Deer Hunting 11/18/2018

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Apparently this is the look of boys who have been asking to go hunting for months (shrugs).

I stepped out a bit and didn't hunt opening day. I know, I know. That's sacrilege and all, especially in the state of Alabama. Bbbbbuuutttt....I was on fish, it was gonna be 60 degrees and someone was holding a tournament. I won't go into all of it, just go read about the fishing trip by clicking the link below.

Fishing Report for Wheeler 11/16-17/2018

But, I promised the boys I would take them out. Now, part of me believed that the reason they wanted to go was because they actually wanted to hunt. After all, we had a successful trip last year, which you can read about in the link below.

Deer Hunting Christmas 2017

And, to be fair to me, they DID say how they wanted to shoot one and eat it. But deep down, I thought, maybe, it was just because they knew I would likely let them bring their tablets and play all afternoon in order to keep them still and quiet. So, just to be sure, I didn't let them bring any tablets. Just some snacks.

Yeah, so, it was about what I expected. 

I spent more time yelling. "Sit down, be quiet! Quit fighting! No, you can't have my phone!"

I tried to explain to them that we had to go at 2PM, even though the deer wouldn't come out until much later, because we needed to get quiet and let any trace of our arrival blend in. If we continued to be loud and move around, we would wreck any chances of seeing a deer, much less shoot one. It would waste all this HORRIBLE TIME WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY!

In the back of my mind, I secretly wondered if this was the reason that I never saw any deer when I hunted with my dad and granddad. I was probably 13 before I actually had any legitimate shot at killing a deer. 

By 4:30, we had seen a few coyotes but that was it and I was beginning to wonder if we were just too loud, too jittery, and too smelly for the deer, despite taking what precautions I could. The boys were absolutely miserable and I was pretty stressed out myself. 

Eventually a doe came out and I waited several minutes to let the boys know. She was behind a tree, anyway, and the only reason I had seen her was because I was scanning with the binoculars. When she came clear of the tree, I let the boys know. I had no intentions of shooting the doe because there had been a big buck in the area and I was going to be patient.

The boys stood up into the window, naturally sticking their heads completely through the window itself. They finally got excited, but excited meant a lot of movement and a louder voices.  She picked up that something was wrong and became spooked. 

I had a choice to make. Shoot her on the run or call it a day. Considering that the boys don't go with me very often and how few chances we would have to kill a deer (crucial to getting kids interested in the sport) I went for it. 

That meant throwing the rifle up, pushing kids down and telling them to get their ear muffs on, and rushing a shot at a running deer. 

When the smoke cleared, she was still running. That was a bad sign as I've never had a deer run for more than a few feet. When she disappeared into the thick, my heart sank. Not just because of the fear that I missed, but that I might have injured her, judging by how she was running.

Even worse.....I have no tracking skills. I've never had to use them. But Griffin was excited about the possibility of tracking. 

I had an entrance point into the thick stuff, but I couldn't see anything. That was probably because it was getting dark and my confidence was going down faster than the sun. 

"BLOODSIGN!" Griffin yelled. 

No way. Surely it was just a red leaf. But no, he was right! He found some blood! 

Using his sharp eyes, we tracked her down! 

Deer Hunting Christmas 2017

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Try as I might, I haven't been able to get my kids interested in bass fishing as much as I'd like. I admit that I am not a great "fun fisherman." In my quest to get better as a tournament angler, I have lost some of that charm. 

You can imagine my surprise when suddenly all three kids are interested in deer hunting. To me, I would think it would be the other way around. Bass fishing can be done in pleasant weather and it's typically a lot more action-packed. Obviously, you can go days without seeing the first deer and in many of those days, the weather can be downright awful. 

But, when the kids ask to go, you gotta take them, right? Of course, we had to separate into shifts as three kids didn't fit in the shooting houses, even as nice and large as they are. 

For the second time in the last few years, I had a shot when I had the kids with me. This time it was my two older kids. And, like last time, I likely rushed the shot and I probably shouldn't have done that considering it was bordering on 300 yards. The doe just stared at me and I racked another round, presented with another golden opportunity. This one missed as well and I didn't bother to shoot again as I had taken my time on the second shot and realized the gun must be off. 

