KipCarson
Well-known member
This is a long post I know, it’s basically a summary of a four month long deer season. Next season I will probably do it in a semi live hunt thread, but I did not do that this year so this is what I ended up with. If you decide to read all the way through, thank you in advance and if you decide to move on, I do not blame you!
They made me quit... There are few days that I hate more than January 31st, it’s when LDWF decides that it’s the last day of deer season in Louisiana. I am sure my wife is overjoyed, however, I’m always left with that “IF” feeling. IF I had only a few more hours I would have gotten the one I was after, I could have filled that last doe tag, etc. Looking back over the season I can’t say it was a bad year, and can’t really say that it was slow, but it definitely did not turn out like I had hoped.
I keep a basic journal of hunts/places/deer sightings etc. and always like looking back over it at the end of the season. I guess that’s basically what I’m doing in this post, and sharing what an average season for me is like, not counting my out of state hunts. From October 1st to January 31st I was able to log in 61 hunts/sits in a tree stand. During that time I saw a total of 113 deer. Some of the sits were only short 45 minutes bits I squeezed in before heading off to work, and a few were as long as 5 hours on Saturdays where I was able to log in a bit more time. Averaging 1.85 deer per hunt isn’t bad around here, I did go up to five hunts at times without seeing a thing and then saw as many as 11 when conditions were perfect. I saw 11 bucks total, six 1.5 year olds, four 2.5 year olds, and one that I think was a great 3.5 but may have been 4.5. I saw probably around 75-85 pigs also, about par for the course around here. In the end I was able to kill 4 pigs and fill 3 doe tags. But I never was able to connect with any of the bucks I was after.
The action started off pretty early in the afternoon of October 7th as I was walking to my tree stand. I heard a bunch of commotion and rustling in the leaves in the brush ahead of me and soon found myself stalked up within range of a herd of pigs. The closest pig was 30 yards away and somewhere along the flight path the arrow hit a twig, I rushed my shot, or who knows what, but it just grazed his lower front leg. Not a great way to start out the season. The herd scattered with half of them getting downwind and completely spooking but the other half of the herd soon went back to feeding and I was able to stalk back into bow range and the second pig of the day was not as lucky as the first one. She was down in 35 yards and just like that the world became a better place!
Most of October was pretty uneventful after that until the morning of the 26th when I rattled in two of the young two-year-old bucks I saw. They both skirted just outside of bow range but it was a neat experience nonetheless. That afternoon I was doing some scouting and checking a trail camera when I heard pigs coming my direction, thankfully I still had my bow with me and quickly knocked an arrow. Minutes later another pig was destined for a friends barbecue pit.
Most of the next month was uneventful. I had a couple of really good bucks that I was hunting and they had consumed all of my attention. I know it annoys a lot of people but I name my deer, in the course of conversations with the guys in my circle it just make conversation easier and they know what deer I’m talking about. “Shooter” was the oldest buck I was after, he was a hefty 8 point and had a deformed left antler.
The second second quality buck was called “Ocho”. You guessed it, he was Also an 8 pointer. I was getting enough daylight pictures of Ocho that I felt like it was going to be any day before he was mine.
The number three buck was a pretty 10 point, with a split brow tine making him an 11. I never named him he just was referred to as the Ten. He never showed up in daylight at all except for one day. It just so happened that Trump was having a rally in town and I figured since we were basically never a major political player it would most likely be the only time I would ever get to hear a sitting president speak so I opted to leave work early and go to the rally. Bad mistake. As I was standing in line talking to a fellow Hunter I lamented the fact that the conditions were perfect and most likely my bucks would be passing by my stand at that very moment. I was right, Shooter and the ten both passed my tree stand that afternoon. Once I saw he was taunting me while I was at a trump rally the ten became know as “Democrat” from that point on.
On November 26th I caught up to Democrat. Almost. Based on wind direction I picked my stand that afternoon and checked a trail camera by it on my way there. That morning at about 10 o’clock democrat had made his second daytime appearance. With him being there in daylight that morning I knew he was most likely bedded close by in a thicket on the neighbors property where I had pics on him routinely traveling to and from. The evening was uneventful but just before shooting light ended I saw movement and Democrat was heading my way. Unfortunately he was moving painfully slow with no interest in going anywhere it seemed. By the time he got in range I was out of shooting light and he was soon downwind. He quickly made sure every deer on the property knew I was there, I don’t think I have ever heard a buck snort that much, he was like a hyperactive doe. I never got another picture of him after that and a week later a biologist friend of ours informed me that he was killed on the adjacent block of public land. Score one for the public land hunters who always gripe about those of us who keep all the deer on the private land Lol! That was the only opportunity the entire season I came close to killing a buck that I wanted. Every other buck I saw was too young and I let them all walk.
