Beautiful day...quiet, but beautiful

I went up to the club to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather.  It was in the lower 50's but a breeze blowing.  I sat where I sat last week, by the dip stand.  I didn't see a darn thing, but it was a gorgeous day to be in the woods.

Snow on the ground...

I always love hunting with fresh snow on the ground!  It snowed last night and this morning and stopped around 2:00 so I head out for the club.  I got there around 2:30 and met up with Tony.  I told him that I was planning on going to the same rock wall from last time and he told me that it would be a good strategy to sit on the hill near the dip stand.  Almost as soon as he said it a plow driver that was plowing the road to the property came up to us and said that he saw three deer run across the road and head to the hill near the dip stand.  Well, considering that's where I was going, it made my blood pump.

I walked over to the hill and sat up against a tree.  I sat there for about an hour enjoying the beauty, freezing my butt off, but really enjoying the post.  Suddenly I saw a deer about to walk in to my area from the railroad bed. She stopped at the bottom of the hill and looked up the hill.  I slowly got into position but she must have known something wasn't right.  She moved off to her right and up the hill.  As she did two other deer came in from above, near the cedars.  I looked at them in my scope, and probably could have shot at one of them but they were a little further than I would feel comfortable with so I waited in hopes that they could come in closer.  They walked up into the thickets and hung there for about 20 minutes.  I finally saw them move across the railroad bed and into the neighbors property.

I didn't see anything else for the rest of the evening but it was fantastic just to see deer again.  I'm not sure if I should have taken the shot or not...but one thing I know for sure.  I'm going back to the dip stand.

Frustrated at the club....

I wanted to head up to the club today.  I wasn't sure were I would sit but I was thinking that I would do something different.  So, when I got there I decided to sit on the logging road between the big field and the field next to it.  As I was walking down the road I saw a truck, it was Tony.  He drove to the road and I met him at the beginning.  He asked me if I saw Frank.  I said no, and he told me that he was in the Dip Stand last Saturday and got a deer and that he would probably go back tonight.  I asked who Frank was and he said "a new guy".  Then he pulled away and left.

I walked back down the road and found myself a nice spot overlooking the pathway between the two fields.  I still had a view of the big field, at spots, but mostly I was looking for a deer walking into the road from the upper field.  About an hour in, at 3:30 I saw another truck pulling onto the property.  Must be Frank.  I lost sight of the truck and then a minute later I heard him pulling up towards me.  Then, to my surprise, right past me.  I waved and he waved and then he continued on.  He pulled into the path between the fields and parked...right were I was hoping a deer would walk through.  I got up and walked over and asked him if he was Frank.  Then I said "you realize that I'm sitting right there hoping that a deer would walk down this path, right?"  He said he thought I was hunting the other side.  I said no and he said, "what do you want me to do"...I said, "moving would be nice".  He finally said something like "I'm just a guest here, you've got the experience".  WHAT!  A guest?!  I thought we weren't allowed to have guests?  He moved his truck to where I was parked, walked past me and to the dip stand.  I didn't see him again...nor did I see a deer.  On my way out I saw Tony and he asked me if I saw Frank.  I said yes, and Tony asked me if he walked past me.  I said, "no, he drove past me and then parked between the two fields".   Tony was astonished too, but I didn't say much...and left.  I'm so freaking frustrated...I need to find new property.

Feed and all...

I haven't been to the Dump in a while, so I decided to hit that place again.  I happened to have some corn in my truck for a while so during the week I went in and filled the feeder up again.  I haven't done that in some time so I was hoping, it being later in the season, that the deer would be looking for food again and would hit up the feeder.  It was windy!  I picked a tree, and I was back to the hill climbs again.  I got up the tree and to the uphill side I didn't look that high up, but from the downhill side I was giving myself a nosebleed!  So, I sat there, rocking and rolling in the wind.  Honestly, I didn't expect much.  I sat with no action...nothing but one squirrel hitting the corn.  With about 10 minutes of light left, a deer came running in from the uphill side, and left just as quickly.  I had no chance of turning around on it.

New Year's Eve Quail Hunt

Daniella and I headed down south to go hunting with Danny at Greenwood for quail.  It's too bad that it takes 2  hours to get there because it is a fun hunt.  Dani was thrilled to be there...she didn't have to worry about any bears, it is all flat and it's mostly walking in grass fields or woodlots of pine.  It is a "gentlemen's hunt" as Danny puts it.  We were 5 men (Me, Danny, Red, Kayle and Dave) and 4 dogs strong.  The great part about this place is that it was us 5 and the next closest guy when we were starting was like a thousand yards away.  As soon as we headed in we were in birds.  We each got two by the end of the day.  When you're in birds the action is fast and furious.  All in all a great time.  Then a crappy long two hour ride home.