounds it all.
I found a good tree that will allow me to stretch the legs out on my compound bow.
I should be able to see them coming from a long distance away.
I'm up higher into the tree than normal 'TOO' because of the down tree that's up against it, allowing an additional 4' further up, which is where I strapped my first climbing stick.
I stopped in at the park office on the way in and met Bob, the Park Ranger.
He was happy to hear that I took a Doe out of the herd already. In fact, he asked me to keep shooting more because he seen eight of them on his way in earlier this morning.
I bumped at least two on the way to this setup, no real shot opportunity though because of them being in that thick area. That was about 80 yards away from where I'm at currently, in the super thick stuff, just to the NW. They were within bow range of me as I continued my hike to where I'm at now.
Well see what happens here for the rest of the day. It does look promising to say the very least.
Morning full moon as I first walked to my workshop before 6:00 a.m.
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Thursday, December 12, 2019 – Second sit @’Deer Creek State Park’ – The Follow Up:
I started hiking from the North side of section two with the South wind in my face using one of the horse trails with the temperature in the high 20’s around 10:45 a.m.
The ground was crunchy from being froze still and I tried my best to be as quiet as possible, however after ½ hour of hiking South, I ended up bumping at least two deer, but there might have been more that I couldn’t see.
So, I hiked another 80-100 yards South without seeing any obvious Buck signs, just beyond where I bumped those deer and found an area that opened up just out of the thickets.
I settled on a tree that was basically in the middle of an Oak flat with those thickets surrounded the entire area completely.
I finally got settled in my tree stand right at noon and I didn’t see nor hear any deer movement until 4:15 p.m., which I believe were the same deer that I originally bumped earlier when I hiked in.
Three antlerless deer, two adult Does and a yearling came from the NW thicket area heading SW grazing from the ground underneath a couple of the more mature Oak trees for about a half hour, just within 50 yards of me.
The yearling got within 25 yards of me at one point for a few minutes.
All three of them continued through the Oak flat, heading SW and finally out of sight about a quarter to five.
No deer with antlers was seen today.
Tomorrow, it's supposed to rain pretty much all day with a mild SE wind.
There's supposed to be a break in the rain around noon for about an hour. That’s when I’ll be there to setup my pop-up ground blind, right near the edge of a thicket area, just off a small open field, closest to the North side of section two.
I believe that I’ll be using my ground blind more than any other setup gear of mine at the park because there are more thicket areas than there are mature timber areas.
That’s where the deer are bedded during the day from what I've learned so far.
They're staying well within those thicket areas and then they cruise out of them during the last hour or so of daylight.
When the weather clears up over the weekend, I'll be venturing out more throughout section two looking for more fresh Buck signs.
I started hiking from the North side of section two with the South wind in my face using one of the horse trails with the temperature in the high 20’s around 10:45 a.m.
The ground was crunchy from being froze still and I tried my best to be as quiet as possible, however after ½ hour of hiking South, I ended up bumping at least two deer, but there might have been more that I couldn’t see.
So, I hiked another 80-100 yards South without seeing any obvious Buck signs, just beyond where I bumped those deer and found an area that opened up just out of the thickets.
I settled on a tree that was basically in the middle of an Oak flat with those thickets surrounded the entire area completely.
I finally got settled in my tree stand right at noon and I didn’t see nor hear any deer movement until 4:15 p.m., which I believe were the same deer that I originally bumped earlier when I hiked in.
Three antlerless deer, two adult Does and a yearling came from the NW thicket area heading SW grazing from the ground underneath a couple of the more mature Oak trees for about a half hour, just within 50 yards of me.
The yearling got within 25 yards of me at one point for a few minutes.
All three of them continued through the Oak flat, heading SW and finally out of sight about a quarter to five.
No deer with antlers was seen today.
Tomorrow, it's supposed to rain pretty much all day with a mild SE wind.
There's supposed to be a break in the rain around noon for about an hour. That’s when I’ll be there to setup my pop-up ground blind, right near the edge of a thicket area, just off a small open field, closest to the North side of section two.
I believe that I’ll be using my ground blind more than any other setup gear of mine at the park because there are more thicket areas than there are mature timber areas.
