Hunting Journal

Eleven years ago today, I killed the biggest buck of my life. That buck still stands as the biggest buck I’ve killed. Today was a really slow day all the way around. Brian hunted the bottom and didn’t see a deer the entire day. Shawn, Dad and I hunted near the pine tree. I saw six does filter by the stand throughout the morning, but no bucks followed them. Shawn saw a couple of does and a small 8-pointer, which he was able to capture in a few fantastic photos. Dad didn’t see a deer.

This afternoon, we wandered around in an area around the river that we had never explored. We jumped a few does and saw a decent buck. Dad decided to bring his stand back in there tonight, so he can sit there in the morning. It looks like a great place for cruising bucks, and it’s far enough off the beaten path that very few people probably ever put pressure on it. Dad ceases to amaze me. I don’t know how he does it at is age. He never slows down and seems to have more drive and determination than people who are half his age. He doesn’t even have to be going out since his buck tag is filled, but he’s trying to find better places for us to hunt. Here’s a look at the buck he tagged before I even got to camp.

With every passing day, I’m losing confidence. The deer just don’t seem to be moving too terribly much. I guess they are in some areas, but they haven’t been moving where we’ve been hunting.

Sean Rice drove down from his house to see us today. It was really good to see him. He shared a lot of time with us in the tent, so when he pulled out his sleeping bag and found a spot on the cot, it brought me back to a time that was a lot of fun. The aging process sucks. I hate to see my father getting older by the minute. I wish I could lasso time and keep it from moving forward. I love life. I love being able to do the things I love to do with my family and friends. That’s what makes the trips so enjoyable. Unfortunately, Father Time is undefeated, and I know the days are limited for doing these things with my father.

November 13 has notoriously been one of my best days in the woods if you take a snapshot of my hunting career. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen today. It was slow for all of us.

After yesterday’s excitement, it would have been hard to experience anything that could stack up against it. We had to hunt the same area again because I had to see if I could find the arrow I shot last night.

After sitting for a while and observing a handful of does, a spike and an 8-pointer that we call G-3, I got out of the tree. When I got to where the deer was standing when I shot, I was excited to see brown and white hair. After further examination, I couldn’t find the arrow. I called Dad to come help me look for it.

Between the time I called him and the time it took him to get there, I discovered that the hair was mere coincidence. A rabbit had been killed in the same place. Looking a little beyond the hair, I saw my arrow lying harmlessly in the leaves. There was one speck of blood on the end of the broadhead and a tiny piece of white hair under one blade. It was a clean miss. Although I was disappointed, I was happy that I didn’t wound the deer.

The entire day was slow. It was23 degrees when we went into the woods and about 43 when we came out. It took a while for the fog to lift today, and I figured the deer would really move afterward. My guess was wrong. They didn’t move the rest of the day.

I can see the end in sight right now, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen this year. Although I had two opportunities to get it done yesterday, neither opportunity was really good. I’d like to be able to get a good shot at one. That definitely makes it easier. Everything can change in a minute, but with the way the movement has been, it’s going to be really hard to get it done.

It’s supposed to be warm tonight and not get below 43 degrees. It will be the warmest day we’ve had yet. I’m thinking that’s not going to help matters.

It was raining on our way in today. I sat in the woods for an hour before daylight. When it finally got light, the rain tapered off. Right after it got light, I saw a doe come across the creek. About a half hour later, I saw a giant, but I couldn’t get a shot at him. He meandered up the hill and disappeared, but it was an awesome sight to see. It was the big buck that we have on trail camera.

Later in the day, Shawn was able to get a lot of pictures of him when he walked by the place where he and Brian were sitting.

Around 9 o’clock, a doe ran off from the hill in front of me. When I looked closer, I could see a giant buck following her. They both stopped at a bowl in front of me to feed. After feeding for a bit, the doe headed toward me, but the buck stayed back and continued feeding. When the doe got to the right of my stand, I saw the buck coming quickly. He was heading right toward her and grunted as he got closer.

When she saw him, she bolted toward the creek. I tried stopping him with a few loud grunts from my voice, but he never heard them. I tried following him with the pin to get a shot, but nothing was available. I finally squeezed the trigger, but the shot hit way low and back. It wasn’t a lethal hit, and the arrow only shaved some white hair of from him and got a bunch of fat on it.

When I was on the ground looking for the arrow, which I quickly found, I saw a shooter 10-pointer on the ridge above me. After confirming that the deer I shot at was okay, I got back in the stand. A few hours later, I saw another great buck in the scrape on the runway halfway up the hill. He didn’t stay very long and headed down the ridge.

The rest of the day was pretty slow until right before dark. Two fawns raced down the ridge in front of me. They didn’t have their mother in tow, so I was well aware that bucks were chasing.

