Mini-Brown Down

The day grew light, wind was in my face, the forest floor laid quiet with faint sika stag bugles in the distance. Josh and I had entered the forest at o'dark thirty and crunched our way across the woods. The trail was lit like a major highway with the abundance of trail tacks from other hunters. The boat ride was smooth and brisk. I can say that the additional lights installed on the boat provided a sense of ease while traveling the marsh creek in the dark. Even with our hunting gear, the boat leveled out and made for a 2 mile ride to the forest edge, located in the middle of the marsh,

Last year's season was lit with moonlight overhead like someone upstairs leaving the nightlight on. This year was different, as the moon didn't provide that opportunity. Two fog lights and a handheld spot light later, we arrived safely without hitting those darn sandbars. This was only the second chance for me to utilize my new climbing tree stand. Surprising it went well, once you get your technique worked out. Before I knew it the forest began waking up, with birds chirping and squirrels rustling under the leaves in search of food.

The initial hike and climb up the tree had got my blood pumping and worked up a bit of heat. By utilizing my layers and a few unzips I was able to cool off effectively. Okay, its game time, face paint check, slim jim for breakfast check, and a bottle of coke to keep awake for the next few hours, double check! I faced the trail we walked in head on, the marsh to my right, and some where further in the forest Josh to my backside.

This section of forest allowed clear view of multiple shooting lanes and at great distance to detect movement. It wasn't long though, A spiked stag had almost followed our footsteps toward my stand. I couldn't believe it was going to come together so fast on the first day of the hunt. Pulling up my rangefinder, I waited for the stag to stop and provide a shooting stance. Just prior to arriving to my stand location, he turned to my left and stopped. Range finder read 31 yards and my crossbow said shoot.

The bolt made such a hollow sound when it struck his mid section. The shot was solid and the bolt passed through laying behind his trail away from the crime scene. Call CSI because that little booger is going to be piled up somewhere. Excitement began to fill my body and with a quick press of my SPOT gps, messages were sent out to my wife and friends to let them know a deer was down. About 20 minutes went by as sitting in the stand felt like an hour,

Enough was enough, the climbing stand shimmied its way down to the ground and the search began. Where to start, well being I didn't see the deer fall down in my view then I turned to the place of impact. My crossbow bolt was sticking out the ground. I picked it up and inspected it closely. No blood lay on the bolt surface but more of a greasy film. Well maybe the bolt passed through so fast, blood wasn't able to be generated?

Well I started the general trail toward the direction of where the animal exited my view. Before doing that, I left arrow at the point of impact to reference it if needed. It only took about 15 yards and the blood trail began. Good size blobs were being dropped and easy to follow. With my head down I followed it quickly when to my surprise the sika was sitting by a tree watching me follow him. I could see the wound and he had only gone about 80 yards from the point of impact. I loaded another bolt and put a clean shot on his front shoulder. This arrow hit home in the honey-hole and again the sika took off.

It wasn't another 30 yards as he turned right toward the marsh and laid down under a tree. I knew the shot was in the vitals and turned away to let the animal expire in peace. This was the moment that truly emulated that I had harvest my first sika stag. They have been referenced as the marsh ghost and eluded hunters for years. Well sign me up with Jennifer Love Hewitt as I took a ghost out of the world.

Until next time, hunt hard and dominate the woods!

Little Red October

This morning felt more like a typical fall hunting season, dew on the windows, seeing your breath in the air, and that absence of sound before the forest wakes up. I left at o'dark thirty from the house, with the full moon being, I figured I could catch the deer while they were still moving. As I drove the windy road to the local hunting spot, I saw a pair of doe sitting at the edge of a traffic intersection. So close to the road that when the light changed green, the deer changed to green as well.

I stopped at the little church just up the road from my spot. This gives me a chance to make my final preparations before stepping into the woods. It provides the opportunity to make noise there and not near my hunting spot. The full moon was shining so bright, I didn't even need my headlights on. I slipped out of the car, tossed by back pack on and grabbed my bow. The deer path is like a little super highway, just follow the path until my exit past the fallen tree and turn right to ground blind. The entry door is left open so quietly get in and settle down.

