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.