Blizzard Bucks and the Secondary Rut

We are getting some pretty heavy snow this evening throughout most of Indiana. I love hunting in the snow. It is a change of scenery after the first 70 days of the season.

Winter hunting centers around one thing. Food! All deer and bucks especially after the rut are looking to hang out somewhere close to food and filter in and eat in the evening. I try to find a heavily used trail into a grain field (usually corn) and sit on the southeast side as the prevailing winds are usually from the northwest this time of year. Does will generally make their way into the field much earlier than the big bucks (much like early season) and as shooting light is fading the mature bucks will get on their feet. If you're lucky, he'll use your trail.

Because of the heat and drought, a lot of the corn was picked very early in Indiana this year. That means that a lot of what the combines missed has already been eaten. The good news, though, is that the deer will be more concentrated into fields that still have food left. Think back to October about which fields were latest to get picked. This seems like the best place to start in my area.

I've found that this type of hunting takes a guess and check strategy. Find a good trail, set up, and see where they come out. If they come out on another trail, I may need to move. Another way to go about it may be to scope the field one evening and see what kind of action you see and make note of where the deer enter the field.

In areas with a higher doe population, this period in early and mid December can produce some pretty good rut activity. It's not quite the rut, but a lot of yearling does will come in to estrus in this period and bucks won't let them go unbothered.

A buddy of mine has had a big buck nearly run him over as it chased does into a corn field twice in the past week. Unfortunately, this happened after shooting light. He has now moved his stand up further into the staging area hoping to get a shot with a little shooting light left.

So if you can brave the cold, this could be a fun final 20 days of the season in Indiana.

Hunt Report December 8th

I bundled up this morning and headed to the "Sanctuary" for a half day hunt. It was going to be a full day, but I ended up getting some tickets for the UK game so I had to get home to get some work done before the game.

It was 8 degrees with a WSW wind. The "Sanctuary" had been flooded earlier this week, so there were still some ice puddles. The pylon, where I wanted to hunt, was surrounded by an ice puddle. I still got in it, but i couldn't get my safety harness over all of my clothes. Like I said, it was 8 degrees! I got down and kicked out a spot in some down timber. Had three does come from the poplars to my east at about 8 o'clock, and a decent 9 pointer followed about ten minutes later. That was really the full extent of the action. I left about 12:30.

Preliminary Plans for TD-80

I finally got a Google Earth image of the property on the blog, so I'm gonna lay out what we want to do with this property.

Goals
I think Dad and I are in agreement about our goals for this property. First and foremost, we want to have fun working and hunting on it. Second, we want it to hold mature bucks.

Accomplishing the  Goals
Goal number one will be accomplished while and after goal number two is accomplished.

Holding mature bucks on the property is an interesting proposition. Knowing that it is only 80 acres, I am not naive enough to believe that we will have mature bucks that are on our 80 acres 100 percent of the time. That is unrealistic. What I would like to accomplish is keeping two or three mature (3.5 years or older) bucks on the property throughout most daylight hours. If we can keep a buck on our 80 acres for 80 to 90 percent of his daylight hours, then he is ours for the taking.

As I see it, there are two major components that will hold a deer on our property for most of his daylight hours. First, there has to be great bedding cover. Second, there has to be more and better food than anywhere else.

Cover
Decent bedding cover is not hard to come by in these parts. There are a lot of wooly areas with low-hanging conifers to offer great cover. However, what we can offer more than the public land area is undisturbed cover. This is what most people call a sanctuary. Hopefully we can make a couple of places very attractive for bedding (most of this has already been accomplished naturally), and then KEEP OUT! These  places are marked in red on the map above. If we keep our presence at a very low key in these places, then they can hold deer for a great majority of the daylight hours in the fall.

Food
I put this one second because that is where it falls in importance. Cover is the most important component. Nothing can replace it. Food has been the hype of whitetail hunting for many years now, but cover is the key.

However, there is no substitute for food. The top priority of a deer is survival. That includes three things: security, food, and water. Security is in the cover. Once we have food, we have created two of the three and there is a small watering hole in the middle of the field.

I invision two food plots. The first is marked in yellow on the map. This will be corn. We will plant corn and leave it standing all year. This is another provider of cover. Corn is a deer magnent. In an area with very little agriculture, the deer should flock to it.

The second food plot is marked in green. It is about .3 acres. This will be a summer plot. I hope to plant the new Biologic Sudden Impact blend. This should give the bucks plenty of good nutrition in the summer as they grow their antlers.

I would love to make both of these plots bigger. If the dozer is capable, then we will. But for now, I'm keeping my expectations low so as not to be disappointed.

We are also looking into a couple of feeders. Obviously these would be shut down in August or September, but they can be a wonderful food source during the harsh winter months up until the summer when the Biologic comes up.

We can't wait to get started.

New Camera!

I received my new camera today. It is a POV camera made by Wildgame Innovations. Hopefully I will be able to put this camera into use before the end of the season.

I also hope to get a new Flip UltraHD in the near future which will complete the filmed hunt experience.

New Property!

