Welcome to TheOhioOutdoors
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Login or sign up today!
Login / Join

Curran's 2011 - 2012 Journal

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
10/01/11

An opening in the family social schedule appeared on Saturday morning, and having not yet been out on stand there was virtually nothing that was going to stop me. Well, if it was raining really, really, really bad I probably would've slept in, but other than that I had a few stand sites in mind that were begging for a sit. With a couple daylight pictures of G3PO coming from the "M" farm, along with some fresh scrapes and rubs along the fence row that housed my trail camera, I figured that was going to be first choice.

Daylight pictures of G3PO before he shed his velvet.





Weather conditions for Saturday morning: 90% chance of rain throughout the day, but looking at the radar there wasn't anything concerning for the morning hours. Lows in the upper 30's that morning, steadily rising to the upper 50's throughout the day. Barometric pressure held steady at around 30 for most of the morning's hunt. Winds were out of the NW around 15 mph with gusts reaching 30 mph as I climbed down just before 10:00 AM.

Deer sighting for the day were scarce, other than one lone doe that was too far off for any thoughts of a shot with my bow. After a few uneventful hours I decided it was time to climb down, switch out memory cards from the trail camera, and head home for a boys day with my son.

With the beans all yellowed its time to look for the acorns. I think this spot will rest for a bit until the beans fully turn brown and more cruising action starts to take place a few weeks away. Although I'll looking for rainy days to slip in and check the camera to tell me whether or not it's time to hunt here again.

 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
Quick evening hunt 11/04/11

Facing east and walking towards tonight's stand.


With vacation kicking in officially next week, I decided to head out for a quick sit this evening after tying up as many loose ends as I could. With only a few hours of daylight available on stand it was going to be a short hunt, but it's November, and anytime you're on stand something can happen.


Weather conditions at the M2 Farm tonight: Clear skies with winds blowing steady out of the E NE around 15mph, with gusts upwards of 30 mph. Barometric pressure was holding at 30.06.


These wouldn't be left standing for much longer.


The spot I decided to hunt is the intersection of a long fence row that runs east to west, and a V shaped block of woods that is wider to the south and narrows as it points north into this farm. The woods always funnel deer movement in this area, and with the double inside corner it creates the deer also like to cross through this general area. The field to the north of the fence row is planted in corn which is still standing and probably acting as both a bedding and feeding area for the deer, with the larger field to the south planted in beans. This particular section of woods is also full of oak trees, but the acorn production is pretty light this year.



Only a yearling buck was spotted tonight as he crossed within bow range of my double inside corner stand. I watched as he navigated his way through the corner section of knocked down corn, across the section of woods, and into a fallow field. A short time later the bean field that I walked along was being cut down as the combine fired up and mowed through the field like a giant lawn mower. I hoped that all the commotion would kick up a few deer my way, but that just wasn't the case tonight.

 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
Saturday morning's conditions: Cold & Clear. Lows in the morning were in the lower 30's for Delaware county with clear, star filled skies as I stepped out of the truck at about 6:00 AM. No precipitation was forecast for the day with winds blowing out of the ESE between 5 - 10 mph, which was much calmer than yesterday. Barometric pressure was around 30.30 and holding throughout the hunt.

View to the NW from the stand.


Today's hunt took me to the first morning hunt of the year at the G farm. I just secured permission to hunt here this summer, and have been mainly hunting the edges, not wanting to push too deeply into the thicker interior of the woods. It had been about two weeks since my last sit here, and the amount of sign has just blow up! Lots of fresh rubs, and on my walk out to the truck I lost count of the number of fresh scrapes I came across along the edge of the bean field. I also located a huge primary scrape about the 5 - 6 feet across with 3 other sizable scrapes off to the sides.The bucks are definitely active right now!


One of many small scrapes that lined the field's edge.


Rub on a 6" diameter tree. I'd like to see the deer that left his mark here!


The stand spot that I planned on hanging out at today is the inside corner of the woods on the west side of the big block of timber. The spot has a little bit of everything. The field to the west is holding standing corn at the moment, along with a half picked field of beans. There's a thin strip of fallow field that acts as a buffer and bedding area between the inside corner of the timber and the planted crops. Running just inside the edge of the trees is a small creek that zig zags through the woods and is always littered with tracks.