They made me quit... There are few days that I hate more than January 31st, it’s when LDWF decides that it’s the last day of deer season in Louisiana. I am sure my wife is overjoyed, however, I’m always left with that “IF” feeling. IF I had only a few more hours I would have gotten the one I was after, I could have filled that last doe tag, etc. Looking back over the season I can’t say it was a bad year, and can’t really say that it was slow, but it definitely did not turn out like I had hoped.
I keep a basic journal of hunts/places/deer sightings etc. and always like looking back over it at the end of the season. I guess that’s basically what I’m doing in this post, and sharing what an average season for me is like, not counting my out of state hunts. From October 1st to January 31st I was able to log in 61 hunts/sits in a tree stand. During that time I saw a total of 113 deer. Some of the sits were only short 45 minutes bits I squeezed in before heading off to work, and a few were as long as 5 hours on Saturdays where I was able to log in a bit more time. Averaging 1.85 deer per hunt isn’t bad around here, I did go up to five hunts at times without seeing a thing and then saw as many as 11 when conditions were perfect. I saw 11 bucks total, six 1.5 year olds, four 2.5 year olds, and one that I think was a great 3.5 but may have been 4.5. I saw probably around 75-85 pigs also, about par for the course around here. In the end I was able to kill 4 pigs and fill 3 doe tags. But I never was able to connect with any of the bucks I was after.
The action started off pretty early in the afternoon of October 7th as I was walking to my tree stand. I heard a bunch of commotion and rustling in the leaves in the brush ahead of me and soon found myself stalked up within range of a herd of pigs. The closest pig was 30 yards away and somewhere along the flight path the arrow hit a twig, I rushed my shot, or who knows what, but it just grazed his lower front leg. Not a great way to start out the season. The herd scattered with half of them getting downwind and completely spooking but the other half of the herd soon went back to feeding and I was able to stalk back into bow range and the second pig of the day was not as lucky as the first one. She was down in 35 yards and just like that the world became a better place!
Most of October was pretty uneventful after that until the morning of the 26th when I rattled in two of the young two-year-old bucks I saw. They both skirted just outside of bow range but it was a neat experience nonetheless. That afternoon I was doing some scouting and checking a trail camera when I heard pigs coming my direction, thankfully I still had my bow with me and quickly knocked an arrow. Minutes later another pig was destined for a friends barbecue pit.
Most of the next month was uneventful. I had a couple of really good bucks that I was hunting and they had consumed all of my attention. I know it annoys a lot of people but I name my deer, in the course of conversations with the guys in my circle it just make conversation easier and they know what deer I’m talking about. “Shooter” was the oldest buck I was after, he was a hefty 8 point and had a deformed left antler.
The second second quality buck was called “Ocho”. You guessed it, he was Also an 8 pointer. I was getting enough daylight pictures of Ocho that I felt like it was going to be any day before he was mine.
The number three buck was a pretty 10 point, with a split brow tine making him an 11. I never named him he just was referred to as the Ten. He never showed up in daylight at all except for one day. It just so happened that Trump was having a rally in town and I figured since we were basically never a major political player it would most likely be the only time I would ever get to hear a sitting president speak so I opted to leave work early and go to the rally. Bad mistake. As I was standing in line talking to a fellow Hunter I lamented the fact that the conditions were perfect and most likely my bucks would be passing by my stand at that very moment. I was right, Shooter and the ten both passed my tree stand that afternoon. Once I saw he was taunting me while I was at a trump rally the ten became know as “Democrat” from that point on.
On November 26th I caught up to Democrat. Almost. Based on wind direction I picked my stand that afternoon and checked a trail camera by it on my way there. That morning at about 10 o’clock democrat had made his second daytime appearance. With him being there in daylight that morning I knew he was most likely bedded close by in a thicket on the neighbors property where I had pics on him routinely traveling to and from. The evening was uneventful but just before shooting light ended I saw movement and Democrat was heading my way. Unfortunately he was moving painfully slow with no interest in going anywhere it seemed. By the time he got in range I was out of shooting light and he was soon downwind. He quickly made sure every deer on the property knew I was there, I don’t think I have ever heard a buck snort that much, he was like a hyperactive doe. I never got another picture of him after that and a week later a biologist friend of ours informed me that he was killed on the adjacent block of public land. Score one for the public land hunters who always gripe about those of us who keep all the deer on the private land Lol! That was the only opportunity the entire season I came close to killing a buck that I wanted. Every other buck I saw was too young and I let them all walk.
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