Opening Day

Well opening day of (gun) deer season came here in Alabama. As I stated in an earlier post, I was going to try hunting in area that no one ever hunted on our property . I started my morning hunting right in a corner of our land next to the property line. About a hour into the hunt the I started hearing movement from the other side of the line. Next 3 does came by me like their tails were on fire. Then I heard someone talking from the other property. Well that is part of hunting sometimes. But my strategy worked the deer were moving where we never hunted.After another hour and not seeing anything else. I decided to check the other areas we don't hunt. As I moved into this area, I spot a deer watching me. It looked like a doe and since it is doe season I shot and killed it. When I walked up on it I realized I had killed a spike with antlers that grew down following the ears. The antlers were completely hidden. Well I was thankful for fresh meat for the table, but I had also told my father in law I was going to try and harvest only older bucks. When he saw it he thought it was a nanny until he saw the antler. We were both fooled. Neither of us had ever seen any bucks that had antlers growing this way. Maybe next time it will be his big brother. But 2 out of 5 spots we never hunt had deer in them. It goes to show that while we pattern deer they also pattern us. Next time you can't seem to catch up with the deer, don't be afraid to try change.

The Lost Trophy

I have been checking out " Chasing Trophy Whitetails" lately on face book. When ever a picture of a nice buck is posted, the question is always asked," what will this deer score. To the point that when younger hunters kill small bucks and show their pictures they are criticized for not letting those deer grow. I am for deer management. But I was raised with the thinking that any animal harvested legally was a trophy. I also saw many hunters apologize for deer they harvested being too small. I hunt for meat first and antlers second. But I'm always proud of any deer I harvest. I think that we have missed it and need to get back to the lost trophy. We need to be proud of any animal we harvest by fair chase. Besides only the person who is hunting can decide if the animal is big enough or not.

Excitement

Here in Alabama, we are 9 days away from opening day of gun season. I am remembering all the years before as I counted down the days. In every memory of the night before opening day I see the excitement , sometimes even to the point of no sleep that all of us hunters have faced. It is like a child waiting for Christmas Day or the adrenaline rush athletes feel right before the big game. In my memories I remember that sometimes I didn't sleep and left for the woods very early. Back then I did most of my hunting on my grand dad's land. It never failed that no matter how early I got there before daylight opening day. It always seemed that my Pop already had a light on. Just as if he couldn't sleep either. I guess it doesn't matter the age we all get excited about opening day.
My Pop was who really influenced me the most about my deer hunting. He always just seemed prepared never anxious about opening day. When me and my cousins were still trying to decide which spot might produce the best,Pop would already know where he was going. He always had meat in the freezer. I can still hear his advice today, he would say " Deer are lazy, they don't want to climb the highest point on the mountain, they will always use the lowest area to cross." or " the deer will take the trail that is easiest, just like you would." Other older hunters advice worth repeating was, "find the water and you will find the deer, they get thirsty just like we do." or "look for the droppings, if you find the poop you will find the deer." I hope my thinking back in time will help someone else get ready for opening day. Good luck to all.

Looking for a Strategy

In Alabama, bow season is here and firearms season is now just 2 weeks away. I've had my trail camera out and have pictures of many does and a small 4 point. As I study all my pictures from this year and the past I noticed that the bucks I'm after are only being seen at night. Since our property is the area with the least amount of pressure I know the big boys are somewhere. Over the years I fallen into a routine of hunting the same stand sights. I hunt on 80 acres, sounds like a small amount. But I have found that big bucks will stay on a smaller tract of land if there is low hunting pressure. I have been studying aerial photos of my land along with my pictures. I marked all the stand sights me and my hunting companions use every year. A pattern of 5 different areas showed up of where we never hunt. I'm always looking for a new strategy on how to improve my hunting harvest. This year I plan to hunt in each of this 5 areas and with any luck I will connect with one of those elusive big bucks we all dream about. Sometimes a change in our old strategy is God directing our paths.
I believe that God should be in control over every aspect of our lives. I will be first to admit that I sometimes forget this. Life is better if we let Him control it all, even where we hunt. To some this might sound silly, but to those who have truly learned to trust in God's direction,they have grabbed hold of the best strategy.
Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own;it is not for man to direct his steps.