We finally knocked a couple down this past weekend. I killed a very nice 8 pointer and my buddy Mason killed a non-typical 10 pointer. It's the beginning of the rut and there's a big difference in 2 weeks ago and this weekend. Deer were moving the whole morning, nonstop. We took a trip about the farm the last day we hunted before this past weekend and we found a spot that had about 4 rubs on small trees going around the corner of a small area that used to be fenced off but isn't anymore. We knew that they were recent because the shavings were still on the ground. Most hunters will say don't hunt over scrapes because you don't know how recent they are but we could tell these were fresh. We have never seen this buck on our farm before. He's what you would call a bonus buck because he only shows up during the rut. A lot of people will see an increase in buck activity on their farms during the rut because of the range they cover while the doe are in heat. The rut will last about 2-3 weeks in our area so hopefully I'll be able to tag out on bucks this year.
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I didn't get in the woods much over Thanksgiving break. My family and I traveled to Tennessee to spend some quality family time together since we're all really busy during the week and on the weekends. However on the days that I did get to go, I saw a big bodied deer walking away through the woods but couldn't tell if it was a doe or a buck. The rut on our area is just getting started up which means that bucks will be chasing doe all day all over the farm. Which means that we're gonna have to very careful whenever we are entering and leaving after a hunt. Since they are moving all day we can hunt for longer with a better chance of killing a deer because they move more often. Grunt calls will also have a much bigger effect whenever calling. I also saw 3 does come in at about 30-35 yards on the other side of the fence. I thought about taking one out but with the rut starting I decided not to hoping that a buck wouldn't be far behind them. Looking back now I think I should've taken a shot at one of them. Hopefully I'll be able to get out a lot more this weekend and seal the deal on a nice buck.
We finally got a little bit of action this weekend. I hunted one of the stands on the front half of the farm that we call ¨The Metal Stand.¨ We had a steady stream of young bucks coming through in the morning time on our trail camera. There are a few pictures of a tall 4 pointer that comes in about 8 am every morning. He came in right on time and he even had a little doe with him. We got 2 more small bucks coming in too. They always come in together. There´s a small 6 pointer and a decent size 8 pointer. I was hunting with a shotgun because that´s another one of my goals this year. I want to kill a deer with a shotgun and get myself a wall hanger. We´ve been putting out corn for weeks and finally have a steady stream. It´s because the temperatures are dropping so the deer are moving a lot more. So during the Thanksgiving break hopefully I´ll be able to see the one I´m going after.
This weekend I didn´t a chance to go in the woods. I spent the weekend up in Virginia with family. Luckily we were still able to keep our cameras up and refill the feeders to keep the deer coming in. Although we didn´t get to go hunting last weekend, gun season starts saturday and you best believe I´ll be in the woods trying to put down a good North Carolina buck. I´m going to be hunting a stand that´s at the front of our property and we have a steady stream of bucks coming in during the morning time. Because it´s the rut there are a lot of new bucks running around the farm. This gives me a better chance of getting the deer I want so hopefully this weekend I´ll be able to seal the deal.
We finally were able to get one. We had seen the little buck on camera one time before. He was about 1 ½ and presented a quartering away shot and my buddy was able to send a rage broad head right through his side. We were so relieved to know that deer were still on the property but we were just always there at the wrong time. Because of how hot it has been we have been leaving between 10 and 10:30. We just decided since we walked in later than usual after sunrise that we’d just stay a little longer. That deer was shot at 10:52 and we would’ve already been at the house by then unpacking our stuff. So whenever it’s been a warm morning or a warm week just try and stay a little longer because it’ll take longer for the deer to get up and moving because they would’ve been resting after a long night of feeding.
Another weekend with no deer down. We’re having problems with some of our trail cameras too which isn’t helping the problem at all. Finding the pattern of deer is one of the hardest things when you’re hunting a farm. We know that the deer are on the farm because we can see fresh tracks and the feed piles are bare spots whenever we put out fresh corn. The hard part is being at the right place at the right time and having being able to seal the deal on a nice deer. I killed 5 deer last year to fill up the freezers so this year I am going for a wall hanger. For me my objective is to hunt the rut and kill a nice big ole mature buck. I am hoping that when the rut starts up the big bucks will be on their feet and moving more during the day to hopefully be able to harvest one.
We're back to square one. We don't have a single picture of any deer. I didn't even get to get in the woods because of how much school work I had. I was able to get a scouting report from a buddy of mine that saw my 11-point buck. He said it had at least 6 inch brow tines. Even though it's the buck I'm after I'm confused on why he didn't shoot. That's a record buck for our farm and the area. The biggest buck shot off of that farm was a 9-pointer last year my neighbor killed. This week was just a busy week with school and still finding time to get all the food plots filled with corn and apples. But this time of year when acorns are falling the deer love them. So we don't put out as much attractant as we usually would have. It also saves us money in the end cause we don't have to buy as much food for them. Hopefully next weekend will be better than this one.
I got some action this weekend. Got in the treestand about 3:30-4 saturday and it was cery humid out. I didn't expect to see a single deer and didn't even knew if I would see a squirrel. It was a long long time until I finally heard something rustling in the leaves behind me around 6. So it was 2 or so hours before I heard anything so I'm getting excited I'm thinking it's gonna be a good deer and I'm gonna get something on the ground. I can hear it coming sounds like a monster. It's a squirrel. My heart dropped and I just sat back down. Little bit later I hear something else and I'm just like it's only another squirrel. Then I see a deer and I'm like oh boy it's gonna happen and she snorts and runs. I gave up from there and said that's it for today because it was already getting dark and I can't see past shooting light so I just went back to the truck.
First weekend was a bust. Didn't see a single deer all weekend even though cameras were filled with pictures. Saw plenty of squirrels, turkeys, and birds, but no deer. That's part of hunting though, you won't see a deer every single time you go. It was so hot and humid that the deer were only moving at night. It's cooler at night and they just that thick fur and they just like to avoid the heat if possible. That's why the best time for deer hunting is at night. When the temperature drops and the humidity drops with, that will be prime time for early season bow hunting. One of the best things ever is finding a deer on your cameras that is just the perfect deer you're looking for and then getting an opportunity to shoot at it. Hopefully next weekend I'll be able to let an arrow fly.
It's the opening weekend and I couldn't wait to get in the woods that morning. We had pictures of huge bucks that were at least 120"+. I have never seen a deer that big in my life before. He's a main frame 10 pointer with a split G2 and tons of mass on his bases. There's still a major problem. He's almost nocturnal. He is a monster of a buck that I would love to put a tag on but first things first, we have to bring him in at daytime. He is easily the biggest we have on our farm in quite a few years. The neighbor that I hunt with killed a big ole' 9-pointer last year with crazy mass on his bases. Our farm is like all the others we have those typical small bucks and yearlings that once they make it to 6 or 8 points neighboring farms will take them out and that defeats the purpose of the way we have our farm.
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December 2018
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