deer – Page 2 – My Mainely Girl Adventures

Deer Season Begins!

November 11, 2015November 11, 2015 staciwarren1 Comment

IMG_20151108_164443021 — Fireplace chase half skim coated for rock to be applied after. (c) S. Warren

Deer season began as it always does; a bunch of promising game photos, a night of no sleep, and excitement that I’ll be successful. This year’s season also includes us trying to do a DIY project involving installing a fireplace, applying mortar and stone to the outside, and getting it all done before the cold really hits and somehow making it work around the hunting season. We’re doing well, but we still have a lot to do.

IMG_20151109_062327134 — View from My Stand (c) S. Warren

I usually sit in My Stand right behind the house. This works for getting out and hunting each morning prior to my heading to work. It’s quick to get to and to get back. In past years, I’ve had some pretty awesome moments, and I expected to hear the deer in their travels as I always have. This year’s acorn crop is pretty small. I had hoped that my acorn stand would yield more deer this year because a nearby woodlot was cut making the oaks less abundant. Unfortunately, it’s not looking very good.

For the first time ever, I’m changing up my sitting spots. I have four spots: My Stand, the Robin Stand, the Buddy Stand, the New Stand, and a couple more options: the duck blind spot and the Tall Hemlock. The Robin stand is half way between my stand and the Buddy stand. Last year, I saw five does in this stand. We moved it so that I could see more and have more cover. I haven’t sat there yet because I need to add some foam to the rails to make it quiet and I just haven’t had time.

The Buddy stand is just that. It’s a double stand in an area that’s big and wide. This is the stand I was in on last year’s final day of muzzleloader season when Mr. Buck showed me a glimpse of his leg before hightailing it out of there. The one and only deer I’ve seen in that stand. I’ve played and replayed that day in my mind for the last year, hoping that Mr. Buck would still like to hang out and make some buck rubs and give me another shot at getting him. Things have been awfully quiet for me to believe he’s still around.

The New Stand is in a spot that takes me thirty minutes to get to, so it’s not feasible for weekday hunts unless it’s a holiday or vacation day. It’s not that far away, but walking into a stand in the still morning requires every step to be intentional and methodically placed so that you don’t break or snap a twig, so that the leaves done crunch, so that you don’t land on your face by tripping over the long grass, so that you get in undetected, and that’s not always easy. The stand sits on the edge of oaks and a dark softwood growth. Lots of deer sign and buck scrapes but it feels pretty dead most of the time…except when I least expect it.

I’ve been chasing deer in the area since I started hunting. The elusive big buck that I either jump or get busted yet never see. And this would be the case this year. My first time to the new stand that John put up for me. I usually go with him, but this day, we were going separate ways to get more done. Since my stand was pretty dead, I decided to try out the “new stand. John’s words exactly, ” Go straight, don’t turn right and it will be on your right. You’ll have NO problem finding it.” Now I know this neck of the woods, but after forty-five minutes of roaming around checking out every off shoot road, I finally found it. In fact, I stumbled upon it and then wondered if I’d be able to find my way out at dark. By then, I was a wash of sweat, possibly the result of cursing for the last hour. I had overdressed for that much walking, but was relieved to finally find my stand.

IMG_20151106_072633647 — Buck scrape (c) S. Warren

I wasn’t in my stand five minutes when I thought I heard a deer blow…which means it smelled me. I was busted. I heard the deer bound away. Legal shooting hours ended and I managed to find my way out. I was glad I had my flashlight because although I consider this a morning stand so I was surprised to hear a deer in the late afternoon. I have learned to be more comfortable in the woods, I have no intentions of getting lost.

This morning I had the opportunity to sit later due to the holidaym so I headed back down to the New Stand. Due to a back injury flare up from working on the DIY project, I hadn’t had a chance to hunt in two days so I was hoping my sciatica wouldn’t start in once I sat down. I quietly made my way down to stand. I managed to leave later than I wanted so by the time I was half way there, it was already starting to get light, but wasn’t close to legal shooting hours yet. I shut off my flashlight since I’ve memorized this trail and know where to step.

