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Late Season Whitetail

xrayts

New member
Joined
Dec 14, 2010
Messages
182
Location
SE Missouri
The unseasonably warm morning of 12/31 I went out to try to fill an archery tag. The bucks are now into the eat-sleep-repeat pattern, so it's pretty tough to find them.

I found a few large buck tracks of different ages. Some had been there for a week, and some just a few hours. The tracks are 5 1/2" long and split very wide. I was excited to find the tracks, but not overly optimistic.

A strong line of thunderstorms came through in the evening and brought some cooler air behind them.

Good news...New Year's day I went back out and there were more fresh tracks.
Bad news...We are having a "last chance" youth rifle season and the hunting pressure is awful.

I sat in an area I thought the buck might be staging before going out in the wheat fields at night. An hour before shooting light ends, a hunting party of 3 walks by me, one went to the north, the others to the east. The guy that went to the north sat only about 150 yards from me, but to his defense, he couldn't have seen me, the woods are so thick.

I didn't see or hear any deer, but he did. I talked to him before he left and he said he saw the "big buck" behind him. He said, "look like at leas' a 10 poin'r!" The way he described it, it was moving toward me until it winded him. Oh well, that's public land for ya.

I put a camera out for tonight only to try to see him. I have until 1/15 to seal the deal. I'll keep you posted.
 
Yesterday evening I heard a few move through the thicket, but couldn't see them. I did find a little more buck sign. I guess it will have to wait until next weekend.
 
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