HuntDays

Thanksgiving Bucks

2012-12-01T09:35:00.001-08:00

Buck in the scope, staring right at me as I contemplated whether or not to take the neck shot as I checked the rack to make sure it was the same deer we had jumped earlier... I could clearly see his rack was taller and wider than his ears but could not count points as he was directly facing me. Different thoughts went through my head as I decided to take the shot or not. The 6mm is always dead on, was a short 30 yard shot and I had my pointer back at the cabin if I needed to track the deer, it was still a narrow window through the planted pines and I decided to wait for his next move to gain a better angle.
We had jumped this buck and doe a few hours earlier on the drive back from the morning hunt and only got a glimpse of the 2 deer before they hopped the fence and disappeared into the swamp. It was clear this was a young doe born early enough to come into estrus its first year, making a tempting situation for any buck this late in the season. As we watched the buck follow the doe into the oaks we all agreed it was a shooter as he was tall, and much wider than his ears.
Once back at camp we ate lunch and watched some football before taking a nap until the evening hunt. After about 15 minutes I woke up thinking about that deer and having a new motivation to find some deer moving on the ranch. I decided to get back out and walk the pine blocks hoping to find some deer bedded down such as the ones we jumped earlier. Walking along slowly I crept up on several groups of hogs and turkeys but not a single deer until back at the spot where we jumped the doe and buck earlier. I didn't see the doe until right on her pine row and quickly got the gun up, she had an eye on me but wasn't too spooked as I glassed for the buck behind her and sure enough there he was! Right behind her a few rows directly facing me and clearly more interested about her than in me. After a 30 second staredown he finally turned to head further back in the pines and I took a broadside shot. The doe quickly bounced off into the next block but I did not see the buck...
As I sat where I shot and glassed the pines where they fed I began to run through scenarios of shooting over the buck, it was a quick shot from standing position, I was certainly shaking a bit after the staredown and was worried. the 15 minutes I waited seemed like an eternity until I got up to check for blood. I got to where I shot the deer and found nothing, not a single drop. Frustrated I left my hat to mark where I shot and thought it was best to go back to the cabin and get my dad and pointer to start the task of tracking the buck, 2 steps away from where I hit the deer there he was on the bottom portion of the next pine row!
I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat by the buck and saw how much prettier he was up close. I hit him a inch high behind his shoulder and couldn't have planned it better if I wanted to, truly something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.

The week before the holiday I hit the ducks pretty hard, finally warming up to shooting after a few hunts and getting some wood ducks for some nice camp appetizers. All in all it was a pretty good week.

Patterning & Final Touches

2012-10-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

Set up a few cameras on some nice rubs I've been watching the past few weeks and got some promising pics and videos. The does and fawns were moving all hours of the day, the bucks however seem to be feeding and moving during the night and early light of the morning which is going to make it a hard hunt trying to catch them coming through after shooting light. Glad this camera has night capability so it could still catch the details at dark. The best buck I have so far is a nice tall 7 pt with nice body mass, and a few spikes and first year bucks. Almost all of the deer stopped and checked the rub as well as picked the top branches of a oak for anything left to feed on, all the mature bucks got in some thrashing and scraping. Overall got some great video and learned alot about the patterns so far and even had a few surprise boar hogs, bobcat and coyote. I tried my best to get in and out without smelling the spot up too much but I can still see in the first few videos that the deer are running through and skittish until the smell gets blown out. Really hope to pull a successful deer hunt out of here when I hit it next week!

The only dayshot I caught this buck on

Good view for some rack details

Best video has to be this spike sensing somethings going on with the light, and smelling the camera...

Came back for a dove shoot and checked the cam again, caught this nice little fight between a spike and decent buck- can't see much detail on his rack but seems to have nice body mass.

Pre Season Deer & Ducks

2012-09-04T07:48:00.003-07:00

Done quite a bit of scouting the past few weeks for the approaching deer and duck seasons. Started out a bit dry and HOT... but had plenty of signs to keep motivated and checking on spots. The North Central Fl deer were confusing me for a bit as I was not finding any new scrubs in places I'd seen tons before and I suppose the rut was a bit behind or later than expected. As of Sept 4th I have only started seeing rubs within the past week, and some very promising ones! I moved a trail cam this weekend to a nice tall rub and hope to have some pics of the buck when I grab the cam in a few days.

