Hunting Journal

When I woke up the thermometer read a solid 60 degrees at 4:30 a.m. Knowing that it was going to only get hotter, I decided to stay close to home and sit in one of my local stands.

Right after it got light out, a deer startled me when it blew. It was directly behind me, and I was positive that it had seen me. After it blew, it didn’t hang around.

About an hour after the action, a small doe made her way past me. She was cautious but not overly concerned. I really like the place where the stand is set. It feels awkward to hunt in a place around home, especially since I can hear cars in the distance.

When I got out of the stand, I walked to a camera that’s within sight of my stand. After pulling the card and looking at the first few pictures, I figured the date stamp was wrong. A deer had just walked in front of it two minutes before I got there. Two minutes isn’t a very long time. I’m still trying to figure out why I didn’t see the deer. I’m beginning to think that it might just be one of those years. I’ll take it as it goes because I’ve been extremely fortunate in my deer hunting career.

This afternoon, I headed to one of my favorite spots in hopes of seeing some deer feeding on acorns. After arriving to my destination, I was disappointed to see that the deer had barely touched any of the acorns in the area.

I’m having a hard time locating any deer this year, and I think it’s related to the vast amount of mast crops that are on the ground as well as the heat, which just won’t let up. I don’t think deer are moving too much yet.

I’m going to keep searching to see if I can find the places they’re feeding. Hopefully, I can find something good in the coming days. Early muzzleloader opens tomorrow. I don’t expect much since the heat just won’t let up.

Since I didn’t get much sleep last night, it was hard to be aware of my surroundings when I was in the woods tonight. The Yankee games have been entertaining, and being a Yankee fan, I’ve stayed up to watch the games right to the end. I’ve enjoyed the week of playoff baseball.

Tonight I used my dad’s Quiet Kat electric bike in the woods. I wanted to try it on rough logging roads to see how it would work. Amazingly, it passed the test with flying colors. I can’t explain how impressed I am with this new tool. I used it tonight to travel on old logging roads to reach some state land. It’s amazing how quickly I can get places on the bike without even working up a sweat.

After parking the bike, I headed to one of my father’s favorite places to check a camera that he set out about two weeks ago. When I got to it, I opened it up to see what it could tell me, and it told me that the deer haven’t been moving too much in the high heat. Although nothing had gone by the camera in two weeks, four does went past it this morning around 8:00. The sight of them made me start thinking about the weekend. I’m trying to find a place to sit on Saturday morning. I can’t go north because I have to go to a wedding in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, I haven’t found a place that looks really good. That doesn’t make me feel overly confident, but I still have tomorrow to figure it out. Although the temperature finally dropped today, it’s supposed to be in the mid-70s again this weekend. It just won’t quit. It’s kind of amazing that it felt cold tonight, and it was 50 degrees. With all of the heat recently, the 50 degree temperature made it feel like it was 30.

I didn’t see any deer while I was hunting, and I didn’t see any on my way home. My friends have been telling me that they’re seeing deer, but the last two days haven’t treated me the same. Hopefully, the trend changes tomorrow. I’ll keep at it until my luck heads in the right direction. I love being in the woods. It’s where I belong. Every year, I find myself surround by the trees as their leaves change colors. As the colors change, I know the deer hunting will get better in the coming days.

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As I sat at my desk and did my work today, I couldn’t stop thinking about being in the woods, especially since the high temperatures finally broke today. The mercury never climbed above 60 degrees today, which is quite a difference from what we’ve experienced over the last month.

When I escaped from the office, I headed into the woods. The overcast sky, combined with the chill in the air, made me feel like tonight might be the night. Since I have a couple of cameras in the area where I hunted, I decided to check them before settling in and waiting for the animals to move.

After scanning the SD cards in the two cameras, I was a little disappointed to see that there hadn’t been much movement in front of the cameras in the last week. I’d say the incredible temperatures had something to do with it, but I can’t be certain. Being in an area with a lot of acorns on the ground, I expected that the deer would be in them regularly, but that hasn’t been the case.

A few days ago, I watched a YouTube video put out my Hunting Public and listened to the hosts talking about an area where they were hunting. They couldn’t figure out why the deer weren’t in the place like they had been in the past. The only thing they could surmise was that there had been too much pressure, which caused the deer to move to another location. They figured that the bucks would return during the rut.

