Monday, Nov. 20, 2023

   It was cold and windy this morning. When I got out of the truck, it was 15 degrees. The wind made it feel much colder. However, as I walked, I eventually took my gloves off. I went to a place today that I don't hunt too much. I figured a change of pace and a look at something new might pay off. 

  I settled in next to a small tree that was overlooking a narrow saddle. I could see off three sides of the knob I chose to sit on. On my walk, I saw quite a few tracks in the dusting of snow and hoped I might see a few deer making some more. 

  It was another day that passed quickly. The wind cut through me and chilled me to the bone. Although it warmed up a little bit, I still felt a bone-chilling cold throughout my body. Once again, I could smell a buck near me. Halfway through the day, I found the source of the smell. The buck must've opened two scrapes right next to me before daylight. The were both impressive scrapes. I would've liked to see the buck that opened them, but it wasn't meant to be. 

  I'm thinking tomorrow should be a good day due to the storm coming in at the end of the day. Between the pressure change and the incoming storm, I'm thinking the deer will be on their feet. I can't wait to see what happens. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Last Day

Image
   The alarm jarred me out of sleep. It was December 8, 2024, the last day of Northern Zone rifle season in New York. I had been going straight-out since mid-October, never missing a day and out of bed every morning before 4:30. Although I had loved every minute of every day, my body was finally beginning to feel the aches and pains associated with bushwhacking through swamps, scaling cliffs, climbing mountains, and crossing rivers. With the exception of two travel days, I had found myself in the woods every day from sun-up until sundown. While I've heard many others say they've done the same, I've often doubted it because I know how difficult a task it is to accomplish.    The embers in the wood stove shone brightly as I cracked the door open and stacked a few pieces of wood on top of the burning coals. Although the fire was just about gone, the fresh flow of air gave it some life, and there was a slim chance of hope that the newly added wood would catch fire and bu...
Read more

Monday, Nov. 27, 2023

  Winter came with a vengeance last night. When I got up this morning, I didn't expect to see what I saw when I looked outside. I figured every expert tracker would be in the woods, but knowing how most deer react after a big snowfall, I decided it wasn't for me. I've always noticed that some deer do move the day of the storm as the storm tapers off, but usually the deer will move much more 24-48 hours after the storm blows out. I've studied this for years, and it has held true in every area I've ever hunted.    Although I wasn't hunting today, I did get out later in the day to ride a few roads to look around. In my travels, I met a young man walking down the road. He looked bushed, as I'm sure he was due to the amount of snow that came down. There was about 10-12 inches of new snow on top of the few inches that still remained from the other day.    Although I wasn't going to go out, I decided to check a place out for my dad shortly before dark. I knew i...
Read more

End of the Year Flurry

  Near the end of the season, I was overwhelmed with a flurry of personal things that didn't allow me to keep active with the journal, and I apologize for my negligence in not getting back to it until now. Near the end of the season, I saw many things that really let me down when it comes to social media and the way certain hunters try to portray themselves. I just wish people could tell the truth about what they're doing. If people claim to be trackers, how come they very rarely kill deer before huge storms roll in at the end of the seasons across New York and New England and dump large amounts of snow, causing the deer to migrate and head to winter yards? As I've always said, and I still stand behind it, snow makes bad hunters good hunters. If you can kill deer at any time of the season with and without snow and everywhere you go, you probably have a pretty good idea about deer behavior and how to find them.    By the time late muzzleloader season ended in the Northern ...
Read more