First Sheds of the Year - Now Just To Find Them!

Joe and I went out with the bows yesterday afternoon and before I got settled in I decided to check the trail camera I had out there. After several does, fawns and yearling bucks, I got two pictures of a buck that had shed both sides! I'm almost positive that it's a buck I nicknamed Whitey. In the picture, he's leaving a field and coming back through the swamp. His pedicles are still pink, so I'm lead to believe that his antlers are just out in the field behind him less than a couple hundred yards. The funny part is that the first time I laid eyes on this buck, he was out in this same field. I got pictures of him west a mile, south east about 3/4 mile, and now here he is again. It would be very interesting to see what his antlers score. I'm sure they're around 52 and 48 or so. He was a very aggressive buck this late summer. There were bucks that were four and five and they were all shying away from this big bodied three year old. I'm pretty sure he is three because of his short main beams. He's a very stocky deer and should grow into something good next year. I gotta scoop up those antlers. I also got another picture of Contender and one of another buck I had pictures of late summer, but haven't seen until this month. I'll give him until next year to name himself.

I also was able to get out to the camera that's been on the creek. My hopes were high and when I opened the lid and saw that the batteries weren't dead after 18 days, my hopes were even higher. I rifled through the 50 some pictures on there only to see 1 yearling buck and a coyote and everything else does and fawns. Needless to say, I moved that camera. I also made it northwest of the bus with the snowmobile and checked that camera. Those batteries died on the 15th. I debated leaving that one, but I figured I'd bring it back in a week or two. It was good to see a few pictures of Contender and I also got some pics of the buck I let walk on the 18th of November. I'm glad I did. He wouldn't score more than 105. He's got nice potential. He has a big body, but I can't see how he's more than 2 years old. Here they are:

Soybeans

Deer need food. Nothing complex about that. This time of year, it's surprisingly easy to get pictures of deer and/or bucks I've been looking for all season by finding the best food source. There is a bit of myth to be busted regarding 'food sources' though. Not every buck is going to choose an agricultural food source over their own survival. Last winter at this time, we were getting amazing pictures around some grain bins with spilled soybeans. However, the bigger bucks were only coming through for an hour or so once every week or every couple nights. Not consistent. The only thing that made sense at first was that there was a bit of 'second rut' activity going on. There were a few bucks who would pass right through and only give you that one picture every two to three weeks. Obviously they weren't as concerned with the food.

This year, I've pin-pointed the best three food sources - all agricultural remnants. I've set up five of my six Cuddebacks on the heaviest trails I can find heading to these sources. Even if I don't get any 'new' bucks, I'm hoping to get better pictures of a few of the ones I already know about. I only have one instance of a buck I'm pretty sure is Mr. 140, but I really don't feel 100% confident that it's him. I would also like to get a picture or two of Skyscraper out of velvet. That has yet to happen this year. Those really are my two goals. Beyond that, I would be fit to be tied if I could confirm if The Clown or WideWeb were still alive. Boy would that be something to see. An in-law of a neighboring hunter said he saw a monster at a half mile opening morning of rifle season. He was sitting up on the west end of the swamp, along the border. WideWeb? Anyway, I'm starting to get some pictures of some bucks I really haven't seen much of since late summer. Pretty neat. I just replaced a bunch of batteries, so hopefully I can keep my cameras out until New Years.

Black & Blue

I went up to the hill to do a few things and as I was hopping down from my endgate on my truck, my left foot (my first foot to hit the ground) landed on the slope of a track in the snow. I don't know if it was a truck track or a snowmobile track or what, but it was very uneven and I rolled my ankle hard. I came down with all my weight (and then some) and folded right to the ground. I heard my ankle pop or crunch. I rolled around in pain for a minute or two and then I told myself to get up and see if it's broken (which I immediately thought it was). I stood on my good foot for about a minute before I tried to put any weight on my left. Slowly I was able to put weight on it. I knew that it was a matter of time before it would swell and that if I was going to finish my project, I needed to get right back to it. That was friday.

Today, tuesday, I can walk on it without too much pain. I limp a little and I've been trying to ice it in bed.

Besides that depressing story, I still managed to check two cameras that were close to the main road. I was pleased to see some pictures of Scabby 10. He's a beautiful deer. Last year he was a marginal heavy 8 point that would've net somewhere around 120. This year he should net around 130. He's got a tiny bit more mass, he's got longer beams, and he added some G4s. His 3s might be a half inch shorter, but he makes up for it all around. He's very dark this year, which suggests at least 4, maybe 5 years old.

I also got pictures of the Pencil 7, which is now a 6! he broke of his left G3 completely. I got another picture of the little buck I'm going to call The Mouse. He's got 8 legal points, but wanted to be a 10 with double split brows. Next year he'll probably be that 12 point 120 as a 3 year old. If he makes it to 4, He just might be 150.

