Saturday November 26 & Sunday November 27, 2011

I returned to Maryland for the opening two days of the rifle season and the beans were gone! Uh,oh!

The opening morning was very mild weather-wise. I was in the new Double Bull blind placed at the far east end of the main field. As soon as it got light I could see the deer crossing back and forth across the field but no shooters. From the total opposite end of the field, about 600 yards away, I saw 3 does and a buck come out of the woods and head right down the center of the field towards me. They were trotting slowly but there was no mistaking that they were coming to my end of the field. It didn't occur to me that there was corn out in the field in front of the blind and they were coming to it. I was surprised to see them pull up right in front of me and start feeding. The buck was small so he was not a shooter and I wasn't after does on opening morning. After about 15 minutes of this, I noticed movement across the field. I saw deer with what looked like a good rack coming down the northern edge of the field heading in our direction. After looking at him, I realized he was the deer we were after during the muzzleloader season. It was obvious he had a heavy rack but he was still too far away to really know what he had. When he got right to us it was obvious he came to check out the does. It seemed like the rut was still on. I had the scope on him and the safety off. He was heavy and wide but he only had 6 points. After some thought I decided not to take him. I really didn't want to shoot a 6 pointer during the first 15 minutes of the hunt. Soon he was finished checking the does and headed right back the way he came. I thought "I hope I don't regret that decision."

As it turns out, I didn't see anything else during those two days that would have been worth shooting. I saw plenty of deer but nothing of any size so I held off shooting. I had to leave Sunday PM so I was through for the season. Normally I would have been disappointed but I was heading to Kansas on Tuesday so I was really anticipating that hunt and had no room for disappointment at the moment.  It was a fun hunt and that is what mattered.

Monday 10/31/11 thru Friday 11/4/11

This was not my usual week but I picked it because it was the most favorable week for the moon. The other weeks all had either a full moon or close to a full moon. This week was a quarter-moon to half-moon so it was the most acceptable. Many, many times in the past, I have ignored the moon and each and every time have had a poor hunt.

The first morning, I wanted to start out where I had shot the deer last year. Nathan was good enough to let that stand sit idle for the week before I got there so it was primed and so was I.  Sure enough, just like last year, the deer were using that orchard gate and I saw a lot of deer. Nothing big enough to shoot but several that were very close to that 140 number. I was finally able to figure out the exact position that I needed to be in with bow in hand to be ready for these deer appearances. If a true shooter had come through, I was much more ready than I was last year. Unfortunately, nothing big enough came through.

I spent Monday,Tuesday & Wednesday AM in that stand and then we decided to move back up to 13 Point Ridge to my favorite stand for the Wednesday PM hunt. Eddie walked in with me because they had relocated that stand slightly and he wanted to show me exactly where it was. Ever since Monday I had been faithfully spraying down with Final Step cedar cover spray. This stuff is like a cloaking device from Star Trek. The deer just didn't smell me and it was like I was invisible.

I got up in the stand and Eddie left. I had just gotten fully set up and sat down when I heard walking in the leaves behind me. The wind was blowing up the hill from me in that exact direction. I thought it was Eddie coming back because he forgot something. Instead it was a huge buck with a big white rack that curved around and almost touched in the front. He had long points and stickers going everywhere. He was at least a 12 pointer but with all the stickers who knew how big he was. He came right out of the thicket above me and walked straight to my tree. He walked within inches of the ladder I climbed up only minutes before. He never smelled me or at least he showed no indication that he did. He walked right out in front of the stand and stood there at about 15 yards looking dead straight away. I was at full draw but I had no shot except to shoot him in the butt or to try for a spine shot. I decided to wait and if he turned either right or left I would shoot. He stood there a few minutes with the wind blowing right to him. Then he just continued in the straight-away direction and walked on down the hill away from me. Wow, was I ever excited! I almost fell out of the tree from shaking so much. I just had no shot and he had no idea I was there. I was really impressed with my cover scent. I saw more deer but nothing as dramatic at the big one and I quietly left at dark.

Thursday it rained and blew hard ALL day. Conditions were so poor I didn't go out and neither did a lot of my housemates.  We went to town to the archery shop and Larry had the place in an uproar the whole time we were there. He is truly a funny guy and I really enjoyed his company that afternoon and the whole week.

