Weather:
Sat. nice high of 38˚, sun thru Wed warm with highs up to 50˚, Thursday thru Sunday very nice with 6” of snow on ground and highs in the upper twenties.
Location:
Moose Junction cabin
Bagged:
Mark (Jr.) - doe Saturday PM, Mark (grandpa) – doe Saturday AM, Me – 8 pt. buck Tue AM (on a drive) doe Sunday PM
Partners:
Jake T., Mark T (son), Mark T (Sr.), Donnie ( father in law).
Comments
It was deer season 2012 in the big woods of Douglas County and I was excited. From my previous bow hunting trip to the cabin a few weeks earlier I was not expecting a lot in the way of deer sightings, but I was still excited to be hunting the north woods. It’s hard to explain, but it just is a special type of hunting that I really enjoy. It is not the best deer hunting, but I don’t care I like the ability to go and do as I please on the ample amount of public land.
The first day was a complete bust for me, in fact I only saw one deer in the first five days of hunting and I shot that one. The first day I sat at a location I call the Otter Stand. I sat there the whole day, twenty feet up in the air and I never did see a deer. In fact all I saw was one black and one gray squirrel and a grouse. Mark Jr. and Mark Sr. each shot their deer on Saturday.
The next four days; Sunday through Wednesday was pretty much a bust for us, except for the nice buck I got on Tuesday. This buck was a result of a drive that the two Mark’s and Jake made to me and Donnie. It was the only deer that they moved and I just happened to be in the right location at the right time.
The only other real excitement we had the first five days was that Jake decided to hunt someone else’s stand that he thought they were not hunting. Well the guy that laid claim to the stand saw him in it and promptly came over to the stand and asked Jake to leave. The guy also made mention of the fact that someone had also hunted one of his stands last year and had shot a deer out of it. Of course it was Jake, but he played dumb! Jake did in fact shoot a deer out of the guys stand last year, then he wrote thank you in blood on an empty corn bag and stuck it on the guy’s tree he was hunting out of. I really get a chuckle out of that every time I think of it.
On Thursday morning we packed our gear and headed home, not knowing if we were going to come back again for the last few days of the season. Jake and I had discussed it and we both decided we would be back if in fact they got the snow up there on Thursday night as they were predicting.
A quick check of the weather on Friday morning confirmed that they had gotten at least two inches of snow that night and that sealed the deal. In fact when we got there the snow depth was probably closer to six inches (I was very excited). We got there and were unloaded late Friday afternoon and with about a half hour of day light left I was on the 4 wheeler across the road and heading south on a fast scouting mission. I actually could have shot a deer that afternoon if I would have carried my gun with me.
The snow made hunting wonderful. We were able to see what the deer were up to and where they were hanging out. I saw deer every day and was able to bag a doe on Sunday night with about one half of shooting time left in the 2012 gun deer season.
The deer season was an enjoyable one for me, I was able to bag two deer and I had a very good time. We ate some good food, which included grilled steaks, scalloped potatoes and ham, pork roast, moose chili, moose roast and the usual breakfast fare. I had a very good laugh with Jake and his dad. Jake’s dads 4 wheelers shifting lever had frozen up on Saturday evening and he could not get it into neutral. Mark and Jake looked for something to use as an ice chisel or spud but they could not find anything. Mark was getting a little frustrated and Jake really got to him when he picked up his dads Browning A Bolt and acted like he was going to use the barrel end as an ice chipper. I am still chuckling over that one, and I will remember it for a long time.
I did not deer hunt with my brother Dick at all this year, which was the first time in many years. It was different, I missed hunting with him, but on account of having so many dogs and having no one to take care of them he opted to stay home. I can’t say I missed the dogs being at camp, it was much more relaxing and easy without them.
Observations:
The weather this season went from extreme warm to six inches of snow on the ground. The deer population seemed low at the beginning of the season, but after the snow hit the ground it was apparent that more deer were around than I thought. The baiting of deer definitely has an impact on the deer locations and movements and I hope that someday the practice will be banned. But, until it is, I am going to join the baiting group just to be able to compete with the other hunters for the deer. It really is shame that baiting is allowed: It causes conflicts and poor hunting ethics.
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