Trail Cam Update 11/3/2013 & Hunting Trip 11/2/2013

I headed out into Loch Raven Saturday morning to see if any of those big boys were up and moving and also try to get a doe for the freezer.  Well, the beautiful morning was mostly pretty darn slow. I saw a quick glimpse of a small buck as he passed by but otherwise the woods was quite.   Few foxes was the only other thing I saw, I guess the deer took the day off.  The evening I sat on our private property over the food plots hoping some big antlers would come out... No such luck, few fawns, couple does, and a spike, nothing else before dark... In general a slow day and mostly a let down, But i heard lots and lots of people were out hunting Loch Raven yesterday!

Anyone get anything? See anything good?

Now on to trail cam pictures...  We have a number of different small to decent bucks coming up.

6 Point 10-29-2013

6 Point 10-29-2013

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8 Point 10-29-2013

6 Point 10-29-2013

Cool Closeup

6 Point 10-30-2013

8 Point 10-31-2013

6 Point 10-31-2013

Fighting Bucks 11-2-2013

Fighting Bucks 11-2-2013

Fighting Bucks 11-2-2013

6 Point 11-2-2013

 

2013 - 2014 Hunting Season Journal, Trail Cam Photos
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  1. Brian
    I had an exciting Saturday morning hunting my private property spot. I usually hunt here in the evening because of access issues; my spot is easiest to get to through a corn field. For morning hunts, I can walk around the corn field and enter the woods at another spot and then hike through the woods to get to my setup. I had done this once before and found my blind but never put out any kind of markers so I could find my way next time (big mistake). This time I had a hell of a time finding my way. All I had to go on was a satellite picture and my headlamp. I made it into the woods by following a dirt road and turned off the road into the woods to head to my ground blind but I had the hardest time finding it...kept getting stuck in brush and turned around. I was sweating like crazy and was getting nowhere so I just sat down behind some brush and waited for the sun to come up. At one point I could hear a grunt wheeze and another time I saw blue eyes staring back at me so I knew the deer were here. Once I got some better light I immediately knew where I was and headed to the ground blind which I found. I took off my jacket and took a shower with scent elimination spray then started hitting my grunt call. About 20 minutes later I see an 8pt moving from my left to right about 30 - 40 yards away. I couldn't believe it...after all the noise I made and scent I left deer were still here! I got my crossbow ready but never quite got the shot presentation I wanted so I let him walk off. Fifteen minutes later a doe walks right beside my ground blind and starts eating acorns right in front of me. I considered letting her go because she was on the small side but thought I would take her for the meat to add to other doe I already had in the freezer then focus on a buck for the rest of the season. Eventually she got to about 30 yards and presented me with a decent broadside shot. I let the arrow fly but I missed low. She ran a little then stopped and kept eating. Eventually she disappeared from view. Thirty minutes later this deer reappeared this time walking towards me eventually presenting a 15 yard broadside shot which I took. Had a complete pass through and found the deer about 50 yards away by the stream. I checked the deer and it turned out to be a button buck. I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t a doe because I’d prefer to let it grow up for a few years but was glad at the same time that I had some more meat for the freezer. I also noticed that I did hit this deer with the first arrow but it only grazed the lower part of the chest causing a non-fatal wound. Glad I got the opportunity to finish the job with a second shot. I’m heading out again Friday morning on this property to have another go at a mature buck. Also taking my brother in law to see if he can get his first deer of the season.
    Reply
    November 4, 2013
    • admin
      Brain, Sounds like an exciting Saturday, and congrats on the meat for the freezer! Good luck to both you and your brother-in-law Friday morning! I am off the eastern shore this week to try to crack one of those giants that live in the swamps down there. Good luck and keep us posted!
      Reply
      November 4, 2013
  2. alan
    I was out both days this weekend and this morning. I had an 8 pt (a decent one, not the big one I have pics of on here) feeding for 30 minutes 100 yds away from Sat am until it was scared off by a car coming up the nieghboring drive. Yesterday afternoon was pretty slow. I saw 3 does with a trailing buck but they were way far out and I'm lucky I even saw them through the brush. I went out yesterday afternoon with the primary intention of moving my stand 100 yds to the area where I have seen bucks the past 3 morning sits. Don't know what I was thinking because I opted to leave my stand where it was at the end of the day. So of course this morning at 8 am on the dot one of the two bucks that I am after shows up exactly where I wanted to move it to. So disgusted with myself! It's the 4x2 with a drop tine which I think is awesome! I'm starting to develop quite the cat and mouse game with this one. Looks like I'm taking half days and going out in the mornings the rest of the week. I did move my stand this time - so you can count on the bucks milling about under the tree I sat in yesterday for the next week. It seems like the bucks in my area are really starting to become active now and the rutting behavior is picking up.
    Reply
    November 4, 2013
    • alan
      Out again this morning and had a lot of action. At 7:30 I had a button buck milling around the base of my tree for 30 minutes. 10 minutes later I had a decent 8 pt come in to roughly 100 yds then check up and change course. I think the wind was favoring me but not entirely sure - he may have just been poking his head over the ridge in search of does? Immediately after he bugged out, I saw the big 8 pt enter into the neighbors field and bed down for an hour behind their barn 140 yds away. Watching through my binoculars, he looked content just surveying the draw I set-up in. At certain points the sun was reflecting off his antlers which is going to be one of the images I'll remember the rest of my life - it was awesome! Can't wait for tomorrow morning although these early morning wake-ups are taking their toll on me!
      Reply
      November 5, 2013
      • admin
        Alan, Sounds like you had a good day. The first 8 you saw likely was just checking for does, a lot of younger bucks are up and moving and looking for does, but they aren't finding what they are looking for. I have heard of a few younger bucks pushing does around but they aren't really chasing they are just spooking them around checking to see if it's time. Sounds like you have a great spot, isn't pressured and sounds like those deer are living in there. I am glad you got that experience of that 8 bedded down, things like that are what make us all head back out in the woods. It isn't always about the harvest, but rather the experiences we have along the time. I remember when I was younger, I had a big 10 point come in and bed just 10 yards from me, it was a cold morning during rut and with me hunting from the ground it was super exciting. I thought I was having a heart attack, never got a shot, but he bedded there for a while before getting up and going right back where he came from. I never got a shot at him, but he never knew I was there. Super cool experiences make it all the worth while. I am heading down to the eastern shore for the rest of the week to try my luck with those deer, hopefully they like me more than the central Maryland deer haha. Good luck to you and I hear ya on those super early mornings! Good luck!
        Reply
        November 5, 2013

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