The following is my Personal Hunting Log, along with a few entries of my friends on their
successful nights.
I hunt using many methods, including scrape hunting, rattling, calling, trail hunting, and baiting
(legal again in Northern Wisconsin).
*Please Note* that if I mention that the deer were hit in the paunch, that this doesn't mean that
these deer were gut shot! Any experienced hunter knows that sometimes you're not presented with
a broadside shot, and due to the angle of the shot you must pass through the paunch to get to the
vitals!
I personally know of no deer that I, or my friends, have shot this year that were not harvested! We
do not take a shot if there isn't a kill shot presented.
We can all make bad shots, please strive not to take a bad shot! This is what the Anti-hunters are
looking for and talking about!
September 13th - Opening Day! - I hunted the stand where I had the picture of the nice 8 pointer
(stand #1).
Entered my stand early at 3:30 pm. (as you know, I don't normally hunt many mornings).
5:30 - A tall horned spike buck, still in velvet, entered my hunting area. He browsed for about 15
minutes, and then moved on.
6:15 - 2 Does and a fawn came through and stayed in the area for about 10 minutes.
6:45 - A lone doe came passing through.
7:15 - A polished 4 pointer came in and ate, 10 minutes later another Doe came in and proceeded
to get harassed by the 4 pointer. The 2 deer followed each other around till about 7:40 and
eventually moved out of my area.
No sign of the 8 pointer tonight, but I plan on sitting here tomorrow. I left the stand at dark.
I talked with Lance tonight, and he had a nice 8 pointer come in to him 10 minutes after getting
settled in his stand. Unfortunately, his arrow went high, and he shot right over the Bucks back.
He hopes that the Buck will be back.
September 14th - Was in my same stand as last night by 4:00 pm (stand #1).
5:00 - A lone 6 pointer in velvet walked behind me at 20 yards. He was a smaller buck and was
just passing through.
5:30 - 2 Does and a fawn came in and ate for a while.
5:45 - 2 more Does came in and got into it with the other 3 deer. One of the Does was definitely
dominant and she let herself be known. The deer chased each other around, and out of the area.
6:20 - 3 more does (1 older,1 mid sized, and 1 younger) entered from the North. This was the
opposite direction that the last deer had left in. These 3 does were definitely together and were
possibly family. They stayed for about 30 minutes, and were surprised when a 3" polished spike
buck came in at 6:50. He inspected all the does and made them quite nervous, so they left.
7:00 - The tall spike buck in velvet (from last night) entered and met up with the smaller spike.
suprisingly the 3" spike buck was the dominant of the 2 and seemed to intimidate the taller
spike. The 2 of them scurried around a bit and the taller spike left.
7:15 - The 3 does that were just here came back to my stand. They meandered around until dark.
7:30 - I left my stand. Been seeing lots of deer, but still no sign of the 8 pointer. I did have a
strange thing happen tonight. I heard a coyote howl and it then seemed to be joined by what
sounded like about a dozen of them. I'm not kidding, it sounded like 6 sirens at a bad accident of
something. I can't believe how much noise they can make. Like I said I believe they were
coyotes, but there is the possibility that they were wolves. I'm no expert at telling the difference
but I know they were one or the other.
Lance said that he just saw does and fawns tonight
September 15th - I didn't hunt on the 15th due to work, and had Lance (as he was taking a
drive) witness a nice buck entering the woods that I have been sitting in. The Buck was seen at
7:17 pm. and wouldn't have given me much time before darkness would have set in. Still would
have been nice to see him, but probably better that I wasn't there that night. Hopefully he will
come in a little earlier.
September 16th - I sat my same stand as the first 2 nights (stand #1). I was in the stand at 4:00
pm. It was 82 degrees and windy, so the deer didn't move as much tonight.
4:10 - I had a small doe come in but she was very leary with the wind blowing. She was only
there for about 5 minutes and then she moved on.
4:45 and 5:00 - I had 2 large doe walk through the area at these times, but they never missed a
step and seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere.
7:00 - I had 3 Doe and a fawn come in. The wind had settled down a bit, so they were calmer
than the earlier deer. The 4 of them browsed the area for about 20 minutes and worked there
way out of the area.
7:25 - I had another lone doe come in for a while, then darkness fell. No horns seen tonight,
probably because of the wind. It seemed as though the deer were moving an hour late this
evening.
