| DEER HUNTING REPORTS 2003 page 3 |
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| Gun Season Dec. 1-3 Piff and I hunted Scioto Co. for the first two and a half days of Gun Season. Monday was a cold and windy day. Piff hunted around the pond and saw a total of 12 deer all day, but none were in range. I hunted the east hillside in the morning and only saw one deer and couldn't get a shot through the greenbrier. That afternoon I hunted above the Yucca patch on the west hillside and had deer pass through the Yucca's and I took a shot at a doe but missed. Also had 3 deer get up from their beds above me around 4 o'clock. I took another shot at the biggest one and missed again! Too many saplings and limbs to shoot through when hunting on the ground! Tuesday morning I had deer pass again through the Yucca patch but couldn't get a shot. About 10:00 a nice buck appeared on top of the hill right above me. He stayed in the area for about 10 minutes and never gave me a good shot opportunity. I tried grunting him down the hill but he got on to me and slipped off over the hill. Around 10:30 a fat button buck crossed the hillside above me and I decided to take it. I field-dressed it and then drug it down the hill and then went back up to my spot and ate lunch. |
| As I took my last bite of my sandwich I saw three deer slip through the yuccas and head Piff's way. Piff hunted by the pond in the morning without seeing anything and had moved up the hill about midmorning. Soon after the deer had passed below me I heard Piff shoot. He shot a big doe as it passed between him and the pond. |
| We learned more about the deer patterns this trip. There was not much hunting pressure, we expected to hear ma lot of shots around the surrounding land. We plan on putting up some stands on the hillside for future hunts. We know where we want to be come blackpowder season at the end of the month. Dec. 5-7 Craig and I went down to Hocking Co. Friday afternoon through Sunday evening. We checked with some of the locals and they said that they haven't heard much shooting around the area all week. Friday evening we didn't see any deer movement. Saturday morning Craig and I hunted the ridge south of the campsite. He took the north slope and I hunted the saddle on the southern slope. After a few hours Craig walked his side of the hill to the east end of the ridge. He got up about five deer, which headed back my way. I got a glimpse of a few of them but they were out of range and walking through the greenbrier. That evening we put on a two-man push. We both walked the southern side of the ridge north of the campsite. I started at the east end while Craig started at the west end. About midway across the hillside I noticed 3 deer moving down the bottom of the ridge in front of me. Two of them looked Craig's way and then trotted below me about 35 yards away. One was a mature doe. I decided not to take the shot. The third deer was a yearling. It walked to within 10 yards of me before deciding to catch-up with the others. Sunday we both hunted the south ridge again. About 7:50 I heard some limbs and branches crash above me on the ridge. I could barely make out a young 4-6 point buck standing in the middle of some downed treetops. I lost sight of him after about 10 minutes. At 9:00 I started to walk the south side of the ridge towards the east. After about 100 yards I heard the little buck jump out of the heavy cover and head down towards Craig. Craig said that the buck came to within 40 yards of him when it saw him and took off towards the eastern end of the ridge. As I crested the finger that runs south off of the ridge I jumped 4 deer. They ran to parts unknown. I stood there for awhile and soon noticed the young buck again walking the ridgeline back to where he was bedded before. Soon, after he was out of sight, I heard deer running towards me. They were coming from the eastern end of the ridge. I figured that Craig pushed them my way. A mature doe and three other younger deer came right at me. They were about 40 yards below me when they stopped and looked back. The big doe was standing broadside. It was a perfect shot opportunity, but I passed up the shot again. The plan for Sunday evening was for both of us to walk the lower trails on both side of the north ridge. We would meet at the east end and hoped to push deer towards each other. I spooked a couple of deer at the start of my drive and they ran towards the east end of the ridge. Craig jumped 3 deer at the start of his drive and shot a button buck. It luckily ran down hill and fell into the creek not far from where the van was parked. That was it for Gun Season this year. Click the forward arrow below to read about Muzzleloader Season. |
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