This slow-moving system is threatening to wash out yet another Saturday hunt.
First let me say that I really feel for the guys who can’t get out to hunt much other than Saturdays. This is the third consecutive Saturday that included steady rain and high winds in the forecast. Because of that, I made the decision to stay home, pop in a hunting DVD, and update my hunt tracker. At this point of the season, I’m after the oldest and smartest deer in the woods, and I’ve got enough experience to know that these conditions certainly drop my odds considerably. A big mature buck already has just about every advantage, and on a day like this, it’s best to just follow that one golden rule: When in doubt, don’t go out!
It’s only Halloween, and although there’s a lot of chatter about Halloween bucks, the reality is, my hunting records don’t indicate this to be a great day. I know the weather is going to improve heading into early next week, and I want to be at my best when that time comes. The bottom line is, if you’re committed killing a mature buck, you have to stick with the game plan, and make smart decisions. Remember, a big buck makes smart decisions about 99% of the time because his life depends on it. If you make bad decisions as a hunter, you’re only making it easier for him to avoid you and live another year.
If the weather improves dramatically, I may go out in the afternoon. Otherwise, I’m going to catch up on some other things today, and maybe watch some college football.
Pretty much a slow morning. Shortly after shooting light, a 4-point snuck in behind me and ended up walking right out in front of me. He was a little spooky, and I think it’s because the wind was blowing in his direction. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to make the walk to this stand without breaking a sweat. It’s about a mile walk, and it’s mostly uphill. Around 9:30, a decent 8-point worked his way in from my right, and he actually looked like he may have been cruising for does. Maybe something is finally starting to happen.
I found this massive rub near my stand location. It wasn't there just a couple of days ago, so I know it's fresh. No doubt this is the work of a bruiser as the rub is on a fairly large maple tree, and it's torn up!
When I got down, I decided to take a short walk around where I was hunting just to get a better feel for the lay of the land, and to make sure there’s not a better spot than the one I’m in. I stumbled upon a massive rub, and a short distance later, I found a hot licking branch. Immediately it came to mind that I need to get a camera over that branch so that I can possibly get a photo of the giant responsible for the rub. If I get a good photo, I already picked out a tree or two that could serve as the ambush point so we’ll see what happens. As I walked along a bit further, I came across a really nice 5-point antler shed from last winter. It didn’t have a single rodent mark on it, so it was quite a find this deep into the year. Now I’m wondering if the buck responsible for that rub is also the previous owner of the shed antler that’s now in my possession. Maybe I can set up a reunion!
Calling for rain tomorrow. Hunting will be a game-time decision. Going to a football game tonight, but it’s almost 70 degrees so I doubt I’ll miss much action in the woods.
I was awake in plenty of time to hunt this morning, but I decided to force myself to take a full day off. As much as I wish it wasn’t the case, deer activity right now, particularly mature buck activity, is almost nonexistent. I’ve hunted pretty hard, and more often than not ended up wet and tired while seeing very little. I know if I don’t keep myself refreshed before the rut kicks in, I’ll end up sick, exhausted, and not performing at the top of my game. What makes it a little more difficult is the great weather today. Still, it’s trophy bucks I’m hunting, and not trophy weather forecasts. I can’t be like the 18-month old bucks that start chasing does way too early, and end up exhausting themselves and bowing out of the game before the main event. I look back at my journals from previous years and it’s the same thing over and over again this time of year. I’ve been doing this for far too long and know better than to let the late October “lull” zap my energy level.
I’ll be taking today off and will once again go over my gear to make sure everything is ready heading into the weekend, and the first week of November. I plan to hunt the morning tomorrow, then all day on Saturday. Sunday will be another opportunity to rest before what could be the beginning of the real action next week. If you go back and look at my 2008 journal for this time of year, you’ll see that things started to pick up just as we headed into November. To see my journal from last year beginning on October 20, click here: http://whitetailwriter.com/rublines/?m=20081020.
Location: #1 Entry/Exit Times:07:00/09:30 Weather:61 degrees, overcast with light rain, wind variable to SSW gusting to 15 m.p.h., barometer 29.74 – rising
I made a last-second decision to head out this morning based on the radar. It showed the major rain storm heading out of the area, and it looked like it was going to be pretty much gone by daybreak. Why in the world I still trust Accuweather radar after how it has lied to me so far this season is beyond me. I actually grabbed my golf umbrella and walked out to my stand with it up, doing my best to stay dry. I wouldn’t have done that if it were daylight for fear that someone might actually see me! As luck would have it, about the time I finished my .8 mile walk, the rain had pretty much left the area.
It was very difficult to see or hear. The wind was whipping on the backside of the storm system, leaves were still falling, and the forest floor was soft and quiet. I had to do a lot of moving to see around me since I couldn’t hear anything. Now that most of the leaves are gone, I have to take extra special care to remain still, and scan as much area with my eyes as possible without turning my head too far. I didn’t see a deer until about 8:30. It was a yearling buck, who was eventually joined by a doe with a fawn. About a half-hour later, another doe and fawn came in from the same direction. That was the extent of the deer activity. There is still really no sign that the rut is kicking in. Even my recent trail camera photos show very few bucks, and almost no mature bucks. It’s frustrating because I know they’re out there. I just have to keep reminding myself that when the time is right, they’ll show up.
No hunting tonight as I’m going to the Penguin’s game with a donor of the organization I work for. That also means there probably won’t be any hunting on Thursday morning either.
I was able to grab a quick photo of the spike that was hanging out at the base of my tree this morning.
