Joan and I headed out Friday afternoon because she wanted to come home on Sunday morning. We're going to FL for Thanksgiving followed by Kristen and Leo's wedding so she was trying to get me some "time in stand". On the way out Friday afternoon, we saw alot of deer out in the fields along Route 32. We also saw a nice tall 8 point standing on a field edge right at the intersection of Union Hill Road and Laurel Ridge Road. I had high hopes.
The wind was out of the south which is a little unusual. It was going on 4:00 by the time I headed out to the driveway stand. I got in stand and two does worked out into the field shortly thereafter. They eventually moved up into the main field and two more does worked out into the field. They also went up into the main field across the driveway. Right at last light, I spotted a buck crossing the driveway coming toward the driveway stand. It turned out to be the "mutant buck". I've seen him come in from that direction four or five times this year - all at last light. He came in and walked behind the stand along the barbed wire and came out the other side. He headed thru the field and up to the main field after the does. I probably could have tried to stop him and take a 30 yard shot but I let him go.
After the buck passed by, I heard a commotion and it sounded like turkeys behind me. When I was walking in, there was a huge commotion that sounded like both dogs and coyotes. It seemed to be in the woods to my right as I was walking in. When I got to the cabin, I heard all the barking/howling again and it seemed to be right out by the pumpkin patch. I never did see them.
The next day, I checked the pine trees behind the driveway stand and it became pretty obvious that there were turkeys roosting up there. I hope that they're still there in the Spring.
On Saturday morning I decided to try the new hi-rise stand. I wasn't really expecting to get any archery shots from up there but I thought that I'd just see what was going on. I went out an hour before sunrise and when it started to lighten up, I was surprised to see 3 deer out in the field below the stand. I'm guessing that they had to be there when I climbed the stairs. The pictures aren't very good but you can get the idea.
It turns out that it was two yearling 4 point bucks and a button buck. I also watched several does migrate back thru this field on the way to bed.
This picture is from the stand looking backwards toward the main field and the driveway. This stand is a perfect gun stand with 360 views, food plots and field edges.
I should have put something in this shot for size reference but this footprint was alot larger than all the other ones.
The usual collection of large and damaging rubs - especially on the pine trees.
The brassica in the orchard food plot has a percentage of it that is in turnips. I think that these will become more and more attractive as the greenery disappears.
On Saturday night, I made the decision to get the climbing stand out and get down out of the wind in the valley below the hi-rise. This shot is from the climber looking back up at the hi-rise. I was almost directly in the main trail where they enter this field.
This view is looking toward the pond dam. The wind started to come around from the south to the southwest. This really wasn't a very good place to be in this wind. I had showered and used scent spray but it didn't matter.
One doe came up the atv trail and worked into the field. She was out there for 30 minutes when I heard deer approaching from behind me. They winded me and stood back there honking like a NY traffic jamb. I was busted before ever seeing them.
I did some brush-hogging and checked cameras. There were alot of false trips from moving branches so I came back and trimmed limbs on the camera infront of the ladder stand.
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