That’s where the deer are bedded during the day from what I've learned so far.
They're staying well within those thicket areas and then they cruise out of them during the last hour or so of daylight.
When the weather clears up over the weekend, I'll be venturing out more throughout section two looking for more fresh Buck signs.
Friday, December 13, 2019 - Third sit @'Deer Creek':
I took off from home @11:30 a.m. and got to the park right at noon without any rain hitting the windshield.
Parked, got dressed in huntin clothes & boots, grabbed my pop-up ground blind, 'Alps Outdoorz' chair, a small bag of huntin stuff (binos, rangefinder, grunt call, etc, etc.), my Mathews compound bow and took off heading for that small meadow with thickets that surround it and tons of deer signs althroughout it.
I'm now all settled in ready for the hunt while I hear sprinkling rain hitting the top of the blind currently. The weatherman is calling for more rain during prime-time.
This place looks just as good as any other and I do have some fresh Buck signs straight out front of me at 50 yards.
The SE mild wind & Sun are at my back coming from the thickets with a current temp of 45, and there are plenty of fresh deer runs just to my left and more to my right, some are within 15 yards.
We'll see what happens here within the next couple of hours.
I took off from home @11:30 a.m. and got to the park right at noon without any rain hitting the windshield.
Parked, got dressed in huntin clothes & boots, grabbed my pop-up ground blind, 'Alps Outdoorz' chair, a small bag of huntin stuff (binos, rangefinder, grunt call, etc, etc.), my Mathews compound bow and took off heading for that small meadow with thickets that surround it and tons of deer signs althroughout it.
I'm now all settled in ready for the hunt while I hear sprinkling rain hitting the top of the blind currently. The weatherman is calling for more rain during prime-time.
This place looks just as good as any other and I do have some fresh Buck signs straight out front of me at 50 yards.
The SE mild wind & Sun are at my back coming from the thickets with a current temp of 45, and there are plenty of fresh deer runs just to my left and more to my right, some are within 15 yards.
We'll see what happens here within the next couple of hours.
Friday, December 13, 2019 – Third sit @’Deer Creek State Park’ – The Follow Up:
Well, because of the nice warm weather, I believe several other folks thought it was a good to get out ‘TOO’.
There was a lot of human activity at the park this afternoon.
For most of my sit, I had one human encounter after another.
First starting with people on horses.
This went on from about the time I made my last post until approximately 4:20 p.m.
I had two pair of riders on their horses in the area, one pair to the North and the other to the Southeast, both within 100 yards.
Then, right at 4:15 p.m. I hear what sounded like an ATV coming towards me from the Northeast, and sure enough, some park employees on a gator popped out of the brush right in front of me. They see my blind and suddenly turned back around within the field, and left the area.
I thought surely that’s going to put a big damper on the deer activity in my immediate area.
I thought wrong because right at 4:55 p.m., six antlerless deer popped out of the thickets to the East coming from the South, from within those thickets, and cruised to the North approximately 60 yards away, just within the lower part of the field, to my right.
All six of them appeared to be adult Does and they made their way into the brush just to the North, right where moments earlier those park employees left the area on that gator, and not to be seen again.
So, I sat there, and sat there some more expecting much of the same to happen, however nothing did until right about the time I decided to pack things up just after quitting time when I heard a single deer moving about right behind me.
No doubt it was a Buck because I could hear antlers hitting thicket branches as he was trying make his way through it.
He was coming from the South, through those thickets behind me, just to my right, perhaps within 20-30 yards and heading towards me.
Then it got real quiet all of sudden.
After another 10 minutes go by, I thought maybe he turned within those thickets and left the area, heading West.
Again, I thought wrong because as I was starting to pack up, I heard him blow just to my left, and I estimate he was at that time, within 15 yards.
It was dark, and I couldn’t see for shit outside the blind.
So, I sat there once again, waiting to hear some more movement from him, and nothing…
After another 5 minutes or so pass by, I started once again to pack things up, and sure enough, he blows at me once again.
This time, it sounded like he was right in front of me, approximately 30 yards away within the field.
By this time, it’s well past legal time and I said to myself, "the hell with it" and I continued to pack up.
I didn’t hear anymore blowing when I got out of the blind and started to break it down as it started to sprinkle rain.