As I made my way toward my stand, I think I hear a grunt…a deer grunt…a BUCK grunt…Brrrr. I question whether I really heard what I think I’ve heard. Afterall, I have an uncanny way of hearing things that sound like a deer walking in the woods, but it ends up being a squirrel or falling leaves. So I doubt myself. Rule number one: never doubt yourself!

I take one more step and then I hear it. A deer blows and all I see is a white tail VERY close to me. The wind is blowing in my favor. I was too close for him to smell me; he just heard me and reacted. Between me and Mr. Buck is a really large boulder. This is concealing me from him, and him from me, not to mention it’s still too dark to shoot. I can’t pick him up in my scope. I scan the woods knowing he isn’t very far way…maybe 25 yards. I decide I’ll make my way to the boulder for a chance to sneak up on him. I duck and take one step. He blows, stomps his feet and blows a couple more times. In an effort to have him want to stick around, I blow a Brrr on my buck grunt. He gets incredibly upset and wheezes and snorts three or four more turns. I in turn stomp my foot as he was doing to me. It’s a stand off, but it’s still dark. If only can get him to step my way. He continues to blow and then without any other warning, runs away from me…gone forever. I just pray I don’t hear a sudden shot from someone lucking out on My Buck.

I had a blast, but as always I analyze, reanalyze, and then shoulda, woulda, coulda scenarios run through my head. In the end, I am learning and experiencing things I never thought possible. I’ve seen a porcupine in a tree, an owl trying to catch squirrels at daylight, partridge walking around, ducks and geese flying overhead. I hear screech owls howling, loons calling and of course squirrels…lots and lots of those dang red and gray squirrels. And not once have I been afraid to be alone in the woods, and that’s my biggest and proudest moment thus far.

I hope I’ll eventually see a deer that I can harvest. Time is ticking but in the meantime, I’m enjoying every minute I’m out there. Lots of exercise and experiencing lots of exciting moments. After all, it’s the adventures you have in the process that make hunting so rewarding.

Happy Hunting!

Learning to Archery Hunt-Patience and Persistance Revisited

October 22, 2015October 23, 2015 staciwarren2 Comments

parker bow — This is what my bow looks like.

ZackPibold — My oldest son’s pibold, taken with a bow. (c) S. Warren

In order to evolve as a hunter, I’ve taken on the task of learning how to bow hunt. I am the only one in the family who hadn’t tried bow hunting, because I didn’t have a bow…until my youngest son dropped over $800 on a new one. I inherited the grow-with-you Parker bow that we had bought him for Christmas a few years ago. I am fine with that since I am cheap, and a tune up is definitely cheaper than a new bow. After finally getting a proper fitting and a tune up at L.L.Bean, my bow is now officially ready to use to hunt.My dream is to get a buck. A big one…maybe even a pibold like the one my son got a few years ago.

I was thinking this was going to be easy-peasy-deer-in-the-pot, but I soon found out that couldn’t be further from the truth. Reality check in process!

I know your’e thinking, “Can this girl even hit the target?” Yes, I can hit the target, and given the chance, I might actually be able to take a deer with it. I bought some broad head points for a lethal shot, and lighted knocks so that I can find my arrow after I shoot it, if I ever get to take aim. On my first trip out, I was very optimistic and thought I’d have a deer in no time.

After spending so much time bear hunting in ‘real” wilderness, hunting behind the house is painful, but it’s helping me adjust to the noise in case I do go to the city. I really do live in the country, but I also live along two major routes that intersect at the bottom of the hill..oh yay…cars, trucks, motorcycles, dump trucks, tractor trailer trucks…all going by. Add wind, rattling leaves, barking dogs, construction, mowers and you have the idea. I even bought the Expanded Archery license in case I need to go hunt in the city for a deer where I can harvest a doe and still be able to harvest a buck behind the house. The benefit of the expanded archery season is that it goes until December 31st, past the last Saturday in the November of the rifle season and it’s a two week extension into muzzleloader season. I’ve shot deer with a muzzleloader in the past, but if all else fails I’ll be hunting in the city. My plan is to have some deer meat in the freezer this year one way or another!

