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 29, 2007
Well the rain has still been coming on and off along with high winds, and today I decided while I
had the available time to get a stand put out on my swamp stand. I did that mid-day, and in the
afternoon the wind really picked up out of the South, but the rain subsided. I decided to go and sit
my new "East" stand.
I have a friend, who is a Marine Veteran, that loves venison. He is not able to get out and hunt, due
to his health, and I wanted to harvest a doe for him. I still have venison in the freezer from last
year, but I wanted to do my part in managing the doe population. I decided to sit the new East
stand and harvest the first decent sized doe that I saw. In our area of Wisconsin along with a buck
tag, you also get 2 doe tags.
Being that I hadn't sat the new stand before, I felt that harvesting a doe there wouldn't disturb my
other stand areas, where I know that I have had buck action in the past.
I crawled into the stand at 4:30 pm.
5:45 - After sitting for an hour or so, I had a lone doe come into me from the woods. (My stand is
on the edge of the woods and a small grass field). She looked to be a decent sized deer, so as the doe
circled and browsed around me, I decided I would take her if she gave me the chance.
5:55 - The same doe finally came into a good shooting lane, and gave me a 15 yards broadside shot.
I took the shot, passing the arrow through both lungs and sticking into the ground behind her. She
only ran about 15 yards into the field, stopped for a moment to question what happened, then
realized she had been hit. Her knees started to buckle slightly, and she tried to make it back to the
woods. She ended up collapsing 5 yards into the woods, and 15 yards from my stand. I sat there for
a few minutes to make sure she was dead, which she was, and all of the sudden I caught movement
from across the small field. It was a dandy 10 Pointer (roughly 17" to 18" inside spread, with 3
1/2" brow tines, and decent tine height). The buck came in and circled downwind of me, coming
within 15 yards. The problem was that the buck stopped in the worst possible spot, as far as getting
a shot. The buck stopped because it caught a glimpse of the dead doe laying on the ground 20 yards
in front of him. All the buck had to do was either take 3 steps closer to the doe, or turn around and
take 3 steps away, either way I would have a broadside 15 yards shot at him. The buck was too
leery about the doe, so he turned and took 2 steps away, and stopped. All I need is 1 more step, and
I'm at full draw at this point just waiting! The buck put his nose in the air, seemed to catch a wiff of
the dead doe that was upwind of him, put his head down in a cautious position, and ran straight
away from me into the woods. Never giving me that last step.
Obviously I was disappointed with the lost opportunity on the 10 Pointer, and wondered what would
have happened if I hadn't had the doe lying there. But the season is early, and I was successful in
harvesting a doe for my friend, which was one of my main goals that night. If I knew what was
going to happen this night, I would have done things differently, but I can't foresee the future so I'll
take it one day at a time. That buck spooked of the dead doe and not me, so I'm sure I get another
chance at him, at least I'm hoping to.
September 30th, 2007
Heavy thunderstorms in the am, and rain and high winds throughout the day kept me out of the
stand. Spent the day processing the doe for my friend, and thinking about the one that got away last
night. I definitely plan on sitting tomorrow night though, and am making time at work to do so.
October 1st, 2007
I decided to give my East stand at least another days rest, so I chose to sit my "North Swamp"
stand. Weather was mid 60's, cloudy, with a 5 to 10 mph Northeast wind. I climbed into the stand
at 4:00 pm.
4:45 - I had a 6" Spike buck come walking through from the oak hilltop and proceeded to walk into
and disappear into the swamp. He seemed very leery, though the wind was light and in my favor as
far as scent is concerned.
5:25 - A smaller Spike buck (2 1/2") came walking up the trail, along side the swamp. He seemed
as though he didn't have a care in the world. He walked within 10 yards of my while browsing, then
proceeded on up the trail.
