Fire arm deer season here in zone 3 opened on a much nicer day(Nov 15th) than forecast, no rain. I had decided to travel nearly to the very back of my property and use the stand I had built and placed there a year ago this summer.
Need to figure out a different route to get to it I found, as I spooked what sounded like 25 to 50 deer from along the creek down the hill from the green field. Never the less I got settled in my blind and opened the windows for the day. Nice thing about this stand is it faces west so the morning sun is at ones back and not in the eyes like it some times gets in the afternoon on bright days. I seen several does soon afterwards working along the creek bank and going across the hard woods to and from the green field. At 11:00 a small spike buck came charging up the hill behind some does and more does all around him for a total of 9.
His spikes were so small they were just barely legal at 3 inches here in Michigan. Those does and the buck hung around the area for a long time before heading back to the creek and a big patch of pampas grass that they bed in. Near 1:00 PM a 3 point buck as near as I could see was hot footing it along the creek going back to that pampas grass patch too. Never could get a picture of that one as he wasn’t stopping to show off for any thing.
In the afternoon about 4:00 PM I would guess, I had 6 tom turkeys come down the creek pecking away as they went. For some reason they decided to hang out near a wind blown over oak tree I’ll cut up this winter.
I saw 30 deer for the day with 3 of them being legal shooter bucks.
Second day found me in the blind I have a short way behind my pole barn. Seen lots of deer all either mature does with fawns which some could have been bucks.
For the day I saw 28 deer.
Third day I had an appointment with a va nurse to try and get my meds adjusted correctly. I must say they have really ticked me off as I had an appointment for the 10th just so it would not interfere with my deer hunting. They canceled it with out giving me a reason.. I tried to get a appointment at a more convention time and failed, man those people have my blood in a boil.
I did get to hunt a bit in the afternoon and saw 9 does including the fawns. Speaking of fawns we saw a pair on the way back home that still had their spots and were tiny little buggers all alone in a green field along the road.
Forth day I am back behind the pole barn and saw 25 deer for the day all does and fawns as near as I could tell.
On the fifth day I am again in the back of the property blind. Very still day and not much going except the squirrels which I really need to thin out I am thinking. About 3:00 PM some person went screaming across the green field next door to me with a ATV. That green field has a swale in the corner close to my place that is wet in the spring so never gets planted most years. The weeds grow tall there. Any way a deer bounds out of that swale into my woods. I see it is not moving right and is only going about 5 feet at a time and is a spike buck.
I watch it as it cornered across my woods at that slow gait and a feeling of guilt passed thru me. I can stop its pain but want a bigger rack on the deer I shoot. I can’t watch it any longer so I radio the wife and tell her I have a wounded buck I am going to put down . He went about 15 yards the buck hammer had did an exulltant job once again taking out the lungs and a chunk from the heart. He had a slug in the right front leg just below the scapula in the first joint.
Two shots and two bucks in two years both dropping nearly where they were standing.
Shot gun hunting isn’t as bad as I had thought but do wish I had a bit more property to be able to hunt, as I keep seeing the same does day after day from the two blinds. I did set up a blind in my front yard for ML season as My wife keeps telling me she sees about 8 deer per day out there. I saw 40 deer all does and fawns on the last day of the season(Nov 30th.)
ML season opened Dec. 1st closes in this zone dec. 18th. I saw 37 does and fawns for the day.
Al
Got one of two.