The forest floor was lit almost like the aisles of a movie theater. The trees were dropping leaves and kept my ears in tune for animal movement. A couple of sounds though echoed that of deer movement. With the grunt call in hand, I made a few light and short calls. These were just enough to say, "I am here, is that you Bob?" Well the deer didn't answer back, instead a nice eight point stepped right past the ground blind. This took my normal hunting pattern and turned it upside down.

The usual entry into the woods goes well until I step on the only loud cracking twig. Then a deer snort here and there and they vanish like dust in the wind. Today, I took my time, slowly walking down deer central station and even posed for a picture at the trail camera. Halfway down the path and a few short blows on the grunt call to mask my foot steps to that of a meandering deer. Before I knew it that hour long sit in dark was over.

So back to the close encounter with the 8th kind, the buck was cruising up the trail so fast that it startled me. I quickly pulled my bow up and began to point. The bow arm hit my tripod and the deer turned 180 and trotted a few steps before coming to a stop. While repositioning the bow to the other window of my ground blind, I slowly took the safety off, laid my eye through the scope, and pulled the trigger. The deer took another couple of steps and stopped like nothing happened. The arrow sounded like it landed about 30 yards away, how could this be. When I peered down the scope prior to shooting it was literally filled with deer body.

This lead to a long sit in the chair wondering about the shot. The shear physics of the miss were mind boggling. The forest grew lighter, blacks and grays now showing up as colors. There is was, the reason the arrow acted out of sort. The mosquito netting through the window had caught the broad head. I knew it was time to check the area for blood but knowing that none would be found. Well at least I can talk about the encounter and take the lesson learned with me. I will take a mosquito bite any day if mean harvesting a big buck.

Until we meet again, little Red October walks to see another day.

 

Santa is Coming to the Woods

Yes, its that time a of year. Stores across the nation are putting up Halloween decorations in front of the thanksgiving day specials with just enough space in the back for the Christmas trees to be on display. Crazy right?... Well that's not what I am talking about, let me stop sandbagging...its hunting season. It turns grown man into little kids, asking their wives, girlfriends, or domestic partners to go sit in the woods for day. It makes you feel like Santa is coming, and when your parents would hold it over your head if you were bad. I remember my parents making the fake phone calls to Santa to correct my behavior.

As the hours get closer to opening day, hunters like myself start reviewing our wish list like the letters we used to craft up for Santa. Our trigger fingers are so anxious to get a shot, so long as the antlers are big enough. In Pennsylvania my experience growing up, the deer would be bolting across the field and the lead would be chasing his tail and would never quite connect. I watch these hunting shows now a days and large monster bucks just grazing around hunter in the tree. It never seemed to be that slow, it was one shoot or share your siting with the hunting party back at the lodge.

So let's review my Santa wish list this year. The most notable buck is the young 8 pointer from last year, with his towering wide rack and perfect frame would be my first choice. We played cat and mouse all last year but by the end of the season, it seemed like I was the mouse. I would walk out the woods past my trail camera and 15 minutes later he followed my foot steps. Another mainframe 8 pointer has shown up in the past few weeks which could be a good up and comer. The wide 6 would be a fine choice, which has the huge spread and is most likely a younger generation of the buck I shot last year. From there on down, a mix of small 5 points and basket rack deer round out the minor league. Those smaller deer would be good management harvests to remove unwanted genetics and to fill my stocking (freezer).

There is always the off chance during the peak of rut, that a deer you never saw before, steps out and blows your mind. My western PA hunting location is like that. With lots of land ~600 acres (that's a lot for PA) it provides that off chance for a dream buck to pop up in front of you. Its just the "wonder factor" sometimes that hunters wait for as we huddle in our tree stands for hours on end. My wonder factor is set on that huge present that mom and dad (I mean Santa) stuck behind the Christmas tree for you to open last. Would it be a new bike, an air hockey table, or that buck of a life time? In my case it's that young 8 pointer to finally allow me to see him in person.

Slickhead Hunting

Well hard work paid off, scouting, preparing, and patience. I was able to harvest the first deer of the season which seems like its been too long already. With 5 sits in thus far, a doe came up from the ravine which is pretty typical but not in the day light. This is the first deer I harvested at an evening sit in my local hunting spot. The morning hunts have always produced deer movement and by keeping in check with my trail camera, it allowed me to follow suit on the recent deer activity.

