Well, I Guess it Didn't Quite Turn Out That Way

In my last journal entry I mentioned that I would keep a diary during the next two weeks of my hunt during the rut.  You can read the diary following this short prelude if you so desire. Since most people aren't as passionate about bowhunting as I am and will probably get bored with my diary, I wanted to give the rest of you readers a short little prelude that hopefully you can glean at least a little tidbit or morsel from, without having to read the whole diary.

When we started our business two years ago, my dream was to make glass antlers and to be able to spend more time outdoors hiking, canoeing, fishing and hunting with the family. Another hope was that we would be able to encourage the hunters and other outdoor folks that we would meet along the way, at shows or wherever our business takes us and point them towards Jesus. Jenelle and I both love meeting and getting to know people and I particularly love to encourage others to chase after their passions, that they were created for a purpose, that God wants to use that passion for a reason and that they should look for and chase after it. Maybe it's just a way to try and validate what I do myself, but honestly, I really do believe that God has a purpose for each of us if we choose to do it and try to walk along that path.

Along the way of creating our business, I discovered that I really enjoy writing. So we've continued to keep a journal as a big part of our website. Nothing heavy, just a couple of smidgets of hope and encouragement that we pull from our daily lives and pass along to you with the hope that it helps you find joy and peace in your journey as well.

 Most of you know that I love to hunt, but even beyond that, for the last several years I've been chasing after the romance of being able to consistently tag a true mountain buck  on public land in the rugged terrain around my home, without the use of bait and with my longbow. It seems to be turning into an impossible dream that is just out of reach. I believe it can be done, but as of yet, I just haven't figured out how. My two weeks of hunting this year were some of the least productive ever as far as seeing deer and I had less buck encounters this year than about as far back as I can remember. Of course I didn't hunt everyday or all day long, but I did get out a lot. I could have hunted in more productive places but I was set on getting one of these elusive so called mountain bucks, and on their own terms.

Going into the season I was feeling pretty positive. I had done lots of scouting and had a couple of sheds from bucks the previous year. I had a couple of trail camera pictures and all that was needed was to move in and shoot one. On top of all of that there were lots of acorns which I thought would keep the deer from visiting all of the local bait piles. But as the season went on, I started feeling the opposite. I wasn’t seeing many deer. I even found myself getting down in the dumps a few times. I really wanted one of those bucks.

Along with writing my own blog here, I've written several articles for the Fur-Fish-Game magazine. When you write an article, you want pictures that show that you know what you are talking about. Believe me, deep down I really wanted to get a buck just for my personal satisfaction but along with that, I had a hope that I would get a good picture for this blog and also one for  an article I'm working on about shed hunting. My hope was to have a picture of my longbow and a big buck that I harvested along with his shed that I found last spring. But it just didn't work out that way. To end this on a good note, well I didn’t have to quit hunting because I hadn’t filled my tag.

In our Bible class at church yesterday, Rob shared about how David wanted to build the temple, but God said no. The lesson wasn't so much what to do about it when God says no, but that God sometimes says no or not now, and sometimes he says yes. We don't see the big picture. In fact we may never see the big picture while we’re here on this earth. But God knows what’s best and we should learn to be content in that. I don't believe that every thing that happens is necessarily a part of God's plan. But I do believe that everything that happens can be a part of Gods plan, even if it wasn’t a part of my plan. Now that’s something to think about!

Of course there’s rifle season and muzzleloader season and then more bow season, but by then the bucks will be on high alert. Along with the end of November, my chances of getting a big ole mountain buck with a long bow are pretty much over. For the rest of the season l will mostly work on putting meat in the freezer and hunting with the kids. If a mountain buck shows and I happen to be taking my bow for a walk, that will be a bonus. If not, well, I can't wait until next November when I will hope to try it all over again! And hopefully next time, my plans will align with his!

Here's my diary.

Nov 6- this morning I hunted a ravine that is thick with maple trees and grapevines. On the ridge on the one side are lots of red oaks. On the other a 5 year old clear cut. I put out some Tinks 69 but didn't grunt or anything until after the sun was well up and the thermals were headed up and away from the funnel that I was watching and hoping that about midmorning a buck would come chasing a doe into her bedding area.

