Similar to the past few years i was lucky enough to be given two agricultural nuisance deer tags for a friends inlaws farm. It allows you to take two antlerless deer from their property on top of your regular deer license. This area has a lot of farms and the deer herd in overpopulated and hammers their crops so it helps them keep the crop damage down and it helps me fill the freezer so it's a win win situation.
Opening Monday morning I go with to friends to one of their uncles farm nearby where we go every opening day. One guy set up his ground blind at the old fallen down brush blind we made almost 20 years ago and sat with his dad and the other guy and I snuck down to the brook to set up there. It was misty and wet and i thought it was supposed to be clear for at least the morning but it ends up raining pretty hard all day. We don't see any deer until close to 11 when 3 does poke out under the old apple tree on the left side of the field. From where we are set up though they are behind a screen of alders with no gaps to shoot through. My buddy tries to sneak to the brook crossing where it's open for a shot but they see his movement and take off for the tree line.
We sit until noon but the rain isn't letting up so we decide to pack up at noon and go get some lunch. My other friend and his dad had already packed up and left before we did Before we left we moved the ground blind to the other side of the brook where we saw the three does for the evening. I decide to stay home and dry out but Buddy goes back for the evening and as he walks down he sees the same three does in the same spot and he is again behind the alders and the same thing happens, they see him and spook. That was all of the action that evening.
Day 2 and I had texted the farmer who i got the nuisance tags from to see if the field was open that i usually hunt. He told me it was free and i would have it to myself until the weekend. I drove up 25 minutes before first light and waited in the truck until it was light to not spook any deer i couldn't see while setting up my blind. As it got light i couldn't see any deer so i packed up my blind and chair and headed up the field. I picked out a high spot where the back left corner is about 230 yards and the far right edge is 185ish and i have an almost 180 degree view that i can shoot in. Once i got my blind set up i was only sitting for maybe 20 minutes when i see a doe come over the hill to my left. As i am getting my gun and bipod set up and adjusted i see a smaller doe come up behind her. I range them at about 220 yards but they are feeding in my direction so i let them come closer while i watch and try and control my breathing and let my nerves calm down a bit. As I wait they slowly walk to about 175 and i have managed to calm down a bit and steady myself so i settle in to take a shot at the bigger doe.
When I hit her with the .270 she drops on the spot and the younger deer runs for the back edge of the field but half way to the trees it stops and hesitates where the first doe isn't following. It then turns around and walks back about half way to the first doe and stops where i am able to get off a second shot and down it goes. So now both nuisance tags are filled, meats in the freezer and i have the rest of the season to use my regular tag at a bit more leisurely pace.
The next day it was pouring rain again so i stayed home to keep dry.
Thursday i went with my buddy from Monday (who ended up getting a doe on tuesday as well) to take down his trail cameras and ladder stand from his set up. We both brought shotguns just in case we saw some partridge along the way but weren't doing any serious hunting. After taking everything down we were driving back and had a small buck walk out at about 50 yards and stand on the side of the dirt road. I had always heard of people just driving the back roads looking for deer and being fairly successful at it but i'd never had it happen to me before.
We were kind of shocked when it didn't run and i remembered that i had a slug in my vest "just in case some fool deer stands right on the road looking at me". It stood long enough to watch me get out of the car, find the slug, load it up and walk a bit close to it to get a bit closer, all while standing fully broadside and still. I lined it up and slowly and carefully whiffed the shot right over its back somehow. We searched all around and there was no blood, no hair and we could follow its tracks back down the trail where it ran for about 80 yards and no sign blood or any injuries.
Friday was halloween and we had plans for the weekend so no hunting. but i made plans to go with my friend from Day 1 to our old camp we just got to do some work on it. We've been replacing the porch floor that was soft and rotten from a leak in the roof.
Monday we pack up our tools and i learned from last time so i bring my rifle this time in case another foolish deer wants to stand on the road and watch me and what do you know, on the way in to the camp another young buck does the unexpected and just stands and watches us. It was again from about 50 yards and stood long enough for us to debate who wanted to try and get a shot, get out, grab my gun, load it and get a shot off. It ran about 100 yards in to the clearcut and went down.