6:15 - Another Spike buck (around 5") came meandering through from the West woods. He stayed
in the area, coming within 12 yards of me at on point. After being there for a good 15 minutes,
another deer approached from the West. At first I thought it was a doe, but due to the way the Spike
buck reacted it had to be a buck. I watched the deer as it came towards me, and not until it was 10
yards away could I see his 1 lone Spike. It was only about 1 1/2" long, and was bent down towards
his eye. Kind of a strange looking buck, but none the less he ended up walking right up to the other
buck, and proceeded to browse along side each other. I would be willing to bet that these 2 bucks
are brothers, as their body size was identical and they seemed to get along so well. The 2 bucks
ended up walking off together around 6:45.
Oh well, no more deer came through tonight, but seeing 4 different Spike bucks and no does was
interesting. Hopefully there are some bigger bucks in the area than these.
October 3rd, 2007
Rain and wind kept me out of the stand yesterday, but today was 70 degrees and sunny. I decided to
sit my "East" stand tonight in hopes of seeing the 10 Pointer again. I crawled into the stand at 4:30
pm.
Not much happened tonight other than a doe and fawn coming through at 6:45. It was kind of
funny, because as the doe and fawn were there on the edge of the small field a small group of geese
landed about 40 yards from them. The doe and fawn were quite interested in them, and chose to
investigate. When the doe got within 10 yards, the geese took to the air and spooked the doe and
fawn away, causing quite a ruckus. No other deer came in tonight, and the clear weather I'm sure
had something to do with the deer moving late tonight.
October 4th, 2007
The weather was basically identical to last night, 70 degrees and light Southwest winds. The wind
was totally wrong to hunt my South stand, so I decided to sit the East stand again tonight. Got into
the stand at 4:30 pm.
Once again the deer moved late and not a lot of deer movement at that. I did see a 7" curved horn
Spike buck, which is the first time I have seen him there. He worked around my stand, getting
within 15 yards, then moved on. Nothing else happening tonight.
We have the Youth 2 Day Rifle Hunt going on this weekend, so I am not really sure how much I
will get out in the woods with that going on. I might just take the weekend off, as it is supposed to be
a rainy wet 2 days. We'll see.
October 5th. 2007
Rained hard for most of the day, but quit mid-afternoon. I decided to sit the East stand again
figuring with the clouds and cooler weather that the deer may move a little earlier. Only problem
was that the wind was out of the Northeast which usually seems to hamper deer movement.
I entered the stand at 4:15 pm.
I never ended up seeing a deer tonight, and very little wildlife at all to speak of. I guess it is true
what they say about an East wind blowing no good.
October 10th, 2007
Well the rain has finally subsided and the high winds have come down to 10 th 20 mph with it
being 44 degrees for a high.
I decided to sit my South stand tonight, which I haven't sat yet this year. This is the stand location
where I had all the buck action last year, and I have to use my climbing tree stand. I entered the
stand at 4:30.
Not really anything to speak of tonight. I did have 1 deer come through which I thought was a doe,
but when the deer got beneath me I could see that the top of its' head looked red like it had been
scalped. I believe it was a smaller buck that had just got its' velvet off, but I still couldn't see any
antlers or even small spikes. It might have lost its' antlers getting hit by a car or fighting with
another buck, I'm not sure.
Nothing else came in tonight, but I could sure hear the semi's on the highway honking at the deer,
and I saw 9 on the way home.
October 11th, 2007
I decided to sit my East stand tonight. There has been sprinkling rain on and off all day, and
Northeast winds. Not the best conditions, but I still wanted to get out.
Had no activity tonight other than squirrels and birds. When I walked back to my truck and was
undressing, I had 3 deer walk by, but it was too dark to tell what they were.
I still continue to see very little whenever there is an East or Northeast wind. I'm not sure if there is
a connection, but I'm starting to wonder.
October 12th, 2007
I decided to sit the East stand again tonight. The weather was 44 degrees with a slight North wind.
I entered the stand at 4:30 pm.
Only thing seen tonight was a few squirrels, and had a few deer by my truck when leaving the
stand. I'm a little discouraged that I'm not seeing anything in the afternoon at this stand. I will
probably sit this stand in a morning in the next few days to see when the deer are traveling through.
