Wednesday 012512 bowhunt

I looked at the weather forecast, and my work schedule, and decided to take a hunting day on Wednesday. The season is drawing to a close and I have yet to collect a deer with the bow this season. Time was running out and I also wanted to find the arrows I lost in the snow on Saturday (excuse). I entered the woodline just as it was growing light enough to see well. I moved quickly and quietly, and did not kick out anything that I could hear as I moved to the back of the property. I decided to move forward closer to the ridge line that the deer moved over both times I encountered them here recently. The wind was tricky and kept changing up and down the ridge, but never downhill (the direction I thought the deer would come).

The morning drew on uneventfully. I did hear a few coyotes howling late in the morning at a couple domestic dogs barking in a nearby wooded house. I watched the sun start to warm things and melt the hard ground into a soggy mess.

I am not sure if the deer just were not moving, or if my scent had somehow alerted them from the ridge, but in any event, nothing showed. I easily found my arrow from the miss Saturday. It was stuck in a nice log right where I thought it would have been. I probably walked over it several times in the snow. I also found my errant judo tipped arrow from the walk out. I decided to catch some lunch and head back out for the afternoon. I was back in the woods about 12:30 with a full belly, and a lot less insulation. It was sunny and warm. I walked up the hill still trying to play the changing air currents. I flushed out a small antlerless deer despite my best attempts to be quiet. She may have winded me, but in any event she bounded up very high on the hill last I saw her. I still hunted my way to a nice thicket where the wind was favorable. I snugged up against and behind some deadfall in the shadows of a beech tree that still had crinkling brown leaves that would rustle whenever the wind blew. The sun was warm and I dozed several times. It was a nice relaxing hunt, but no animals besides a downy woodpecker were observed. I did find two very small seed ticks on my hand. I wondered how many others were crawling on me?! Gave me the itchies for the rest of the sit. I never did find any more....yet. On the stalk out of the woods I came across the remains of a fawn in the overgown field. Only the small skull and spinal column, four lower legs, and the thick winter hide were left after the yotes and foxes had their way. Such is the way late season hunts can be...feast or famine. My next hunt will probably be my last this season for deer. Jan 31st.