I've waited a few days to put this news on the net, but things are looking pretty secure so I'm gonna post it.

Dad received word this week that the landowner of a piece of land that Dad has coveted for many years was willing to lease it. My family is a normal middle class family. Nobody has a ton of money to blow on stuff like a hunting lease. However, this guy gave us an incredible deal that we couldn't pass up.

The property is 80 acres in the area that I spent most of my childhood. Most of the adjacent property is public ground. The public ground has its positives and negatives. The big negative is that the area receives a ton of hunting pressure especially in firearms season. There are two pretty big positives though. First, our lease is adjacent to 1,000+ acres that we can hunt. Second, with all the hunting pressure that the land around it receives, our property should be a great deer holder if we can make the deer feel secure there.

Because of how Dad has long coveted this property, it will be referred to as "The Dream 80" (or TD 80).

The lay of the land is valleys on the southeast and northwest with a ridge in between. Both of the hillsides feature a ton of big hardwoods. White and black oaks are often very productive in this area. On top of the ridge is a 17 acre overgrown field. This is the piece of the property that I am most excited about. The field has two fingers that are great thick bedding areas. In the main body of the field we will probably clear out a couple of signicant areas for food plots.

Needless to say, Dad and I are excited about the opportunity to work on, manage, and hunt this property. We're also looking to talk to others who have tried their hand at property management for big whitetails and get any advice we can soak up.

Crunching Some Deer Numbers

A post on http://www.indianasportsman.com/ inspired me to look up the 2009 Indiana deer harvest statistics. More than anything, I did this out of interest from my earlier article Indiana Bucks vs. The Rest of the Midwest.

In that article I wrote about Indiana's trophy bucks and how they stacked up to the rest of the Midwest. The general idea was that Indiana was behind those other states. I brought up several different issues included in this. Two key issues that worked together were the buck to doe ratio and the proposed shortened firearm season.

In the short research I did today, I found that the total deer harvest beat the previous record by 3,000. The total number of deer harvested was 132,752. That number was not surprising.

Another number I found was that 60% of those that were harvested were does. That is a huge positive. In most of Indiana the estimated doe to buck ratio is around 2:1. A near 1:1 ratio is desired. Harvesting more does than bucks is a step in the right direction.

The other number that I found interesting was that 64 percent of the bucks taken were 2.5 years old or older. That is another good step. I wonder what percentage were 3.5 or older, though. I would venture to say that the percentage would drop significantly to around 30 percent. (Just a guess.)

My thing about Indiana is that I think too many hunters harvest bucks that are not yet mature (3.5 years or older).

I've said before that I am an advocate of moving gun season back into Thanksgiving week and the week after. For now, though, that's not the train I'm on.

Personally, I think antler restrictions would be a good step in the right direction for Indiana. The easiest to enforce would be a minimum number of points. I would suggest six. There are some mature deer that never get past six. This would allow most 1.5 year old bucks to walk and some 2.5 year olds to walk. Spread restrictions may also be an option, but that seems hard for the hunter to judge on the hoof.

Some people would argue that such restrictions would take out those bucks with superior genetics that get them to 6+ points at 1.5 or 2.5 years old while leaving those with inferior genetics to breed. I would say, however, that genetics play a small part in the making of big bucks compared to age and nutrition.

I'm not sure that these are the right answers, but I'm trying to get a feel for what the legislators and DNR are dealing with in these issues. Feel free to weigh in at http://www.indianasportsman.com/.

Hunt Report November 22nd and 23rd

I was excited to get to hunt a lot this week. I hunted yesterday until early afternoon and until about noon this morning. Dad's hunted with me. We've seen a total of 3 deer while on stand. Those were all seen by Dad yesterday morning.

These have been probably the two worst consecutive hunting days in 5+ years for me. Monday was explained away by 70 degree temps. It was so warm that I saw a snake! Today should have been perfect. Hard to explain.

Back at it in the morning.

Where did the rut go?

Some Trail Camera Shots

These are nothing fantastic. I had no pictures of any shooters. This 10 pointer, however, has some great potential. It's pretty hard to judge age at the angles these shots give, but I'm guessing him at 2 1/2 and certainly no older than 3 1/2.

Well, I Promised a Good Story, Here It Goes

 I've experienced all kinds of emotions in the woods. There have been moments doubt and moments of hope, moments of pride and moments of humility, moments of fulfillment and moments of failure. I've been good, lucky, patient and persistent. I've been bad, busted, sniffed out and spotted. I've experienced my fair share of joyful success. But I'm certainly no stranger to demoralizing defeat. Sadly, today's story may be one of my most demoralizing defeat yet.

As I mentioned yesterday, today's plan was for an all day hunt. I have come to love all day hunts, especially in the rut. The ruts in full swing right now, so suffice to say that I had high expectations.

Considering the inch of rain we received up until the wee hours of the morning, I decided it would be best to walk in just as light began to take over. I would still hunt on my way to the stand (much like my successful Halloween hunt last year) and quietly climb into the stand whenever the deer allowed me to get there. I had a short run-in with a small 8 pointer as I neared my stand. He walked around me rather oblivious to my presence.

