| DEER HUNTING REPORTS 2003 page 4 MUZZLELOADER SEASON 'MISSED OPPRTUNITIES' |
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| Dec. 27-28
Piff and I hunted down in Scioto Co. the first two days of Ohio’s four day Primitive Weapon Season. We stayed with my neighbor and his son’s friends in their trailer which sits on the edge of the Scioto State Forest. Both Piff and I hunted with a Hawkens Muzzleloader, mine is a 50 cal., while Piff’s is a 54 cal. We hunted the same hillside that we hunted during Gun Season earlier in the month. Saturday morning was cold and frosty as I got settled in at the base of the tree that I stood by during Gun Season. I could watch the trail above me as well as the ones below that ran through the yacca plants. The hill that I was on faces north and wraps around to the east. The action started right away; I heard deer running down the hill that was east of me. It sounded like a number of deer came up my hill on the east slope and went over on the other side of the ridge. At the same time I also heard a lone deer run along the side of the hill east of me. Soon I heard dogs barking on top of the ridge and then a doe and a yearling appeared above me. They came down the hill and stopped about 30 yards away and looked back up the hill. I was hoping that a buck would be trailing them. After a short pause the doe and yearling ran down the hill right past me, about 15 yards away. I then heard more sounds in the crisp leaves above me. Soon two dogs crested the hill and followed the deer to parts unknown. About 20 minutes later I heard a lone deer moving up the hill below me and to my left. Soon the deer came into view and I could see high white tines. It was a nice buck, I’m sure it was the same one that I saw just weeks before on the same hillside during Gun Season. He was the big one I’ve been waiting for the whole year! A definite shooter, with G2’s about 10-12 inches long. He kept easing up the hill and was very cautious. He was looking all around after every step. I think he was the lone deer that I heard run across the hill east of me and was now sneaking back to the top of the ridge where there is a bedding area. He was on the other side of some thick saplings and vines. I could plainly see the buck but there were just too many obstructions for a good shot. He kept easing up the hill and I tried to find a good opening to shoot. I was aiming the 9-pound smokepole offhand at him the whole time. Eventually he climbed higher up the hill and when he was about 40-50 yards away he spotted me. There were still a lot of saplings and vines between us. His head and ears perked up then he started to drop his head and turn. It was now or never! POW!!! I took the shot and when the smoke cleared I saw him bound around the hill and heard him run down towards the creek. I pulled out my speedloader and poured the premeasured amount of blackpower down the barrel, stuffed in another bullet and rammed it down. After adding a firing cap I waited a few anxious minutes and then went up the hill to look for any sign of a hit. I could see where he kicked up the frozen leaves and ran on a trail that headed down to the creek. I followed the trail for awhile and determined, much to my disappointment, that I had clearly missed the buck! I blew it, my best chance in a few years to get a good buck! I then sat down on a fallen tree that was situated on the bend of the hill. I could see down the east side of the hill and also view the upper half of the north side. About an hour later I heard some noises above me and soon a doe and a yearling appeared in the greenbrier. They cautiously eased down the hill while keeping an eye out on their backtrail. It would have been an easy shot if I wanted a doe. When they finally made it down toward the creek they stopped and stood still while looking back up the hill. After about 10 minutes I again heard noises above me. Soon more deer appeared, there were about six or seven of them, does and yearlings. They slowly slipped through the greenbrier and stopped right in front of me. They too were watching their backtrail. I was thinking that maybe a buck had pushed them off of the hill and was hounding the does. The closest one to me was a button buck; He was only about 15 feet from me. The rest of them were within 25 yards. They did not pay me any attention! After about 10 minutes they made their way back up the hill on the same trail that they came from. That was it for the first day. Piff saw a couple of deer across the fence on the adjoining property. He also saw a couple of hunters on the other property and heard one of them shoot. When we got back to the trailer we heard a story from one of the guys that was staying with us who hunted the Scioto State Forest. He said that he had 30+ deer jump a fence out of range in front of him. They would jump the fence 5 or 6 at a time. There were no bucks in the bunch until the last group when a couple of does jumped the fence followed by two 10-pointers. The does led the bucks right to him. He was in a treestand and said that the bucks stopped about 30 yards from him. He took the shoot, but when he fired his inline muzzleloader the bullet just rolled out the barrel and only went about 20 feet from him! At the sound of the shot the does scampered off a short distance with the bucks in tow. He almost got his gun reloaded again when one of the deer saw him and they all took off. Sunday morning Piff and I hunted our same spots. I was making my way up to the bend in the hill when I heard footsteps running down the hill east of me. It was the same scenario as the day before. But this time I wasn’t in position soon enough. I was only about 20 yards away from my spot when I heard them. They were below me and I couldn’t see them. I tried to ease my way forward in the noisy leaf-laden hillside to get into a better position to see down the hill. I could now hear deer running up the hill on the same trail that the 6-7 deer traveled on yesterday. By the time that I got to where I could see down the hill I caught a glimpse of the last deer. It was a doe; it was the last deer that I saw all day. Piff didn’t see anything all day. |