The weather for Friday was supposed to be perfect...clear and cold. It was that and I was really pumped for the last day. I was going to stay all day which I don't normally do. I got up into the stand quietly in the dark and got all set up and was ready before first light. It was cold but not real windy. As soon as the light came up, the action started. The does were coming from down the hill up towards me and going on past up into the heavy thicket behind me. They all had bucks on their tails but nothing that I could shoot. I sat there facing down the hill enjoying the show.  I was comfortable and had the bow on the bow hanger. Around 8:30 AM, I just looked back over my left shoulder and almost swallowed my tounge. There was an absolutely HUGE buck walking down the same skidder road I had walked in on. He was headed right to me. I wasn't paying much attention to that direction because it was dead downwind and all of the action was below me. I got up quietly and got the bow set with the release on and he hadn't seen the movement. He stopped in a not-so-perfect place and was scratching his ear with his hind foot. He really didn't know I was there. I was still calm at this point. I got the bow drawn and was waiting for him to take about 3 more steps into a wide shooting lane. He just stood there looking and not moving. I thought I had better not wait and I'd better shoot him while he was still standing there. I moved the pin over to where he was standing, put it on him and squeezed the release. The arrow went right underneath him and he took off down the hill immediately. I could see that giant rack going down through the timber. I was sick. What happened? I think I dropped by bow arm as I shot and that little bit caused the arrow to go right underneath his belly at 23 yards. I was devastated. I was so disappointed. I had practiced that same shot all summer from a treestand and never missed. I thought for sure he was a Boone & Crockett buck.....at least a 180 inch deer. It had taken me 40 years of bowhunting to finally get a B&C buck in front of me and I blew it!  I was just sick and I still am.

I stayed the rest of the day and saw another big buck in the afternoon but he never got close enough. I left with a heavy heart. The hunt was over. My immediate reaction was "I quit." I couldn't take that kind of pain and disappointment again. Now I know how the ball players feel when they get to the final game of the World Series only to lose to some kind of fluke play. Nathan said they only see that deer once per year and only on the trail cam. Nobody had ever seen him in person except me and I blew it!  Oh, man!

After much reflection I decided not to quit and to keep after the holy grail for a few more years. My wife and I went to Cabela's in Hamburg Pennsylvania for Christmas shopping. I saw a full-bodied mount of a buck that looked exactly like the one I missed in Illinois. The inscription said "192 B&C." My wife just looked at me and shook her head. She knew that if I had gotten that deer that I would have been in a perpetual good mood for the rest of my life and her life would have been even better also. As the saying goes..."Maybe next year!"

This season is always interesting and a lot of fun. The deer are there and it is just a matter of being in the right spot at the right time. This year I took Mike Gordon with me for the first time. He didn't know what to expect and I did know so we were both pretty excited. Opening morning was uneventful. Mike was in the woods blind and I took the Double Bull ground blind on the field. I saw some deer cross the field but no bucks. Mike saw a bunch of does. As a matter of fact, he saw the same group of does every time he was in that blind.

We put up a new ground blind in a different spot for the second day hunt.  Wouldn't you know it....a nice shooter buck came out during the evening hunt about 75 yards from where the Double Bull was. It was about 220 yards from where I was now sitting. That is an acceptable distance with the new muzzleloaders however the deer's position was such that all I could see was his head and rack while he was standing in the beans. I did not want to risk a shot like that with the muzzleloader. I decided I would leave him be for now. Mike and I would move into the Double Bull for the Saturday evening finale.

Saturday morning Mike and I switched blinds and I was now in the woods. As soon as it got light enough to see, it started. There was a buck standing right in the middle of the skidder road. He was a medium size 8. He walked away and out stepped another buck and then another and then another.....one after another until 10 bucks in a row had crossed the trail heading to bed somewhere. There were no shooters in the bunch but it was really exciting. You never knew what was going to step out next. I would see the nose poke out and then the whole deer. I was getting a stiff neck from all the looking through the scope. There was everything from a spike to an 8 pointer. When they were all gone, the same group of 6 does that Mike had been seeing followed. He couldn't believe the number of bucks I saw.

Since this was Mike's first trip, I wanted him to get the big deer I saw the night before. We both got into the blind and got set. As the light faded from the field and things got dimmer, the deer started to pile out 75 yards from the blind. He was set on the shooting sticks just waiting for him to step out. More and more does kept coming and it kept getting dimmer and dimmer and we were holding our breath. When we absolutely ran out of light and he didn't show, we just looked at each other in disappointment. I thought for sure it was going to happen.

Well, it was an exciting trip overall, as usual. We will be back for rifle season right after Thanksgiving. I hope the beans are still there along with that nice buck.

Well, I knew this was going to be a different kind of year. For the first time in many, many years I am down to hunting by myself. All the guys from our group have departed and it is the weirdest feeling. To see the empty stands throughout the woods is really unsettling. I will just have to ignore it and soldier on. After all, hunting has always been an uplifting experience and it will continue to be.

