My 2010/11 whitetail season is officially over. After taking the doe with my rifle I seemed to have lost the drive to pursue my quarry. Even with the rifle in the safe and bow in hand I would only enter the woods three more times.

The latest hunt was on Eric’s lease and man what a spot. The morning of the hunt we linked up at a predetermined location and made the short truck ride to the property. Upon arrival we unloaded our ATVs and rode a short distance into the wood. The remainder of the distance would be covered by foot and what a workout it turned out to be.

After failing to capture my archery buck hunt on video I made a decision moving forward to pack my gear into the woods, no matter how challenging. This hunt was no different. With my climber on my back and bow in my hand we began our trek into the woods. What about the backpack you ask? Eric offered to carry it to which I reluctantly agreed.

Our hat lights guided each step through the dark and tangled landscape. Further and further up the mountain we climbed until reaching its peak. The dark backdrop was contrasted by lights from street lamps, homes and vehicles. This was the perfect spot to finalize our setup and take a breather.

After finalizing the game plan we began the descent down the side of the mountain. After a short hike we reached our mark and split up wishing each other luck. Given this was my first time hunting the area I spent 15 minutes or so checkout the terrain and deciding on where to setup. This was time well spent given how thick the area was. After pruning a few branches back I began my climb. Read More of Change of Scenery

It’s been a while since I’ve stepped foot into the whitetail woods. As a matter of fact I haven’t been in the woods since December 17th. With an archery buck and a rifle doe in the freezer I’ve lacked motivation. Truth be told, my mind has started to focus on preparing spring turkey hunting and bass fishing. That’s not to say the rut has gone unnoticed. Even though I haven’t witnessed any rut activity yet my friends and relatives have all shared reports. One such report came from Eric, a former coworker and friend.

Eric is hunting a 200 acre lease really close to my home. So far he’s taken a nice 9 point buck and a doe or two from the property. During the Christmas break Eric and I played phone tag and finally caught up with each other at the beginning of the New Year. During our conversation he extended the invitation to hunt with him on the lease. This was an invitation in which I gladly accepted. This brief conversation paved the way for our Jan 14th hunt.

Our plan was to meet up around 4:45 am and head to the property. ATVs would carry us three quarters of the way with the balance being hiked in on our not so young legs. I’m relying on my workout routines to assist me in lugging in climber and backpack, which will be loaded with hunting gear and camera equipment. Read More of Crawl, Walk & Run

With the morning hunt over and the images of deer and turkey fresh on my mind I contacted Dean and Mark to share my experience. The story got Dean fired up. So much so that he joined me for the afternoon hunt.

We left the house around 1:30 pm and got settled into the hunt around 2:50 pm or so. The afternoon hunt was different than the morning hunt in that I transitioned from bow to rifle. Another change was a transition from tree to ground. With a good idea of where the deer were bedding we sat patiently. Extreme detail was paid to the surroundings. The ground level view revealed rubs on cedars that I completely missed while perched in my climber. Sitting on the ground provided a contrasting perspective. Squirrels that normally scamper around freely gathering acorns, only to lose them later, were shocked to see me as they approached the base of my tree.

As the sun slowly fell from the sky I picked up on what I thought were deer moving from the right of my position. I locked on the area but did not see any movement. I glanced back at Dean, who was leaning against his backpack scanning the area with binoculars. He did not seem to see any activity either. As time passed the sun fell lower and lower. I started to wonder if the deer would show up. In anticipation I repositioned myself and recorded a few cutaway shots just in case.

Around 3:30 I heard more movement in the same vicinity as previously mentioned. Again I locked on the area. This time I saw the body of a deer walking atop the ridge leading to the main trail. Read More of More Meat in The Freezer (Part II)

Saturday morning I hunted solo at the hunting club. I woke up around 4:30 am and left the house around 5:30 am. By the time I arrived at the property 6:00 am was staring me in the face and I needed to get a move on. Knowing Mark was going to show up around the same time I hung around for a few minutes. After 10 minutes I fired up the ATV and slowly crossed the higher than normal creek. Reaching the other side of the creek I kicked the ATV into 5th gear and flew up the mountain.

On the way up the mountain mud flew from each tire of the ATV, dense puffs of exhaust cleared the muffler as the headlights penetrated the thin wall of darkness. Upon reaching the spot I routinely unloaded my bow, climber and backpack. With the gear unloaded and secured I headed into the woods were I must have spent over 10 minutes trying to determine which tree I would hunt from. After making a decision I began the climb. Another 10 minutes or so passed before I was ready to knock out my PB&J sandwich and settle into the hunt.

The area I hunted was the same area I hunted last week. This time however I hunted a primary shelf instead of the secondary. Talk about a deer’s paradise. Rubs, scrapes and bedding areas can be readily found. To my left was a gradual slope leading to a secondary shelf which was made up of thick vegetation, mature oak trees and a mine field of moss covered rocks. In front of my position stood a thick grove of sapling trees surrounded by a seasoned army of oaks while to the right sat a weathered faced steep rock shelf. My back was exposed to immature and mature oaks, cedars and maple trees.

As I patiently sat layers of condensation built on my facemask with each inhale and exhale. The morning was cold, despite the sun rising over the mountain. As the sun rose higher and higher its heat began the evaporation process. A gentle NNW wind kept me hunkered down in an effort to combat the 31 degree temperature. The morning was perfect. Ever the videographer I turned on the camera and tried to capture the environment.

Around an hour into the hunt I heard leaves moving. I quickly transitioned from hunkered down mode to predator mode. Read More of More Meat In The Freezer (Part I)