A few minutes after they passed by me, I saw a doe and fawn come down the ridge. A small 4-pointer was following close behind them. They milled around in front of my stand as it was getting dark. When they finally disappeared, I got ready to get out of the stand. Right when I got ready to tie my bow, I spotted the same giant deer that I had seen in the early morning hours, and he was on the same exact runway but going in the opposite direction.

Although it was fairly dark, I decided to give it a whirl. I ranged a tree for 43 yards and the deer for 37 yards. I settled the 40-yard pin on the deer and squeezed the shot off. It sounded like it buried itself in the mud as the deer bolted and ran up the hill.

After getting out of the tree and going to the runway he was standing on, I ranged the tree stand, and it was 48 yards away. I’m assuming the arrow went well below the deer. I’m going back in the morning to see if I can find the arrow. Although I’m 95% sure I didn’t hit it, I will try to find the arrow to confirm my assumption.

We will see what tomorrow brings. I can’t imagine it being anything close to what today gave us.

Jeff and Doug packed up and went home this morning. Brian, Shawn and I planned on going to where I shot the deer a couple of years ago. When we pulled into the place, there were two trucks there. One of the guys was a pain in the ass. He had a little of the Angry Man syndrome. We asked where he was going to be hunting because we didn’t want to get in his way. After he began hemming and hawing, we decided to go elsewhere. There’s no need to deal with the extracurricular shenanigans. We are fairly certain that this guy is the one who stole the camera, too.

After changing our plans and heading down the road, we decided to go to the culvert, one of my favorite places for some reason. When Shawn and Brian set up, they had a buck chasing does under them before daylight. It was way too dark to see them. I saw four bucks today, but none of them were very big. I also saw a couple of does. It doesn’t seem to be on yet.

This evening we all headed south to where Dad missed the big buck last year. Since Dad found a lot of sign, we decided to give it a whirl. It was really bad. I saw three guys, and Brian and Shawn saw two guys; one was carrying a rifle.

It’s supposed to rain through the night and break in the morning. Hopefully, that will get the big boys moving. A few years ago, I killed a really nice buck on November 11, and six years ago today, Dad killed an 11-pointer. An 11-pointer on 11/11/11, simply awesome.

Today was brutally cold. When we headed into the woods, it was 19 degrees, and the wind was blowing about 20 mph. It was a slow day. I saw a few does getting chased by a small buck, and Brian saw a few small bucks. We sat until around noon, then went exploring. During our explorations, we came across a nice 8-pointer which wouldn’t budge, as he stayed watch above his doe. I took a few pictures of him, and I easily could have shot him if I wanted to.

Today we hunted a different area, which we looked at a few years ago. Someone cut a hole in the fence, and the deer use it to get onto the public ground. I saw a button horn and a doe, and Brian saw a nice buck chasing a doe.

Dad saw a big buck this morning. He said if he hadn’t already filled his buck tag, he would have shot it. He seems to be enjoying himself, even though he doesn’t feel well.

Doug and Jeff are headed home in the morning. They both had a good trip, but the time flew by. We will see what tomorrow brings. Things are starting to look rather dismal. I’m going into the woods with waning confidence every sit.

The cold continued today, and the wind didn’t help matters. It was 21 degrees when we came out of the woods tonight, and the wind chill made it about 5 degrees. It’s supposed to be colder in the morning. The forecast is calling for teens in the morning with a 9mph wind. It should be interesting.

The big bucks just don’t seem to me cruising very much. We continue to see small bucks cruising and occasionally chasing. Unfortunately, the time is fading. For some reason, I’m just not feeling it this year. It won’t matter if I don’t shoot a deer because I’ve shot plenty of them in my lifetime, including the one from last week when I was getting ready for this trip.

The day started off good when I saw a doe at first light. I’m pretty sure it was the same doe I saw yesterday. I sat in the pine tree place again. Shortly after the doe went past me, a really nice 8-pointer came in and hung out for a bit. The bucks continued cruising until about 10 a.m. I ended up seeing seven bucks and a doe for the morning. I could have shot all of them.

This evening, I went to the place where I shot the buck a few years ago. When I tried to check the camera, I couldn’t find it. I’m not exactly sure where Brian placed it, so I guess I’ll have to wait until he pulls the card to see what’s on it.

Jeff saw 17 does tonight and three bucks down in the area where Dad hunted a few years ago. This morning, he hunted where Doug shot the deer, and he saw two bucks and six does, one of the bucks was a good 10-pointer.

Although the action has been relatively slow, we are still having a good time and seeing deer. I’m hoping that someone gets a crack at one in the next few days. We’ve been working really hard at it, and I think someone deserves a nice buck.

Well, Nov. 8 is known for having the most Boone & Crockett entries of any day during the hunting season. That means the big bucks must move regularly on this day. Unfortunately, no big bucks moved past me today.