Once I got everything packed up and over my back, I walked the area where I thought he was standing/traveling within the field with my headlamp on with the full white light.
I found the rest of his tree rub line for sure, which the photograph in my last post is a part of. There are several others just like it within that field, right where I heard him blow last.
I can’t tell you how big he was, but by the sounds that I heard when he got closer to me within those thickets, he definitely sounded like he was of decent size with his heavy walk and antlers hitting & braking thicket branches.
If I’m going to make a move on this guy, I’m gonna have to get further on in within those thickets and try to get closer to where he’s bedded during the day because by the time he got to me this evening, it was well after legal time.
So, today, I seen seven humans and six deer during legal hours of huntin and heard one right after quitting time.
Tomorrow, the park is supposed to have rain showers in the a.m. hours, then it’s supposed to turn over to snow flurries by mid-afternoon. The wind is supposed to be coming from the West at double digits, which means I won’t be hunting that same area trying to track down that Buck because the wind will be wrong.
What I will do, is;
I’ll hunt the other side of section two, which is where I have my trail cameras currently set up, covering those other fresh Buck tree rubs.
I’ll pull the SD cards for the first time since I set them up last Tuesday.
That area is exactly due South from where I hunted this evening, which it could possible be that the same Buck that made those tree rubs as well, but just on the far side of all the large thicket area of where I hunted today.
I’d say it'll be roughly ½ mile due South from where I hunted this evening.
I’m not sure exactly what piece of equipment I’ll be using come tomorrow, either my ground blind or ‘Lone Wolf’.
I’ll sleep on it tonight and make that determination when I get there in the afternoon.
Well, because of the nice warm weather, I believe several other folks thought it was a good to get out ‘TOO’.
There was a lot of human activity at the park this afternoon.
For most of my sit, I had one human encounter after another.
First starting with people on horses.
This went on from about the time I made my last post until approximately 4:20 p.m.
I had two pair of riders on their horses in the area, one pair to the North and the other to the Southeast, both within 100 yards.
Then, right at 4:15 p.m. I hear what sounded like an ATV coming towards me from the Northeast, and sure enough, some park employees on a gator popped out of the brush right in front of me. They see my blind and suddenly turned back around within the field, and left the area.
I thought surely that’s going to put a big damper on the deer activity in my immediate area.
I thought wrong because right at 4:55 p.m., six antlerless deer popped out of the thickets to the East coming from the South, from within those thickets, and cruised to the North approximately 60 yards away, just within the lower part of the field, to my right.
All six of them appeared to be adult Does and they made their way into the brush just to the North, right where moments earlier those park employees left the area on that gator, and not to be seen again.
So, I sat there, and sat there some more expecting much of the same to happen, however nothing did until right about the time I decided to pack things up just after quitting time when I heard a single deer moving about right behind me.
No doubt it was a Buck because I could hear antlers hitting thicket branches as he was trying make his way through it.
He was coming from the South, through those thickets behind me, just to my right, perhaps within 20-30 yards and heading towards me.
Then it got real quiet all of sudden.
After another 10 minutes go by, I thought maybe he turned within those thickets and left the area, heading West.
Again, I thought wrong because as I was starting to pack up, I heard him blow just to my left, and I estimate he was at that time, within 15 yards.
It was dark, and I couldn’t see for shit outside the blind.
So, I sat there once again, waiting to hear some more movement from him, and nothing…
After another 5 minutes or so pass by, I started once again to pack things up, and sure enough, he blows at me once again.
This time, it sounded like he was right in front of me, approximately 30 yards away within the field.
By this time, it’s well past legal time and I said to myself, "the hell with it" and I continued to pack up.
I didn’t hear anymore blowing when I got out of the blind and started to break it down as it started to sprinkle rain.
Once I got everything packed up and over my back, I walked the area where I thought he was standing/traveling within the field with my headlamp on with the full white light.
I found the rest of his tree rub line for sure, which the photograph in my last post is a part of. There are several others just like it within that field, right where I heard him blow last.
I can’t tell you how big he was, but by the sounds that I heard when he got closer to me within those thickets, he definitely sounded like he was of decent size with his heavy walk and antlers hitting & braking thicket branches.