October 13th, 2007
Tonight the weather is about the same as last night, 54 degrees and very slight Northwest wind. I
decided to sit the North "Swamp" stand where I saw the 4 spike bucks the last time I sat it. I
decided to get out in the stand a little earlier tonight so I entered the stand at 3:50 pm.
At 4:05 I had a 7 point buck enter from the North. He seemed very cautious even though the woods
were so quiet. He stuck around the area for a while and gave me plenty of opportunities for a shot,
but he just isn't what I'm looking for. At 4:30 a spike buck came in and met up with the 7 pointer.
The 7 pointer showed his dominance, and the spike definitely gave him his space. The 2 of them
eventually walked off to the West together.
At 5:30 I had a spike buck, a doe, and a fawn come through together. The spike seemed to get into
it once and a while with the doe, including getting his head right up under the doe's belly and
lifting her up off the ground in the heat of the moment. The doe then seemed to keep her distance
from him. The stayed in the area for almost an hour, and like the first deer worked their way to the
West. No other deer came through tonight, but at least I can finally say this year that I have passed
up a shot on a racked buck. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. I might get a chance to hunt
in the morning tomorrow and will choose to hunt the East stand.
October 14th, 2007
AM Sit: As I said yesterday, I planned on sitting my "East" stand this morning. I entered the
stand at 6:20 am.
Good thing for squirrels and blue jays, as that is all I saw this morning. The morning was nice and
calm, a beautiful morning to sit weather wise, but lousy for deer movement. Exited the stand at
8:45 am.
PM Sit: This evening I decided to sit my South stand. The weather was threatening light rain, and
once again the wind was out of the North East. Never have much luck with an Easterly wind. I
climbed the tree at 3:45 pm.
At 6:15 I had 2 does and a fawn come through. It sprinkled rained on and off during the sit, and I
hoped the deer would be moving a little earlier tonight. Never saw anything else from the stand
tonight, but saw around 20 does and fawns on the ride home. The deer were moving, but didn't
seem to get going until 6:15 or later. I am looking forward to the rut, which should be a couple of
weeks away. This should get the deer moving earlier, and even throughout the day.
October 15th, 2007
We had some rain supposedly coming in the afternoon, and a major feed (according to the
solar-lunar tables at 2pm.) so I decided to sit a little earlier in hopes that the deer might feed before
the rain.
I sat the "North" swamp stand and crawled into the stand at 1:45 pm.
The only thing that seemed to be feeding was the birds and squirrels, and no deer were seen. Rain
started at 4:30 pm and I decided to leave the stand.
October 16th, 2007
We had misting rain basically all day, but not enough to get things wet. Even though the wind was
out of the East, I decided to sit my "East" stand. Heavier rain might be coming, and it isn't
something I would normally do, but the main reason I wanted to sit tonight was to see if I could get
another look at that 10 pointer. I have watched the last several deer of mine crash, and felt
confident in my shooting ability and distance of shot, that if the 10 pointer would show up I would
take the shot (even if it was raining). I entered the stand at 4:30.
Rain began at 5 pm and was more than a little drizzle. Non the less I decided to stay in the stand
hoping it would pass. It remained raining the total sit, calming down at times, but overall I got wet.
At 5:20 I had a 6" Spike buck come in from behind me. He ended up downwind of me at 15 yards,
and never made any sign of winding me.
At 5:45, while the Spike was still there, a doe and fawn came in from the West. I noticed that the
doe was really paying close attention to something behind her. Could it be the 10 pointer? No such
luck, as it was a tight racked 6 pointer, which came over and met up with the Spike (as the doe and
fawn walked off the field). The 2 bucks tinkled their antlers together a bit, and browsed together.
The 6 pointer eventually walked off, leaving the spike buck their grazing in the field at 15 yards.
At 6:10 it was starting to get dark, when I noticed a buck entering the field from the North, and
heading towards the Spike. The buck was a 13" to 14" 8 Pointer and walked right up to the Spike.