The morning sit during this hunt, only produced a midget sized doe. I thought the vegetation was high but in reality this little dwarf was really small. My tree stand had proved to be too uncomfortable for an all day affair, so I retreated home, got a quick nap under my belt and returned with my ground blind. Shucks, I forgot my chair like an absent minded professor leaving out the key ingredient in his science experiment. Well I made do by sitting on my block archery target and the seat cushion from my tree stand, hey it worked.

I don't blame my hang on tree stand for being uncomfortable though. The big game series tree stand is excellent. The trees at my local hunting spot on the other hand seem to grow crooked which doesn't allow me to lean backward but forward for the most part. The area is limited on quality trees, meaning only those trees that wouldn't break when I climbed them. The forest is covered with juniper trees that have a poor root system in this area. Strong storms and winds have knocked over a dozen or so last year. So my stand is situated on the outskirts of the dense, low canopy cover in a large tree of unknown origin. Again, sometimes you have to play the hand given to you.

The deer could be scene in the distance from my ground blind location. They were chasing each other like recess in elementary school. It was quite entertaining. This meant they were quite out of range for my bow. By utilizing my grunt call, I tried to get one more curious than usual and travel up the ravine sooner. My ground blind has been a better choice anyway for this setup, high ground vegetation (early season) and low forest canopy with lack of suitable stand locations. I know I said that you have to play with the hand given, but I pulled out an ace for this situation. The ground blind increased my huntability by a 1000. I can see 60 yards in some lanes of the forest and effective shooting distance to 30 yards. This odds were a like a pair of pocket queens compared to my tree stand location with was a 3, 8 off suit (for poker enthusiasts).

The sunset was quickly approaching and the same time at which deer had been appearing on camera. I stood up to take a quick stretch as my chair setup wasn't ideal for comfort. And there was the deer, starring me down like I had four heads. It usually doesn't end well when you get caught with your pants down (figuratively in this case). Being a seasoned hunter I froze, waited for the moment when the deer looked down and then sat back down quickly and quietly. The ground blind was a new change to the area, so the deer was extremely cautious. A few steps later it turned broadside and I capitalized on the 20 yard opportunity. the shoot was near perfect and led to harvesting a good animal.

Slickhead season has started folks, may your arrows fly true and straight.

Sika Out

Miles on the odometer and hours in the stand but no sika deer for me. I traveled down to the Ellis Bay wildlife management area (WMA), in Nanticoke, MD. This was a dual purpose trip, scouting a new area and shooting a deer if the chance arose. It all started with traffic and pouring rain on Interstate 95. The trip definitely had some highs and lows but long story short, the area would not prove to be effective to hunt in coming months.

I arrived at the campground for my home base with pouring rain still dropping from the sky. So I decided to scout out the boat launch located deep in the marsh area of the WMA. Of course the rain tapered off as soon as I left the campground when I could set up my tent. The boat launch was only a few miles away, and I turned off onto Muddy Hole Road, which in turn had some real meaning. This was a gravel/dirt road surrounded by thick woods and marsh. I could see standing water in the woods, as I had found out from locals that they had received ~20 inches of rain in the past two weeks.

After a long windy road and what I thought was banjo music, the boat ramp appeared. It was shady to say the least, the access channel only big enough for the boat to fit with chocolate brown water. A swarm of bugs tapping on the window like a welcoming party for blood donations. This was decision time: hunting solo, driving 15 minutes away from a hard surface road, a boat ramp looking like a pirate plank and water access with little to no depth for my boat. I decided to check out the local harbour located on the west side instead.

The public ramp in the harbour proved to be the better choice. Although it will add significant boat time to access the marsh, it was the lesser of two evils. I told myself, once I put my feet back on land from a long day of hunting, I want to be somewhere safe. The long dirt road drive at 3am was creepy enough. So I dropped the boat in the water, grabbed scouting gear and took to the bay. The ride was okay, and after a 15 minute cruise I was glassing the marsh. The grass and vegetation on the outskirts was lower than Fishing Bay. By standing on my front deck, it was possible to see up to the forest line and the marsh area itself.