If I’m going to make a move on this guy, I’m gonna have to get further on in within those thickets and try to get closer to where he’s bedded during the day because by the time he got to me this evening, it was well after legal time.
So, today, I seen seven humans and six deer during legal hours of huntin and heard one right after quitting time.
Tomorrow, the park is supposed to have rain showers in the a.m. hours, then it’s supposed to turn over to snow flurries by mid-afternoon. The wind is supposed to be coming from the West at double digits, which means I won’t be hunting that same area trying to track down that Buck because the wind will be wrong.
What I will do, is;
I’ll hunt the other side of section two, which is where I have my trail cameras currently set up, covering those other fresh Buck tree rubs.
I’ll pull the SD cards for the first time since I set them up last Tuesday.
That area is exactly due South from where I hunted this evening, which it could possible be that the same Buck that made those tree rubs as well, but just on the far side of all the large thicket area of where I hunted today.
I’d say it'll be roughly ½ mile due South from where I hunted this evening.
I’m not sure exactly what piece of equipment I’ll be using come tomorrow, either my ground blind or ‘Lone Wolf’.
I’ll sleep on it tonight and make that determination when I get there in the afternoon.
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OO2
Well-Known Member
Joel
Senior Member
Yes it is, Joel!
I'm enjoying my entire season and hunting the park is a real nice break from hunting around my home, plus it'll give all the deer a break from me 'TOO'.
Hopefully, they'll get settled back into their regular travel patterns by the time I get back after'em during 'Bonus Gun' & 'Muzzy'.
I'm still very much interested in the original big Buck that I've been chasing all season long near my home. He's a real good one and I hope that I've caught him by now on one of my trail cameras so I can show him off to all of you folks.
It's been a while since I've had to travel with a vehicle to hunt.
It's a change of a pace, no doubt, and it takes me back to what I used to do when I first started out hunting Ohio, but I can honestly say, there's nothing like walking out your home door and head straight for the woods to hunt.
I'm starting to miss that...
Saturday, December 14, 2019 - Fourth sit @'Deer Creek':
I took off from the house @11:30 sharp with some misty rain and a plan.
I arrived at park a half an hour later with no rain, parked, changed into my huntin clothes & boots, grabbed my pop-up ground blind, my 'ALPS Outdoorz' chair, small pack of huntin stuff and my Mathews compound bow and then took off @1:30 sharp, heading to my first trail camera to swap out the SD card.
Once I reached that camera overlooking a fresh Buck tree rub, it stated it had 64 pictures on in nearly 100 hours.
Rehung the camera w/ a fresh SD card and took off for my other two, which I pulled down and they are now with me in the blind.
Between the both of them, I have an additional 100+ pictures combined within the same amount of hours hung.
I'll be reviewing them while I wait for prime-time and share anything that's significant w/ all of you.
I'm currently setup just on the other side of a woodpile of Oak Tree logs, 18 yards downwind from a fresh Buck tree rub that I had a TC covering for the past 3-1/2 days right in front of me, within complete view of it and the big thicket patch right behind it. You can see that tree rub in the first photograph and in the 'First sit' post, just so you know.
To my left is a utility right-away open area and the Interstate Highway deer run that is just on the other side, to the South/my left.
To the North is the heavy thicket area with a small creek just yards away that goes right behind me and to the South where that major deer run is.
I feel pretty good about this new spot because of the stiff West wind that is my face and I've got a nice veiw of the thicket edge right in front of me, and on the other side of the utility right-away, I can see anything coming that's 60-80 yards away.
We'll see what happens here in the next couple of hours.
I took off from the house @11:30 sharp with some misty rain and a plan.
I arrived at park a half an hour later with no rain, parked, changed into my huntin clothes & boots, grabbed my pop-up ground blind, my 'ALPS Outdoorz' chair, small pack of huntin stuff and my Mathews compound bow and then took off @1:30 sharp, heading to my first trail camera to swap out the SD card.
Once I reached that camera overlooking a fresh Buck tree rub, it stated it had 64 pictures on in nearly 100 hours.
Rehung the camera w/ a fresh SD card and took off for my other two, which I pulled down and they are now with me in the blind.