I reached "the pylon" (the sight of my 2009 buck kill) at least 20 minutes before sunrise. The wind was from the southwest, making this stand on the northeast corner of a thicket a perfect ambush point for cruising bucks. I quietly settled in and watched a beautiful November morning begin. Within 15 minutes I had does to the north of me.

A short time later, I heard some brush crashing to the south. Another decent 8 pointer emerged. I readied my bow, but as he walked under my stand it was obvious that he needed at least one more year. He proceeded to chase the does into the native grass field to the east.

After only a few short moments of calm, another buck came trotting up the east edge of the thicket. Again it passed directly underneath me. He was an interesting, but not the least bit tempting, 9 pointer. He proceeded out to the field with the other buck and does.

By this time the edge to the south of me had my attention. Just ten minutes later another buck emerged from the thicket and started toward my stand. I got one good look at him at about 25 yards and knew he was a shooter. He proceeded to about twelve yards. I drew and gave a mouth grunt to stop him. He stopped and turned toward me, covering part of his vitals with his shoulder. I settled my top pin behind the shoulder and released. The sound was a thumph. The shot was a clear pass through and felt good. (It better feel good at 12 yards!) The big 11 pointer buckled for split second, bolted ten yards only to stop and look back. From that point on, he walked calmly out of sight.

I called Dad to tell the story. He packed up and started on the two and a half hour drive north to lend a hand.

I got down to check the arrow. Saturated! That's a great sign. I waited for about 30 minutes and then began tracking. The blood trail was pretty good for the first 80 yards. Then it led into a field of native grasses where I lost it about 40 yards in. The search for the next spot of blood or the buck himself lasted six hours, covered almost the entire property and ultimately failed.

In the end, Dad and I surmised that the shot was a little bit back. Instead of hitting the ideal vitals such as the heart and lungs, it hit the liver. While a liver shot is a sure kill, the wound is often plugged by the gut which stops the blood trail. Dad said that his experience is that a deer hit in the liver will rarely go further than 100 to 150 yards, but we all know that deer can be inredibly resilient animals.

The day left one of those helpless knots in my stomach. I have been busted by big bucks, missed big bucks, wounded big bucks, and made just about any other sort of mistake you can make. All of those were demoralizing, but nothing touches today. Today was the most demoralizing moment of my hunting career, because  I don't have that buck in my hands, but he is almost surely dead. Hunting is a chess match, me versus the deer. Sometimes I win. Most of the time, they win. I'm okay with that. Today we both lost. That hurts.

I know we need the rain, but...

I really hate getting soaked in the tree stand. I know that deer movement is hardly affected by these steady November rains, but it can be awfully hard to get motivated to get out in it at 5 A.M. This morning I woke up at five and saw the weather report of rain, rain, and more rain. It didn't take much to keep me in bed. I knew that if I hunted this morning, then I would not hunt Thursday morning (gas is too much), so I opted to wait until Thursday. Now it is suppose to rain Thursday morning.

I have a day off of classes tomorrow, so I will be on stand all day. I love all day hunts. If the deer aren't moving, they can be grueling. But even then the big bucks like to move in the middle of the day. I find this especially true during firearms season when the hunting pressure has picked up. That being said, I expect to have a story at the very least tomorrow.

November 12th Hunt Report

I was back in the Crawford/Orange county area this morning. I hunted behind my grandparents house which is an overgrown jungle of what used to be fields on top of a ridge. Most of the stuff just looks like big bucks should roam through it. I had not hunted in that area for more than 5 years, so this morning I did some walking.

I've gotten still hunting down to an art over the years. I'm not great at it, but I am organized. My goal is not to be entirely quiet. (That would be impossible with this dry weather.) My goal is to sound like a deer. No more than 8 or 10 steps at a time, stop for long periods of time (sometimes up to 20 minutes.) It was a successful method this morning as I learned about the lay of the land again.

At about 8:30 I was walking through some really thick stuff (what used to be a field). It was the kind of stuff that it's almost impossible to shoot a bow through. As soon as I stopped towards the middle of it, I heard some crashing brush and it was getting closer. Seconds later a doe jumped out and came straight towards me. She ran within 7 yards of me while another doe ran off to my right. I figured a buck was chasing them. It turned out that 3 bucks were chasing them. The first one was weird looking but I only got a glimpse. The second one came in grunting continuously. I watching  pass in and out of sight with his head down. Then he lifted his head in a small opening and showed what may very well be the most impressive rack I have ever seen while hunting. He circled me at about 15 to 20 yards (too thick for a shot) and disappeared. The third buck was a cautious, but not overly smart 6 point. He walked within 4 yards of me. It's crazy to be that close to any deer!

You just can't beat this time of year!

November 11th Hunt Report-- Wow! The rut is really happening!

I hunted my climber on the south end this morning. I could barely get into my stand before I started hearing and seeing bucks chasing does. It was non stop action for about the first two hours of daylight. I saw five different bucks, a 4 point, three 8 points, and one that I think is a main frame ten with a sticker on one of his G-2s. (That one is a shooter.) It was one of those mornings that makes guys take all of there vacation in November. Gotta love the rut!

