November 3 has traditionally been a good day for me in the woods. Dad and I have killed some fantastic deer on 11/3. We got them right when they started trotting behind does. They’re senses weren’t quite on par at the time we took them. While it isn’t the best time to see rutting activity, there’s always a good chance you could have a big one go waltzing by at any moment.
This morning I climbed a monstrous hill to go back to the place where the buck almost ran over me and Brian yesterday. Something told me to return. Unfortunately, I didn’t see anything. It was a nice morning to sit, but the wind wouldn’t cooperate. It swirled for the better part of the morning. I’m sure that didn’t help my chances of seeing anything.
Dad and Brian went back to the place where we saw the big buck yesterday. Dad picked a tree to put a stand in when he was waiting for us yesterday. On his way to it in the dark, another hunter came running through the woods at him with a flashlight. It caught dad off guard and made him a little nervous. The guy started yelling at him and saying some vulgar things. Although it’s public land, it appears that a lot of people claim spots as their own. It’s hard to believe that the DNR allows people to leave stands in the woods the entire season. It kind of defeats the purpose of public hunting land because once people set up stand, they claim the area as their own. It’s very disappointing. We’ve seen stands almost every place we’ve been. Dad ended up moving, and Brian sat where he had originally planned to sit. Although Brian didn’t see any deer, dad saw a couple of small bucks.
In the afternoon we headed further north to check out some more land. Brian and I put the boots to the ground. I wanted to get into an area that I had studied long and hard on aerial photos. When I looked at the photos, I really thought this would be the place.
It was a lot more rugged than I anticipated. We got into some seriously rugged terrain. I was scared at times because of the steepness of the ridges. I knew if I fell I would probably break something or wind up dead. It was knee-buckling at times.
Finally, after a few hours of walking, I made abet with Brian. Looking ahead of us, I bet him that we would find where a big buck was living. It didn’t take me more than a few minutes to find the magical spot. I know we will kill a buck here. Since it’s so hard to get to, I think we will wait for the right wind and conditions to return. Now that I know where I want to be, I will wait. We found some pretty impressive sign. Scrapes and rubs that tell me that at least one very large deer is living there. I’m excited for the weather to break so we can return.
Brian left a camera in the place where he and dad hunted this morning. I’m looking forward to see what’s on it when we go back to pull the card in a few days. It got up to 83 degrees today. It’s a far cry from the temperatures of last year. I’d say it could be worse, but I’m unsure of how much worse it could really be. It beats the hell out of us to put on as many miles as we have with it as hot as it is.
We’ll see what tomorrow brings. No real plans right now. We all feel a little lost.