Let 'em shed, let 'em shed, let 'em shed

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the archery season was so not delightful, and since there's no legal time left, let 'em shed, let 'em shed, let 'em shed. Dad and I checked the hot spot again this morning. Nothing. Twenty - eight below zero @ 8:00am. The cameras have a bit of a struggle in weather like this, but I still managed to get 184 pictures in 3 nights. To my surprise, the buck activity has lessened. I didn't get any pictures of any of the bucks off of next year's hit list. Either the batteries were dying because of the cold and were missing some pictures, or the bucks are over on the pile of year old sunflowers. I may have to adjust the placement of the camera.

The antlers are dropping, though. Not as many as expected, but there's three bucks now that have dropped. The first was a yearling, then a 3 year old, now a 2 year old 8 point. None of the bigger bucks as far as we know. It's supposed to stay chilly for the next few days. When I say chilly, I mean lows in the 20s below and a high of 1 degree on sunday. No snowfall in the forecast for a few days, so if we pick up one of the bigger deer on the camera with no antlers, it would be possible to venture into some of the beds, but then again, it might be smart to wait it out and not spook 'em out of the area.

In two months it'll be a free for all. I don't think there are too many bucks that carry their antlers into March around here, so I'm not really worried about that slim minority. With the rutting activity non-existent, we have to focus on the feeding and bedding areas. As long as the deer aren't messed with too drastically, and we don't get too much more snow, we should be able to locate a few antlers this spring.

2010 Hit List - A Work In Progress

Well, rifle season and muzzleloader season came and went. I only heard of one nice buck being taken around The Hill by muzzleloader and that was East of Orville's (a good 2.2 miles from the cabin). I've yet to see a picture of it either. There's only 9 days left of the 2009 archery season, and the likelihood of anyone shooting a nice buck (that keeps his antlers on his head) is pretty slim. Out of our original top seven, there have been two confirmed dead (Crazy 8 & Wide 9). Out of the other 5, Ive gotten pictures of two of them after muzzleloader season. I got a picture of a heavy short 8 point that was bleeding by his ear on November 21st that I'm going to call the scabby 8. I just got a picture of him two nights ago. He's about a 120" 5 year old. He'll go on the list for 2010. I also got pictures of a 10 point that looks a lot like a deer I got some pictures of this late summer out by John's pond, but he doesn't have the distinct split G2 on his right antler, so I'm guessing they're brothers. He's a four year old that would go about 125. Last year's hitlist was made up of bucks that I got pictures of out of velvet - mostly because of the very different ranges bucks occupy from summer to fall and even fall to winter. In fact, all of the "top seven" pictures were taken from October 21st through November 1st. There were two bucks that should've been on the list that we had velvet pictures of, but once fall came, they dissappeared. The buck that already dropped his antlers could very well be one of those two bucks, I still need to go check that out. So if I was to rank the survivors with the "would be's" for 2010, I would have a list that looked something like this:

1. The Clown (Oct 22/Jan 30 [shed])

2. Mr. 140 (Dec 23/Jan 7 [shed])

3. Hanger (Oct 31) - CONFIRMED DEAD

4. Wide Web (June 19)

5. No Name 10 (Dec 28)

6. Pond Buck (Sept 1) - CONFIRMED DEAD

7. Sky Scraper (Jan 25)

8. Scabby 8 (Jan 18/Feb 1 [shed])

9. Bullwinkle (Jan 22)

10. Inside Crab 10 (Jan 24/Feb 4 [shed])

I'm really just hoping for confirmation from the sheds, and to try and get two other bucks photos to be satisfied: The Clown and Hanger. They're both older bucks, and to figure them out will be the most difficult. Wolves do not simplify the matter.

