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Where are the deer hunters at?


Fish the Mitt

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Obviously this is a fishing forum first and foremost. However, a passion for fishing generally includes a passion for the outdoors - to include, to an extent, hunting. Ie: this hunting category.

 

So, where is everyone? How's everyones archery season been so far? Up here in MI, we are gearing up for the rut here in a couple weeks. Prerut activities have started as bucks have been chasing for a bout a week and a half. No longer hanging out in their bachelor groups. 

 

I look forward to hearing from some fellow hunter/fishing enthusiasts. 

 

Rick B

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hot weather and humidity have been keeping them pretty still so far.

was out last night for what seems like the first time it has been in the 40's and saw about 7 in 1.5hrs.

couple basket racks and does.  They were all very vocal and all very close.  Bucks were loners running their lines so seems like solid prerut here although we should be almost a month out from rut still.

did not bring my climber out and just my "lawn chair". was really fun being so close on the ground to them (10 yards).

 

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  • Super User

Its been warm here too.  I live in a suburb of Minneapolis and we haven't even had a frost yet (first normal frost is Oct 8)!  Tomorrow is a high of almost 70 and normal high this time of year is about 50.  I think the rut is mostly dictated by the length of daylight but warm temperatures definitely reduce the amount of daytime activity deer have.

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  • Global Moderator

I don't like being hot while I'm hunting so I haven't been yet. Looking forward to getting to hunt deer in my own back yard this year. Lots of a does and few bucks on the trail camera this past week. Hopefully get a couple before our baby gets here. 

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It's been warmer, that's for sure. Living in central Michigan, I've seen snow already and a handful of frosts. But every stretch we see favorible weather, we get a stretch of 70 degree weather. I shot a 10pt on opening day but after 2 days of searching, it was a no go (even brought the dogs out). Hit em a tad high and I think I stuck my arrow in the no go zone above the lungs. My first ever lost deer - pretty disheartening. 

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  • Global Moderator

Almost hit a deer in my driveway leaving for work tonight. Not how I want to get my first deer of the year, glad I hadn't got going too fast yet since there's no slamming on the brakes on gravel. 

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  • Global Moderator

Bought a ground blind and got it set up yesterday morning, hunted last night in the wind and 70 degree temps. Had a little fork hop the fence and spend the night trying to figure out what my blind was but he never spooked despite being downwind the entire night, so that was encouraging. It's cool to be able to get dressed, leave the house, and be hunting in 5 minutes too.

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  • Super User

We allow a guy to hunt with bow and arrow behind my house in the city of Richmond.

So far he has nailed one; missed two; and had one run away and he could not find it.

We think the herd is about 500 strong and walks in a big 10 to 15 mile circle around my area.

The guy averages around 12 a season as there are limits on how many he can take at any one time.

Virginia deer hunting season starts on November 5th and that is when the deer disappear, for some unknown reason.

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9 hours ago, Siebert Outdoors said:

I've bow hunted a couple times.  All I have seen are squirrels and chipmunks.  So far its been to hot for the most part.

The rush you get when one finally comes in to distance is unlike anything I've ever felt.. 

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I was out last weekend in Iowa and I will say that the big boys were running! We saw a shooter or two every sit just didnt have them close enough. We have been hunting this land for awhile and have never had a weekend like that...I guess thats what happens when you dont shoot a buck for a couple years haha. I will be out again this weekend with high hopes. The weather looks infinitely better then last weekend (highs in the 70's for friday, saturday, and sunday...

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I was going after a monster 12pt I had been seeing on the trail cam. I hunted hard for 4 days and didn't see the monster, but I saw this 9pt every single time out. I decided it was time to get out of the treestand and back to fishing, so I took the shot. I'm sure that 12pt walked right under my stand the very next morning..

Hopefully the big ones show up for you guys. The rut should be going strong. Good luck filling tags!

 

IMG_0747.JPG

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I sat out there for 8 days last week in central Minnesota for the 9 day gun season.  I went every day, all day, except last Sunday.  It wasn't very good.  I only saw a handful of deer and all of them were either at sunrise or sunset.  WAY too warm for deer hunting.  Almost 70 degrees on opening day.  I heard that a lot of venison was spoiled because of the warm temps.  I did manage to fill a management antlerless tag with a nice corn fed doe at 308 yards one evening so at least I'll have some meat in the freezer this winter.  What I did see a lot of every day was pheasants.  I saw at least 30 of those things every day.  Gonna be some good bird hunting in December.