November 9th Hunt Report- Success With Agressive Tactics

This morning I hunted the pylon on which I shot my buck last year. As I said last night, I took to he stand with rattling in mind this morning. I almost never rattle, but I was feeling it this week. The rattling was a success. I rattled in a small 8 point at about 8:30, and then a bigger 8 point at about 9:30. I had a chance to shoot the bigger one and held off. He looked to be a 2 1/2 year old, which is generally off limits for me.

Warm Weather, Aggressive Tactics Tomorrow

Last week gave us some pretty cold weather. I wasn't able to hunt over the weekend due to some ministry duties, but I did see some chasing in the fields at night. This week may not be so entertaining. Temperatures are predicted around 70 degrees all week. The nights will still be right around 40 and still dropping to 36 tonight, so the mornings should still offer a good amount of deer and rut movement. But, as I've said all season, this has the potential to be a very inconsistent rut. I would expect this to be a downswing until we get temperatures back down around freezing at night and 50s during the day.

On that note, I'm going to do something tomorrow morning that I very rarely do. With this warm front moving in, the wind is out of the South which leaves me with no stand options. Considering, I am going to sit on the North side of the property and rattle. I almost never rattle, because my success in doing so has never been that great. But tomorrow I'm going to give it another shot. Stay tuned and I'll let you know what happens.

Pick up a Bow

Some discussions that have stemmed from the article below have prompted me to wonder one basic thing about gun hunters.

For those who are so bent on having more time to hunt because they have to work and Thanksgiving travel takes time away from their short firearm season, why not pick up a bow?

Bowhunting allows for a 90 day season. The early season and pre-rut can be a fantastic time to hunt. Hunting in December can also be a blast. Bowhunting is more challenging, but also more up close with the deer, which means more exciting. You rarely shoot a deer before it gets within 30 yards. And it is not that expensive.

You want to gun hunt for 9 days in November... That's great! But give bowhunting a chance. It's addicting.

Indiana Bucks vs. The Rest of the Midwest

It is well known that states like Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and Kansas sit atop the Midwest as far as trophy whitetail hunting is concerned. Indiana, though, has always seemed to be just a step below all of those states. That's not to say that Indiana doesn't have great bucks. There are some true monsters killed in Indiana every year. The numbers and average sizes just don't seem to match up with most other Midwestern states.

So what's the problem?

The first problem, as I see it, is the population. The deer population numbers in most of Indiana's counties have at least 25 deer per square mile. On the other hand, most counties in the other Midwestern states listed above fall below the 15 deer per square mile mark.

With the high population comes a couple of different issues. The first is insufficient amounts of food. It takes more corn, wheat, acorns, etc. to feed 25 deer than it does 15. With less food, the deer have less nutrients to grow record book antlers. The second is a poor buck/doe ratio. This doesn't make bucks any smaller, but it does make them harder to hunt. When does are in abundance, the bucks don't need to move during the day as much to find a hot doe.

The second thing that I believe is a problem is a lack of patience from Indiana hunters. As I talk to hunters in Illinois and Iowa, I find that they are more willing to hold off on a good looking two or three year old buck. Obviously the know that there are bigger bucks around. If all Indiana hunters would hold off like this, maybe Indiana hunters could enjoy the same luxury.

The last issue is the timing and length of the firearm seasons. Indiana currently has a 15 day season that generally starts in the second or third weekend of November. That's 15 days of firearms during the rut. Then there is a late muzzleloader in which it does not seem a lot of damage is done.

What can be done?

The "One Buck Rule" that has been in effect for several years now in Indiana has been a great step in the right direction for trophy whitetails. However, I think there are still a few measures that legislation should consider.

The easiest issue is probably the population (especially the doe population). There are a couple of things that could be done here. First, doe permit fees could be lowered encouraging more people to by and fill doe permits. Second, it may be beneficial to put in a temporary law (2-5 years) that forces hunters to take a doe before shooting a buck.

The size of bucks shot is a tougher issue to tackle. Some states have imposed antler restrictions. That may be a positive course of action. The proposed "doe first" rule may also help a bit.

The greatest help, though, may come with some firearm season reform. The Indiana DNR proposed some changes to the firearm seasons in July. Most noteably, they proposed moving opening day of shotgun season to the last Saturday before Thanksgiving and shortening the season to 8 days. They had similar proposals for the muzzleloader season. They also proposed 3 days of antlerless only firearms in October and 6 in late December. All of those proposals would go a long way in putting Indiana in the same category as Illinois and Ohio.

So what do you think should be done? Leave your comments below. (You do NOT need an account to comment.)

November 3rd Hunt Report

I got into my stand at about 4 this evening. It was a bit warmer today than it has been the last few days. I did, however, see a doe very early on.

The rest of the evening was dead until I was climbing down my climber. When I got about two strides down a doe came running out of the woods to the East. She was followed by a buck I've named "Lefty." Lefty ran directly underneath me. As I said, I was getting down, so my bow was on the ground and it was too dark to shoot anyway. It was encouraging to see him running does in that area though.

