December 27, 2008

Location:  Top of Main Hollow
Entry/Exit Times: 2:00 p.m. / 5:15 p.m.
Weather: 68 degrees, mostly sunny, wind SSW 10 – 15 mph, barometer 30.05 – falling
Moon Phase: New Moon

We skipped the first day of the late season because of the rain, so by Saturday afternoon, we were excited to get back into the woods after a long layoff from archery hunting. My Dad hunted from his new stand location and my hunt was being filmed by Mike at Weekend Outdoor Warrior Productions.

We got settled in our location at about 2 p.m. and we knew it was going to be a tough hunt from the start. It was sunny, windy, and nearly 70 degrees, which is about double the normal temperature for the last week of the year. On top of that, there were plenty of people on surrounding properties hunting with flintlock muzzleloaders for deer, and with shotguns for small game. I guess that’s to be expected on a Saturday during hunting season when the weather is good.

Not more than 10 minutes into the hunt, I turned to see four doe coming in hot from my left. In one motion I rose to my feet, grabbed my bow, and got Mike’s attention as he was facing the opposite direction. Unfortunately they were on us too quickly, and in our attempt to get into position, they spotted our movement. I had the lead doe in my sights, but when I asked Mike if he was rolling, I could tell he wasn’t rolling yet. I then whispered to him “I’ll take the second one,” so he knew which deer to be filming, but we just couldn’t make it happen in that narrow window. We watched helplessly as they walked out of sight.

It wasn’t until just before dark that we saw an adult doe with two fawns passing through, but they were well out of range. We ran out of shooting and camera light, and decided to call it a hunt. It’s difficult enough to take a deer during the late season, and when you throw trying to put together a decent film of the hunt into the mix, it can seem almost impossible. We’ll give it a try again over the next couple of weeks, and hopefully we can make it happen. As for my Dad, all he saw was the group of four doe that we had under us early in the hunt. None of them came into range.

Does/Fawns Observed: 7
Bucks Observed: 0

After two years in a row of chasing bucks in the late archery season, I finally get a year off due to my success back in November. I still hope to fill one more doe tag on film, but I’m certainly not spending a lot of time thinking about stand placement. That hasn’t kept me totally out of the woods however since my Dad still has buck and doe tags to fill.

My ATV was loaded down with stands and other gear as I removed my Dad's early-season stand and then set-up the new Gorilla hang on stand that my brother and I got him for Christmas.

I got a couple photos of good bucks using a small ribbon of brushy cover that sandwiches a nice bench between some young pines and a creek bottom. I figured this would be as good of a place as any to put the stand for the last couple weeks of hunting season. My first challenge was finding the right tree. Because my Dad uses a ladder that only gets to about 15 feet, I had the difficult challenge of providing the stand with enough cover to break up his outline, which is critical for late season hunting. Although there were some larger trees in the area, I chose a smaller maple because it had at least one large branch to hide the stand behind, as well as a good backdrop smaller branches. Assuming he sits still enough, he should be hidden pretty well.

The stand is pretty well hidden by the young maple tree, and it's facing directly toward where I expect the deer to come from. I'm hoping this will allow him to get a shot without having to move very much.

Based on my photos and past experience hunting this area, I expect the deer to use this corridor primarily in the evening. Thew will likely come from the creek bottom, then follow the small bench in front of the stand until they reach the thick cover where they will either move up the hill to the right or continue straight through. They may also come down from the right side and pass directly in front of the stand before heading to the opposite hillside.

The stand (center of photo) is squeezed between a creek bottom on the left, and some brushy cover and small pines on the right. There is an active licking branch just to the right of the stand location.

Although he won’t have many shot opportunities to the right because of the branch hiding the stand, it shouldn’t matter because that’s where the thickest cover is. The last thing you want to do in the late season is start cutting shooting lanes in the already sparse cover. Overall I think this set-up and gives him a good chance to fill one of his tags, and if nothing else, it’s a comfortable stand!

Now that I’m actually living on my hunting property, I decided to set an automatic feeder out because I will be able to keep up with filling it and making sure the battery is charged. I don’t want to make this post about the pros and cons to feeding deer, but I will say if you can’t make the commitment to keep the feeder full, or if you don’t have an automatic feeder and instead want to start a food “pile,” STOP! You’ll be doing more harm than good. Okay, back to the topic.

The finished product. It won't be long before the deer find this new food source.

Instead of shelling out the $100+ for an automatic feeder that sits on the nice metal poles, I was able to build my own for less than $50. I started by purchasing an automatic feeder in the Cabela’s bargain cave last spring for $17. It was originally a $50 machine, but someone bought it and apparently couldn’t figure out how to set it up. Lucky me! I put another $7 into a black plastic five-gallon bucket with a lid, about $5 for hinges, and another $7 or so for lumber. Add about $10 for paint and hardware and I figure I have about $46 dollars in the project.