I talked with Lance tonight and he saw a 7 pointer and an 8 pointer, along with some does and
fawns. No real size to the bucks though.
September 17th - I hung a new stand today at a different location (stand#2), but the temperature
today was 83 degrees with 20-30 mph. wind, so I decided not to hunt tonight.
September 19th - We had an afternoon and evening of rain on the 18th, so I didn't hunt.
On the 19th I hunted stand #1. It was quite cool, with a West wind that died down with about an
hour of light left.
I was in my stand at 4:00 pm. I had the small 4" spike buck come in 10 minutes after I was in
my stand. He looked bored, like he was looking for some other deer to hang around with. He
walked off after about 15 minutes.
5:00 - A decent 5 pointer came in. He fed around the area for about 15 minutes. He was then
joined by a smaller 6 pointer at 5:15. The 2 of them were polished, and were butting the heads
together in play, also to establish their dominance.
5:45 - The small 4" spike returned, and joined in the fun and games of the 2 other bucks. It was
quite fun to watch.
6:15 - The tall velveted spike I have seen before joined the group. The bigger 5 pointer went out
to meet the taller spike, and the spike didn't seem to want to have anything to do with the 5
pointer. He circled around the other bucks, and kept his distance.
6:40 - A small 4 pointer came into the picture. I now have 5 different bucks underneath me, and
they continued to test each others headgear out. I thought that this would be perfect to draw a
bigger buck in, with all the noise that these 5 bucks were making.
7:10 - A large doe and a fawn approached from the North, and were met by the 5 bucks. Boy,
were they surprised! It was quite a show, as the deer were all chasing each other around. Too
bad my bigger bucks never came in. The deer proceeded to chase each other out of my area, and
I left my stand at 7:30
A lot of action happened tonight, and it must have been the cold snap that set it off.
I got home and talked with Doug and Lance. Doug had a huge buck come into him, but had no
shot present itself. Lance had a real wide 8 pointer come into him, and he arrowed it. He said he
made a good shot on the buck, and that the Buck sounded as though he crashed at about 50
yards away. A small group of us proceeded to go out on the blood trail a couple of hours after
his shot, and found the Buck about 50 yards away from where it was arrowed. It had done
exactly what Lance had said it did.
Below is a photo of his 21" inch inside spread 8 Pointer!
September 20th - I hunted stand #2 for the first time.
I entered the stand at 4:00 pm. Not really much excitement this evening, as I had a huge doe
with 2 other does come in. I also had 2 grouse come through, maybe I should bring my shotgun
next time I sit here.
I left the stand at dark. I talked with Doug, and he and his son Derek saw several deer but
nothing shootable.
September 21st - I hunted stand #1 tonight. The weather was threatening rain and the wind was
strong at times.
I entered my stand at 4 pm. It rained about 4 times during this evening's sit, with it never
raining for more than 5 minutes at a time (sprinkles). I thought that the weather would get the
deer up and moving a little earlier tonight.
As it turned out, the weather had the opposite effect, and the first deer that entered my stand
was at 7:10 pm. It was the 4" spike buck. He only stayed for a few minutes.
At 7:18 a doe came in, with the 5 pointer on her heels. With only about 10 minutes of hunting
time left, it wasn't a very good sit. Left my stand at dark.
September 22nd - I decided to hunt stand #1 again, hoping that last night was a fluke.
I was in the stand at 4:10.
5:15 - The taller spike buck, still in velvet, came in. He was a little spooked by the wind and left
after 5 minutes.
6:50 - The small 4" spike buck entered, ate for a few minutes, and then the 5 pointer came in
from the North. He held back a bit from me, so the smaller spike went out to meet him. They
proceeded to play around a bit with their antlers until dark.
This is the second night in a row that the deer have come through late. Part of this is due to me
possibly over-hunting this stand, and having the deer pattern me. I'm going to give this stand a
break for a few days and hunt stand #2. Hopefully things will settle down at #1 and I will return.
September 23rd - I sat in stand #2 tonight. It was a little breezy, but better to be in the tree than
at home. Entered the stand at 4:15 pm.
5:30 - I had a small 1" spike buck pass underneath me. He mosied around for about 10 minutes
then left.
