Wildlife 2019/2020 Deer Season
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Monday, December 16, 2019 – ‘Still Hunt’ & ‘Search’ @ ‘Deer Creek State Park’:
Didn’t mean to keep people hanging in the balance....
The short answer regarding the deer that I shot yesterday evening; I didn’t find her unfortunately.
It wasn’t due to the lack of effort neither and the snow wasn't any help by any means.
I spent nearly 5 hours trying to find her in the snow & rain today and I came up short.
I woke up this morning confident that I’d find her, so, with that in mind, I took care all the things I needed to get done early so I could get after her.
When it got to be 9:00 a.m., I called the archery shop, right when they opened and explained my situation. They told me to bring it in right away, which I did. I hauled ass!
The ‘Fisherman’s Warehouse in Columbus has always done the work on my bows for the better part of ten years now and I have no complaints. They treat me well each time and I’ve always been satisfied with what they’ve done for me over the years.
So, I got there shortly before 10:00 a.m..
The tech took a hard look at the bow, making sure the limbs were okay, weren’t fractured nor broke, which they weren’t, but both Cam Modules were wasted. The tech replaced both Cam Modules and reset the string, checked they draw weight and asked me if I wanted to shoot it in their indoor range, which I did of course. The bow was back to being perfect once again. I was back out the door in a matter of minutes minus the $50 bucks it cost me for the new Cam Modules and labor.
I got back home shortly before 11:00 a.m., and I reinstalled on the new bow, the blue burst lights and Tactacam that I took off last nigh and installed them on my old Mathews bow, thinking that I’d be huntin with that bow for the next few days.
After I got them reinstalled, I walked out to my target range and sent down a few arrows from 20 & 30 yards. Everything functioned perfectly and the new Mathews bow was ready to go once again.
After that, I got cleaned up, loaded everything back up into the truck and took off, heading straight for the park right at 11:30 a.m.
I got to the park shortly after noon, got dressed in my snow camo huntin getup, grabbed the new bow and took off, heading to the marked area with reflective tape.
The temperature at that time was 34-degrees with a NE wind and a couple of inches of packed snow on the ground. Everything was covered in it.
I walked straight into ‘section two’ from the North, which was a much shorter walk to get to the marked location.
Along the way, I looked out for deer & blood. Once I got to the reflected tape, I tried to figure out what possible direction she would’ve taken, which I believe was to the North.
So, I made my way through the thick section of the thickets and finally popped out on the other side, which was on one of the horse trails.
At that point, I found some fresh coyote tracks and I followed them to where they came from, which was leading me E-NE, right along the horse trail to the open meadow.
After a brief walk, approximately 30 yards to the East, I found a little bit of blood in the middle of the horse trail with plenty of fresh tracks that came from a coyote or two. That blood discovery was pretty much in line of travel from where I tracked that deer last within those thickets.
(The two larger photographs are the marked location from last night. The smaller photo shows the only blood I found beyond the marked location.)
That was the only blood I found in the snow beyond the marked location with reflective tape.
So, I decided to go back to the marked location with reflective tape and do a grid search. I did that for the next two in half hours within a 100-yard radius and I never did see nor hear a deer the entire time.
Then, I decided that I would walk a few potential directions of where I thought she could possibly go, one being to the open meadow to the NE and the other straight-out to the road that’s to the North.
During all my travels trying to find her, I came across very few fresh deer tracks, much less than what I expected, and only two fresh small deer beds that were right next to each other and they didn’t belong to the deer I shot.
I spent a little better than 5 hours trying to find her in these difficult conditions, all within the Northeastern part of ‘section two’.
I tromped all over that area and I didn’t see a single deer.
There’s a good chance she could’ve crossed the road to the North, but I really wouldn’t know without being able see more blood on the ground.
The snow truly hampered the blood tracking business today.
I'll continue to try to find her tomorrow afternoon.
Like I said, she left a good blood trail that wasn’t too difficult to track before it started to snow last night.
Anytime she stopped, she’d left a nice pool of blood.
I can’t image she’s too far from the marked area with the reflective tape of mine.
If the snow melts, I think it’ll be easier to see a white belly within those thickets somewhere during the daylight.
If I find her tomorrow and she’s in good shape, I’ll go ahead and tag her.
Didn’t mean to keep people hanging in the balance....
The short answer regarding the deer that I shot yesterday evening; I didn’t find her unfortunately.
It wasn’t due to the lack of effort neither and the snow wasn't any help by any means.
I spent nearly 5 hours trying to find her in the snow & rain today and I came up short.
I woke up this morning confident that I’d find her, so, with that in mind, I took care all the things I needed to get done early so I could get after her.
When it got to be 9:00 a.m., I called the archery shop, right when they opened and explained my situation. They told me to bring it in right away, which I did. I hauled ass!
The ‘Fisherman’s Warehouse in Columbus has always done the work on my bows for the better part of ten years now and I have no complaints. They treat me well each time and I’ve always been satisfied with what they’ve done for me over the years.
So, I got there shortly before 10:00 a.m..
The tech took a hard look at the bow, making sure the limbs were okay, weren’t fractured nor broke, which they weren’t, but both Cam Modules were wasted. The tech replaced both Cam Modules and reset the string, checked they draw weight and asked me if I wanted to shoot it in their indoor range, which I did of course. The bow was back to being perfect once again. I was back out the door in a matter of minutes minus the $50 bucks it cost me for the new Cam Modules and labor.
I got back home shortly before 11:00 a.m., and I reinstalled on the new bow, the blue burst lights and Tactacam that I took off last nigh and installed them on my old Mathews bow, thinking that I’d be huntin with that bow for the next few days.
After I got them reinstalled, I walked out to my target range and sent down a few arrows from 20 & 30 yards. Everything functioned perfectly and the new Mathews bow was ready to go once again.
After that, I got cleaned up, loaded everything back up into the truck and took off, heading straight for the park right at 11:30 a.m.