So now instead of working on the camp we need to drag him back to the truck and get it skinned and cleaned up so we didn't get nearly as much work done on the floor as we had planned but now i am all out of deer tags and have the next 2 weeks off on vacation to find things to do and make as much room in my freezer as i can or maybe use one of the Bear Tags i've been sitting on since the spring.
Opening Monday morning I go with to friends to one of their uncles farm nearby where we go every opening day. One guy set up his ground blind at the old fallen down brush blind we made almost 20 years ago and sat with his dad and the other guy and I snuck down to the brook to set up there. It was misty and wet and i thought it was supposed to be clear for at least the morning but it ends up raining pretty hard all day. We don't see any deer until close to 11 when 3 does poke out under the old apple tree on the left side of the field. From where we are set up though they are behind a screen of alders with no gaps to shoot through. My buddy tries to sneak to the brook crossing where it's open for a shot but they see his movement and take off for the tree line.
We sit until noon but the rain isn't letting up so we decide to pack up at noon and go get some lunch. My other friend and his dad had already packed up and left before we did Before we left we moved the ground blind to the other side of the brook where we saw the three does for the evening. I decide to stay home and dry out but Buddy goes back for the evening and as he walks down he sees the same three does in the same spot and he is again behind the alders and the same thing happens, they see him and spook. That was all of the action that evening.
Day 2 and I had texted the farmer who i got the nuisance tags from to see if the field was open that i usually hunt. He told me it was free and i would have it to myself until the weekend. I drove up 25 minutes before first light and waited in the truck until it was light to not spook any deer i couldn't see while setting up my blind. As it got light i couldn't see any deer so i packed up my blind and chair and headed up the field. I picked out a high spot where the back left corner is about 230 yards and the far right edge is 185ish and i have an almost 180 degree view that i can shoot in. Once i got my blind set up i was only sitting for maybe 20 minutes when i see a doe come over the hill to my left. As i am getting my gun and bipod set up and adjusted i see a smaller doe come up behind her. I range them at about 220 yards but they are feeding in my direction so i let them come closer while i watch and try and control my breathing and let my nerves calm down a bit. As I wait they slowly walk to about 175 and i have managed to calm down a bit and steady myself so i settle in to take a shot at the bigger doe.
When I hit her with the .270 she drops on the spot and the younger deer runs for the back edge of the field but half way to the trees it stops and hesitates where the first doe isn't following. It then turns around and walks back about half way to the first doe and stops where i am able to get off a second shot and down it goes. So now both nuisance tags are filled, meats in the freezer and i have the rest of the season to use my regular tag at a bit more leisurely pace.
The next day it was pouring rain again so i stayed home to keep dry.
Thursday i went with my buddy from Monday (who ended up getting a doe on tuesday as well) to take down his trail cameras and ladder stand from his set up. We both brought shotguns just in case we saw some partridge along the way but weren't doing any serious hunting. After taking everything down we were driving back and had a small buck walk out at about 50 yards and stand on the side of the dirt road. I had always heard of people just driving the back roads looking for deer and being fairly successful at it but i'd never had it happen to me before.
We were kind of shocked when it didn't run and i remembered that i had a slug in my vest "just in case some fool deer stands right on the road looking at me". It stood long enough to watch me get out of the car, find the slug, load it up and walk a bit close to it to get a bit closer, all while standing fully broadside and still. I lined it up and slowly and carefully whiffed the shot right over its back somehow. We searched all around and there was no blood, no hair and we could follow its tracks back down the trail where it ran for about 80 yards and no sign blood or any injuries.
Friday was halloween and we had plans for the weekend so no hunting. but i made plans to go with my friend from Day 1 to our old camp we just got to do some work on it. We've been replacing the porch floor that was soft and rotten from a leak in the roof.
Monday we pack up our tools and i learned from last time so i bring my rifle this time in case another foolish deer wants to stand on the road and watch me and what do you know, on the way in to the camp another young buck does the unexpected and just stands and watches us. It was again from about 50 yards and stood long enough for us to debate who wanted to try and get a shot, get out, grab my gun, load it and get a shot off. It ran about 100 yards in to the clearcut and went down.
So now instead of working on the camp we need to drag him back to the truck and get it skinned and cleaned up so we didn't get nearly as much work done on the floor as we had planned but now i am all out of deer tags and have the next 2 weeks off on vacation to find things to do and make as much room in my freezer as i can or maybe use one of the Bear Tags i've been sitting on since the spring.
