2020 Deer Hunt Part 3

Thanksgiving is often one of my favorite days to hunt and two of my most memorable deer hunts have been on Thanksgiving.  But 2020 is not a normal year and this year brought a family Zoom gathering.  It was fun seeing everyone, if a little weird and also feeling a little like a committee meeting.

So on the day after Thanksgiving, I was back at it.  Temperatures were near perfect in the mid-40's and there was almost no wind.  After driving to Mike's I got out of the truck and was assaulted by the noise of grain dryers.  Yes, the farms are what produce so many big deer, but with several dryers running at a couple neighbor's, it was brutal.

Feeling like an opening day I packed my stand down in the dark.  The creeks were running from the all-day rains the previous Wednesday - luckily they were not so high as to be too bad to get across them.  As I got to the far ridge I realized that the creeks were nearly as loud as the grain dryers.  Whatever the source, this was not to be a quiet morning on the stand where I can hear a mouse squeak.

I tried (somewhat unsuccessfully) to quietly get my stand set up and got settled in the tree over a half hour before shooting light.  Even with the din of dryers and creeks, I loved the early dark morning.  I started to keep watch as daylight brightened.  Around 8:30 a pretty nice buck and a doe walked to the west at the far south end of the property.  I was hoping this was a good sign that deer movement would be good.  Not too long after I saw 5 does milling around the south end of the property.  They hung around in one form or another for over an hour.  But I saw no deer nearby.

I spent most of the time thinking about where to put my stand for the afternoon.  In the past I have chased where deer were only to have them show up somewhere else - sometimes even where I had previously been.  And just because they were at the south end in the morning doesn't mean anything for later.  So I ultimately left my stand where it was (or maybe this was just stubbornness) when I quit for the morning to head back home.  

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After a dog walk and nap at home I was back at Mike's.  The afternoon was partly sunny and comfortably warm.  I probably would have really enjoyed the afternoon but I had a bonkers headache.  I'm not 100% sure what migraines are, but I'm pretty sure I'm starting to get them.

Not too long after getting settled I saw a few deer to the east in the little ravine.  They weren't in any hurry but made their way down into the big ravine.  Not too long after losing sight of them I saw probably the same group of deer from the morning at the south end of the property.  They sauntered around for quite some time, one even worked its way toward me staying just outside of an area where the brush thinned and I might have gotten a shot off.  I was regretting not moving my stand.  But as I constantly have to remind myself, I can't hunt the whole world.  I did hear quite a bit of shooting as the afternoon wore on, but I suspect much of it may have been recreational and not deer-hunting related.  The deer worked their way off to the east shortly before it got dark.  In a way, I was almost glad that they didn't come closer since my head hurt so much the thought of shooting and dragging a deer was almost incomprehensible.  As I made my way out in the dark, I heard the unmistakable thunder of hooves as I got very near the truck.  I never did see them, but a mess o' deer had been camped out right there.  So it goes.

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Awake early even by my standards I rationalized getting up so I could have a (single, one and only one) cup of coffee before heading out.  It was the right decision, drinking it while watching TV with a sleeping beagle in my chair. While getting ready a short time later I noticed the soles on my hunting boots were coming loose.  They will be sufficient for now, but I'm obviously on borrowed time.

I got to Mike's - it was calm and damp with temperatures near freezing and just a hint of wood smoke in the air.  I stood for a few minutes outside my truck; mornings are the best.  Even if 2020 has been a screwy year and I've squandered vacation, I can still take in those brief magical moments.  I made my way to my treestand and got situated.  The caffeine from my coffee didn't let me get in a quick nap, but I didn't mind; I just sat there enjoying the early dark.

Not much at all was moving.  There was no wind so as the sun rose high enough to be seen just a hint of fog formed in the woods.  Around 8:15 I saw movement again to the far south, but this time it was a couple turkeys.  The previous year I had seen lots of turkeys so I was glad to see at least a couple again this year.  The turkeys were followed a half hour later by a single deer to the south.  It was moving quite quickly, and I was once again regretting not moving my stand.  The rest of the morning passed quietly with even the squirrels barely making any ruckus.  After playing mental games to stop myself from constantly looking at my watch I got out of the tree late morning.  I wasn't planning on going out again so I walked the south part of the property.  There were definitely deer trails, but I didn't see anything which screamed deer sign more than where I had been sitting.  Still ... I made a mental note of a few clumps of trees that could be used in the future.  Every year is a little different, but it does seem like the general movement of the deer has been different this year.  But if I hadn't sat in my normal tree, I wouldn't have gotten the really nice deer that I did get.  And regardless of any deer in the freezer, I have thoroughly enjoyed the time in the woods.

