19 November 2007
Out of The Deer Woods and Back to The Grind - 2007 Firearms Deer Season Recap
Posted by Darrell under: Hunting Stories .
I’m back from the woods. Firearms season is ending and it will be back to stealing a morning or evening here or there for my archery hunts. I love the outdoors and it is difficult to leave ‘em to get back to the daily grind.
This was a tough season for many of my usual hunting partners and I. First, I had to drive back and forth for most of the season instead of staying in the woods, as there were some guests from out of state that claimed the cabin where I normally stay. Second, it was a crazy warm deer season with several days in the 60’s and 70’s. Plus, I think many of the deer were either run off or killed off the property by the out of state guys.
In years past this property has been bursting with deer. In addition to our pre-season work, we strategically leave areas unhunted early during firearms season so that the deer stack up in them and then rest other areas while we hunt those. This rotation allows us to see lots of deer throughout the season. The out-of-state guys play by different rules and by the time they left, the deer were long gone.
It was far from an ideal season and lots of my friends and family were skunked. I feel like the out-of-state guys that monopolized the main property scared the deer into a frenzy, making it difficult (by the time they left) to even see deer, let alone get a shot at one. Once they left the property and I finally got to hunt all of it with some friends and family in tow, the deer were nowhere to be found.
It stunk for my friends and family, all of which had spent time this summer helping me work on clearing trails and putting up stands. Not one of them got a deer! Plus, since the out of state guys spent the entire first week of season there, I had several friends that I couldn’t invite down to hunt at all. There just wasn’t room for everyone in the three days we had the cabin.
Fortunately I took a nice 8 point buck on day one. It turns out that if I had passed him or missed him, I’d have been SOL. I wouldn’t have gotten another.
The out of state guys, on the other hand, took lots of deer including a couple of really nice bucks, the nicest of which was taken less than 100 yards from my stand #13 (where I had a feeder out all Spring and Summer). Another was shot within a couple hundred yards of my stand #15, although they told me they never saw that stand.
I am happy that the out of state guys had a good hunt, but dissapointed for my family and friends who didn’t get anything. On the bright side, my brother hunted on a different property and got a nice buck and a doe! He’ll have plenty of venison this winter. Congrats little brother!
My wife was quick to point out that I had spent hundreds of hours this Summer (hours I could have spent with her) clearing trails, clearing stand spots, putting up stands, putting up feeders and cameras, and then filling feeders. Oh, and she did mention the several thousand dollars I spent on stands, feeders, cameras, minerals, and feed.
I don’t have 17 stands up for myself. Realistically, I could never make good use of that many stands on my own. I put them up so that my family and friends can all hunt with me and have good spots to go. In retrospect, after watching every single one of them get skunked and some not even seeing a deer - I wonder if all the time and money I spent over the Summer was well spent. It seems almost pointless!
I haven’t ever considered myself to be a selfish hunter. However, I now fully realize that I am. I do not like the idea of working hard on a piece of property only to have someone else come on it and slaughter all the deer. Maybe some of you hard core conservationist can help give me an attitude adjustment? If not, I might find myself with a little more fishing time next summer and the out of state guys might find it a little more difficult to find big healthy deer to kill.
Regardless, I realize that I need to start looking for new properties to hunt or start making a heck of a lot more money so I can just buy my own! It will be interesting to see how I feel about this whole situation once my initial irritation subsides. I assume my perspective will change. Hopefully, then, I’ll be able to make some rational decisions about my deer hunting for next year and how much advance property preparation and money to invest in it.
5 Comments so far...
Arthur Says:
20 November 2007 at 10:04 am.
That is a tough one darrell. Kind of a catch 22 really. I don’t think you can win either way.
Bottom line for me is if you still enjoy doing the setup and all the early preparation then keep doing it. If all that work doesn’t seem to be paying off or you think it is paying off for other people than don’t do it anymore.
I think that if you enjoy the preparation in the summer and it helps your chances as well as the other guys (even the out-of-staters) than it was still time well spent.
Matt Says:
20 November 2007 at 10:07 am.
It sounds like you feel much the same as I do but for different reasons. In my case, I put in a lot of work hanging stands and clearing shooting lanes in the wrong spots!
You’ve got what I call the “mid-season blues,” although I guess with firearms season ending in your state, you could call it “end-of-season blues.” I get it every year, and then I usually shoot something in the late season that picks me back up. Spring and early summer go by, and I forget about the frustration deer hunting can bring, get tired of fishing and start getting ready for deer season again.
I hope some of your friends and/or family can join you for a successful late-season archery hunt or two. You never know what might be behind that tree or around that bend in the trail.
Good luck!
Kevin Says:
26 November 2007 at 1:01 pm.
It sounds like you have a tough situation. I would be looking for alternative places to go and I would check with your landowner to find out if you have any options for creating some rules for the property so that all of your hard work actually gets to pay off.
I don’t think their is much to say on a conservation side unless you can create some no hunting zones on the property to give the animals some sanctuary and then you might be able to keep the animals from vacating the entire area.
Get out there and start knocking on doors….
elektro-fahrrad motor Says:
20 June 2011 at 5:55 am.
Ez a blog jo. En egeszen biztos, hogy az emberek meg fogja talalni erdekes, mert en biztosan nem.
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