                                         Lefty has appeared only once on my trail cameras 15 days ago.

                                         His name obviously comes from his lopsided rack.

November 2nd Hunt Report, Rut Picking Up!

I made a trip to "The Sanctuary" this evening. I got settled into my climbing stand on the Southeast end at about 4 P.M. The first hour was uneventful, but things picked up quickly about 5:20. Leaves and brush crashed loudly to the East. I listened to what I knew was a buck chasing a doe for the next 30 minutes without seeing either of them. Then they both made quick appearances just before 6. He was a six point. I had never seen him and have no pictures of him. The last hour of daylight was filled with chasing. Those two were around constantly. A good 2 1/2 year old 8 point came from the thicket to the West of me and chased a few does out (I actually heard him grunt before I heard or saw anything else of him.)

The night ended with something that I thought was kind of cool. I could hear two bucks fighting to the East. I couldn't see them, but the sounds were unmistakable. I've seen bucks fight before, but I don't think I've ever just heard it happening without seeing it.

NOVEMBER!!!

It's the best month of the year to be a bow hunter. The days are getting cold, so the deer are moving. Does will come into estrus. Bucks will run around amped up on testosterone. And many giants will fall.

Surprisingly, though, I'm not sure a whole lot is happening in Southern Indiana right now. I have spent a considerable amount of time in the woods over the last week, and buck sign has been scarce. I have found no more than 4 or 5 scrapes in the last week. Why that is, I have no idea. It may be that I'm not looking in the right spots. But I find that hard to believe with the consistancy of many of these areas over the last five to ten years. It has to happen soon, though, and it's best to be in the woods when it does.

Hunt Report October 30

Lows were near freezing as the morning started this morning. I had duties at church to tend to, but my cousin was able to hunt in Orange County in Southern Indiana. He's been after a good buck that he spotted about two weeks ago. He saw him and another decent 8 point chasing a doe this morning.

I still believe we're in the middle of a slight upswing in rut/pre-rut action right now. But it will be spotty and hard to predict.

Hunt Report October 28 and 29

I hunted yesterday morning at "The Sanctuary" in Dearborne County, Indiana. The morning had a stiff breeze, but I actually felt as if the deer should be moving. My feelings were wrong and I did not see a single deer. That is almost unheard of at "The Sanctuary."

Last night the temeratures really began to drop. On a 30 minute drive home after leading my small group of high school guys at church, I saw three different bucks chasing does. That was a very encouraging sight for the weekend to come.

I hunted this morning in Orange County, IN with high hopes. I did see a few deer, but no bucks. The movement that I had expected did not quite come to be.

The lows are supposed to remain in the 30s with one night predicted in the 20s for next week. Again, I believe the rut will be spotty this year, but this next week should be an upswing.

Trail Camera Pictures From the Mock Scrape

I made a mock scrap last week for the first time. These are some of the pictures I got on the mock scrape in just one week.

There is a new element to the sight called "Buck Shots." Buck Shots is a slideshow of most of the buck pictures that I have this year. It's small, and I don't know how to fix that, but if you click on it, it will take you to the Picassa album which will show you much larger pictures.

October 26th Hunt Report, Rut Report

Hunt Report
I got the opportunity to hunt "the sanctuary" this morning. It was a good example of one of those days where you force yourself to get into the woods. The wind was blowing at 15 mph at daylight. There is a huge line of storms blowing in this afternoon, so I was still hopeful that I may intercept some deer movement as they headed for cover from the storms.

I decided to hunt from the ground for a couple of reasons. First, I was considering still-hunting, which I eventually did. Windy days are a good opportunity for that. Second, there was no way I was going to mess up a good stand location while hunting on a windy, 70 degree day.

I did see two does and a nice buck. Whether or not he was a shooter is a borderline call.

Rut Report
I said last week that last night's full moon had the potential to provide some early rut action if the weather cooperated. Well, with 70 degrees and wind gusts close to 20 mph, it's safe to say that didn't happen.

However, the good buck I saw this morning was very intentionally trailing two does. And I also heard another report over the weekend of a buck that was following some does very closely. The rut is getting ready to happen. Lows are supposed to be close to freezing this weekend which could trigger the first wave. But I suspect any rut action will be very sporadic up until mid to late November.

Some good trail pictures are coming later!

A Note to the Reader

If you are visiting my blog repeatedly, it would be awesome if you would become a follower. If not, though, what I would really like is for you to leave me a comment from time to time about what things you enjoy about this blog.

I do this for two reasons. 1) It is a good way for me to journal what's going on in my hunts. 2) I like to write for an audience about things I enjoy. For number 2 to be fun, I have to know what you enjoy reading.

Happy hunting!!!

October 20th Hunt Report, Trail Camera Pictures, Mock Scrape

My only morning class was cancelled this morning. That meant I could take advantage of a morning with a low of 41 degrees and no wind. I hunted my climber on the southeast end of "the sanctuary." Does were all over me from the time I got in my stand at daylight until about nine o'clock. Contrary to reports from last night, though, there were no bucks in tail. It was a very rare hunt in "the sanctuary" to see a lot of deer but no bucks.

