Hunting in the Snow – 12/10/2013

Headed out into Loch Raven last evening in the snow to one of my normal spots.  Tried a different tree location, one I haven't been sat in for a while now.  It sure was beautiful with the snow and you could see movement a long way away.  I had a view point as I was up on a little bit of a hill overlooking a bottom and a huge hillside off several hundred yards in front of me.   Got in my stand around 2:15, had spooked a fawn on the way in and saw fresh tracks that  looked to be no more than an hour old since it had just recently quit snowing.  The waiting began, and the longer I waited the colder it seemed as big chunks of snow kept coming down and hitting me in the head!

Around 4 PM I just happened to be watching the woods back off behind me rather than the woods in front of me, and I saw 3 deer including a small buck run down out of this other section of woods and cut across this bottom and then they were gone.  I am guessing they went up the other hill behind me which I couldn't see due to thicket.  When I saw then they were a good 300 yards away so not much good to me as I needed something 30 or less.  That was my excitement for the night I am sad to say. Nothing else seemed to be moving anywhere close by as I could see hundreds of yards in most directions and normally this is an area you see deer, they just aren't always close enough to shoot.  So, as the sunset I called it a night and came home to get warm, and dry my neck off!

Today, while working I was out driving around a lot and over the course of the day I must of seen 30 - 40 maybe even 50 deer.  At one point I saw a group of about 15+ I am guessing closer to 25  as I was driving I was doing rough counting and very quickly.  Mostly all does, I did see a decent buck but no where you can hunt, and he just seemed to be with a few does eating.  However, seeing all these deer did make me wonder, what am I doing wrong????

Oh well, try again later in the week or this weekend, calling for a nasty Saturday so I guess just wait and see what the weather brings as to if I can hunt or not!

Anyone else done any good in the snow?

 

 

2013 - 2014 Hunting Season Journal
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  1. Jerry
    Sorry for the newbie question - this is my first season hunting in Maryland, so I'm probably missing something - but I didn't know archery season was open on Dec. 10th. Looking at the Hunting & Trapping guide I thought Dec. 16-20 were the only days we could archery hunt. Just asking, because if I missed out on some other days I could hunt in December I'd be really bummed. Thanks.
    Reply
    December 19, 2013
    • admin
      Jerry, First of all, no need to be sorry. Great to hear we have someone new to the sport, and we welcome you. I may have some bad news for you, you can hunt with a bow during the firearm season as long as you follow the requirements for having hunter orange and anything harvested counts towards your gun season bag limit. So yes, As I was hunting with a bow on Dec 10th, you can hunt the whole month of December as long as you follow the correct rules. Here is a section of the Guide to Hunting and Trapping this is located in the general deer regulations section. Maybe this will clear things up for you. Deer Harvested With Archery Equipment During Muzzleloader or Firearms Season Deer harvested with archery equipment during the antlerless-only second split of the early Muzzleloader Season in Region B must count towards the archery bag limit. Deer harvested with archery equipment during the first-split either-sex early Muzzleloader or late Muzzleloader Season must count towards the Muzzleloader Season bag limit. Hunters must have a Muzzleloader Stamp to hunt deer with archery equipment during the first-split either-sex early Muzzleloader or late Muzzleloader Season. Deer harvested with archery equipment during the 2-week Firearms or 2-day late Firearms Season must count towards the firearms bag limit. So, basically as long as you follow the correct regulations for orange, have the right stamps and count anything harvested toward the correct season you can hunt with a bow from September 6th when the season opens all the way up to January 31st when it closes. (with the exception of Sundays depending on the county and date). Hope this helps, let us know if you have any other questions.
      Reply
      December 19, 2013
  2. Jerry
    Well, I guess it's good and bad news - the bad news is that I missed out on some days that I could have hunted, but the good news is that I can get a muzzleloader stamp and have some extra days to hunt this month. Thanks for explaining that and good luck on your next hunt.
    Reply
    December 19, 2013
    • admin
      Jerry, Good luck to you as well!
      Reply
      December 19, 2013

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