Around 8:00 AM I heard a wheeze.  Two of my bowhunting heroes, Barry and Gene Wenzel, make that call often on their hunting videos and I like to use it myself, and so I knew exactly what it was when I heard it. I can't remember ever hearing it in the wild and so I was excited. The wheeze is a sound usually made by a mature buck and it's usually made to inform a lesser buck that he's the boss. I think that it attracts other bucks because they think there's a fight about to break out or at least they might witness a thrashing as the older buck shows everyone who is boss. Even though I couldn't see it yet, I was excited because I assumed there was a mature buck really close. After a bit, I caught a glint of antler in the brush. As I watched I could see that it was a mature 8 pt and I knew that if I got the opportunity I would take it. It slowly worked it's way down the bank broadside but too far away. Since it wasn't coming my way, I wheezed. He stopped and looked right at the base of my tree. Then he turned and started walking my way. He raked a sapling with his antlers and then stopped behind some brush at 25 yds. I could see him but it was too thick to shoot. He kept looking at the base of my tree. I heard another deer above and hoped it was a doe. Then I would be in a perfect position. But it turned out to be a spike. He came down by my tree at about 10 yds. The bigger buck continued forward through an opening but because I shoot a longbow and the deer was on alert, I didn't feel comfortable taking the shot. The arrows coming out of my bow are probably only half as fast as those coming from a compound. With the buck being on alert, once he heard me release the arrow, he probably would have turned inside out and by the time the arrow got to him it would have possibly resulted in a bad shot. I usually won't shoot at a deer unless it's under 20 yds or if it's feeding along in a totally peaceful and undisturbed manner. It continued on around me and to the downwind side and finally got a whiff of me and snorted and took off. 

Sometimes I kick myself for hunting with a longbow, but I really love the challenge as well as the enjoyment that I get from shooting it. And even better is knowing that my season isn't over with my first encounter of a decent buck and that I got to watch him act and react in ways that I never would have if I was shooting a compound or a crossbow at 40 yds.

In the evening I went down in a creek bottom. My hope was that as the sun set, the thermals would drop and the bucks would be able to smell anything above them and cruise along the creek bottom checking their scrapes just as the dusk was coming on. The scrape that I was watching had a beautiful 8pt  on my camera two days prior. It was a really nice evening but not a single deer showed up.

Nov-7 Today is the day or one of the days that you want to be in the woods. It's the prime rut. I used to argue that Nov 9 was the best day to be in the woods. Then after tagging and having some good encounters on the eighth I changed my mind and said it was Nov 8. Last year it seemed to be Nov 11. Bucks and does running everywhere. The plan for the morning was to go deep into the woods close to a doe bedding area and a place where I had seen some big buck sign. It was fairly warm and the wind was howling. Not a good thing for hunting deer.  The deer would probably mostly be bedded all day. When driving to where I would park my truck, I saw a buck and a doe bedded in the weeds beside the road, probably there for the day. Not a good sign.

Basically, the day was pretty much a long hike and a sit where I didn't see a deer and the wind really howled.. 

Tomorrow I will hunt on private ground. I’ve been a part of the Foxtown Hunting Club since I was thirteen. The difference in deer density on private ground vs public is immense. So much so that those of us that hunt public think that there aren't any deer around and those that hunt private ground,think there are way too many deer, especially does. Since I hunt both I can easily see why people think the way they think. I'm also one of the rare people that believes that the DNR does a good job in managing the deer herd. Of course there are things that I don't like about some laws, such as hunting over corn piles being legal during the rut or crossbows during archery season or scopes on muzzleloaders. I realize that I'm a minority in my way of thinking, and that I have the same opportunities as the next guy and choosing to hunt in a more traditional way is totally up to me. In all honesty,we have a lot of really good opportunities here in our little state of MD.

Nov 8

This morning I hunted on the club and then scouted for a spot for the boys on youth day. I didn't see a deer. In the past, the spot that I hunted has been a great spot. It's more of a travel corridor. I didn't see any deer but heard one walking. On the way out I found a good spot with lots of fresh sign for the boys to hunt.

My thoughts on why I didn’t see any deer this morning….

1. Reason #1 The wind. The weatherman said a south wind would be blowing all day. Since the wind was from the south, I hunted a stand which would be on the downwind side of a rhododendron thicket. The wind was out of the south when I got there, but all morning we would get these cold blasts straight out of the North. I kept looking at the weather and it was showing the current observations as being out of the north but the hourly prediction to be out of the south. I heard a deer walking towards me but it didn't show and I'm assuming that it got a whiff of me.

Lesson - when the winds wrong, don't waste your time, just move!

1. Reason #2 There's an acorn bonanza about a quarter mile from my stand where the deer feed. With the high winds the day before the deer were probably feeding in the acorns all morning, and since it seems like the does are already in estrous, the bucks were probably there too.

lesson - hunt the does when it's this late in the rut

Nov 9 

Traditionally this has been my favorite day. I hunted one of my favorite spots in the state forest. It was 64 degrees when I got up. Not exactly the best weather for hunting deer. I didn't see any deer but had fun watching a couple of gray squirrels chattering around. About 10:30 it started dumping the rain. I decided to touph it out as sometimes that will get the deer moving.

I sat until 12:30 but didn't see any deer, got wet enough that heading home sounded like a good thing.