I did, however, get some good pictures from my trail camera. There was one picture of a very good buck (see below), but the right side rack is lacking in size. I wounded a good buck last year in the front left shoulder, and I believe this is probably him. Experts say that injuries to a front leg generally create an abnormal antler on the same side but sometimes on the opposite. I guess this is an exception.

I made a new setup for the trail camera today. Has anyone ever tried mock scrapes? This was my first attempt at one. I broke off a few pieces of a licking branch and cleared a fairly large circle. An article I read said that a larger circle makes for a more noticeable scrape. I'll just see how it goes. I have zero expectations.

Let me know if you have done the mock scrape thing before. I'm open to any tips.

A cyote

Looks like a wide rack. He should be a really good buck in a year or two.

I'm naming this big guy "Leftie" because of his lopsided rack.

Southern Indiana Rut Report!!!

I talked to Dad this morning. He told me that a friend of his called last night after killing a 155 inch buck on Tuesday evening on a farm in Ripley County, Indiana. The friend said that bucks were chasing hard already.

The chasing report is interesting. October 19th is pretty early for does to be in estrus, but the bucks are getting amped up for sure. If the weather continues to cooperate (it's been low 40s the last two nights), then the full moon on the 25th should offer up some quality rut hunting opportunities.

October 15th Hunt Report

I hunted behind my father-in-laws yesterday morning. I saw a little 4 point and three does. One doe (who was a Pope&Young doe) offered a shot from about 20 yards quartering toward me. I elected not to take the shot for lack of a good angle. Had it been a good buck I would have put the shot in there, but I want to be as close to 100% sure of a clean kill with a doe as I can be.

The latest warm front moved out about 3 days ago and we are consistantly in the low 40s for the overnight low. I wasn't able to hunt this morning, but the low was 37. If those kind of temperatures continue, the full moon on the 25th could see some really good rutting action.

The Rut is Coming

The debate for the last several decades over the timing of the rut has basically been, does it peak because of the moon phase, time of year, or the weather. My simple response is all three play a part.

However, I give quite a bit of credence to the moon phase. It goes without question that the moon phase affects the movement of many different types of wildlife. I believe this to be especially true for whitetails. Some hunters give special attention to the "rut" moon (the second full moon after September 21). I believe in that to an extent, but I also believe that deer move much more during any full moon than during the other phases of the moon.

This year the "rut" moon falls on November 22nd which is very late. (Last year it was November 3rd.) Thus my hypothesis is that the first full moon after September 21st will provide some fantastic rut hunting. That full moon falls on October 25th. I do not expect that does will be ready to breed yet. But the pre-rut stage for bucks should be heating up big time. Such a scenario may be better than the actual "rut" moon as bucks will be especially desperate to find a ready doe. Get your Tink69 or whatever other doe-in-heat attractant you use out for the 24th-26th cause the bucks should be on their feet and looking. This may also be a prime time to rattle (which I have had little to no success with), and don't forget the grunt call. It's almost rut time!

October 12th hunt report

The camera is officially done. So it's just writing for this season.

I went to "the sanctuary" this evening. I hunted off of the pylon where I killed my buck last fall. It was a very warm evening with wind from the SSE. I saw one doe. She walked right underneath me coming from the southwest. She's lucky it's too much of a hassle to shoot a doe on that property. I did bump three deer as I walked out into the field. There's nothing I can do about that. It wasn't quite dark when I walked out, which is unusual for me, but a thunderstorm was rolling in so I needed to get to my vehicle.

October 8th hunt report

This morning was not a traditional hunt. I did some scouting on some territory that I have not hunted for several years. I did a lot of walking, but I did stop and hunt on the ground for about an hour. The end of that hour provided some excitement as three does came in and nearly ran me over. The first was about to step into an opening with me at full draw when she caught a whiff of me and bolted. The hunt was thrilling nonetheless. After all, how often do you get face to face with an animal like that? I know stand hunting provides a distinct advantage, but the thrill of a good ground hunt can be quite worth it.

Pics from the last 2 weeks

October 6th hunt report

I took my first trip to "the sanctuary" today. I was short on time, so I only walked the edge of the field for about an hour and a half. I did see two bucks. One was a decent 8-point and the other looked like a really good buck. The second was a couple hundred yards away, and I only got a glimpse with the binoculars.

I did pick up my trail camera which yielded a disappointing amount of pictures, but the pictures I do have are forthcoming.

Daily Conditions 10-3-2010

It has been cloudy with a high in the mid 50s. A cold front moved through yesterday about 2 P.M. This cool weather should definitely have the deer moving. I wish I could be in the woods this weekend, but I'll be hunting Wednesday morning and should be out a couple of times next weekend.

I have also had camera problems. Those should be resolved in the next few days, so I should have footage of hunting this week.

October 1st hunt report

I shot a bit of video today, but being that there was no action, I've chosen not to sharethe boring bits of me talking.

