Field report

[dbltree]

11-24

Since there is a slight chance that some hapless souls might be working today...I'll refrain from commments about "deer running everywhere" or other such nonsense...

I checked the "community scrape" the other day and at first I thought by the leaves it hadn't been used lately...but closer inspection showed that the leaves were covered with dirt and mud...so something has been going on there...

I did the IDNR Bowhunter Survey this year but ran out of space awhile back so I added it up and sent it in.

Obviously many deer were sighted more then once but had tallied up 258 total deer "sightings".

Anybody else keep track this year?

Couple of good threads on movement:

Time of kill

Mid-day movement on cam

Time of kill is always interesting but in relationship to "mid-day" sightings or kills it would be better to compare only among those that actually hunted all day.

Most are only able to hunt after work and weekends so the % of time the hunters spend all day in the woods (if at all) is pretty small

Trail cams however tell a different story no matter if we are there or not.

Much of my place is actually very thick cover with few if any trees big enough for a tree stand

I have to use ground blinds which further limit visibilty. In such thick cover it took me sometime to discover exactly where bucks were traveling and when

I often ended up sitting on a 3 legged camo stool in thick cover and many times had bucks walk within 12-15 yards of me on faint runways that had hardly seemed worth the bother.

It's more fun to be able to watch a dozen does walk by but older bucks I often found taking the "back way"...sneaking around the edge of the does checking runways and bedding areas.

Trail cams sure help solve the "puzzle" of where and when to be setup! They can be there when you can't...like...ohhh...when your stuck in the office

 

[dbltree]

11-30

If your coming down this way to hunt this weekend...this is what you will find...

Everything is ICE!

Gonna be COLD so Santa came early...

Seems like a great time to pack a lunch, lot's of snacks, park myself inside and crank up the heat!

This time of year is my least favorite

I'll miss those quiet days in the stand where my soul could find some solace from a world that rages around me.

I'll be wishing for the quiet whisper of the wind thru the pines...
instead of the whine and whistle of slugs thru the air...

I will enjoy trying to take some does with my son and perhaps he'll get a chance at a good buck...either way we'll have fun.

Every year I remind him to be an ethical hunter and to have respect for the animal who's life he would take.

I don't put him or myself in a situation where we would have "impossible but tempting" shots.

The deer we take will never know what happened...no fear, no running...just a shot at close range that will bring near instant death.

Few hunters are proficient at making clean ethical shots at running deer yet I see them attempt this repeatedly every year...and never make an attempt to check for a hit.

For those that enjoy the camaraderie of hunting with a group, I urge you to place your standers inside the timbers edge. Deer will almost always stop briefly before crossing a road or into a field. This habit will give the shooter a clean shot and an ethical kill. It's also much safer then shooting down a roadway or across a field at wildly running deer!


Bring lot's of warm clothes!

[ QUOTE ]
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 35. West wind between 8 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 8.

Sunday: Scattered flurries. Partly cloudy, with a high near 22.

Sunday Night: Scattered flurries. Partly cloudy, with a low around 8.

Monday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 28.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 34.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 31

[/ QUOTE ]

For those that hunt from a stand...they have been moving morning to lunch time and again at dark.

Hunting Times

Please let this be the year no one get's killed in Iowa's shotgun season! Be careful out there...know what's beyond your target and make sure of your target.

Boone & Crockett defines Hunter ethics:

[ QUOTE ]

1. Obey all applicable laws and regulations.
2. Respect the customs of the locale where the hunting occurs.
3. Exercise a personal code of behavior that reflects favorably on your abilities and sensibilities as a hunter.
4. Attain and maintain the skills necessary to make the kill as certain and quick as possible.
5. Behave in a way that will bring no dishonor to either the hunter, the hunted, or the environment.
6. Recognize that these tenets are intended to enhance the hunter's experience of the relationship between predator and prey, which is one of the most fundamental relationships of humans and their environment.