This spot is Archery only for deer, and only season is a few weeks in October so I'm hoping to get some deer patterned and be ready to hunt them hard in the cooler weather- hopefully get my father to come up and harvest a nice deer from a cool area. Macy always finds some quail to kick up and practice pointing on which is always a plus since it's hard to find them many places.

On to the ducks... checked a few lakes in the area and am extremely grateful for the daily rains we have been getting as it slowly added up and turned some spots that were inaccessible a few weeks ago into flooded lakes with tons of water in the swamp. One spot gained so much water that i threw on the waders this past weekend and went out to do some scouting/ training with Macy in the surrounding swamp. Almost felt like I was in an Arkansas timber spot with all the water.

We ran through a bunch of retrieves with our new D.T. Systems dummy launcher which uses a .22 blank to launch the dummy, and gives quite a bang which is a good intro to gunfire and holding after the shot goes off. When we get out into the open lake to do some long retrieves it is really a plus how far this thing can launch bumpers and after a few retrieves a break is needed, one of the best training tools I've found.

All in all, this season that started out dry as a bone has taken a turn for the better with all the rain we have been getting. One last note, while driving to the office I am used to seeing lots of game as it is off a golf course, last week however I passed a doe with 3 fawns that still had spots so had to be pretty young, and way late in the deer cycle. I suppose the deer are so happy there with all the food and low pressure that they can go on their own schedule and support triplet fawns...

Used to foxes being on the course, but never had a coyote, this one kept grabbing our golf balls as we'd play making for a interesting round. Thought it may be a fox at first but the long tail and rounded ears had me curious and asking around to learn that its a young coyote.

Shed hunt

2012-02-12T15:53:00.000-08:00

Spent some time doing shed training with Macy a few months back and have yet to have any success up until this weekend. We hit the woods early to try and find out what the turkeys were up to and sat until 8 without hearing any flydowns or vocal birds. I've found a large number of rubs here so it seemed a good spot to let Macy try and find some sheds, and with the temp in the 30s it was way too cold to sit still any longer. I let her range out and tried to stay along the edges where I thought rublines were and sure enough she found something within 20 minutes of getting up! Her first find was a small 8 pt with both horns and skull attached, pretty clean but still had some hair around the horn bases and wasn't tore up at all.

We continued heading back to the jeep and I could see her ahead trying to drag something back to me, I assumed it was a piece of trash or something until I got up to her and saw another full rack, this one a massive 8 with a bit more weathering to it..

I hope these weren't shot and unfound bucks, both are very great Fl deer, but the chances of them being so close and naturally passing is not very likely.. as well as finding the full skulls and not individual sheds.. all in all a great shed trip as Macy seemed to remember the prior training we did- if anyone wants to try this out on their dog I highly suggest Dokkens shed training book, can be found here:

http://www.deadfowltrainer.com/

Triple Tom

2012-01-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

Had the opportunity to plan a turkey hunt ahead of time and worked out so that my dad and one of his brothers would meet my brother and I at the ranch which would make for some good times as we rarely have schedules that line up.. Turkey hunting with my dad is kind of a family pasttime for his brothers, as is with my brother and I.. Growing up I heard many great stories of them chasing birds and pictures of the brothers with a bird or 2 slung over his back, then luckily he and I had many turkey hunts that turned into stories told. My dad is literally possessed by turkey hunting, very little comes between him and opening day... the day after my brother was born he was at the ranch for opening day, I can even remember the only time he would take me to school was when we would hunt opening week and he'd drive me straight from the blind to school and sign me in late, needless to say we have plenty of confidence in his ability to put us in the right spots. My dad had a group of birds picked out and patterned beforehand so the 4 of us hit the woods the day before and made 2 blinds in the same clearing, 1 from each direction that the birds could go once they flew down. Knowing we had these birds roosted/ patterned I fully expected to be successful that first morning, then have the remaining days to work on a bird for whoever was left... I should have known better. We ended up having birds roosted right off our spot as planned each morning, but they did not cooperate with our plans and made us look like complete fools until the last morning with my brother taking the best gobbler in the group. My Uncle and I sat in the other blind and watched in amazement as the flock finally cooperated with my Dads calling and came into our setup, hens purring and gobblers strutting. No other place I'd be than in that swamp with my Dad, Uncle, brother, and those birds. While 3 of us left that swamp with no bird slung over our shoulders, we all had a smile as big as the on that did..