We had a low in the mid 40s this morning which made it feel like a good morning. I sat behind our old house at a place called "the point" which has a ton of big white oaks. The woods was alive all morning (I even heard a gobble!), but we didn't see a single deer.

As we were changing Dad's tire which was flat when we got out, another hunter came out of the woods and said that he had shot a nice buck. He had not yet recovered.

I won't be able to hunt again until at least Wednesday morning when I will hopefully head out the "the sanctuary."

Opening day is upon us!

In t-21 hours the sun will have risen on October 1st which is opening morning in Indiana. The weather is suppose to be clear and cool with a low of 45 degrees.

The acorns are on this fall which means the dear are a bit more spread out when it comes to feeding. It also means, though, that they will more a little more in daylight hours, because they feel comfortable in the cover of the woods.

Dad and I have not been able to scout in one of the areas that we are going to hunt this fall. We will spend tomorrow scouting, hunting from the ground, and probably hanging a couple of stands. It is a stand of several thousand acres of hardwoods. It is public land which presents a bit of a different challenge than some other properties. However, the land is so large that getting into the middle of it can reach deer that are rarely bothered. Dad and I hunted this land a ton about 10 years ago, but have hardly touched it since. It should be a great blast from the past and this property is such that you never know what kind of monster you could stumble onto.

(The camera mount on my bow is not completely fixed up yet. I hope to get it going tonight so that there will be video of tomorrow.)

Daily Conditions 9-28-2010

General area
High- mid 70s
Low- 48
Conditions- Sunny and cool to start the day. Consistent breeze all day.

The property size battle

I read an article in North American Whitetail last night that talked about managing small tracts of land. In southern Indiana it is uncommon to be able to take a small tract of land and know that your deer are staying on your property. It is well known that bucks often have a range of at least a square mile. So the trick for the middle class whitetail hunter that cannot afford more than 100 acres is managing deer that aren't always on your property. I will be a minister a teacher as a wife for the rest of my life. I will be lucky to get 50 acres.
Here's the question. If you get 60 acres in southern Indiana on the Ohio River with public land all around, how do you go about managing a herd?
My strategy: If I am in this situation with a slightly limited budget, I'm going to look at the following strategies. First, I'm going to contact my state CRP program and have them tell me what I can do. I want a lot of tall native grasses that will make the deer feel safe for bedding. Ideally, such grasses will take up much of the property. Deer bed more than they do anything else, so I want them on my property for this part of their day.

Second, I will contact various tree planting programs around the state. A lot of these programs will donate trees to be planted. First order of business is to surround the most secluded 20 acres I can find with evergreen trees after it is planted in native grasses. I will not allow myself inside the area enclosed by the evergreens. This creates a "sanctuary." The deer should feel maximum security and comfort in this 20 acres.
Third, I have to provide food. Food plots are the best place to start. This will be an even mix of green and grain. Deer like a healthy balance of the two. There will be four five acre plots that are at least 50 yards removed from the evergreens that circle the bedding area. Persimon, crabapple, apple, and pear trees are also good investments, but they are exactly that, investments. They will not produce much food for several years.

Last, I want to provide about a 30 yard wide buffer around the property of thick assorted evergreens. I will also put a cheap, yet visible fence around the property. After all of this, it is important for me to stay off of the property for most of the year, and hunt carefully so that my presence is not detected. Deer have to feel completely safe on my property if they are going to stay.
I think I can do this all for less than $10,000 with the assistance of government programs.
So with a picky eye  for shooting bucks, how many quality mature bucks would rome this 60 acre piece of land in an average year? My guess is that I could consistently have 2-4 mature bucks on the property each year.
What would your strategies be? How effective do you think it could be?

Daily Conditions 9-27-2010

Cincinnati
High- 59
Low- 54
Wind- NNW 4 mph
Conditions- Cloudy with off and on rain.

English
High- 73
Low- 45
Wind- NW 11 mph
Conditions- Was cloudy early, but cleared into the afternoon.

Fall is here!

One of the things that gets me most pumped for deer season happened this weekend. It got cool! We went from highs in the 90s on Friday to highs in 60s and lows in the 40s today (Sunday).

Property management

I read an article last night about managing for big deer on small tracts of land. It got me wondering about southern Indiana deer management. How little acreage is too little acreage to manage for big bucks in southern Indiana where hunting pressure is high and most terrain is big hardwood?

Got a new SD card for my camera

I had lost my SD card for my trail camera. I got a new one in the mail today, and I'll set up my camera tomorrow afternoon. I'm excited to get a look at the herd this year. Wish I could have gotten an earlier start on it, but the SD card thing delayed me.

2009 Success

October 6, 2009 was a moderately cool evening for the first week of archery season in Southern Indiana. My dad who was responsible for planting and cultivating my passion for hunting whitetails had driven two hours from our hometown to meet me for a three day hunt in the Ohio River Valley. We settled into our stands with five hours of daylight left and a gusting southerly wind blowing.

An hour before dark my senses went on alert as I heard a stick snap in the direction of the thicket that I was expecting deer to travel from in the evenings. Just a moment later a wide, 130-class buck stepped out from underneath a maple tree at about 20 yards.