I packed out my stand and loaded stuff into the truck.  Indiana has generous deer seasons with the upcoming muzzleloader and late doe-only season lurking out there.  As I left Mike's, headed toward home, the air inside the truck was a little melancholy.  I couldn't tell if that was because I failed to get a second deer, or because I wasn't planning on going out again, or something else altogether?

2020 Deer Hunt Part 2

 After taking some time to get my deer in the freezer, I decided to also do a European mount of the skull.  Once I had the head mostly skinned, I knew this was the right thing to do since the antler bases were so thick that they looked even larger on the skull once the skin and muscle was removed.  Creating a European mount is a little on the gross side and this one seemed to be very sinewy making it even tougher.  But with just enough boiling and some work with a wire brush and a screwdriver the skull cleaned up nicely.  I'm not sure what I'll ultimately do with it, but it is a nice enough one that it will probably go on the wall ... somewhere.

Tuesday came with moderate temperatures but a biting wind with gusts around 20MPH at times.  Normally I'd be back at work, but with much vacation I must use before the end of the year, I'm quite happy to take advantage of a few days off.  I hemmed and hawed most of the morning about whether I should go hunting again and try to get a doe for the freezer.  At nearly the last minute I decided I would and quickly got ready to go.

Once at Mike's I got my treestand set up and was sitting comfortably.  It was sunny with a temperature around 40F.  The trees blocked some wind, but my left side was quite a bit colder than my right side.  I guess the wind is both a blessing and a curse.  In addition to making it feel colder, the wind makes it really hard to hear anything.  There was also a loud combine working somewhere to the northwest.  But I do feel a little more comfortable moving when the whole world is blowing back and forth.  Overall it was a fairly comfortable afternoon all bundled up in my snowsuit.

About an hour before sunset my spidey sense went off and looking to the east I saw four does making their way across the small ravine.  I knew there is less than a 50% chance they will work my after making it to my side of the ravine.  And they did not, slowly going south and west, safe from any of my handloads.

As it started to get darker the wind quickly died down until it was just a very light breeze.  The dark shadows played tricks on my eyes as I passed the evil few minutes when I know I should not shoot, but still could probably try to.  This time passed without any deer showing.  I climbed down out of the tree and headed back to the truck.  I could see well enough to not use my flashlight - I thought.  But I ended up sounding like a noisy clodhopper on my way out, seemingly snapping every stick in my path.

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After sleeping in the next morning, I headed out again to Mike's.  The temperature was near freezing with absolutely no wind.  I was able to quickly and quietly get my treestand up to my spot.  Then I got to enjoy that magical 1/2 hour of time to just sit there in the dark.  It was so still I barely felt like I could breath.  My mind wandered - I wasn't even sure I wanted another deer, so I was there in the woods at some level to just be there.  I realized that I hadn't thought about work, or at least very little, for over a day.  This has been the several-day break that I needed.

Squirrels started their hectic running as it started to get light.  It was cold, but I was comfortable.  The sun took a very long time to get high enough in the sky to see, casting long shadows to the west.  I kept a vigilant watch while listening.  The deer were somewhere else on this morning.

I did see a mink to the south.  At first I thought it was a small cat, but after getting a better look it was obviously a mink.  There are not many of them around, but this is the third time in the past year that I've seen one.  I was quite glad I got a chance to see this one while hunting.

By late morning I was squirming and walked the back part of the property before packing out my stand.  With a decent buck in the freezer the pressure is blessedly off.  I'm still thinking of if and when I might head out again; as I dropped my stand in the bed of my truck I was already rethinking the afternoon.

2020 Deer Hunt

 I took the day before Indiana's opening day off of work.  This was Friday the 13th.  The last Friday the 13th was March - which marked the beginning of the bonkers, crazy, insane year that is 2020.  I'm not sure it was smart to take Friday off.  I tend to obsess about deer hunting, mostly the negatives - about the weather, about how I don't really like the mayhem of opening day, about how the deer hunting in the area I hunt doesn't seem to be as good as it used to be.  I was also slightly over-caffeinated in the morning which didn't help.  But taking the day off did allow me to put up my stand the day before.  This is an extra intrusion right before hunting, and I'm not sure whether this is better or worse than the trouble, noise and sweat of putting up my climber in the dark on opening morning?

In marked contrast to snow and last year's early November frigid temperatures, the weather earlier in the week was record high temperatures.  Things had moderated down to more typical conditions.  So I did need to bundle up in my hunting snowsuit.  This made the decision to put up my treestand feel a little more right.