Both bucks were at 15 to 20 yards and easily shootable, but the 8 Pointer just wasn't what I was
looking for. I have my hopes set on a larger buck, and am not at this point going to end my season
on a run of the mill buck. I just continued watching the 2 bucks intermingle until the spike walked
off. The 8 pointer remained there until dark, and ended up only being about 40 yards when I left
the stand. I don't like leaving a stand with deer in the area, but this one didn't seem like it was in
any hurry to leave. Hopefully he didn't get too spooked, as I climbed down and sneaked out the
back door.
Once again it just goes to show you that even on the lousy days, sometimes you see things that
would surprise you. One of the largest bucks I have seen from a stand happened a few years back
during a 30 to 35 mph wind, and I wasn't even going to go out. Oh well, just food for thought.
October 18th, 2007
I decided to sit my East stand again tonight, Once again we had heavy rain in the morning, and it
quit for the afternoon, but more coming tonight with high winds. I thought the deer may move early
with the threatening weather that was coming. I entered the stand at 4:30 pm.
Not a whole lot of action tonight, although I did have 2 large does and 3 fawns come working the
edge of the field at 6:25. They seemed uncomfortable standing out in the open with the wind, and
only stayed in the field edge for about 10 minutes. No other deer tonight, and I was quite surprised
that the does did not have a buck following them.
Not going to be able to hunt tomorrow night, and not sure about Saturday yet.
October 21st, 2007
It seems like I have been saying this a lot lately, but windy (10 to 20 mph.) and light rain on and off
tonight. I decided once again to sit my "East" stand, mainly due to the North wind direction. I
entered the stand a little earlier at 3:30 pm.
Not much happening tonight. A doe and fawn came into the field at 5:20 and worked their way
around the outside edge. No bucks following, but there have been some dandy bucks seen in the
early evening the last couple of nights. Hopefully the approaching rut will get them out and about
while there is still some shooting light. I found a few more fresh scrapes and rubs around my
stands today, so one more sign of the coming rut.
October 22nd, 2007
Once again I decided to sit the "East" stand tonight. I know that there is a good buck there, and
that seems to be what keeps me going back. If things don't start picking up there, I am going to
start to sit the other stands more. I entered the stand at 4:00 pm.
Once again not much happening, too nice and the moon was up and bright. I did have that 6"
Spike buck come through at 5:50, but no other deer seen tonight. I have heard from a couple of
other hunters that they have caught a buck mating a doe in the morning, so sounds like the rut is
just starting. Hopefully things will start to pick up!
October 24th, 2007
Weather was clear, sunny, and cold (48 degrees). The wind was very light and out of the Northwest
so I decided to sit my North "Swamp" stand. I got in the stand a little earlier tonight just because I
had the time. Entered the stand at 3:30 pm.
At 4:30 a 6 " spike buck came in. He browsed around the area for about a 1/2 hour, when another
3" spike buck came in and joined him. Eventually another 2" spike buck came in, so I had a total
of 3 of them feeding around me. Eventually they worked their way into the plantation, which is next
to my hunting grounds.
No does or fawns tonight, and I saw 8 deer on the way home, including a 6 pointer. Full moon is
making the deer move and feed late I'm afraid.
October 25th, 2007
The weather was clear , 55 degrees, and South winds 10 to 15 mph. I decided that it was a good
wind direction to sit the "East" stand and I entered the stand at 4:15 pm.
At 6:00 I had the 6" spike buck come in from behind me, and with him was a 10" wide 7 pointer
(never seen him before). The two bucks grazed the edge of the field for a few minutes, coming
within 10 yards of me, when a doe entered the field from the opposite side. This got the attention of
the two bucks, and they proceeded to go across the field to check out the doe. The doe was not
interested at all, and knew what the bucks were looking for. The bucks kept pestering her, and
eventually all the deer ended up going back into the woods behind me. No other deer were seen
tonight, and the full moon sure lit up the sky as I was walking out of the woods.
October 27th, 2007
Once again I decided to hunt my "East" stand, mainly due to the West- Northwest wind direction.
I entered the stand at 4"15 pm.
