Hunting Journal

Today was by far the best day I’ve ever experienced in Illinois. It was 36 degrees when I got out of my truck this morning, and the wind was calm. I saw a few deer crossing the road on my ride to the hunting place.

Shortly after daybreak, I saw two small bucks in the bean field out in front of me. They were cruising parallel to the road before jumping the fence on the opposite side of it and disappearing into the neighbor’s woods.

A short time later, a big buck chased a doe out of the woods and across the bean field into the same patch of woods. Ten minutes after they disappeared, I spotted two shooters in the thick brush behind the stand. Thinking one of them was going to come underneath me, I got ready in case a shot presented itself. Unfortunately, nothing happened.

As soon as the two bucks disappeared, a really nice 8-pointer with flyers off from both G-2s began chasing a doe through the woods in front of me. The chase went back and forth for about 20 minutes before they eventually disappeared.

When I searched to find them in my binoculars, some movement to my right caught my attention. Coming out of the woods was the Booner I have been trying to get a look at. He lazily made his way across the picked bean field toward the road. Standing there in awe, I lost my train of thought. When I realized he was going to be out of sight in a few minutes, I let a few grunts loose from my grunt call. He briefly turned around and took a few steps toward me but didn’t finish closing the distance. After he turned back around, I let out a snort wheeze, and I’ve never seen a deer beat feet like he did. He was gone in a matter of seconds. I figured I would never see him again, although I was unsure if I had spooked him. Was he afraid of a more dominant deer with smaller antlers? Had he been called to before? I’ll never know, but he definitely didn’t like the snort/wheeze.

A few minutes after he disappeared another 10-pointer came out, but he wasn’t a shooter. He was a much younger deer. When the morning headed into afternoon, I had seen about 10 bucks and a few does. It was a fantastic morning. The temperature got up to about 70 degrees by mid-afternoon. I saw two does and a fawn this evening.

Dad saw quite a few deer today, but nothing that made him draw his bow.

Brian did a lot of running around today and fixing stuff. He fixed the tires on the trailer and wheel bearings.

We’ll see what happens tomorrow. I moved the stand today, so I’m hoping that will be the trick. Six shooters have come out of the same place, but the wind is supposed to be from a different direction tomorrow. I’m playing with fire. Maybe I’ll get burned. It’s a chance worth taking.

Here’s a picture of the Booner I saw this morning. When I got pictures of him, I decided it was all or nothing. It’s not often that you’re in the woods where a Booner is living. I’ve decided that I will settle for nothing less than him.

When I woke up this morning at 4:00, I couldn’t believe that Donald Trump had won the presidential election. There were protests in many big cities across the country tonight.

It was 39 degrees when I got out of the truck to hunt. It was a good morning. I had a few different shooters come across the bean field at first light. In total, I think I saw about 8 different bucks. The last one came through about 11:30. A couple were really good ones.

Brian shot a really nice 9-pointer this morning. We taped it out tonight, and it scored 147 and change. He seemed pretty excited about it. The buck was with another one that was about the same size. He picked the one he shot because its antlers were a little thicker.

Dad was with him. He saw a few small bucks. He stayed in after they took Brian’s deer out of the woods and saw a small buck before dark.

I went down into the south bottom tonight and saw a small buck.

The temperature is supposed to get down to about 37 degrees tonight. I’m guessing the bucks will be on the move tomorrow. We’ll see what happens. The time is winding down quickly now. In some ways, I’m ready to go home. This vacation has not been too much fun this year due to a variety of different things.

Today is the presidential election. It’s an unbelievable event. I’d be highly surprised if Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton. The two sides have drastically different supporters. It will be interesting to see what the final result is when I wake up.

My day didn’t have too terribly much action. As soon as I climbed into the stand this morning, it started pouring and didn’t let up until about 10:30. It was like someone was standing above me dumping buckets of water on my head. I saw a small buck right at daybreak and that was it.