I got to the park shortly after noon, got dressed in my snow camo huntin getup, grabbed the new bow and took off, heading to the marked area with reflective tape.
The temperature at that time was 34-degrees with a NE wind and a couple of inches of packed snow on the ground. Everything was covered in it.
I walked straight into ‘section two’ from the North, which was a much shorter walk to get to the marked location.
Along the way, I looked out for deer & blood. Once I got to the reflected tape, I tried to figure out what possible direction she would’ve taken, which I believe was to the North.
So, I made my way through the thick section of the thickets and finally popped out on the other side, which was on one of the horse trails.
At that point, I found some fresh coyote tracks and I followed them to where they came from, which was leading me E-NE, right along the horse trail to the open meadow.
After a brief walk, approximately 30 yards to the East, I found a little bit of blood in the middle of the horse trail with plenty of fresh tracks that came from a coyote or two. That blood discovery was pretty much in line of travel from where I tracked that deer last within those thickets.
(The two larger photographs are the marked location from last night. The smaller photo shows the only blood I found beyond the marked location.)
That was the only blood I found in the snow beyond the marked location with reflective tape.
So, I decided to go back to the marked location with reflective tape and do a grid search. I did that for the next two in half hours within a 100-yard radius and I never did see nor hear a deer the entire time.
Then, I decided that I would walk a few potential directions of where I thought she could possibly go, one being to the open meadow to the NE and the other straight-out to the road that’s to the North.
During all my travels trying to find her, I came across very few fresh deer tracks, much less than what I expected, and only two fresh small deer beds that were right next to each other and they didn’t belong to the deer I shot.
I spent a little better than 5 hours trying to find her in these difficult conditions, all within the Northeastern part of ‘section two’.
I tromped all over that area and I didn’t see a single deer.
There’s a good chance she could’ve crossed the road to the North, but I really wouldn’t know without being able see more blood on the ground.
The snow truly hampered the blood tracking business today.
I'll continue to try to find her tomorrow afternoon.
Like I said, she left a good blood trail that wasn’t too difficult to track before it started to snow last night.
Anytime she stopped, she’d left a nice pool of blood.
I can’t image she’s too far from the marked area with the reflective tape of mine.
If the snow melts, I think it’ll be easier to see a white belly within those thickets somewhere during the daylight.
If I find her tomorrow and she’s in good shape, I’ll go ahead and tag her.
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'Deer Creek State Park Special Archery Hunt Map'
Just for everyone's information, I'm allowed to hunt within section #2. 'North would be towards the top of the map.
Just for everyone's information, I'm allowed to hunt within section #2. 'North would be towards the top of the map.
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Tuesday, December 17, 2019 - Sixth sit@'Deer Creek:
First off, no dice on finding that Doe. I looked for another hour this afternoon, which sucks!
Curretly, I'm back to the South side of section two with a curret temp of 30-degrees and double digit NW wind with intense gusts and getting colder by the minute.
As soon as I got to the open utility field area hiking in, the largest Buck I seen all season long ran straight into the woods right across from me, which is where I'm currently set up now, hoping he'll make his way back later. He's huge!
I believe I have an ideal set up. I'm in a large Ash Tree, way up off the ground, on the side of a hill, in between two fresh major deer runs that head out into the open utility field.
When I crossed the open field to get here, I seen a group of antlerless deer cross as well, at the same time, approximately 300 yards East, heading South.
I finally got settled in at 2:30 p.m., ready to hunt out of my 'Lone Wolf Alpha' stand.
Fresh deer runs on each side of my tree.
Views behind my tree looking into the woods to the North with a small stream yards away.
Views to the East, the South, which is where I came in from, and to the West.
First off, no dice on finding that Doe. I looked for another hour this afternoon, which sucks!
Curretly, I'm back to the South side of section two with a curret temp of 30-degrees and double digit NW wind with intense gusts and getting colder by the minute.
As soon as I got to the open utility field area hiking in, the largest Buck I seen all season long ran straight into the woods right across from me, which is where I'm currently set up now, hoping he'll make his way back later. He's huge!
I believe I have an ideal set up. I'm in a large Ash Tree, way up off the ground, on the side of a hill, in between two fresh major deer runs that head out into the open utility field.
When I crossed the open field to get here, I seen a group of antlerless deer cross as well, at the same time, approximately 300 yards East, heading South.
I finally got settled in at 2:30 p.m., ready to hunt out of my 'Lone Wolf Alpha' stand.
Fresh deer runs on each side of my tree.
Views behind my tree looking into the woods to the North with a small stream yards away.
Views to the East, the South, which is where I came in from, and to the West.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019 – Sixth sit @’Deer Creek State Park’ – The Follow Up:
I took off from my home at 11:30 a.m. headed straight for the park and I arrived there 30 minutes later.
I parked on the North side of section two, changed into some old bibs, dressed lightly, threw on an old pair of Mucks, grabbed the bow and took off, heading to the area that I marked with reflective tape looking for that Doe that I shot the other day.
Once I got there, I walked in circles and gradually worked my way out further away after completing each revolution from the mark area.
I did that for an hour trying to find her and I was unsuccessful.
So, I headed back to the truck to get warmed up for a little bit.
Then I decided to go to the South area of section two and try to my find a tree that’ll allow me hunt the open field, the utility right-a-way area.
After I got parked on that side about 1:25 p.m., I changed into my good huntin clothes & Mucks, threw the ‘Lone Wolf’ over my back, grabbed my ‘Heater Body Suite’ ‘Artic Shield’ insulated boot-covers, my newer Mathews compound bow and took off down one of the horse trails heading North with a NW stiff wind in my face.
Once I reached the open field for the utilities, I saw a gigantic Buck on the move in a big hurry just on the opposite side from me, to the North, and he quickly hopped into the woods straight across.
He must have heard me coming because the ground was frozen rock solid and quite crunchy. I doubt that he actually winded me because I was completely downwind of him, but he could’ve possibly saw me moving his direction ‘TOO’.
