Getting up for deer hunting actually means sleeping in a little bit since I typically get up very early anyway. I did set an alarm just in case, but woke up before it went off.
November 17, 2012, Opening Day!
After a quick shower and a small bite to eat, I was out the door. It was a very frosty morning at Mike's. It took a few minutes to gather all my stuff including my treestand and make my way to my "usual" tree.
It had been a while since it rained, so it was impossible to walk quietly through the leaves. I made my way carefully to my tree and set up my treestand - also an operation hard to be quiet with in the dark.
I was up in my stand about 45 minutes before light. Perfect.
As it got light, a turkey flew into a tree to the west. Turkeys are just beginning to become more prevalent in the area so it was neat to see. Another year or two and there could be a population worth hunting. A while later, it flew down to the ground right near the creek.
As it started to get light, I saw a smaller 4-point walking behind me. He went down the ridge to the east into the creek bed and towards the neighbor's property. Also as it started to get light, there was a significant amount of shooting to be heard, as is usually the case on opening morning.
A few minutes after hearing shooting to the east, there was some ruckus around 200 yards in that general direction. It appeared that a shot deer had died right in the creek bed in line of sight. Shortly after that, a doe and a very impressive buck walked behind me toward the west. The buck didn't have super long tines, but the rack was massive, very heavy. They were skylined and it was not an ideal shot with brush in the way, etc. so they continued on. Shortly after this, there was significant shooting to the west. I can only assume the neighbor to the west shot the very nice buck (other sounds later on support this).
After walking by it, Mike's neighbor to the east came back on his four-wheeler to retrieve the deer that had died just down the creek bed from me. Thankfully, he did not stop to field dress it, but just got it out of there, allowing me to sit in peace (and continue hunting).
About a half hour later, another buck came from the north. It walked toward me for a while, then headed back to the northeast. It was never within shooting distance and its body language was calm suggesting he wasn't aware he was nearing range or was near where the neighbor had been.
I'm sure the deer in this area are so used to people that unless they are very close, they are no more cautious than they would be normally. Opening day aside of course.
Since it was opening day, I sat out all day with no break, eating only what I carried in my pockets. Unfortunately, after the mayhem of the first few hours, I saw no more deer. Surprisingly, I didn't hear very much shooting in the evening, and none nearby.
As I pulled in to the driveway at home that night and got out, I could hear a large pack of coyotes to the northeast yipping away. It was a nice way to end the evening.
Sunday started cold and frosty again. And I was in the stand well before light again.
After opening day, things usually quiet down pretty quickly. Day two was surprisingly quiet though. I heard virtually no shooting all morning. Unfortunately, I did not see any deer either.
All that time in the stand allows for lots of time to think. I realized that I was consistently year-on-year seeing deer on the ridge above where I normally sit. Since there are several deer trails up there and it is more open as well, I moved my stand up on the ridge at about 10:00. Then I headed home for a bit to walk the dog, eat, relax before heading out.
The evening was as quiet as the morning deer-wise. The squirrels were very active however. At one point, a small hawk landed on a tree next to mine which had two very young squirrels in it. The young squirrels hightailed it to safety as the bird came down, one ran into a hole in a knot in the tree facing me. It sat there for most of the evening staring out until the other squirrels joined it. Then they both stared at me through the knot for a while. I really wished I had a camera.
Monday started a little warmer and I went to my stand on the ridge. I was facing east and it was a pretty sunrise.
Shortly after sunrise, I heard the distinctive clatter of the creek rocks banging into each other. The creek is a couple hundred yards away, but clearly within sight since it is a steep drop down. I was assuming a deer was in the ravine, but shortly saw a coyote walking through the creek bed. This is not the first year that I've seen coyotes walking around in broad daylight on this property.
After several hours on the stand, I decided there just was not enough moving to warrant staying out all day and headed back to the truck.
As I neared the truck, I heard crashing to the left. It was not deer running away from me, but toward. One stopped about 30 yards away behind a thin bush and stared at me. I had my gun cocked and ready as we stared at each other. I was quickly thinking the pros and cons about the shot (close, but frontal and through some bush), when the decision was made for me. Apparently, I was not thinking quickly enough. She bound away, hopefully to be seen another day. I had plenty of time and after further thinking, I should have pulled the trigger.
That night I went back out but did not see anything else. The temperatures were getting warmer, lower 60s for the day.
Tuesday started a little warmer with no frost on the truck. I got back out and with the leaves damp instead of frozen, it was easier to be quiet.
I was up in my treestand well before light again. As it started to get light, a few squirrels were running around, then quiet. Around 8:00 I heard more scurrying to my right. Looking behind myself and to the right, I saw two does running to the east. As the larger one cleared a brush pile, she stopped and looked right at me. BUSTED! I shoot right handed so shooting to my right is a little tricky. My gun was generally pointed toward the left and with Mrs. Deer staring right at me, I could not move. After a few seconds, she huffed a loud snort-wheeze and took off running. The smaller deer with her moved slowly back the way she came and to the south, out of the woods. It was then that I noticed three more deer, all appeared to be does and they also moved on to the south.
