Backcountry Bucks

  Right from the get go, I figured today wouldn't lead to much. In all my years of hunting, there has been minimal movement during the storm and they day after. However, the next day is usually a whole different scene in the woods. What seemed like an empty zone turns into a deer frenzy.    This year I don't have a feeling like that is going to happen tomorrow. The woods just seem void of much deer sign. I trudged through the snow all day today. In the early going, I cut a few tracks but chose to keep pushing in search of finding something better.    I never did find what I was looking for, and I didn't see much that excited me. I spent the entire day in the woods, and the visibility was all but nothing. I couldn't never see more than about 40 yards at any time. I'm hoping the deer start moving tomorrow. I'm still feeling confident, but I'm quickly running out of time.    Luckily, I get to hunt with Dad tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to it. Any day ...

   While I'd love to post a picture I took today, this platform isn't allowing that to happen. I had a nice surprise today. Dad decided to hunt with me, so we went into some old but familiar stomping grounds to see what we could find.    I wasn't too confident when we walked out the door and the wind was blowing 35 mph. After walking to our spots to sit, there was no recess in the fury it brought with it. The weather has been beyond unbearable for the last week, and today was no different. Then, like a message from God, the fury disappeared as the sun set, and the woods became calm. It was the exact scenario I've been hoping to see for the last week. Unfortunately, it happened right as darkness consumed the sky, and tomorrow's forecast is calling for 8-12 inches of snow.    Today was a good day, even though the conditions weren't conducive for seeing deer. As my dad approaches his 80th trip around the sun, he still gets it done. He put on over six miles tod...

  Unfortunately, my trip to the Midwest was what you could call a train wreck. While we were supposed to have a cabin to stay in and power, we ended up staying in a little teepee with no power and no way to escape the monsoon-like rains we encountered. Therefore, I was never able to log onto my computer to give any type of updates.    While I'd like to sit here and pound keys to tell you about my trip, I'll make it short and sweet. I've never seen so much pressure in my life. However, I was still able to see bucks almost every sit. Unfortunately, I never took my bow off the hook to shoot at one. I passed about 30 bucks and never saw one I wanted to take.    When taking a step back and looking at it from that perspective, I'd say I had a good trip. The weather was absolutely atrocious. The coolest it got was 42 degrees one morning. The temps stayed around 67-75 the entire time, and we encountered rain almost daily.    This evening, I'm sitting on the co...

    I had no intention to hunt today, but I did go pull a camera for Jimmy. He told me where it was located, so I decided to go get it in the middle of the day. As I neared the camera, I heard the unmistakable noise of a deer getting out of its bed.    As I scanned the forest looking for the perpetrator, I couldn't locate anything. Then, I caught a twitch to my right and saw a deer standing there looking at me. It had nice, little spikes on it. I imagined all the young bucks I had shot in this area in my teens, and it brought me back to my younger years where I shared so many pivotal moments in my deer-hunting education.    I watched the deer for about two minutes and snapped a few pictures as well as a few videos. Eventually, the deer trotted over the hill and out of sight. I easily could've laid him in the leaves, but I just enjoyed watching him in his own environment.    After retrieving the camera and walking back to the truck, I realized life...

   I could only hunt for a few hours today. On my way in, I could smell where a deer had pissed on its hocks. It stunk badly. Although I could smell him, I had no idea what he had done when in the area. I did know both of us had crossed the same path within minutes in the darkness.    Well, on my way out, I discovered he had rubbed two trees where I smelled him. I came out of the woods at noon, and it was 73 degrees. This weather is beyond unbelievable. I didn't see any critters today, but it was still a good day in the woods. 

   It really warmed up today, but the morning still provided good conditions to sit. I went to a favorite old haunt in the morning, but things were slow at best. I did spot a doe in mid-morning, and she eventually fed past me but nothing followed. Although I was disappointed, I still enjoyed my time. I covered a lot of new ground on my way back to the truck. Unfortunately, I didn't see any sign at all. It was void of deer sign in areas where there is normally a fair amount of it. I'm sure sign will show up, but it just isn't there now.    I made quick work of lunch once I got back to the truck and put my hiking shoes on to explore another old haunt. I knew it would take me the rest of the day to check that place out, as it's almost an impenetrable area.    When I got to the place I wanted to check out, the temperature hung just shy of 80 degrees. However, the scrapes were torn up, and the runways leading to the scrapes appeared to be quite active. I marked ...