Right after that brief, but uplifting encounter, I started lookin for a good tree that would allow me to hunt that open field area, which just so happen to be one right next to where that fantastic Buck went into the woods.
As I walked across the open field to get to that tree, I looked to the East and I saw 4-6 antlerless deer crossing the same field approximately 300 yards away but heading South.
As I approached that tree, I noticed the fresh deer runs on each side of it and behind it.
It took me longer to get set up today because the tree was completely covered in ice & snow, plus I had to work my way around a couple of big branches along the way.
Once I got settled and sat down to cool off, about 15 minutes later, I crawled into my ‘Heater Body Suite’.
I was comfortable as can be as the temperature gradually fell and finally got down to 24-degrees when I climbed down for the day. The wind chill made it feel like it was in the single digits though.
I didn’t see nor hear anymore deer until 5:10 p.m., when I watched one adult Doe slowly make her way out to the middle of that field where the snow & ice melted from the sun, so she could feed.
Then another Doe came out from the same area, from the North, and joined the first. Then another Doe, about minute later did the same.
All three of them were downwind of me, approximately 100 yards to the SW.
They stuck around for about 10 minutes feeding, then the last two headed to the South side of field and into the woods, opposite side of me. About a couple minutes later, the first adult Doe, went back in the woods where she originally came from, to the North.
That was all the deer I saw this evening.
I climbed down right at quitting time, packed everything up and headed to the truck.
Once I got there, I changed out of my good huntin clothes & boots, threw the stand into the bed, and put the bow in the cab, then I jumped in the truck myself, started it up, let it run for a little bit to get it warmed up, then took off straight home.
So, today, I seen approximately eight deer, and none of them were within bow range. The deer that was the closest to me was that gigantic Buck, approximately 65 yards.
I believe the majority of the deer activity happened in the middle of the day, which I’m going to try to do my first ‘all-day-sit’ this season tomorrow at the same location I hunted this evening within the bitter low 20’s temperature for the entire day, but with a much more mild West wind.
That area is where I captured most of the Buck activity on my trail cameras and half of them captured was during daylight.
I hope to meet up with that gigantic Buck that I saw earlier today around 1:30 p.m.
He’s definitely a shooter!
I took off from my home at 11:30 a.m. headed straight for the park and I arrived there 30 minutes later.
I parked on the North side of section two, changed into some old bibs, dressed lightly, threw on an old pair of Mucks, grabbed the bow and took off, heading to the area that I marked with reflective tape looking for that Doe that I shot the other day.
Once I got there, I walked in circles and gradually worked my way out further away after completing each revolution from the mark area.
I did that for an hour trying to find her and I was unsuccessful.
So, I headed back to the truck to get warmed up for a little bit.
Then I decided to go to the South area of section two and try to my find a tree that’ll allow me hunt the open field, the utility right-a-way area.
After I got parked on that side about 1:25 p.m., I changed into my good huntin clothes & Mucks, threw the ‘Lone Wolf’ over my back, grabbed my ‘Heater Body Suite’ ‘Artic Shield’ insulated boot-covers, my newer Mathews compound bow and took off down one of the horse trails heading North with a NW stiff wind in my face.
Once I reached the open field for the utilities, I saw a gigantic Buck on the move in a big hurry just on the opposite side from me, to the North, and he quickly hopped into the woods straight across.
He must have heard me coming because the ground was frozen rock solid and quite crunchy. I doubt that he actually winded me because I was completely downwind of him, but he could’ve possibly saw me moving his direction ‘TOO’.
Right after that brief, but uplifting encounter, I started lookin for a good tree that would allow me to hunt that open field area, which just so happen to be one right next to where that fantastic Buck went into the woods.
As I walked across the open field to get to that tree, I looked to the East and I saw 4-6 antlerless deer crossing the same field approximately 300 yards away but heading South.
As I approached that tree, I noticed the fresh deer runs on each side of it and behind it.
It took me longer to get set up today because the tree was completely covered in ice & snow, plus I had to work my way around a couple of big branches along the way.
Once I got settled and sat down to cool off, about 15 minutes later, I crawled into my ‘Heater Body Suite’.
I was comfortable as can be as the temperature gradually fell and finally got down to 24-degrees when I climbed down for the day. The wind chill made it feel like it was in the single digits though.
I didn’t see nor hear anymore deer until 5:10 p.m., when I watched one adult Doe slowly make her way out to the middle of that field where the snow & ice melted from the sun, so she could feed.
Then another Doe came out from the same area, from the North, and joined the first. Then another Doe, about minute later did the same.
All three of them were downwind of me, approximately 100 yards to the SW.
They stuck around for about 10 minutes feeding, then the last two headed to the South side of field and into the woods, opposite side of me. About a couple minutes later, the first adult Doe, went back in the woods where she originally came from, to the North.
That was all the deer I saw this evening.
I climbed down right at quitting time, packed everything up and headed to the truck.
Once I got there, I changed out of my good huntin clothes & boots, threw the stand into the bed, and put the bow in the cab, then I jumped in the truck myself, started it up, let it run for a little bit to get it warmed up, then took off straight home.
So, today, I seen approximately eight deer, and none of them were within bow range. The deer that was the closest to me was that gigantic Buck, approximately 65 yards.
I believe the majority of the deer activity happened in the middle of the day, which I’m going to try to do my first ‘all-day-sit’ this season tomorrow at the same location I hunted this evening within the bitter low 20’s temperature for the entire day, but with a much more mild West wind.
That area is where I captured most of the Buck activity on my trail cameras and half of them captured was during daylight.
I hope to meet up with that gigantic Buck that I saw earlier today around 1:30 p.m.
He’s definitely a shooter!
Wednesday, December 18, 2019 - Seventh sit@'Deer Creek:
I got all set up & settled in early, well before daylight without bumping or scaring off any deer that I know of.
