Archive for November, 2019

Saturday, November 3, 2019

Monday, November 4th, 2019

The Adirondacks took the brunt of a brutal storm on Thursday night, dumping about six inches of rain and 75 mph winds in some places. Some roads have been washed out and will not be fixed for a long time. I’m not even sure where they will begin. How will they choose which roads are priority? I’m glad I’m not having to make those decisions.

I was able to get out and do some hunting this morning after the storm passed. It was a great morning to be in the woods. I headed out at 4:30 to allow for any extra time that might be needed due to the aftereffects of the storm.

I got to the place I wanted to sit before daylight and settled my back against a huge yellow birch tree. I found a dead log next to the tree and put it in a position so I could easily sit on it. With my cushion on top of it, I felt relaxed and ready for a great morning.

Not many creatures stirred as I was waiting for it to get light. Something in my gut told me I was going to get a look at a good one. I’m not sure where the feeling was coming from, but it was present.

With the leaves having a coating of frost on them, I could hear the animals walking across them. When I heard a stick crack behind me, I glanced over my shoulder and saw a deer jump over a log. Pulling the gun up, I waited for it to come out from behind a few trees. Although it acted like a buck, I couldn’t see its head. Finally, it made its way around blowdown in front of me. The dark fur drew me into the shoulder, and I held my attention in that spot. I quickly spotted the antlers on the deer’s head. He was walking right toward me, and I knew he was going to be in my lap in a matter of seconds. I eased my finger off the trigger and knew it wasn’t a deer I wanted to put my tag on. It was a 4-pointer, a deer that would make a trophy for most Adirondack deer hunters. On this day, I was looking for something different.

When he cut my track, he stopped and became alert. He knew something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t figure out what had aroused him. Eventually, he wandered down the runway in front of me and vanished.

After he got out of sight, I had to deal with my extreme shivering. My right foot was so cold I could barely feel it. The inside of my boot had gotten wet earlier in the week, and I forgot to dry it out. On this 25 degree morning, my foot had all it could take, and the chills made their way into my entire body. Knowing I had to do something quickly to avoid hypothermia, I took the boot off and pulled my sock off to hang it on a tree. I reached into my backpack and got the extra pair of socks I had brought with me. I took out two hand warmers and stuck them in my hat, which I wrapped around my foot. Here’s a look at the contraption that saved my day. If you look at the fallen log in the first picture, the buck jumped over it about 10 yards from me. It was a cool sight to see.

Dad and I got out of the woods well after dark. We put in a full day. I had to go home to attend a ceremony at the high school where I graduated. I was disappointed that I couldn’t be in the woods on Sunday, but some things are more important. I won’t be back on here for quite a while. My Adirondack hunting is now done until the end of the season. I’ll be heading to the Midwest for a few weeks and have limited time left to hunt in the Adirondacks. I guess I had a good year. Between bow, rifle and muzzleloader hunting, I have passed on four bucks so far and missed an opportunity on a good one when I couldn’t see the pins through my peep. I couldn’t ask for more than that. Maybe I’ll get lucky on the few days I have to hunt when I return from the Midwest. Hunting season just isn’t long enough.

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Sunday, November 3rd, 2019

Originally, I had scheduled a half day on Thursday, but I changed that due to the forecast and predicted storm. Although it was 65 degrees, I figured the deer might be moving ahead of the storm.

I’m not sure if I was correct in my assumption, but the deer didn’t move where I chose to go. I had a good day in the woods but didn’t get lucky enough to put myself in the right spot.

I put on a lot of miles over the course of the afternoon and got lucky enough to find a giant scrape. I could tell that a buck had freshened it earlier in the day, and I saw that he came off a ridge, hit the scrape and continued into a swamp. After finding it, I decided to sit in the near vicinity for the rest of the afternoon, hoping the buck might return on his journey to the place he came from earlier in the day.

As the sun faded, I headed out of the woods. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time I sat and watched the scrape. I guess tonight just wasn’t my night. I only have one more day left to hunt before I head for the Midwest next week. Hopefully, I can make the most of it.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Sunday, November 3rd, 2019

Today I headed to an area that I’ve always liked but never had any luck while hunting there. Something in my gut told me to go there, and I’m not sure why. As I still-hunted through some ferns, I had a feeling I might walk up on something.

Throughout the evening, I felt like a good buck could appear out of nowhere at any second, but it never happened. I felt like I was on the edge of something good happening, but it never happened. It’s tough to get it done with an hour to hunt after work, but you can’t win it if you’re not in it. You just have to play the game, even if it’s only for a few hours here and there.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Sunday, November 3rd, 2019

Unfortunately, I didn’t get out of work early enough today to cover a lot of ground. I decided I would do some running around and check a few things out.

As I headed out of the woods, I had a good feeling. I found where a decent buck had been working, and I liked my odds of possibly getting a look at him.

I found a series of scrapes and rubs in an area, and I hadn’t been there this year. I guess I should’ve checked it out sooner. We will see what the coming days bring.