The season opened with the normal warm weather but it didn't last long. It went back and forth from chilly to warm and back to chilly. The colder days were really pleasant. The main area is usually full of acorns but this year there were very few. It took the deer about two weeks to figure out it was fruitless to search any longer and departed for other areas. Occasionally, they would return but their stay was brief. But those first 10 days...WOW!  The action was phenominal and it was mostly buck sightings....several good bucks. I tried the new Final Step cover scent and it was unbelievable how well it worked. Between the many deer and being invisible, it was a truly fun time. Every day I would see more and different deer. I kept holding out for one of the big ones I had seen but I just never got the good shot. That was okay. Just being there was enough. If a shot presented itself then I would certainly have taken it.

After those first 10 days, the deer cleared out and it was slim pickings. I continued to go out because that is what I wait all year for but not much was happening.

The Maryland muzzleloader hunt came at just the right time. When I got back it was time to go to Illinois which is a great story for later. I wasn't back in the PA woods until November 5th. By that time, things had picked up greatly and it was fun just going out again. Almost got the BIG one but he walked right past the stand in the dim light and I didn't see or hear him until he was past me. That guy definitely has 9 lives.

On the last evening, I didn't see much all afternoon and I was sadly closing the season out in my mind. It had given some real solace and I just didn't want it to end. It was almost dark and I packed up my binoculars and lowered the bow down. I took two steps down the ladder and on the other side of the tree, I could see a BIG bodied deer ghosting past. I knew it was him! The binos were in the pack on my back so I could not get a clear look at him. But I know it was him! All I could do was hang on the side of the tree and watch him walk past at 10 yards. That is three very close encounters with this huge deer in the past two seasons. He only has 6 more lives left. I hope nobody else gets him!

I have been getting ready for the 2011 hunting season and it hardly seems possible that another year has rolled past and everybody is getting ready for the best time of year. I plan to re-visit most of the same states I hunted last year. It was a good hunting year but not a good personal year. I lost my best friend and partner, Walt Pronkowitz, to a rare form of cancer. He tried every avenue of treatment but was unable to prevail. He is greatly missed and things will never be the same in many ways.

During the PA bow season, I will take a break for the Maryland early Muzzleloader Season. This is always one of the best hunts of the year due to the location and the kind of deer in the area,. It takes place from October 20th thru October 22nd. Antlered bucks are legal for this hunt. It is the first time there will be any real pressure on them and it is always interesting.

The first week of November will find me back in Pike County, Illinois for a rut archery hunt with Dale & Nathan Carter of Carter Outdoors. This hunt is always exciting becausethis is arguably the Big Buck capital of the Midwest. Guys come from all over the country for the three weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. 

Then it is back home to PA for the last 10 days of the archery season and then a couple of days rifle hunting in Maryland. This is the sleeper hunt of the year.

Next, i will travel to the state of Kansas for the rifle season....another prime place that we discovered last year.

All in all, it is shaping up to be a good fall but like I said above it just won't be the same no matter how well things turn out.

FINAL STEP COVER SCENT - Cedar

There are so many new products on the market every year that it is almost impossible to seriously consider their value. Especially when it comes to scents and scent elimination sprays. I have become quite skeptical of most of these products mainly because of the proliferation and not having any experience with the newer ones.

I was introduced to Final Step Cover Scent by friends of mine, Keith Zimmerman & Dwight Howdeshell, who are on their staff. They were very postive and excited about how well this product worked.  I was skeptical but they convinced me to try it. Their motto of "Like You Were Never There" was intruiging so I would try it in the upcoming PA Archery season. The main spot we hunt is a suburban area where the deer can come from any direction and the wind can come from any direction also. We have limited property and limited stand choices. If you try to hunt just setting up for a certain wind direction, you will not have many days to hunt. In the past, some of the deer would smell us as the wind shifted around and did its tricks. Some would bolt away or stand there stomping their feet. Others would realize we were there but didn't spook because they live in close proximity to people. Nevertheless, you are not going to get a shot at those that smell you.

After applying the Final Step cover scent, I headed for the woods on opening morning not really expecting any thing different. Boy, was I in for a surprise! As usual the deer were moving in many different directions but they were totally ignoring my presence. Hmm...this is unusal. As the day went on, I had many deer come in straight downwind and they never picked me up or even showed any sign of concern. Some even bedded 15 yards from my tree straight downwind. One buck was eating acorns downwind and he walked over to my tree and was smelling the ground where I had walked in. There was no sign of alarm and after he was through exploring and was satisfied he walked back over to his acorns and continued eating.

I was flabbergasted with all this. It was like I wasn't there and they definitely weren't smelling me. It made me a lot more relaxed knowing I was sort of invisible.  I decided that before I would proclaim this as a winner, I would try it for several more hunts and see if it continued. Well to make a long story short, it did continue...every time I went out. The deer just weren't smelling me...at all!

