Overcoming issues

This hunting season opened with me harvesting a spike on opening day. I was thinking I was in for a great season. Then came spending only about 10 hours ( and not on the same day) of hunting during the rest of November. Not a big deal since here in Alabama the season goes through January 31. But as December came in, I am back to the woods. I put myself in some great locations and get shots at not one but three different deer. Two of which were very big mature bucks. I missed all three. I know that I'm just like everyone else I miss sometimes. But I don't normally miss more than once a year. I start questioning myself. I know that last year to finish the season my rifle started jamming so I put it in the shop. This year I was using a borrowed rifle. My father in law loaned me his extra which was the same make and style as mine. I sighted it in and was comfortable with it until I missed. I just chalked it up as just getting nervous until it happened again. The second time was at the first of the bucks. I re sighted the rifle and found that some how the scope had been knocked off. I am comfortable with the gun again and less than a week later I'm back in the woods. I get to my stand before daybreak, and after about 2 hours I see movement. It is a big 7 point I aim, fire, MISS. So much for a great season of filling the freezer. But I am an over comer the rest of this year will be iron sights. Sometimes we can plan every detail and issues that are out of our control just happen. We just have to overcome.
On a brighter note my oldest son who is 9 was with me when I missed the first buck. We have never seen a buck when he was with me. He is very excited and can't wait to go again. He also saw dad handle difficulty and deal with it without over re acting. Both lessons were great for him to see. I enjoyed hunting with my son even if I missed.

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.

Deer Season is Coming

Here it is October in Alabama. Cooler weather came this week, making me long to be in the woods. I went out and hung my trail camera today. I put it in a natural funnel where many deer trails come to a point. While I was out I observed that some trees had fallen blocking some areas that deer travel. As I looked I found trails the deer are now using. Many of which are easier for me to be able to hunt with out spooking the deer. It was great just being back in God's creation. I'm looking forward to the upcoming season.

Unique Deer

If you have been following deer hunting over the years or are a hunter who is passionate about deer hunting. You will know about unique deer such as the Hole in the Horn buck , the Louisiana Freak, the Missouri Monarch, or Milo Hanson's typical world record. Just to name a few. Or talk to hunters and see what kind of bucks they dream of taking. Most will tell you they dream of taking drop tine bucks or something different that many other hunters never get a chance to see. These are the reasons we love to see big unique deer on our magazine covers.
I am no different. I would love to harvest a big buck that most hunters have not had a chance to ever see. I used to think that this may just be a dream that might never happen. But then as I think back on my hunts from the past I remember 3 different opportunities where I got chances to see very unique deer that most hunters only dream about. One was a massive drop tine buck. He is safe because he lives in an area where hunting isn't allowed. Another I had a solid black doe walk in front of my stand.At first I thought I was seeing a black dog. By the time I knew it was a deer it was to late to get a shot. And finally I was scouting public land in the summer one year and got a chance to see what I thought was an albino 8 point buck. As I got closer I saw he had brown under his antlers, black eyes and hooves. That is when I realized I was seeing a piebald instead of an albino.
I also know that I have been blessed to have been allowed to see such amazing and different deer that my God has created. If you ever get this kind of opportunity take time to reflect on God's awesomeness.