At 6:05 I had 3 bucks come in from behind me. These bucks included the 7 pointer, a 6"spike, and
a 3" spike. Surprisingly the bucks are still seeming to hang together, which is telling me that the
rut isn't quite here yet. The bucks browsed in the green grass of the field, and worked their way to
the South eventually heading down the trail that leads into the South woods. No other deer moved
through tonight, and the full moon still seems to be affecting their movements. Mornings may be a
more productive time to sit, and possibly I may get a chance to sit tomorrow am.
October 29th, 2007
Due to injuring my back I didn't feel like getting out in the stand in the am.
I did manage to get feeling good enough to sit in the afternoon, and decided to sit my "South" stand.
Entered the stand at 3:30 pm.
At 5:50 I had 2 does and 3 fawns come through. The does were quite timid, but eventually seemed
to calm down. I was surprised that they didn't have any bucks trailing them, and I guess it's a sign
that the rut isn't quite here yet. The does and fawns worked their way out of the area.
At 6:10 I had a 12" wide 8 pointer come in. The woods were starting to get pretty dark by this time
and I had to wait until I heard the buck leave the area before I could climb down. I did see about
25 deer on the edges of the freeway on the way home, and only saw 1 spike buck, with the rest
being does and fawns.
October 30th, 2007
Decided once again to sit my "East" stand tonight. The wind was stiff out of the South, and
temperature was 60 degrees. Entered the stand at 3:30 pm.
Not much happening tonight, tried a little doe in heat scent but only had a doe and fawn come
through at 6:10. No bucks, as I believe they are in their searching or cruising mode.
I was told tonight that a dandy buck was seen entering the woods on my "South" stand at 5:30 pm
tonight , just my luck.
October 31st, 2007
I decided to get out and hunt a morning, so I sat my "East" stand. Due to the lack of activity last
night, I hoped I would have some action in the morning. I entered the stand at 6:30 am.
At 8:00 I had a lone 5" spike buck come through, and nothing else. Pretty windy today, which
might have slowed things down a bit.
In the afternoon I sat my "South" stand, still very windy, and entered the stand at 3:15 pm.
Pretty much the same as the last time I sat it, as I had 5 does and fawns come through at 5:45.
As I climbed down at dark, I did have another deer that was coming in snort at me, and possibly
could have been that 8 pointer. On the way home on the highway I saw around 20 deer (does and
fawns, with 1 spike buck again). The weather has turned a little colder and hopefully it will get the
rut into action sooner. I plan on sitting my "North" stand tomorrow afternoon.
November 1st, 2007
Weather was 50 degrees with a mild Southwest wind. I decided to sit the North swamp stand. I
entered the stand at 3:30 pm.
Was kind of funny as I had a doe come in while I was setting out a couple of doe-in-heat canisters.
She just continued to watch me climb into the stand, pull up my bow, and get everything situated
for the hunt. She seemed more curious than scared, and even after I was finally settled into the
stand, she continued standing their watching me. I figured that it couldn't get any better than this,
having doe-in-heat scent out and having a live doe standing underneath me. After a bit I wanted to
see how she would react to an estrus bleat or a grunt. Trying both she just continued to stand their.
I eventually tried a little rattling which did finally spook her off, but she came back in a half hour
later.
While the doe stayed in the area, she was met up with another doe at 5:20. They browsed together
for a while and worked their way out of the area.
At 5:45 I had a 3" spike come in, work a small scrape underneath me, and then began browsing.
At 6:00 another spike (almost the other's twin) came in a joined the first spike. They bumped
antlers a bit, just playing around, then returned to browsing. There are a couple of trees behind me
that rub each other and make a noise much like a grunt during a breeze. The woods had finally
quieted way down, when a slight gust of wind came, the trees made this grunt sound, and spooked
the 2 bucks out of the area. Kind of funny to watch, but I'm glad it wasn't a nice buck standing
there that got spooked by that noise. Hope it doesn't ever happen that way.
No other deer seen tonight, and seemed to get no reaction, good or bad, by either the bucks or the
does in regards to the doe-in-heat scent.