About an hour and a half later, a coyote meandered by my stand. This was definitely not the same animal as Monday as it was much darker, especially in the tail. As it got out of view, I made squeaky sounds with my mouth. It stopped and stared in my direction for quite some time at the sound, but eventually continued on its way. Likely, it had a full belly of offal from the field-dressing of shot deer.
After going home I went back out for the afternoon. All morning, the din of traffic and some nearby construction had been a constant in the background. When I got out in the afternoon, it was nearly completely quiet. It is hard to overvalue what true quiet is like. This is hunting.
Not much was moving in the evening, but as it got dark a buck was seen walking the south end of the property. I grunted a few times on my grunt tube, but it could not have cared less and continued on. This might have been the same smaller buck I saw coming from the north on opening day, although it looked a little larger.
Wednesday started very warm, with temperatures in the mid 40s. I went out again well before light. I know Mike has a driveway alarm and I can't help wonder if I am overusing my welcome. Usually I hunt a day or two and have a deer by then. I am relearning venison humility I guess.
Absolutely nothing was moving all morning. Even the squirrels seemed to stay put. I did hear shooting in the distance, but some of it sounded like target practice and not hunting - at least I hope it was just target practice.
At about 10:00 I locked up my treestand as I decided to take the afternoon and Thursday (Thanksgiving) off. I figure Mike and his wife don't need to be woken up on the holiday.
Thanksgiving came cool with the outdoor thermometer showing near the mid 30s. I was surprised when I went outside and saw everything covered with a thick layer of frost. While hunting, the pattern was usually wake up and out the door. It was nice to get up early with a pot of coffee. I read Eating Aliens by Jackson Landers. It is a book about hunting and eating invasive species. His writing style is great - very conversational and with the exception of one short passage when he extols a my-hunting-method-is-better-than-xx ethic, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Rarely do I sit down and read a book cover to cover without stopping. I can't wait for my next trip to hunt wild boar (only a little more than two months away).
As it got light on Thanksgiving morning, I felt something near guilt for not hunting on a near-perfect morning. This is not a good quality of my personality, but because I can hunt and I have a hunting tag, part of me feels I MUST hunt - my goal-driven self.
I've heard many hunters say they could hunt all day every day. I could too, but not with the same intensity; the focus and clarity. I've spent around 44 hours in my treestand so far at this point and less than an hour of that has there been deer in my line of sight. But, I wouldn't trade any of it. There really is a Zen-like state in hunting, where hours pass and feel like minutes spent thinking about everything and nothing at the same time. While brief periods can feel tedious, it can all change in an instant when a game animal walks into view, even if too far away to shoot. Even a coyote I have no intention to shoot.
I enjoy seeing frost form on my gunstock in the morning, and watch it then seemingly sublime away. I like the cold feeling sitting snug in a treestand, and realize hours later that the cold is gone without knowing it. I'm the frog in the cooking pot.
However the reality is my time on the stand is coming to a close unless I get some more opportunities shortly - my goal-driven self.
Friday morning came with a bit of rain. As I got ready to head back out into the bush, the rain moved east and the wind picked up a little bit. Temperatures as I left for the morning where very warm for this time of the year in the mid 50s.
I got to the stand again well before light, especially since it was still cloudy. I was happy that after sitting out for a day and a half nothing had happened to my treestand. Mike's property is surrounded by a group of land owners who all know each other so the chances of anything happening were not really great, but you never know. I had locked it up just in case. Trust Allah, but tie your camel tight.
As it started to get light, the wind picked up more. Unlike previous mornings, there was no glorious sunrise. Temperatures were noticeably dropping and the wind was picking up. With the wind howling, it was impossible to hear anything. The only bright side is movement on the stand isn't quite so heinous with all the noise of the wind and tree limb movement affecting the animals as well.
With the wind and dropping temperatures, I was done well before I got out of the stand near 10:00. I walked the south end of the property a bit before heading back to the truck. Windy conditions don't make for great stand hunting, but do allow easier still hunting (not easy, but easier) The wind was supposed to pick up through the day and the temperatures were predicted to drop. I decided not to come back out in the afternoon. As it was, the temperature had already dropped over 10 degrees by the time I got home.
Deer movement decreased from the opening day, likely from both a decrease in the amount of live deer and more nocturnal movement brought on by the disruption of hunting. There was a bit of regret, but the rest of the weekend was spent doing things other than hunting. I still have vacation left and thanks to Indiana's new "Bundle" License and a late doe season, I have more opportunities this year.
Will I have the energy as well?
