This year's deer hunting season was fundamentally different for me in that it didn't really happen at all. Nonetheless, here is the report from big woods north of the border.
This area is classic Canadian big woods. High rocky ridges topped with red oaks, extensive lowland cedar swamps and wetlands, and thick brush almost everywhere. Being able to see more than 50 meters is a rare luxury. It's tough, rugged, and remote country - and I love it.
Deer densities are low in this region that sees long tough winters and has a full host of predators prowling the woods - but we do get some whopping body sizes and (often) big racks. My local community runs a big buck contest and the top four bucks this year weighed in at 258 lbs, 244 lbs, 242 lbs, and 237 lbs field dressed on a certified scale.
At age 47 my feet were showing the signs of a lifetime of sport and outdoor adventure. I had to have a reconstructive procedure on my left foot in May and a similar procedure on my right foot in August. While I was able to get into the field a bit in November, it was strictly hunting next to an ATV off a logging road with other hunters along to help should I connect. It was the exact antithesis of my normal hunting style - remote, tough, isolated, and usually solo. Predictably I did not even see a deer.
I was able to place a full network of trail cams in mid August before my second surgery (slowly made my way around to set them with my first surgery almost healed) in an area that I had hunted a bit in previous years, but needed more intelligence about. I was able to collect most of the trail cams in early January and just got the final few last weekend with winter snowpack finally in full retreat.
While I didn't have any true smashers on trail cam, I did have a high number of very nice mature bucks. I'm hopeful that many of them will have made the winter and will be even bigger for me to chase this fall.
I also got a photo of squabbling black bears that has to rank as one of the coolest trail cam photos I've gotten in nearly 20 years of running trail cams.
My rehabilitation has gone very well and my feet are nearly back to full function. Can't wait for cold November mornings this fall ....
This area is classic Canadian big woods. High rocky ridges topped with red oaks, extensive lowland cedar swamps and wetlands, and thick brush almost everywhere. Being able to see more than 50 meters is a rare luxury. It's tough, rugged, and remote country - and I love it.
Deer densities are low in this region that sees long tough winters and has a full host of predators prowling the woods - but we do get some whopping body sizes and (often) big racks. My local community runs a big buck contest and the top four bucks this year weighed in at 258 lbs, 244 lbs, 242 lbs, and 237 lbs field dressed on a certified scale.
At age 47 my feet were showing the signs of a lifetime of sport and outdoor adventure. I had to have a reconstructive procedure on my left foot in May and a similar procedure on my right foot in August. While I was able to get into the field a bit in November, it was strictly hunting next to an ATV off a logging road with other hunters along to help should I connect. It was the exact antithesis of my normal hunting style - remote, tough, isolated, and usually solo. Predictably I did not even see a deer.
I was able to place a full network of trail cams in mid August before my second surgery (slowly made my way around to set them with my first surgery almost healed) in an area that I had hunted a bit in previous years, but needed more intelligence about. I was able to collect most of the trail cams in early January and just got the final few last weekend with winter snowpack finally in full retreat.
While I didn't have any true smashers on trail cam, I did have a high number of very nice mature bucks. I'm hopeful that many of them will have made the winter and will be even bigger for me to chase this fall.
I also got a photo of squabbling black bears that has to rank as one of the coolest trail cam photos I've gotten in nearly 20 years of running trail cams.
My rehabilitation has gone very well and my feet are nearly back to full function. Can't wait for cold November mornings this fall ....