November 2nd, 2007
We had a pretty good West wind and temps in the upper 40's. I decided to sit the South stand
tonight and entered the stand at 3:15 pm.
Around 5:20 I had a lone 6 point buck come in. I had a couple Doe-in-heat canisters out, and he
had come in from the downwind side, but really didn't seem to react to the scent. He stayed in the
area for about 10 minutes, when a Doe and 2 fawns entered. He went and pressured the doe, but
she wasn't interested. Ten minutes later another doe and fawn came in, with pretty much the same
results of the buck checking them out.
At 5:50 another 6 point buck came through, and joined up with the first. They looked as though
they could be twins, and began to push their heads together a bit, all the while the does and fawns
were on the opposite side of me. The bucks seemed content to just stand by and wait.
6:00 another doe came in from the North, and she seemed pretty guarded, being there were the
number of deer in the area. One of the bucks went and checked her out, and she busted out of
there, spooking the other does into a mad dash. Eventually the bucks worked their way out of the
area, and my sit was at an end.
Going to take the weekend off from hunting, as family is home. Will hit it hard again Monday!
The bucks don't seem quite into the rut yet, so I don't feel I am hurting my hunt too much.
November 5th, 2007
Weather was cold, spitting snow and sleet, and winds up to 40 mph.
Not necessarily the ideal weather, but I decided to sit the "East" stand being that it is my lowest
and the wind was really whipping around. I entered the stand at 2:50 pm.
Not much moving this afternoon which I pretty much had figured on. The only deer seen was a 3"
spike buck, 15 minutes before dark, and he left as quickly as he came in.
November 6th, 2007
Cold weather (34 degrees), light wind, and I decided to hunt my South stand tonight. I really
expected the deer to be moving. I entered the stand at 2:45 pm.
To my surprise, no deer were seen tonight, and I only saw 6 deer on the way home. Normally I see
around 20 or more. I'm not sure as to why they seem to be moving so late, and a friend of mine that
drives the roads in the early morning hours stated that he hasn't seen the numbers of deer that he
normally does on the road either.
November 7th, 2007
The weather was identical to yesterday, and I decided to sit my North stand tonight. I climbed into
the stand at 2:45 pm.
Once again I sat till dark, and never saw a deer, nor did I see any on the road today or this evening
on the way home. I'm not quite sure what is going on with the deer, and I'm going to look back in
my last few years hunting logs, to see if I can make any sense of it.
November 8th, 2007
Once again the weather was identical to what we've had the past 3 days. I decided to try out my
"South" stand again. I entered the stand at 2:45 pm.
Pretty slow tonight. At least I finally saw some wildlife (bird and squirrels) which I haven't seen for
the last 3 days. I did have a doe and fawn come in, but not until it was getting dark and I was ready
to leave. I saw a total of 6 deer on the way home, all does and fawns eating alongside the freeway. It
still seems as though the deer aren't really moving for some reason. I checked out my logs for the
past few years, and I do see that it was slow during this time in those years too.
November 9th, 2007
We had an inch of snow this morning, and I hoped the deer would be moving a little earlier than
they have been lately. I decided to sit my North "Swamp" stand tonight, and crawled in the stand at
2:50.
At 2:55 I was surprised to see a doe and two fawn come in. I hadn't even got completely situated in
my stand yet, but I did have my bow pulled up and an arrow nocked. The doe and fawns stayed
around 20 yards from me, and I ever so slightly tried to get in the position in the stand that I
wanted, without spooking the doe. The woods were very quiet with the fresh snow!
While the does and fawns were still within 20 yards, something got the attention of the doe, and she
looked off to my right. I slowly turned my head to see that there was a pretty good 8 pointer
standing there watching the doe. The buck moved towards the doe, coming 7 yards in front of me.
This was too (close given the deathly quiet woods) to try to draw on the buck at that time. The doe
scurried out of there leaving one of her fawns standing there. The fawn quickly chose to get back
with Mom, and left the buck standing 12 yards from me but behind a tree. The buck took a few
steps, and looked like he was going to give me a shot, so I drew my Mathews bow back.