Thanksgiving Bling

2011-12-11T16:53:00.000-08:00

Made the drive down to SoFla for the Thanksgiving weekend and hoped to get out and set up on some Fl Mallards since they aren't all that common in North Fla. As usual my time home is busy between seeing friends, family and coaches.. with my first chance to get in a hunt on Thanksgiving morning. My buddy just got a new airboat so we decided to make the best of it and be back in time for some turkey and family time. I awoke before my alarm that morning eager to meet up, head to the ramp and have our spread out in plenty of time in order to be ready as the first flights started to move. To add some flair to our spread we put out 2 mojo rigs and watched as the spinning wings flashed in the growing light, and with no surprise they pulled ducks in like magnets! Well worth the money and extra prep involved, we also brought extra PVC poles so they were high enough to be seen over the cattails and sawgrass. My bud scored on the first bird of legal light and I followed suit a couple minutes after him. We each breathed a sigh of relief as we were done in plenty of time to be home before the turkey fryer was even heating up. I picked up dekes as I made my way to retrieve my bird with the only thing sticking out of the water was its bright orange foot.. along with a shiny piece of jewelry! My 1st band.. wouldn't have scored it with anyone else other than my buddy that was with me, one of my best friends since high school who coincidentally got his first band with me a couple hunts earlier on a nice Blue Wing Teal. Reported my band # to find that it was banded last season out of STA 4.

I know lots of guys stack bands on their lanyards but I put this one on my keys.. more than the luck or motivation it gives me to get ready for a hunt it is a daily reminder of a special hunt with my buddy. We were just as pumped up for the others band as we were for our own, made me realize that spending quality time in the blind or stand with a friend is just as special to me as chasing bands or having a successful hunt, it just so happens I'm lucky enough to do both at the same time on most hunts!

Ducks & Bucks

2011-12-10T16:56:00.000-08:00

A deer scouting tip I've picked up from my dad is keeping an eye out for scrapes while in the woods doing other hunts, and I thought I was pretty conscious of keeping an eye out for them even when in duck swamps.. that is until Macy started finding scrapes I walked by dozens of times on the way to a cypress pond.. she'd be working in front of me on the walk in then lock up smelling a spot, I'd go check it out thinking she had something- and clear as day there'd be a scrape.. She'd found a few the same way then I figured out the scrapeline was along the edge of the swamp and found a couple others.. this was during the Fl rut so I imagine the rubs were pretty smelly from being frequented often, probably a young buck since it's using small trees and scraping close to the ground.

With the high water last season I had to take the boat to hunt this same spot and found this little buck while poling the boat in about 20 yards from the shoreline.. only a couple inches deep so couldn't have drowned.. had plenty of healthy body mass, no visible wounds.. only thing I can think of is maybe hunters were running dogs and it ran itself to exhaustion..

Merganser Heaven (Cattle Pond)

2011-12-10T15:53:00.000-08:00

Checked out a few water holes during our Thanksgiving week deer hunt to see if any ducks were moving.. Sat at this cattle pond a few mornings and it was buzzing nonstop with groups of Mergansers flying in, feeding for a bit then flying out. The hole has such a quick dropoff and is so deep that there's little vegetation and has clear water so I assume they were diving for crayfish at the bottom. I held off on downing any Mergs as I shot a pair last season only to discover that they weren't the best eating bird (understatement). So until I check some ducks off my mount list and want to mount one the Mergansers are safe from me.

A unique spot that is a stones throw from a huge wetland- has potential to be a good location to encourage some plants along the edges and see if any other ducks can be pulled in..

After sitting at this pond a few mornings and not seeing any sign of gators it seemed to be the perfect spot to do some retriever training and even hop into during the first weeks of deer season when it is unbearably hot, being so deep it surely holds water during the driest seasons. That is until I walked in for a look in the afternoon and this nice sized lizard was sunning on one of the few open spots.. wasn't so much surprised of the gator as I was that he'd been there previously unknown to me with zero vegetation to hide in.. glad my dad talked me out of letting Macy hop in when I was sure it was gator-free!