Early too Cold, Early to Drop

I got word on friday (11th) that sometime a few days before that, probably the 9th, a guy picked up a fresh set of sheds! I thought last year's December 14th was a freak, but I guess. We have had subzero temperatures for over two weeks, today finally it was above, and tomorrow they're saying a high in the 20s. That's still cold, but it'll feel like spring after all this crap. I think i'm going to go for it tomorrow morning, it should be good. I've got a good spot and even though the wind is marginal, I think I'll get a chance at a doe. I guess we'll find out soon.

Winter Solstice

The shortest day of the year is coming up. Well, we all know it's still 24 hours long, but we'll only have 8 hours and 15 minutes between sunrise and sunset on the 21st of December, then the crescendo of photoperiodism begins again. This week has been brutally cold for this early in the winter (late in the fall) we are. We've been sitting around zero degrees for about 4 days now. We can expect another 3 more days until the wind switches to the SW and eventually to the SE, which will bring us some slightly warmer highs (upper teens). Survival is number one right now. Food, food, food - is all that is on the deer's agenda. We've got four days left of muzzleloader and then another 17 days of archery before I have to absolutely surrender. I sat Monday morning and it was absolutely frigid. When I got back to my truck and 10am, the temperature was 6 degrees without the windchill. You can bet it hit zero as the sun began to come up. There had been a few deer moving on the cameras. I think they'll begin to browse more and move less. I saw 7 deer by moonlight out in a winter wheat field. So that at least tells me there's not enough snow to keep them from kicking down to it.

It's predominantly been a NW wind, which is great for the stand I've been sitting in, but it's supposed to shift around as we get into the weekend. Dad wants to try sitting for a few hours. We both would like to take out a few does, so if we get the chance, it's going to be a cold gut job. Bill Winke said it best a few days back when he said, "... the bucks are still licking their wounds from the rut." I think that's exactly what's been going on the last week of November/first week of December. That's all going to change as food becomes priority. They may not offer much for daylight movement, but it'll at least help me figure out which bucks survived the hunting season by picking them up on the cameras, which don't enjoy running when it's this cold. I'm helping dad mount Crazy 8 european style. I just got him all boiled up and scraped clean. I used Basic White and I think it's going to look great. It'll be good to have another mount to keep my Pope & Young company.

I'm excited to see what's on the cameras this weekend.

The Overlap

It's the 2nd of December. The rut is pretty much out of commission or so you'd think. I have pictures of bucks following does on the 1st of November (the very first signs). The weather put a lot of daytime action on hold. However, the cameras suggested that there was still plenty of movement during the nighttime. I took three of my cameras down out of some great locations, mostly because I didn't want them stolen. As soon as I could, I put them back up and the action picked up where it left off. I had pictures of bucks from the 15th through the 25th following does. I just had a couple bucks checking a scrape line on the 28th. We are already 28 days past the 1st of November. Those does that came into heat early and were missed, therefore missing their cycle, should be about to come back into heat. Yesterday we got about 4 inches of snow dumped on us in one day. That may not effect the rutting activity, but it will definately effect the location of the deer's bedding and feeding. There are areas where we hunt that definately hold more deer come march. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume those deer begin to move into those wintering areas as we get more and more snow and as the crops (which are nearly nonexistent) are burried. We have our first legitimate cold front moving in also. We're supposed to have highs in the 20s tomorrow with north to northwest winds. This is the weather we should've had almost a month ago. Anyway, every year it seems that when we get a pile of snow it takes the deer a while to acclimate. I hunted yesterday afternoon and as I drove in to where I park and even my entire walk to the stand, I did not cross one fresh track through the snow. So they bedded up. I moved a camera and I anticipate catching them moving this morning, and throughout the day today and tomorrow. Tomorrow might be a great day to put in some time. It seems like the two ruts may just overlap into one really long, slow rut.

I need to shoot two more does.