The marsh area seemed to be a step back in time. Bald eagles soaring above and perched up in pine tree overlooking the waterways. Black water snakes swimming across the windy creeks like synchronized swimmers as my boat glided by. With a promising area picked out, I returned to home base to cook up some chicken and rice to fuel my future hunt needs.

Morning rolled around quickly as they always do and off I was. I allowed the sun to come up a bit to light the way around the point and to the marsh. I was unfamiliar with the waterways and a little extra caution meant not running aground. The rising sun was magnificent as it came up over the bay. Within minutes I was up my tree in my new summit climber and glassing the marsh. Although the morning seemed to have the potential for greatness, I went with out seeing any sika deer. The afternoon sit brought the same luck. Although I heard another hunter trying to bugle it was definitely premature to fool a sika stag.

The trip was a good use of time in the early season to scout new areas and provide learning's for future hunts. With the data gathered from the trip though, I would plan to hunt Fishing Bay in October. The overall access to that hunting area was a lot easier and less dangerous. Although the hunting pressure is higher, we plan to be the early birds to beat out the competition. Until then, hunt hard and stay safe.

C'mere Deer

Well after a few weeks of what seems like the same few deer walking up to my trail camera, an old face resurfaced. I was like a little kid in a candy store when I saw the picture. Doe, doe, fawn and doe, doe, big buck! It was the young 8 from last year and man he had really blown up. His perfect mainframe 8 point rack towered over his ears. His saggy belly and huge frame compared to any deer standing next to him. For as hot as a summer that we experienced, he must have found a great food source to keep that body mass on.

Like I said before, its been weeks of seeing the same deer, coming in taking a few bites of corn and walking away. This time I had tried something different. I refilled my feeder with shelled corn again and then sprinkled c'mere deer seed coat on it. Was this the determining factor to bring in this big buck and 15 other deer that hadn't been seen either? Or was it shear chance that they had just started coming back into the area again. Tough call, but based on jump in numbers of deer present, I would say the seed coat had something to do with it. The length of time spent in front of the camera also varied from before, its as if they were settling up for a black friday sales event. Did I mention that four other bucks showed up too. The basket 6 pointer looked like a dwarf compared to the new bucks in town.

So without further delay, let's take a look at the gang.

The young 8, which is now a mature wall hanger.

The high 6, a new comer to the area.

The 5 alive, a familiar face from last year.

Buddies and Checks

Well another week has passed which brings my Sika deer hunt closer to reality. The summer has really shown some hot and humid weather like last year, which hopefully it doesn't carry into the fall. A cool and crisp fall would be quite the treat to have deer up and moving during the day instead of gallivanting in the week hours of the night while hunters sleep restlessly. It would be disheartening to see another abnormally hot fall, which in turn pushes rut activity into late night hours.

With my Sika deer hunt days away and providing a great kickoff to my 2012 season, I found myself having to go solo again. Granted I have spent a majority of my hunts alone and on my own adventure schedule, but it takes away from the collaboration with a hunting buddy. An extra set of eyes, a second decision making process to keep your mind at ease, and that doubling of your chances to harvest an animal (not to mention the mitigation of the safety risk of hunting alone). That all goes away when you are hunting solo and making your adventure that much harder. The weather will play out as mother nature desires, animals will move as they feel, leaving the only thing at this point you can count on, your equipment.
 
So the equipment list has been drafted and reviewed like a letter to Santa at Christmas. The things you have, items still to buy, and the really nice stocking stuffers you wish to have before hitting the woods. Have you ever hit the woods though to find out your headlamp battery is dead, which makes for a long and noisy walk to your hunting spot. What if it was a more vital piece of equipment like you rangefinder making you shooting distances best guess vs being spot on. These situations can lead to a miss, a fall in the dark, or even failing to harvest that animal. So we make checklists when preparing our equipment and supplies, first to ensure have everything we need or may want to take for those in case situations. Then you strap, stuff, and hang as much equipment on your person prior to marching into the woods. STOP...take a few minutes, turn on items with batteries, check levels and replace as necessary. This is your last chance before climbing into that hunting spot having the tools available to make your hunt complete.

