|
Well It all actually started during the Archery
Season.
We had been seeing so much deer activity , that we really figured this would be a record year for us. We had seen so many Beautiful Bucks
& Large deer overall. However NOTHING about this season went according to the way we figured it should. Starting
with the pre- rut to rut season. The first week last year we were rattling & calling with all kinds of Bucks responding
to calling we were doing. This year the season & I'm quite sure the weather played a big part in this weird season with
hardly NO Rain etc. & temps way up there , their was just so much food out there & everything was green . In fact
when the apples fall from the trees I usually collect a large amount so that later during the bow & gun season I use them
to attract deer to my area. But this year before the end of Bow season the majority of the apples left on the ground were
completly dissipated (GONE) & not by the deer. this we attributed to the lack of rain all summer. And all the apples my
wife & I had gathered were turning bad, way before their time. The beechnut & acorn crop was good however they fell
early as well & the deer were still feeding in the cornfields etc. The squirrels were the only ones enjoying the mast
crop of beechnut & acorn. Well around the last week of Archery The First Buck scrape appeared!!! It was about 10 yards
away from where I have a large treestand. I thought
"yes" Finally its happening the Rut was starting
, I couldn't have been more wrong. I started testing the waters per say with my various calls , Grunts, Bleats, rattling,
(The Can) by Primo's & absolutly nothing seemed to work . I did manage to call in a couple of young Bucks a nice 6 point
& a small spike . But I Knew there were bigger Bucks in the area as we had been seeing them daily at various travel
corridors that we knew were leading to the hay, & Corn fields . In fact I had a Beautiful 10- point that was traveling
through my Meadow on a daily basis until Bow opened, Then he moved down my path along the stream that runs through my Property.
I forgot to mention that the reserviour that adjoins my Property was WAY DOWN due to the lack of rain all summer. A complete
opposite from last year. All the areas I had pre-scouted & hung or built stands at were just not producing the deer we
expected. After talking with several other hunters about what was going on they agreed its is just a totally differnt
senerio from years past. We decided our strategies needed to be changed completly. I managed to finally attract a 6- point
right under my stand a couple of day's before the end of bow season , when he presented a decent shot I Totally Blew it &
Missed with a deflection., & could only watch as the buck walked outta the area. Needless to say I was dissapointed, But
hadn't given up yet . Two day's later I decided to take the next deer that came along , That happend to be a decent sized
Button buck. Near the last day My wife Carol decided to hunt that stand as she was still seeing some doe's etc. traveling
through that spot early mornings on their way back to their bedding spots, & that paid off for her as well. She ended
up taking a button buck as well. On The last day of Archery I hunted a climbing stand I had set up . I tried rattling once
again & Finally a Nice Buck appeared it was a tall rack short tined 10 point , However he just wouldn't come in close
enough for a decent shot and that ended the Bow season ,but at least we both scored a deer young ones though Very
tender. On the next page I will talk about the gun season , which was another dissapointment for us. however we did score
eventually.
|