Rifle Season 2009

What an incredibly warm season! We had highs of 60 and lows of 35. We had a southerly wind for 6 days straight and then again on the 9th day. Seven out of nine days were south winds! Here's how it all went down:

Saturday, November 7th. I sat south of the landing and we had a SW wind. after I got into my stand I realized that the wind was backwards. I needed more of an E wind for that stand. So I decided to move my stand about 50 yards to the E and get out of there. I went to the cabin for some soup and in the evening I headed over to the refuge to move the stand I have back by the big rubs. I hiked all the way in there (being pretty quiet) and realized that the last time I was in there, I took the tree steps out of the tree. So I couldn't even get into my stand. I walked to the West side of the spruce and sat behind a blowdown. The camera I have back there showed a decent buck with some palmation. Steph text me at about 4:40pm and said she shot a doe. My cell phone reception sucked so when I tried to ask if she was serious, it took forever it to send and get a response, but she did! She shot her first legitimate deer. I packed up and left before dark. By the time I left the woods, the doe she shot... her two fawns passed by Steph too. Day One: Three deer.

Sunday, November 8th. We had church in the morning and didn't get out until later evening. I brought tree steps and Steph and I went back to the West end of the Refuge and moved the one stand and hung a second for her to sit in. I forgot her harness and so I left her stand a little lower than I'd've liked. We made a lot of noise. Day Two: Zero deer.



Monday, November 9th. I sat in my permanent stand for a change of pace. I was sitting nice and early. I probably sat until 9:30 or so. It seems that in years past, if bucks cross there in the morning, it's usually early - before 8:30am. I headed back to the cabin and tried to collect my thoughts. The only thing I could figure out with this SW wind was to climb back into the stand in the refuge. So that's what I did. Day Three: Zero deer.



Tuesday, November 10th. Work Day



Wednesday, November 11th. Work Day



Thursday, November 12th. We stayed in Roseau Wednesday night. Mom was going to drive up to the hill after her half day of work, so Stephanie decided she'd ride with her and run some errands in the morning. I, on the other hand, woke up and an early 4:45am. I packed up what I thought I needed and put some gas on and headed up to the hill in the black morning light. I got there and realized I had forgot my laundry basket of clean base layers. I had to wear Stephanie's Minus 33. I was ready to be sitting early, but when I got to the cabin, dad thougt he might go with me down south of the landing. So, I agreed and brought an extra stand and set it up for him. At about 9:10am I had a yearling 6 point come crashing through at about 25 yards. He stopped to smell the CodeBlue doe urine that I dragged in. He headed up north towards dad. Dad saw a bobcat and spooked a deer when he stood up. The wind was perfect back there. ESE. It started to mist about 10am and continued throughout the day. By the end, we were both pretty wet. Day Six: One deer.



Friday, November 13th. Finally, the wind switched to a NW. The first colder temperatures of the season were trying to roll in and I had a spot all picked out. When I got up the tree, I realized that I was a tiny bit off the mark. I tried to adjust, but my view was just not good enough. On top of that, I started to fall asleep standing up in my stand, so I committed to making noise to adjust my stand higher. I got the stand all set and then I headed back to the cabin to try get some sleep before evening post. It was supposed to be a NW wind all day so I thought I'd just come back to the same set up. When I got back, I was pleased with the view. It just never happened. No deer. About 4:45pm a chainsaw fired up and that about ended my evening. Then at about 5:00pm a generator began to growl into the dusk. I climbed down defeated, but determined to keep hunting hard. Day Seven: Zero deer.



Saturday, November 14th. I crawled out of bed a little late to the sound and smell of sizzling bacon. I got dressed quickly and made my mind up to try hunting south of the landing. The wind was from the North, which was not good, but I thought to myself that that was where the most action has probably been and that maybe I could just catch a doe with a careless buck. I hiked in dragging my CodeBlue again. I climbed up my tree and sat down at 7:02am. It wasn't 15 minutes and heard the all too familiar sound of steps coming near me. Of course the deer was coming in behind me. Over my right shoulder I could finally make out a deer. It was a buck - and not just a yearling. I turned to reach for my gun and my stand creeked. The buck froze, and so did I. Luckily he was behind a bit of a blowdown. Instead of heading SW like he was, he turned South and was heading behind my tree. I got one last look at him before he went behind me and I thought it was a buck we know as Crazy 8. He looked like he had busted up another tine. As he walked behind me I clicked off my safety. Somewhere behind my tree he must have cut even more in my direction, because instead of getting my first glimpse of him at 20 - 30 yards like I thought I would, there he was - right under my tree! His head was slightly turned in my direction so I didn't move a muscle. As he turned away, and he was almost out of my shooting lane, I grunted to stop him, threw up my .308 and put the crosshairs on the back of his neck and introduced him to the frosty ground. Down he went! What a rush! Crazy 8 was down!


