Even with rut rolling along work has been keeping me out of the woods. I have only been able to get out on Saturdays over the past week or so. Hopefully that will change this week.
Morning of 11/21/2015 -
I headed out into Loch Raven to one of my normal comfort spots. I haven't been seeing the deer like I normally do at this spot, but hey, there are still deer there so I gave it a shot. Around 7:30 am I had a spike walk down the hill too me and walk around in circles feeding for the next 35 minutes. At one point he was only 25 yards away and if there was January I may have taken him for meat in the freezer. However, it's not and I didn't want to waste my buck tag on young spike. So, I watched him and let him go. While I was watching the spike, I had a doe work across the hill, which I got all excited thinking she was going to walk right in front of me. She never did, she walked about 55 yards in front of me across the hill and went up into the thicket and was gone. which finally the spike followed and they were both gone. That was my day, that is the only thing I saw that morning and I finally headed home for some lunch and to switch locations for the evening hunt.
Evening 11/21/2015 -
I headed back out to another section of Loch Raven with a friend of mine. I got into the woods at a decently early time and got settled in. About 3:30 I saw a doe run down this clearing and stop at the edge. Not long after that I was looking in the same clearing and there stands a shooter buck. At this point they were about 135 yards away. I watched what I learned to be a very nice 9 pointer push this doe around and the closest they ever got to me was about 71 yards. I watched this buck with a group of about 6 - 8 does from 3:30 pm until dark. During this time I had another doe come up out of the thicket from behind me and run past me at around 4:00 PM and Around 4:30 PM I had a group of 3 does and a button buck come out of the thicket and walk 8 yards in front of me, with not a care in the world. I had some scent out and it was driving the little button buck nuts as he kept grunting while being right under my stand. I let the does walk since I could still see the 9 pointer, which now I wish I would have shot once since he never came closer that 71 yards. I saw a total of 10 - 12 deer that evening and it was all around a great evening hunting. I just didn't harvest anything..
Evening Hunt 11/28/2015 -
Opening day of gun season here in Maryland. I didn't have anywhere to gun hunt today, so I headed out to Loch Raven bow hunting. There was a fair number of guys out bow hunting Loch Raven this evening and I was actually surprised by the number. I went to a spot I really like in hopes the big boys would be moving before the rain. Well, the rain came early, and I found myself sitting in a tree bored and getting wet. Around 4:10 pm the rain quit for a bit and just after that I has a single fawn come up behind me and walk down a trail away from me. Never got closer than 45 yards. And..... That was my whole evening. I didn't see anything else moving, nothing else far away nothing. I did hear a few shots pretty close by right around dark.. Otherwise it was an uneventful evening.
I'll get back out at this week hopefully!
How did all of you do on this opening weekend of gun season?