Although I’d like to blame this problem on pressure, I can’t because there hasn’t been any sign of people in the woods. There are more nuts in the woods this year than I’ve seen in a long time, and I’m certain that the heat has kept the deer in small areas. I’m hoping that they will begin filtering back into this place as the temperatures return to where they should be for this time of year.

I didn’t see any animals of any kind tonight. Brian hunted near his house today, and he saw six does but no bucks. Doug hunted on the farm behind the house, and he saw a couple of does feeding in the alfalfa. I guess I was just in the wrong place tonight.

My dad was in the lead today for the target archery event at the Huntsman World Senior Games in Utah. He had a 25 point lead before the final round started this morning. I haven’t heard from him yet to find out how he finished. It will be really neat if he won the Huntsman World Championship the same year I won the IBO World Championship.

Looking at the calendar, I can’t believe how quickly my trip to the Midwest is coming. I’ll be leaving in three weeks from tomorrow. I can’t wait, but I will miss the Adirondacks.

Although my better judgment told me not to go out today, I couldn’t resist. I’m going retro this year when I head north. I’m only going to put one, maybe two cameras in the woods. I’ve decided that I liked it when I didn’t have any clue what was wandering around in the woods.

I think it made me concentrate more on being in the right place. Instead of chasing cameras the entire season, I will be able to chase the sign and locate the best place to intercept the bucks that are laying down the best sign. It worked wonders back in the day, and sometimes making things simpler it what people need to do.

Although I’m doing that up north, I’m approaching things a little differently around home. I’d like to see what goes on throughout the year with the local deer herd. I’ve spent a fair amount of time around home already, and I’ll probably set some things up to determine what goes on when I’m not around.

Ultimately, I would love all of the local people to get together and manage the deer herd. Our area could hold some really big deer, and it only takes a few years for big deer to  appear if things are done the right way. We’ve done our part, and it almost appears as if a few others have been following the same path the last few years. We seem to be capturing more images of nice bucks. I’d love to see the trend continue in the direction it’s currently going.

Well, I didn’t head into the woods until 5:00 this evening. I had to shoot my muzzleloader to make sure it was hitting behind the crosshairs. With the season opening this coming Saturday, I wanted to make sure I’ll be able to hit something if I shoot at it. After shooting a few bullets into the center of the bullseye, I felt confident. It’s amazing how crisp the trigger on my Thompson Center Encore is, even after having it for as long as I’ve had it.

It was 78 degrees today, and the deer didn’t move very much in the area I hunted. Doug hunted tonight, and he saw a big doe right before dark. Brian wrecked his truck this morning when he smashed a deer while he was on his way to work. That might put him out of commission this weekend.

I finally put a camera in a place where I know there’s a big buck, even though I haven’t been able to get a look at it yet. I don’t really expect to get any pictures. I put the camera in a location that I figured would give me the best chance of getting the big buck that people have been talking about, but at the same time, I know that I also might not get a thing on it. I could have put the camera on a trenched runway, but I chose to put it somewhere that appeared that a buck might go to avoid the main travel routes of other deer.

The weather is finally supposed to get into the 60s tomorrow. Although that’s not cold, it would be nice to break free from the July weather. When I quickly looked at a camera that I set out on Sunday, I was happy to see that a nice 8-pointer had walked by it last night. The camera is still in the woods, so I don’t have any pictures to share at this time.

Shoot for the moon and wish upon the starts. This season might just be the one that allows you to recognize your dreams. Patience and persistence will help you achieve your goals. Without those two things, you are wasting your time. Hunt hard and see how many opportunities you get.

I had no intention of going into the woods today, but something called my name and sent me there. It was an absolutely miserable day. The rain came down in buckets for the better half of the day, but shortly before dark, the rain tapered off to a mist.

When I headed into the woods, it felt like I was going on an excursion in a tropical rainforest. It was 75 degrees and so humid that I could barely take a step without sweating, and I usually don’t sweat at all. This unbelievable stretch of hot weather doesn’t seem to want to give in and call a truce. I know I shouldn’t be this way, but it’s beginning to get under my skin. Summer weather in the week heading toward the middle of October is getting old. Since I’ve returned from Colorado, we’ve only had two days that remotely resembled typical fall weather. Looking at the extended forecast, I don’t see anything that remotely resembles a chance of frost.