Unfortunately the only thing facing me was his rear end, and he chose to chew on some grass
under the snow. I held my draw for 2 minutes waiting for a shot, but eventually decided that I was
going to have to let off my draw and wait for another chance, which I did.
After watching the rear end of the buck for a good 5 minutes it seemed as though he wasn't going to
cooperate. A minute later a deer approached from the North, which was a spike buck, and I was
glad to see him. Hopefully him coming in will make the 8 pointer turn.
The 8 pointer did turn, giving me a quartering away shot, and once again I attempted to draw my
bow, although after holding my draw earlier seemed to take my strength away. I fought to get over
the hump of the draw, trying to be quiet at the same time, and came to rest at full draw. The buck
was still giving me the shot, and I just quickly questioned whether this is a buck I am willing to end
my season on, but that thought left as quickly as it came. I released the arrow, and the buck
bounded away towards the swamp, leaving a splatter of blood where he had been standing that I
could see from my stand. I gave him about 10 minutes, and quietly climbed down and got out of the
woods.
Lance and I came back 2 1/2 hours later to track the buck, and we ended up tracking him through
the small swamp to the high ground on the other side. We found the buck, which went roughly 100
yards. My shot, while deadly, was a little further back than I had thought - but I did catch a lung.
Below are a couple of photos of the buck.
The buck wasn't as wide as I had hoped, measuring 14 3/4 inside, but was still a nice mature deer
that I am happy with. My bow season is now over, but I still have hopes of getting that 10 pointer
during the upcoming rifle season!
RIFLE SEASON
November 17th & 18th, 2007
Well another rifle season is upon us, and Ashley has decided that she would like to try sitting in
an elevated enclosed stand, which is on my cousin's property. There is a lot of buck sign there,
and we hoped that the deer would be cooperating.
In a nutshell, we sat both mornings and afternoons on opening weekend, and never saw a deer.
Many other hunters that we have talked with said that they too have not had much luck seeing
the deer. I did see that a few nicer bucks were harvested, but they were few and far between.
The Denninger and Waggoner crews only had 2 bucks hanging as of midday Sunday.
November 19th, 2007
With Ashley only able to hunt the weekend and Thanksgiving day, I decided to try my luck
North of town in the swamp country. I entered the stand at 2:00 pm.
At 3:00 I had a doe and 2 fawns come through. They didn't seem as if they even knew it was
rifle season, and chose to hang around a bit before walking on.
At 4:00 the same doe and fawns returned, seeming to have accomplished whatever they had
come through to do, and returned to the area where they originally came in from. Not a lot of
shooting going on tonight, and it seems as though the number of hunters is way down this year.
No other deer came through tonight, but at least I finally saw something. I have hopes of sitting
the elevated stand tomorrow night, but work may prevent me from hunting at all, we'll have to
see.
November 20th, 2007
I did get a chance after work to get out on my cousin's property and sit some in the afternoon.
I entered the stand at 2:30 pm but no deer were seen that night.
November 21st, 2007
Ashley came down from college early, and she wanted to sit my cousin's property, due to the
buck sign that I showed her on it. We entered the stand at 2:45 pm.
At 4:30 we had a doe with 2 fawns come through. She still had another 3 sits left, so she decided
to pass on the doe for now. I told her that we may not see them again, but she chose to wait. No
other deer came in tonight.
November 22nd, 2007
We got out early, and she still wanted to sit the cousin's property. Temperature was 18 degrees
and we entered the stand at 6:10 am., and stayed there until 9:00 am. No deer were seen, just a
beautiful light snowfall which just managed to cover the ground.
We ate Thanksgiving lunch, and Ashley decided to try to sit the North swamp stand, where I
had seen the doe and 2 fawn a couple of days ago. She is at the point of taking a doe if she can.
She went up to the stand location at 2:15 pm to find another man and daughter dragging a doe
out on a sled that they had shot very near her stand. She walked back to the stand anyway to
find another doe laying dead. Turns out that the 2 other hunters had shot both fawns, and
Ashley decided that too much commotion was going on there. She decided to come down and sit
with me on my cousin's property.
