Opening Day
Posted on November 07 2007 by Gary
... 2007 Deer Opener - Off with a bang! ....
November 3rd - Deer Opener - Sunrise: 7:54am Sunset: 5:59pm
We were in our stands early. Shooting time is 1/2 hour before sunrise (plus a -4 minutes) or 7:20am. We were in our stands at 5:30am and waited nearly two hours. At 6:50 am, we heard a shot and later found out a hunter had taken a coyote with that shot. Of course no one in his party saw a deer for the rest of the day either. But we waited.
7:20 finally came and we were on the edge of our seats or stands. Rod had taken up a position at the far eastern end of the field while Megan was in the stand Jason built on the west side of the property and I was in the middle of one of the clearings.
We had seen a huge doe coming in early on the game camera. And I was hoping Megan would be able to take it. Jason had worked extremely hard at establishing a food plot and in getting a stand built. He did an excellent job and it looks as if it will pay off this year.
Magan did get a shot at that doe shortly after shooting time. She patiently waited to track it, some two hours in fact. Rod and I helped - but all we could find was an occasional hoof print but no blood trail. We finally concluded that she must have missed. She felt bad and so did we. We're rooting for you Megan!
It was about 4pm when I finally saw some movement and unfortunately, the deer saw my movement! I had been using a buck grunt, when I decided to use the doe bleat. There was a deer by the tree and brush line in the first photo on this page, and I never saw him until it was too late. He picked his head up and all I saw was his white flag as he ran south and off our property.
Jason was out hunting in the Chengwatana with our friend Dennis. Dennis got a big bodied 4-pointer right at legal shooting time. Jason had to stop hunting and help Dennis move the deer to a safe spot and out of the swamp water where they were hunting. Jason did not see another deer for the rest of the morning. By 1 pm, he suggested to Dennis that they start taking the deer out of the swamp as they had nearly 7 miles of work ahead of them. They finally got out of the forest at 6:30pm.
After shooting hours and as darkness engulfed the property, Rod and I decided to head to Ryder's bar and grill to get some food and a much-deserved beer. That's where we heard about the coyote shooting. Jason meanwhile was helping Dennis get his buck back to Dennis's place (registration would have to wait until morning).
One cool thing that happened on Saturday was in finding a little piece of a tamarack like forest on our property. Right next to it was a large open field (low land area actually) about 100 yards in length and approximately 50 yards in width. Strange as it may sound, I had not had the time to explore the property to the north and behind my deer stand. There had to be an additional 10 to 15 acres back there and I never explored to see what was there. In addition to the primordial forest, we also found a creek that bordered the open wetland area.
A neighbor has apparently been cutting (mowing) paths through our property and I need to speak with them this next weekend to let them know we are out hunting (for our safety and theirs) and to ask that they now confine themselves to their own property and its boundaries. Always a delicate matter in the country as a new property owner.
So for the opening weekend: Deer 2, Hunters 1. We'll keep you posted.
November 3rd - Deer Opener - Sunrise: 7:54am Sunset: 5:59pm
We were in our stands early. Shooting time is 1/2 hour before sunrise (plus a -4 minutes) or 7:20am. We were in our stands at 5:30am and waited nearly two hours. At 6:50 am, we heard a shot and later found out a hunter had taken a coyote with that shot. Of course no one in his party saw a deer for the rest of the day either. But we waited.
7:20 finally came and we were on the edge of our seats or stands. Rod had taken up a position at the far eastern end of the field while Megan was in the stand Jason built on the west side of the property and I was in the middle of one of the clearings.
We had seen a huge doe coming in early on the game camera. And I was hoping Megan would be able to take it. Jason had worked extremely hard at establishing a food plot and in getting a stand built. He did an excellent job and it looks as if it will pay off this year.
Magan did get a shot at that doe shortly after shooting time. She patiently waited to track it, some two hours in fact. Rod and I helped - but all we could find was an occasional hoof print but no blood trail. We finally concluded that she must have missed. She felt bad and so did we. We're rooting for you Megan!
It was about 4pm when I finally saw some movement and unfortunately, the deer saw my movement! I had been using a buck grunt, when I decided to use the doe bleat. There was a deer by the tree and brush line in the first photo on this page, and I never saw him until it was too late. He picked his head up and all I saw was his white flag as he ran south and off our property.
Jason was out hunting in the Chengwatana with our friend Dennis. Dennis got a big bodied 4-pointer right at legal shooting time. Jason had to stop hunting and help Dennis move the deer to a safe spot and out of the swamp water where they were hunting. Jason did not see another deer for the rest of the morning. By 1 pm, he suggested to Dennis that they start taking the deer out of the swamp as they had nearly 7 miles of work ahead of them. They finally got out of the forest at 6:30pm.
After shooting hours and as darkness engulfed the property, Rod and I decided to head to Ryder's bar and grill to get some food and a much-deserved beer. That's where we heard about the coyote shooting. Jason meanwhile was helping Dennis get his buck back to Dennis's place (registration would have to wait until morning).
One cool thing that happened on Saturday was in finding a little piece of a tamarack like forest on our property. Right next to it was a large open field (low land area actually) about 100 yards in length and approximately 50 yards in width. Strange as it may sound, I had not had the time to explore the property to the north and behind my deer stand. There had to be an additional 10 to 15 acres back there and I never explored to see what was there. In addition to the primordial forest, we also found a creek that bordered the open wetland area.
A neighbor has apparently been cutting (mowing) paths through our property and I need to speak with them this next weekend to let them know we are out hunting (for our safety and theirs) and to ask that they now confine themselves to their own property and its boundaries. Always a delicate matter in the country as a new property owner.
So for the opening weekend: Deer 2, Hunters 1. We'll keep you posted.
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