Archery Hunting

[GotaFish]

Just thought I would add a post since the last Archery update was from December 5, 2022.  I hunt a 136 acre property near Truxton which is about 10 miles west of Warrenton.  Where I hunt is basically a wooded lot surrounded by farm fields.  My favorite stand is at the corner of the neighbor's field which is currently picked beans.  This time of year I usually see 25+ deer per day, the only problem is they are 300 yds out in the field.  I am good, but not good enough to shoot a deer with my bow at 300 yds.  Yesterday afternoon, was a great day to sit in the woods.  I saw 37 deer in the field, 25 of them at one time.  I saw 12 different bucks, two small eight pointer size bucks were chasing does around the field.  I saw one monster buck and then about 10 minutes later I saw one twice as big.  It is hard to tell at 300 yds, but through more Vortex binoculars he looked to be a huge 12 point with big tall tines.  I need to get permission to hunt the other side of the field, and I know when I do all of the deer will be on the side of the field I am currently hunting.  It is always fun to see so many deer and on more than a few occasions, I have actually watched them walk all the way across the field to meet one of my arrows.

[jdmidwest]

Try rattling them up.

[GotaFish]

I actually rattled a little 7 pointer away from a group last year.  It ran on a line for about 150 yds straight to me.  This year I was not able to lure any of them my way by rattling or grunting.

[jdmidwest]

Weather has been warm and dry here all season.  I have seen little sign of a serious rut.  Oct 31, scrapes popped up all over the farm.  Then were covered up with leaves after the next weekend never to be used again.

I have only see 2 small bucks sparring.  Bucks that show up on camera looking for a doe are having the choice of 7 or 8 in the field without any competition.  And its all been of a night.

[BilletHead]

7 minutes ago, jdmidwest said:

Weather has been warm and dry here all season.  I have seen little sign of a serious rut.  Oct 31, scrapes popped up all over the farm.  Then were covered up with leaves after the next weekend never to be used again.

I have only see 2 small bucks sparring.  Bucks that show up on camera looking for a doe are having the choice of 7 or 8 in the field without any competition.  And its all been of a night.

              We had the total opposite on the Western side of the state. The week before firearms was crazy right through the first week of firearms. One day we seen 8 different bucks walking through the yard and out the back window with that glaze in their eyes looking. I seen another 8 bucks looking and chasing on firearms opening day hunting over at mom's place.  On the scrape front used hard right up until the rut. Then nothing to speak of. That won't pick back up until the second rut breeding for the does that didn't take of get bred first go around. As far as I know both of these two deer made it through season as no one in the neighborhood shot them. First one on November 20th the other one two pictures on November 7th. This camera is 30 yards from out front door. This pine gets beat to death and scrape on both sides of it. From our front porch we get to see deer both bucks and does work it during daylight hours. I got to see the first buck at ten yards last week. Behind the house I pilled last camera I had out. He crossed fifteen yards in front of me. A very impressive body on that guy. 

[MrGiggles]

Firearms wasn't anything special here, real warm. Only had one encounter with a nice buck at 300+ yards, wasn't willing to try that shot.

I didn't even attempt to plant my big food plots because of the drought, although I did make a new "kill plot" of sorts that is drawing some deer. The loggers took a few big walnuts out 5 years ago and left a 1/4 acre strip that was open, I got in there this summer, mowed it, and raked all the trash out. Waited for a chance of rain and tossed out some turnip seed with some wheat. The wheat didn't amount to much, the turnips really didn't either but there is some green there and tubers that are about as big as your thumb. 

I've got the muzzleloader sighted in and ready, just waiting on a wind switch to set up. They pass through there about every day, there's a few decent bucks but this is the biggest. 

[MrGiggles]

Got em. Not where I planned to find him, just got lucky. Bigger than I ever thought he was.

[nomolites]

Nicely done!  Beautiful buck.

Mike

[BilletHead]

       Way to go man! congrats on a good one. Good things come for those who stick with it. 

    I might add it's tough in your neighborhood with all the culling over that way if you are hunting in the area where so many were taken out by the sharpshooters. We have a very close friend west of Weableau that is very unhappy for what was done close to his home. Piles of corn not far from the road with a shooting house for nothing more than thinning the heard. 

[MrGiggles]

1 hour ago, BilletHead said:

       Way to go man! congrats on a good one. Good things come for those who stick with it. 

    I might add it's tough in your neighborhood with all the culling over that way if you are hunting in the area where so many were taken out by the sharpshooters. We have a very close friend west of Weableau that is very unhappy for what was done close to his home. Piles of corn not far from the road with a shooting house for nothing more than thinning the heard. 

Thank you! I was kicked back in my tower blind, heater rolling, not really expecting to see anything. All of the sudden there he was. 😆

It's been quite the experience, went from having almost too many deer to hardly any. 

Landowners had some control, but unless you have a 1000+ acre parcel it only takes a few neighbors that don't care very much to put a big dent in the population, with how a good food source like that can draw in every deer from several miles around in the late season.