One late afternoon, I had three bucks come down a steep ridge behind my treestand. The thermals were blowing strong up the hill so I figured this would be a true test and they would surely bolt. Well, they came on down the ridge and ended up about 10 yards from me and were just standing there unalarmed. The biggest one walked a little closer to the stand and just laid down behind a blowdown log. The others were just casually walking around feeding. They stayed for a while and then casually left heading out for their nightly foray. I could have had any one of the three but I have been holding out for the big one I told you about from last season. I fully expect Final Step to work on him also and give might me a slight advantage this year. I will let you know how that works out.

I have no involvement with this company at all except that I am a very satisfied customer. I do not sell this product (but that may change) and I recommend you give it a try. Their website is www.finalstepcoverscents.com and will give you all the details. The Cedar one is the one to try. The others are Sage, Juniper & Greasewood which are mainly meant for out West or the Desert.  They tell me they harvest all the cedar on their own land in Missouri and manufacture and market it themselves. Those kind of little companies catch my attention. Usually products from companies like that are superior to the mass merchants. So give it a try and see what you think. It is certainly worth the $15 for a big bottle with free shipping.

The first trip to Kansas - December 2010

We traveled to Kansas for the opening of rifle season. We didn't know what to expect as we had never been there before. As it turned out, our expectations were exceeded.

We hunted with Gene and Terri Pearcy of Kansas Whitetail Adventures. They are a very nice couple who really have their act together. The lodge was fantastic and extremely comfortable. The food was very good and there was always plenty to go around. They had the best snack selection I have ever seen.

Now to the hunting.......Gene has 20,000 acres to hunt on and each spot is better than the last one. There were about 12 hunters in camp and everybody had plenty of great spots. I started the first morning in a little custom-built ground blind with sliding windows overlooking a great area. The blind was great to get in out of the ever-present Kansas wind. Right after first light a couple of does showed up followed by a real nice buck. I was having a hard time being decisive about shooting him. He had a huge muscular body that I surmised made his heavy 8 point rack look smaller than it actually was. Since I wasn't sure and it was only the first morning I passed him up. The rest of the day was uneventful with only a pair of coyotes to distract me. Passed them up also but probably shouldn't have.

For the rest of the week, I moved around from morning stand to evening stands which is how I like to hunt. I find it difficult to sit in the same spot all day. My concentration wanes with my comfort level. I did stay all day in a couple of places and saw lots of deer but nothing that I came to Kansas for. Some were very tempting like a GIANT 6 pointer I saw one afternoon that was the equivalent of a big 160 class deer but not enough points- just mass and more mass and long tines. He almost got it from me. Some of the other hunters scored on real big bucks and a couple of guys had ground shrinkage problems. There were a few misses also.

As the week wound down, that first morning buck looked bigger and bigger. I should not have passed him up but the first morning just seemed too soon to shoot.

All in all, we had a great time and it was one of our best hunting experiences ever. You just knew a giant buck could walk out at any time. We loved everything about the hunt. It was like Carter's in Illinois blown up to the next level. We definitely plan on going back next year. Very highly recommended if you like stand hunting in big buck country in pretty cold weather.

Another fun trip to Illinois - November 2010

This year's trip was scheduled for the second week of November to coincide with the dark of the moon. As I have mentioned many times in this journal over the years, this is really a fun hunt with great excitement and always the possibility of getting a great deer. This year would be no different.

I started out the week trying several stands that were successful in the past. I saw a bunch of deer but nothing great and nothing close enough. On Wednesday afternoon, i tried a spot that I had never seen before. It was unique in that it was very close to one of the houses and was not a high stand. It looked promising but I had no idea what kind of action I would have. I was there maybe 10 minutes and the first buck showed up. He came up out of the bottom chasing a doe. They trotted through the orchard and the gate and up the hill behind me before I could even pick up the bow. He was a giant buck hot on the heels of that hot doe. I was flabbergasted that it happened so quickly and I wasn't ready.

I figured I would be ready the next time if I was lucky enough to have another deer come by. I sat with the bow in my hand with the release on the string. I was concentrating on where the other deer had come from. I watched intently for a while and then I heard movement behind me. I turned to look at a deer working his way across the hill behind me. At the moment I diverted my attention, here came a second buck (bigger than the first giant) on the exact same path as the first buck. He was through the shooting window and up the hill behind me tracking down that doe before I could even stand up and draw. Now I was really flabbergasted! The deer kept coming at irregular intervals the rest of the afternoon but none were as big as those first two bucks. It was tremendously exciting nonetheless.