With the cooler temperatures and the whitetail rut starting to get underway, hopes are always high this time of year because anything can happen. The deer sightings this morning kept hopes high the whole time I was on stand, as the bucks seemed to be on their feet, roaming throughout the woods with a purpose. I ended up seeing 5 different bucks and 1 or 2 does. The only problem was that the bucks that came within bow range were yearling to 1.5 year old deer. They're fun to watch, but not quite what I'm holding out for when it comes to filling out my deer tag. I did see what looked like a good buck, but he was too far off, and moving through the woods to really get a good look at him.


One of the young bucks working into the wind. Good thing I smoked up this monring!!


With some family obligations keeping me out of the woods on Sunday, I'll be back at it on Monday afternoon. The next 3 day's weather forecast is looking horrible for being a bowhunter, with the temperatures rising up into the 60's and possibly 70 by Tuesday before some rain pushes through on Wednesday, bringing much cooler temperatures with it for Thursday through the weekend. I'll have my fingers crossed for those cooler temperatures, and a quality buck within bow range this week.

 

Fluteman

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,094
146
Southeast Ohio
Thanks for taking the time to share all this Sean. I always enjoy your photos and reading your blog. That g3pO is one heck of a buck man, good luck with that, and that squirrel is a fatty!
 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
and that squirrel is a fatty!

Thanks man, and I forgot to mention that squirrel is #1 now on my squirrel hit list. I passed on him yesterday, but after looking over that pic & another that I took, I think he's definitely a shooter in my book. Look mature, probably at least 4.5 years old based on the bushyness of his tail, and thick thighs. Maybe not B&C yet, but P&Y fo sho.
 

Fluteman

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,094
146
Southeast Ohio
Thanks man, and I forgot to mention that squirrel is #1 now on my squirrel hit list. I passed on him yesterday, but after looking over that pic & another that I took, I think he's definitely a shooter in my book. Look mature, probably at least 4.5 years old based on the bushyness of his tail, and thick thighs. Maybe not B&C yet, but P&Y fo sho.

He'll make B&C, look at the size of his jaw muscles. Also, with the mass his tail carries and its length, he's destined to score well. Bust his arse and break out the tape! Then get him mounted with a loaded corn cob in his mouth!
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Nice pictures and write up Sean! Congrats on a well deserved vacation to hunt ahead of you! good luck buddy!
 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
Headed back up to the G farm for the afternoon sit. On the way up I did manage to stop off at the M farm and pull the trail camera that was set up along the center fence row for the past month or so. The pictures dropped off completely once the beans were taken off on 10/30/11, but I did manage to catch a pretty cool fight sequence with one decent looking buck. No further sightings from G3PO however. He must have shifted to his fall range which has him spending more time elsewhere. Hopefully he's just waiting for me to be on stand before he returns to the M farm. Here's some pics from the fight sequence that went on from 4:54 AM through 5:37 AM. I bet these bucks sparred up and down the fence row with the camera catching them intermittently. It would've been a heck of show to watch...















With the camera pulled, I was on the way North to the G farm. Tonight's weather conditions: Temperatures were bouncing from the mid 50's to close to 60 by around 3:00 PM. Winds were blowing between 2 - 7 mph from the SSW for most of the hunt. Just after sunset the wind was non-existent. Barometric pressure was around 29.95 with clear blue skies once again.


For this sit, I approached the spot I decided to hunt from the north end of the farm, keeping the wind in my favor for my approach. Checking the edge of the woods along the way in I came across a few more scrapes that were freshly opened, each one having multiple licking branches showing signs of being worked over. I'm planning on moving one of the cameras after tomorrow morning's hunt over some of the fresh sign to see what I've been missing.



My sticks & stand were hung in a nice, sturdy split trunk tree by around 3:30 PM. I'm basically in the middle of the section of woods on a slight hillside that has a small ridge running N to S where my stand is. I noticed that all the deer I saw on Saturday morning came across this area, so I figured there must be something to the terrain here that they like.



