Friday, Nov. 11, 2022

Traditionally, this date has treated me well over the years. In out-of-state hunts, I believe it’s my most successful date, so when I headed out this morning, I had a good feeling. 

  At the last minute, I decided to hunt with Brian in one of his spots. Shortly after daylight, I didn’t like where I was set up, so I climbed out of the tree and began searching for a better place. 

  The search didn’t last long, as I found a dynamite spot about 200 yards from where I had originally set up. I stayed there until it was time to meet Brian. I learned that he had a few guys out in front of him this morning.  We just can’t get away from people this year. He shined his light at them, but they never left and climbed trees in front of him. I just don’t get the total lack of respect for someone who beat you to a spot. There’s a lot of land. Go find another spot for the morning rather than blow up someone else’s hunt. You know exactly what you’re doing. It’s not increasing your odds either.

  I didn’t see a deer and Brian saw a spike. I decided to bring a hang-on stand back to the area I found. I’ll probably sit there the remainder of the time. It looks like a great cruising spot, and I’m almost sure a big buck will go by the stand. This is one of the best places I’ve found in the Midwest. It’s a rim along a valley that has about six fingers going down into it. The deer cruise the rim of the valley, and I’m set up right at the top of one finger where the runway turns the corner and goes onto a long oak flat. The stand is about 40 yards from an edge that consists of plantation pines. There’s a small creek a little way to the right of the stand, and there are large primary scrapes all over in front of the stand. Multiple giant rubs are scattered all over in the hardwoods too.

  This evening Brian saw a doe and two fawns, and I didn’t see anything. The temperature finally dropped, and snow is predicted for tomorrow. Big bucks finally started moving, and we got a few that showed up in some of our good spots. We will have to figure out where to hunt in the morning. We have a giant in on spot that is pushing the B&C minimum, and we have a huge, forked G-2 buck in another spot. There are some other good deer moving, but those two will probably be the ones we will focus on. Everyone else is headed home tomorrow, but Brian and I are staying a few more days. 

  Doug saw six bucks today in a new spot he tried out. Jeff has seen some really nice bucks the last few days but hasn’t been able to get a shot. It’s too bad the weather was so bad all week for the guys. It’s hard to enjoy hunting when it’s in the low to mid 80s every day.  We will see what tomorrow brings. I don’t have my hopes up. I’m just not seeing any deer this year. It’s bound to happen. I’ve had a lot of great years, so I can’t complain about it. 

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