I'm hoping to check and move some cameras on thursday but for sure by the weekend.

December's Off and Running (Sit # 26)

Well, on my sister's birthday I headed out to check a few cameras and try to kill a doe. I got a few decent pictures (one more of Bullwinkle) along the creek, but they sure are slowing down. I put a camera along John's farmyard on the 16th of November and since then I've missed 4 big bodied deer. All I'm getting are their butts. Of course this is a trigger speed issue and I completely blame my one and only Wildview camera. The more unbelievable part is that I put up a Cuddeback only 100-150 ft away and wasn't getting any of these deer at all. I trust my Cuddeback completely, but this does go to show how setting a trail camera in a 'good location' can only give you so many predictable deer pictures. Deer are not predictable 100% of the time. Camera scouting is a game of percentages, predictions, and possibilities. I can't stand when I walk up towards my camera in the snow only to watch the deer tracks walk directly behind my camera or cross the trail just 50 yards wide of the camera. Thinking back over the years, if I knew some of the deer that I just missed, I think I would be sick to my stomach.

Anyway, we're definitely post-rut, with a sprinkling of second rut about to begin in 4 days to a week from now. Food is now the top priority and since we've had a lot of snow early, the deer are getting a little desperate to find good browse. I moved a few cameras to try to capitalize on this desperation. I'm thinking December will bring out some good photos.

I sat from about 3:25pm to 5:05pm and I froze. It was zero when I got back to the cabin. I was a bit surprised that I didn't see anything. Almost every day there has been does and fawns walking right by that stand - just like last year. The times I choose to sit... nothing. Maybe I stink.

November's End

In order to wrap up November, I'll need to do some sort of montage that flashes over all the nice bucks that were taken around the county. However, where we hunt, I don't think anything over 3 1/2 was shot. The buck that mom found her first set of sheds to got killed less than a quarter mile from us. He was a respectable buck. I'd like to see him up close. A neighboring hunter shot and missed Splitbrow. Wheew. What a relief. I hope he stays nocturnal until after muzzleloader. Another neighbor shot a 9 point, but he said it wasn't anything that big. I'll just have to see for myself.

The rut was slow at first, and again from like the 6-10th we had south winds of some kind and warm temps. I saw four deer opening morning and that was about it. The deer were out there, it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Then on the 18th we got a bunch of snow. That put a damper on what foods were being used the most. Since then, we've gotten about 6-10 inches of snow. The deer have started to move around though. I want to move my cameras, but it's right in the middle of muzzleloader season right now and it's not an ideal time to be driving a snowmobile or anything else around for that matter. There's too much snow to drive my truck out in the fields, but it's not quite froze up solid enough to trust taking a snowmobile around in the swamp. So I guess my cameras will sit where they are for another couple weeks. Maybe by the tail end of muzzleloader it'll be better conditions to move cameras. In order to get the cameras close to the food, I need to not have too many people around. I don't want any cameras stolen.

If some of these deer can make it through the muzzle season, we'll be in for another great year of big bucks next season. It's been so fun to watch these deer grow up and mature. It all started in 2006 and 2011 season will be great to see the youngest ones reach 4 and 5 years old.

I still need to shoot a doe with my bow. I will succeed.

"Buck Down"

My 100th post is of a dead deer. How great is that! We got pounded with snow on the afternoon of the 18th and into the 19th (Thursday and Friday). I was planning on hunting the 19th and 20th with the bow northwest of the bus, but on the 19th I decided to just check cameras and head back home and go for a drive with dad. We were hunting the second week of rifle season and although the weather was brutal, we decided to go for a drive. Not thinking we would be getting out of the truck, I didn't dress very well. We had 25 mph winds and temps in the low teens. Windchill was around -5 degrees. We came across a good looking place and I decided that one of us needed to face the brutal cold. I bundled up as best I could and walked across this field. It was about 4:00 and I didn't know if I could even make it until dark. My fingers started to freeze and my face was getting whipped. After about 20 minutes, I saw a deer poke out and I quick examined it. It was a buck. It looked to be a decent buck too. I saw lighter colored main beam and at least 8 points coming off. I had to make a quick decision and I decide to end my season for bucks. I clicked off the safety and as the buck got within 175 yards he stopped. I held where his neck met his front shoulder. The wind was pushing so hard that I hit him low and forward. I threw in another shell and eventually put the buck down before he made it to the woods. I text dad in the truck - "buck down". I headed back to the truck and we were able to drive right to the deer. Super simple, season just about over. He looked to be a very healthy two year old, which was a little disappointing, but I'll take it. When he first came out, he looked like a bigger bodied deer so I figured he was three or so and would score about 115. He'll end up around 100 inches, which is something I'm trying to get away from shooting, but at least we have a full freezer. It was very exciting. Now, I just need to kill a doe with my bow. So far, there have been zero does registered for Streiffs Big Buck/Big Doe Archery contest. Top prize is a Cuddeback IR package.