The second snowy freezing rain hunt - Sat. 012112

The weather forecast Friday afternoon was for snow turning to freezing rain, then all rain into the afternoon Saturday. Friday was bright and clear and I was bummed out that I did not decide to hunt this day instead of Sat. The weather seemed perfect with the impending front to have deer on the move. It always seems like I make things harder on myself, but I was determined to hunt the wet Saturday morning. Brent could not hunt because of family obligations, so I had Mike along to take his spot at the private farm. No one else hunted this late in the season to care. I would repeat the hunt we performed last Sat. with both of us on the ground sitting for a few hours, and then trying to push deer off the mountain toward each other about mid-morning. We sipped coffee and watched the freezing rain pelt the truck windshield as we pulled into the parking area. After a few minutes of chit chat, the dawn started to break, and the precipitation slowed to a stop! It was perfect timing. I went back towards my rocky ridge in the laurel patch chasing two deer against the snowy backdrop as we entered the woodline in the gently increasing light. It was very loud to walk on the crust of ice and snow, so it was unfortunate we pushed that group, but unavoidable. They were posted about halfway up the hill between the upper trail and Brent’s stand. Had they been higher and if it was not so noisy to walk, we may have been in place without their noticing. Oh well, it was good to see deer regardless. After about 20 minutes of being set up on my stool nestled against the trunk of a large chestnut oak, I can see deer moving clear of the peninsula through the dense laurels. There was a significant browse level to the foliage and sitting low on my stool offered the longest viewing distance from the ground. Still the area was dense. I remained stone still and could see at least 3 deer were sporting headgear of various types, but none seemed very large. Probably the largest was a basket 6 that I could see. I lost count at around 15 deer in the group as they passed a, open window. They seemed to be moving by me at about 60-70 yards down the valley feeding as they meandered. For a few minutes I thought I would be typically about 30 yards too far away and just have a good show. I watched as several times deer got on two legs to reach higher up in the laurel canopy and intermittently shake off the snow/ice from their coats, flashing the white of their underbellies and neck patches in the process. Then a small group split off and started to feed up the ridge crest toward me. There was a significantly bigger doe in the lead of a group of about 5 antlerless deer of various ages. She was moving on a line that would take her into bow range to my uphill side. As they moved cautiously, I eased around a few inches in my stool to prepare for that open window in the brush to my left. She continued on. I started easing back the bowstring, hoping the larger part of the group off to my right did not catch the bow movement as they milled about. When she passed the tightly choked brush and her head went behind a trunk, I came to full draw successfully. She stepped into the clear and I focused hard on a spot behind her front leg that was a little darker than the rest of the coat. It was about the size of a baseball. She was between 20-25 yards away. I followed through and released. The bow jumped oddly in my hand and I watched as the yellow crowned and fletched shaft soared about 3 feet high and rearward. I was shocked at how far I missed based upon how hard I thought I had concentrated. The entire woods seemed to explode with deer running. I reached down quickly and picked up another arrow I had positioned at my feet, and as quickly as I could froze again. Since the two groups split if different directions, I thought there might be a chance they would come back in range again. I was not sure if any of them actually saw me. What did I have to lose. After about 10 minutes of stillness, I saw a deer head bobbing through the brush slowly and cautiously. It was sniffing up and down and trying to see anything that might be danger. It was the lead deer of a group of 6. It was not one of the largest deer, but had a severe limp in its right front leg. It was the “point” man in this file as it was, no doubt, the most cautious having been injured. It slowly led the group closer following the same general direction as the group I had just flung an arrow at. I was hoping it would end up in the same spot also, for a rare second chance shot. However, this group was trying to catch the other group who was undoubtedly father up the mountain on the other side of the ridge. Their route therefore was a bit farther away. They passed in front of me at about 60 yards, and for a second, I toyed with the idea of making a long shot if one stopped in the clear at that distance. But they passed over the ridge edge so only the neck and half of the back was exposed. I was not proficient or confident enough to make that shot yet. I guess I could have stood up, but the likelihood of the thick brush blocking my view was also great. So I just watched them pass. They had no idea I was there. After an hour and a half of looking, I never did find my arrow no doubt buried in the snow somewhere over the small ridge. I will have to go back after the snow melt and look for it. I know I missed cleanly. I recreated my shot and realized my mistake. Shooting the longbow uphill from a seated position allowed my lower limb to strike the ground in the last few inches of limb travel. I was not familiar enough with the length of the longbow compared to my short recurve. Each time recreated the shot; my lower limb tip hit the ground. No wonder the bow seemed to jump oddly! H well, lesson learned. At least I concentrated and picked a spot well. No one said this stuff was easy! Meanwhile, Mike did not see too much in the way of deer, but did see a giant fox squirrel. He got up and walked a bit getting to know the thick multiflora area around Brent’s stand tree. He agreed that was a good spot. I continued my push toward him and we eventually linked up after I caught the sound and flickering intermittent sight of a couple deer on the crest of the hill about 250 yards above us in high gear. Then, we heard the sounds of female hikers on the nearby Gambrill trail. No doubt they were pushed by the shrill conversations and raging twig snapping of the hiker’s heavy footfalls. It always amazes me how loudly non-hunters blunder through the woods and then wonder why they do not see a lot of animals. We shot a few stumps and checked out the lower end of the property for sign on the way out of the woods. As I suspected there was little. The adjacent mountainside was beautiful with a frosted coating of powdered sugar on the trees. I lost a second judo arrow in the meadow on the way out. Just another arrow to look for once the snow melts. At least I will have an excuse to come back out there and look for my two shafts. It was a great day to hunt and we saw no other hunters. We had the entire woods to ourselves. I do not regret passing up that Friday one bit now. You never know how things will unfold in the woods. update: I found my arrow(s) on Wednesday. Stuck in a log just under the snow. I probably walked over it a few times!

