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2004 Deer Season Journal
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I made it to our property early on Friday and had an opportunity to spend a little time in my stand from 11:30 to 12:45. The weather was warm but rainy and foggy, and after no activity I couldn’t resist getting my digital scouting camera to see what it had caught over the last week.
I was glad to see that I had gotten a couple of pictures of an 8 point buck that I had seen last year. Last year he was the best buck that I saw and I had waited all year to see how he had grown.
Even though he is still and 8 point he has really grown up. His antlers are a little larger while his body seems to have grown the most. He is easily the largest bodied buck that we have had on our property in a few years. If his antlers catch up next year, he’ll be a real nice deer.
After viewing 88 scouting camera pictures I was back in my stand by 4:15. A long spike came in at 4:30. He saw me but didn't get nervous. A button buck also came in at about the same time. They both eventually wandered off.
The nine point that only has one brow tine showed up at about 5:30 and the button buck came back. At 5:45 the large 8 point came up out of the hollow with another smaller 8 point following close behind. The long spike then followed the two 8 points.
The large 8 point approached the feeder area where the 9 point was and they both stared at each other for a while. Interestingly the smaller 8 point stayed down in the woods, almost as though he was the watch out.
It was easy to tell by the body language that the big 8 point was the dominant buck in the group. All of the other bucks gave him the right of way.
It was funny how the spike would boss the button buck around while all of the other bucks were there. He was picking on the only buck there that was smaller than him.
Eventually the big 8 point put his head down and walked towards the 9 point, sending him back down into the woods in the direction of the smaller 8 point. The 9 point started rubbing a tree. When he did this the smaller 8 point started hooking a small tree and breaking branches with his antlers. They both put on an interesting show for a while before the 9 point decided to lie down. He was about 30 yards or so below me.
When the 9 point was rubbing his antlers he spent more time smelling the tree than he did rubbing it. So is he checking to see if he is leaving his scent on the tree, or does he just like the smell of the tree?
It’s fun to watch these bucks interact with each other. It should get real interesting over the next couple of weeks.
Eventually they all wondered off, leaving the button buck and I alone.
About 15 minutes later a small spike came up out of the woods. He stopped to smell where the 9 point had taken his break and rubbed a tree. When I slapped at a mosquito that tried to take a piece of my cheek, the spike saw me. He and the button buck got nervous and walked off.
October 30th
Ryan and I got an early start and were back in our treestands before sunrise, back where I had seen the bucks the night before.
The weather had changed from fog and rain to warm and windy. As usual the wind caused the deer to be very spooky.
Two spikes were first to come up and see us. They hung around a little while before they got scared and left.
At about 8:00 the larger 8 point seemed to just appear about 30 yards right in front of me. And again as usual, he was staring right at me. He spent about 10 minutes just below us, giving us a good look at him up close. He then walked off. It was neat for Ryan to get to see this buck this morning. It helps for him to understand how the value of getting out of bed to get into the woods before the deer show up.
In the afternoon we went back to where we had sat last week. The wind was still blowing and was gusting harder than it had been in the morning. I was wondering how smart we were sitting in that tree swaying back and forth.
At about 5:15 a spike came along with a doe and young one close behind. We were hoping to get a shot at the doe, but the spike got downwind of us and they all took off over the hill. They were very spooky in the wind.
A little later a doe showed up from behind us. As it walked by, Ryan tried to get a shot but it never stopped walking. It also ended downwind of us and ran off.
A few minutes later a doe and two younger deer also showed up behind us. The doe came on up first and Ryan was able to get off a shot. The shot looked real good but the doe started to turn away to run at the shot. It looked like it hit her right behind the front shoulder a little low and angling down and forward.
We followed the blood trail for about 100 yards until we found the arrow. After we found the arrow the blood trail disappeared. We gave up for the night and took up the hunt again in the morning. Unfortunately we could never pick up a blood trail, even with the help of daylight.
Next week is youth doe hunting day here in West Virginia. Ryan will be back in the woods with me again with his trusty .410. He's been pretty steady with it the last couple of years. Hopefully we'll have some doe pictures to show next week.
Return from October 30th Journal Update to the 2004 Deer Season Journal.
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