[/ QUOTE ]


Good luck to everybody!!

 

[dbltree]

My son and I stayed from dawn til dark yesterday. My son hoping for a good buck and both of us figuring to take some does if possible.

Figures that we would see nothing but 1 and 2 year old bucks the entire day!

15 bucks paraded by us by days end...

The started at 8:00 a.m.

Then again at 11:30, 12:30 and 1:30

From 2:30 to 3:00 a herd of them strolled by, every size buck from spike to one's with future possbles...

All in easy range of our weapons but left in hopes they will survive...

The sun was setting and we still hadn't seen a single doe. Figured maybe the "food plot raiders" were to fat to waddle by...

Finally we noticed them trying to slip in the back way and one didn't get past the cross hairs of the .54

There is either no gun hunting or no driving of deer anywhere near where we where hunting, but in the distance we could often hear the volleys of "empty the gun" shooting at running deer.

I can only assume that they have no respect for the animals they are blasting at

[ QUOTE ]
"Hunting ethics is a term which defines the true standards, conduct and moral judgment of a sportsman. Some say that people's hunting ethics are also a mirror image of the rest of their personal lives. " (By: HuntingNet Staff)

[/ QUOTE ]

We made it to the locker to see a huge pile of yearling bucks

Not the antlerless deer that the IDNR hoped for. I try to tell myself that the hunters who took these bucks were proud of them...in which case I'm happy for them...but somehow I had my doubts

 

[G6]

Man it sounds like you live in a deer hunters paradise where there is no gun hunting and no deer drives.

 

[dbltree]

[ QUOTE ]
Man it sounds like you live in a deer hunters paradise where there is no gun hunting and no deer drives.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am fortunate to have one farm that is unique in that respect. I think it represents the changes in southern Iowa.

Landownership is changing from farmer to hunter owned. Almost no one that owns land is going to "chase" all the deer off from it via a drive and many bowhunt only.

In respect it's good because immature bucks are never taken, however niether are does...which is becoming a real problem.

My other place...it's business as usual with a handful of nieghbors driving the woodlots around me.

They killed 18 deer...same as the year before. Suprisingly I still end up seeing the most mature bucks there.

There is also just as many does since many of the deer they take are smaller bucks.

A trip to the locker at the end of the weekend revealed that the thier total take for the weekend was down from last year and 85% yearling bucks...same as previous years.

The sun was setting on our weekend...

but not before dbltree Jr. dusted a nice doe.

I was proud of him because he was able to do what many grown men are not...pass up buck after buck waiting for a mature buck.

Perhaps another year he may not be so patient, that's a decision that he, like all the rest of us...must make for himself.

As he went to get the truck...I thought of the big grin on his face...what's that worth to a Dad?

Some of you already know...and someday more of you will.........

 

[fatboy]

 

[dbltree]

I have a friend that is in his 70's now. Every year age creeps up on him and he thinks maybe "he just can't hunt this year".

As hunting season grows near he's like an old hunting dog...you know the kind...load the gun and they start wagging their tail and limp towards the door.

My old friend is like a foster grandfather to my son who hangs on every word, as he tells hunting and trapping stories from yesteryear

Nothing like the old to inspire the young

My friend has adapted to his physical limitations by hunting from the ground yet not being limited to just a blind.

He buys old plastic patio chairs and searches out runways taveling by heavy cover...something like this:

It's amazing the number of deer he has walk right by him. He wears a face mask and makes sure he has good background cover...and that they can't see him as they walk down a runway.

Dang chairs are pretty comfy too

He spent a whole $4.00 each, they last forever left out in the weather...and who would steal one

He normally doesn't hunt during firearm seasons but I convinced him to help me with "population control".

Don't have to worry about sitting long enough to get cold

I loaned him my sons .54 muzzy which has a Nikon scope on it and it didn't take long for the "herd" to appear out of a sea of switchgrass.