Nov 10. I worked, but that evening I was able to hunt for 45 minutes in a stand behind the house, but didn't see a deer.

Nov 11.

It is youth day! We hunt on a hunting club and there are lots of deer there . I had picked a good spot out two days prior with lots of acorns and a couple of fresh scrapes. We weren't disappointed.  Caleb missed a big buck and passed up a smaller one.  We saw several does going about their day as well. About 10:30 we ate our sandwiches and drank some hot chocolate.  After that we sat some more and enjoyed the morning. Blake spotted a small buck in the thick rhododendron. I tried to grunt to make it stop but it would just stop in the wrong places for a shot and then keep moving away. When it was out there about a hundred and twenty yards or so, I decided to wheeze. Wouldn't you know, the buck turned around and practically loped towards us.  At about sixty yards I grunted and it stopped broadside. Blake squeezed the trigger and according to the reaction, I was certain that it was a heart shot. The deer took off running and I thought that I saw it go down, but wanted it to be a training session for the boys.  I had Blake remember the exact spot where it was standing when he shot. I walked to that spot while he directed me with hand signals. When I found the first blood, I called the boys over and let them track it. It didn't take long until they found it. Thanks to cell phones, we were able to check it in on the spot and then we quartered it and packed it out instead of working hard to drag it in the dry leaves. It was a fun experience.

In the afternoon I had Caleb take a few practice shots. He did fine. If only deer had targets on their side.

In the evening Caleb and I came back to the same area but didn't see a deer.

Nov 12.  Sunday morning I took Caleb out for several hours before church. We went to one of my spots on state ground and it turned out to be productive We saw several deer and Caleb somehow missed another  buck. He thought he rushed the shot, which will make you miss most of the time. As we were checking for signs of a hit, a bigger buck took off running. At least we were getting into some action!

Sunday evening we went out again. Caleb is 16, this would be his last hunt as a youth that he will ever have. We stayed out until the very last legal light. Unfortunately we didn't see a deer, but as we were driving home we saw some crossing the road. Pretty sure we heard them say, “suckers”!

Nov 13    I  hunted for a little bit on the state but couldn't stay long as I was really needing to make some glass. It was such a beautiful morning. I passed up a spike and saw a bigger buck but it didn't come into range. I hated to get down as it was a pretty day and I would have loved staying for the whole day.

Nov 14. I worked all day and didn't hunt at all. I did make a glass antler that matched a shed of a buck that I'd named “ole man”. I'd been chasing after him for several years, a true mountain buck. Love and lust  overpowered his buck smarts and he followed a doe to someone's corn pile. Last week our story came to an end. I decided to make an antler as a tribute to all of the memories. Of course it happens.If you hunt much at all and focus on a particular buck, it will happen to you probably more times than not. It's just part of the game. Already, I know that two of my target bucks this year have been taken by others. 

Nov 15. I worked at Simon Pearce for the day. No hunting but I did take a short walk in the woods right behind the plant. I checked a scrape that appears every year. I like to think of it as an indicator of what's happening in the deer woods in our area and so I like to keep tabs on it. It was filled with leaves and hadn't been touched for at least several days. Time to switch strategies. The bucks probably won't be frantically running around and looking for does but will be hanging out and traveling with them. Maybe they won't be as dumb as they were a week ago but the good hunting will continue up until Thanksgiving and rifle season starts.

As we're getting down to the wire I'll lower my standard. Usually I like to go after a particular buck or bucks at the beginning of the season and pass a few others up. People say that you shouldn't pass up on the first day what you'd be willing to shoot on the last. Others say that you shouldn't shoot a buck on the last day that you passed up on the first. I disagree with both. For me the quality of the season is everything. Pass up bucks early. Enjoy all of the time out there that you can! And then don't miss out on the ultimate experience of harvesting something and getting in on the down to earth reality of knowing where your food comes from and the experience of butchering and processing. Of course do it wisely and in a manner that encourages a healthy deer herd. We all want to get big bucks. At the same time a big buck to one man is a little buck to another. I like the old saying, “limit your kill, don't kill your limit”.  For me that means trying to take my does on Foxtown because there are too many there and not taking any on the state as it seems like the ones that are there are few and far between.

 For the rest of the season I'll try to focus on getting some meat. I'll probably let the yearling bucks go by, but otherwise, I'm drawing the bow.

Nov 16

This morning I am hunting on the state again. I need to get back to making glass so this will be a short hunt and this spot is close to the house. I sat at the top of a green briar choked saddle that led into a bunch of mountain laurel where the deer sometimes bed. A lone doe came up through the funnel about sixty yds away. I was really expecting a buck to follow but it didn't happen.

 I also saw a fox squirrel. I rarely see them this far up the mountain, usually more down towards the savage river.