Current temperature is 23 degrees with stronger West winds than what was expected, appoximately 10-15 mph with bigger gusts occasionally.
I'm all bundled up for the long haul today, going for the first 'all-dayer'. I'm comfortable as can be for the moment.
Seen five antlerless deer so far, between 8:10-8:30 and all of them popped out of the woods within 100 yards of me.
One came from the North, the other four came from South, two & two minutes apart..
Two headed East, two headed North and one headed South.
No antlers seen yet.
I got all set up & settled in early, well before daylight without bumping or scaring off any deer that I know of.
Current temperature is 23 degrees with stronger West winds than what was expected, appoximately 10-15 mph with bigger gusts occasionally.
I'm all bundled up for the long haul today, going for the first 'all-dayer'. I'm comfortable as can be for the moment.
Seen five antlerless deer so far, between 8:10-8:30 and all of them popped out of the woods within 100 yards of me.
One came from the North, the other four came from South, two & two minutes apart..
Two headed East, two headed North and one headed South.
No antlers seen yet.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019 – Seventh sit @’Deer Creek State Park’ – The Follow Up:
(This evening's sunset.)
Hunted from just before sunup to just after sundown today with temperatures in the twenties and strong West winds all day.
I got in early and bundled up head to toe ready for the brutal weather.
I seen my first deer at 8:10 a.m., which was a lone Doe that came from the North heading South to the other side of the utility field and into the woods.
Shortly after that, two antlerless deer hopped out of the South side of the woods and into the utility field and then headed East, all the way down the utility field until they were finally out of sight.
A few minutes after that, two more antlerless deer hopped out of the South side of the woods and into the utility field heading North into the woods.
All five of the deer were approximately 100-120 yards away when they made their presence known.
At 10:20 a.m., three antlerless deer hopped out the South side of the woods and into the utility field heading North into the woods. They copied the same route as the previous two earlier in the morning.
At 3:20 p.m., two antlerless deer came from the East, from down the utility field and turned heading North into the woods, right where the previous five went earlier.
And that was all the deer I seen while hunting all day today. Ten antlerless deer in total. I was expecting to see more deer activity than what I actually saw because of the bitter cold temperatures, but that didn’t quite happen.
I packed everything up right at quitting time, grabbed all three of my trail cameras and headed home.
(One Buck captured on camera the past couple of days, the rest are Does.)
Never once did I get cold while hunting all day. I may however, knotted off a couple times, midday. Who knows, I may have missed a monster when I did.
The closest deer to me today was the one that I had to wait on to cross the road right in front of me as I was pulling into my driveway. She was a big fat nanny lone Doe that walked straight into my front yard at 6:30 p.m.
After I unpacked the truck and walked into the house, the wife had her famous venison meatloaf dinner waiting on me. It was awesome, as usual.
Tomorrow, I’ll be doing just an evening hunt at a different location within section two due to the South wind we’re supposed to have.
I changed my mind about Friday being my last day at the park. Technically, Saturday is my last day and I was originally thinking of doing 'Bonus Gun' hunt at home for the weekend, however, I'm gonna bow hunt Saturday at the park instead and gun hunt at home on Sunday. I'd rather bow hunt the park if I don't get a decent Buck by then.
Seeing that gigantic Buck yesterday in the park is what made me change my mind.
(This evening's sunset.)
Hunted from just before sunup to just after sundown today with temperatures in the twenties and strong West winds all day.
I got in early and bundled up head to toe ready for the brutal weather.
I seen my first deer at 8:10 a.m., which was a lone Doe that came from the North heading South to the other side of the utility field and into the woods.
Shortly after that, two antlerless deer hopped out of the South side of the woods and into the utility field and then headed East, all the way down the utility field until they were finally out of sight.
A few minutes after that, two more antlerless deer hopped out of the South side of the woods and into the utility field heading North into the woods.
All five of the deer were approximately 100-120 yards away when they made their presence known.
At 10:20 a.m., three antlerless deer hopped out the South side of the woods and into the utility field heading North into the woods. They copied the same route as the previous two earlier in the morning.
At 3:20 p.m., two antlerless deer came from the East, from down the utility field and turned heading North into the woods, right where the previous five went earlier.
And that was all the deer I seen while hunting all day today. Ten antlerless deer in total. I was expecting to see more deer activity than what I actually saw because of the bitter cold temperatures, but that didn’t quite happen.
I packed everything up right at quitting time, grabbed all three of my trail cameras and headed home.
(One Buck captured on camera the past couple of days, the rest are Does.)
Never once did I get cold while hunting all day. I may however, knotted off a couple times, midday. Who knows, I may have missed a monster when I did.
The closest deer to me today was the one that I had to wait on to cross the road right in front of me as I was pulling into my driveway. She was a big fat nanny lone Doe that walked straight into my front yard at 6:30 p.m.
After I unpacked the truck and walked into the house, the wife had her famous venison meatloaf dinner waiting on me. It was awesome, as usual.
Tomorrow, I’ll be doing just an evening hunt at a different location within section two due to the South wind we’re supposed to have.
I changed my mind about Friday being my last day at the park. Technically, Saturday is my last day and I was originally thinking of doing 'Bonus Gun' hunt at home for the weekend, however, I'm gonna bow hunt Saturday at the park instead and gun hunt at home on Sunday. I'd rather bow hunt the park if I don't get a decent Buck by then.
Seeing that gigantic Buck yesterday in the park is what made me change my mind.
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Joel
Senior Member
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Thursday, December 19, 2019 - Sit #8 @'Deer Creek':
I left the house @11:30 a.m. with a 26 degree temp and 9 mph South wind.
Got to the park 30 minutes later at the South side of section two.
Changed into my huntin getup and took off @ 12:15.
It didn't very long to see my first deer, in fact a minute later and 50 yards down the horse trail, I see a lone young Doe in my path.