I spent a day or two gathering equipment for each hunt, especially when the hunt conditions are different like traveling via boat to your hunting spot vs a short walk from your truck. You can't just say, its alright I have more in the truck at this point, when you are 5 miles away deep in the marsh. Carry extra clothes, socks, drinks, and more are so very important when distance hunting. This doesn't even cover the various items you need when traveling via boat. That dry you thought you may have had on the way in turned into a morning shower. I know I wouldn't want to have to sit for a few hours in a stand if I was soaking wet. All conditions you may encounter during your hunt have to be considered early on and the preparation for potential is ready for anything.

Don't let yourself down by failing to check your equipment and have a response plan ready. So before you lay your head down for the night, turn over, pick up your alarm clock and double check that battery. Nothing is worse than showing up to hunting spot late and watching the tail of the big one wave away in the other direction.

Another Year Older and Getting In Shape

Well I was able to download the second round of trail cam pictures from my local hunting spots. It provides that wonder to help pass time and puzzle the mind. Will I be able to shoot one of these deer this year, are they following the feeding patterns of the moon, and what will be on next weeks trail camera. It's the good ending to film that keeps that wonder in your mind to look forward to more. The usual players were on the prowl and a few newbies. There was a certainly one notable newbie that grabbed my attention.

I had to look back to the buck I shot last year to figure out this riddle. There was only one picture from this round of photos that captured an upcoming buck. It presented the same characteristics of the buck I shot last year, wide forked antlers with barely noticeable brow ties. His body size was certainly that of an old mature buck, thick necked, sagging belly, and grey faced. I compared the new buck to that of photos from last year, the I had was blurry, and this new buck was far in the background. His wide forked antlers sitting high and brow ties to blurry to see. The picture below shows the new buck in the background.

It was shear luck though that first picture I opened from 10/22/11 was the buck. A small five pointer with on brow tie on his right antler. This year though, the buck had grown leaps and bounds. I was amazed at the growth spert. It was undoubtly a match and presented a trend of gene pool simularities from my buck. Could the mature buck I shot last year be the father of this buck....I would venture to say yes. I could only see the trend though from the recent picture, showing those wide forked antlers and absence of stout brow ties. You can see last years picture of this 5 pointer below.

It had occurred to me though, that the antler growth from last year was in further development than the same time this year. Was the harsh summer of extreme heat and dry conditions to blame? Again, it will be wonder left in my mind to think about these aspects of the hunt. The month of August here has felt like an eternity, it has finally showed signs of the hot weather giving up. Last year it pushed all the way into early winter, causing the bucks to only show rut activity at night.

So this little 5 pointer from last year had managed to break off on his antlers in early December and he still managed to eat well and grow a health mass this year. Another year older meant so much more to him, walking in the foot steps of his father. Its now my turn to take some time to get in shape and walking tall like this 5 pointer. I traded in my couch for a tredmill and set goals to blow the dust off these bones. Catching my breath due to an exciting shot is enjoyable, doing it after climbing my treestand is a shame. With full gambit of hunts on the schedule, I can't afford to be caught catching my breath for being out of shape. A healthy hunter is on that stays in shape.

Pre-season and Scheduling

As hunting season gets closer, planning and scouting are keys to keeping your mind off that big buck standing in front of your trail camera already. Without good planning and solid scouting though, that big buck could be sitting in front of your trail camera next  year too. Just like taking a test that you want a good grade on, it pays to do your home work.

So as the summer months slip by, which feels like an eternity, it provides time to plan out the fall hunting trips. First on the stop on the Merky Water Adventures will be a Sika deer hunt in Maryland. This was a hunt that we did last year and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. One thing we didn't like was the high hunting pressure of the area we selected. With that being said, I have plotted a course for a new area, Ellis Bay WMU. Its a bit further south but provides just as much area as the Fishing Creek WMU near Cambridge, MD. We had gone into that hunt last as blind as a pirate with pink eye. So this year, we have studied aerial photos, called local wildlife management offices, and planned an early scouting/hunting trip in September.

The goal here to locate a good hunting area that provides the conditions for steady sika deer population and less hunting pressure. We felt like bumper boats last year trying to the prime hunting spots. If it works out, we will be able to add another hunting area to our armory. We even went low budget and booked a campsite at near by campground. The conditons will most likely be hot, as it falls into the first week of September and mosquitoes will be trying to hunt us down like a prom date. So the thermacells are packed and light camo is a must.