Sit # 25 - Short Sit

I went out to retrieve my ground blind on Thursday. I put it up in the end of June (so the deer would get used to it). Haha. I never sat in it once. It was always a decent option, but it was in an island woods so basically the deer had to be bedded in there. However, the other morning after that buck ran by me, he ran north and into that island in the middle of the morning. So it's not out of the question that a deer can and will run in there in daylight, but they've got to have a reason to do so. I've still got my cameras up, I'm still trying to pattern this mature buck's movements before, during and after the rut, and I'm still trying to locate any new bucks in the area. I've got most of them I believe, but at the same time, it would be foolish to think that I could ever achieve 100% inventory.

After reading Bill Winke's blog about the poor rut, I'd have to say it hasn't been that bad up here. It seems to me that we had good pre-rut, nudging, not-so-much chasing, then the lock-down, then the cruising on the backslope of the peak of breading. I've noticed all the stages up north, although that doesn't mean that I'll be face to face with a rutting buck from my tree stand. The rut doesn't happen on our watch. After like the 20th of September, there is more dark than there is light in a 24 hour day. Tell me you don't think they're getting most of their business done in the dark and coolness of night. I've seen plenty of rubs, plenty of scrapes, and plenty of trail camera pictures of mature deer. They're moving. It's just during night. We've got too much hunting pressure up north and so this is just the reality. It's the odd buck that you encounter in daylight that you can get a shot at. To have an encounter with a shooter in bow range is a rarity in and of itself. I had four encounters this archery season. I was lucky. I only got to shoot once and I missed low. Bummer. The buck I believe I missed was a deer we've nicknamed Splitbrow. I'm glad I missed, because next year, he could be a real dandy. I also heard he got grazed by a rifle bullet. Lucky deer.

Sit # 24 - Swirling Winds

I attempted to get back on the creek that same Tuesday evening. As I left my truck, I saw three deer out feeding in the middle of the day and I was worried that I would spook them. It was interesting for a few reasons. They were so involved in their feeding that they really didn't care that I was there. That tells me that these deer were hungry. They were probably does that had just been bred and it had been a while since they weren't being constantly harassed. The other noteworthy thing is that it is the Full Moon, which traditionally means midday feeding. I sat all night with my hopes through the ceiling, but I saw zero deer. I need to stay aggressive, even in these cold temperatures that are coming. Highs in the teens? Sheesh! Tomorrow (Friday) morning is supposed to be 5 degrees without the wind. Pray for me.

Sit # 23 - Rut Action

So after getting all those great pictures by the creek, I decided I need to be in there. The wind was from the south, which was not the best, but a person needs to get aggressive at some point during the rut. I got set up without making too much racket and I was quiet and settled by 6:38am. I sat and saw nothing. And then nothing. 9:00 rolled around and I was getting a little cold. I didn't know how much longer I could sit. I figured it out that since I had a meeting at 11, I could only sit until 9:45, so I was determined to do so. At about 9:20, I looked to the east along the field edge and I spotted a deer halfway out of the woods. All I had for optics was my rangefinder. At 200 yards, I could tell that it was a decent buck. I could see mainbeams and a 17" inside spread. I thought that it might be Bullwinkle, so I grabbed the camera and tried to shoot what I could of him working his way down the field edge directly toward me. So he's coming east to west along the north side of this woodline and it didn't make sense till later. He was just scent-checking the little woods. We had a south wind and so anything in that woods, he would find out about it fairly quickly. He shortly disappeared back into the woods, but I figured he would be still heading my way. I flipped the camera around and got it into position for him to come right in front of me. After what seemed like forever, he finally broke a limb and I knew he was close. I hit record and took my bow off the hanger. Suddenly I looked behind my tree and sure enough he came out into the corner of the field. When I got a good look at him and decide that he wasn't in fact a shooter, I hung my bow back up and put the camera back on him as fast as I could. Trying to get video footage by yourself is not easy. If that was a bigger buck, I don't know if I would've had time to change the angle of the camera. When I first got that glimpse of himbehind my tree, he was at about 25 yards, but by the time I got the camera on him he was already at about 35 yards. Tricky stuff. Anyway, I got some good footage of him - enough to know he was probably a 3 year old (maybe a 2 year old), but just not what I was hoping to end my season with. It was an awesome encounter. Just not the right deer.

We're on the backslope of the rut and these bucks are looking for the last does to be bred this cycle. This is a good thing actually, because it means they're on their feet in the daylight. Friday is a west switching to northwest wind and I'm hoping to sit all day if I can.

Jackpot!