I grabbed my bow at the first moment of opportunity as both my dad (in his stand just 130 yards across a field) and the buck fixed their eyes on me. The buck turned away for a moment offering me an opportunity to draw, place my top pin on his vitals and release. A loud “thwack” was the unmistakable sound of my arrow meeting the hard bone in his shoulder. I watched helplessly with an awful knot in my stomach as he limped out of sight.

We did get a chance to see that buck again just two days later and were relieved to know that he would be okay.

“The Sanctuary”
The property that had afforded me this opportunity sits in the valleys of the Great Miami and Ohio Rivers. The first time I stepped on this property in the fall of 2008 I was able to see three mature bucks in one evening. Though my permission only granted me 48 acres to work with, I knew this property could be special.

Being completely locked in by the combination of a park and the Great Miami River and having such a thick wall of foliage between the property and the road, I came to call this place “The Sanctuary.”

Sowing the Seeds
I finished the 2008 season by arrowing a ten point buck on Thanksgiving morning on my brother’s stomping ground, but through the entire off season I couldn’t get “The Sanctuary” out of my mind.

The spring and summer months meant it was time to get to work. When June rolled around Biologic’s Throw’n’Grow was the main priority. With Dad’s help we cleared two small plots with hoes to sow the mix of brassica, clover, and rye. Considering the grass and weeds in the area were often six feet high, this was a tall task without any machinery.

The following three months leading up to opening day consisted of just a small number of trips to “The Sanctuary”. Taking two trips to scout and hang stands and two to cut brush with a hand saw and build a funnel was the extent of my activity in that area over three months. I knew that the deer had 1,500 acres of safe haven to move to, so I was very careful not pollute the area with my scent and presence any more than necessary.

An Interesting Stand
During the first week of September Dad met me to hang two climbing stands and two lock-on stands. Our spots were, for the most part, predetermined, but as we looked for spot to hang a stand on the more successful of the two food plots we noticed a tall culvert sticking out of the ground. The culvert stood about 16 feet tall and sat next to a tree that wound up to the top of it.

The idea struck us both nearly simultaneously. Being fairly sure that the culvert was filled with something (concrete or dirt), we screwed steps in the tree until we could reach the top of the culvert. It was a perfect stand! The platform was a circle about four feet in diameter. There were good shooting lanes, and it was perfectly placed on the food plot. The only downside was the lack of cover.

We came to find out that our unique stand used to be a barge tie for the barges on the Ohio River when it flooded.

Our first several hunts on the barge tie provided a decent amount of action. Dad hunted it one evening during our three day hunt and saw a nice 8 pointer. I hunted it two weeks later and saw that same 8 pointer along with a monster 11 pointer that I had a picture of. From then on that 11 pointer was the object of my quest for a “Sanctuary” buck.


An All Day Harvest
The last week of October is like the Superbowl of deer hunting. Bucks are constantly on their feet beginning to look for does. Considering this, it was devastating to realize that my school schedule would not allow a single hunting day during that week. Knowing that I was missing out on great hunting I decided that Saturday, Halloween, I would hunt all day.

The night before was a rainy one. It started raining at about 6 P.M. and stopped at about 6 A.M. The woods was wet and seemed primed for all day deer movement.

I decided to walk in to my stand right at daylight. This gave me a chance to get into my stand quietly and still hunt on my way there. Walking in I saw deer all over. There were deer chasing, deer bedding, deer eating; it was deer mania! It took me an hour to get to my stand!

Getting into my stand at about 9 o’clock, I did several grunt series over the next hour and a half hoping to catch a big buck cruising the funnel that I was sitting on. At about 10:45 A.M. I decided I would get down and still hunt my way around the edge of a large bedding area to the barge tie on the opposite end of the of the funnel. My walk produced sightings of a decent 8 point and a doe.

I climbed to the top of the barge tie at about noon and had a quick lunch there. Doritos and granola bars provided a little energy. I stood up and started to do all the things that we do when we are passing time.

At about 1:40 I did a short grunt series and put the tube away. After several minutes of no action I assumed the grunt series was unsuccessful. But about twelve minutes after that series I caught a movement to the northeast. When I turned to look I was astonished at the sight of the object of my quest.

The 11 point stud stood only 25 yards away and was walking straight at me. The river bottom trophy would not offer me any cover to grab my bow and draw until after he passed by at seven yards.

When he passed by a tree at seven yards, I lifted my bow off its hook and attempted to draw. Feeling as though the buck could hear my every thought and shaking like a leaf, I could not conjure up the strength to draw.

Luckily, he turned away from me at 15 yards and started licking a branch. Knowing my opportunity was slipping by, I allowed myself to move freely and draw my bow. He began to walk quickly quartering away. I stopped him with a quick mouth grunt and delivered the arrow through both lungs. I knew the shot was good as he started the death run. He stopped just 25 yards from where I shot him and fell.

Knowing that my 2009 quest had led me to my best buck ever, I called Dad and all I could mutter was “He’s down!”
Yes indeed, all 152 4/8 inches, he's down, the prize of my 2009