I nocked an arrow and continued slowly hiking towards her. By the time I got to her, she was already well within the wooded area, unable to see her, but I could hear her. She had no clue I was in the area.
I continued to my destination that I previously had in mind, which is where most of the deer travel/activity has occured the entire time I've been huntin the park, right where I had my deer cameras set up for more than a week. About 150 yards further East of where I hunted the last two days. Right next to a good Buck tree rub 'TOO'.
I'm set up in the same tree that I had my TC Cam #1 in, a small Red Oak Tree. I'm only 10' off the ground and there aren't any other taller nor more decent trees around. I have real good cover though!
I have a couple of good shooting lanes out into the utility field, and I have a clear view at both of the major deer runs the come/go out of/into the North woods.
I got settled in @1:15 p.m. sharp, ready for my hunt.
I left the house @11:30 a.m. with a 26 degree temp and 9 mph South wind.
Got to the park 30 minutes later at the South side of section two.
Changed into my huntin getup and took off @ 12:15.
It didn't very long to see my first deer, in fact a minute later and 50 yards down the horse trail, I see a lone young Doe in my path.
I nocked an arrow and continued slowly hiking towards her. By the time I got to her, she was already well within the wooded area, unable to see her, but I could hear her. She had no clue I was in the area.
I continued to my destination that I previously had in mind, which is where most of the deer travel/activity has occured the entire time I've been huntin the park, right where I had my deer cameras set up for more than a week. About 150 yards further East of where I hunted the last two days. Right next to a good Buck tree rub 'TOO'.
I'm set up in the same tree that I had my TC Cam #1 in, a small Red Oak Tree. I'm only 10' off the ground and there aren't any other taller nor more decent trees around. I have real good cover though!
I have a couple of good shooting lanes out into the utility field, and I have a clear view at both of the major deer runs the come/go out of/into the North woods.
I got settled in @1:15 p.m. sharp, ready for my hunt.
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Thursday, December 19, 2019 – Sit #8 @’Deer Creek State Park’ – The Follow Up:
(Another Buck tree rub right next to my tree that I didn't notice until I was up in the stand.)
@3:00 p.m., two young Bucks popped out into the utility field from the South woods, SW from me and headed my direction.
As they made their way down to the small stream @40 yards, just to the West/my left, I grabbed my binoculars real quick to get a better look at them.
Both were 8pt Bucks, the following Buck being the better of the two.
They made their way over the stream and into the North woods then worked their way right behind me, getting as close as 20 yards.
(Both Bucks are in this photograph 20 -25 yards straight away, which is the North woods. Bet you can' t make them out...)
They continued heading N-NE within the woods and eventually got completely downwind of me. Apparently, they didn’t wind me as they slowly continued heading further into the woods and finally out of sight.
I could’ve shot either one of those Bucks, but I didn’t. I thought it was a good sign and hoped for better things to come since it was still earlier into the hunt.
Sure enough, @5:10 p.m., clear to the West/my left, I seen the Buck that I posted trail camera photos of yesterday, approximately 300-400 yards away, walking across the utility field from the South and into the North woods.
Then @5:20 p.m., clear to the East/my right, I see one large adult Doe and smaller one in the middle of the utility field on top the next hill over, approximately 200 yards away, heading my direction.
Then all of sudden a decent size Buck pops out to the North woods to the East and gives chase to those two Does. The two Does ran straight down the middle of the utility field right towards me and then stopped 65 yards away, right on top of the hill straight out in front of me, looking back the Buck that was on the march heading straight towards them.
Seconds later, both Does turned back around, and took off like lighting around that Buck, heading back to where they came from.
That Buck ran straight after them at full speed.
All of them went down over a hill in the middle of the utility field and I lost sight of them at that point.
5 minutes later, I see a large nanny lone Doe to the East/my right, 150 yards away, slowly working her way towards me, on my side of the field.
I watched her through my binoculars right up until quitting time and I basically I lost sight of her at that point.
She was grazing right along the side of the field/wood edge when I lost sight of her. I believe she was within 100 yards of me at quitting time.
So, I waited up in my tree longer than normal, hoping that she didn’t make it to me because I want to hunt out that same tree tomorrow morning.
When I finally climbed down a half an hour later, I didn’t hear nor see any deer, which made me happy.
So, today, I seen four Bucks and four Does. Two Bucks and one Doe got within bow range. I did see three more antlerless deer at different locations when I drove out of the park heading home.
Like I said, tomorrow, I’ll be doing a morning hunt & an evening hunt at the same location.
There was definitely some rutting action happening this evening. I thought those two Does was going to lead that last Buck right to me. I really didn’t get a good look at him, so, I don’t know if I would’ve shot him or not.
I hope that tomorrow brings much the same, but with much bigger Bucks’. There in there, that I know...
It was a good four-hour hunt even though there was no blood spilled.
(Another Buck tree rub right next to my tree that I didn't notice until I was up in the stand.)
@3:00 p.m., two young Bucks popped out into the utility field from the South woods, SW from me and headed my direction.
As they made their way down to the small stream @40 yards, just to the West/my left, I grabbed my binoculars real quick to get a better look at them.
Both were 8pt Bucks, the following Buck being the better of the two.
They made their way over the stream and into the North woods then worked their way right behind me, getting as close as 20 yards.
(Both Bucks are in this photograph 20 -25 yards straight away, which is the North woods. Bet you can' t make them out...)
They continued heading N-NE within the woods and eventually got completely downwind of me. Apparently, they didn’t wind me as they slowly continued heading further into the woods and finally out of sight.
I could’ve shot either one of those Bucks, but I didn’t. I thought it was a good sign and hoped for better things to come since it was still earlier into the hunt.
Sure enough, @5:10 p.m., clear to the West/my left, I seen the Buck that I posted trail camera photos of yesterday, approximately 300-400 yards away, walking across the utility field from the South and into the North woods.
Then @5:20 p.m., clear to the East/my right, I see one large adult Doe and smaller one in the middle of the utility field on top the next hill over, approximately 200 yards away, heading my direction.