I was going to hunt Monday morning, but when my alarm went off, I checked the laundry and was all still damp. So, I crawled back under the covers. I got up about 9 and went out in the country to bring the stand back out to the creek and check a couple cameras. I pulled the card by the creek and there were 39 pictures on it. I hoped for at least 1 picture of Curly and 1 picture of Skyscraper out of velvet. I got like 8 pictures of Curly and out of nowhere appeared a buck we call Bullwinkle. I got two pictures of Bullwinkle and he looks OLD! Last year I thought he was a four year old. Looking at this year's pictures I think I was mistaken. This year he looks 6 if not 7 years old. He gained in his mass, his G4s got a bit longer, his left G2 shrank a bit, but overall he probably put on 15 maybe 20 inches. He should net somewhere between 125 and 130. Not great for an older buck, but definitely one that should get shot. There were a few other bucks on the camera. The only other one worth mentioning was a young 10 point. He could be the next 150 inch 4 year old. He looks awesome and I can't tell if he's two or three. Anyway, that camera really came through for me unlike my bonehead move up NW of the bus. Idiot. The scrapes are tore open, the rubs are appearing daily, the rut is in full swing! Time to get back out there.

Rifle Season - Day 9 (The Last Day)

Growing up as a rifle hunter, I thought that my only chance to shoot a buck was during those 9 days and the closer we got to the 2nd Sunday, the more pressure I felt to shoot something. Now that archery has trumped gun season for me, I feel a lot of pressure alleviated. As I've learned more and more about deer behavior and rut activity, let alone the rut as we understand it up where we hunt, I've gotten more and more excited to bowhunt the weeks right prior to and right after the 9 day gun season. There is so much pressure that comes out of nowhere for these deer in those 9 days, that it becomes much more understandable why hunters don't shoot more mature deer up there. The week before has some sprinklings of rut activity and the week after has the peak of the rut and some amazing encounters in store for the person who weathers the colder weather. All that to say, rifle season ending isn't such a bad thing anymore.

Sunday morning, we lead worship in church. So afterwards, we had lunch with Gavin, who was home, and then headed north. I decided to sit in the same tree NW of the bus. Still saw nothing, but that spot still intrigues me. That wrapped up the 2010 rifle season where we hunt. If I want to, I can still hunt with the rifle until the 21st of November over on the east side of 310. I probably won't. We didn't see too many deer. Mom shot a yearling 8 point. I'll try not to make her feel guilty for it. Just another misunderstanding.

Rifle Season - Day 8

Second-to-last day. Saturday the 13th found me testing the S/SW wind again down past the landing. Stupid. I finally realized that I was only hunting this spot out of stubbornness and out of past results. The dynamics of deer activity is not the same from year to year. At best there are annual trends, with variables such as feed and pressure changing constantly. I needed to adapt.

This would give me an excuse with the wind changing to WNW to go NW of the bus and check my camera that had been out for 9 days. Primo spot.

I get to the camera at about 2:30pm and open it up with anticipation dripping off my brow. Dead. I thought, oh dang, the batteries died.Nope. I looked and the dial toggle switch is turned to OFF. What? Did someone mess with it? Oh I was ticked. I pulled the memory card and checked it and there were no images of anyone else. Just me standing there on the 4th of November. Who knows what I missed! That made me so mad. I text dad and steph that the camera was in the 'OFF' position for 9 days and they both were sympathetic.

Back to hunting. I sat until dark and didn't see any deer. My hopes were high for that spot. They still are.

Rifle Season - Day 7

Friday, November 12th felt like a good day. I woke up and decided I was on a mission to kill a doe.I ventured back down to my permanent stand and five minutes before legal light, a lone smaller deer hopped across the strip. Either a lone fawn or maybe a yearling buck or doe. Regardless, it didn't give me any time to steady the crosshairs.

Dad and I went into town just after lunch and got the paper and a couple groceries then we were back out to The Hill. I realized I hadn't sat SE of the landing in an evening hunt - so I tried that. No deer. Something just wasn't right. That concluded day 7.

Mom shot a yearling buck at about 4:30pm.

Rifle Season - Day 6

Day 5 would've been Wednesday, which is an all-day work day for me at the church so there was no hunting that day. So Day 6 would be Thursday. Thursday morning found me driving up to The Hill early and sitting in the same tree SE of the landing. I didn't see one deer. That spot was beginning to frustrate me beyond all belief. It wasn't terribly far from the best feeding area around, and I had been seeing dozens of does out there each night. Something wasn't making sense. Either the deer weren't coming very far off the fields to be, or they were going west of me. I think the answer was both. In the afternoon, I decided to head out to my permanent stand. I thought, why not. I sat and right at last light a fawn snuck up to within 50 feet and started to blow. Her mom was behind her in the woods a ways and they both took off. Missed chance. At least I saw/heard something, right?

