Well this was quite the way to say goodbye to October and hello to November. I sat on a funnel this morning hoping to catch a buck out cruising. It was a great morning to sit. The wind was relatively calm compared to the last few weeks. There wasn’t much sign where I sat, but I went with my gut and figured I would take a chance. Sometimes those chances pan out and sometimes they don’t. I did have a great morning. I didn’t say any living creatures. It spit snow for most of the morning. The temperature when I left the house was around 37 degrees and there was a SW wind where I was sitting.
My dad went with me this morning. He was feeling a little better today as compared to yesterday. He didn’t see anything either.
This afternoon was calm until I got into the woods. When I headed to my stand the heavens let loose with a blinding snowstorm. The snow pelted my face and made it hard to walk. I contemplated turning around for a few minutes.
I continued on my way and by the time I got to my stand the sky opened up and I could see some patches of blue with a little sun mixed in. I checked the battery in my camera. It looks like it should make it until I get back around Thanksgiving time.
Around 4pm I could hear something above me. My friend Jason had seen a bear earlier in the morning, so when I saw something black moving it got my heart racing. Within seconds I could see that it was a small flock of turkeys. It surprised me because I hadn’t seen turkeys in there in quite a few years. As they fed down past me I started a coughing attack like last night. It didn’t alert them and they fed out of sight. I only saw 3 and they were all gobblers with the largest one having around an 8 1/2 inche beard.
Around 5pm I heard a really strange noise behind me. It was a noise that I’m not sure I’ve ever heard. I recall my father telling me about a noise the buck we call “The Bull” made right before he saw him. This sounded similar to that noise. It sounded like half of deer’s blow mixed with a grunt and a red squirrel squeal. That’s the closest I can come to describing it so you’ll have to bear with me.
As soon as I heard it I remembered the conversations about “The Bull.” When I scanned the woods I saw a tail flicker. I could barely see it so I kept my eyes fixed on the spot. I stared for about a minute. My concentration was broken by some leaves stirring off to my right. When I glanced that way I could see the entire flock of turkeys coming up the hill. I counted nine of them. When the got directly under me I caught a glimpse of a deer up on the hill. I saw it for a second or two. It appeared that the turkeys disturbed it and it was headed someplace else. I easily identified it as a buck although I could never tell you what it was. It could have been a spikehorn or a giant. The split second that I saw it I could see that there was white bone sticking quite high off the head, but that’s it.
As the turkeys continued feeding I saw a tail flicker in the same place that it flickered a few minutes earlier. I’m assuming it was the same deer. I could see nothing more than the legs as it walked up the hill. The deer didn’t appear very large.
It was a pretty exciting day in the woods. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend Halloween. It brought back some great memories. I expect that my buddies will bag a buck or two in the time that we’re gone. I’m hoping that they get a look at Toad. I think it would be pretty cool to get one of the bucks that we have on trail camera. I’ll probably hunt tomorrow and then hang it up to get ready for my trip to the Midwest.
I’ve attached a picture of a buck that my buddy Jeff Jenkins killed on Halloween quite a few years ago. Jeff and I dragged this deer half the day after he shot it and all day the next day to get it back to camp. It was calm, clear and cold the morning he took him down. The buck was up and moving close to noon when he shot him.
Well, I couldn’t find a picture of The Bull so we’ll have to wait on him.
Halloween Buck