Being sick kinda layed me up
Yep, kind of makes it hard to write about hunting when you don't get out. Plus the weather wasn't cooperating...plus I really wanted to get a little bit of wood put up. It's all good, I'd rather cut wood in the rain than hunt in the rain.
Okay, this'll be short and sweet. Definitely found the honey hole of deer hunting on FWP land. Every time I've been in that spot I've seen / been close to deer. I'll get a stand set up and come the rut, I should be good to go for hopefully, a nice buck. A couple days ago I went down there and found a good tree for a stand. The only problem will be shooting a deer, and having it run onto private land. The tree is essentially at the fence...just have to make sure the deer is pointed in the right direction. Two years ago I shot a doe down there with the .44 and it took off toward private land. It must have been dead on it's feet because it plowed into the fencepost next to an opening. I kinda lucked out on that one. Anywho, when I was down there a couple days ago I was watching this other bowhunter sneak around near me. He spooked one deer, then snuck around some more, then spooked three more that I was watching. Finally he mosied off, but I was so preoccupied with watching him that I was surprised when behind me a pinecone crunched. I sloooowly turned around and this doe was right where I HAD been looking...and had closed to within 10 yards. She moved to within 7 (I paced it off later) and her internal alarm sensed me or she got a whiff somehow. She high-footed off, not real spooked, but definitely wary.
Last night I went to a new area up Highway 12 to look for elk. My Dad has been there and seen a lot of tracks where the elk and deer have been in the clearcut, moving toward a "shin-tangle" for the day. I started at the bottom for some weird reason and made my way up this other road...figuring I'd go to the top of the hill and see what I could see. Well, I ended up leaving the road and my troubles began. I was in this basin that had a southeast (general) aspect and it was thicker than anything I've been in for awhile. I was joking with my folks later and said, "I could hold my hand up at arms length and not see it." It was the kind of place I had to put my head down and PUSH through brush...there was no being quiet in there. I finally broke out onto a small ridge and thought the walking would be easier, nope, almost worse. Up there, for some odd reason, it was just jackstrawed timber. I got to a point where I wanted to do some bugling and found out that I had left my diaphragms in the truck! That was the end of that, I bombed down the hill until I was close to the highway and then contoured back to the truck. I'm positive that's where the critters go during periods of heavy pressure, but it's essentially impenetrable...so they've got a good thing going. They can have it as far as I'm concerned. We'll see. I tried to mentally think of the lines to "An Ode to my Rifle"...a poem I was going to write when I got home. That was fun for a bit, but then somehow it turned political...luckily by that time I was at the truck and could stop thinking about it. I am looking forward to rifle season though, it'll be kinda nice to not have to get within 25 yards with the wind perfect, then try to move and get a shot. Shoot, with a rifle they can even run a ways...but I know something that can catch up to them pretty quick.
Anywho, so then I figured I'd go back down to FWP land this morning. But last night turned into an adventure in itself. My mind was thinking about something and I simply couldn't sleep! I finally drifted off at 4:30...then promptly got up at 5:30. It was alright though, I made some seriously strong coffee, made a hot breakfast and headed out. I was late, and it definitely wasn't light, but it wasn't dark anymore when I finally got to the parking area. I was the first in there though, so others had a problem this morning too. So, I was in a rush and spooked some deer on the way in. I snuck around a bit and kept getting busted by deer. It wasn't until a couple duck/pheasant hunters started moving inland that the deer started moving to ME. I had one opportunity to draw with a spooked doe and yearling, but the doe moved out of sight to quick and when I tried to draw on the yearling, it saw me and bolted. They were at about 25 yards...the edge of my comfort zone, but I was ready to arrow a deer. I figure I'm going to have to trust all my practice sometime. Really, I'm almost nervous to take a shot...something I must get over if this bowhunting thing is going to work...but I'm really worried about wounding something with an arrow. I'm trying to get too close or something so it's a dead-easy shot. When I walk around though, sometimes I'll shoot at pinecones or whatever with the judo-pointed arrow. I'll even take shots that I probably wouldn't take at deer and still hit where I'm aiming...just need some confidence. Anywho, so I moved along and did some more sneaking. I heard a squirrel start up on the other side of some brush and figured the deer would come straight to me. It'd be a close shot, but I was willing to try. After awhile I figured it was just a delirious squirrel that didn't know what it was chattering at...I got up and started just ambling back toward the truck...when I saw the two small bucks headed away! They had gone AROUND the bushes and were grazing their way onto private land. I tried to close in on them when they went behind a large clump of brush, but when I rounded it, they were already pretty far into the field and long gone as far as I was concerned.
