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.