Around noon, I spotted a big bull walking down the road, and it wasn’t a bull elk or a bull moose. It was a Texas longhorn. When it got near my truck, it acted as if it wanted to ram into it. After passing by it, two trucks came to round him up. Unfortunately, they chased him around and never caught him. Watching the events from my stand, I decided to make a run to the truck to get out of there while the bull was out of sight. I made it safely and hunted in a different spot to the south tonight. I saw a small spike that was trying to be a 4-pointer.

Brian couldn’t find the stand this morning in the dark, so he plopped down on the ground in the dark. Before he found the stand, he saw a lot of different bucks, and a few of them were big. This afternoon, he hunted down in the woods behind where we’re staying and saw a lot of bucks chasing.

Dad went back to his regular spot. He saw a few bucks but nothing big. A guy shot a nice 10-pointer on a neighboring property. He didn’t see anything tonight.

It was 57 degrees this morning when I went out and 65 this afternoon. It appears that tomorrow morning will be chilly. I’m not feeling like I’m remotely close to getting the job done. I guess it happens every now and then, so I really can’t complain since I’ve been so lucky in the past.

Hopefully, someone gets a shot opportunity. Bobby missed a good buck at daybreak today. It was a buck he’s been hunting for a while. He hit a twig that he didn’t see. I’d love to see dad get a nice deer. He really deserves it. I just haven’t been seeing many deer during this vacation. Although I don’t feel pessimistic, I also don’t feel overly optimistic. Time’s going by quickly.

It was a really good morning. I got up at 4:10 a.m. and was welcomed by a thermometer reading of 40 degrees. On the way to the stand, I saw two really good deer crossing the road. One was a 140ish 8-pointer and the other was a 160 10-pointer. Since they were on the move, I figured that I would have a really good morning. Unfortunately, the morning didn’t work out like I had planned. I saw the Hole in the Neck Buck again. He was once again running a doe. I also had a big buck wind me and take off running. A button horn went back and forth behind me a few times, and a doe came down the opposite ridge from me this evening.

My afternoon hunt was all but ruined by a guy on the opposite side of the ridge. He was riding his 4-wheeler all over the place and banging stuff together. It wasn’t a good sight. It irritated me a little bit, but I’ve shot deer in the past after stuff like that happened, and you can’t control what the people on surrounding properties are going to do when you’re in the woods.

Dad had a fantastic morning over in Brown County with Brian. They both saw shooters. Dad saw three shooters and Brian saw one. The deer were running around until around noon when they came out. I can’t figure out why they came out. Since we haven’t had the best of luck, I think I would have stayed put.

This evening nobody had much action. Brian saw a small 10-pointer. The temperatures warmed up once again into the low 70s this afternoon. Although we’ve had a few nice mornings, the evening hunts have been flooded with warm temperatures. I’m not overly confident for myself, but I feel good about Dad’s chances. Overall, this week hasn’t really played out like I would have liked. I’ll continue taking it day by day to get through it. In many ways, I wish I stayed at home and hunted in the Adirondacks. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. A front is supposed to blow through later in the day and bring rain with it. We’re supposed to have a high of about 50 on Wednesday. Hopefully, that will be the day that things happen.

I hunted in the same place this morning that I hunted last night, except I sat in a different stand. I had a great feeling about it, but the day turned up being empty. It was 37 degrees in my truck when I headed into the woods. I sat all day, so I have no idea what the temperature got up to. It was 57 degrees when I got back to the truck after dark.

It was a really slow morning. Shortly after it got light, I could hear a deer grunting in the thick stuff. He grunted occasionally for about an hour. I never saw the animal, but the grunt was deep and guttural. I would have liked to get a look at the buck.

Around 11:00 a.m., I had a buck come out of the bottom behind me. It was the same 8-pointer I saw last night. Unfortunately for him, he had a broken G-2 that wasn’t broken last night. He also had blood pouring out of his neck from a wound. He must’ve really gotten his ass kicked during the night. I saw him a few more times throughout the day and one doe, too. I decided to name him the Hole in the Neck Buck.

Dad only saw a 4-pointer and a few does. It was a slow day for him, too.