I knew where I was going to be the next morning. Even before it got light, the action started. Two does came through the gate and were standing right underneath the stand trying to decide which way to go. They left and went on up the hill. Shortly after first light, a big buck came down the hill and was going to go through the gate in the reverse direction. This time I had the bow ready. I had about 3 seconds to decide if he was a shooter and to get drawn. When he went through the gate I put the arrow right through him. He took off at an unsteady run down into the bottom. I knew it was a good hit and I figured he wouldn't go far. I texted Eddie and told him what had happened and that I wanted to sit there until about 10 AM to see what else came through there. He said "Fine. I'll pick you up at 10AM."

Well the action never stopped the whole time I was there. There were big bucks and little bucks going back and forth through there tracking the does. One big 160 class buck was standing so close to the stand that I could have killed him with a rock. It was tremendously exciting. I finally climbed down and walked across the woods road to retrieve my arrow. Sure enough, it was covered in blood from tip to nock. I was sure I had him. While I was standing there looking at the arrow I glanced up and saw a couple more does being followed by a big buck coming down the hillside. I knelt down and put the bow in front of my face and peered through it. They came right under the tree I had been in and stepped out on the path at about 7 yards. They never saw me kneeling there as they were intent on the buck behind them. He never saw me either. I could have had him easily.

We had lunch and got the guys together to go retrieve my deer. We took up the trail at the gate but it was very sparse. I was thinking "That's okay. He'll be down right ahead in one of those ditches."  Well, we followed the trail for 400 yards or more and finally lost it in a plowed field. Very disappointing! I thought for sure that one was in the book. Interestingly, another hunter shot the same deer out of the same tree stand one week later. They could tell it had been shot previously and matched my description. When I saw the picture I knew it was him. He was a big 9 pointer with a lot of mass and long tines but not a lot of spread. His neck was absolutely huge!

I hunted Thursday afternoon and Friday in different spots but my heart wasn't in it. I had one of the best overall, most exciting hunts ever. I just wish the outcome had been different. Well, maybe next season.

Pennsylvania 2010 Archery Season

For 2010, we planned to open the season with archery season in PA followed by our annual muzzleloader hunt in southern Maryland. Then it would be on to Illinois with the bow, back to Maryland in late November for rifle and finish up in S/E Kansas with the rifle. Lots of plans that we hoped didn't get disrupted. We were holding our breath.

The PA season opened on a positive note. The woods were loaded with acorns and the deer were feeding on them heavily. I was surrounded by deer every time I went out. They were mostly bucks but not the big shooter I was hoping for. Curiously, we did not see many does. I think the unlimited doe tags in our area are taking their toll. We see fewer does every year but we continue to see bucks being protected by the antler restrictions.

One afternoon right before we left for Maryland, I had a heart wrencher. I spent the afternoon watching the parade of non-shooters come and go from the acorn trees. I was just getting ready to climb down at dark when I noticed a lone deer ghosting his way into my scent canister. I put the binoculars on it and saw it was a huge deer - a midwestern type deer. He came in slowly and it was getting darker. I had the pin right on him when I shot at 19 yards. I saw the lighted nock streak down to where he was standing. It looked like I hit him based on the way he jumped and moved away. I watched him slowly walk down the hill expecting him to keel over at any moment. He kept going until he was obscured by the darkness. I thought "Okay, he will be laying down there somewhere." I got down and walked over to the arrow and to my surprise and shock there was not one drop of blood on the arrow. I must have missed him clean. I don't know how but I must have. Very, very disappointing!!  I have been reflecting on that moment ever since.

I hunted often the rest of the season and passed up numerous bucks hoping to see Mr. Big again. The landowner saw him a few times down by the house so I knew he was still around. Unfortunately, I never saw him again. Maybe next year!!

The third week of October is always one of my favorite weeks of the year mainly because it is the exciting muzzleloader season in Maryland. This year I had to make the trip alone due to my partner being ill. As I have mentioned in previous articles, this piece of property is located way back in the woods and there are some gagger deer walking around. The hunting is mainly from ground blinds on the fields or in the woods. There are also some older ladder stands. The landowner dutifully hunts the same ladder stand year after year mainly, I think, to stay out of our way. The one stand he uses most , he has hunted it for 8 years in a row and never taken a buck out of it.

Opening morning dawned cold, clear and relatively still. I was in my usual Double Bull blind in the field tucked up under a big spruce tree. The blind is almost invisible but you can see about 270 degrees around the blind through the ports in the side of it. I was really expecting to see something cross the field somewhere within that 270 degrees.  I watched carefully but nothing came out. Around 8:30 AM, I heard a shot off the the distance. It sounded like it came from the far corner of the field where the ladder stand was. Hmm! I hope Scott took that shot.

