2013 Deer Season

[idn713]

Welp 2013 was nothing to write home about. Saw a ton of bucks - some great ones - during bow but never got my chance at the bruiser 10 I was after. I had him at 20 yds but he was trotting quite fast and my ethical rational was to not shoot, kinda regret it but oh well.

Gun season was ok, did not see a lot of bucks but I plugged three nice doe and stocked the freezer nicely. The savage smokeless performed amazing, with kills of 20, 130, and 150 yds. And I never cleaned it once.

Learned about a new travel corridor for big bucks and I am frost seeding two 1 acre clover plots for the spring. Here is to a more buck filled 2014!

My 130 yd donkey

[ray koziatek]

Big boys are a different breed of animal,they will pattern you faster than yer smokepole,and rarely make a mistake. After the stupid season (mating) is over they usually find good cover and rest all day. Quite often with a smaller buck for a second pair of eyes. Most post season Big bucks I have gotten were at last light moving on their own or with slooow still hunting and lots of glassing along the way.Many of my bigger bucks were just a antler sticking above a log or curve of a hill,with a nerve racking 1 or 2 hour wait for them to stand and streach. 3 times I have shot the big boy with a 8 pt (2) and a 9pt(1) with them and the smaller buck let me walk to the dead deer within 40 yds of them ,as if they felt safe because the big one i shot was not running or warning them. Tho I have hunted for over 40 years ,the last 15 years have accounted for most of my big ones.. Younger hunters like young fishermen have so many more tools (like this site) now a days yer really lucky to be able to learn things some of us did on our own or at a small camp fire...We used to look at a magizine for big racks,(not playboy),,,well that too.Yer right on with the "different travel areas".. now learn to read buck tracks from doe in the snow,and you will learn a lot. Being in the right spot at the right time is all their is too it....you have heard stories of hunters sitting 5 min for their trophy to appear and sometimes its 10 hours..they use those trails because they feel safe on them,and ya ain't gonna get them sitting on the couch at noon..last year I sat almost 10 hrs with a bow for my biggest bow buck, and after sneaking up a hill and sitting for less than 5 min i shot my biggest buck with a gun. BUT their were many many years where i hunted hard for that split second look and saw the deer before he saw or smelt ,or heard me..Kinda like this year where i only saw 1 small buck (earlier story)all season....but I still had a great day everyday I could hunt of which there were many,as I'm almost retired and self employed...P.S. Im still learning,as are the deer. I think,correction I KNOW with increase of bow hunters in the woods now the deer are more nocternal,and carefull. If Iknew 40 years ago what i have learned in the last 40 years (15 more like it). every buck I shot would of been a monster....but you know from my first buck a 4 pt many years ago at 16 ,and every one in between even the does I still get as excited and enjoy the finality of the hunt as i do today and wouldnt trade one memory or wish I did something else with my time on this Earth...yes this year was a doe only year for me ,but after discovering 6 yes 6 new tree stands at the top of the hill I hunt I figured out where the bucks went to hide !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think,,,,, NEXT YEAR will tell...If the old bones will carey me to my new hunting grounds...

[idn713]

Good words and advice. I am always seeking to refine my craft and above all learn!y property is a mix of hard wood, crop fields and plenty of thick scrub. It is 83 acres with great deer density and plenty of does. Now every year I see many small bucks, 4-5 good bucks and 2-3 great bucks. I know my property is a doe sanctuary and a buck highway. The issue I have is wind in relation to stand placement. Due to bring winded I have botched chances at three 135+ bucks in the last three years. This year I am going to study the topo map like its a treasure map. I need totally rethink stand placement. I am hoping the addition of permanent clover and brassica will hold more deer during gun and late season as well. Lord knows I am learning patience as well, I cannot tell you have many average bucks I have passed on in the last three years! For a 23 year old that's pretty good! One other challenge is the pressure that borders the property during gun season, it's nuts! But I am the only one that hunts my property and I have the daylights posted out if it. I know it's only a matter of time before I get my giant but I also know my skill needs to increase for that to happen.

[ray koziatek]

you need to have 5 to 10 acres with good cover that you NEVER go into..during season.the land i was blessed to hunt in Indiana was off limits to all of us we were only allowed to set up on the edges of the 65 acre of woods..if the wind was west we approached and hunted the east side ...ect..ect the only advantage there was the other 200 acres of land surronded the woods and no one else could set up on the edges..you might even allow a larger "safty zone"..google earth has updated most of its satellite pics,with history back to the 90's for some areas..oh when we did shoot a deer we would wait till noon and drive in with tractor or truck if possable and always gut the deer far away from the woods near the barn seemed kinda different to me, but seeing 15 to 20 different bucks in 65 acres with many smashers ,convinced me that Don knew what he was doing and it worked.. and worked well..oh and when Don was alive he NEVER allowed anyone but his 1 son to bowhunt,after he passed they let us bow hunt 2012 and the first week of gun season was the worst we had seen in 7 years the deer just plain oll locked down ...I could tell ya stories of different "Buck Bedrooms" I have found over the years ,but in 40 years times have changed ,with lands passing hands and posted signs plastered on every tree..If yer not too far from Corning next spring when i return I would be happy to walk the land with ya and give ya some advise..

[gamekilr]

Ray where in Indiana? That's my bread and butter state. Try using colored smoke bombs to see the air flow current. Can see the smoke and watch it flow through the woods <br /><br />Sent from my C771 using Lake Ontario United mobile app<br /><br />

[ray koziatek]

white county

east of monon on 16

[idn713]

Hey ray the property I hunt is in the town of Sweden just outside of Brockport. You really think the gutting thing makes a difference? I have never really given that aspect much thought. Also I have already given the does about 10 acres of thick cover to call their own where no body hunts. Gotta hold does to attract bucks.

[ray koziatek]

trust me the bucks will call the thick cover "Home" a mature doe in heat will know what she needs and goes to the big bucks yes they will move about at night and even follow the doe wherever she goes but will do his best to keep her still and not move much......a receptive mature doe will not run from a big buck when she is ready...mature does breed first (usually) because they understand whats happening to them,,which means they drop their young ones eariler than the later breeding ones...The Petical growth in the first year of a buck is the most important factor in growing the maximum rack allowed by its genes.also you need a good mineral block in the buck area do some research on antler growth and minerals ...never ever hunt their mineral area..In april,may and june take note of how many bucks you see hit along the road.......they aint chasing does they are licking the minerals spread along the road in the winter as do many other animals. Just like us all animals need salt and minerals....Farm bucks do get bigger racks from the grain but mostly becaus of the minerals replaced to the soil by the farmer...and absorbed from the feed. perfect example is this pic this buck scored over 500 in and is 3.5 years old yes some carefull gene selection helped but a secret mineral feed was the number 1 reason for the mass...(my close friend was life long friends with the guy who owned this deer}......

[ray koziatek]

sorry here is a side shot...

[idn713]

That's absolutely incredible! Looks like I need a few mineral blocks

[ray koziatek]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_deer

start your homework now,start next years racks now put out proper minerals the bucks and does need the minerals to replentish winter conditions and a healthy doe will put out the best offspring with a balanced healthy diet

[JakeyBaby]

How the hell would you even score a rack like that?? Thats unbelievable, cool deer!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Lake Ontario United mobile app