It has been a weird fall.
It has been a weird year.
After a very dry October with an unusual cold spell in the middle. Temperatures warmed at the end of the month to the point that wearing shorts for an early morning dog walk was relatively comfortable. While the growing season is long over, it also isn't with green things trying to sprout in the gravel driveway. My last lawn mowing was well into November and could have been even later. The combination of this meant I wasn't thinking much about deer hunting. This might be a good thing since my walkthrough on the property I hunt showed very little sign of deer; the dry conditions and actively falling leaves did leave some ambiguity.
And Indiana has greatly increased the price of deer licenses. I enjoy the ability to hunt in Indiana, but this increase gave me pause as to how much I enjoy it - I end up considering how much crap I have to put up with at work to pay for a hunting license. Hmmmm. Not only that but Indiana has reduced the amount of deer that can be taken greatly. This doesn't affect me directly, since I'm usually content with one deer, but it does point to a weakening of the deer numbers due to aggressive reductions and some evidence of disease mortality. All taken together, buying my license was accompanied by some wincing.
But it wouldn't be fall without an early morning trip to Mike's.
November 12, Opening Day
A relatively pleasant early morning opening morning came after a very rainy Friday. I was up too early and sat with the dogs before getting ready to hunt. Weather forecast was for a bit of snow, so I was bundled up in my snowsuit with my rainsuit over top. The combination was a bit restrictive.
I had set up my treestand already so after getting to Mike's it was a quick walk down to my stand and up in the tree. The morning air was sweet and still; I could hear the occasional squawk of some animal that I have no idea what it is. Early mornings are the best!
As it started to get light out Turkeys began making a bunch of noise across the ravine and to the east. I could hear them putting and scrambling around, although I never did see them. They shut up around 9:00 when it started to snow.
It has been a few years since I hunted with my shotgun but I decided to on this opening day because of the precipitation - although I'm not really sure why that matters. The snow was "fun" at first. It started light and began to pile up on everything. The snow got heavier through the morning to the point of not being fun. I guess it was pretty and I wanted to get a picture, but it was too hard to get to my phone in the wet and cold. Snow piled up well over three inches which was much more than the "dusting to at most an inch" that was forecast. It ended as drizzly ice crystals which was unpleasant.
There was some shooting through the morning, but overall (through the day) it was not near as much as on some years where it is non-stop at the height of typical deer movement. I wasn't sure if that was from the weather or deer numbers, but I suspect it was deer since I saw so little throughout the day. As the day wore on, snow falling and a few very tricky dead leaves kept making me think briefly they were deer.
Trying to eat my snacks was a struggle. My hands weren't working 100% and while my breathable, waterproof gloves did their job, they left my hands sticky. So once taken off, they were hard to get back on.
I finally saw my first deer around 3:15 when a doe ran down, across the ravine diagonally to the left (east). I watched it as it made its way further eastward.
My feet started to ache as the afternoon got later. As it started to get dark right near 5:30, I heard trampling as a doe came barreling down the hill immediately to my left and ran right in front of me. I suppose if I was completely alert and had my gun up the whole time I might have had an opportunity, but there was no way to shoot. I was slightly disappointed after such a long day, but it was still day one. I was quite happy when 6:00 rolled around and I could end my day. My hands were difficult to manipulate and feet were non-feeling blocks of ice. It was a painful walk out to my truck. Since it was "summer" only two days previous, I didn't have a snow brush in my truck. When I finally rolled out towards home, the heat was on high.
November 13
After again sitting with the dogs, I headed to Mike's. Getting to my stand was too easy, with just a bit of ambient light, the snow made it nearly like daylight and I could follow my foot prints. I was easily set comfortably in my stand. Temperatures were cool with a bit more wind than opening day. I was wearing my windproof fleece so I had much more maneuverability but was still very comfortable.
After barely getting in my stand a small doe walked in front of me. I put my crosshairs on her, but knew it was still 20-25 minutes before shooting light - despite the snow making it seem later. I wisely followed the rules and let her walk away. Shooting a deer is not terribly difficult. Shooting a deer while following the rules can be a bit more challenging. The only difference between a hunter and a poacher is what they decide to do. A true outdoorsman also believes in fair chase...