The steady groups of mergansers pouring in/ out was a good refresher for Macy on keeping still even when birds land in the water.. wish I had a camera setup to take some pics of such pretty birds..

While sitting in the deer stand I googled away on my phone for some info about Mergansers and what they are doing while in Fla.. They are one of the farthest traveling waterfowl, are notorious for laying eggs in active woodduck nests unbeknown to the hen woodduck, and a number of recent wildlife photography contests were won by pictures of Mergansers..

The following Monday I was back to the normal routine. After my first morning class I have a break that I use to catch up on any emails/ projects, if the weathers nice I'll sit by a little pond right outside my class building.. after sitting at this spot for a few minutes I hear some splashing, and see about a dozen Mergansers on this pond, with the hooded drakes chasing eachother and courting the hens. I fully thought I was hallucinating, seeing these rare waterfowl by the dozens even when I'm in a large city..

Macys 1st woodduck!

2011-03-28T12:24:00.000-07:00

Went into my local woodduck spot this morning to try and get in a hunt before class. It's a quick hunt because I can drive out, walk in the swamp, toss out a few decoys, wait for the woodies to fly out from their roost, and if successful I'm home in time to grab my books and be at 8:30 class. It's a bit weird watching some of my teammates headed to morning practice on their scooters as I drive through campus on the way to hunt... Leaning against a cypress in the woods listening for ducks to announce their approach is a piece of cake compared to a 2 hour workout! I brought Macy since it was a bit cold and I had a tiny leak in my waders- if things came together and I could shoot straight she could retrieve my birds without me having to get wet/ cold.. luckily things panned out and Macy got to retrieve her 1st wood duck- a beautiful drake that flew by in small group. I couldn't have had a bigger smile on my face as she swam back in to me with her drake! Gave me a feeling I imagine my father had when taking me on some of my first hunts... I'm sure I missed a few birds flying out while I took her picture with the drake and sent to my dad but oh well... there's always tomorrow...

Snapped this pic as soon as she came in..

Solid ice on the water!

2011-03-28T12:17:00.001-07:00

Hunted a public spot this weekend with a buddy, the coldest Fl morning I've ever seen with the truck reading 13 degrees as the temp on the drive to the ramp. Backing the boat down into the water we actually had to break through ice on the water- in hindsight we were glad that we were the first ones at the ramp or we would have been met with a ramp of ice from the other trailers pulling out. Only shot 1 Blue Winged Teal that landed in the spread but was one of my memorable hunts to think of due to the cold weather and toughing it out with one of my best buds! We hunkered down hoping more birds would move as the sun got higher to no avail and ended up the day with a stalk on a group of ringers that earned us 4 drakes.

Here's my bud and his teal on a 1/4 inch piece of ice! Never thought I'd have the boat running through ice like that!

On another duck hunt during this cold front I found this gator while walking out... I suppose it was just in a deep coma mode trying to tough it through the cold night and warm up once the sun rose. I am under the impression the big gators hole up during these cold fronts so they aren't as vulnerable.

On a sidenote.. similar to this gator I was handicapped a great deal by this freeze, not so much in my body but more in my equipment. As I was driving to the lake in the morning I noticed a small amount of ice on my windshield and without thinking I used my spray and wipers to clear it off. The combination of liquid, temperature and highway speed turned my whole windshield to SOLID ice. Luckily the highway is empty at 5:30 a.m. and no traffic had to slow down as I drove the last couple miles with my head peeking out the window to see. I still had ice on the windshield hours later on the drive home and had to scrape out a spot to see, lesson learned the hard way I suppose..

Afternoon Woodduck

2011-03-27T16:27:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures from our last hunt of the season..went to a local hole for the afternoon hunt and was able to pull a drake woodduck from a group I jumped while walking in.. missed the other drake in the group, can use it for motivation to practice shooting this offseason.. A memorable hunt since I rigged up some decoys I was handed down by a old friend and added them to my simple spread I bring to this walk in spot..