Some things I've noticed though are interesting. The other night, I got to see four Great-Horned Owls hooting and fighting with each other...territorial? Interesting. Last night I saw an ermine running along a log...that was fun...looked like a skinny squirrel hopping along a log toward me. Boy, the squirrels don't like those things! They ALL lit up, chattering and carrying on...and it's a more urgent warning call then they use on big game or people. Speaking of squirrels and chattering, it's funny how some areas have honest squirrels and some have dishonest squirrels. On this place in the riverbottom, it is definitely a deer or a person if a squirrel starts chattering. This is extremely handy, because then you know when to hunker and get ready. However, where I was last night, the squirrels all over the hill were just going nuts for no reason. I imagined them all saying, "Waaazzz Upp" to each other. It was as ridiculous as that commercial. Totally unreliable...just talking to hear their little lips flap. I noticed that after a heavy frost, leaves will drop off trees at an alarming rate. I sat and watched one tree that looked like it was just raining leaves. Again, I stared at one leaf long enough and it broke off. I wonder what it takes for leaves to give up the ghost? That was pretty neat to watch though. Ummm, I think deer do have a sixth sense with things within 20 yards of them. I think they just FEEL something wrong somehow. You can be totally motionless, the wind can be perfect, and they'll still hone in on you when you're that close. Perhaps it's that whole UV radiation thing that they can see some kind of glow...who knows. It's fun to try and NOT blink...some of these deer have been so close that I know they can see me do that. Amazing. Another thing, I wonder if there is a way to keep your breath from fogging. I know if there is snow on the ground, if you put some in your mouth, that'll alleviate that problem for a bit. But I had some deer staring at me today and I wondered about my breath. Can they see that? I also noticed a deer this morning paying attention to a squirrel that finally figured out it didn't want me there. Every time that squirrel would light up on me, she'd look at ME not at the squirrel. And I think they'll try to catch you moving...she'd look away for a second then SNAP her head back to look at me. Of course, when she did this the first couple times, I tried to move into a better position to shoot. After that I didn't move, just gave up on nocking an arrow and watched her. She'd pretend to have an itch on her ass, then snap her head back to see if I'd moved. Funny.
It's peculiar that I've had so many opportunities that I couldn't bring together and get a shot off. When I was hunting with that pistol, I didn't have NEAR this many chances. I wonder if it has something to do with the early season vs. late season or if it's just my skill level with sneaking? Again, interesting. Anyways, I'm done writing for now. It's too nice out and I have a lot of wood to stack.
Okay, this'll be short and sweet. Definitely found the honey hole of deer hunting on FWP land. Every time I've been in that spot I've seen / been close to deer. I'll get a stand set up and come the rut, I should be good to go for hopefully, a nice buck. A couple days ago I went down there and found a good tree for a stand. The only problem will be shooting a deer, and having it run onto private land. The tree is essentially at the fence...just have to make sure the deer is pointed in the right direction. Two years ago I shot a doe down there with the .44 and it took off toward private land. It must have been dead on it's feet because it plowed into the fencepost next to an opening. I kinda lucked out on that one. Anywho, when I was down there a couple days ago I was watching this other bowhunter sneak around near me. He spooked one deer, then snuck around some more, then spooked three more that I was watching. Finally he mosied off, but I was so preoccupied with watching him that I was surprised when behind me a pinecone crunched. I sloooowly turned around and this doe was right where I HAD been looking...and had closed to within 10 yards. She moved to within 7 (I paced it off later) and her internal alarm sensed me or she got a whiff somehow. She high-footed off, not real spooked, but definitely wary.
Last night I went to a new area up Highway 12 to look for elk. My Dad has been there and seen a lot of tracks where the elk and deer have been in the clearcut, moving toward a "shin-tangle" for the day. I started at the bottom for some weird reason and made my way up this other road...figuring I'd go to the top of the hill and see what I could see. Well, I ended up leaving the road and my troubles began. I was in this basin that had a southeast (general) aspect and it was thicker than anything I've been in for awhile. I was joking with my folks later and said, "I could hold my hand up at arms length and not see it." It was the kind of place I had to put my head down and PUSH through brush...there was no being quiet in there. I finally broke out onto a small ridge and thought the walking would be easier, nope, almost worse. Up there, for some odd reason, it was just jackstrawed timber. I got to a point where I wanted to do some bugling and found out that I had left my diaphragms in the truck! That was the end of that, I bombed down the hill until I was close to the highway and then contoured back to the truck. I'm positive that's where the critters go during periods of heavy pressure, but it's essentially impenetrable...so they've got a good thing going. They can have it as far as I'm concerned. We'll see. I tried to mentally think of the lines to "An Ode to my Rifle"...a poem I was going to write when I got home. That was fun for a bit, but then somehow it turned political...luckily by that time I was at the truck and could stop thinking about it. I am looking forward to rifle season though, it'll be kinda nice to not have to get within 25 yards with the wind perfect, then try to move and get a shot. Shoot, with a rifle they can even run a ways...but I know something that can catch up to them pretty quick.