6:45 - I had a medium sized doe enter. She was a little spooked by the breeze and leaves, and
only hung around about 5 minutes.
Nothing else came in this evening. The deer seem to be moving late, and checking with the lunar
tables I see that the peak feeding time in the evening is around 11:00 pm. This possibly explains
why they are moving so late.
September 24th - There are 20 to 40 mph. gusts of wind this afternoon. I'm going to stick to
home tonight, as I feel that the deer will not move much till after dark.
I did get out midday today and check out the area where I got my 10 pointer 2 years ago. It looks
as though the deer are in there, as evidenced by the deer pellets and the amount of chewed up
acorns. I will place a stand in there probably this weekend, and the stand will be stand #3.
September 25th - I sat stand #1 tonight. I got in the stand at 4:30 pm.
5:45 - I had a large doe come in, but she was very leary and seemed to stand in place for about
10 minutes.
5:55 - I heard a deer entering from the other side of me than the doe was on (which was still
standing in place). In walked a decent 8 pointer which I have been waiting to see. He also came
in very cautiously, eyeballed the doe, and they proceeded to stare each other down. After a
minute the doe started to make her way towards the buck, getting within 20 yards of the buck,
and 7 yards of me.
The buck then chose to go towards the doe and check her out, but the doe got nervous and
turned away from him before he got there. The buck and doe proceeded to walk a complete
circle around my stand. There were a couple of times that the buck was in a close shooting
distance, but due to the fact that the woods were so quiet tonight I didn't want to risk spooking
the buck by trying to move into a shooting position.
The buck and doe ended up stopping behind some brush, so I had no shot at this time.
6:10 - The tall spike (still in velvet) entered and come walking right in underneath me. This was
what I was waiting for, as I knew the 8 pointer would come over to the spike to investigate. The
8 pointer did come over to the spike, which made him a little nervous, so he moved a bit to avoid
the 8 pointer. The problem was that he moved to within 7 yards of me, as the 8 pointer was
standing broadside at 15 yards. As much as I wanted to draw on the 8 pointer, it was too quiet
and the spike seemed to be just waiting for something out of the ordinary and bolt out of there.
After a minute of the 2 bucks standing there, a noise from behind them got their attention, and
both bucks were now looking away from me. I decided that this was my chance, and proceeded
to draw my bow back.
As luck would have it, the quietness in the woods allowed the 2 bucks to hear the arrow as it was
sliding across the moleskin of my rest. The 2 bucks bolted out of the area without me ever
getting the shot off. I was quite upset, but felt that I had been patient and waited for the best
opportunity. Sitting afterwards I started to think of what I could have done differently, as pretty
much any hunter would do, and the only thing I could have done was wait for a breeze, another
deer, or something else to happen that would have diverted the deers attention. The problem is
that I don't know if the shot ever would have presented itself when that diversion happened, in
other words whether the buck would have still been in a shootable position. I took the chance I
had, and it didn't pan out. At least I finally got to see a racked buck, which is what I have been
waiting for.
The 2 bucks weren't spooked out of the area by an arrow flying by them, or anything that they
could really identify, so I hope that the 8 pointer will return. I did check my moleskin on the
arrow rest and window of my bow, and it seemed fine. One thing that I will do is put a little oil
in the moleskin, and possibly coat my carbon arrows with it. I really think that the woods were
just so deathly quiet, and the bucks were so close, that I probably should have waited for a
better time to draw my bow.
Oh well, there's always tomorrow!
September 26th - The weather was cool, with a small storm front coming. I looked on the radar
and saw that the front wasn't very wide, and it was clear behind it. I decided to get out in the
stand, even though I knew I was going to be sitting through a little rain. Hopefully the leaves
and ground would dry out from the wind after the rain quite. I decided to sit in stand #1 again,
even though I thought that the chance of seeing the 8 pointer again there this soon was slim. I
was in my stand at 4:15 pm. and it was raining lightly at that time.
The rain quit at about 5:00 and the wind followed, which worked out great to dry the woods out.
5:45 - I had the tall velveted spike come in, stay in the area for a bit, then proceeded to browse
his way out into the clearcut that was next to me. I watched him out there for about 15 minutes
until he disappeared behind some brush.
6:15 - I had the small polished 4" spike buck enter. He stuck around for a good 10 minutes.