He was in that ladder stand about  an hour before shooting light. He heard a big deer come crunching in behind the stand in the pitch dark. He could hear him grunting and blowing softly in the cold morning air. Then there was no sound at all. Scott knew the deer was standing there looking but he did not move a muscle to turn around and get a glimpse of him. He was going to let him walk right past the stand before he looked at him. Everything was totally silent for the next hour. Scott knew he had to make a move soon because of the cold and nature's call. He carefully and slowly turned around to his rear but the deer was gone. He never heard him leave. He was disappointed but he had to climb down to go to the bathroom. He got right back up in the stand. About a half hour later, he caught a glimpse of a big buck skirting around the stand at about 75 yards in the woods. Right away he took the shot and dropped him.

When he got over to the deer he was shocked!  It was a big old heavy 8 pointer with a really distinctive rack. It was not real wide but was HEAVY. The main beam was webbed and the webbed part was 7 inches thick. You couldn't get your fingers around the bases. The tines were real long and heavy also. He had a huge neck and body and we estimated at least 250 pounds dressed. Now this was a deer of a lifetime. Everybody was elated especially Scott.

I never saw anything to shoot those three days which is really unusual. I hope that wasn't a harbinger for gun season in a month.

When we retuned for gun season, the field had been completely harvested of the bean crop. The beans have always been an attractant so I was hoping the deer would still be using the field. No luck! We saw some small bucks the first day but nothing shootable. The second day I was able to drop a nice 8 pointer as it was racing across the field at full speed. One shot dropped him and he skidded about 10 feet on his nose. That was exciting but that was the only deer taken. With the absence of crops, the deer sightings were way down overall. Hopefully that situation will change back in 2011. It is always a great time regardless of our luck.

Southern Maryland muzzleloader and rifle seasons - 2009

The Maryland muzzleloader season is always interesting. We get first crack at the big bucks in almost undisturbed mode. The property we hunt is way back off the road. If you go any further you will be in the ocean. It is a nice mix of crop fields and heavy woods with a big resident deer population. We really enjoy this hunt. We are not expecting to get giant bucks but they are there. This year we had an encounter that proved our theory.

The weather this year cooperated and was a nice 3 days. We hunt out of ground blinds that have been in place since late summer. The deer are totally oblivious to them. Several are set in the woods and a couple in the fields. The #1 blind location is in the woods on a logging road. It benefits from a back and forth movement every AM & PM heading to and from the feeding areas. The first evening, Walt was set up in this blind and I was in one of the field blinds. A little while before dark, Walt saw a nice buck (nothing huge) step out on the woods road at about 150 yards. You can see a long ways down this straight-arrow road. Walt decided he was going to try out his new muzzleloader so he took the shot and the 8 pointer took off through the woods. He stood the gun up in the corner of the blind and sat back to settle down. No more than 5 minutes later but getting darker, he looked out the blind. Standing there 5 yards from the blind was a giant buck (160 class) looking at the blind. He was not spooked and just stood there looking at the blind and finally just walked on down through the woods. Walt is sitting there kicking himself for shooting too soon and out steps another big buck (140 class) that does exactly the same thing. Now he is really unhappy but thrilled to see these two big deer.

I tried this stand a few times during the 3 day hunt but never saw those two bucks again. I held out until pitch dark every time but no luck. I saw several good deer out of the field blind but I was holding out for one of the big ones. In the end, I went home empty handed but had a really exciting, enjoyable hunt.

We were back at the end of November for Thanksgiving weekend and the opening of rifle season. We were really looking forward to this hunt after our experience in October. Everything was set-up the same and there had been no hunting pressure since we were there four weeks earlier. Conditions were ideal with no rain in the forecast.

Walt was in the woods blind and waited until late on Saturday evening to take a long shot at a nice buck way down the logging road. We found it the next day in those ultra thick woods. Very nice deer but not the giant.

On Sunday AM, I was in the field blind on a beautiful sunny morning. This was one of the few weekends each year when Maryland allows Sunday hunting on private ground. My blind was neatly situated. It was tucked up under a cedar tree next to an old abandoned house in the middle of this humungous field that must be 700-800 yards long. I had a good view of the whole field but the blind was positioned facing the east end where we expected to see the deer. About 7 AM the sun was coming up nicely. I took a quick look behind me at the west end of the field. I saw three smaller bucks chasing each other around in the sun-lit field. I could see them clearly but they were far away. I wasn't paying much attention until they all took off and left the field in a hurry. That's strange, I thought.  I took another look and here came a much, much bigger buck strutting out into the field. His rack was out beyond his ears and right away I knew he was a shooter. I put the rangefinder on him and it read 347 yards. In years past, I would have said it was too far but we had spent the summer practicing long range shots like this and our guns were set up out to 750 yards. I knew it was doable with a good rest. I opened the back window  and pulled over my stool. I got into a real solid rest and put the 350 yard dot on him and took the shot. The bullet went out across the top of the beans and I could hear it smack the deer. He ran twenty yards and piled up. I was thrilled and was jumping up and down in the blind. I got out and started walking back across the field. It sure seemed like a long way but there he was laying there. The buck was a 20" wide nine pointer with good mass. It was not one of the giants but a very nice buck taken on my longest shot ever. Walt had shot a big 162" deer in Missouri a few years ago at 535 yards so we know it can be done. The key is the right equipment and ammo.