Between the both of them, I have an additional 100+ pictures combined within the same amount of hours hung.
I'll be reviewing them while I wait for prime-time and share anything that's significant w/ all of you.
I'm currently setup just on the other side of a woodpile of Oak Tree logs, 18 yards downwind from a fresh Buck tree rub that I had a TC covering for the past 3-1/2 days right in front of me, within complete view of it and the big thicket patch right behind it. You can see that tree rub in the first photograph and in the 'First sit' post, just so you know.
To my left is a utility right-away open area and the Interstate Highway deer run that is just on the other side, to the South/my left.
To the North is the heavy thicket area with a small creek just yards away that goes right behind me and to the South where that major deer run is.
I feel pretty good about this new spot because of the stiff West wind that is my face and I've got a nice veiw of the thicket edge right in front of me, and on the other side of the utility right-away, I can see anything coming that's 60-80 yards away.
We'll see what happens here in the next couple of hours.
Saturday, December 14, 2019 - Fourth sit @'Deer Creek State Park' - The Follow Up:
A total bust today!
I didn't see a deer from the moment I arrived at the park to the time I left this evening, which has left me totally astonished!
The following are some buck pictures captured from my trail cameras at the park since I hung them back on Tuesday afternoon, the 10th.
I mistakenly over wrote perhaps the best buck captured on TC, however I still have one photograph of him that was taken a half an hour later, but further away from the TC and it's not nearly as clear as the one that I mistakenly overwritten. He's the one in the last photograph below and he was in the same area I hunted this evening. He's a good buck and I'd probably shoot him if given the chance.
I have tons of antlerless photographs captured as well, most during daylight 'TOO'.
I'll be hunting the park all the way through until Friday evening, the 20th, which will be my last day there.
A total bust today!
I didn't see a deer from the moment I arrived at the park to the time I left this evening, which has left me totally astonished!
The following are some buck pictures captured from my trail cameras at the park since I hung them back on Tuesday afternoon, the 10th.
I mistakenly over wrote perhaps the best buck captured on TC, however I still have one photograph of him that was taken a half an hour later, but further away from the TC and it's not nearly as clear as the one that I mistakenly overwritten. He's the one in the last photograph below and he was in the same area I hunted this evening. He's a good buck and I'd probably shoot him if given the chance.
I have tons of antlerless photographs captured as well, most during daylight 'TOO'.
I'll be hunting the park all the way through until Friday evening, the 20th, which will be my last day there.
Sunday, December 15, 2019 - Fifth sit @'Deer Creek':
Just got settled in the middle of section 2, the second largest Oak flat within the 100 acres.
I have a mild West wind with a 34-degree temp.
I'm just off a fresh deer run to the West where I broke up two fresh green applies that fell out of my wife's grocery bag into the cab of the pickup for apple pies. I'll made sure I'll put them to good use.
I'm using two large Oak trees that are a few yards away as cover, one to my left and the other right in front of me.
There are two Buck tree rubs on this deer run just to the NW.
The entire Oak flat is surrounded by those thickets.
We'll see what happens here...
Just got settled in the middle of section 2, the second largest Oak flat within the 100 acres.
I have a mild West wind with a 34-degree temp.
I'm just off a fresh deer run to the West where I broke up two fresh green applies that fell out of my wife's grocery bag into the cab of the pickup for apple pies. I'll made sure I'll put them to good use.
I'm using two large Oak trees that are a few yards away as cover, one to my left and the other right in front of me.
There are two Buck tree rubs on this deer run just to the NW.
The entire Oak flat is surrounded by those thickets.
We'll see what happens here...
Sunday, December 15, 2019 – Fifth sit @’Deer Creek State Park - The Follow Up’:
None stop deer action this evening!
I seen 16 deer including a good Buck.
It all started from 3:30 p.m. when an adult Doe came from the NE, kinda downwind of me, and got within 15 yards. I was expecting her to walk around the big Oak Tree to the North/my left, just a few yards away and step right out behind my tree. That’s when & where I was going to take her at 10 yards, but instead, she turned to the NE, just on the other side of the the big fat Oak Tree, and slowly walked further away. That’s when I stepped to the end of my stand platform so I can see her just beyond that fat Oak Tree next to me and waited for her to turn. She didn’t turn until she got 30 yards away from me on that deer run and that’s when I released.