6:25 - A small 3 pointer entered and met up with the other small spike. They once again played a
bit by tinkling their antlers together. This went on for a few minutes, then the 2 bucks walked
off.
6:40 - The tall velveted spike returned. It seemed as though he could tell that there were just a
couple of deer there, as he proceeded to sniff the ground and followed the trail that the other 2
bucks left on.
6:50 - The 8 Pointer came in from the same trail he entered on last night. Instead of crossing in
front of me, he walked behind my stand. He proceeded to come around my stand and was
getting close to being in my shooting range.
There was enough wind that I felt I had a much better chance on him tonight. As he was going
around a few trees, I decided to draw on him, hoping to be a full draw when the shot presented
itself.
It went as planned and he stopped broadside at about 15 yards. I wanted to take my time on the
shot, but my pin found his chest so quickly I don't think I aimed for more than a second or so. I
released the arrow and it hit its' mark, appearing to enter between the heart and lung. The Buck
bolted out of there in a straight line run, and it got quiet after he sounded to be about 40 yards
away. I figured that he died on the run, as I stayed in the stand for another 10 minutes listening
for any sounds.
I left the stand at 7:15, called Lance and Doug, and we proceeded to get out on the bloodtrail at
8:30 pm. We found the buck in no time, as he had done what I thought and dropped at 45 yards.
Although he isn't the buck that I had the camtrakker photos of, I couldn't turn him down. His
inside spread was 15 3/4", and he has a nice tall rack. The arrow had clipped one lung and the
top of the heart, which explains his short run.
A nice Buck, taken with a great shot, it doesn't get any better than that. That's what it's all
about, and why we do what we do. So ends my bow season!
Below is a picture of my buck.
September 30th - I've been speaking with several local hunters. They report seeing many racked
bucks from their stands, or on their way in and out of the woods.
As I have stated before, the amount of hunters in 2002 was down (as was the deer kill). This has
probably resulted in an abnormally high number of larger bucks in the woods this year. I'm sure
I will be posting several more pics of nice bucks in the following weeks!
October 5th - I received a call from Lance stating that Rob had shot a nice 10 pointer. Due to a
prior engagement, I wasn't able to join in on the track. The 10 pointer was a tall tined buck, and
was taken with a clean kill shot. The track didn't take very long, according to Lance, and below
is a photo of Rob's bow kill.
Early October for Mr. Whitetail - I've been doing a lot of scouting for deer stand locations for
the upcoming rifle season. My daughter "Ashley" wants to hunt again this year, so I am also
looking for a spot for her.
I have also been doing a little partridge hunting in my spare time, and have managed to get 10
as of October 9th. I plan on continuing with the bird hunting and scouting. I also plan on getting
some photos of the local bucks shot so far this fall, onto the 2003 highlights page.
October 19th - Derek Denninger shot a nice 8 Pointer. Photo below:
November 4th - Trent Waggoner got himself a Dandy 8 Pointer. The rack on this buck was quite
heavy. Here is a photo.
November 7th - Doug Denninger arrowed a short tined 8 Pointer. Photo below:
November 16th - I have continued on the scouting for Ashley and I, and have found a couple of
good looking spots. The problem that I have been having, as of late, is just when I think I have
a good spot picked out, I find out that there is another hunter or more hunting in the same area.
That is one problem hunting public land, but hopefully we wont be bothered too much in the
spots I have picked out.
There have been a number of good bucks shot in the last couple of weeks.
Rifle season opens on November 22nd, I'll keep you posted on how Ashley and I do!
November 22nd - Opening Day of rifle season!
The weather was in the lower 30's for a high, and the morning started out at 26 degrees. The
slight wind was coming out of the North. Not too bad for an opener.
Ashley and I crawled into our stands in the dark at 5:30 am.
6:00 - I had a lone deer enter through my woods, but it was too dark to see what it was.
6:15 - I believe the same deer came running through and out of my woods. Still too dark. Would
like to know what it was!
6:30 - Getting light enough to shoot, but I sat until 9:30 and had nothing else come through. One
good thing was that I didn't have any other hunters to contend with, which made it an enjoyable
sit for me.
Ashley had 3 does come through, but no horns to speak of.
Ashley and I went out again for the afternoons hunt at 2:00 pm.
4:20 - I had a doe come in the area at 40 yards.
