After years of hunting deer with my trusty 30-30 Marlin, I finally decided that I had progressed enough as a deer hunter to begin trying out the whole "archery" thing. It took me most of last year to build my confidence to a point where I felt as though I could effectively take a shot should an opportunity present itself. Armed with this preparation and knowledge, this past Friday afternoon I decided that it was time to "stick" a wily whitetail. I had chosen a strip of open woods that intersected three different deer trails. Scat and prints indicated that several deer were working through the area. Of note were a large doe and 1 or 2 small yearling tracks . . . even more exciting of course was a buck track, scat pile and several rubs. Although not a LARGE buck any buck with a bow would be a trophy as far as I am concerned.
Friday afternoon I climbed up into my 15 foot deer stand that I had placed a few weeks ago. It was raining cats and dogs and the wind made the precipitation come down sideways. After sitting for about 3 hours I was rewarded with a quick flash of brown and three deer (a doe and two yearlings) trotting by my stand at about 20 yards. It was extremely exciting! After waiting another hour and 4 more additional hours on Saturday I am still "buckless" but I know that bruiser is hiding someplace nearby and it is a LONG, LONG time before the end of deer season! Here's to me keeping my fingers crossed!
Below is a video I shot from the tree stand using my cell phone. I was curious about what the quality would look like. Hope it provides you with a glimpse of what it is like hunting the woods of Maine.
The cell phone camera is okay buddy and gets the job done, but I wouldn't use it full time...
ReplyDeleteVideo quality from the cell phone isn't up to your usual standard... but you were the one who raised the bar. When am I going to get to read about a climbing story : )
ReplyDeleteyeah it's still the woods though and what was that hanging from a limb?It looks like a bird of some sort.
ReplyDeleteI agree on the quality of the cell phone camera. Better than nothing BUT just barely.
ReplyDeleteDP - I am actually working on a climbing video that highlights some of my favorite climbs from 2000-01 but it is taking more time than I had anticipated. A combination of lack of sufficient hard drive space and to many hours of video to sort are making things more difficult than they should be!
TBD - Hanging from that limb is a vial that is suppose to slowly drip buck urine urine daylight hours. It will be used later in the season to make a mock scrape. Right now I am just airing it out to get it scent free.
Your hunting tales make me feel bad for my husband. He doesn't have time anymore (thanks to our lack of a sitter and our whacked out work schedules).
ReplyDeleteHe did go scout behind the house last night. He may get in a morning or 2 to try for his elusive buck....
Jodi - Nice, scouting is the key to getting your deer. I expect to see pictures on your blog if he shoots the "big" one.
ReplyDeleteWe'll be lucky if he gets one, yet alone the "big" one. He got an 800 lb moose on the first morning of his moose hunt yet has never managed to bag a deer.
ReplyDeleteHe has his doe permit, too. I think after one unsuccessful outing, he'll just be going for anything to fill the freezer with. lol It's unfortunate I don't enjoy deer meat, no?