Hunting with a bow is much more challenging than I realized it would be. It’s not the bow itself, but all the gadgets, and the odd shaped size that turns my stealthy walk into my stand into a clumsy wobble into my stand. I think I managed to catch every stick, limb, fern and leaf possible with the cams of the bow in my travels. Trying to climb into my stand with a bow in my hand is stupid to say the least. Yes, I tried it, and I made more noise than I thought possible..and it was daylight! I can’t ever imagine trying this in the dark before daylight.

BowRelease — My new release to pull the string on my bow. It folds back to be “out of the way” which is a total advertising lie. It’s still very much attached to my wrist and makes noise no matter how I fold it.

Note to self: You can put the release on after you get in the stand so it doesn’t clink every rail of the ladder as you climb. My stand is hid among a bunch of fir, hemlock and spruce…with lots of branches that now need to be cut so I can use a rope to pull my bow up the proper way…and that darned quiver (arrow holder) is noisy too, so off that comes, but where to put it? The last thing I want is to drop that with my arrows, so I also need to put up a bow holder…and I have to fix my shooting lanes because I have none for a bow shot. My setup works for the rifle, but I need much more space to shoot a bow.

One of my main problems is that my bow hunting pants and shirt don’t offer up enough pockets for all my junk I tote along for the hunt, and I can’t throw a bow over my shoulder like my rifle. I have to have my windicator spray, deer scent and container, buck grunt, doe bleat, flashlight, phone, and on colder nights, I also need gloves, a neck warmer and a hat..and one pocket on my pants just doesn’t cut it. I have a backpack to bring, but that’s too noisy for mornings…SO I’m back to trying to store everything in my camo jacket liner.

buck grunt — Buck grunt to mimic bucks in rut.

doe bleat — Doe bleat to mimic does in heat. Calls in bucks. Anti roll edges which is new and very important…nothing to roll off the treestand.

If you’ve ever hunted in the morning, sound is amplified ten times more than in the middle of the day. Every leaf crunches, every movement makes noise, and every breath, every pulse seems to be there for you–and deer to hear…and that means every little bump, clink, swish of a leaf can be heard.

So, for now, I’ll keep you posted on my progress. I’ll need lots of persistence to get thru this clumsy phase. I’ll need lots of patience for the noise I have to contend with as I sit for what seems like hours in my treestand. There will probably be more stories of my being busted due to my clumsiness than deer success…and I will most likely switch back to my rifle in a couple weeks. For now, I’ll make sure I use my harness and hope for the best and enjoy the sit before it gets too dark and cold.

After all, it’s the adventures in the process, not just the harvest.

Final Week of Bear Hunting – Countdowns Are Hard!

September 24, 2015September 25, 2015 staciwarrenLeave a comment

Last Thursday….So the bears finally came back! I was pretty excited to see three different bears on my site. To our surprise, we had two different bears show up on John’s lower bait. One was a very small bear and another was one nice bear that showed up at 7:48 am…go figure…dang it!

big bear bottom bait — John’s 7:48 am bear

Friday-I had to work until after 5pm, so I couldn’t wait to hunt on Saturday.

Saturday, I got into my treestand earlier than usual. I had a honey burn going behind me. That’s a can of honey being cooked over a sterno fire to make a delicious aroma for bear. The place was full of scent and to make things more delicious, I brought and hung half of my frozen beaver carcass that John scored for me this past spring. The beaver was killed by a car at the end of the lake and was in the road. I spotted it on my way to taking my youngest to school so I called John and he recovered the beaver. I’ve waited all season to hang it as an added bonus since I’ve read that “beaver is bear cocaine”.

IMG_20150911_170357868 — My bait site this year…from my treestand. (c) S. Warren

The wind was swirling…like in every direction. It would swirl and whirl, and then be completely dead quite, then repeat itself. I kept myself entertained watching the several red squirrels and mice make their way to the bait for some eats, then they’d chase each other from one tree to another. I also heard lots of crashes and noises like never before. I thought I heard a “huff”–the sound a bear makes when he’s giving you a warning that he doesn’t like you being there…BUT since I’ve never actually experienced the whole experience of seeing and getting a bear, I second guessed myself, and thought I was just making it up in my head. After all, I am told you don’t hear bear, you see bear.