The next day, I took Aubree and we did some sighting in. Sure enough, the gun was 6 inches low at just 75 yards. We remedied that and it was time to hit the woods. 

First trip, I took Aubree, the oldest. We were able to see a big four point and a couple of smaller deer, but no bucks or does worth shooting, much to her chagrin. Over the next few days, she begged and begged me to go, but it was the boys' turn next. I went to the store, got them snacks and drinks and warned them NOT to drink it all and NOT to fight. Well, you can guess what happened! 

On the next trip, we again saw the 4-pointer and it was awesome for the boys to get to watch him. I didn't see my first buck for probably three or four years of hunting! They got so excited that their movement scared him away. I couldn't be mad. They were really enjoying themselves.  As darkness moved upon us, we were presented with several does, but each of them had a faun with them and I thought it would be bad form to shoot them, especially with the boys with me. 

But, an opportunity presented itself in the form of an injured deer limping across the field. It was nearing dusk and I didn't have much time to put the binoculars on the deer to see what kind it was. In the end, I made a judgement call that no matter if it was a buck or doe, I needed to put the deer out of its misery as it was limping badly. I warned the boys and pulled the trigger. The deer went down and the boys witnessed their first kill. It ended up being a small buck that had a front shoulder completely out of place. The boys didn't mind. They were very excited! 

A few days went by and my dad killed a really nice buck. Work had been slow and I was looking at an afternoon of sitting in the office, at home or perhaps hunting. The issue with hunting was that the wind was pretty bad. In my experience, high wind is normally a killer for deer hunting. It throws off multiple senses for the deer and they stay hunkered down.

I texted my dad and he said that the rut was on and that it would easily cover up the wind, as far as the bucks were concerned. I took his word and, besides, what did I have to lose? 

Since the kids were with my mom, I knew this was the best opportunity for me to get a good buck. But, after the first hour, the only deer I had seen was a little spike that I have seen several other times. However, knowing that the rut was on, this was the perfect chance to use him as bait for a bigger deer. I broke out the grunt call and began grunting, as long as he was in the field. 

He made two complete laps of the field and every 15 minutes, I would make some grunts. Around 4:45, movement caught my eye and it was the last place I expected to see a deer. For at my back, just yards away, was the Flint River. A set of deer had crossed the river and were now just on my side of the tree line. One was obviously a buck, so I picked up the binocs. At first glance, it looked like a big six. 

Though his antlers stood outside his ears ( a club rule), a six pointer didn't meet the agenda. But, upon further review, he did have a set of brow tines that made him an eight. I took the shot and the deer dropped.

It ended up being a gorgeous young buck. He wasn't a monster, but he will be mighty tasty! Now it's time to find a giant! 

Deer Hunting 11/30/2015

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It wasn't that I didn't realize that deer season had been open for a week, it was just that I had a lot going on. Not that I am making excuses or anything, but.....

...we hosted two different Thanksgivings with a combined 100 people. Aubree had her last softball tournament and I received the stink-eye when suggesting that Alyse should take the boys to Birmingham by herself. Add on that a weekend trip to watch the Iron Bowl. Now that I think about it, there was a lot of extra time in there. But, frankly, we have been pretty tired and have elected to sit on our behinds in our spare time. 

Other than the one fishing trip Brad and I made to Pickwick. But, honestly, who can give up a chance to smallmouth fish in late November in 70+ degree weather?

Anyways. 

The stars aligned and I was able to shake free for an afternoon hunts. So, still in my khakis and polo shirt, I shimmied in to my coveralls in the rain and tied up my newest set of boots, which ironically are a woman's size 10. Not sure how I ended up with women's boots, but I digress. They fit and they are comfortable. 

In case you haven't looked outside or you aren't from around here, it has been raining for three days straight. 

But it was the perfect kind of rain that my uncle said would bring out the monsters. Indeed, as I had pulled in to the parking spot by the green house I was hunting, no less than 20 turkeys and 10 deer were sharing a green field across the street. A good sign. 

The day started off slow, so I broke out a book that I have been reading and kicked back in the shooting house. These shooting houses are tall enough to walk in (for me, maybe not for you normal sized people) and insulated. In fact, I cracked several of the windows to feel the cool breeze while I listened to the rain pitter-pattering the roof. 