I text Steph, Mom and Dad with a picture of him as he laid, because he was so close to my tree. Mom and Dad responded, but no word from Steph. I climbed down and walked up to him and examined his slightly broken up rack. It was mor massive than the pictures made it look. His 5" dagger was busted completely off. His G3 on his left antler had about 3" broke off. I'm sure he crossed paths with one of the big boys. Now that I think about it. I have pictures of Crazy 8 on the 28th of October - fully intact. My one and only picture of Hanger was taken on the morning of Halloween and he has a broken G3. Left side. The ironic part is that these two were buddies during the summer. Coincidence? Who knows. Regardless, Hanger is going to have to find a new sparring partner next year. Unless I shoot him with the bow.


After I admired the 4 year old warrior, I got my stuff together and hiked back to the landing. I drove to the cabin still wondering if Steph's phone was on silent or if she really was sleeping that hard. I snuck into the cabin as quietly as I could. I heard her phone beep, which it does every five minutes after a missed call or an unanswered text. I sat down on the air mattress and kissed her forehead and asked her if she wanted to help me drag out a deer. As she started to wake up she began asking questions and I told her that I had shot Crazy 8. She was very excited for me. We waited until 11am (legal ATV use on public land) and walked down to get mom's tag. Dad felt he needed to help the gutting/dragging process and so he and I went out there. When it's not as far to retrieve, I can't wait for Steph to help me with that part. Anyway, we got a wheeler down to him and took a bunch of pictures and brought him back to the cabin. We took a few more photos and strung him up the meat pole.


Since it didn't look like we'd be coming back up after church on the last day, we decided to sit for the evening post in hopes of taking a doe. Between Steph, Mom, Dad and myself, not one of us saw a deer Saturday evening. Day Eight: One deer.

Sunday, November 15th. Mom and Dad were on their own. Dad saw and took a shot at young buck back in the brush, but he figures he missed. A pretty uneventful day, which wrapped up a fairly uneventful rifle season. It was slow. Total deer seen between five people was under 15. That's for sure. The weather was just too warm. The rut was happening, but after dark. The deer have become very nocturnal around Minnesota Hill. Whether it's from neighbors with dogs, kids in the yard, or me putting some bowhunting pressure on them...the deer were scarce. We know they were there, just not during daylight. I'm hoping things calm down in the next week. I'll try to get out a few times. I think the first solid cold front that comes in is going to fire up a lot of movement. Gotta be sitting. There's still a bunch of bucks that haven't been shot after hours off feed piles. Don't even get me started!

Waxing & Waning

The last two weeks have really taken off with buck activity. The evening of my last post was the beginning of seeing mature bucks at the cameras. I got a series of pictures on three different cameras of the same four year old 10 point buck. From the first camera to the third was nearly a mile and a half in a somewhat straight line. They are on the move. On the night of the 22nd, I got a few other pictures of mature bucks. That night, the 25th, and the 30th, 31st, 1st, and 2nd were all great nights of getting good bucks cruising for does.

I got one picture the morning of the 2nd that was a 4 or 5 year old 10 point 2 minutes behind a doe. Both of they're mouths were open as if they had been running quite a bit. She had some darkened tarsals, and his neck was pretty swollen. Some of the three year olds have been very visible. I've caught a wide 9 point nearly once a day between the three or so cameras I have out. I need to put out two more soon, but I need to figure out where.