Then all of sudden a decent size Buck pops out to the North woods to the East and gives chase to those two Does. The two Does ran straight down the middle of the utility field right towards me and then stopped 65 yards away, right on top of the hill straight out in front of me, looking back the Buck that was on the march heading straight towards them.
Seconds later, both Does turned back around, and took off like lighting around that Buck, heading back to where they came from.
That Buck ran straight after them at full speed.
All of them went down over a hill in the middle of the utility field and I lost sight of them at that point.
5 minutes later, I see a large nanny lone Doe to the East/my right, 150 yards away, slowly working her way towards me, on my side of the field.
I watched her through my binoculars right up until quitting time and I basically I lost sight of her at that point.
She was grazing right along the side of the field/wood edge when I lost sight of her. I believe she was within 100 yards of me at quitting time.
So, I waited up in my tree longer than normal, hoping that she didn’t make it to me because I want to hunt out that same tree tomorrow morning.
When I finally climbed down a half an hour later, I didn’t hear nor see any deer, which made me happy.
So, today, I seen four Bucks and four Does. Two Bucks and one Doe got within bow range. I did see three more antlerless deer at different locations when I drove out of the park heading home.
Like I said, tomorrow, I’ll be doing a morning hunt & an evening hunt at the same location.
There was definitely some rutting action happening this evening. I thought those two Does was going to lead that last Buck right to me. I really didn’t get a good look at him, so, I don’t know if I would’ve shot him or not.
I hope that tomorrow brings much the same, but with much bigger Bucks’. There in there, that I know...
It was a good four-hour hunt even though there was no blood spilled.
Friday, December 20, 2019 – Sit #9 & #10 @’Deer Creek State Park’:
(Morning bitter cold sunrise.)
I left the house early for the park with an 18-degree temperature and mild SW wind.
I arrived at the park early, so I drove around to the park visitor center, clear down by the lake and down around the park cabins. During that short drive, I seen seven antlerless deer on their feet moving about @6:30 a.m.
I parked at the South area of section two and got bundled up in my huntin getup, grabbed my bow and took off with plenty of time to get to my tree.
I got settled in early with no issues.
At first light, I see three deer that stepped out from the North woods, right where I hunted two days ago, approximately 150 yards to the West/my left.
I watched them wandering around in the middle of the field for about 15 minutes.
Then finally, they started to work their way towards me and got down to the small stream between us, at 40 yards.
They gradually walked along the West side of the stream heading SE and once they got to were I crossed, they started to act jittery. At that point, all three of them were at 30 yards, standing perfectly broadside, two adult Does and a little one.
Unfortunately, it was 7:15 a.m., 5 minutes before legal time even though I could see them clear as day.
So, I watched them turn back up the hill to the middle of the utility field and slowly walk off back to the West, then finally disappear within the South woods approximately 170 yards away.
That was all the deer at my huntin setup this morning and I got down @9:30 a.m. to head home to take care of some things.
I believe the deer moved early this morning, just before legal time. With that said, I seen a total of 10 deer within the park within an hour just before legal time.
Once I got home, I changed into some light huntin clothes, grabbed a LW climbing stick, my bow and took off to go collect all four of my trail cameras near my home that I set up the day before I started hunting the park.
After I got back to my workshop, I viewed each SD card and I’m sad to report, I have no captured pictures of any decent Bucks in the area for nearly two weeks. I do however, have plenty of deer activity, but only small bucks, antlerless deer, bunnies, squirrels and a coyote.
The deer seem to be back at their regular travel patterns & times.
If I’m going to be hunting for a good Buck near my home, I’ll have to work real hard at it, which means a regular mile hike to the South, clear to the top of the largest hill in the area, which is something I’ve yet to do this season. I actually enjoy those hunts.
After I got everything taken care of at home and ate lunch, I took off again for the park @1:30 p.m.
Once I got there, I noticed another hunter that parked just a little bit further down from where I usually park, getting ready to head out.
I chatted up with him for a little bit, gave him some good intel since it was his first hunt there. He supposed to hunt section three, right next door to me.
Nice young man from Dayton. He offered to help with any deer dragging and I offered to return the favor.
After that, I got changed and took off about the same time my new neighbor did, right @2:15 p.m. with a 39-degree temperature and a mild wind from the East. Nearly twenty degrees warmer that what it was during my morning sit.
I hunted that same area I’ve been huntin since yesterday evening, right on top of a nob/hill, overlooking a small stream the goes through the utility field connection the two woods, North/South.
I didn’t see my first deer until 4:40 p.m., which were five Does, most all of them large adult Does.
They popped out from the South woods along the small stream approximately 40 yards away and I was facing towards the North woods at the time, expecting deer to come from that direction since it was getting late.
They caught me off guard and by the time I got turned around, the leading Doe caught my movement.
I froze, she froze and when she turned her head away briefly, I reached up for my bow and she saw that movement, which caused her to blow, then she suddenly turned back around and quickly hopped back into the South woods.
The four other deer where clueless as to what just happened, so they just stood there in the field for a few moments longer looking around to see what the big fuss was about.
There was a cross wind in between us, so none of them winded me, it’s just that the first Doe caught my rookie mistake, reaching for my bow after she saw my first movement.
Eventually, the four of them followed the leading Doe back into the South woods and up the ridge, heading South and finally out of sight.
@5:10 p.m., the deer I seen just before legal time earlier in the morning popped out into the utility field from the South woods approximately 150 yards away to the West, much closer to the tree I hunted out of two days ago.
They slow walked out into the middle of the field and started grazing, which it appeared to me that they were starving by the looks of it. They grazed all the way up until quitting time.
As those deer feed, I continued to glass to the East and I saw another deer or two way off into the distance, also in the middle of the utility field. One of them appeared to be rather large in size, which lead me to believe it was a Buck, all by itself grazing.
