I could have shot a couple of does on Friday night but passed them because I figured there would be more opportunities later in the weekend and didn't want to mess up the property for my son. Lesson learned - should have shot them! We didn't have another deer in bow range for the rest of the weekend. Last night, we had a nice 3-year-old 130-ish 10-point come out to feed in the bean plot we were hunting, but he never got closer than 70 yards. He may have fed in front of us eventually, but he spotted a small buck chasing some does on the other side of the field and decided that was more interesting than getting shot, so off he went, and so ended our weekend. We had a blast, though! At one point, my son asked me for my rangefinder to look at the buck. When I asked why he wanted that instead of the binoculars, he said, "Because I'm shaking too much and can't see anything through the binoculars." With this snow and cold, I think tonight and tomorrow night should be pretty good if you've got food and can hunt. I'm at work today but may plan to hunt tomorrow afternoon.
Nice doe this afternoon. The alpha doe finally made a mistake and gave me a broadside @20yds. She didn't make it 40yds from my treestand. I'll post her on the score sheet in a few days. -fsh
Congrats man! I joined the dark side the other day while the kids were at school and got a big doe with a muzzleloader. Im allowed a doe on public still and one more at my private land spot. Gonna be setting out next time with the bow to try to get us 50 more. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I hunted last Saturday afternoon and saw one doe. Everything was super wet and she snuck up on me and was through my shooting lane before I could do anything about it. She was a big doe and all alone so I probably would have shot her, but that's the way it goes! I was going to go out last night but had too much stuff going on at the office so I didn't hunt, and of course the buck I was looking for walked right in front of my stand, 45 minutes before dark.
I xxlunged a big doe yesterday afternoon, firehose blood trail... The bucks are only moving at night around here. I'm hoping for some daylight activity towards the end of the month. -fsh
Out trying to get us 50 fellas. Rain is about to stop and hopefully this bedding comes to life! Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Saturday night I sat the blind where my son shot his buck back in October. Ended up seeing the #1 buck I'm after and I thought for sure he was going to work right in front of me. But like bucks often do, he came out, fed for a bit, then turned and went back in where he came from. Never got closer than 75 yards. Decided for a morning sit yesterday because I couldn't hunt the afternoon. Ended up seeing 6 deer and passed on a couple of does. This farm doesn't have a lot of deer and I had stuff to do later on so I didn't feel like dealing with getting one out and cleaning it up. But it could have been some of the coolest over the shoulder footage with my 360 camera - I was only 12 feet up and she was about 5 yards from me. Oh well! Going to keep hunting afternoons this week since I know my big one is around and moving. Just need him to pop up in daylight and actually walk in front of me this time.
Hunted tonight and only saw two does right at dark. On a positive note, a buck I was hoping to chase this fall that disappeared on 10/5 showed back up tonight! He did the same thing last year, but showed up around Thanksgiving after being gone for the rut. Last year he was very visible and killable in December and January. I hope he does the same this late season, as he will likely be my #1 target from here on out.
Slight changes of plans - had pics of the one I was chasing last night at 6:15 this morning, heading towards where I think he's bedding. If he's close he may pop out in daylight so I'm going to try him again tonight. One of these times our paths are going to cross!
I'm getting some daylight buck activity plus seeing some new bucks on the move at night - second rut? -fsh
Historically I've always seen good buck activity well into December. I've also had some new bucks show up and bucks reappear after being gone for the rut. December is one of my favorite months to hunt! The pressure starts to die down but the deer are still plenty active and killable in daylight. Last night I only saw one lonely button buck and a coyote chasing him. I winged an arrow at the yote and barely nicked him at 30 yards. They're tough suckers to kill with a bow! Hoping to get back out Friday evening somewhere.