Eventually I had to surrender to legal shooting hours and leave the stand. I’ve been brave this year, making my way into my stand alone and walking out alone a couple of times. So once again I figured I’d walk out and meet John at the truck. Very quietly, I climb out of my stand, put my gun by the tree and put on my backpack. As I picked up my gun, I heard something take off about 20 yards from me. It ran a few steps, but then I didn’t hear it anymore. I thought maybe John was coming in to meet me, so I whistled…no whistle back…thinking perhaps I didn’t do it loud enough..I whistle again…still nothing. I decide it’s really getting too dark so I set my gun down and take off my back pack to find my flashlight. I can feel it, but I can’t find the zipper to access it…dang…After three or four tries, I hear a noise in the woods, and so I watch over my shoulder. I finally retrieve my flashlight. As soon as I turn it on, I spot John’s light coming through the woods. As I meet him, he’s pretty pumped up…”I just ran into a bear!….Yes, I know…he was right here…he circled around me and was coming in towards the honey burn….and so off the bear ran.

Sunday – We pulled the bear bait from Athens. We never got even one bear on the bait the entire time we tried, so we went in and cleaned and removed all traces of our being there.

Monday afternoon, I sat. No bears at the bait but I still sat and hoped. John sat on the upper bait which is a switch. With no bear at the other bait sites, he’s been sitting in the truck or out scouting for edible Maine mushrooms, a new fascination of mine.

Tuesday afternoon, I sat. Still no bears on the bait. My beaver carcass is hanging right where I hung it Saturday untouched. I wasn’t feeling too hopeful, but no more than 5 minutes after sitting in my tree stand, I spot movement…hoping for a bear, I soon realize it’s a deer…a big deer…a beautiful fully symmetrical, still-in-velvet or very dark antlers…an 8 point buck! If it were deer season, I would have shot me a deer. I’m thinking, deer are not supposed to come while bear hunting…they’re supposed to come during deer season!!…perhaps this is a sign of my deer season to come. Since I don’t have a doe tag, I’ll need to shoot a buck.

Toward the end of the night, I decided to try something new and I took out my predator call and started imitating a wounded rabbit…it’s supposed to call in bear…yeah right…it didn’t’ call in a bear, but as soon as I called, I began hearing a cow moose bellowing her mating call…over and over, louder and louder–about seven times in all. At first I thought it was John trying to call in a moose, because that’s what he does….so I call back thinking I’ll trick him…the next think I know I hear a bull moose making his grunt...it’s sort of like a glug…so cool! Okay, no John involved and there was a courting ritual taking place not too far from me. The cow and bull moose continued until I heard galloping down the road…what an exciting night! No bear, but all the wildlife encounters left me feeling satisfied.

10411746_10203113710937242_5290703695723692381_n — The upper bait…not much to look at…it’s grown in even more from this photo taken last year. (c) S. Warren

Wednesday afternoon I sat on the upper bait. For three straight nights, a smaller bear had been coming out during legal shooting hours, and we hadn’t even been checking the bait due to time constraints, and the fact that no bears had been to the bait since the first week of baiting season. John thought there was a bear there Tuesday, but it got too dark before it came out. The night felt exceptionally long. I think the woman forgot to put the turbo shot in my iced coffee. All I wanted to do was fall asleep…I hate it when that happens! The range of view is much smaller and inevitably there always seems to be noise behind me…and it drives me crazy. Finally it got dark so I could end my torture and get down… and again, no bear.

Thursday afternoon I can’t hunt. I have to work late at a formal function. There is nothing worse than not being able to hunt when the countdown is on.

Friday and Saturday are the last two days to hunt over bait. I’m putting all my eggs in one basket and spending my last two days doing everything possible to get a bear. I’m not too hopeful, and in fact I’m sort of resolved to the fact that chances are I won’t get a bear this year. Yes it bums me out, but I have to remember that each and every time I go, I am learning, and enjoying the outdoors and growing as a hunter, a woman and wife. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to spend this time with my hubby who basically has had even less chance of getting a bear this season than me, and I know that I’ll be back next year to try again. Cross your fingers for me!