Directly across the green field, I spotted a lone deer step out of a fire lane and eat some honeysuckle. It stepped across the lane and I never saw it again. 

Minutes later, another deer stepped out of the swampy bottom near the parking area. It slowly made its way across the field towards me. I pulled the scope up and weighed my options.

I have learned some valuable lessons from my dad and uncle over the last three years. I probably average about one lesson a year, so in about 15 years, I might have things down. But, the first lesson I learned a few years back is that, when trying to judge a lone doe, you pay attention to the length of the snout. That's because you can't gauge the relative size of the deer without seeing other deer and the length of the snout typically gives an indication of age. While this deer did appear full grown, it had a short snout. It was also by itself, which almost certainly meant it was a young button buck.

It was hard to keep watching it as it sauntered close to me, but I knew it would be a mistake to shoot it. 

To my left at the very far corner of the field, a doe and two fauns stepped out of another shooting lane. They cautiously walked the edge of the field. The fauns appeared big enough that shooting the doe was fair game. But, I am a terrible liar and my wife always questions me hard about killing does. 

The light was fading fast and already I could only make out general shapes on the far end of the field. That was when I spotted something in another fire lane, which is a favorite egress point for deer. I pulled up the scope, and thanks to its 40MM aperture, I was able to see it fairly clearly. It was a basket rack six. The antlers weren't outside the ears, which is the determining factor for shooting bucks in our club. Additionally, we are required to kill two does before a buck, unless the buck is considered a monster. Now, monster is a general term. Monster to me would be a big 8. Monster to my dad and uncle would be considerably larger. But, I haven't killed anything that large yet and they have. 

Clearly this buck didn't meet any standards, so I had to pass. I was fairly certain that the day was over as the day light was fading fast and so far all the does had done their very best to stay out of range. 

That's when I noticed the grunting. That doesn't mean that's when I first heard it. In all honestly, I had heard it as I was profiling the basket rack, but because I was so intently watching the small buck, I had tuned the grunts out. 

Eventually, it wasn't the grunts that finally got my attention, but the bizarre behavior of the three does (the doe and two fauns). Where they had been cautious, they were now absent mindedly running around the field, just to my left. 

That's when I noticed that there weren't three deer anymore, but four. One had stepped out from just behind a huge tree which was between the corner they entered and myself. 

I put the scope on the fourth deer which was obviously larger and I had to really dial it up to see as the sun was fading fast. 

It was a buck, no doubt. I didn't have to look for antlers to tell that. It was a fairly massive deer. But, sure enough, there were antlers. The issue was that he was perpendicular to me and I couldn't tell how far out the antlers extended. What I could tell was that they were long and tall, which was a great start. But, I needed to see the spread in order to get an honest assessment of whether he met the monster clause. 

I whistled and he ignored. 

I called and he ignored.

Eventually I had to scream "hey! over here!" 

Not only did he look, but he also took off at a pretty good clip away from me. But, in that moment, I could see all I needed to see. He met my definition of a monster. 

I dropped the hammer and he dropped to the ground. 

I am so glad I have two seasoned hunters to help me out. In the past, I probably wouldn't have shot the first doe and ultimately it would have been a button buck. Or, I might have given up so close to dark. But, I listened and I was rewarded with an excellent buck.

He has an 18 inch spread and was wonderfully fat. He will be terrific eating. Additionally, he will be the first deer that I will have mounted. Because he has split G2s, I call him "Crabby." 

Squirrel Hunting 10/4/15 Edition

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You know it's time to hunt when your grandmother calls you and tells you to come kill all the squirrels. Over a two week period leading up to the opening of the season, my Granny must have called me five different times. 

Since we had moved since last season, I thought it prudent to take the ole Ruger out and make sure that she was still on target. Sure enough, the scope must have been dinged around because the gun shot around a foot low at 50 yards. Additionally, one of the set screws on the adjustment knobs had backed out. So, I keep twisting the adjustment to get the scope on target, but nothing was happening. I must have twisted that thing 50 times before I figured out that I wasn't actually adjusting the scope at all.

In case you forgot what equipment we are using, check out this writeup on my Ruger 10/22 Build. 