I built my feeder legs out of 2X4s and cut a triangular piece of wood out of some scraps for my top. I attached the 2X4s to the top with heavy-duty hinges so that I could easily move the legs in and out to level the top. I painted the heck out of the wood with flat black exterior paint to protect it from the weather. The finishing touch was an “eye” hook in the center of the top where I can hang the bucket and feeder from. Not counting breaks while I was waiting for the paint to dry, I’d say I have about an hour or so labor in the project.

I have the feeder set to disperse food three different times, 6:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m., and 10:00 p.m. It will release feed for 10 second intervals each time. For now I’m feeding Buckola brand deer feed because it’s what I had around, but I will eventually get to the farm store and put together my own mix, which will be much cheaper. I have the feeder positioned where I can easily see it from our loft or kitchen windows, about 75 yards from the house. Hopefully I’ll have some photos to share of deer using it in the near future.

I got this picture of a good buck still moving during daylight hours in late January. Don't count out the possibility of meeting up with a mature buck during the late season.

 If you still have a buck tag in your pocket, you might be surprised to know that hunting can actually be quite exciting and productive in late winter. Although most of the mature does will have been bred already during the regular rut, younger does may have grown to sexual maturity and could come into estrous as late as February. I’ve had success with grunt calling this time of year as well. Do a little homework to find out where the deer are feeding and bedding, and put yourself between the two.

That may seem like an oversimplified game plan, but that’s really all there is to it. Here are a few “sub pointers” to consider. Try to put yourself within a couple hundred yards of a core bedding area without spooking the deer. Focus most of your hunting time for the evenings when the temperatures will be higher, making it more comfortable for you, and more likely that deer will be getting up to feed. The much colder morning temperatures, especially below freezing, tend to make deer remain bedded to conserve energy. Be sure to locate your stand in a tree that affords the most cover. With no leaves on the trees, you’ll need as many limbs for cover as you can get. Pay close attention to wind direction. This is critically important during the late season especially when deer won’t tolerate even the slightest scent of human odor. If the wind is wrong and blowing from you to the bedding area, don’t waste your time.

I took this mature doe during the 2006 late season. I used Apparition Phantom Hunter scent eliminator to ensure that all of my human odor was elminated. Scent control is paramount during the late season. Visit www.apparitionscents.com for your bottle of Phantom Hunter.

Finally, whether your’e still after a buck or could be happy to fill a remaining doe tag, just enjoy these last few days on stand. Remember, it will be several months before hunting season returns so get out of it what you can. Although late season hunting certainly isn’t easy, you can’t harvest a deer from your living room couch. With a little luck, you may just end up with the hunt of a lifetime.

This massive 12-point was taken by Tom Hart in South Mahoning Township, Indiana County on the opening day of firearms season.

 I just got my “Hunters’ Harvests” pamphlet from the Indiana Gazette, and let me tell you there were some eye-popping bucks shot. This eight-page document showcases just a small sampling of the great bucks that were killed in and around Indiana County, PA, and I can tell you, things have never looked brighter.

This buck was shot by Robert Dean near the Indiana/Westmoreland County border. Another great 12-point.

We are beginning to see more and more deer scoring well over 150 inches, with several reaching Boone and Crockett status. I actually hear conversations among hunters now saying things like, “I saw a decent buck the other night, but I passed on him because I know there is a 140-inch buck running around.” Those conversations didn’t exist as recently as five years ago.

This massive 17-pointer was taken by Ken Hamilton just 15 minutes from my house, near Parkwood, Indiana County.

Moultrie I-40 Infrared Game Camera
Rating:  2.5

Early in 2007, a guy at work purchased his first game camera, the Moultrie I-40. Because I wanted to add another camera to my small collection, I was interested in his feedback as well as seeing his photos. He was very pleased with its performance, and when I saw the photos, it seemed to me that he was getting good results. The deer seemed to be in the center of the image indicating suitable trigger speed, and the infrared seem to work well with clear black and white images at night, and color photos during daylight hours.

The Moultrie I-40 Game Camera

Earlier this year, I was finally ready to purchase the camera. I was able to get it for just over $200, which I thought was reasonable IF it performed well. Guess what? It didn’t! It’s tough to figure out where to start here because there are a number of issues to choose from. For the purposes of this review, I’ll focus on trigger speed, infrared quality, and photo quality.

For a $200 camera, I would rate the trigger speed as deplorable. When I was getting “ghost” images or pictures of deer tails, I did some self testing and found the camera to have trigger speeds exceeding four seconds! As for the infrared, it seemed like 90% of the images were in black and white, and the infrared engaged despite it being broad daylight in many cases. That resulted in whiteout images and blurry black and white photos. That being said, when I got a true night photo in infrared, the quality was pretty good. The same could be said for the few daytime color photos I got.

Unfortunately this type of photo is far too common with the Moultrie I-40 camera. The slow trigger speed results in getting only the back half of the animal, or nothing at all unless it happens to stop in front of the camera.