I watched the arrow hit a small tree limb within 10 yards just before it got to her and deflected the arrow slightly to the right and downward, which hit the mid section of her rear leg. (‘Femoral Artery’)
The arrow passed through that leg and entered the other leg and stuck momentarily.
She immediately jumped and the arrow fell out to the ground. She hopped her way back to where she came from and stopped right behind a tree, approximately 20-25 yards away, clueless of what just happened.
I nocked another arrow real quick hoping for a follow up shot, unfortunately I had no chance because she hopped back further into the thicket area providing no opportunity for me.
So, I continued to hunt, and about ten minutes later, I see another antlerless deer to the North approximately 35-40 yards away heading NE.
From the moment, for about an hour, I seen deer after deer, just within the thicket area to the North & NE, cruising to the same area where the deer I shot went.
There was one group after another cruising by. One of six, one of four and one of three. I watched them all slowly head to the same area where the deer I shot went, to the E-NE.
(A short Tactacam video clip of one of the groups of antlerless deer.)
Then right at 4:30, I hear some ruckus to the East, on the far side of the Oak flat, then suddenly, a young Doe pops out of the thickets running at full speed towards me, just 20 yards slightly SE, heading NW. She had her tail flagging in the air the entire time she ran through the Oak flat, but no other deer followed. Then I watched her stop on the opposite side of the Oak flat to the NW, approximately 50 yards away. That's when she dropped her tail and slowly walked to the NW and finally out of sight.
Right at 4:55 p.m., I see the rear end of another deer just to the North, approximately 35 yards away heading NW slipping by me.
So, I grabbed my binoculars real quick because this deer appeared to be much larger in body size. Sure enough, as the deer circled back around and got directly NW of me at 50 yards, he stopped broadside and looked over in my direction. He’s one of the eight points that I believe I've already captured on one of the trail cameras.
Nice size deer, but not what I’m after, and I didn’t have a shot opportunity anyways, but it was real nice to see Buck on his feet during daylight.
I believe he was after that little Doe that raced through the Oak flat moments early because he was heading in her direction. I bet she’s in heat becaused he traced the original steps of those groups of deer.
He was the last deer I seen this evening.
I got down right at quitting time, walked over to where I shot that deer and grabbed my arrow. To my amazement, there was a lot of blood on the ground and the arrow was just covered with it, from tip to tip.
By that time, it was better than two hours roughly since I shot her, and based on the amount of blood on the ground, I decided to track her.
The blood was constant and heavy when she stopped moving. Pools of blood every 10-20 yards.
I tracked her to the North with ease and got to an area that was so thick, I couldn’t walk through it. In fact, I had to get on my hands & knees more than a few times.
After about 20 yards of that, I decided to back out.
I marked the area with reflective tape and on my cellphone GPS, then headed back to the tree I hunted out of, packed up my ‘Lone Wolf’ and headed for the truck, clear to the South, on the opposite side of the woods, about a ½ mile away.
Once I was about to clear my last few yards of thickets and walk out into the open field, my new Mathews bow got hung up one of those flippin thicket branches and popped the bow string off, which screwed up my bow.
"Fugg!"
Granted, I still have my older Mathews bow ready to go, but I really like my new bow.
So, tomorrow, I’ll be dropping off my new Mathews bow at the archery shop first thing to get it repaired a.s.a.p.
After that, I’ll be heading back out to the park to recover that deer I shot.
I’m confident that she’s dead and I believe I was fairly close to where she ended up at when I decided to back out.
It’s just so damn thick where she was headed, I didn't want to ruin my good huntin clothes.
I’ll be wearing an old pair of huntin bibs that I don’t give a shit about, even if they do get all tore up, tomorrow.
She’ll be good an froze by the time I get to her and hopefully in good shape.
My only concern at this point will be the coyotes.
None stop deer action this evening!
I seen 16 deer including a good Buck.
