I figured today would be a great day to hunt since the storm passed through last night. Unfortunately, the temperature is still hanging in the high 60s. Summer just won’t let go. When I walked out of the building at work today to head to the mountains, I expected it to be much cooler.
Since I had planned on going hunting, I didn’t change my plans. I had determined that I was going to return to a place that I only went to one time last year. When I was there, I found a gigantic scrape, so I wanted to return this year to see if the scrape is active. It took me a long time to cover the ground to get to the scrape, but when I got there, I was extremely happy to see that a buck had opened it sometime in the last 24 hours.
I’m not sure why, but I expect the primary owner of the scrape to be a really good buck. It’s in an area that funnels deer between two mountains and around a couple bodies of water. It’s an ideal location, but it’s hard to get to without kicking deer out of the area.
When I return from the Midwest, I’ll head back into this piece of land to see if anything showed up on the camera. I’m hoping that I find something that I don’t expect. Although I want to believe that a big, mature buck visits the scrape, I don’t really expect to see one. That’s why I love cameras……….and hunting. You never know what to expect, and when you see something coming, it might just be that once-in-a-lifetime buck.
There was a lot of deer sign on the surrounding ridges. I could see a number of places where the deer had been feeding.
It looks like tomorrow is going to be a great day. Josh is going to take the day off and go hunting. I wish I could take the day off, because I’m sure the bucks will be moving. We haven’t seen much in the way of cool weather, and tomorrow is supposed to bring some rain and lower temperatures.
I’m not sure if I’ll get out the rest of the week. I have a lot of things to get ready for Brian and Dad when they leave for the Midwest this weekend. They’re taking my gear with them, and I’m headed out at the end of next week.