Hunting trip 10/26

 

 

I headed out into the woods this morning before work to try to catch a little pre-rutting activity before the rain tomorrow.  I thought this morning could be a great time to be in the woods to see deer.  Well, the morning started off with me bumping 4 deer out of a section of woods prior to my stand.  The only good part about this was that they ran towards my stand not away, course I was not sure if I would see any of them or not.  I got up in my stand and settled before day break, as 7 o’clock rolled around a little twilight came I had a fox run around under my tree for a good 5 minutes.   Shortly after that, around 7:20 a.m., I heard some sticks break from over where the 4 deer I had spooked had run.  A big doe proceeded to walk down straight for me, directly under me and started feeding on acorns.  I was hoping that the other deer might follow her and thus allow me to see what they were as well.  No such luck, she continued to feed and I watched her until about 7:40 a.m., at which time she headed up a hill into some thicket and I lost her when she was about 150 yards away.  The morning showed hope at this point, and I felt like it could be a real good morning, the south wind was perfect for this stand and I even  had some scents out.   Well, no such like for this hunter, maybe I am not supposed to see a buck this year.  At about 7:55 a.m. I had what I thought was a hiker come walking in about 100 yards away. After closer inspection, I now believe he may have been homeless.  Needless to say, I watched him as he walked back and forth for over 30 minutes making more noise than anyone could think of.  Not positive what he was doing or if he knew where he was, but he removed any hopes I had of seeing another deer.  Around 9:30 a.m. I got down, packed up and headed home thoroughly upset that this person had not even considered someone could be hunting.

On my way home, I stopped by the small piece of land where our feeder is and checked to see if there were any signs that the 8 pointer we continue to see might have started making scrapes or rubs or anything.  Well in the end, I walked around the edge and did see 1 good size deer but never got a look at the deer’s head 🙁   and to top that off, no signs of any rutting type activity. So, that was my day of hunting, started out promising and ended poorly.
Are you seeing rutting activity or have your hunting trips slowed a little as well?

2011 Hunting Season Journal
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  1. Matt
    I have been hunting various sections of Loch Raven every day after work...The deer have figured out exactly where their safe zones are, and they know not to stray out of there until dark. I can't tell you how many deer I see just outside of legal hunting land or near neighborhoods, but then nothing inside the hunting zones. Those deer are smarter than we give them credit for sometimes! Might be time for me to find some private land. Let's hope the rut get's those bucks walking back into hunting areas soon...
    Reply
    October 28, 2011
    • admin
      Matt, It is amazing how well the deer know where they are safe and where they are not. I too have watched many times as deer walk along private property or areas you cannot hunt. I have found the best way to manage that is to hunt passages, places you know the deer have to cross to get to the safety of private property. Rut always helps with getting deer out where they normally wouldn't travel, so find a location where you see does on a regular basis and bucks will be there at some point! I hunted this evening a location in Loch Raven that I hunt fairly often, I just hunt different areas at this location and I saw a good number of does so this will be one of the locations that I hunt during rut in hopes of seeing a big boy following those does. Private property is always nice, if you can find it. I have spent years looking for private property to hunt in Baltimore County and there is not much. Everyone is either against hunting and will not let you on their property, or already have someone hunting and they would not want you there. But... it never, ever hurts to ask for permission, you never know who might say yes! I still look every summer just on that off chance that someone says yes! Good luck, let us know what you are seeing and how your hunts go!
      Reply
      October 29, 2011

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