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| DEC. 30
I went out again on Tuesday by myself up near Sidney in Shelby Co. Shortly after pulling into the driveway on the property another hunter pulled in. It was a neighbor and he too had permission to hunt the property. When I questioned him about the depth of the creek he informed me that he had made a bridge consisting of some boards that he had laid across a tree that fell across the creek. When I got to the north-to-south flowing creek I noticed that it was way up, I guessed it to be about waist high and 20 yards wide. I wondered if I ever shot anything, how would I get it across the creek? The makeshift bridge was a narrow catwalk, not wide enough to drag a deer across it. I thought to myself if I am going to shoot anything, it better be big enough to be worth getting wet for! That morning I didn’t see any deer. I walked around the woods a little bit and hardly saw any sign. I decided to stick it out all day anyway being that it was the last day of the Muzzleloader season. After a lunch break I again crossed the bridge and headed toward the north end of the property where a fence line, grown up with hawthorn trees, crosses the tree and brush lined creek. The wind was coming out of the west about 15-20 mph. I faced into the wind to watch the creek bank and the other side of the rain swollen creek. A little before 4 o’clock I noticed some movement across the creek about 150 yards away. I caught a glimpse of a few deer on the edge of a field on the neighbor’s property. After concentrating on that area for about a half an hour I turned my head and looked over my right shoulder and much to my surprise there stood a deer broadside about 30 yards away! I could see the body of a mature deer perfectly but could not see its neck or head. I couldn’t tell if it was a buck or not. It stood there motionless. It was in the worst position in relation to me for me to aim and shoot. Being right-handed I would have to turn 180 degrees, raise my gun, cock the noisy hammer and shoot. I didn’t know if it spotted me or not. I didn’t want to shoot if it was a young buck but wanted to take the shot if it was a nice doe or a big buck. I finally decided it was ‘do or die time’. I needed to get into position to shoot if and when the time came. I slowly raised my gun while keeping an eye on the deer. I then started to turn my body to the right when the deer moved a bit and I caught a glimpse of a rack. I had the gun half way up to my shoulder when the buck took off through the trees. I couldn’t tell how big of rack the buck was wearing. Here it was, less than an hour left in the season and the buck thumbs its nose at me! Shortly afterwards I saw more movement in the direction where I first spotted the buck. Suddenly a nice young doe runs right towards me and stops about 25 yards away. I’m thinking that it’s getting dark and is it worth shooting this doe knowing about the difficulties I would encounter getting the deer across the creek. Well the doe made the decision for me. She winded me and took off to the next county! Well that was all the action for the Muzzleloader Season, except for the Game Warden that followed me across the bridge on my way back to my vehicle. He checked my license and we had a nice friendly chat as darkness fell in the Shelby Co. twilight. |
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| January
After Blackpowder season I hunted 4 or 5 times out in Greene Co. Nearly every time, I pushed deer out from behind the cottage. They either heard me drive in or smelled me when I walked from the van and made my way around the barn. They would not go far but they did not present any shot opportunities. The closest I came to getting a shot was when I pushed about 5 deer out from behind the cottage and they went into the adjacent picked corn field. They eventually drifted back to the edge of the big cornfield where I was set up. They then worked their way toward the newer houses that are gobbling up my hunting territory. Sometime after 5:00 I heard someone near the houses shout "GO ON, GET OUT OF HERE"! Then I heard the sounds of deer running towards me in the frozen leaves. Soon 10 or 11 deer ran out in front of me into the cornfield 'carrying the mail'. I grunted and tried to whistle to get them to stop but they didn’t. They ran the length of the corn field and crossed the road. How they made it across without being hit I don't know. That was all for the 2003-04 season. I ate another tag but still had fun and enjoyed being in the outdoors. I’ll wait a few weeks and start shed hunting. Steve |