I think because much of the snow & ice has melted out in the open areas, those deer tried to get caught up on their food intake for the week this evening. There was quite a few of them out into that field tonight.
So, today, I seen approximately twenty deer, most all of them were antlerless deer and eight of them were within bow range, but only five of them during legal time.
Tomorrow is my last day to hunt the park.
I’m going to make the most of it and try for another ‘all dayer’. My second one for the season.
(Morning bitter cold sunrise.)
I left the house early for the park with an 18-degree temperature and mild SW wind.
I arrived at the park early, so I drove around to the park visitor center, clear down by the lake and down around the park cabins. During that short drive, I seen seven antlerless deer on their feet moving about @6:30 a.m.
I parked at the South area of section two and got bundled up in my huntin getup, grabbed my bow and took off with plenty of time to get to my tree.
I got settled in early with no issues.
At first light, I see three deer that stepped out from the North woods, right where I hunted two days ago, approximately 150 yards to the West/my left.
I watched them wandering around in the middle of the field for about 15 minutes.
Then finally, they started to work their way towards me and got down to the small stream between us, at 40 yards.
They gradually walked along the West side of the stream heading SE and once they got to were I crossed, they started to act jittery. At that point, all three of them were at 30 yards, standing perfectly broadside, two adult Does and a little one.
Unfortunately, it was 7:15 a.m., 5 minutes before legal time even though I could see them clear as day.
So, I watched them turn back up the hill to the middle of the utility field and slowly walk off back to the West, then finally disappear within the South woods approximately 170 yards away.
That was all the deer at my huntin setup this morning and I got down @9:30 a.m. to head home to take care of some things.
I believe the deer moved early this morning, just before legal time. With that said, I seen a total of 10 deer within the park within an hour just before legal time.
Once I got home, I changed into some light huntin clothes, grabbed a LW climbing stick, my bow and took off to go collect all four of my trail cameras near my home that I set up the day before I started hunting the park.
After I got back to my workshop, I viewed each SD card and I’m sad to report, I have no captured pictures of any decent Bucks in the area for nearly two weeks. I do however, have plenty of deer activity, but only small bucks, antlerless deer, bunnies, squirrels and a coyote.
The deer seem to be back at their regular travel patterns & times.
If I’m going to be hunting for a good Buck near my home, I’ll have to work real hard at it, which means a regular mile hike to the South, clear to the top of the largest hill in the area, which is something I’ve yet to do this season. I actually enjoy those hunts.
After I got everything taken care of at home and ate lunch, I took off again for the park @1:30 p.m.
Once I got there, I noticed another hunter that parked just a little bit further down from where I usually park, getting ready to head out.
I chatted up with him for a little bit, gave him some good intel since it was his first hunt there. He supposed to hunt section three, right next door to me.
Nice young man from Dayton. He offered to help with any deer dragging and I offered to return the favor.
After that, I got changed and took off about the same time my new neighbor did, right @2:15 p.m. with a 39-degree temperature and a mild wind from the East. Nearly twenty degrees warmer that what it was during my morning sit.
I hunted that same area I’ve been huntin since yesterday evening, right on top of a nob/hill, overlooking a small stream the goes through the utility field connection the two woods, North/South.
I didn’t see my first deer until 4:40 p.m., which were five Does, most all of them large adult Does.
They popped out from the South woods along the small stream approximately 40 yards away and I was facing towards the North woods at the time, expecting deer to come from that direction since it was getting late.
They caught me off guard and by the time I got turned around, the leading Doe caught my movement.
I froze, she froze and when she turned her head away briefly, I reached up for my bow and she saw that movement, which caused her to blow, then she suddenly turned back around and quickly hopped back into the South woods.
The four other deer where clueless as to what just happened, so they just stood there in the field for a few moments longer looking around to see what the big fuss was about.
There was a cross wind in between us, so none of them winded me, it’s just that the first Doe caught my rookie mistake, reaching for my bow after she saw my first movement.
Eventually, the four of them followed the leading Doe back into the South woods and up the ridge, heading South and finally out of sight.
@5:10 p.m., the deer I seen just before legal time earlier in the morning popped out into the utility field from the South woods approximately 150 yards away to the West, much closer to the tree I hunted out of two days ago.
They slow walked out into the middle of the field and started grazing, which it appeared to me that they were starving by the looks of it. They grazed all the way up until quitting time.
As those deer feed, I continued to glass to the East and I saw another deer or two way off into the distance, also in the middle of the utility field. One of them appeared to be rather large in size, which lead me to believe it was a Buck, all by itself grazing.
I think because much of the snow & ice has melted out in the open areas, those deer tried to get caught up on their food intake for the week this evening. There was quite a few of them out into that field tonight.
So, today, I seen approximately twenty deer, most all of them were antlerless deer and eight of them were within bow range, but only five of them during legal time.
Tomorrow is my last day to hunt the park.
I’m going to make the most of it and try for another ‘all dayer’. My second one for the season.
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Saturday, December 21, 2019 – Final Special Archery Hunt @’Deer Creek State Park’ – Part I of II:
I woke before my alarm this morning and went ahead got ready for another day of archery hunting at the ‘Deer Creek State Park’.
I took off from my workshop a little before 6:00 a.m., with plenty of time to get there and set up. The morning temperature was 27-degrees with a mild S-SW wind.
Once I got there, I changed into my hunting clothes, grabbed my ‘Lone Wolf’ sticks and my bow, then took off about 6:40.
I got to my tree without a hitch, no deer pushed nor bumped that I know of and got settled in just before 7:00.
No sooner than when I sat down into my stand, I hear two back to back gun shots that sounded like they came from within the park. I’m really, it was very dark and well before legal time. I couldn’t believe what just happened and it scared the shit out of me.
I hunted out of the same small Red Oak Tree that I’ve been hunting out for the past day in half, right on top of the East utility hill along the North woods & field edge, just past the little stream that connects the South & North woods.
