Wildlife 2021/2022 Deer Season

[Wildlife]

2:30 p.m. Friday, January 21, 2022: 'UPDATE'

I've been bow hunting every evening sine the 15th January of 2022, trying to fill my last deer tag for the hunting season. I was very close in being successful on the 19th however, I came up short. I will continue to hunting until the season ends if that's what it will take to be successful.
The following are some of the field photographs taken while hunting over the past week plus the latest TC captures at both feed locations. Some of the TC captures include our resident Bobcat, Fox and one of the coyotes, which the coyote capture was from last night and is at the very end of the latest shared video below.

1/15/2022 North Ridge

1/16/2022 'Western Stand' as the latest snow storm approached

1/17/2022 'Northern CRP Stand'

1/18/2022 'Western Stand'

1/19/2022 'Western Stand' Missed opportunity on a huge doe

1/20/2022 'Southern CRP Stand'

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Video description:

Deer activity during the latest snow storm at one of my hunting setup, January 16 through the afternoon of the 18th.

Video description:

Deer activity over during January 18, 2022 through January 21st afternoon at one of my hunting setups. Projects bucks are continuing to stick around and are still holding, such as, 'SHYBUC', 'JUNIOR' & 'NINER'. The video ends with a coyote captured on the TC.

Video description:

These predators live in the area and have been frequent visitors at the feed station during over the winter of 2022.

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I may visit three other deer hunting stands before the season ends that I have yet to hunt out of during this year's hunting season.

I will continue updating my journal as I transition over to coyote hunting once I finish my deer season.

 

[Wildlife]

4:15 p.m. Wednesday, January 26, 2022: 'THE CUP'

18* w/ virtually no NW wind. Red Fox encounter within 30yrds as soon as I got into my stand.

Fresh yote or fox tracks just before getting to my stand.

Lookin NW, N, S & SE

Going forward, I’ll be hiking out further and further away from my home, hunting.

Our creek valley woods that are nearest to my home really aren't dense enough to hold deer really this time of year, especially when the coyotes are on the prowl and food is scarce for all.

I’m currently on the search for our deerz around here and have been for the last week or so. They still show up in good numbers at one of my setups every night though, however, it’s generally after daylight hours when they do.

I know that our deer tend to group up together into one large group this time of year, and that larger herd has thousands of acres to roam nearby, so they can be pretty much anywhere. I think they do this for a few reasons, one being to be able to fend off or dodge the coyotes better.

Where I tend to believe they hang out mainly is on top of both two nearby big hills, one to the South and one to the North, which I will make my way to each of them rather soon.

So, I’ll will be sharing several new hunting areas over the course of the next couple of months, hoping to harvest another good size antlerless deer before the deer season ends, also looking for sheds, and conducting some recon, scouting & any further intelligence regarding where the bigger bucks go exactly this time of year, and of course, while doing so, I’ll always be keeping my eyes peeled for any coyotes and coyote signs along the way.

This morning I hunted an area that I haven’t at all this hunting season really. Now I’m hunting another this evening for the first time as well, I call it, ‘THE CUP’.

This is an area I mainly hunt for coyotes, and I did bring with me my favorite hand caller just for them. I’ll give it a whirl just before quitting time if I do not see one sooner.

I’ll also be putting my new Muck boots through the ringer over the course of the next couple of months too, no doubt. I hope this new pair holds up much better than my last two.

 

[Wildlife]

 

[Wildlife]

4:15 p.m. Friday, January 28, 2022:

2.5" of additional snow today and still snowing now. Currently cloudy overcast, 25* w/ a 11 mph N wind and I'm hunting this evening out of my 'Western Stand' w/ my new pair of 'ArticShield' boot insulator covers on that arrived earlier in the mail today, now breaking them in.
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Latest deer activity at this setup.

Video discription:

Deer activity at one of my hunting setups that shows the same status as the last few SD card pulls from that TC at that location. 'JUNIOR', 'SHYBUC' & 'NINER' continue to be daily visitors along with a few other younger bucks. First shed appears to be a spike buck that lost one side and that's it as far as I can tell so far. The most mature bucks either have left the area temporarily or possibly have been killed. I'm pulling for them, hoping that each of them are okay and will eventually return once again sometime over the next couple of months.