I went to Moultrie’s website and found that the camera may need a couple of file updates. I executed the upgrade easily enough, and again tried the camera. Unfortunately, the results were the same. I was so angry with the camera’s performance, I did some research and found out that I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t satisfied. If you’re in the market for a camera, I recommend this site for excellent game camera reviews and testing results:  http://www.chasingame.com/ Be sure to click on scouting camera reviews at the top. The way I understand it, the I-40 was a great camera when it first came out and was being manufactured in the U.S., but that all changed when they started putting them together elsewhere. My bad luck resulted in me getting one of the ones made over seas. I don’t know all of the details about that situation, so I encourage you to do your own research and not rely on my interpretation.

To make a very long story shorter, I returned the camera to Moultrie and eventually got a new camera back from them. I though this was strange because in their letter they indicated that “there was nothing wrong with the camera I sent them.” I immediately got the new camera into the woods. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any noticeable improvement in performance. Again, I encourage you to check out the site above for detailed information.

It’s not a total disaster. The battery life on this unit is amazing. It runs on 6 size D batteries, and I can honestly say that you could probably get through at least four months of continual use without having to change the batteries. There are also some nice control features that are easy to use, as well as some nice extras, such as the temperature reading and the ability to add a custom title or location name to your image. Also, the video feature actually works pretty well. I would only rate their customer service as average because they wouldn’t admit to me that the cameras are flawed, or offer me a rebate of some type.

Despite the positives, the bottom line is I want the camera to have a reasonable trigger speed as well as good photo quality. Unfortunately, that’s where this camera falls short. My recommendation would be to stay clear of the Moultrie I-40 camera, especially with so many other good options out there in the $200 range.

I have managed to make whitetail hunting a year-round sport. Call it obsession, addiction, or just flat out determination, there isn’t a single month on the calendar where I don’t do something to prepare for the next hunt. Now that I no longer have a buck tag, I’m already thinking about what buck I’ll pursue next season. To get a head start, I like to use my game cameras to monitor the property for bucks that have survived the archery and firearms seasons.

This heavy-racked 2 1/2 year old buck was captured on the opening day of the firearms season. Assuming he remained safely on our property, he'll be a dandy buck in 2009.

 Although I hope to capture a trophy buck on camera, I’m just as satisfied to see healthy 2 1/2 year old bucks because I know they’ll likely be trophy status the following season. Over the last week, I manged to get several photos of nice 2 1/2 year old bucks that have potential for next season. The photos that I get over the next few weeks will be even more important now that the firearms season is close. Although it’s possible one of them could get shot during flintlock or the late archery season, it’s highly unlikely.

My Cuddeback picked up this nice 10-point that would have qualified as a shooter for this season. Based on his rack now, if he remains healthy it's reasonable to expect this deer to reach Pope and Young status for 2009.

 Now that winter is upon us, I place my cameras over scrapes and licking branches that were active during the season. Most people don’t realize that deer will use these areas throughout the year, and will still exhibit rutting activity well into January. Before you know it, it will be time to start hunting antler sheds!

We had a good game plan and executed it about as well as we could, but it still didn’t result in a filled buck tag for Angela. I thought it might be a great night because just by simply looking out of our lodge room window in the morning, I spotted a buck walking through the thicket, as well as four antlerless deer moving through.

We set up in a ground blind at 3:30 p.m. and the plan was for me to begin a series of calls about an hour before dark, hopefully drawing in a shootable buck. This hunt was also being filmed by Mike Groman of Weekend Outdoor Warior Productions, so there was a little added incentive. Mike was situated in a stand just above our blind. Shortly after getting situated, I spotted three deer sneaking in behind us. Immediately I saw that two of them were bucks. I knew they weren’t big, but I was just hoping for something that was reasonably shootable. Unfortunately, one was a half-rack two-point, and the other a six-point. Unfortunately all we could do was sit there and watch as they stood there in easy gun range for what seemed like five minutes.

Despite my best calling, I was unable to bring anything into range. I had confidence going into the hunt because I’ve had success using this tactic in the past, but it just wasn’t to be this time. Still, just before dark, Mike spotted a decent buck from his stand location. Unfortunately, we were situated a little too low to get a good look, so Angela had to let it pass. Still, she was happy to see three bucks in less than two hours of hunting.

I had an interesting evening last night as I had the opportunity to score three trophies for Safari Club International. I became a certified scorer for them a couple of years ago, but this was the first time that I was asked to measure something for their record books. I scored two Rocky Mountain mule deer taken south of Jackson, Wyoming, and a giant Alaskan Yukon moose.

Although both mule deer were good trophies, neither of them qualified for the Safari Club record books. Both fell short by less than three inches.

The moose antler were so large, we were barley able to get them into the house. Once we did get them in the door, it was apparent that we would have to measure them on the floor.

Easily a two person job, the process took more than an hour to complete. The moose easily made the record books and will likely rank highly among the biggest ever measured by Safari Club International.

As a trophy measurer for both Safari Club International and the Northeast Big Buck Club, I volunteer my time and receive no compensation. To me, it’s just exciting getting your hands on some great trophys, while getting to hear the stories behind them from the hunters who harvested them.