Brian had the best day of all of us. He saw 10 bucks this morning, but he’s really miserable. Hopefully, his mood changes for the better. He saw two does this morning. I’m not sure what is bothering him, but I do know that I’ve never seen him like I saw him today.

We will see what tomorrow brings. I’m not really feeling it. I’m hoping that Brian and dad get a whack at something.

This morning was a nice morning to sit. It was 47 degrees and not much of a wind. I took my last sit where I sat last night. It was too good of a place to stay away from. Before it got light, I could hear deer walking around in the thick stuff, then I heard some grunting. Around 8:15, I had a doe bolt out in front of me from the thick stuff. A buck followed her a few minutes later, but it was only a little guy. It was a forky with a few small brow tines at the bases. Dad saw a doe around 8:00, and Brian didn’t see anything. We pulled stands and got out of Dodge. It couldn’t have come soon enough. It might have been one of the poorest weeks of hunting that I’ve experienced in the Midwest.

We headed to Bobby’s for the afternoon hunt in Illinois. My first sit in Illinois was decent. I saw a small six chasing a doe, a small 8 go by on his own, and a couple of does. I also saw a nice 10 come up into a pasture and lay down under a cedar tree. He stayed there for a little over an hour. He got up and went back into the woods right at dark.

Brian saw 4 or 5 little bucks. Dad saw a couple of does and a buck right at dark. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. It’s still pretty warm.

This was probably our best morning. It was 41 degrees when I headed into the woods. I expected to have a great morning. Unfortunately, my plans didn’t come to fruition. I didn’t see a deer. Brian didn’t see anything either. Dad saw some deer once again. He saw a small buck, but was undecided on whether to shoot.

This evening I went back to the same stand above the water hole. I saw a small buck and had two other deer blowing at me just before dark. I saw the small buck at 5:15. He came out of all of the thick stuff down in front of me and a little to the right. Dad saw a nice 8 tonight but couldn’t get a shot. Brian went down in the swamp near camp where Doug saw the bucks a few years ago and didn’t see anything. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. We are going to sit in the morning and head to Illinois to hunt in the evening.

I expected it to be a little cooler this morning, but I was let down. When I parked the vehicle, it was 65 degrees. I figured the deer would be on the move, but nothing showed itself in the piece of woods where Brian and I were hunting. Dad saw a 4-pointer this morning in the swamp around 11:00 a.m. By the mid-afternoon the thermometer on my clock read 84 degrees. The one in my truck was a little more accurate and reasonable since it wasn’t housed in the tent. It read 74 degrees. Any way you look at it, it’s way too hot for the deer to move very much, and we’ve seen the results.

This evening I went back to the stand I sat in this morning. I saw a 4-pointer at 5:15. He came up out of the thick stuff from down near the water. He appeared to be cruising. I’d like to have a good buck do the same in the next day or so. A deer started blowing at me right when I was getting ready to climb down for the day. When I hit the ground and began walking, another deer alerted me of its presence and scampered off into the brush.

Brian didn’t see anything on the edge of the freshly cut cornfield this morning except a guy who walked right across it with a flashlight before daylight. He set up on the private property in a hedgerow that overlooks the field. That pretty much deleted any chance Brian had of seeing deer filtering back into the woods out of the cut corn.

Brian hunted with me this evening. He didn’t see anything. He appears to be getting discouraged. Although it’s extremely hot, I feel like my odds are improving. I have a good feeling about tomorrow. I’m not sure if I’ll see anything, but something in my gut tells me it’s going to be a good day.

Dad saw another shooter tonight. It got close to him, but he couldn’t get a shot. He insists that his spot is better than the one we keep telling him to move to. We would like him to move his stand right next to the fallen oak that filters deer around it. He would have been able to kill all of the deer from that tree. I don’t understand why he won’t listen, but in the end, it doesn’t affect me.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings. How bad is it that it’s 57 degrees as I’m updating this journal at 10:05 p.m. and it feels chilly? I never imagined 57 degrees would feel cold, but when we’ve been sleeping in 70-degree temps, it’s a pleasant relief.