Well, we both came home with deer and some lifelong memories. Very much looking forward to 2010.

Northeastern Missouri - Gun Season - 2nd week of November 2009

We returned to Missouri for the 2009 rifle opener which always takes place on the second Saturday of November. We were fortunate to be able to hunt the same farm we have been hunting for the last 5 years. It borders one of the Drury properties - a 1200 acre sanctuary. Over the years you have read about our experiences on this uniquely situated farm. It is right in the middle of a large wooded oasis consisting of several large wooded properties surrounded by miles of farm country. The area holds a lot of deer normally but as soon as the shooting starts, deer are pouring into these wooded cover areas.  I have seen some amazing deer over the years but always after shooting something way smaller than what is standing in front of me. We have always sworn to each other not to shoot until we see one of the true monsters. Then, we would see what we thought was a great deer and take it. Soon after along would come one of the gaggers and we would be kicking ourselves.

This year we absolutely vowed to hold off until we saw a monster.  No excuses accepted!  Well, that strategy paid off for only one of us. The first morning came and went . We heard a ton of shooting on the surrounding properties but we didn't see anything big. We knew it would just be a matter of time. We knew they would be there eventually.

I sat the whole first day in the ladder stand I always use. I was seeing some deer but nothing close to what I wanted. The afternoon dragged on and I was losing my determination. Right at 3:30 PM, a big 10 pointer came out of the woods at the end of the field 150 yards away. He shook himself off like he was just getting up from his bed. I believe he was bedded back on one of the fingers in that piece of woods. I am sure of it. He walked out to a low-hanging tree in the field and was raking his antlers in the branches. He was 96 yards away and I was looking at him hard. It was decision time. The buck was getting ready to leave on his nightly foray and I had to decide "yes" or "no". I had him in the scope clear as a bell. He looked really good but I didn't think he was that much better than some of the ones taken in past years. I decided to pass him up. I thought to myself, "I hope I don't regret this" but I had a feeling that I would.

My friend, Dan, was having the same experience on another part of the property. He also passed on his buck. However the next day, in the pouring rain, he was rewarded with a giant 14 pointer. It was truly one of the ones we had been waiting for. For me the heavy rain moved in and I never saw a another big buck the whole time we were there. The rain was almost constant like the previous hunt over in Illinois.  Nothing was moving and the rain kept on coming. It got so bad that the cattle crossings that we used to get to the different hunting spots were totally flooded out and totally impassible. We tried to go out and just sit in some other areas that we could get to but we were quickly drenched.

We looked at the weather forecast that showed heavy rain the rest of the week. For the first time ever, we decided to pack up early and go home. A disheartening but practical decision.

We'll see what happens in 2010.

Illinois Archery 2009 - This year I returned to Carter's Hunting Lodge in Pike County to hunt with the Carter clan. This is one of my favorite destinations. They have a knack for running a very relaxed, fun hunt in one of the best big whitetail areas in the whole country. Their area is about 9,000 acres with about 4,000 acres being contiguous with the Carters as owners. This allows them to have about 300 stands set up and the ability to move hunters around at will based on the wind, deer sightings or other conditions. Their property is up in the hills right above the Illinois River. It is some of the best deer habitat I have ever seen. Big woods with giant ravines and draws with almost no hunting pressure. There is just so much cover for those big bucks to feel safe in and grow to maturity. You just never know what you are going to see. Very exciting place to be!

I met my good friend, Charlie Miller, at the lodge. He was driving in from NJ and I was flying in from PA. This is another plus for Carter's. It is within easy traveling distance from home and a short but very scenic drive from the St. Louis airport. Route 100 runs along the beautiful Mississippi River and then crosses over to the west side of the Illinois River. You have to be careful if you travel that road in the dark. The deer are everywhere and you have to pay attention.