It was 21 degrees when I went into the woods today. Although it was cold, I didn’t think it was too terribly bad. The action started right at daylight when I saw a doe come past me with frost all over her back.

A few minutes after she passed, another doe came down the hill, and shortly after that, a nice 10-pointer hit a scrape on the hill above me. He didn’t come down the hill like the does, but it was nice to see him.

The rest of the morning was dead for me. The action heated up around 1:00 p.m. when a doe came by me. Within five minutes, I had five different bucks run past me chasing her. None of them were very big, but it was a sight to see. The largest one was a small 8-pointer. I was really surprised that no big bucks followed them. The rest of my day was dead, except for the two does I saw at 3:30 p.m.

Brian and Shawn were sitting about 150 yards from me, and they had a day to remember. They saw over 30 deer, including two really nice bucks that Shawn was able to photograph. I think Shawn’s having a good time and enjoying this style of hunting. It’s different for him since he’s hunting with a camera.

Jeff saw five bucks and five does this morning but nothing this evening. Doug and Dad did some scouting. We are having a good time, although nobody feels that well. Everyone is experiencing cold symptoms.

We will see what tomorrow brings. I’d like to see some deer up close, especially one that gets my blood pumping. I’m not having very good feelings about getting one in front of me, but all of that can change in a second or two.

Today was a very long day, and I think I’m coming down with the cold that everyone else has right now. When we went out today, it was 30 degrees. I thought the deer would be on the move, but I guess I was wrong. I sat the entire day in my culvert stand. I saw a big deer go under me before daylight. I’m not sure if it was a buck.

After it got light, I saw a spikehorn going north. He never stopped near my stand. After he disappeared, the woods remained quiet until 1:30. I was hoping that a buck would visit the scrape in front of me like I had seen other deer doing to other scrapes on the cameras the last few days. Unfortunately, all that came through was a small 4-pointer that I saw the other day, too. I was highly disappointed with the deer movement today. I’m hoping that tomorrow gets better.

Jeff didn’t see anything today, and Brian and Shawn saw four bucks. One was a dandy, and it was bedded down on the side of a hardwood ridge. Hopefully, they get a better look at it in the coming days.

Headed to bed and hoping for better luck tomorrow. I’m hunting the creek crossing and pine tree tomorrow. We got some really good pictures there yesterday, and the wind is changing tonight and will be coming out of the south. I’m hoping the change will get them moving because it has been really slow for a few days.

Here are the couple of pictures we got on trail camera.

P14V2_FG=1000,FT=1787,NIR=1,GM=41,CT=160,EV=15,TY=92,PY=100,DY=40,GB=0x80,NY=0,AE(0,0,640,480,1),0

P14V2_FG=3250,FT=106708,NIR=0,GM=2,CT=128,EV=52,TY=92,PY=86,DY=37,GB=0xa0,NY=0,AE(160,80,160,320,1),0

Today was a really slow day. I sat in a barway between two CRP fields. I thought it was going to be awesome until I saw a guy walking through the bedding ground with a flashlight at first light. He set up about 60 yards from me, which cut me off. Then, I had a guy in a truck drive through the private field on the other side of me and park his truck right next to the boundary. I’m not sure what he was doing, but all of the commotion dind’t lead to anything good. I saw two does right before daylight and that was it for the day.

Brian and Shawn, who is here trying to get a cover photo for my new book, saw one spikehorn today, and Jeff sat in the stand I set last night. He saw 13 deer, and a handful of them were bucks. Tonight, nobody saw anything. Hopefully, things pick up tomorrow. We met a game warden last night, and he gave me a pretty good tip. We might try the place tomorrow. It’s cold out. It’s hanging in the 20s at night and 30s during the day. It’s awesome hunting weather.

The second day in the stand was a great day. Brian and I headed back to the area where I killed a deer a few years ago. Not knowing what to expect, I headed into the woods just hoping to see a deer or two.

By the time the morning was over, I had seen three 10-pointers, two 8-pointers, a small buck and seven does. Shortly before I got out of the tree, a doe came screaming off the hill behind me. Turning that way to get a look, I saw a dandy of a 10-pointer coming down the hill after her. I got ready to get a shot, but one never materialized. The buck decided he didn’t want to continue down the hill, and he turned around and headed up the valley on the other side of the tree. I was disappointed that I didn’t get a good shot at him.

Brian had three bucks go by him first thing in the morning when another hunter started smashing his antlers together and wouldn’t stop. The guy also cut a swath through the forest for shooting lanes. He made a mess of the area.

This evening I set a stand, and I feel really good about it. In the process, I saw a really nice 8-pointer. I feel good about the stand. Brian and Shawn saw a couple of small bucks and two really good bucks.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings. We got some good trail camera photos today. I feel really good about it.