On the opening day of the season, we had dinner with my grandparents. I brought the gun but didn't have any really desire to go hunting. But, I spotted a rabbit in my mom's garden. She convinced me to go after it. She was tired of having her fall crops being eaten.

One shot later, we had an adult rabbit in the bag. As I approached the dead rabbit, I realized that I had made a mistake. Just behind the dead rabbit was another rabbit that was laying flat. It scampered off and a I knew I had missed an opportunity at a double. 

As I returned with the rabbit, my Granny informed me that there would be at least one more just down the path. She said they always came out at the same time. 

With my oldest son in tow, we tip-toed down the path and spied another rabbit, just as she said. I lined up and shot. And missed. The rabbit didn't seem to notice the bullet plowing up dirt just inches away. I made another shot and the rabbit shot straight up in the air, what seemed like six feet! Then, it crumbled to the ground. Griffin was so excited because he HATES rabbits, though we don't know why. He used to have nightmares about them! 

With two rabbits, I decided that I might as well make the rest of the evening profitable. Cleaning two is hardly worth the effort. 

So, we went hunting and turned up another set of squirrels. Not a bad first day! I was amazed at how easy the rabbits were to skin! 

A few days later, Neil and I went hunting together, but the wind was howling and the squirrels were not interesting in coming out. 

What few we did see were in trees right next to us, which we obviously spooked. But, instead of running away, they ran in to knot holes in the tree they currently occupied. We didn't get a single shot off, though we did sneak up on some deer.

My next trip out was fantastic, though it started out super slow. 

After covering around 25 acres with Griffin, my oldest son, he gave up (I don't blame him) and he went to play with his grandmother. I decided to walk the remaining 75 acres. Occasionally I would see a squirrel, but they acted very similar to the ones that Neil and I had seen just days before. 

Eventually, I got on a trail of a barking squirrel. I knew he was active and wouldn't be spooked by me. The problem was that he was in deep woods well off the shooting lanes and roads. I decided not to let that bother me. 

I found him minutes later and he offered me a great shot. Barking squirrels are the easiest to hunt because they let you know where they are and they remain stationary. I took a very easy shot....and missed. He escaped up the tree and in to the thick foliage. Luckily for me, he kept barking. I circled the tree over and over. Most people would have given up on him, but I wasn't about to let that happen. 

After a ten minute stand off, I spotted him. He was much higher in the tree than I had thought, which was why I never saw him. I took a rest on a nearby tree and popped him. Down he came. 

His fall angered many other nearby squirrels, who decided to let me know how they felt. This is very common behavior, as they try to bewilder predators by confusing them due to the shear number of barks and noise. Indeed, it has hard to concentrate on one squirrel when three or four are constantly barking and jumping from tree to tree. I locked in on one who was high up in a tree and in the foliage. I could see his shadow, so I took aim and squeezed a shot. Out of the tree he came! Plop. 

That angered the other squirrels even more. I spotted another and popped him. Though I know I hit him, he jumped from the tallest point of the tree, sailed down, and smacked the ground. I didn't think there was ANY way he could survive it. Imagine my surprise when he scampered up the nearest tree, never to be seen again. 

I picked up a young squirrel at random as I was checking my fantasy scores and I spied him just yards away, sitting on a limb staring at me. 

I stumbled in to another group of squirrels late in the afternoon which was incredibly similar to the other big group. Instead, I was able to pick off three in a matter of seconds. The issue was that the last one fell and became stuck in a limb. Initially I tried to throw a rock straight up and knock it out, only to have that rock nearly conk me in the head. I proceeded to try and shoot it out. It took 10 rounds to accomplish this feat, which was 7 more shots than it took to kill all three of the squirrels in the group. 

I tied my personal best that day with six squirrels. 

Deer Hunting 12/22/14

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After wrapping up what little I had to do yesterday (oh, and writing an article about Auburn's Offense in 2015), I called my dad to discuss an afternoon hunt. In particular, the rain had moved in around lunch time, and while it wasn't a downpour, I was interested in hearing his thoughts on the deer's movement.  

He said that he had hunted that morning and had failed to see anything. I saw that as an opportunity. Now, I know it is flawed logic, but part of me thought "well, they have to move SOMETIME." Additionally, we looked at the weather for the remainder of the week, and it didn't look good. So, if I was going to get out, I better do it today. 