Another deer, probably this same doe, ran towards my left behind a honeysuckle bush a couple hours later. I couldn't shoot through the bush so I waited. When she did leave, it was at a full dead-on run with a few flying leaps mixed in. I wisely let her go despite how close she was.
An hour or so later I saw movement in the middle of the ravine as two coyotes trotted down it. I'm somewhat agnostic on coyotes. Yes, they do kill some game animals and will kill chickens, but rarely do they kill dogs, cats, etc. (not never). These coyotes were frighteningly healthy, but I let them walk. Not only do I love the sound of coyotes howling, but there is no reason to affect my deer hunting - which is what the day and season is all about.
Around 10:00 a doe walked the same path diagonally across the ravine as the deer the previous day. I had a few windows to shoot, but I've learned not to take chancey shots and she was walking quite quickly. She could circle around towards me anyways. She did not.
Thirty minutes later a six or eight point buck followed the same trail. He was going much slower and I almost shot, but hesitated just a hair too long. It was the right decision not to rush it, but I was kicking myself just a bit.
A short time later, another coyote ran back to the east. I couldn't help but wonder if it was one of the same dogs from previous and the neighbor had shot one? After a miserable opening day, my original plan was to head home mid-day. But temps were nice and I was seeing enough to be entertained. The clouds were parting and the sun was warming the day. I decided to sit for the entire day again. As it warmed, the previous day's snow started to fall in huge wet glops from the trees. The movement and noise made listening for anything impossible. I let myself doze several times through the late morning.
Around noon after a brief treestand-nap, I looked around. Behind me was a rock and I thought, "In this sunlight, that rock looks a lot like a deer." "There's no rock there - that IS a deer." I leaned forward and saw an impressive set of antlers. He was behind me to my right - awkward, but not terrible. He was on alert, so I leaned back and shot before he had a chance to bolt. I was worried my shot was a bit too far back and he bolted at the shot - down the hill and into the "creek" which was completely dry with the very dry recent weather. He was slowing as he left what I could see. The distance he ran didn't fill me with confidence.
I got out of my treestand and walked to where he was, immediately finding blood, so I knew he was hit and hit at least reasonably well. I walked to where I last saw him which may have been on the neighbor's property. It looked so foreign without any water in the creek. I stood there, unsure exactly where to look when I heard "scurrying" and saw my deer up against the embankment. It was nearly a cliff which would have normally been at the water's edge. I walked over to him, and he was still struggling a bit. I delivered a coup de grace (not to the head). He was wedged between a deadfall and a tree; once free, he fell into the creekbed. He was another brute of an Indiana deer. A 12-Point with a lot of character.
I left my hat on his antlers in case any of Mike's neighbors saw him and walked back - packing out my stand. I had previously bought a small ice fishing sled to make getting deer out of Mike's a bit easier. I wasn't so sure about the size, but brought it with me along with my knives. Gutting the deer was easy if a bit unpleasant since my shot was a bit too far back. His liver was eviscerated, taking a bit of a lung with it - so definitely a killing shot. I also nicked the stomach which wasn't so nice.
Getting him in the sled was a bit of a challenge and he didn't fit so well. I ended up wrapping his antlers in the pull cord, so I picked up his head when I was pulling. The sled DID help a lot, but it was still exceedingly difficult picking a route and getting him out; it was made a bit easier when I found a stick to pull with so the cord didn't cut into my hands. It took at least an hour to pull him out. It may have been twice that without the sled.
Once near the top of the ravine, Mike came out. He blessedly helped get my deer into my Maverick. The deer almost filled the smallish bed of the trucklette (I wish I had gotten a picture of that). I talked with Mike for a bit before checking in my deer on my phone and heading home. I was really glad I shot the deer at near noon so I had tons of light to get him out by.
I'm leaning heavily toward getting him mounted. He isn't a monster deer, but I'm unlikely to ever shoot a 12-point again. I have a full day of processing ahead of me to make a final decision.
I still wince at the cost to hunt Indiana as a non-resident, but I'm grateful for the opportunity. Mike and his SO are so gracious to let me hunt where I have a safe place with minimal disruption.
I still have an expensive doe tag in my pocket. But EHD has hit the local population and as my opening day shows, the overall population isn't what it once was. I suppose if weather becomes perfect, I may head into the woods again, but my season has likely, and happily, ended. Life is good...
