Hunting Journal

The morning started off on a good note. It was calm and relatively cool. There wasn’t much wind for the first few hours after daylight. Nothing seemed to be moving, at least in the area where I chose to sit. 

  As the morning  moved along, the predicted bad weather began rolling in. The wind picked up and the rain began falling. Before long, the temperature had plummeted and the rain turned into freezing rain, eventually becoming snow. It was one of the most miserable days I’ve been in the woods in a long time. I stuck it out in hopes of  catching a glimpse of the deer I’ve been chasing. 

  When the day ended, I had only seen three raccoons. Doug had the best day of all of us. He had three or four bucks go by him at about noon in the stand where I told him to go. Jeff saw a few small deer, and Brian jumped a big buck next to the stand where I sat a few days ago. He was out scouting and wanted to get a more in-depth look at things. 

This day has traditionally been good for me in the Midwest. Unfortunately, It wasn’t very good today. I saw a 3-pointer that was on edge and a doe shortly after. I saw the buck right at daybreak. The day was slightly disappointing due to the 15 mountain bikers that road past me a few times. I feel somewhat lost this year, as I haven’t had the ability to get out and wander, and Dad and Brian have been hunting the areas I hunted last year. 

  Tonight I headed to a different area and checked a camera we put in there. Scanning through the pictures, I found a deer I will hunt for a bit. I’d like to get a look at him. Dad wounded a good deer tonight where I shot the 8-pointer last year. 

Here’s a photo of the deer I’m going to pursue for a bit.

It was chilly this morning. When I got out of the truck, the thermometer read 24 degrees. I felt good about my chances. I returned to the same place I sat last night since I wasn’t able to do much scouting, and there was enough sign there to make me think my chances would be good to see a deer. I brought Jeff with me this morning and put him in a place that is usually pretty good. 

  The morning passed, and I didn’t see an animal.  Jeff saw a few animals but nothing to shoot at. Brian shot a nice buck this morning. Although it wasn’t what we would term as a big one, it was the kind of buck that’s almost impossible to pass on public ground. It had some high tines.  Dad saw a few bucks today, too, but most of the day was spent getting the deer out of the woods. Brian lost his wallet, so we had to backtrack to find it. We were lucky to find his license and everything that goes along with it.  

I hunted a different area tonight. I saw two does and passed a nice 8-pointer. It feels good to see deer regularly. We found a guy’s rangefinder last  night and met his son at the side of the road when we went to look for Brian’s wallet. We told him we had it, and he said they would stop at camp to get it. 

I’m in the Midwest.The ride out wasn’t too bad after we got out of New York. We battled some lake effect snow through New York but tore off 12 hours on Thursday. We headed the rest of the way in on Friday morning, and I was in the woods on Friday afternoon. I went to a spot I found last year and figured I would sit there for the evening. Upon my arrival, I was happy to see a lot of sign. 

  An hour before it got dark, I could see a deer coming down a runway, and I quickly identified it as a spikehorn. I watched him for a while, and he eventually wandered off. As it was getting dark, a deer began blowing at me. I climbed down and headed out of the woods. Brian saw a 6-pointer tonight and another small buck. Doug saw a buck on his walk in, and Jeff saw four bucks. They hunted an area we have never hunted.