The combines were again involved in this afternoon's hunt. This time taking another section of beans off just before dusk. I was hoping that they'd send some deer moving my direction but that just wasn't the case. I have a feeling that tomorrow morning they'll be in there again taking off the last field of beans, which is right next to the standing corn. That could be a very good thing if there's deer bedded down in the corn. I spotted 3 does tonight, 2 traveling together that came from the south, then hit the inside corner, and exited into the corn. Then a single doe who came from the thick stuff to my south, working her way north about 50 yards from my stand. I kept waiting for the Big Boy to follow her, but he didn't get the memo. Oh well, time to fight another fight in the morning....

 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
With the start of Ohio's shotgun season upon us I've been thinking about the unfilled tags, and strangely empty freezer that taunts me each day I walk past it. I haven't participated in the gun season for the past few seasons due to work obligations. This year however, has the potential to enlist me back into the Orange Army, marching back to the deer woods, and taking part in the very hunt that started fueling the hunting fire that only seems to burn stronger with each season.


Without having a picture of this deer since August I had written him off. Hopefully I was wrong and he's coming back to winter on this property now.

Even with the possibility of getting out during the shotgun season, my thoughts can't help but fall back into the pattern of a bow hunter, what are the effects that gun season has on the deer herd, and how that will change the way I deer hunt for the second half of the game. Going back into the woods with your archery equipment after a weekend of the youth gun season, the full week long regular gun season, extra bonus shotgun weekend, and then mixing in muzzleloader season makes arrowing a whitetail extra challenging. So, I've been thinking about this in terms of a football game with the first half coming to a close at the end of the week long gun season. Going into the locker room, you know that some second half adjusts are going to be needed if those tags still need filled before the season comes to a close on February 5th.


The first halftime adjustment for me is going to be focusing on waterfowl hunting more. Now, what the heck does that have to do with deer hunting? Well, in order to give the deer woods a little bit of time to rest after the onslaught of hunting pressure that they're about to receive this week, I'm planning on backing off for a bit. The change in hunting pursuits will also give me some time to think about late season strategies even more, while recovering from bowhunting every chance I got during the entire month of November. After a few weeks have passed I'll be planning on putting my trail cameras back out to take an inventory of what deer are still around. With that camera placement in mind, putting the cameras on, or near the winter food sources is going to be the thought process and focus for my hunting efforts in the second half. Once the colder weather starts to roll in the deer will be moving to feed heavily for the approaching winter. Find the food, and hopefully I'll find the deer.


The second adjustment that I'm going to be making is more of a self-imposed one. I'll be setting up a few ground blinds on the hottest food sources that I can find at the close of gun season. Hopefully, by making this move at the close of gun season that will give the deer a few weeks to settle back down and get used to the blinds. The gun season will already have the deer stirred up quite a bit, so I think that making the change at this particular time will be less intrusive than waiting a few weeks for the woods to settle. My reasoning for setting the up blinds in the first place is to get my son involved in a few bow hunts before the close of the season. He's shown enough of an interest in going deer hunting now that I think he can start to be introduced to hunting from the ground as long as the conditions aren't too terrible. Time will tell.


The last adjustment to is be selectively and cautiously aggressive. The deer have been hunted since the end of September now, and although I feel that my archery hunting approach has had a very low impact (meaning I've only hunted a stand when the wind dictated, I've rotated stands & properties each hunt, stayed mobile, and have not had any deer blow me out yet) the deer have still been hunted in surrounding areas and will be on high alert from here on out. However this is no longer the time to sit on the edges and wonder about "What if?" I have to not be afraid to make an aggressive move at this point in the season. Again, these moves will need to be strategic, while still paying attention to detail (wind directions, entrance & exit routes, etc.), but when the opportunity seems to present itself, and the deer exhibit a killable pattern, I will hunt like the season closes tomorrow in order to try and fill the tags in my pack.


Hopefully the adjustments being made along with the continued thought process behind what the heck I'm doing will lead to a great second half come back this season. Right now I'm down, but there's no way that I'm out just yet. There's still plenty of ticks on the clock, and if I'm able to make the right moves with the time remaining in the game I have the confidence that success is always a possibility.

Some other recent pictures, all from the same property...

Not sure about this guy. He's a good looking deer but if he can make it through the season he'll be even better next season. Then again, if he walks by and I'm hungry...


I don't think this is the same buck pictured directly above, but again, he's probably tempting if walking within bow range during the second half. I wish I had some more pictures to look him over better.


