Bonus Gun Weekend and Trailcams

Summary - it was cold and they didn't show themselves.  There were tracks everywhere in the snow but we barely saw a deer all weekend.  Some nice bucks are showing up on camera.

On Thursday morning, I had my wisdom teeth extracted.  I wasn't sure how this was going to affect my hunting plans but I got off the pain pills on Friday morning and had no trouble hunting (even in the cold weather).  Joan was kind enough to drive  me out and cook me soft foods.  Dave and Mike also were out for the weekend.  Joan had the cabin looking festive for the holidays.

The picture below is of me checking the card on the camera beside the ladder stand.  This stand has a great view of the valley down below it and you can really see the deer moving when there's snow on the ground.  This is the stand that I shot a doe out of a couple of weeks ago.  We hunted this stand this weekend too and never saw a deer but look at the activity on this camera after dark.

The picture of me below is approaching the camera near the orchard (on the fence).  I included it just to show the field behind it.  This field has soybeans, turnips, and brassica in it.  The snow was deeper this weekend.  You can see that there's been plently of nighttime activity up here too.

Mike, Dave and I hunted all day Saturday from multiple stands and we never saw a deer.  The temperature was in the twenties and the winds were fairly calm.  We found lots of tracks in the snow but the deer just were not up during daylight.

Mike left Sunday morning and Dave and I hunted all day.  We sat in stands in the morning (14 degrees) and didn't see a thing.  In the mid-day, we decided to go to the back of the property and take a walk thru the woods.  We found tons of tracks and lots of evidence that they've been feeding on the acorns.  The snow was 6" or 8" deep and they just dig it up looking for the acorns.  We "still-hunted" thru the woods for awhile and saw three white tails bounding away from about 200 yards.

In the evening, we went back to stands.  Dave tried the hanging stand because it was inside the tree line and under some oaks.  He never saw a deer.  I used the climbing stand on the field edge (picture above from the stand).  There were lots of deer tracks leading from the woods up to the brassica field.  I had a good view into a wooded valley behind the stand.  At last light, two does came out in the field above the pear tree in the picture.  They were at about 125 yards and I could have shot them with my muzzleloader.  Once again, I waited for the buck that never came out....

We've been hunting hard this season and have only taken two does off the property.  The deer are definitely here but we're having a hard time finding them during daylight hours.

Trailcams (basically from gun season)

This is the "backward buck" posing for the camera by the driveway stand.  You can sort of see his backward tine sticking out behind his left ear.  There's a couple of additional stickers near his left brow tine - he might be 14 points.  I'm pretty sure that this is the guy who went bounding across the field at noon one day this week.

 I don't think that this is the "backward buck" but he has a big rack.  This picture is right near the ladder stand.

These young forkhorns were out and about - I saw one of them almost every day.  In a couple years, they may look like the "backward buck".  That's why we let them walk when they're young and dumb like this.

The does were not out in the fields as much this year but, as this shot shows, there are plenty of them around.  I usually delete about 10 times as many doe photos as buck photos.

 By the ladder stand.  Could this be the guy who approached the dead doe?

Really nice rack.

There were does over on this side of the field too.  I suspect that the does are bedding below the ladder stand and across the creek.

Gun Season Wrap Up

On Friday, I ran my doe into Peebles to the check station and processor.  I made it back to the farm and decided to try a stand in the woods for the evening.  The bucks have been very reluctant to come out in the field.  I had seen a nice buck when I shot the doe from the ladder stand the previous morning so I decided to go back there and see if he was still around.  I sat for 3 hours and never saw a deer.  With just a little light left, I snuck up to the main field to see if there were any bucks out.  Three deer ran from the brassica by the orchard but I couldn't see if they were bucks or does - I suspect that they were does.

On Saturday morning it was 25 degrees and snow was predicted to start in mid morning.  The prediction was for up to four inches by Sunday morning.  I thought that this might get the deer out in the fields feeding before the snow so I went to the highrise stand.  I stayed on stand untill 11:00 and never saw a deer.  The snow started falling at about 9:30 and the light winds were out of the east.  Usually the deer like to enter the field with their nose into the wind so the highrise stand is probably not best for an east wind. 

 

This is a view from the ladder stand down the hill toward where I shot the doe. This is also the area where I later saw the coyote.

This is back behind the stand and the area where I finally got a scope on the buck as he was disappearing over the hill and passing behind these trees.

Here's a series showing how the weather changed while I was in stand. 

On Saturday evening I hunted the highrise stand and never saw a deer.  They apparently decided to stay bedded due to the weather.

By Sunday morning, 3 or more inches had fallen and it was 23 degrees.  I went to the ladder stand hoping that the buck woulld be back.  Just at first light, I saw something moving along the deer trail about 60 yards from the stand.  At first I thought it was a fox but it was a coyote.  I could have shot him but I didn't want to ruin my chance at a buck.  He even paused and posed for me but then he just trotted off.  No deer were seen at all.

The snow was fun because I could see where they had been overnight - they left tracks everywhere.

This is some clover where they dug under the snow to eat.

The turkey blind was structurally challenged with the snow load.

The deer walked right up beside the Highrise stand sometime overnight.

A look back at the barn from the stand.

The white undisturbed area is the brassica.  I can't believe that they're not eating it.  There are turnip bulbs in there too which they are supposed to like.

But they were still feeding on the dried up soybeans - amazing.

Leo skinning and butchering Kristen's doe.

Walking out from the ladder stand.

I will do another post when I get time from the trail cameras.  They showed tons of deer and several great bucks.  We hunted them hard this week and nobody ever got a shot at a buck.  They're pretty smart...  I've got a few more chances left this season.