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  • Global Moderator

Supposed to be in the 70's the next 2 days while I'm hunting, then 50's for highs and 20's for lows the next 3 days while I'm fishing a tournament at LOZ. I hate the weatherman. 

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  • Global Moderator

For the 3rd time this season, I had what would have been my largest buck I've ever taken walk just out of range. At one point he was within range, but quartering away from me at more of an angle than I was comfortable with so I watched him walk away and hop the fence. I didn't want to hit guts and ruin or possibly even lose a good deer. 

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6 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

For the 3rd time this season, I had what would have been my largest buck I've ever taken walk just out of range. At one point he was within range, but quartering away from me at more of an angle than I was comfortable with so I watched him walk away and hop the fence. I didn't want to hit guts and ruin or possibly even lose a good deer. 

This has been the story of the season for the other people that I am hunting with and was for me before the right doe walked by my stand. We are seeing some really impressive numbers of big deer this year...If Iowa had a gun season during the rut we would have had an unbelievable year. That being said, I am perfectly happy and prefer that Iowa doesn't have a season during the rut.

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Every year I see the same marks on bucks in the fall. I've always wondered what causes it. And I mostly see it on decent size bucks, rarely on small forks or spikes. I'm sure some of it is from scrapping with other bucks or ducking under fences. But I think some of it is from their own antlers rubbing on their backs when they raise their heads to rub their orbital glands on tree branches. I've watched it happen while sitting in a treestand. If the antlers are big enough, they can dig into the hair on their back when they raise up to rub their face on limbs around rubs and scrapes.

Not sure if that's actually what happened in your pic. Just a general theory I have. Hope you get a shot at him before rifle mayhem begins. 

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  • Global Moderator

Hadn't thought of that, I suppose their own antlers might be the cause of it as well.

I won't have a chance to go again until rifle starts on Wednesday, but as far as I know I'm the only one in the area that's hunting, so I'm not really worried about it. 

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  • Super User

Gun season just ended up here in Wisconsin. I don't know if the final numbers are out yet, but it was a pretty pathetic year for us. Deer kill numbers were down for I believe the 5th straight year. I didn't hunt every day, but of the days I did hunt, I didn't even see a little buck, and hardly any does. It was bad enough that I didn't hunt as much as normal just because I was seeing so few that it gave you zero confidence. I'm definitely envious of all these monster bucks being posted here! Keep up the good work and hope you guys harvest some of those giants!

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  • 2 weeks later...

So far gun season in NY, I have not seen anything but does and small deer.  Super windy most of the time.  Have seen bucks in the fields at night, but not moving in the woods during the day. 

Saturday, on the way out of the woods, one of my buddies spots a small deer bedded down.  It was so windy that the safest thing for this little guy was to stay in one place.  It did not move until my friend got within 20 yards of it.  He took a picture and I took a picture of him taking the picture.   After the picture taking, we kept walking away and the deer laid back down.  Just proves that generally on windy days, during daylight hours, a deer will not move until you give it a reason to; which is to walk right on top of it.

 

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  • Super User

93314D37-.jpg

Got this one this morning, first deer for me actually... I've got some meat now, I've been seeing a 6 and an 8 point on my cameras and I am not gonna shoot anything less than that this last week I'm here.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Congrats folks on some nice kill's,,,, :bravo-009:

 

Been pretty good so far but January is my favorite time of year for bow hunting. The colder it gets the better. I took 2 doe in November, but passed several, I don't like to take does till after the 15th of Nov. or after Indiana gun season opens. I hunt the state line area and hold out trying not to over disturb my hunting spots going after a 140" buck or better. I have killed numorus smaller bucks over the years and today if I don't mount them I don't shoot them. I will tag 6 deer this year I just hope I can find a suitable buck. 

 

I had a very nice borderline 140" the second week of November come in on me, and normally would have taken the shot. But 4 or 5 days earlier I had to back out of that section as on my way in there was a very nice buck doe'd up between me and my stand with no way to get there without spooking him. I seen him twice after that but at a distance. So now I wish I had either one come in close enough for a clean shot. 
 

But every year I save at least 2 tags for Public forest land down southern Ohio to hunt the last week to 10 days of season, so with our season going out the 5th of Feb. I still have 4 tags to fill,, it will be fun!

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