We sat there until dark, with no deer sightings, not hardly even a squirrel or bird. Tomorrow
morning will be Ashley's last chance to sit, and I have plans on visiting my Dad this weekend in
Minnesota. Tomorrow may in other words also be my last sit in rifle season. Overall it has been
a pretty lousy season as far as deer sightings go. It also doesn't help when your limited on time to
get away from work to hunt. I did have plans to take the week off, but work pulled me back.
We did get out to the Denninger's buckpole to see what they had hanging. There was a nicer 10
pointer, two 6 pointers, and a forkhorn. The bucks were smaller than I'm used to seeing on their
pole, and I'm assuming that there deer sightings are down too from last year. Waggoner's pole
had only 2 smaller bucks, with another buck hanging at the fathers house down the road.
November 23rd, 2007
We decided to sit my cousin's property in the morning. We entered the stand at 6:00 am.
Once again, no deer were seen this morning. Not sure what is going on, as there is plenty of
fresh sign here. I feel that with the full moon, and hunting season, that the deer are mainly
moving at night.
Even though Ashley was done, I decided to give it one final sit in the evening. I entered the
stand at 2:00 pm.
No deer tonight either. It has been a pretty poor season overall, and I realize that I really didn't
go out and try some new spots. That is my own fault, but it is hard to go sit public land when you
have the opportunity to sit private.
November 27th, 2007
I had to go out of town for the weekend, so Friday was my final sit.
I talked with Lance, and their Denninger crew harvested 10 racked bucks for 11 hunters. Their
kill included one 10 pointer, five 8 pointers, and four 6 pointers. He also said that they passed up
shots on several smaller bucks. No pictures were taken of their buckpole, as the deer were
spread out at 3 locations, so no pictures to show unfortunately.
The Waggoner crew did not have as successful of a season as the Denninger's did. They ended
up with a couple of decent bucks, and a few smaller bucks, and possibly a doe or two.
All in all it seemed that the number of hunters, deer registrations, and deer sightings were all
down.
There is a 4 day doe only hunt coming on December 6 through the 9th, which Ashley and I may
get a chance to hunt. If we do I will post our results here, otherwise the season has come to a
close.
I did put my Camtrakker out on my cousin's property today, in hopes of getting a picture of the
10 pointer or possibly the better buck that I know is there. I would just like to see that they made
it through the season, and if so I will post the pics here. Thanks again for checking out the web
site!
December 7th, 2007
I sat my cousin's property last night from noon till dark and never saw a thing. This afternoon
my Daughter "Ashley" came down to sit, in hopes of bagging her a doe. She entered the stand at
noon, and I joined up with her at 3 pm.
At 4:15 a doe entered the field from the South, and seemed to take her sweet time working her
way down the grass hole towards us. Ashley didn't have a shot for a while, but the doe did
eventually come into a clear view at 100 yards for her. She was quite nervous, but got a shot off,
and the doe ran about 20 yards and stopped. I wasn't sure if she had hit the doe, and reminded
her to cock her gun and get another shot at her. She did, and the second shot found its' mark.
The doe jumped into the air and almost fell face first in the snow as it ran toward the top of the
hill, and disappeared into the edge of the woods. We gave the doe a little time and set out on the
blood trail in the dark. It was already down to 0 degrees and was going to get down to about 14
below tonight, so I really wanted to find the deer tonight. We approached the woods edge and
heard a slight thrash and then the hard breathing of the doe. It was obvious that she was
mortally injured and it was just a matter of time. As we stood there waiting for a few minutes we
heard it get quiet, and slowly we approached the doe. She was dead, and we proceeded to dress
and haul her out.
So, Ashley is now done with her rifle season, and I will have to see what I am going to do. I have
to take care of her deer tomorrow, and with the colder weather upon us I might just decide to
call it a season. If I do get up a gumption to get out there again, I will post it here.
Thank You for viewing my Hunting Log!
Mr-Whitetail
Mr-Whitetail
