SCOUTING FOR DEER 2013 is Sponsored by, ThermaCELL, ACCESS Original Roll-Up Cover, Bowhunting Adventures Magazine and BowTube.com.
Getting together as much information as I can about what’s going on in my deerhunting area is a big deal to me. I use game cameras, walk the woods checking previously good spots, glass clearings and fields, ad do some old fashioned “sitting in the deer woods”.
Every year, it seems like I’m not as ready as I want to be. And that’s the way it is now. There’s still woods to check out and some more “sitting in the woods” would be helpful. But it is the way it is.
Right now my first deerhunt is the next step. For years I’ve been using pictures as a way to see what deer are where, and when; some were pictures I took, some were game camera pictures from my 5 SpyPoint trail cameras.
This year I put SpyPoints at a few new areas. One of the bucks that got its picture taken was this 10-point.
A mile away I got pictures where I created a mineral pit several years ago. This 10-point got his picture taken several times on the SpyPoint there.
In the picture below you can see my ladderstand. This area is on a hillside adjacent to a field. The hillside a good deer funnel and I’ve hunted it in the past, but not where this picture is. Grapes are currently falling and both deer and wild hogs are gobbling them down. The wild hogs have a more destructive mind set and have rooted and dug up the ground.
On a recent vigil I got a picture of the buck below as he worked a scrape. This particular buck has a history with me and he’s been on my “to-do” list since 2010. That year I passed on him opening morning because I wanted to see what else was around. But I coulda, shoulda because the few times I saw him later on he was out of bow range. Last year I was on him in 3 different places and I saw him several times and got some pictures of him. A doe led him up by my ground blind and he stopped 18 yards away, facing straight on. That was my only shot opportunity and I don’t take straight on shots. So I didn”t shoot. I did not see him all year but he suddenly showed up on September 23.
Below is a crab claw 10-point inon of the new areas.
Back at the mineral pit the 10 point walked by the SpyPoint on Sept 16. The picture came out black and white but it’s nearly 7:30am, a perfect hunting time.
A minute later he was coming back the other way.
I saw the 10-point with the long brow tines from a nearby hog hunting stand. Sure am glad he is still in the area.
The mineral pit has other visitors, such as these fine Rio Grande gobblers.
This is different buck, his G2 points are inches shorter then the G3’s and his brow tines are very short.
While the picture taking was going on Billy Don, Collin Cottrell and I plowed and seeded 4 different food plots. I’ll bring you, as well as me, up to speed on them in a couple of days. But right now the season has began for this year’s archery deerhunting. I’ll start making posts on that as the hunting happens.
SCOUTING FOR DEER 2013 is Sponsored by, ThermaCELL, ACCESS Original Roll-Up Cover, Bowhunting Adventures Magazine and BowTube.com.
