Hunt smart

[Pucky Freak]

My goal this year is to hunt deliberately and patiently. My hunting has always been a charge ahead, walk more, skip the important things. I get plenty of exercise, but as I get older I increasingly see the value in hunting efficiently.

Between home improvement projects, and work and family obligations it has been a busy summer through Sept. After returning home from MT bear hunting in early June I have been fishing just once.

First time afield was Sat AM for small game. I waited at the truck until visibility was good enough to see, and walked slowly and quietly through fox squirrel habitat, stopping often to scan everything around me, and listen carefully. In 2 1/2 hours I heard one squirrel - a hawk working over the same area made for a quiet morning. I made mental notes of tree species, squirrel holes, optimal eating perches, and other habitat and sign for future hunts.

Saturday midday drove to a half dozen new deer spots - all moist-soil habitat w/ deer-height vegetation, and made notes of good glassing points.

Bedroom 1 - paid contractor to dig egress and put a window in. I did everything else from the framing out. Plus new paint, and carpet install. (In-progress pic at the end)



Bedroom 2 - Water damage from storm/ruined roof. Stripped down ceiling, fix drywall, texture, and reinstall ceiling fan.


Bedroom 3 - remove carpet and restore 1965 oak floor.

 

[Bowmannate2000]

Good work!

 

[R.K.]

My goal this year is to hunt deliberately and patiently. My hunting has always been a charge ahead, walk more, skip the important things. I get plenty of exercise, but as I get older I increasingly see the value in hunting efficiently.

Between home improvement projects, and work and family obligations it has been a busy summer through Sept. After returning home from MT bear hunting in early June I have been fishing just once.

First time afield was Sat AM for small game. I waited at the truck until visibility was good enough to see, and walked slowly and quietly through fox squirrel habitat, stopping often to scan everything around me, and listen carefully. In 2 1/2 hours I heard one squirrel - a hawk working over the same area made for a quiet morning. I made mental notes of tree species, squirrel holes, optimal eating perches, and other habitat and sign for future hunts.

Saturday midday drove to a half dozen new deer spots - all moist-soil habitat w/ deer-height vegetation, and made notes of good glassing points.

Bedroom 1 - paid contractor to dig egress and put a window in. I did everything else from the framing out. Plus new paint, and carpet install. (In-progress pic at the end)

View attachment 388200View attachment 388201

Bedroom 2 - Water damage from storm/ruined roof. Stripped down ceiling, fix drywall, texture, and reinstall ceiling fan.
View attachment 388202

Bedroom 3 - remove carpet and restore 1965 oak floor.
View attachment 388203
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I’ll take more fox squirrel posts when you get them.

 

[duckhunt]

Restored floor looks amazing.

 

[WildWill]

The joys of home ownership they don't tell you about.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Hiked in to arrive at glassing spot at daybreak. No deer seen, but I could hear something sloshing through the creek bottom about 80 yards away. My guess is a buck, or a beaver doing construction. I intentionally left my bow at home to avoid the temptation of hunting instead of scouting. No tree stands up yet.



Next a hike in to a new area to look for rut set-ups. First is around the edge of a marsh.

The blue line is the edge of cover, black line is the main deer highway, and light blue are smaller arteries. Large blocks of cover to the SE, NE, and NW.

Second spot is a field corner with many converging trails.

Red are trails, NW box is open field. A portable stand can cover all trails in a 30-yard radius.

A ravine head born within the lifetime of the tree.


Fun with squirrels - as they all lay. Hickory nuts were popular.

 

[duckhunt]

Great stuff

 

[Pucky Freak]

No luck catching catfish on shrimp tails w/ the older 3 kids. Did bring home a good haul of dotted sillius (bolete).

 

[Pucky Freak]

First day of cool fall weather yesterday. Set up a blind for the evening hunt w/ my daughter.


We were set up for the red line trail. A parallel trail further out at 45 yards was in ankle-deep water and fully exposed. I figured a night-time buck cruising trail, but I was wrong. 10 mins before sunset a buck - prob 2-yr-old - came in from the right (the “X”). My daughter thought it was fun to see one close.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Evening glassing sit. I lost track of how many deer I saw, but at one point I had 6 bucks through one frame of the binos. Oddly, no fawns. Two 3-yr-olds eventually passed about a 100 yards or so from me. Some time earlier one of them was standing next to a mature deer, who dwarfed him. Swayed back, thick Shar Pei neck, barrel torso, and grizzled face. Tall 10 symmetrical rack. That deer took the least amount of steps among all the deer, and efficiently moved to eat, then back to loaf right as the light faded. He stayed on private the entire time, but my best guess is that his bed is about 40 yards from the public boundary. Won’t be much longer until he starts roaming around more.

Did find one fawn on the way back, sadly.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Haven’t been out in a couple weeks, but last night I finally got an evening hunt in. Cold, rainy, and first snow of the year as sunset approached. I set up on fresh sign and a good wind, standing in tall grass with a shrubby backdrop.

A couple little bucks harassing does. Doe and three fawns read the script and walked in (blue line). I had doe perfect broadside at pre-ranged 29 yards & relaxed, stopped her, then made multiple operator errors on the shot release. She ducked and turned, but I think this was in response to the thwap of the arrow impact.

I was way off on my shot. 1” white hairs seemed to indicate inside of leg. Full pass thru arrow with muscle blood, no foul odor. She acted like it was a bee sting. I watched her walk off for about 15 mins thru the binos, w/ no visible blood, and little distress apart from tender on left rear leg. Blood trail, very light - clot came out 10 mins after impact, then nothing at all.

Best case scenario I get another chance on the doe on another day - it is a long season.

 

[Keep on]

Enjoy your season updates. I've been trying to be more efficient with my days afield this year as well. Actually stayed home on some days with marginal wind this archery season, when in the past I'd have been out anyway.

 

[noharleyyet]

Good thread.