After additional thought, dad said "you know, if the rain DOES stop, the bucks will be out to check their scrapes." I couldn't predict the rain, but I figured it would worth a shot. 

First, I had to ship some books I sold of my Amazon account. You know what you want to avoid on December 22nd? The post office. And, you especially want to avoid it right after lunch. The line was out the door and into the rain. Apparently everyone needs to ship things for Christmas. Go figure. After spending two weeks wondering where my GoPro was, I finally found it the other day, but I left it at home. I thought about turning around to picking it up, but the amount of time I spent at the post office put me in a bind. 

So, I managed to get out of there without losing my mind and I headed to the hunting club. The rain slacked up. This was a GOOD thing. 

I was in the shooting house and ready to watch a hundred of them come bounding into the field. An hour past and I hadn't seen anything. Not surprising, really. The deer really like this field right at dusk. So, I busted out Hugh Howey's "Wool." I had around 50 pages or so left. If I wasn't going to see anything, I was going to kick back and relax. I finished it around 4PM. Good book. Review coming soon. 

Now I was beginning to get frustrated. I hadn't seen anything. Nothing. Usually there is at least a doe or two that walks THROUGH the green field. So, I decided to do something DRASTIC. Well, at least for me. First, some back-story. 

The other day, dad and I went to lunch. While I was there, I decided to visit Dick's Sporting Goods, since I had all this free cash they sent me in the mail. Like, I had a free $10 card and a $5 off $25 or something. Well, I needed some .22 for squirrel hunting. I am picky when it comes to .22 and I wanted some CCI ammo. Of course they didn't have it. But, they did have a sale on Strike King 6XDs. I picked up a few of them, especially since they had a few of the silent models that are so hard to find locally. 

While I was there, I went to look in the hunting section. I needed a few items such as doe pee , items that I don't usually carry. Turns out, they had almost all of their hunting stuff on clearance. In particular, a Buckmaster grunt call. I've used my dad's grunt call before, but it isn't part of my arsenal. I usually employ a much simpler hunting style. that is...I show up. I don't use scents or calls. And, if my phone battery makes it all the way until dusk, I was paying more attention than normal. But, I will admit that my uncle and dad have pointed at the obvious: that's why I don't have a monster buck on my wall. Ironically, the young cashier failed to take the coupons...just my luck.

So, I got the grunt call out. Tooted on it a few times and waited 15 minutes. Gave it another grunt. 

I found myself watching the corner that the deer frequent. I would sweep the remainder of the field every few minutes to make sure I wasn't missing anything. 

It's a good thing I did. From the southwest corner of the field, a deer was charging at me at near full speed. It was obvious it was a buck, but was it a legal shooter? 

He was running right at me and I hesitated to jerk the rifle up for fear that he would see me. But he was moving so fast that I didn't have much of a choice. 

I got the rifle up, put the scope on him and hope that he would give me enough time to evaluate his side and give me a shot. With him coming right at me, it was easy to see that his antlers were outside of his ears. So, he was legal, but he wasn't giving me any chance to get a shot. If I let him get right up to me, I might not ever get a shot. The sun was disappearing behind the wood line behind him. 

So, I did what all good hunters would do. When he got under 100 yards from me, I yelled at him.

"HEY!"

He stopped in his tracks.I thumbed the safety off. Then he made the fatal mistake. He turned broadside just before he took off in a dead sprint. He made about 3 gallops before I pulled the trigger. He took off at full speed to my right, but he had buckled first and his gait was slightly off. I was sure that I hit him, but the question was: did his first few steps pull the shot back too far to his rear? He made it 75 yards before he ever checked up. I was starting to worry because he wasn't laboring. He just looked to have felt comfortable with how far he had run. But, he made a misstep. Then another. Then fell. 

Turns out, I compensated for his run very well. Maybe even a touch too much. I pulled the shot about 3 inches up and 2 inches forward than I would like. But, judging by how much trouble I've had with this gun..er....the cheap scope I replaced... I can report that I have fixed all the issues. This is now about 5 shots in a row that have been simply dead-on. How did I fix it? Well, I employed my post:  Firearms: Understanding the Performance of Your Rifle Through Trials and Tribulations

One of the things I love about the outdoors, whether it's hunting or fishing, is that any day can become great in an instant. The only way to ensure that you don't have a great day is to not try. 