Chris's Sat. afternoon bowhunt 012112

Did Swan Harbor in the PM after the snowfall. Went in about 2:00pm - me, Dave and Tom. Tom went South to the river edge straight back, Dave went West and to the North edge of the county field corner, I went back to the West and South at the South end of the field, to cover that route into the woods. Tom got first action, I scared a pair of deer in his direction and had a single one walk by within range but unfortunately his bow was still on the ground! I saw probably three or four sets of tracks that were from early that morning while it was still snowing and probably two or three sets that took place since the end of the snow. Just general meandering feeding tracks. I got to the rear corner and wasn’t more than about ½ hour and a four wheeler with three you guys (20’s) went down the trail to the point where we know the boat is. I picked up and moved East to the center of the strip along the riverbank – to get further away from them and possibly catch anything moving from them. I had a deer walk up within 30 yards of me, but behind me back in the thick stuff, it eventually moved off unseen. ( I was in snowcamo on the ground). Eventually the three guys unloaded on a flock of geese, I think they took the boat over to the marsh strip and then sky busted anything flying over (strictly illegal – no blind site). Tom reports that the birds were pretty darn high and he didn’t see anything go down. Around Sunset Tom saw about 5 deer feeding around the marsh point where we normally kick them out, but they hung there and did not enter the woods ( I think they knew we were in and were waiting for dark). Dave says he had two come in from the East, coming across from the Soccer field but that they didn’t make it to him until he was on his way down out of the tree. He got to hear them run off. Still pretty good population roaming the area. Just a matter of good wind and luck to get in front of one. Our odds do seem much better when more than one of us is out. A couple of good sets of tracks, probably from the Spikes and Forkys. That be it for the report! Congrats to Tom, now an officer of the company and with an extra week of vaca ! We’re wondering if that will get him out to Colorado this year….

feeder cam MLK weekend

Lots of daylight pictures this past weekend.

Small basket 6 along with the regular doe visitors.

The neighborhood vole patrol also!

Sat. 011412 bowhunt

Sat. morning bowhunt. Brent and I decided we would both change tactics and wait until daylight to enter the woods. Then we would sit from the ground until around 9am and then start still hunting. I placed Brent at the trail crossing and his plan was to then still hunt uphill behind his tree and get a lay of the land. I continued on to the back side of the property and would do the same from that location in the valley. I used my new 3 legged walkstool and it worked great. I am really happy with this seat. After about 25 minutes of sitting I caught movement about 70 yards out and checked with the binoculars. A nice sized doe was eating leaves fromwhat looked like Mt. Laurel and standing on both rear feet to get at them. Then my radio crackled and I quickly powered it down. The doe slowly wandered up the ridge I was adjacent to and over the edge. The wind was not as bad as I suspected it might be, but there were intermittent stiff breezes. I suspected she might have picked up my scent if she continued uphill on that ridge. Brent radioed me, after I turned my unit back on, that he had seen a couple turkey pass by him in shotgun range, as well as a group of 8 deer. I decided to go over the ridge where that doe went and see if she was still around. I managed to get up on top very slowly and quietly by avoiding the dry leaves and walking on either moss or rocks. I got low and crawled up to the ridge. I peeked over and saw a nice doe and another deer looking opretty much right at me. I froze for about 3 minutes until they started eating again and backed off. They seemed to be heading downhill so I decided I would circle on my side of the ridge and try to head them off. I went down the ridge about 70 yards and snuck back up to the edge. I peered over and saw nothing. The laurel was very thick. I waited quietly and scanned for movement when I felt the breeze pick up. The all at once deer were moving everywhere. I watched approximately 15 deer move away down the valley at a trot. They went up the adjacent hill. My guess is that they winded me when that breeze picked up. I was out on a peninsula part of the ridge where it meets the valley and there was a bit of swirling going on there. Brent and I both still hunted our way up the Mountain and I met him near the top of my ridge. I sent him back down where I came from, and I went toward his tree again. I cleared a thick laurel patch and was trying to get a reading on my gps when I bumped a deer that must have been bedded down right behind Brent’s tree. Who knows if it would have been there had he hunted from his climber like he usually does….but aint that always the way! We tried to head off the animal again via the radio, but we did not see any sign of it again. I used the longbow and have been hitting very well with it lately. I think the main thing is the length and less finger pinch. I may need to get a new takedown longbow before we go to CO again this year. I am just not sure which kind. I love the 69 inch length but that is too much to fly with without a TD system. I might look at the Hill bows. Still no pictures as my camera broke last week.

Mike's new MOAB

I ended up giving Mike M. my refurbished osage hunting knife, I had earlier wrote about making, for Christmas. I knew it would just sit with me and it deserved to be hunted with. Little did I know it would go with the new MOAB longbow he had ordered! He sent me this picture....