4:35 - A tall spike buck entered and met up with the doe. He chased the doe off and stood there
somewhat bewildered. Knowing that I was more interested in Ashley bagging herself a forked
buck, than getting a decent buck myself, I chose to harvest the smaller buck. This would give
Ashley the option of hunting my stand if she chooses, and I would be done for the year.
The buck was hit in the chest, and went 25 yards. Nothing to brag about, but now I can
concentrate on Ashleys success.
Ashley saw 2 does that afternoon.
I talked with Lance that evening, and he had a good day! He managed to get himself a 10
pointer, and turned down several other smaller bucks. He had gotten down from his stand in the
morning and started walking the logging road, when he heard rapid shooting from the East of
him. Knowing the layout of the land, he ran ahead to a valley, where he hoped that the deer
being shot at would have to run. Just like clockwork the buck came through the valley and
Lance let go a shot at about 80 yards. The buck turned 90 degrees and ran towards a hill. Lance
got off another shot as it was running up the hill.
Lance ran over the top of the hill to get another shot at it, when he saw the Buck laying alive on
the hillside. He put a final shot in the neck of the buck. The buck ended up being hit with all 3 of
Lance's shots. Great Shooting Lance! Photo below:
November 23rd - Ashley sat her stand in the morning, and my stand in the afternoon. The
weather was blustering winds out of the North and heavy snow accumulating to 5 to 6 inches.
In a nutshell, Ashley saw 2 does and a non-legal spike buck in the morning. She sat the
afternoon seeing 3 does and had a 4 point buck come through, but never gave her a good shot.
She was quite upset (and cold!) when she walked back to my truck, that she never got a shot off.
I gave her all the credit in the world, as there were many male hunters that I'm sure decided to
stay at the hunting shack, rather than hunt in those conditions. I also reassured her that the
buck may be back tomorrow.
November 24th - Ashley decided to take the morning off, as it was 12 degrees, with no wind ,
and 6 inches of new snow on the ground. She had hunted hard, and I feel she needed a break
from it all.
She did sit the afternoon, getting into the stand at 2:00 pm. Although the weather had warmed
up to 21 degrees, and the sun was shining, she saw no deer that evening. I think she was really
hoping that 4 pointer would come back, but no luck!
November 25th - Ashley sat my stand for both the morning and evening sits. She saw a couple of
does, but no horns.
November 26th - Ashley sat my stand in the morning. She had no deer come through.
In the evening she decided to sit her stand again. I had decided to try some doe in heat scent
around her, to hopefully better her chances.
She had a fork horn come in, but it spooked as she was turning to get a shot. Just before dark an
8 pointer (possibly bigger) came in from the North. Ashley did not see the buck come in, and was
surprised to see it standing 15 yards from her. The problem was that the buck was on her right
side and she would have to turn to shoot. As luck would have it, she spooked the buck as she
turned, and he ran into the pine swamp in front of her. She felt the buck was still close, but a
porcupine decided to climb a tree next to her, and spooked the buck away.
She was all excited when she arrived back to the truck, and knew where she was planning to
hunt the rest of the season.
November 27th Thanksgiving Day - Ashley hunted both the morning and evening hunts on her
stand. Hoping that the big buck would return. No luck, just a couple of does came through.
November 28th - Ashley took the day off to go shopping!
November 29th - Ashley slept in, and decided to hunt the afternoon, starting at 1 pm. She hunted
her stand again. No deer seemed to be moving in the afternoon, and other than a couple of
squirrels, that was all she saw.
I heard from Lance that Doug shot a bruiser 10 pointer this afternoon. Doug shot this buck at
250 yards, and it green scored at 143+ inches. Here is a photo of the buck.
November 30th - Ashley sat her stand this morning. It was 20 degrees and sleeting on and off.
She saw no deer, and plans to sit my stand this evening.
She sat my stand that evening, but due to the fact of the winds picking up, no deer were seen.
Well, I can't say that Ashley didn't have the patience, and she did have a few opportunities this
year. Unfortunately, she was never able to get a shot off. There's always next year, hopefully
that will be her year.
So ends my log, unless one of my friends happens to continue into the late archery season. If so,
the information will be added.
See you all next year!!
Thanks for viewing my Hunting Log!!
Mr- Whitetail