Rifle Season - Day 4

Tuesday morning, November 9th. Again, with a southwest wind, I sat SE of the landing. I brought my bow and my rifle with. Last night, I went to go check a camera over a scrape and on my way back to the cabin I flashed the spotlight out at the field that's held the most deer. Lots of does and fawns and then all of a sudden, 50 yards from the road, there stood Mr. 140! He looked heavy and dark and ready to go with his tarsals super stained. So this morning, I thought that dad and I would both have a legitimate chance at him. I sat until 9:25 and saw nothing. On my way home dad text me and said he had a smaller 8 point and a doe right in front of him. Things are picking up.We're supposed to get rain tomorrow night by about 9pm. The wind is also supposed to pick up to nearly 20mph. After that, the wind is supposed to switch up to the NW by Friday morning. Then North, then NE, then ESE again for Saturday. Should be interesting.

Here's motivation to keep my but out there:

Rifle Season - Day 3

Monday, the 8th of November started off positive because it was cold. I was certain I was going to be seeing some deer as I had an absolutely perfect wind - still out of the SE. Well by the time 10am rolled around it had drastically warmed up. I thought to myself that this was pointless and So I text dad and suggested we move some ladder stands around. I got back tot he cabin and learned that he had been driving around all morning. He saw a couple deer out by the Refuge and came back to The Hill. He and I put together a plan and took the wheeler down to the shackfield and took down the ladder stand I put on the north end. We brought it southwest of the corner about 175 yards. It kept getting warmer as the day went on. We sat around and talked with Steph and the three of us decided to take a drive around the country. We met up with Randy and Justin @ the DNR headquarters as they were registering a couple deer. The buck looked to be a three year old 8 point with very short brows. maybe 105". Glad he's dead. The other was an old doe. She had the most wore-down teeth I'd ever seen on a deer. She must've been at least 5 or 6. We only saw one lone deer on John's field. No shots fired, not bloody hands.

Rifle Season - Day 2

Well, Saturday night Steph and I drove back to town to stay the night in order to get up for church in the morning. I played drums for the worship team and then did special music. We also had to shoot some engagement photos, which went really well and then we were packed up and off for The Hill again. We decided to sit in the same makeshift ground blind in case a doe poked her head out. Nothing. It was a fairly uneventful evening. I checked the scrape by the cabin and there were two new young bucks on the camera, but nothing worth posting a picture of. Mom saw a fork and a doe around 7:15 or so in the morning.

Rifle Season - Day 1

I got up to the sound of pots and pans being banged around. Usually that would be an annoying sound, but this week, it means good breakfast, which leads to Deer Season. Mom, Dad, and I ate and got ready. I drove and parked at the landing and walked southeast. I got to my tree at 7:19 and was finally settled by 7:36am. Remember now, daylight savings hadn't kicked in so I was in there before light. The wind was perfect. It was just cracking light (7:50 or so) and I heard the all-too familiar sound of a twig snapping to my southeast. Perfect. As it got louder and louder, I could tell it was more than one deer. More perfect. I thought for sure it was going to be a buck behind a doe. I saw the first deer poke out and sure enough, it was a doe. Here comes the second deer. Doe. Pretty soon I realized there were three deer...then four deer. A doe, her yearling, and a doe and a fawn. They came right to the base of my tree. The four deer sniffed around - one even walked my back trail coming in for about five minutes. One of them got a little figidy and jumped once or twice, but she never blew. They slipped through my area and that gave me great confidence. I know that three of those deer will come into heat in the next week or so.Things will heat up. I sat until about 10am and got down. I walked a little ways up the trail they came in on and sprayed some 'Scrapemaster' juice on some twigs and on the ground. Hopefully if anything comes by throughout the night, they'll get a whiff and come back through. I'll sit there monday morning.

That afternoon Steph came up and we ate some food in the cabin and went to go sit in a homemade ground blind between the gravel pits. I walked through there just before I went in for lunch and there were rubs everywhere. The wind was perfect, we just didn't see any deer.

Mom and dad sat all day and neither of them saw a deer. Dad saw a fox. Zach Johnson let a little basket 8 go. I was proud of him.

We've got church this morning and then some engagment photos, but then it's back out there. we'll see where I end up. Southeast wind.

Sit # 22 - Close Call

On November 1st, I got a picture of a really nice 8 point at a scrape. These scrapes have been worked and reworked each year for at least two years now. So this year, I decided to place a camera there. So far, so good. This buck posed on the 1st (Monday morning) at around 8:30 am - well into good shooting light. He didn't stick around long but one picture was good enough to see that he knew where that scrape was. I got a NW wind like I was hoping yesterday (4th) morning, so I drove up there and walked upwind to the scrape. As I got about 100 yards from it, I took my time testing the wind to see which side of this trail I should get off on. I was going to sit on the ground on a stool and I wanted to hunt this main trail going to and from the scrape. Seemed too easy.