I think they look pretty good together!

Summer in January - 011212

After meeting my brother at lunchtime to exchange firewood and some trad books I lent him, I realized how gorgeous the weather had become! It was January 12, 2012, and the sun was shining and temps were expected to peak near 60 degrees. A cold front was forecast for the next day along with high winds. It was just too nice to stay at work. I went back to the office, spoke with my supervisor, and powered down my computer. Time to hit the woods for the afternoon! I brought along my 69 inch Hoyt longbow and homemade back quiver. It was very nice to be able to dress lightly without wool longjohns in January. I started up the mountain and I entered the woodline making my customary 5 minute “look and listen” stop before proceeding. I heard leaves rustling nearby over a small multiflora choked rise. I worked slowly in that direction, picking my way along. It was easy to move quietly in the still wet leaf litter of the rains that morning. Suddenly I saw a small object moving and I froze. It was a pinkish- flushed bobbing turkey head highlighted by the bright sunlight. It curiously moved closer to me at about 15 yards giving a few soft curiosity puts and I noticed a second bird’s head above the rise. After several minutes it seemed to relax and the second bird began to feed again. It began moving back to join its sister, but would head bob and keep glancing back toward me. At about 25 yards I had my opportunity; it went behind a small tree trunk. All in one motion I drew the longbow back to my cheek, as the bird cleared the far side. There you have it! I made a successful stalk and was at full draw on the wariest of forest game at 25 yards broadside. “Shame, these opportunities do not occur during the open season”, I thought as I eased the bow back down to brace height. The birds slowly worked their way up the mountain as I followed behind slowly…staying about 30-40 yards back the entire time. I can only guess they figured by this time I was not a threat and just kept moving ahead of me…they would stop and feed periodically as they picked their way up through the tangled and congested bedding area. It was a wonderfully relaxing stalk as I slowly worked through the forest, feeling the warm sun on my back. It was a very quiet and peaceful place that I felt to be becoming a part of. Still I could hear the distant drone of planes and traffic, the sharp toned voices from the direction of a nearby house, but they seemed like foreign sounds to me now. The woods are completely open this time of year, offering wide views for the wary animals. I eased out of the thick bedding area and into the open hardwoods, trying to use any available cover as I moved along. I moved slowly from tree to tree, stopping to scan the hillside above me with my 8x31 power binoculars. I scanned from right to left along a bench lip, and spotted a doe standing. It would have been easy to miss had I not been accustomed to looking for deer outlines and head silhouettes. I knew by the way the winds were shifting; I would have a hard time of it, but started moving in her direction using what little cover I had. Sure enough, by the time I moved within 70 yards of her last location she had moved on, and away. I sat on the edge of this bench for about an hour reflecting on the two encounters I had had on the way up. Spotting a whitetail before it sees you, and moving within trad bow shooting range of wild turkey was quite an accomplishment this time of year. I watched the sun poke below the adjacent hilltop and the shadows slowly encroaching upon the landscape eerily devoid of squirrel activity. I got up from a long ago fallen chestnut oak I was sitting on to stretch. Before I began my slow stalk downhill toward the truck, I decided to exercise the bow arm. Shooting downhill was good practice. I bumped the bottom of my back quiver with my bow hand and slid a blunt tipped douglas fir arrow from the quiver. Approximately 25 yards downhill was an ancient deadfall. Rust in color and the consistency of a wet sponge, this was an ideal backstop. A small part of a leaf the size of a quarter was highlighted against the fallen beast’s side. I drew, and fired watching my arrow spiral in a perfect ball of gold and black fletching toward the target. Such simplistic beauty! The arrow suddenly dropped sharply and impacted about 2 and a half feet low of the target. I immediately knew my mistake. One needs to shoot this longbow “strongly” in comparison to my dainty feeling recurves. I had failed to reach full draw and my heavy doug fir fell short. I repeated the exercise with my second blunt tipped arrow. I concentrated, felt the deep “thump” of my loose bowgrip, and watched the fletching lodge deeply touching the bottom edge of my tiny target. Amazing how it all works when I do my part. It is also wonderful how quiet the bow shoots these heavy arrows. I moved down the hillside and into the field edges as 5 o’clock came and went. I could see the tracks of a running deer down the trail ahead of my prevailing scent, as the wind was now against me. I continued to move slowly, noiselessly, and deliberately stopping to pause every few slow steps in the darkening dusk. As I passed a hedgerow opening a cottontail exploded 4 feet from my starboard side and within two hops was gone. No chance to even think about drawing the bow. It was nice to see this fellow nonetheless. I walked several nearby brush piles in search of other targets, but none were present. I eased back to my truck, and for no reason continued to open the doors quietly and slowly prepared for the drive home. I had a sense of peace, calmness, accomplishment, and fulfillment all at the same time. It was enough to walk these places and experience these things in the pursuit I love. I was grateful for the time afield, and blessed to have such opportunities and freedoms at this place and time in our short existences. It was just a simple walk in the woods with a light weight and ancient weapon. There were no kill shots, no pressure, no other hunters, and no disappointments. It will be a hunt long remembered. This is what hunting is about.