Note the entrance wound on this doe:

He put a Powerbelt hollowpoint smack thru the middle of her heart...literally exploded it.

Yet this doe ran over a hundred yards!

He had a devil of a time finding her with only spurts of blood along the way.

It's always interesting to understand the capabilities of your weapon and quarry.

Since this deer didn't drop in it's tracks and he saw "flags" running everywhere in the switchgrass...he could easily have assumed he had missed the deer....

he may be old but he's also wise...

You won't need your long underwear this week

[ QUOTE ]
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. West wind between 9 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 34.

Friday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 55.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 41.

Saturday: Isolated showers. Partly cloudy, with a high near 55. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.

Sunday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 49.

Sunday Night: A chance of rain. Partly cloudy, with a low around 38.


[/ QUOTE ]

 

[gersdorf]

Sounds like a heck of a guy!

 

[kbgibby]

Doubletree,

Thanks for the ongoing commentary and photos. I'm only hunting late muzzle and the January antlerless this year so it's been great to at least be out there vicariously through your posts!!

 

[dbltree]

Silence
the sweet sweet sound of ...silence...

The guns have fell silent, the holiday rush is behind me and it just feels good to hear...
nothing...but the breeze softly stirring the shingle oak leaves in the morning air....

Plenty of deer left in my area but to say they are cautious is putting it mildly

Didn't see hide ner hair the other night...just watched the sun go down:

It's hard for me to ever have a "bad day" hunting...wasn't always that way, but getting older changes ones perception on life...

We saw several deer out in alfalfa fields yesterday on our way back. so I suspect they just stayed in the foodplot on our place.

The morning sky was worth shivering in the damp morning air

Around my place one can't go anyplace with out a curve in the road...and the headlights show plenty of deer feeding in the cornstalks.

Without bitter cold weather and/or snow they aren't moving much in the evenings until after dark.

My son is anxious to test out the scope on his .54 so we have a different "plan of attack" for this afternoon.

South, south east and SSE winds are what we have to deal with for the next few days.

Hidden food sources are good in the mornings but otherwise the last few minutes before dark watching feed seems to be the best.

The weatherman said last night we could get up to 2" of rain Saturday! Wish it was snow.....

[ QUOTE ]
Today: Partly cloudy, with a high near 49. South wind between 7 and 9 mph.

Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a steady temperature around 46. Southeast wind around 8 mph.

Friday: A 20 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 50. East wind between 8 and 10 mph.

Friday Night: A 50 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 46.

Saturday: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 48. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Saturday Night: Periods of rain. Low around 42. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.

Sunday: A 30 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 45.

Sunday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.

New Year's Day: A slight chance of snow or rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39.


[/ QUOTE ]

 

[gersdorf]

great pics dbltree! i wish the forcast was for snow instead of rain! sounds like saturday could be a real rainy mess.

 

[180class]

Man, I love your posts! This gets my vote for thread of the year!

 

[Skully]

Great pics Paul. That sun rise was amazing! I was wishing I was in my stand instead of geting ready for work.

 

[locust]

Great post and great pics. You need to find a publisher and get a book out quick...count me in as a buyer. I can envision Sam Elliott doing the book on tape. Unfortunately, I've experienced the same fork buck slayers in my area, but I did get out yesterday in the SE wind and saw lots of deer each trek out...all does and yearlings. Tuesday evening they were running and chasing each other in an open field. Keep the posts coming!! I need to get a camera to capture those quite times on the stand..I just need more time on the stand first.

 

[dbltree]

Well it seemed like a plan...

slip in behind some old hay stacks and wait for em to walk by my son and his muzzy

They look close...

with the camera zoomed...

Wanted em a mite bit closer...hoping not to kill a button buck and since the freezer is over flowing already...we just watched em until dark.

They were all ready in the field by 2:00 p.m....and small "herds" came and left all afternoon.

Back in the tree stand this morning and my son watching a likely spot with his muzzy.

