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.