Deer Hunting 12/20/14

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First thing I noticed at 5am in the morning as my uncle, dad and  I waited to kick off the day was....

"Holy cow, I've owned this Yukon for 4 years and 100,000 TO THE DAY!"

Yep. As I exclaimed this, they looked at me funny. The old Yukon keeps rocking along. It's the first time that I have bought a car, put new tires on it, and driven it so long that it needs new tires again. And, believe it or not, I plan on doing JUST THAT. I am planning to pay it off in February so I can buy a new boa....err...house. A house. For my wife.

So I headed to the venerable shooting house in Zone 4, where I have found a lot of success in the past. It was chilly that morning and I don't take the cold like I used to. Fortunately, my uncle and dad build some baller shooting houses that are well insulated. And, someone just happened to leave a Mr. Heater. So, I fired that bad boy up! 

As the darkness faded to grey, I noticed that there were already deer in the field. 6 of them, to be exact. I put the scope on them and was contemplating taking another doe. After all, I had already eaten all the tenderloin from the deer I shot 2 weeks ago, which you can read about here. And, you can also read about my ridiculously good Bacon Wrapped Tenderloin while you are at it. Seriously. Do yourself a favor. 

But, I started thinking. If these deer were already out, maybe the deer would plan on moving today. They haven't been doing that, lately. And, if the rut has started, these 6 deer would make a great attraction for local bucks. So I waited. 

Sure enough, I spotted a loan deer from the south west corner of the field. I put the scope up, and it was a spike. We can't shoot spikes. He made his way to the does and they disappeared together. Rats. 

It was quiet for a few minutes. 

From the same southwest corner came a loan deer. It was small, so I didn't bother putting the scope on it. Strangely enough, it was on a good clip, crossing from one side of the field to the other at a rapid rate. I wondered if it had been on the treeline and had seen me move. It didn't look spooked. I chalked it up to being a crisp morning and it needed a run. 

It didn't take long for me to figure out why it was running. I spotted a large deer very close to the ingress point of the former. Even at this range, I could tell it was a buck. I put the scope on it. It was walking perpendicular to me, so I was able to gauge the height of the rack, but not the width, which is the critical measurement. Eventually I had to whistle at it. When it turned, I could see that it wasn't outside of the ears. So, not a shooter. He disappeared the same way the doe had. 

Apparently he caught up to the doe, and she didn't appreciate it. As quick a trot as she had going into the far wood line, she bounded back out and into the field with me. This time, she was chased by another spike, much to my dismay. 

Minutes later, two large deer appeared from the woodline in front of me, about 150 yards away. Again, the bodies were so large that I knew they were bucks. I scoped them out, but one was a 4 pointer and the other a 6 pointer, neither shootable. Ironically enough, a shot sounded from the distance, which spooked both of them, causing them to run away. 

After seeing that many bucks, I figured my luck wasn't THAT good and that seeing a shooter wasn't going to happen. So, I made the decision to shoot the next doe I saw. Naturally, that never happened. 

From dawn until 8am, the deer were really moving. In that time, I had 4 does, 5 fauns, 4 spikes, a 4 point and 2 6-pointers that made appearances, but not a shooter among them. But, truth be told, that's the most bucks I've ever seen in one day....which made it a great day regardless of whether or not I shot one. 

Deer Hunting 12/9/14

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You may recall in my post from last weekend that I BELIEVED I had a monster buck poached out from under me. Well, after my adventure in killing a large dog..err...small doe on Monday, I went to eat dinner with my grandparents. On the way up the driveway, I spotted the big buck. WHEW! So, he didn't get popped by some poacher after all. 

I talked with my granddad and we decided to go after this monster. We were pretty sure we had him cased pretty well. He likes to eat in the bean fields until right at dark, then he likes to chase the does up the mountain. So, granddad was to hunt one food plot and I would hunt another about 100 yards away. If he came in off the field, he would walk past one of us.