Chris's woes continue

Got a shot on a nice doe on Saturday evening. Came out of the rectangle area with two yearlings following. Gave me the head bob then dismissed me and came on. Stopped even with me at about 25-30 yards. Similar situation to my last one, hit a little to far back on a 30 yard shot , standing still. Complete pass through and sticking in the ground, red blood from top to bottom complete, but dark red. No slime , no smell, was clearly a liver hit with a three blade woodsman elite head – very sharp. Gave it about an hour, went back to the truck, dropped gear, met Tom and then we went back on the trail. I thought I had heard it possibly go down. Took us another hour to find my tree in the dark, that area is really level and confusing. Found the spot, put Tom on the trail and I went ahead to where I heard some ruckus following the shot. Found the trail there and called Tom down. We got about 75 yards of trail but then lost it at a point where it went between two trees and we had spray on both trees. Hung up a hat and came back at dawn. Got a general direction track after that last spot found where it had stopped and stood for a minute or two and dropped a small puddle, then no more trail. Searched the surrounding areas from 7-11am with no luck, covered miles and the nastiest brush I could find. Found one small smear on a vine down near the bowl (about 150 yards from the last sign), which when I talked to Tom turned out to be where he had bumped one on his way out, before knowing I had shot one. Looks like it headed his way and then who knows after bumping into him though it sounded like it went back West. I still searched all the areas I would have and had that info while I was out there. I thought I would have a consistent trail with the pass through but it really didn’t give much. Very disappointed. I’m thick headed but I think its finally getting through that I need an aiming aid. I can hit a playing card at that distance (25-30 yards) on most shots but I still have trouble on a deer – getting down to a small focus. I am shooting the whole chest and of course missing by just a little. I’ve got to take these marginal shots and get into the chest with them. Fear of the shoulder blade is keeping me to far back. I am going to go back to a sight pin, it always made it so much easier to get on a small point when I had to use the pin. The bow is still efficient and fast enough it’s just getting the focus on a small point that I keep blowing. I think one pin set at about 27 yards is what I need to get out of this marginal territory. On a good note the population in there is still thick and heavy, found huge trails, good size tracks, lots of fresh poop. Prior to the shot on the doe had 4 does and a spike come in to about 100 yards downwind of me at about 4:15pm but they smelled me and reversed course back by Tom. In total we counted 12 different deer that we are sure of. Thinking about taking some time for a Tuesday afternoon hunt, will be working at Aberdeen and can get out early. Chris

Backyard camera pull had a surprise

Looks as if one of these does has a dog collar on! Does not look like a DNR one. Someone must have a "wild pet".

I also have this 9 point buck having a standoff with a fat raccoon. No pictures during daylight though.

Scoungey one is back again with the rest.

My friend Mike gave me some local secret ingredient feed/attractant to test out. I am not sold on the idea it is better then corn yet though. We'll see tomorrow.