Sure enough at about 7:30 I heard a twig snap - and then another. All of a sudden a huge commotion erupted as I heard a deer chasing another one and all at once he belches this huge growl at the doe. I was facing pretty much straight north and they were to my left or to the west of me, headed slightly behind me. I think the doe caught my wind and began to blow three or four times. I got nervous and saw the buck leap two times or so away and to the north. I reached in my pocket and grabbed the Primos Can Call and flipped it quickly. The buck snort-wheezed at me and then slowly worked his way up to the scrape. He came into the scrape from the west side and through the low light I saw my flash go off through the willows. So close! I got three pictures of him. I got into position assuming he was going to now take the trail I was set up on to get back with his doe. Nope. He went back around to my west and eventually I heard nothing. Silence. I sat there after hearing nothing for another half hour. I got up quietly and kept my arrow nocked and walked up to the scrape to see the pictures of what buck this was. I thought it might be one of a few bucks, with the possibility of an unknown buck. Sure enough it was this big 8 I got the one picture of on the 1st. He gave me three nice photos to try to piece the puzzle together. Unfortunately, this is a puzzle that I won't be attempting to solve until after rifle season... if he survives.

I walked back to my truck and was packing up my stuff when I looked to the south and there on the shoulder of the road was a big bodied deer. I scrambled for my binoculars but as I got them in my hands he darted down the ditch to the east. Gone. A little more the puzzle.

Afterwards, I checked some cameras, moved some cameras, and moved a stand. I should be fairly well-situated for the opening of rifle season tomorrow morning. It's crazy that it's here already. Bow hunting was awesome this year. We got to see lots of good bucks and even have some close encounters while in tree. If I get the opportunity, I will be shooting something in the 120 and up range. I need the deer to be four years old. That is my personal management strategy. I also need to buy a bonus tag and shoot a doe. Done and done.

Sit # 21 - Perfect Wind

With the new moon approaching and the rut just around the corner, I thought no better place to hunt the strong southwest wind than back along the creek. Boy was I wrong! I got in there quietly, the wind was absolutely perfect for deer to come from the SE or the NW. Nothing. I set up a camera right in the corner of the field. This spring there was a scrape under every tree - or so it seemed. I just know it's a matter of time before these bucks take their 'excursions' and I know they travel along the creek. So we should have some interesting pictures before the 20th of November. Other than having a very quite sit, I switched some cameras and put them on top of the hill by the cabin to get some more clear and accurate pictures of bucks working those scrapes.

My strategy for the rifle season is this: get in to the middle of human activity. I have a place I'd like to move one of the cameras tomorrow that had a ton of rut sign this spring also. It looked to be a good place for bucks to run does around well out of sight or sound. It's on the fringe of the swamp so it could be very interesting what comes through there once these does start to come into heat. Mostly it's important to find the doe clusters and hunt in between them, which I've got a great set up for that. Same place I killed Crazy 8 last year.

The bucks should be working the scrapes fairly religiously right now, but it's just a matter of finding the scrapes that are closest to buck activity. My hopes are still high for what may come through my sites this season.

Sit # 20 - November Underway

I'm back home again after a fun weekend down in the cities/Red Wing. Meanwhile, my buddy Joe came home to try to do some hunting. He woke up early and met me in Roseau and we headed out to the creek. We didn't see anything, but the biggest reason was what we saw the night before. The night before, dad and I cruised around with the spotlight. We didn't see too many bucks, but we did see about 4 nice ones. We saw an unknown buck west of Sheldon Rice's. We saw another unknown buck west of the three corner south of the dike. Then we came up near Dokken's and saw a big buck running out into the stubble wheat with some does. My immediate thought was that it must be Skyscraper again, but it wasn't. As he turned his head, I saw all the stickers... CURLY! So, we get to put another dot on the map for him. He was only a half mile from the stand by the creek. Did we see him? No.

Finally as we drove the east/west road we saw a buck I named Chippy - A really nice and high 3 year old. Great potential for height. This deer wasn't much to speak of as a yearling or a 2 year old, but now we're starting to see some of his potential.

It was fun just to get out with dad. I probably haven't been shining with him for at least 5 years, maybe more. Things are looking good for 2010.

