DEER SEASON FINALE- ITS OVER!!

 January Final Week Recap and

Winter Preview

   Deer season has officially come and gone in PA and our last week was a rough one to say the least. We spent the final 3 days of the season (Jan 21, 22, and 23) doing doe drives with bows and shotguns as well as trying to find a buck for the last one of us with a buck tag. Other than me missing does TWICE, once with the xbow and once with the shotgun, the final week was rather uneventful. As much as I would love to elaborate, a 6 month season chasing whitetails and traveling to hunt other big game has totally drained me mentally and physically at this point. Not saying I was ready for it to be over but right now, I am happy its over. The month of February will consist of cleaning up stands and cams as well as reflecting on my deer season and mentally taking a few steps back from hunting. Although I may get in some shed hunts, possibly an upland hunt and maybe a few days of predator hunting, it will be for nothing more than personal enjoyment. Months of grinding and stressing over chasing big bucks have worn me down enough that the rest and 

recuperation will be a welcome change. Over the next month stay tuned for some gear reviews, upland/ predator hunt recaps, shed hunt recaps, and turkey prep. We will also be stating to upload some content to the YouTube channel and hopefully have a few how-to videos along with gear reviews and much more. Before the week is over I will be posting an entry summing up the purpose of our page along with previewing some of the entry level filming and editing gear I have gotten so far. Sometimes we aren't sure where things will end up, however I am diving in along with the help of some great people and ultimately we will see what happens! 

SLOW January in PA- DOE KILL

 

    January 15 and January 16 Hunt Recap

January in PA has been nothing short of SLOW to say the least. With just one week of the season left I am still looking to fill the freezer with a few does, along with trying to get a good friend (Dan) on his first buck. And neither of these goals have been working out too well.... On the 15th Dan and myself decided to take the afternoon and do some 2 man drives on local public ground, while still hunting/ wind bumping toward each other hoping to smack a few does. Before I could even arrive from work he had a doe on the ground. Still hunting into the wind and pushing through thick cover paid off for Dan early in the afternoon, as a mature doe held up in front of him and he was able to drop her at 15 yards before she could bust out. Once I arrived we began still hunting toward each other, bouncing from spot to spot, trying to cover as much ground as possible. Our goal here was to push through the thickest cover we could find and locate where these herded up, late season deer were spending the daylight hours. I have found that on public ground, walking to and through places other people wont go, trying to find the thickest, nastiest cover will almost certainly lead you to the best deer habitat. On our last walk I was able to bump 8-10 does and had the safety off but a clear shot never presented itself . They cut out the side and never made it up to Dan either. Our day ended with just the one doe Dan was able to shoot early in the afternoon, and you know how the saying goes "Any public land deer is a good deer!"

Saturday, Jan 16, found myself and Dan back on public ground employing the same tactics as the previous day. The weather was less than ideal for hitting PA public land (or any Public land in a suburban area) in January, as temps soared into the low 50s. We encountered hikers, hunters, and dog walkers at almost every single spot we hit. And when we did seem to find a spot with little to no pressure, there were no deer or fresh sign to be found. Through early afternoon we were unable to get on a single deer or find any fresh sign to hunt, so we decided to switch up and sit for the afternoon. We we unable to get on the board or really find any deer at any point throughout the day. Finding no fresh sign, no new spots, no action and lots of pressure can make for a long and fruitless day. These days are always hard to swallow for someone who puts in countless hours scouting, hunting, and thinking about chasing deer. But I know I am not the only one who feels this way, and oddly enough by the time I wake up the next morning I am biting at the bit to be back at it again! 

Maryland Late Rifle Recap

Maryland happens to be one of my favorite states to hunt (definitely not due to my success there) as a PA resident because it is close, cheap, and allows for many more opportunities to chase bucks close to home. That being said, the 3 day January rifle season is one of the weekends I  loo forward to most. This year myself and a buddy chose to hunt some public pieces we were familiar with that we had scouted and hunted in January of 2020. I actually missed a really good buck there in the October Muzzleloader season of this year. We have killed multiple does there as well, so this has been a proven spot for us. Hunting this weekend was extremely slow however. I chose to still hunt during the day on day 1 and encountered numerous does but none offered any shots. In the evening I sat on one of my favorite spots a few miles back on a swampy powerline (SLOW night). I was really hoping to sneak up on something, as still hunting has become a method I have fallen in love with recently. The pine needles matting the trails and constantly damp underbrush make for excellent sneaking conditions. There was not much wind on day 1 which made things slightly more difficult. Day 2 provided more wind and much better still hunting conditions, however deer sightings were nonexistent, until I bumped a doe at last light. Although I was not successful in harvesting anything I feel that I can take a few lessons away from this weekend. First and foremost, is get out of your comfort zone. I have always been a stand hunter and truly have never had much confidence in sneaking up on a weary whitetail. But with success and experience comes confidence. And with a little bit of confidence, you can sneak up on a whitetail in the right conditions. If you move just a little bit slower than you think you should, listen a little bit longer, and scan the brush just a little bit harder, you will find yourself having more and more encounters. Still hunting is quickly becoming one of my favorite hunting tactics. And it will be something I will be doing much more of in the future. 

2021 BLOG INTRO

 

Welcome to 2021! For most of us whitetail hunters (and some late season western hunters) we are wrapping up the 2020-2021 hunting season sometime over the next few weeks. 2020 was certainly challenging in many ways but if you are like me, hunting was still there to provide the outlet many of us needed. With a new year comes new goals, visions, and pursuits. There will be daily posts outlining that days hunts, gear, methods, tactics and and giving an overall summary of why I did what I did. Over the next few weeks I will be detailing some of my deer hunts to close out the season including Maryland late season rifle, PA deer drives, and PA shotgun doe hunts. Follow along as we wrap up deer season and get into the (BORING) winter months ahead. Offseason content will include shed hunting days, offseason deer scouting days and of course planning the 2021 Spring Turkey Season! I am looking forward to 2021 and hopefully learning a thing or two about how to become a better hunter (maybe you will learn a thing or two along the way as well). Plenty of cool stuff to come so if you are a working man (or woman!!!) like me, follow along to see how I find time to scout, hunt, and make the most of my time in the outdoors.