Another good looking buck with some potential. I just don't know if the neighboring properties would let him develop another season. And again, I am getting hungry...
 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
With the final day of the week long gun season arriving, weather looking like it would cooperate at least for the morning, and no good waterfowl scouting results, I was finally in a position to get out & deer hunt this morning. I've missed the woods quite a bit, and was going to be sharing them with a very good family friend who also hasn't been able to get out lately for more than a few quick hunts. One on opening day and another once the weather cleared up mid week. Both of his hunts were uneventful in that the scoped 12 gauge's safety was never clicked off, nor was a finger pressed against a trigger.



Weather conditions for today's hunt: Above average temperatures for early December with the low around 45 and steadily climbing into the mid 50's as the day progressed. Winds were blowing steady from the S during the entire hunt, with some gusts upwards of 20 MPH. Barometric pressure was hovering right around 30.06 for most of the day.

Lee & I arrived at the "G" farm well ahead of legal light, allowing us plenty of time to walk through the cut bean field, staying above the northern edge of the still standing corn, and into the woods where we would post up in hopes of putting a deer on the ground. With the winds blowing steady from the south we would stay up wind of the larger section of woods where most of the deer travel from, and hunt along a 175 yard wide strip of woods positioned to the east of the corn. I left Lee near an inside corner that contains some very heavy trails entering the field, in hopes that he could squeeze the trigger today and fill his tag. I slowly cut a course through the woods, heading toward the softly glowing eastern skies where I found a nice pile of fallen trees to make myself comfortable for the morning sit.

Where's Lee at?


The plan was to sit tight until about 9:00AM and then if the action was slow, I would walk the eastern edge of the property all the way to the far southern border, then turn back north to make a slow push through the center of the woods to see if anything would flush north so that it could then meet up with one of Lee's unspent slugs. We followed that exact script, except for the whole thing about a deer meeting up with one of Lee's slugs. That part didn't happen.

Time for a walk.


What did happen however, was I was able to take in some more of this new property that I've been hunting this season. For the most part I've tried to only hunt the conditions, and not the property, taking a very cautious and low impact approach throughout the archery hunting season so as not to put deer on alert that they're being hunted. Now that gun season is in, and there appear to signs that somebody might have already pushed this property this week, I was putting caution aside and getting some in depth scouting accomplished.

What I found was additional ammunition for the remainder of the archery season. The far west edge of the woods is covered in good buck sign. I'd walked this edge once before and noticed some good trails, with a few rubs here & there, but never pushed myself to hunt on this side of the farm.

Several rubs of this size were located on the western edge, and connect through the center of the woods.


The far SW corner of the farm is a double inside corner. I've hunted it only once, and noted good sign with fresh rubs & scrapes, but so many times conditions with S winds kept me hunting elsewhere in the woods this season. Hopefully, the winter winds can help give some more days with W or NW winds so that I can get into this area and hunt. I'll also be planning on setting up a ground blind here in the very near future. The trails I found in here are heavy, and so is the cover. Hopefully this will be a good set up to bring my son along too as the season rolls on.

A well worn trail with several rubs in the distance cutting through the double inside corner.


So, although not a shot was fired by Lee or myself today, there were several positives to take away from the hunt. First off, at least one deer was spotted throughout the morning. Yes it was coming out of the corn and too far for Lee to pull off a clear shot, but a deer was spotted. Secondly, I was able to follow through and do some more in depth scouting of the farm, providing some ideas on future set ups, and a good spot to place one of the ground blinds for the rest of archery season. And lastly, I was able to spend time outdoors with a very close family friend, who is almost like a father to my wife, and a man that I've always enjoyed spending time with over the years. We've talked about hunting for many years at family functions, and now have finally made it out to the deer woods together. There's no doubt I'm looking forward to the opportunity to do that again.
 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
Thanks guys. I woulda loved to have Lee shoot a deer yesterday. He doesn't get out too much anymore due to some arthritis & such, but still loves being in the woods. Hopefully over the Christmas holiday he'll be back down this way. I told him to bring his crossbow & I'll get him set up in a ground blind. He's getting a shooting stick from the Curran's for a Christmas gift this year to help hold that crossbow up.