My dad and uncle built this new baller shooting house and I headed to it. It would beat the mess out of my sore booty experience from the metal stand the day before. And, it would keep me warm in these monsoon level winds that we experienced. I don't have a lot of experience with judging deer movement based on conditions. I am just now to the point of getting to hunt when I want, not when I can. I have to thank my wife....SOMEONE POINT THIS OUT TO HER!....for letting me hunt and fish so often.

Sometimes I wonder if she has some ulterior motive...but I digress.

As I parked at my mom's and walked down towards the house, I couldn't help but notice how torn up the roads were. In particular were several rubs and scrapes that seemed to be very fresh. Obviously there was a rutting buck. Well, I already knew that...considering that every time I saw the monster, he was in the company of several does. I stopped to take a pic of the scrape. 

Meanwhile. I used some cotton balls and bottled doe pee to make a little trap for this guy, leading to the T in the road right in front of my shooting house. 

I figured that the howling wind could at least do SOME work for me by getting the scent into the air. 

As I waited, I was surprised to see that the squirrels were out and active, despite the swaying trees. I managed to snap a pic of one who wasn't too sure to make of that round and moving object in the window of the house. 

I admit that I can watch them play for hours. So much so that I nearly missed the doe crossing the road just yards from him. I guess I rely on hearing too much. The wind prevented me from hearing her walk up and, just by happenstance, I saw her. 

I apologize for the quality, but the wind was stiff and it was cold. I kept the windows closed. Maybe that's why I didn't hear her.....

As she stepped to my right and into the woods, I caught some movement. All I could see was a leg, definitely a deer, but in the thick brush. I could see it make steps, and then it was gone. Exactly the type of behavior to expect from a wizened buck. So. I waited. And waited. I kept my eyes locked on where I thought he would be. 

In the corner of my mind, I heard the steps and logged their position, but paid no attention. That was until they sheer amount of noise caused me to finally look 180 degrees the other way. Just in the nick of time I watched 5 or 6 deer including a few fauns exit the woods into the food plot. Perfect. With that many does in the field, surely it will draw out a buck. 

Add fuel to the fire as 2 more does came from behind me and walked to the field. 10 deer or so. Surely he will come. 

I waited. And waited. And then it was dark. 

Oh well. It's always fun to actually see deer. I know a lot of people that don't get to. Heck, as a child hunting in Jackson county, we wouldn't see but a few deer a year. Possibly because it was a hunting club that killed them all. Or possibly because I was a 5 year old kid stomping around with his grandfather. 

Deer Hunting 12/8/2014

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I was pleasantly surprised when I viewed the hits on the blog and found that the two most popular posts weren't my Fishing Adventures or my Auburn Realist posts, which typically are heavily viewed (well, for me). 

Believe it or not, it was the Squirrel Hunting and my last Deer Hunting posts. 

What was even more surprising was that the deer hunting post didn't even feature a kill! 

But, I remembered what this blog stands for and why I started writing it to begin with. Being outdoors and enjoying nature isn't just enjoyable when you have success. Yet, most of us read stories online and all we see is the success of others. It can sway your way of thinking of outdoor sports. Instead, I started this blog as an unedited and no-holds-barred account of my adventures. Along the way I found that writing about my struggles ultimately profited me more than just writing about the successes. 

And, for that, I have a pretty good following from people that like to see the realism. And, I would take avid followers like you guys any day. 

So, let's talk about the last two hunting trips and laugh together. 

Monday afternoon I left work and headed to the hunting camp. I texted my uncle to let him know I was coming, where I was going to be, and that SOMETHING was going to die tonight, though I halfway expected that to be my pride. 

I had a bit of a revelation the other day. I had been passing up does on every trip, other than the muzzle loader miss I had in November. Sometimes a buck would show up, none of which were shooters, and sometimes they wouldn't. In all cases, I messed around and didn't take a shot at a doe. Then, I would kick myself for not shooting a doe. Well, that's HALF accurate. I would get home and my wife would ask where her meat was. So, I thought....this is stupid. I need to get some meat in the freezer. That will alleviate any decisions conundrums. So. First shot I got.....I was taking it. 

My uncle and dad had suggested I use a metal stand on the opposite side of the green field from the shooting house I typically use. Because I have become spoiled, I really wasn't considering that option. They build a heckova shooting house that is mighty cozy. I wasn't really excited to hunt in a metal stand where I couldn't move around, drink Mt. Dew, and read my book. I would actually have to hunt.