Although the temperatures have been through the roof, it seems as if deer are still moving in daylight hours. I haven’t seen much buck sign yet, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of days before it starts popping up. It appears that the leaves are going to fall rather late this year. Almost everything is still entirely green.

I wandered around in the rain for a while in hopes of catching a buck off guard. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any luck in my travels. I did use Dad’s new toy tonight, his Quiet Kat electric bike. This thing is incredible for a number of reasons. As an executive ambassador for Quiet Kat, I can give a coupon card for 15% off to anyone who might be interested in buying one. If you or any of your friends is interested, please get a hold of me, and I’ll give you the specifics.  Here’s a picture of the bike that my dad is using right now. I’ve used it quite a bit, too, and I love it.

On my way to the stand this morning, I had deer running all over the place. Although I couldn’t see them, I could hear them. I’m sure the full moon probably kept them on the move most of the night.

Around 8:00, I spotted a huge deer coming toward me. I was almost certain that it was going to be the big buck that had rubbed the trees I found last night. My knees began to shake, and my breathing got shallow. After watching the deer browse for a few minutes, the adrenaline coursed through my veins. The chest cavity and neck where very large on the deer, but I couldn’t see its head, even though it was only 35 yards from me.

Finally, the deer took a step, and my heart sank. It was a doe. I was definitely fooled. I had to look two or three times to fully understand that there weren’t any antlers on its head. I was certain that it was a buck when I couldn’t see its head. Maybe I was trying to make it turn into a buck.

By the time I got out of the stand at 10:00, I had identified five does. Although I identified those deer, there were many more that went past me that I couldn’t identify. The place was infested with deer. I’m going to call it the deer hive because it reminds me of a bee hive.

I’m sure there’s a big buck in this place, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get a look at it. I really like the spot. I’ll probably sit there a few more times before our short bow season ends.

Doug didn’t see any deer this morning, and I spent the rest of the day with Brian. We went north to take a walk and check things out. I wasn’t impressed with what I saw, and I’m not sure if I will go back for opening day of muzzleloader season next weekend. There are so many leaves on that it’s almost impossible to see more than 30 yards. I’ll have to see what happens during the week and make a decision by Thursday.

Tonight I hunted with Doug. I went to a new place and set a stand. Shortly before it got dark, a big doe made her was past me. This place gives me a lot of confidence. Something about it gives me good vibes. I found a few nice rubs and a lot of well-used runways. Although I’ve never spent much time in this place, I think it warrants my attention. I told Dad that he should  think about spending some time in the tree stand that I set up.

Mom and Dad are in Utah right now. Dad is competing in the archery events at the Huntsman World Senior Games. I’m hoping he has a great performance. He’s been shooting well, so I don’t expect anything less.

Doug didn’t see any deer tonight. We are going to both hunt in the same places in the morning. Hopefully, the deer will be on the move. It’s supposed to be hot once again. The temperatures keep increasing. It definitely has been too enjoyable.

Although it was really hot this evening, I decided to go check out a new place. When I got to the area, I was highly disappointed that the wind wasn’t going to cooperate. I couldn’t stay in the area due to the south wind.

After roaming around for a bit and checking some other things out, I found a place to tuck into until dark. I didn’t see anything.

Being 80 degrees, it wasn’t the most enjoyable night I’ve had in the woods, but I love being outdoors.

I hunted behind Dad’s house tonight. I didn’t spend much time wandering around to look at anything. I walked directly one of the stands out there and climbed into it. A few minutes before it got dark, I spotted a button buck and its sister coming down the runway in front of me. Although I expected their mother to follow, she never showed up. I hope she didn’t get hit by a car. Recently, I heard that a deer got hit and killed a short distance from Dad’s driveway.

They made their way past the stand and disappeared into the alfalfa field behind me. It felt good to see deer on our own land, especially since I very rarely hunt there. It’s still hot. I sat in a t-shirt tonight. There doesn’t appear to be an end to it in sight.