That's the area that deer tend to travel heavily between the two woods, at least that’s what I’ve learned over the past week or so. I was concerned about S-SW wind for that set up because any deer that’s comes from the North using any of the two major deer paths right next to my tree will most likely wind me.
Well, sure enough, right at 8:00 a.m., I hear a deer blow just within the North woods, approximately 30 yards away. I couldn’t see the deer within those thick thickets, but it sounded like the deer decided to travel further West within the woods rather than using any of those deer paths right next to me.
About 15 minutes later, I see two antlerless deer cross the utility field to the West, approximately 100 yards away, and headed straight into the South woods. They were probably the deer that blew at me moments prior.
At 9:00 a.m. sharp, I hear some quick trotting coming straight at me from within the North woods. Next thing I know, I have four antlerless deer at 10-20 yards just to the East/my right, about to pop out into the utility field right in front of me using one of those heavy deer paths right next to my tree, however, when I went to reach for my bow, the leading Doe caught my movement and stopped suddenly, just short of reaching the field. All four deer stopped as a matter a fact and immediately started sniffing the air. Eventually all four of them turned back around and headed back to where they came from with no blow, but their tail was in the air.
Then 15 minutes after that, I see a set of young twins come down the other main deer path, just to the West/my left and stopped within 10 yards of me, just before they entered the utility field, waiting on their Mother. She just finished pissing yards away within the thickets and started her way towards her little ones and then stopped 15 yards away. All three of them at that time where perfectly downwind of me, just to the SE, which the wind direction had changed slightly by that time. Mother Doe stuck her nose way into the air and sniffed away. She didn’t like what she smelled and turned back around, which the little ones followed. No blow or tail in the air, they just left the area and headed back to where the came from.
10 minutes after that, I see a large lone Doe walking out into the utility field approximately 100 yards to the West, heading straight for the other side and into the South woods, pretty much the same route I saw two others do earlier.
A little bit after that, I started to feel hungry and was getting a little bit cold as well, so I climbed down right at 10:00 a.m. sharp, walked to the truck, changed out of my hunting clothes, and headed to London to go get some breakfast & some hot coffee in me.
As I was leaving the park, I looked down the utility field towards my set up and right on top of the hill, right in front of my stand, I see a lone deer just minutes after I climbed down. It looked to be of good size, and it could’ve been a Buck, but who knows…
After breakfast, I decided since I didn’t see any Bucks this morning out the eleven deer that I saw coming from the North woods, which is what I was afraid of, that I would take any decent size Doe the presented an opportunity and not go home empty handed today.
I woke before my alarm this morning and went ahead got ready for another day of archery hunting at the ‘Deer Creek State Park’.
I took off from my workshop a little before 6:00 a.m., with plenty of time to get there and set up. The morning temperature was 27-degrees with a mild S-SW wind.
Once I got there, I changed into my hunting clothes, grabbed my ‘Lone Wolf’ sticks and my bow, then took off about 6:40.
I got to my tree without a hitch, no deer pushed nor bumped that I know of and got settled in just before 7:00.
No sooner than when I sat down into my stand, I hear two back to back gun shots that sounded like they came from within the park. I’m really, it was very dark and well before legal time. I couldn’t believe what just happened and it scared the shit out of me.
I hunted out of the same small Red Oak Tree that I’ve been hunting out for the past day in half, right on top of the East utility hill along the North woods & field edge, just past the little stream that connects the South & North woods.
That's the area that deer tend to travel heavily between the two woods, at least that’s what I’ve learned over the past week or so. I was concerned about S-SW wind for that set up because any deer that’s comes from the North using any of the two major deer paths right next to my tree will most likely wind me.
Well, sure enough, right at 8:00 a.m., I hear a deer blow just within the North woods, approximately 30 yards away. I couldn’t see the deer within those thick thickets, but it sounded like the deer decided to travel further West within the woods rather than using any of those deer paths right next to me.
About 15 minutes later, I see two antlerless deer cross the utility field to the West, approximately 100 yards away, and headed straight into the South woods. They were probably the deer that blew at me moments prior.
At 9:00 a.m. sharp, I hear some quick trotting coming straight at me from within the North woods. Next thing I know, I have four antlerless deer at 10-20 yards just to the East/my right, about to pop out into the utility field right in front of me using one of those heavy deer paths right next to my tree, however, when I went to reach for my bow, the leading Doe caught my movement and stopped suddenly, just short of reaching the field. All four deer stopped as a matter a fact and immediately started sniffing the air. Eventually all four of them turned back around and headed back to where they came from with no blow, but their tail was in the air.
Then 15 minutes after that, I see a set of young twins come down the other main deer path, just to the West/my left and stopped within 10 yards of me, just before they entered the utility field, waiting on their Mother. She just finished pissing yards away within the thickets and started her way towards her little ones and then stopped 15 yards away. All three of them at that time where perfectly downwind of me, just to the SE, which the wind direction had changed slightly by that time. Mother Doe stuck her nose way into the air and sniffed away. She didn’t like what she smelled and turned back around, which the little ones followed. No blow or tail in the air, they just left the area and headed back to where the came from.
10 minutes after that, I see a large lone Doe walking out into the utility field approximately 100 yards to the West, heading straight for the other side and into the South woods, pretty much the same route I saw two others do earlier.
A little bit after that, I started to feel hungry and was getting a little bit cold as well, so I climbed down right at 10:00 a.m. sharp, walked to the truck, changed out of my hunting clothes, and headed to London to go get some breakfast & some hot coffee in me.
As I was leaving the park, I looked down the utility field towards my set up and right on top of the hill, right in front of my stand, I see a lone deer just minutes after I climbed down. It looked to be of good size, and it could’ve been a Buck, but who knows…
After breakfast, I decided since I didn’t see any Bucks this morning out the eleven deer that I saw coming from the North woods, which is what I was afraid of, that I would take any decent size Doe the presented an opportunity and not go home empty handed today.
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