But, they had pointed out from their experience that the deer take a path much closer to the metal stand and that the bucks don't typically venture out into the field, but hug the woods right by the stand. I admit that the does I have watched from the shooting house don't come very close to me and that I have passed on shots that I wouldn't pass in that metal stand. 

So, the backpack with my snacks, book, and tablet, were left in the car. I actually had to bundle up because of the wind. Up the stand I went. The field is behind my back. The woods road right below me. In front of me is a swampy area. 

I found myself craning my neck to view the field more than I did watching the swamp in front of me. Every once in awhile, I watched the squirrels play in the swamp. As I typically do, I mentally make a note of where they are and ignore their noise. After an hour or so, the constant and interrupted gate of the squirrels was replaced by a different cadence...a steady and precise series of crunching leaves, but coming from the same spot. Eventually my subconscious got my attention and I looked up just in time to see 4 deer cross the road from the swamp in to the wood line of the field. It was a lead doe, followed by two young deer, followed by another doe. Because they were on my extreme right, there was zero chance that I could swing my gun around and take aim. I might could pull off a left handed shot, as I did last year....but I decided not to chance it. After all, I was positive the deer would end up in the field behind me. 

So, I waited. And waited. And waited. Now, that wasn't to be unexpected. These deer frequently come out late. And so they did. Two of them. Again, that isn't surprising. The does frequently leave the fauns behind while they feed. It isn't surprising for the fauns to wait until the last rays of the sun before joining their moms. 

I waited as the does crossed behind me, from my right to my left. Eventually, they were on the right side for me to get the scope lined up. But, they had managed to walk away from me a good bit, making this a pretty far shot. Now, in the shooting house, I can take a rest and take a good steady aim. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot 200-250 yards. But, there were no rests to be taken. I was standing up and shooting off-hand. The shot would be around 100 yards. Not very far, but far enough that I could watch the cross hairs dance on the deer. I tried to pick out which one looked larger, recalling that the does I saw earlier had a definite size difference, though they were both full grown.  These two looked identical, though I admitted that they were pretty far away and it might be hard to tell. 

Neither were broadside to me, so I had to wait. Let me tell you, that gun gets heavy after you have been holding it up for several minutes. Eventually one did turn. I lined it up, made a mental note of exactly where my shot would take place,  and let it rip. 

Man, this 30-06 is loud. 

The deer dropped.

I made sure that the deer stayed down as I watched the other sprint off. I unloaded the gun and headed down the ladder. 

As I gathered myself at the bottom of the ladder, I looked up towards where I expected to find my meat. And the deer was standing there. Now. Just for a second I thought about jacking a round and making SURE it didn't get off. But, I learned a tough lesson last year in the exact same situation. See, I took a LLLOONNNGGG shot at a deer, it dropped, and when I looked up a few minutes later. there it stood. So, I shot it again....only to find out that I had shot a young deer with its twin...and the twin came back to check on it. 

So, I held off, even though I didn't see the body of the other one. 

Strange, I thought. That a full grown doe wouldn't be smart enough to know that when it hears that sound and see its friend go down, to take off and stay gone. Only a faun wouldn't know better.

See where I am going with this?

Then I started thinking. What if those 4 deer had kept walking and this was a different set of deer altogether? 

Sure enough, I had popped a yearling. I called dad and told him. He wasn't happy. I told my uncle, who wasn't as mad as he should be as head hauncho. It didn't take dad long to laugh about it, though. I beat myself up over it enough for all 3. I will admit that I made a gorgeous shot, however. So...no pics. Sorry.  

I had an itchy trigger finger. I made a bad assumption. And I didn't follow some guidelines that my dad and uncle have shared. 

• When it comes to deer at range, if they are both the same size, it's impossible to establish their true size.
• Full grown does have long snouts. Fauns have short snouts. I admit that I didn't think about that.
• When deer come out in a pair like this, it is typically yearling twins who have left the mother.  

Anyway, I was able to throw it in a tote and put it in the backseat of the Yukon. When I dropped it off with my processor, he said:

"Well, at least it will be good eating!"