After waking up I stared at the clock for too long before finally getting up with tons of time to get ready.  The dogs were cooperative although the younger one really wanted to sit with me in my chair while I watched TV, but I didn't want to have even more dog scent on me.  I was out the door near 5:45 headed to Mikes.  Temperature was in the mid-20's which was tolerable with the light wind.

With my stand already set up I got my stuff together and hoofed it down into the woods.  I was sitting quietly with an easy 20 minutes before shooting light.  While I don't really like the fracas that opening morning sometimes is, the still darkness before shooting is one of my favorite times (and favorite times in life, frankly).  The night animals are drawing down for the day; the day animals are just waking up making an interesting mix of noises.  I thought back to my 2019 deer hunt and how different the world seemed now looking back.  Covid infections are skyrocketing.  The election from over a week previous is over even if not everyone wants to acknowledge it.  People are being told to do Thanksgiving virtually - and the last thing I need is another online meeting.  But sitting in my treestand waiting for daylight is just right.

As it started to get light I began to look and listen for anything.  I heard a couple squirrels before hearing the unmistakable scrunch scrunch of something else; it was a little hard to pinpoint the direction.  One doe was walking close behind me with a really small one following a short ways behind.  I thought about the bigger doe in front, but the angle was awkward (behind me to the right) enough that I wasn't going to try on a doe so early in the season.  After all the work that goes into getting ready for hunting, I wasn't in a hurry.

The two does worked their way into the ravine.  I heard more scrunching which I thought was the same deer circling in front of me.  I was mentally rethinking about the bigger doe when I saw antlers breach the hill.  Looking closer as the buck kept coming on the deer trail that originally put me on my opening day stand so many years ago thought, "I have to make this happen."

The buck was calm - he must have passed within a few yards of the does but they were headed to who-knows-where.  He paused about 50 yards in front of me to the right giving me a chance to get my gun up.  Taking a few more steps, I didn't want to give him the chance to smell me or for his deer brain to decide to go back to the does.  With a clear site of him I let a bullet loose.  I knew he was hit hard and he ran forward around 75 yards and stopped.  I fully expected him to fall over then, but he just stood there.  My ammo was in a fanny pack (don't judge, my snowsuit doesn't have many pockets) and I dropped another .243 into the TC.  Still an easy shot I hit him again.  He ran forward, stopping again in some thicker brush.  I watched a few more seconds, again expecting him to fall over.  Another Hornady SST was sent his way, although with the brush I figured (correctly) the chance of hitting him was almost zero.  Then I lost sight of him.

I was sure he was dead at the first shot, just not real sure he knew it.  I climbed down and reloaded and headed over to where I last saw him.  I didn't see much blood, so slowly walked in the direction he was headed - feeling a little unease.  After a few minutes I saw him at the base of a small cliff floating in creek.  If the bullet hadn't done him in, he would be drowned by now.

Working around to him I pulled him out of the water.  He was a huge bodied deer and while his antlers weren't very wide (inside spread later measured at just over 14"), he had some of the tallest thickest brow tines I've ever seen.  I drug him farther into Mike's property before resting and heading up to pack out my stand and grab my knife.  Back at the truck I took off most of my underlayers of clothes to cool down.  I laughed as I took off my snow suit and started steaming like a Thanksgiving turkey in the still-freezing morning.

The deer had my first two bullets, both fatal, within a few inches of each other in the onside shoulder - utterly destroying it in the process.  After gutting him I began the long heave of getting him out.  He was a big heavy deer.  That last hill before the truck gets taller and longer every year.

Mike came out and helped get a few pictures as well as get the deer in my truck.  We talked for a bit before I headed home and got him hung up in the pole barn.  Dave (fishing) has asked to see how I butcher deer so I called him and he came over to hep me process the deer.  I didn't really feel like I wanted to take care of him on the same day, but temperatures were quite warm and were supposed to stay that way overnight (with heavy rain and dangerous winds forecast, making Sunday's hunting unlikely even if I hadn't gotten a deer).

It was a long afternoon taking care of the deer.  The onside shoulder was devastated, but much the rest of the deer provided tons of meat.  I even recovered most of one of the bullets in the offside shoulder - weighing 56gr (60% weight retention which is pretty good for an SST).  The burger grinding had to wait until Sunday.

I thought about getting him mounted, but ultimately decided against it since I don't have much room and while a deer with a lot of character, he didn't have a great story to go with him.  It's a bit funny to me how that becomes important to what I think about my taxidermy.

Seeing as I still have too much vacation to use, I'm still taking several days off.  I have at least a day to recover to decide if I want head out to try to get a doe yet this year.  For now, I'm just thrilled that things turned out the way they did.