Rifle season starts tomorrow. Last year's Minnesota season was cut short in order to get to Alberta. This year, I'm anticipating some action in the deep woods. Morning, midday, and evenings are going to be crankin' once the 10th, 11th, & 12th hit. That seems to be the magical period when the bucks are chasing during daylight. So my plan is to catch a big one back in the timber. I'll worry about dragging it after I drop him in his tracks. No binoculars, no worrying about the cape, no excuses. There's no reason I can't get at least a three year old and two does.

Lastly, I've watched the territorial rubs come alive in the last few days. the 2nd and 3rd were some of the first I noticed. I put my camera back in the swamp of the west. I can't wait to check it in two weeks. I can't wait to bow hunt that edge.

The moon was full on the 2nd, and is new on the 16th. The weather has been great, but we're expecting a warm weekend (55-60) then getting nasty again later in the week. I'm rolling up my maps, grabbing my calls, and checking on the wind. We're going to have a great season.

Travel Rubs

I sat Sunday night the 11th 30 yards from the Canadian Border on a beautiful bottleneck that I'm sure will produce more buck travel in the next two weeks. I saw no deer.

I was out Tuesday morning the 13th. I was attempting to be a bit more aggressive and get closer to where I thought the bucks were bedding. We'll on my way to the spot in the dark, I got wet. I was wearing my winter boots and it was 16 degrees. I was going to freeze. As soon as I sank in the first hole, I knew that if I was going to sit, I was going to shiver my face off. Well, I knew I'd kick myself and always tell myself that I probably missed him come by. So I sat until 9:30 and shivered my way back to the truck. Zero deer. I don't know what the deal is. I have sat over 15 times and have not seen one single deer while sitting. Something's gotta give.

I sat friday morning the 16th and overlooked a great trail for bucks cruising and scentchecking a decent bedding area, but again, I think my curiosity has got me about two weeks early. That evening Steph and I sat not too far from the gravel road where I had seen a nice wide buck. I put my camera out and got a few pictures of what I thought was the Wide Web buck from this summer. It turns out it's a different wide buck. Wide Web had a distinct start to a G4 on his right antler, and this new wide buck is only a 9 point, with no G4 on his right. So, we have two different wide bucks. Anyway, Steph and I sat until dark and didn't see a thing. According to the pictures, the bucks were coming through and staging right after dark.

I went back and sat in the same spot last night in hopes that they'd be coming out a little earlier, but nope. I got some more pictures of them at 7:30pm and it's too dark to see my pins at 7:05pm. So they keep winning.

The next few weeks will change everything. There's a field where we've spotted lots and lots of deer each night, and it's getting to be more and more every night. The bucks are going to start checking and nudging the does in about a week. So give me that Southwest wind.

There has been a few new rubs appearing, none appear to be territorial. Most of them are on small willow or pine saplings, most likely made while on the move. The scrapes haven't been hit too hard yet, but I think that's about to change too. I would say that by this time next week, we'll have some serious increase in action. For sure by the 29th and 30th, the scraping will pick up. I've got to position my cameras accordingly.

Hard Frost

I woke up to my 4:30 alarm, well actually I woke up at 4:29 and looked at my watch and thought, uh oh... my alarm's not going to go off. Then it did. I ate my two pieces of peanut butter toast and flew out the door trying not to make my sleeping beauty.
I drove up to the dike. 22 degrees on the drive up, which was by far the coldest its been this year so far. I had gotten a few pictures of does and fawns and few yearling bucks, but nothing showed their face. I sat from about 6:25 until 8:45am. I saw nothing. My toes were numb.
I drove to the refuge and checked my camera. There was a few pictures. Seems the activity is picking up finally. There was a 2 year old that visited and worked the scrape, the hind end of a deer the evening before (thursday night), and the 2 year old 8 point and his sidekick were in the shack field at the hill at about 6:30 (about 45 minutes before dark).
As I was driving back from the scrape I saw two spike bucks cross the road at about 10:25am. So they were moving a little later. I think because the frost was so hard, it was crunchy until about 9:30am. I don't think they liked that much. It was a south wind.
I drove along the East West road by the hill looking for fresh tracks and there were quite a few. I crossed the ditch and found a decent spot to try hanging my wildview, we'll see if Wide Web or some of the others make their way through there.
The temperatures are supposed to stay chilly, and there's a little blanket of snow on the ground. I'm sure something would've hit those scrapes last night. I can't wait to check them, but I need to not 'overcheck' them.