The conditions for the hunt were not good. Our timing with the moon was okay but not great. The real problem was the amount of rain the Midwest had received. Everything was so wet that it was almost impossible for the farmers to get their crops out of the fields. Standing corn was everywhere. The deer really had no need to leave the cornfields during daylight hours so we saw very few deer in the extensive woods. The big sign was there but the deer were being reclusive and we weren't seeing them.

It kept raining and we lost 2.5 days out of 5 to downpour conditions. Nathan and Lonnie Carter did the best they could under the conditions. On the third morning, Charlie had what he thought was a good deer come by. Even though he could not see both sides of the rack, he made a great shot on the deer. As soon as he recovered it and rolled it over he knew it was under the 140" minimum. The unseen side of the rack was weak and knocked down the overall score. The Carter's have a strict 140" minimum size requirement. This allows them to manage the deer herd for trophy bucks and it seems to work well. Anyhow, Charlie was a little short of 140 so it cost him a $750 penalty. Good lesson learned!

Charlie became my cameraman and we hit it hard for the rest of the week but no luck for me on a shooter buck. Very disappointing but nobody's fault but Mother Nature! The Carter's did their part but the weather was against us. This turned out to be the pattern for most of the 2009 hunting season.

I will return again in 2010 for another chance at a big one like the 167" I took in 2006. How the years fly by!

The plan for 2009 called for bow hunts in Pennsylvania and Illinois and gun hunts in Maryland and Missouri. As usual, we were looking forward to the seasons with great anticipation.

The PA season opened the first weekend in October. It was a beautiful fall morning the deer were on the move. Nothing came within range that AM but they were there - up in the hardwoods feeding on the acorns. I saw one real nice, long-tined buck I estimated as 140+. It was early October and he was already running the does around and chasing off the smaller bucks. It was fascinating to watch. I had an "almost-shooter" come up the ridge right by the stand right before dark. He was very tempting but I passed him up for another day.

The rest of the first week was pretty uneventful. I saw enough deer to make it interesting but nothing I wanted to take. I did see one giant buck (150 class est.) way up the hill and probably off our property. I saw him several times and he was always using the same trail. At some point we are going to have to get serious about putting a move on him because he is consistently using that same trail up and down the ridge.

On Wednesday of the second week late in the afternoon I had a wild encounter. I decided to try out the new Squeeze Bleat call from Quaker Boy. I couldn't believe the results. The deer came to the call in droves. I had 12 different bucks and a bunch of does come to the call. Nothing big but it was fun stirring the pot until darkness ended it. That call works great!

My son, Tim, hunted that stand later in the week and also had great luck with that call. He was able to coax in a real nice 19" wide ten pointer and took him with a nice shot. We were all thrilled!

As the season progressed, I was not getting shots but thoroughly enjoying myself. I kept at it until it was time to leave for Illinois. No luck until I returned from the Midwest.

On the last day of PA archery season, I arrowed what looked to be a nice buck on a conservation property where we had permission. Unfortunately, the deer ran over onto the neighboring property which is a 40 acre weed patch never to be seen again. Very disheartening. So close but no cigar!

We returned from the Midwest, tried to catch up on work for a few days and celebrated Thanksgiving with our families.  Then it was off to the eastern shore of Maryland for the firearms season that opened on November 25th.  This usually a very interesting hunt if the weather cooperates.

We just returned from a great hunt in Missouri. They have their rifle season right during the rut and this makes it very interesting.   We are lucky enough to stay with good friends and hunt property that is only available through them.   The country is beautiful, big farming country with a lot of big woodlots, creek bottoms and ravines.   The deer are plentiful and BIG!   Everybody in this part of the country is into hunting and it really takes on a festive atmosphere. With all the pressure, you wonder how there are so many big deer - but they are there!

The Maryland muzzleloader hunt from 10/19 thru 10/21 was a bust. The weather was too warm and with the high winds the deer weren't moving much. We saw bucks but nothing we wanted to shoot. It seems as if the big ones were not active yet. We'll have to wait until firearms season at the end of November.

We have been consistently hunting the local area around home in Pennsylvania since the season opening.   We have seen a lot of deer but mostly does. The few bucks we have seen are young ones and not shooters. While we are staked out up in the woods for hour upon hour, the landowner reports he has had a big 7 pointer and a big 10 pointer   out on his front lawn eating acorns.   We are hoping when it gets closer to the rut they will come up into the main woods to look for does.   Then maybe we will get our chance.

Maryland muzzleloader opens next week so we will have give hat a try. That is always a neat season.

Check in again in a couple of weeks for a progress report.

We are putting the final touches on the preparations for this year's seasons. Pennsylvania bow season opens this Saturday( 9/30) and we are hopeful for success. We work hard to make sure every thing is ready and the stands are in the right locations.   We will report in on how things are going as the time goes by.