finally some meat in the freezer on the last day of firearms season

It has been a tough season for me this year no matter what type of weapon I was using. I have had plenty of misses and misfires with the flintlocks this season. I opted to hunt with the Gewer 98 carbine circa 1898, that my dad “sporterized” many years ago. This gave me a little more range then the shotgun with no slug barrel. My plan was to put Brent in his climbing stand location, and I would sit until around 9am at the back edge of the bedding area behind him. After that, I would get up and go uphill to find the property boundary for the park and circle his position hoping to drive something by him. The weather was super and I enjoyed my sit, watching the sunrise. I saw that same large coyote that is reddish brown in color, but it never gave me a shot or came very close. I saw her with a standard grey early in the bow season. No action, so I got up and started my slow stalk uphill. I found a boundary of blue painted trees and these tree-house style stands, but no park boundary. I thought it would be well marked, but maybe not on the south end?? I walked to the crest of the hill but no park boundary. Coming back down I decided to mark the stand and corner boundary location on my gps and get a couple pictures of it below:

While I was programming the information in to my gps, I hear the distinctive sound of many deer approaching from uphill. A line of 8 – 10 deer started coming down and crossing just downhill from me. I scooted toward the edge of the small cliff I was atop to get in better position. They approached and crossed into our property side (or close to it). I was going to wait until they passed me, and I was sure they were on the property, but felt the breeze on the back of my neck. It was now or never. I picked out what looked like the biggest doe in the bunch (no bucks I could see), and squeezed the trigger……..click……OH NO! MISFIRE!!! You must be kidding me! I worked the bolt and ejected the round. The doe was watching me now, but the line was moving so it stepped forward…other followed. By this time some of the lead deer were quite close to me and I was very tense. I saw another large one, but it had stopped with branches blocking the vitals. I was very nervous now….. I wondered how I had gotten myself in this predicament with a rifle that should be so easy to harvest a deer with! The big doe finally stepped forward in the opening and stopped, but now there was another deer directly behind it. The deer behind moved forward leaving the big gal slightly quartering toward me with a clear shot. I fired and the deer immediately turned a 180 and bolted at high gear downhill…but she kept going…..and going….and I watched her and her mates cross a valley and work up the adjacent hill about 200 yards away! What the heck! I missed??? Again??? I was pretty dejected as the shot was at most 45 yards. The closest deer, who was only about 12 yards from me and just below the rise I was on, was still there trying to figure out what had happened. I worked the bolt and she heard it and took off to join the rest. I could have probably killed that one with the bow if I was patient and she ended up that close. I was almost tempted to not even check because of the distance that doe covered seemingly in good health, but I approached the spot of the shot and found blood. Not a whole lot, and it petered out after about 25 yards. I saw where the group had crossed the valley, so I went there and immediately found more blood. Finally halfway up that hill I found her. The round took out her left lung and liver. I was thinking I rarely get deer running that far with the bow.

I had to drag her many hundreds of yards uphill with my 550 cord pull up rope (forgot my drag rope) to get back to the truck. I was pooped! She dressed out at 100 pounds. Brent and I enjoyed our traditional "heart and eggs" victory meal and joyously butchered the deer between jack Daniels shots for the rest of the afternoon. Mike Mongelli even came over to help in the final stages.

Angela and I attended a work sponsored dinner at a German restaurant in Hagerstown that evening and I had just enough time to get cleaned up. It was a German day all around from the rifle I used in this hunt, down to the dinner meal. Now I have some meat and a few more days to get another with the bow….or try to anyway…..

010412 evening bowhunt

I had the opportunity to get out and hunt in my backyard spot for a few hours yesterday evening. It was very cold and overcast, and the wind was perfect.

Unfortunately, the deer never showed up. I did stay very warm despite the cold teens temperature with my wool.

Chris's New Years weekend bow hunt

Didn’t get out Saturday or Monday but Tom did. He took this BB on Saturday morning. Actually I went out late on Saturday morning and worked my way toward the back of the bowl, paused for a morning stop near the top of the bowl and thought I heard a shot and some crashing. I worked to the back of the bowl but had a coughing fit and decided it was not doing me any good being there so I packed up and left. Think the crashing I heard was the Button Buck that avoided me and walked down into Tom. He had kicked up a large group as he was walking in that morning, estimated 10. Hit this one through the neck and it went up the hill and dropped. He was back to my house by 1000 am and had the deer on ice by 11:00am. Of course he looked like some bizarre urban hill billie with that puppy strapped on the back hood of a Honda accord….. Think I’m finally kicking this flu/cold, maybe will get out later this week with Dave for some Duck/Goose. Couldn’t get out Monday either but think I’m on the mend now other than the ears. Have to get them looked at on Thursday – from the muzzleloader malfunction.