It all started from 3:30 p.m. when an adult Doe came from the NE, kinda downwind of me, and got within 15 yards. I was expecting her to walk around the big Oak Tree to the North/my left, just a few yards away and step right out behind my tree. That’s when & where I was going to take her at 10 yards, but instead, she turned to the NE, just on the other side of the the big fat Oak Tree, and slowly walked further away. That’s when I stepped to the end of my stand platform so I can see her just beyond that fat Oak Tree next to me and waited for her to turn. She didn’t turn until she got 30 yards away from me on that deer run and that’s when I released.
I watched the arrow hit a small tree limb within 10 yards just before it got to her and deflected the arrow slightly to the right and downward, which hit the mid section of her rear leg. (‘Femoral Artery’)
The arrow passed through that leg and entered the other leg and stuck momentarily.
She immediately jumped and the arrow fell out to the ground. She hopped her way back to where she came from and stopped right behind a tree, approximately 20-25 yards away, clueless of what just happened.
I nocked another arrow real quick hoping for a follow up shot, unfortunately I had no chance because she hopped back further into the thicket area providing no opportunity for me.
So, I continued to hunt, and about ten minutes later, I see another antlerless deer to the North approximately 35-40 yards away heading NE.
From the moment, for about an hour, I seen deer after deer, just within the thicket area to the North & NE, cruising to the same area where the deer I shot went.
There was one group after another cruising by. One of six, one of four and one of three. I watched them all slowly head to the same area where the deer I shot went, to the E-NE.
(A short Tactacam video clip of one of the groups of antlerless deer.)
Then right at 4:30, I hear some ruckus to the East, on the far side of the Oak flat, then suddenly, a young Doe pops out of the thickets running at full speed towards me, just 20 yards slightly SE, heading NW. She had her tail flagging in the air the entire time she ran through the Oak flat, but no other deer followed. Then I watched her stop on the opposite side of the Oak flat to the NW, approximately 50 yards away. That's when she dropped her tail and slowly walked to the NW and finally out of sight.
Right at 4:55 p.m., I see the rear end of another deer just to the North, approximately 35 yards away heading NW slipping by me.
So, I grabbed my binoculars real quick because this deer appeared to be much larger in body size. Sure enough, as the deer circled back around and got directly NW of me at 50 yards, he stopped broadside and looked over in my direction. He’s one of the eight points that I believe I've already captured on one of the trail cameras.
Nice size deer, but not what I’m after, and I didn’t have a shot opportunity anyways, but it was real nice to see Buck on his feet during daylight.
I believe he was after that little Doe that raced through the Oak flat moments early because he was heading in her direction. I bet she’s in heat becaused he traced the original steps of those groups of deer.
He was the last deer I seen this evening.
I got down right at quitting time, walked over to where I shot that deer and grabbed my arrow. To my amazement, there was a lot of blood on the ground and the arrow was just covered with it, from tip to tip.
By that time, it was better than two hours roughly since I shot her, and based on the amount of blood on the ground, I decided to track her.
The blood was constant and heavy when she stopped moving. Pools of blood every 10-20 yards.
I tracked her to the North with ease and got to an area that was so thick, I couldn’t walk through it. In fact, I had to get on my hands & knees more than a few times.
After about 20 yards of that, I decided to back out.
I marked the area with reflective tape and on my cellphone GPS, then headed back to the tree I hunted out of, packed up my ‘Lone Wolf’ and headed for the truck, clear to the South, on the opposite side of the woods, about a ½ mile away.
Once I was about to clear my last few yards of thickets and walk out into the open field, my new Mathews bow got hung up one of those flippin thicket branches and popped the bow string off, which screwed up my bow.
"Fugg!"
Granted, I still have my older Mathews bow ready to go, but I really like my new bow.
So, tomorrow, I’ll be dropping off my new Mathews bow at the archery shop first thing to get it repaired a.s.a.p.
After that, I’ll be heading back out to the park to recover that deer I shot.
I’m confident that she’s dead and I believe I was fairly close to where she ended up at when I decided to back out.
It’s just so damn thick where she was headed, I didn't want to ruin my good huntin clothes.
I’ll be wearing an old pair of huntin bibs that I don’t give a shit about, even if they do get all tore up, tomorrow.
She’ll be good an froze by the time I get to her and hopefully in good shape.
My only concern at this point will be the coyotes.
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