Anywho, so then I figured I'd go back down to FWP land this morning. But last night turned into an adventure in itself. My mind was thinking about something and I simply couldn't sleep! I finally drifted off at 4:30...then promptly got up at 5:30. It was alright though, I made some seriously strong coffee, made a hot breakfast and headed out. I was late, and it definitely wasn't light, but it wasn't dark anymore when I finally got to the parking area. I was the first in there though, so others had a problem this morning too. So, I was in a rush and spooked some deer on the way in. I snuck around a bit and kept getting busted by deer. It wasn't until a couple duck/pheasant hunters started moving inland that the deer started moving to ME. I had one opportunity to draw with a spooked doe and yearling, but the doe moved out of sight to quick and when I tried to draw on the yearling, it saw me and bolted. They were at about 25 yards...the edge of my comfort zone, but I was ready to arrow a deer. I figure I'm going to have to trust all my practice sometime. Really, I'm almost nervous to take a shot...something I must get over if this bowhunting thing is going to work...but I'm really worried about wounding something with an arrow. I'm trying to get too close or something so it's a dead-easy shot. When I walk around though, sometimes I'll shoot at pinecones or whatever with the judo-pointed arrow. I'll even take shots that I probably wouldn't take at deer and still hit where I'm aiming...just need some confidence. Anywho, so I moved along and did some more sneaking. I heard a squirrel start up on the other side of some brush and figured the deer would come straight to me. It'd be a close shot, but I was willing to try. After awhile I figured it was just a delirious squirrel that didn't know what it was chattering at...I got up and started just ambling back toward the truck...when I saw the two small bucks headed away! They had gone AROUND the bushes and were grazing their way onto private land. I tried to close in on them when they went behind a large clump of brush, but when I rounded it, they were already pretty far into the field and long gone as far as I was concerned.
Some things I've noticed though are interesting. The other night, I got to see four Great-Horned Owls hooting and fighting with each other...territorial? Interesting. Last night I saw an ermine running along a log...that was fun...looked like a skinny squirrel hopping along a log toward me. Boy, the squirrels don't like those things! They ALL lit up, chattering and carrying on...and it's a more urgent warning call then they use on big game or people. Speaking of squirrels and chattering, it's funny how some areas have honest squirrels and some have dishonest squirrels. On this place in the riverbottom, it is definitely a deer or a person if a squirrel starts chattering. This is extremely handy, because then you know when to hunker and get ready. However, where I was last night, the squirrels all over the hill were just going nuts for no reason. I imagined them all saying, "Waaazzz Upp" to each other. It was as ridiculous as that commercial. Totally unreliable...just talking to hear their little lips flap. I noticed that after a heavy frost, leaves will drop off trees at an alarming rate. I sat and watched one tree that looked like it was just raining leaves. Again, I stared at one leaf long enough and it broke off. I wonder what it takes for leaves to give up the ghost? That was pretty neat to watch though. Ummm, I think deer do have a sixth sense with things within 20 yards of them. I think they just FEEL something wrong somehow. You can be totally motionless, the wind can be perfect, and they'll still hone in on you when you're that close. Perhaps it's that whole UV radiation thing that they can see some kind of glow...who knows. It's fun to try and NOT blink...some of these deer have been so close that I know they can see me do that. Amazing. Another thing, I wonder if there is a way to keep your breath from fogging. I know if there is snow on the ground, if you put some in your mouth, that'll alleviate that problem for a bit. But I had some deer staring at me today and I wondered about my breath. Can they see that? I also noticed a deer this morning paying attention to a squirrel that finally figured out it didn't want me there. Every time that squirrel would light up on me, she'd look at ME not at the squirrel. And I think they'll try to catch you moving...she'd look away for a second then SNAP her head back to look at me. Of course, when she did this the first couple times, I tried to move into a better position to shoot. After that I didn't move, just gave up on nocking an arrow and watched her. She'd pretend to have an itch on her ass, then snap her head back to see if I'd moved. Funny.
It's peculiar that I've had so many opportunities that I couldn't bring together and get a shot off. When I was hunting with that pistol, I didn't have NEAR this many chances. I wonder if it has something to do with the early season vs. late season or if it's just my skill level with sneaking? Again, interesting. Anyways, I'm done writing for now. It's too nice out and I have a lot of wood to stack.
posted by geotracker12 at 10:50 AM
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