10.5 months later

I must've really lost the ambition after missing those last two bucks in Alberta last year.
The year finished out alright. More close calls. So many almosts I shot at a buck the following day and grazed right under his armpit. He was a very respectable 140" 8point. I just jerked the trigger I think. There was a tiny bit of white hair cut and laying on the ground where he stood. Unbelievable. Anyway, I flew back home and tried muzzleloading a bit. Rattled up two bucks that came right up behind me in the ground blind and winded me. Just my luck. Whatever. So it was tag soup for me and Stephanie in 2008.
On to 2009.
This has been the year of mineral sites. We've got plenty of pictures of nice bucks in the late spring/early summer, but since the third week of June, all but two bucks have disappeared. I only got one day's pictures in July of the other two. One is Hanger, a buck we've known about for two years now, and his sidekick Crazy 8. Both are in the 130s. Both would make beautiful european mounts.
I have four cuddeback captures and one wildveiw camera. I got pictures of a nice 10 or 11 point, but he's not on property I have permission to hunt. I've tried to shift some cameras around between the refuge and the hill, but it's just been 2 and 3 year old bucks this August/September.
The biggest bucks we've seen lately have been after dark while shining.
I'm beginning to right again so I can track some of the happenings in the whitetail woods this fall. I'm trying to find correlations between the last two years and this year and so far, nothing correlates. But, it's October 8th, and the Mini-Rut is about to swing in. I am just going to bet that I'll see some increases in pre-rut activity in the next week and a half.
The new moon was on Oct 11/Nov 9/Dec 9 in 2007. In 2008, it was on Sept 29/Oct 28/Nov 27/Dec 27. This year it falls on Sept 18/Oct 18/Nov 16/Dec 16. In 2007, I shot my 5 1/2 year old 144" gross buck on Oct 13th - two days after the new moon and the deer activity that night was intense. There were deer all over in the fields before dark, which isn't too common on those roads that see a bunch of hunting pressure. If there is any correlation between rut/deer activity and the moon phase, this year is about a week behind the moon phases of 2007. I know that photoperiodism (or the shortening of light in the day) is really what consistently triggers most whitetail changes including the rut, but there have to be other secondary triggers. Those are what I am trying to figure out.
Tuesday night the 6th of October I was driving home after an evening sit and I was shining in some fields. It was 8:10 pm and there were three bucks crossing a bean field in front of me. They had to have been on their feet before last light. Either that or they aren't bedding too far from the road, which is also possible.
As we have more and more nights of frost, the natural forage in the woods will die off. The deer will be forced to feed a little more in the open. This should happen in the next week or two - overlapping the new moon (the darkest nights possible).
October 16, 17, 18, & 19 have the closest sunrise - moonrise/sunset - moonset overlap throughout the month, with the very closest being on the 17th - the day of the new moon. This only means that the moon will be at it's peak at around the same time the sun is at it's peak. I've read articles that infer that this has a sort of 'pull' or 'pressure' and that it provokes animal activity. We'll see about that.
I'm trying to monitor a little more closely the weather also. That tuesday night, the barometric pressure was dropping from 30. somethin on monday to 29.52 on wednesday. I don't know if that is significant yet, but we'll see if I can more parallels.
Hopefully this blog will help me remember the details.