Sit # 19 - Whitewater Part 2

Baby Andrea's sleep cycle was a little off in comparison to the proper rest required to hunt the morning, so we opted to sleep in again and do some walking/scouting in the morning - so that Donny wouldn't be nodding off in the tree. We walked a couple bluffs - one was called Melcher's Bluff and we named the one to the north the Farmer's bluff. The Farmer's bluff was cool because you had to cross private land to get to it, which he granted us in the form of a $2.00 fee. Piece of cake! So we walked around saw some more good sign, and picked out a couple spots to sit. I was headed out to stand at about 1:30pm. Very early, but it was probably necessary because as I was trying to get my stand up in this big cottonwood, I quickly learned that the diameter of the tree was greater than the length of the strap which was to hold the stand in place. Needless to say, I needed a different tree. Luckily this monster cottonwood was a cluster of three big trees and the strap fit around the smallest trunk. I cleared a few shooting lanes and in the middle of all my commotion, I heard a noise walking through the corn and I looked only to see another hunter walking right past me. Great. I watched him climb up his tree and settle in. That evening at about 4:30 I saw a turkey. Then around 4:40 I had a doe appear out of nowhere at about 35 yards. I could've shot her at about 30, but I didn't want to go through the whole ritual that evening of butchering. I saw a bunch more turkeys that night but no deer. Donny saw one doe as well. Just not a lot of daytime activity - mostly due to the pressure, possibly the shrinking moon, or they're just resting before it all breaks loose here any day. It was a great trip and I learned a lot about a different style of hunting. Next time we'll take a bit more aggressive approach to Whitewater.

Sit #18 Whitewater!

So Steph and I went down to see the Minnesota Wild play the Washington Capitals (and Alexander Ovechkin). The Wild won 2-1 and Ovechkin scored the Capitals only goal. Very good time. After that, we drove down to Red Wing to stay with Donny, Tara, and the peanut (Andrea). The baby was up crying for a while so we slept in a bit and ventured down to Whitewater in the later morning. We picked out our spots to hunt the south wind and things looked incredible. I had a scrape to my left and a scrape to my right. Not to mention a plethora of rubs within sight. This set up was incredible. My scent and my thermals were falling downhill behind me and the deer were going to come right to me! All that was great to imagine in daylight, but the truth of the matter I learned is that this pristine public land is hit just as hard or harder than any public land around - not just because it's close to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, but because it's managed for herd health and habitat. There are almost 21,000 acres of public land with the majority being bluffs, bottoms, ravines, draws, and some places that most people wouldn't even think of hunting. On the tops of these bluffs we found corn, alfalfa, clover, soybeans, monster oak trees, apple trees, you name it...If you tried to construct a 'perfect deer habitat' this was it - except it gets too much pressure. If I ever go back to hunt there with the bow, shotgun, or muzzleloader, I will be attempting to hunt the botttoms or somewhere inside the pressure.

My first sit produced nothing but a whole lot of anticipation. Donny hung a stand and left it out there for next time.

Sit # 17 - Heartache

This season has been full of disappointments so far, except for Steph's buck. That was great. I shot a doe and couldn't find her (low shot)... we saw a nice buck at about 60 yards, and now I had an opportunity and blew it. So here's what happened:

I finally got a SE wind and was going to hunt the spot we've gotten great buck pictures so far in the last two years' pre-ruts. This year, the deer (bucks included) have been traveling this logging road east to west in the mornings, and west to east in the evenings. Fairly simple. So, my best bet is to sneak in with an east wind (SE or NE works too) in the morning and wait to see what comes my way. So Monday morning finally brings that ESE wind I'm craving. I get set up and it's off and on misting. Loved it. I was hearing deer behind me in the brush and I heard a fawn bleat, too. At about 7:40am, I hear the unmistakable sound of a twig snap. I reach for my bow and I patiently wait to see what it is. It's a buck. It's a pretty nice buck. The light wasn't the best yet, so I couldn't get as specific as I'd like to. The buck came out at about 50 yards and got to about 37 and got behind the only two trees between me and him. I was standing and waiting.

My knees were weak and my breathing was chaotic. At some point in those two or three minutes he froze there, I figured out that he must've got my wind. While he was behind those trees I was able to range him at 35 yards.He turned to his left and it looked to me like he wasn't feelin' too good about the layout or the wind or something. I figured this was my only chance and as he stepped out from behind the tree I drew back and grunted at him. He froze and looked my way. I had to duck down a little bit because the one limb between us prevented me from a perfectly relaxed shot. I rolled off a shot and watched my Tracer zip through the morning mist and it sounded and looked like I buried it in him. He ran off and about 11 seconds after the 'hit' I heard a loud crash. I thought for sure I smoked him. Then I heard a deer blow several times. Was there two deer? Or had I missed?

I got down to look for my arrow and I found the Tracer blinking under the leaves - pretty cool. I pulled it out and as best I could tell there was zero blood on it, not one hair on it, it didn't smell, it looked like a clean miss. I had to have missed low. At this point I can feel the emotional scales tip towards the 'what in the world happened' side. I was dumbfounded. I still am to some extent. After my next sit there, I think I might look for the deer again. I might listen for birds and just watch video a few more times.

I'm not positive which deer it was, but my best guess from the few seconds I saw him, I would say he looked most like Splitbrow - a four year old that'll push 120 gross. Nothing fabulous, but would've been a great bow buck.