It was a beautiful morning to hunt. It was cold with little to no wind, and there was no rain in sight. Although everything felt right, I was reminded rather quickly that we’re still very much in the “October lull.” The big bucks just aren’t moving yet, like it or not. I didn’t see a deer until 09:00, and it was a spike that went as far as to sniff the base of my tree. I did hear a deer above me in the brush, but couldn’t see him. I’m almost certain it was a buck based on the way the spike was acting, as well as the sudden smell of buck musk that came my direction.
I put a trail camera in the area of this stand and it will be interesting to see what shows up. I really like the spot, but I’d feel better if I knew there was a good buck using it. I did find some solid rubs in the vicinity, but I’d still like to see the deer. I won’t be going out tonight due to an evening work meeting, but I hope to give it a shot tomorrow morning if it’s not raining. The weather forecast doesn’t look promising.
By the way…am I the only one being surrounded by what seems like hundreds of migrating robins every morning? It’s almost like they’re following me around. They’re so loud, you couldn’t hear a deer sneaking in on you if your life depended on it! What could they possibly be talking about? Where are the feral cats when you need them? I saw one the other day carrying a chipmunk, so maybe they’re not hungry for robins.
I set a new stand location on Sunday evening and I decided to waste no time in giving it a try. Not more than 15 minutes after being settled in an adult doe came into the area and went as far as to sniff at my tree steps. I must have done a good job of scent control. The weather wasn’t the greatest as the wind was pretty steady, and gusting at times. Clear and sunny with steady wind isn’t typically the formula for getting into the Pope and Young Club!
I like the view from the new stand. It’s high, and provides for a nice view of several shooting lanes. The deer don’t seem to spot me either, which is obviously a good thing. Later in the evening I saw an unidentified deer, and then a doe with a single fawn. Both of the adult does I saw provided shots, and they used trails that I was expecting them to. That seemed to verify my stand site selection. About 45 minutes before dark, I saw a decent 8-point in the gas well opening behind me. He came in to my left and worked over a small tree before making his way in the opposite direction. He wasn’t a shooter, but he was obviously gearing up for the rut.
I’m going to give the stand a shot in the morning and see if the activity is a bit better.
Location: #2 Entry/Exit Times: 6:45/18:40 Weather: 59 degrees, overcast w/ off and on rain , wind SW gusting to 20 m.p.h., barometer 29.66 – steady
Yes, you’re reading the entry and exit times right. I sat all day today. I did it because small game season opened, and I figured the possibility existed that a neighbor could push a trophy my direction. I also did it because I’ve noticed a “mini rut” over the years around this time, and I thought I may catch it right.
It poured rain from daylight until about 9:45. I just stood under my tree umbrella and kept me and my gear as dry as possible. I knew that when the rain quit, there would likely be a window of good action. After the rain stopped, I got everything back in place, and it wasn’t long before caught movement to my right. There was a 2 1/2 year-0ld buck standing there, and another one following behind them. I originally though the second buck was older, but after reviewing the tape I saw that he wasn’t as good as I thought. I thought there may be more action, but instead it was the beginning of about eight hours of nothing. The rain returned and the winds got even stronger. I did see a spike just before I left, but that was the last deer I saw.
With the rain and wind, as well as hundreds of leaves falling, it was unlikely the deer would be moving well. All of those things interfere with a deer’s protection mechanisms, which is why they’re more than happy to just lock down in a safe place and wait it out. I think one of the reasons you see movement right after a rain event is deer may be in a location they’re not totally comfortable in, and take advantage of the break in the weather to improve their hiding spot. The two bucks I saw this morning were headed for thicker cover, and didn’t seem to have anything else on their minds.
Long day, but it was nice to be out. Things should start picking up in a week or so.
I hope to post the video from this morning’s hunt by this evening, so please check back.
So is this a trophy buck or not? I got this trail camera photo the other day and as I always do, I zoomed in to get a better look at his rack. I also organize the photos by individual deer, and I name the “shooters.” This helps me track where and when I see particular deer. This year I’m following shooter bucks with name likes Ndamukong, Mr. Splits, and Basket Bob to name a few. If you can count more than six points on this buck, you have better eyes than me. I think I have photos of this buck in velvet, and if it’s him, he had brow tines and was a nice eight-point. It looks to me like he may have broken both of his brow tines off, which would make him illegal to shoot in our area.
Make extra sure that the buck you’re about to shoot is legal. I’m actually glad that we have to let him walk because he’ll be a monster next year if somebody doesn’t shoot him during the gun season assuming he has enough points.
I’m not too happy this morning. My game plan before I went to bed last night was to check the radar at 5:30 and make a decision since there’s a pretty good storm coming through. I know…shocking! Well, the radar showed rain just about to hit our area so I decided to save my time and come to work. Yep, you guessed it. I open the garage door and there’s no rain, and it’s pretty much a beautiful morning. Once again I was fooled by the radar.
Disappointment aside, it’s probably good that I couldn’t get out this morning because it forces me to take more time off when conditions aren’t right for taking a mature buck yet. I’m getting additional rest, while not putting more pressure on my hunting spots. Since I’m not hunting this evening, that will be two full days off heading into Saturday.
I’m starting to see more signs that the rut is picking up. I found a really nice rub on a large diameter tree, and noticed that many of the primary scrapes have been opened up. I’m also beginning to see much larger tracks on our muddy roads, which weren’t there just a week or so ago. The earliest I killed a big buck was on October 26, and it was a 130+ inch 10-point. Interestingly, the evening before I shot him I saw an even bigger buck, but he outwitted me and headed back in the direction he came from. There have been a few times when I’ve noticed what I call a “mini rut” around October 25, so I want to be sure I’m out there during that two or three day window. Since there is no Sunday hunting, my game plan is to hunt Saturday all day (weather permitting) and Monday morning.