 

[Wildlife]

No arrow took flight and no wildlife was harmed this evening by me.

Left the area shortly after this photo was taken back to where it came from.

 

[Wildlife]

9:15 p.m. Monday, January 31, 2022:

I hunted both this morning and this evening on this gorgeous last day of the month of January, and no arrow took flight, and no wildlife was harmed by me.

'Northern CRP Stand' sunrise view

This morning I saw a couple of antlerless deer at the creek bottom to the North, well out of bow range, headed towards my property during the first half hour of legal time and that was it for that hunt. I climbed down at 9:30 a.m. and headed back to the shop without seeing or hearing anymore deer in the area.
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'Western Stand' creek view

This evening, shortly after I sat down right at 4:30 p.m., apparently, I fell sound asleep for nearly an hour in the stand. When I woke up, there were two deer underneath me, ‘SHYBUC’ and a young doe.

I had no clue where came from or how long they were there and who knows if any others showed up during my power nap, but I will get a better idea after I pull the SD card from the TC at that location the day after tomorrow. Silly me, obviously, I was quite comfortable in the stand, and I was up way late last night.

‘SHYBUC’ continues to look rather healthy and I’m happy to see it. He eventually got spooked by something other than me and left the area in a rather quick fashion, headed towards the feed station, which is much closer to the house. You’ll get to see that behavior within the video below.

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I’ve had several close encounters with ‘SHYBUC’ over the past two years with much photography to show for it as well. He’s a good-looking deer and I sincerely hope he continues to stick around. If so, I do expect him to fill out even more come next season. I look forward to seeing him again with his new set of antlers.

It’s a good feeling seeing bucks grow before your eyes given the history that I have with this deer, much like what I have with ‘THUNDER’, which he’s been AWOL since 12/28/2021. Obviously, I hope to see him too later in the year.

Down to the last week and I’m still trying to harvest one of the bigger does in the area. I may change my mind on what to harvest come this weekend. I wish to fill my last deer tag.

The weather forecast over the next few days should prove to be interesting at best and hopefully get more deer moving during the daytime. I know they’re around here someplace and I will be venturing out further away from my property looking for them if I must.

There has been a slow progression of increased daylight deer movement just over the past couple of days though, which I take it as a good sign.

Anyways, we’ll see what happens…

 

[finelyshedded]

Shybuc could be really something in a few years for sure!

 

[Chancegriffis]

Shybuc could be really something in a few years for sure!

Agreed! If he lives another 2/3 years he’s going to be an absolute giant

 

[Wildlife]

7:15 p.m. Friday, February 4, 2022: 'EVENING HUNT'

'Western Stand' view this evening at 5:00 p.m.

Didn't quite realize that we had so many Red Foxes in our immediate area.

Last week during an evening hunt, I encountered two of them. One when I first got into my stand and the other shortly before quitting time. I arrowed and killed the second one at 25yrds, which was a male.

This evening I was hunting for deer once again and I got a late start. I got settled in right at 5:00 p.m. and within minutes, I had one Red Fox cruise right underneath me at the creek bottom headed East. An hour later, two more cruising together did the very exact same thing.

Two Red Foxes at the creek bottom, on the other side of the tree branches when photo was taken at 6:08 p.m.

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Those three Red Foxes and one large Cottontail is all I saw this evening and no wildlife was harmed by me.

The following is a video I put together earlier today of just predators in the area, which is from the latest SD card pulls from my trail cameras. Apparently, coyotes like corn too.

 

[Wildlife]

9:30 a.m. Saturday, February 5, 2022: 'DEER BEHAVIOR OF RECENT WINTER ICE STORM'

Thought I'd go ahead and share some of my latest trail camera captures at one of my hunting locations that clearly shows the deer activity/behavior just before, during and after the most recent winter storm within the region. You will get to see that the deer seem to know what's up with regards to the weather just prior to the main brunt of the storm and try to get their bellies full before everything got completely iced over. You'll also get to see some ice build up on 'JUNIOR's main beam during the evening of all the freezing rain we received.

Video description:

Deer activity captured on a trail camera at one of my hunting locations just before, during and after the most recent winter ice storm that occurred in the region on February 3, 2022.

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I will get out this evening and tomorrow looking to fill my last deer tag.