I feel like the hunting season is going to be a blur as almost every weekend is dog earred for a different hunt or area already. So the following week is the soft opening for the PA bow season and my 31st birthday. So it will be slick head hunting at my local spot and birthday cake for me. A little fresh backstrap wrapped in bacon would be a great present for the party.

Once more trail camera pictures come in it will dictate staying local or heading to western PA for antlers. I plan on taking a week of vacation once the rut gets on heavy and spending some time with my uncle and cousins. Then its back to Maryland for a second Sika deer hunt with my co-worker Josh. At this point I will be a 1000 miles on the odometer and climbing. In addition to driving miles, I have found an opportunity to hunt Colorado for elk and mule deer with my friend Jeff and will be putting my feet in the air. This isn't even up to halloween yet either. Pencil your calendars early on and stick to your goals for the season.

So as part of my planning process: area scouting, equipment review, and personal training are on the front burner. I will discuss these in my next post. Until then, make that big buck dream a reality and do your homework folks.

Post Season Wrap Up

I sat down on my typical sunday today and watched some hunting shows. I caught a few that went through their highpoints of the year. What great idea. With that in mind, it gives me a chance to talk about mine. It felt like just yesterday that I stepped into my buddy's property to start my scouting of the area in southeastern Pennsylvania. Brian constantly said there were deer in his backyard. We strolled through the back lawn into a thick cedar stand of woods. The groundcover was dense small pathways. These small pathways weren't just animal trails though, they were deer superhighways. There was so much travel the paths were packed down hard like paved roadways.

So we hung a stand and installed a Wildgame Innovations trail camera. It wasn't long before the set of pictures came back. Deer...check, racoons...check, turkeys...check. I was truly surprised. The area is a meer 45 minutes away from Philadelphia and surrounded by tons of wildlife. Before we knew, the big boys (bucks) showed up to the camera as well. So I made final preparations which included the purchase of a Parker crossbow for my birthday. It was by far the best hunting present ever and gift to myself. Opening weekend quickly came and two deer later, my freezer was stocking up.

My co-worker Josh and I had planned mid season break from white tails to the marshlands of Maryland for some Sika deer action. This would require use of my skiff to access the hunting areas of marsh. This would be my first try at Sika deer, which is the eastern relative of the elk out west. The mornings were cool and crisp on the water, the moon laid up high to gives us a guiding light through the high marsh grass. As the sun would rise each morning and set in the evening, the marshland echoed with the bugle calls of this minature elk like deer. This experience was imprinted on me now and making want more. One thing I learned about early season in the marsh is full out mosiquto heaven, but Josh was able to stick a decent sized spike sike deer on the second morning.

After the hunting adventure to Maryland, which we fully intend to do again next year, it was back to southeastern, Pa. I was able to score another big doe with an incredible shot of 63 yards with my crossbow. This was frustrating though, all the bucks had converted to night time movement. A small glimer of hope would appear every few weeks of a big in the daylight on camera. So I would quickly change my work schedule to get some days during the week to get a sit in here and there. But with work being so demanding, I would have to travel to Detroit. One would think this to be a door closing on hunting, but on the contrary, this would put me close proximity to the family farm in western, PA.

Road tripping had always been second nature to me. So long as I found a place to lie my head down then I would make the trip. So Detroit bound I was, although it was the return side of the trip I looked forward to. With a quick call to my uncle to gain approval to hunt the farm then my trip would be cleared for take off. The one day at the farm would be a tease but well worth it. The morning was calling for a cold rain, so instead of sitting in my stand, I popped up the groundblind about 40 yards away. I was so glad to stay dry and still be able to see deer movement.

After the rain had stopped, the deer became to move. This morning would not provide an opportunity to see any bucks though. A small doe came strolling right past the blind with no idea I was there. I love that feeling, this is where all the scent control hurdles you jump finally pay off. I saw few more deer funnel out of the field but they traveled right down to the mine property. The evening hunt went about the same way, all doe and no bucks. The day was priceless though being able to sneak an early season sit on my favorite place to hunt.

Back to the grind of work, with the holiday season quickly approaching.