The heat just won’t let up. We can’t escape it. It’s beginning to wear on me. When I headed to the stand this morning, it was 71 degrees. It didn’t seem too bad when I began my journey into the woods, but that feeling of optimism quickly dissipated. By the time I got to the tree I wanted to put my stand in, I was drenched in sweat. The whole morning was a little bit of a disaster, but I still ended up getting the stand up and being ready before daylight. I almost impressed myself with that alone. Brian and I tried a new spot this morning. It was one of the spots that we found yesterday near a body of water that some might call a pond, and others might call it a lake. When I found the place yesterday, I instantly knew that I should return there to hunt.

Shortly after daylight, a massive thunderstorm ripped through the area a little to the north of us. Although we got wet, it wasn’t too bad. When the rain stopped, the deer started moving a little bit. I saw a shooter buck come out of the thick stuff. He was coming right toward me, but the wind hit the back of my neck, and he was gone. He didn’t bolt or anything. Instead, he just turned around and walked down the hill. I was very disappointed. He was 25 yards away and closing in quickly, but I never got a shot.

Brian didn’t see anything this morning. We covered a lot of ground. We found a good place, but it just wasn’t looking that good for this year. I’m sure it probably depends on what they plant for crops in the nearby fields.

Dad hunted in the swamp behind camp this morning. He had a four pointer go under him just after the rain stopped. At 10 a.m., he got down to go to the bathroom and had a doe come down the runway under his stand. Unable to move, he patiently waited. A few minutes later, a buck came along behind her. It was a broken-racked 8-pointer. He was about a 90-inch deer.

Tonight we all went down the road and hunted where we have been hunting the last few days. We waited for a really bad thunderstorm to pass and quickly headed into the woods. Dad saw a no-doubt shooter at 5:00 p.m. It was following a doe. Unfortunately, the doe either spotted dad or winded him and trotted up the hill. The buck followed. He was only 15 yards from dad at the time, but it was too thick to get an arrow in him. He had another doe come down the hill right before dark. Brian and I didn’t see anything.

Although the deer aren’t moving too much, and it has been hot as hell, we are still seeing some decent bucks. I feel like we are on the edge. Maybe one of us will get lucky and get a shot in the next few days before it’s time to leave.

It topped out around 78 degrees today. As I’m typing this it’s still 65 degrees. I’d do anything to get some decent weather. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

It was 70 degrees when we headed into the woods this morning. Something inside me told me it would be a piss-poor morning………..and it was. Nobody saw a deer this morning.

We headed out of the woods at 11:30 and went road ramming. We decided that we would look at a few different areas. It was definitely worth our time. We covered a lot of ground and found some really good stuff.

Down the road from camp we went into a block of woods from three different directions. We met in the middle of it, and everyone saw decent sign. Brian saw the best sign on the far border of the property. We may come back to hunt it sometime in the future. It has some potential. Brian jumped a few deer.

Our next stop was behind a lake. A few minutes into the woods, Brian jumped a really nice 8-pointer. He guessed it to be about 130 inches. It was laying down about 10 yards from him when it jumped up. It was in no hurry to get out of there.

A few minutes later, I jumped three deer. I could only identify one of them for sure. It was a big doe. This place was the best area I’ve seen in this conservation area. It had everything that I like. I will be hunting there again in the future. Dad liked it, too. It had big rubs, a lot of scrapes, a lot of little rubs, piles of feeding sign, many converging hubs, and a few very defined transition areas.

This evening dad went back down where we hunted this morning. Brian and I continued exploring the place. We beat feet around a swamp to see what se could find, and we found a few more really good places. Although we probably won’t score this year because of the incredible temperatures, we have learned a lot of valuable stuff so far. I feel very confident about the future. I hope we return here some day. I’d love to hunt here when the weather was a little more cooperative.

It was about 87 degrees today when we were ramming. It’s 8:30 p.m. as I’m typing this, and it’s still 75 degrees. The forecast is calling for some thunderstorms later tonight and all day tomorrow. Unfortunately, the temperature is still supposed to be in the low 70s. It doesn’t look good, but we will keep doing our thing and hoping something makes a mistake. We will see what tomorrow brings.