After the shot, I reviewed the footage on the camera, but I was zoomed way to far out to tell anything. I barely had time to turn the camera on the way it was. He came right in and there was no trees blocking me from him.

Anyway, after I waited about 25 minutes, I climbed down and checked the trail camera that was right there and got a picture of Scabby 10 out of velvet. He's a big bodied deer. He's either 4 or 5 this year. It would be great if he was 4, but I think he's 5.

Sit # 16 - Joe's Turn

Sunday afternoon I drove over to my good buddy Joe's house and picked him up for an attempt at a good doe. He hadn't been out in the tree all season yet and so I was happy to try set him up. We sat in a great spot; the same spot Steph and I saw a buck she named 'Mystery', and the same spot she killed her first deer with the bow the very next day. Almost every single time we sat in that 'nook', we saw a couple deer. The night with Joe was no exception. There was a front moving in and we were seeing deer out in the fields feeding at 3:00pm! We got situated about 4:15 and put in a good two and a half hour sit. At about 5 o'clock, we had three yearling bucks come out across the opening. The first one made his way straight to us and walked right through the shooting lane at 25 yards. He eventually got past us enough to get our scent and took off running. The other two bucks were still all the way at the other end of the clearing and once the first buck took off, they bolted to the east/southeast. We got just a little bit of video of them, but all in all, it was a fun sit. No does. No blood.

Sit # 15 - Runnin' Late

I got off of work on Friday the 22nd at about 4:05pm and I thought I might have just enough time to try make it up to the stand I have up NW of the bus. Well, I made it up there, but not without issues. I brought along reflective thumbtacks and was putting those up as I fell down and spilled all 50 or so on to the mossy swamp grass hump I was on. After picking up about 3/4 of them,I kept on heading in the right direction. I got up in the tree and was finally settled about 5:30pm. I sat until 6:50pm and I couldn't see a worth anything. I climbed down and marked any more trees on the way back that I thought might make my trek easier next time. All of a sudden, I sank down into a whole. Up to my knee! I got home and checked the memory card I pulled from up there for 4 or 5 days. 59 pictures. My hopes were really high as I put the card in the reader on the computer. The first 45 or more were pictures of the grass moving in the wind. Suck. Next was two pictures of a timberwolf. Then finally a doe that stood there sniffing the wolf for about 10 minutes. All in all it was reasonably disappointing evening. There's still hope for that spot towards halloween.

Sit #14 - Doe City

I sat this morning on the creek again and had a doe and a fawn skirt around me at about 35-40 yards without offering me a shot because they were behind a bunch of willows. They were moving pretty quickly too. Not sure what that was about, but I was on full alert to their backtrail. Then about 5-10 minutes later (about 8:30), I had another four slickheads come though. I think it was a doe and a fawn, and a doe and her yearling. At this point I'm thinking, come on big boy! Nothing. These deer took the same trail that skirted me wide without a shot. They started getting all figidy. I don't think they got my wind, because it was right in my face. There's a chance one of the first ones busted me trying to video the last of them. Who knows. It was just good to see some deer. I climbed down and cut a few more branches - gotta make sure I don't miss my chance at Mr. Big trailing the first doe coming into heat. I cut so I could get a shot if a deer does the same thing these did this morning. There was one little hole that I could shoot through, if I was able to stop them.

After I got back in the truck, I checked some cameras and moved the camera from the creek to over by the east scrape. I got a few pictures of a buck that started working the scrape 1 hour after I set the camera up! Crazy. I also got a picture of a buck that I'm trying to determine if it's Mr. 140. It's tough to say. Here he is in 2009:

And the new buck:

Sit #13 - 27 degrees

It's starting to cool off finally. On my way out to the stand, my truck read 27 degrees. It might be time to break out my winter boots when I know I won't be getting wet. As I drove past Orville's dump, I had a 2 or 3 year old run across the road from north to south. After I watched him run into the dump, I decided to turn all the way around and shine the field where he came from. Sure enough, about 150-200 yards out there was another nice buck. This one was at least 4 years old, maybe older. Big chest, big neck, big rack... just walking quickly to the east/northeast. I hope he headed to my trail camera that I have over there. He was a solid 130, probably more. Anyway, I drove until I got to my little parking spot and walked in to my stand. Perfect wind this morning. I didn't see any deer, but the conditions sure seemed right.

After I climbed down I went to the refuge and pulled down the camera I had over the scrape and sure enough, I got two pictures of Lefty.

I brought the camera, my gps, and a machette northwest of the bus and set it up where I had it last year. I took the logging road all the way up there, but then from my stand, I blazed a trail with the machette following my GPS back to the bus. This cuts the distance in half and allows me to sneak into my stand if I get a SW, W, or NW wind. My hopes are very high of seeing WideWeb, The Clown, Bullwinkle, or even Curly up there. Pre-rut, here we come!