Just "feels right" with my bow hanging over my shoulder

First group came thru...only a few more yards and another "raider" is mine!

Full draw...waiting...heads snap up and they blast outa there like shot from a rocket

Still at full draw I turn slightly to see 3 yotes barrling by...tried to get a shot but one saw me and they darned near left their own hides behind geting outa there.

How cool is that!

(better then...well...you know)

Could have shot most any of them with a muzzy...and my son couldn't get a shot at anything he saw...ain't that the way it goes

Can you see her?

Gravy with the muzzy...

Beautiful weather to hunt...but not beautiful hunting weather if you know what I mean...

Saw some big bucks after dark on the way home last night but not a horn other then yearlings in daylight hours...but hey...it's not over til the fat lady sings!

 

[dbltree]

Every now and then we get some sad news lke Jody's post that remind us all that our days here are...unknown.

I know that one day I too will fly away but until then I will savor each and every sunrise as though...

it was my last....

and with each sunset... thank God for being blessed with a wonderful family and the chance to enjoy the view from my stand...

one more time....

The extremely moderate weather and big bright moon have made for tough hunting when it comes to mature bucks...

Driving over to hunt in the mornings requires good brakes as deer seem to be running everywhere under the moonlit sky!

Runways leave proof that the "midnight bandits" have been on nightly raids....

This morning all was quiet except for the bobcat that came slinking by right after daylight!

At 8:00 the herds finally started moving...so many in fact that my son and I literally lost count

Not a single buck did we see, so finally my son decided to drop the hammer on another "bandit"

Practice makes perfect!

I've taught him to put the cross hairs on the upper shoulder...assuring an instant kill....

and everynow and then he finds out his ole Dad is right...

Looks like colder weather will finally make it our way...but to late for the last days of the "late season"

[ QUOTE ]
Tuesday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 37. Breezy, with a northwest wind 22 to 25 mph decreasing to between 13 and 16 mph. Winds could gust as high as 34 mph.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 48.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33.

Thursday: A 40 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43.

Thursday Night: A chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 33.

Friday: A chance of snow or rain. Cloudy, with a high near 34.

Friday Night: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 23.

Saturday: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 29.

Saturday Night: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 19.

Sunday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 28.


[/ QUOTE ]

The hunting times reflect the midday movement last week and early morning/late evening movment this week....

Still a few days left but it's looking like my anydeer tags may become any deer that comes a long tags

 

[SaskGuy]

What a fantastic Thread. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Daver]

Ah, the "upper shoulder" shot... otherwise known as the "game warden shot".

Drops them in their tracks no doubt. If I am not head shooting a doe, then that is my point of aim too most of the time. Good job on the does!! How many have you and your son taken so far this year?

 

[dbltree]

Well we may be having a heat wave...but let me tell ya, it was pretty chilly out there this morning

Wind was blowing a gale along with a little snow and sleet...so I tucked myself into a ground blind and enjoyed the sunrise in comfort

I took both the bow and muzzy, but you know...

sometimes I swear they know I'd need a bazzooka to get at em

7:38 they started browsin around...

Nice flock a big ole toms kept me entertained!

Of course the little ones strolled by close enough to hit with a rock...

[ QUOTE ]
How many have you and your son taken so far this year?

[/ QUOTE ]

You mean after this one this morning Dave?

Had to get out my version of a DRV (after reading Bonkers story...this seems much safer!)

I know if I practiced lifting something besides a cold one...

I wouldn't need to use this..

Winds are going back to the south again! Sheesh! Looks like that won't last long though!

My son, myself and a close friend have killed 12 does so far this season.

We're eating venison for breakfast, lunch and supper!

Having some brats made out of this one...goes good with

on second thought...what doesn't..

 

[matchedset]

Man thats was a awsome post!Your a very lucky man.The best thing about that is you know it.Thanks a bunch for sharing.