Day four is in the books. Another windy day, but much warmer temps.
Actually saw a few deer today. Saw 14 deer with 3 being small bucks. I need to shoot another small buck like I need kicked in the rear, so I let them live to see another day (or another hunter).
Thought I would be smart and walk in from a different direction before daylight. Well, that was not a good idea. Not sure what kind of trees these are in Kansas, but they look like something from an "arborists little shop of horrors."
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Not sure the technical name of these trees, but when you run into a group of them in the dark, you know it. I thought I was just getting hung up on brush, until I ran a couple of them into my thigh and forearm. Here is what my pack looked like when it daylight came. Needless to say, I will not be taking that path again in the morning.
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This is the area I am hunting.
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Today was pretty typical for this kind of a public hunting area. Guys walking by every hour or two, acting like they are on a walk in the park. Even in the wind, I can hear them coming for a long ways, and I am almost deaf, so I can only imagine what the deer think. Some of them stop and visit. In fact, one guy from Michigan almost makes it a daily visit to swing by and find out what the report is for the day. I wish he would bring me coffee and doughnuts. Given his physique, I am pretty sure he knows where all the doughnut shops are, and he is a pretty friendly guy, so maybe he would share his doughnut stash with me.
I found this pic of the prior evening.
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I was feeling colder than I look in the pic. I had climbed up this big pile of pushed up trees to get a better view of the terrain. Well, it was not at all protected from the wind. On the way out I stepped on a limb I thought would hold me. Well, as you can suspect, it did not hold my weight and I did a header down into the depths of that tree pile. Felt lucky I didn't break some body part or equipment. All for the love of deer hunting.
Did see a bunch of turkeys today. They were pretty spooky. Don't think I could have shot one with a rifle, let alone a shotgun.
After passing on two small bucks this morning and thinking more would come, I final secumed to my hunger pangs and decided I would head to "Betty's Twist Top Diner" for a quick breakfast. The joint was filled with hunters.
I picked a both next to some guys who were out from Virginia, hunting with an outfitter. They were really excited. They had both shot "nine pointers" and one weighed 285 pounds, dressed out. It was hard to keep my coffee in my mouth when he told me that.
They asked what luck I had been having. I told them, mostly hard luck. They wanted to know how I could be seeing so few bucks. I told them I was hunting public land and the pressure was pretty high.
They asked why I would travel this far and spend money to hunt here without ensuring I would shoot a "bigg'un." I tried to explain that I thought it was more fun to take the challenge of hunting on public land. They obviously weren't buying what I was selling.
We talked about what tactics they used. They stated the outfitter had set up over 85 stands and knew where the deer were travelling, so it was pretty easy. I told them they must have a darn good outfitter. They agreed and told me the deer were easy to pattern, due to (you guessed it) the bait stations. Gulp!
Wrong words to use with Fin. But, I held my tongue and let them continue with the joyful excitement about what a great hunt they had. I truly believe this was a hunt of their dreams, and I was not about to dampen their excitement with a discussion about baiting.
The discussion did make it very clear to me that I am probably in the minority with my strong opinions of baiting being damaging to the long-term future of hunting. I realized that some people are accustomed to the idea of baiting, grew up around baiting, and think nothing bad of it. These were two very nice guys and I could have talked hunting with them for a long time. Amazing how our traditional/family/local hunting methods form our opinions about acceptable hunting practices.
Sorry to digress.
I spent the entire afternoon waiting for Mr. Big to emerge from the brush and come to the winter wheat field. All that showed up were five does and one small forkie buck. I had them at less than fifty yards, but had not interest in any of them. But, they are always a lot of fun to watch.
I think after the rut, some of these big whitetail bucks become a strictly nocturnal animal. A huge set of tracks is on the sand and mud every morning. I am there before daylight and until dark every day, but other than a short glimpse of him the first evening, I have not seen him. I almost wish someone would hunt the private ground he is bedding on. It may force him from his protective lair. I suspect if he was pushed out of his bed, he would run at mach II speed, all the way to Nebraska, and I would not get a shot at him anyhow.
Tomorrow is my last full day. I have some business issues to take care of Monday morning, but if I can wrap those up by noon, I plan to hunt Monday afternoon, then head to Iowa on Tuesday. I have juggled by business schedule in Iowa to allow me short scouting forrays each morning and late afternoon next week, then five days of hunting starting on Saturday the 13th. Good thing my clients understand my hunting priorities.
So, I am hitting the sack early tonight, hoping tomorrow brings a change of luck. I am putting all my eggs in one basket and going back to the same spot for the entire day. There is an old saying that stupidity is doing the same thing everyday, yet expecting a different result. Call me stupid.
P.S.
Do any of you guys know what the hell these greenish yellow softball-like things are that fall from these trees around here? Probably a dumb question, but I have never seen anything like them.
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