Why didn't I do it when I had the chance.

I took the afternoon off to go hunting at the club again.  After missing the day on Saturday I needed to get back out.  I decided to try stand 13 and made my way there.  I climbed the tree and noticed that it had grown in so much there wasn't a good shooting lane.  I couldn't trim it out then so I decided to go sit on the hillside instead.  I thought it was cool out but by the time I was walking back from the tree I was sweating my butt off.  I got settled in and waited.  It was a nice spot but I learned that sitting, without having my back supported by a tree, is painful.  Anyway...I hadn't seen a thing but a fox but by 6:30, I made out some movement coming from my left.  I put up my bow and saw that it was a buck.  A 7-point buck.  Why didn't I take that doe the last time I was at the club!  Then I could have shot the buck...instead I had to watch him walk away.  Which, by the way, didn't take long because he must have caught my scent from walking back from the tree.  He knew something was up and he stepped back into the autumn olive.  I found it strange because the wind was blowing in my face.  I guess I laid down scent on the path.

Covered in stuff....

I took the afternoon off of work.  Considering the bust that was opening day I wanted to get back into the woods.  I decided to try the "farm road" between the first field and the upper field.  It was a beautiful day.  Slightly warm but not too bad.  I went down the farm road and hopped up into the tree.  I didn't realize how "open" I would feel in the tree but hopefully it would be ok because it was a bigger tree.

I got in the tree around 2:00 and by about 4:30 I saw a flock of turkeys in the first field.  They were feeding all over the place...even came to within 10 yards of me.  I could hear them clucking and purring.  It was cool.  As it was getting darker, perhaps around 6:30, I saw 4 deer near stand 4.  They slowly worked their way towards me.  A small doe, clearly a fawn or yearling at best, was ahead of the group.  She came to within 15 yards and presented a broadside target.  It would have been an easy shot but I decided, because i would have to bring this one to a butcher (Grandma's stuff was taking over my garage so i couldn't butcher it myself), that I would wait for the biggest one to come to me.  She, however, stopped 80 yards from me and started stomping her foot and snorting.  I am assuming that she caught wind of me...the wind was swirling and i did work up a sweat getting into the tree.  Either that or she saw me.  As she carried on stomping and snorting the one that was in front of me looked back and started to slowly walk back to the group.  The group by this point had taken off and she slowly walked back across the field.   I got out of the tree at dark and that was my day.

Perhaps I'll wish I took that shot as the season goes on but for now I'm ok with holding back.

Opening day 2014

It's opening day!!  The weather forecast isn't looking so good, which sucks because all week it was supposed to be sunny and cool.  In the morning I decided to head over to the recycling center.  I wanted to try the spot that the other guy used to go to, in the back.  That's close to wear I saw that big buck a few weeks earlier.  I got in the stand early and it was a beautiful post.  The weather was cloudy and still.  I sat post until just about 10am and saw nothing so I went home to nap and get to the club for the afternoon.  I left home at 12:30 and as I was driving to the club it started pouring out.  Grrrrr.  I sat in my truck at the club waiting for the rain to stop and kept checking the radar.  I sat in my truck until almost 3.  There was a break in the rain so  I got out of my truck and got dressed.  As I was going to put my pin in the board I saw 4 does on the other side of the 10 field.  I belly crawled up the side of the hill hoping to sneak closer and have them walk towards me but they were going the other way.  I got back down and walked to the first field.  Almost as soon as I got there it started to pour again.  I don't mind the rain but I didn't want to shoot a deer and have the blood trail wash away so I packed it in and went home.  So much for opening day.

Turkey Time

I went to the club on Saturday to set up my blind.  I was filled with anticipation of Monday's opening day.  The weather had been really chilly so I wasn't sure how that would effect the birds, however.  When I got to the club it was quite chilly and I went to the blind and sat calling until about 8.  I decided to get up and stretch my legs a bit and I walked around to different spots on the property.  By the later morning it had started to warm up nicely but I still didn't hear any birds.  I spooked two deer that were crossing the big field.  I saw a bear track on the road near the new pit and had a pheasant that came to visit me in the blind.  I actually heard him calling all day.

I made it back to the club on Thursday.  It was chilly again in the morning, but didn't seem to warm up quite as much as it did on Monday.  Again, I sat in the blind until about 8 and then went to other spots before returning to the blind.  Again I saw nothing, heard nothing.

Friday...more of the same.  I am going to eat tag soup this year.  not sure if it was the weather or the fact that the property was turned into a moon scape.

Last day...

It was the last day of the muzzy season and I decided to sit on the hill overlooking the dip stand.  I had seen the deer a few nights back and thought this would be a good opportunity.  The snow was thick and crunchy...actually kind of hard to walk in.  At about 3pm I heard a bunch of snow mobiles and atvs coming my way.  I got out of my seat and walked to the field.  I met up with one of the snow mobilers and told him that he had to leave, that it was private property.  He told me he used to own it, which is a lie, but I told him that he doesn't any more and that it's my property and that he had to leave.  He did.  I saw nothing after that.

on a hill

Got to the club and decided that if everyone else is going to have luck sitting at 10, so will I!  I was alone and I walked down the farm road to stand 10, or actually just beyond where Tony had been sitting.  When I got there I saw tracks all over the place, many of them coming from the field that 10 was looking over.  I decided that 10 would be the best option.  I didn't have my harness so I walked back to the truck to get it.  When I got back to 10 I started to climb and it just felt too unsteady.  I got back down and then walked up the hill where Tony had been sitting.  I saw three empty shells there so I know it was productive...plus all the tracks, I was convinced that I would get a deer.  No such luck.

Finally saw a deer...

I feel like it's been forever since I've seen a deer.  I went to the club today and it's COLD and snowy!  I think the high, without windchill, was only 13 but I was determined to go.  We were also expecting between 4-6 inches of snow so I had this bright idea.  I'll pull my truck into the old farm road, sit in the back with the window open and if I see a deer, I'll shoot (and stay warm and dry at the same time).  I know it's not exactly legal, but I figured it's like sitting in a really nice ground blind.  I did just that...until about 2:15, then I decided to talk a little walk.  I went over to see what the dip stand looked like.  While I was there I saw an entire flock of turkeys!  There was also a lot of deer tracks in the snow, so as I stood there thinking i saw someone at the gate.  I walked back to my truck and saw that it was Tony.  Well, now I can't sit in my truck-stand!  He was heading towards 10 and asked if I was going to stay where I was because if I wasn't, he would.  I told him that I was just coming back to the truck to get my crate to sit on.  I got it and went back to the edge of the field where I saw the turkeys.

I sat there and it wasn't as cold as I thought I would be.  Maybe because the wind wasn't really blowing, but the snow was certainly falling.  I was sitting on the edge of the field (towards the pit) looking at the corner nearest the horse field.  At around 5 I happen to look to my right and there was a doe, 50 yards away looking right at me.  As soon as I even moved my eyelid, she took off.  Because I didn't see her coming I couldn't prepare.  That was all I saw and walked out where I met up with Tony.  He told me that, although he didn't see anything, he had seen a bunch at that spot and that Greg killed 5 or 6 from that spot.  He seemed very bothered by that and said that he was done with the club after this year...WHAT?!  He said that he's not enjoying it anymore and that as long as Joanne is working at the station we can go through her, if she retires then we can go through whoever is there.  This does not sound good!