In the Zone with Zem

[Zem18]

11-17-12 Opening Day rifle (Southern Zone) WMU 4W

My expectations were low going into this gun season as the Mandatory AR's were put ito effect in 4W where we have our camp. We saw plenty of deer between the 5 of us that were hunting this year, but they were all doe except for one spike. We had an owl, a porcupine, a black bear, bobcat, and a coyote spotted as well, all on opening day. Personally speaking, I saw a group of 4 doe at 8:30am and then 2 more doe at 2pm. The porcupine climbed down a tree 30 yards from me at about 4:30pm. It was a nice day to be out in the woods for sure.

11-18-12

All the fresh air made me pretty tired so I was no ball of fire come Sunday morning. I didn't leave the cabin until 7am. The nice thing is that as soon as you walk out the door, you are hunting as it is nestled in the woods 1/4 mile from the nearest road.

I decided to hunt my usual spot again today as I was at least seeing deer moving. I made it up the mountain and to my spot by 7:15am. I settled in on the ground and starting scanning the woods. At 8:20am I could hear the leaves rustling so I knelt down and saw a doe come running in about 40 yards away. I scoped her when she stopped and she looked over her shoulder and then proceeded to turn and run directly at me. I could hear more leaves behind her so I lowered my gun and looked with just my eyes and I saw a large deer coming. I put the scope up again and all I saw was a rack, 1, 2, 3 on this side so it's a shooter I said. The buck was hot on her trail but off to the right side of the doe and when I raised my gun to scope the buck, the doe was now under 20 yards away and she had seen me move. The buck was still coming and he stopped less than 10 yards away from me quartering towards me and the doe was still not moving. I put the crosshairs on him and squeezed.

He did a mule kick and proceeded to run by my at less than 5 feet at mach1. It happened so fast but I worked the bolt to chamber another round and I watched him running off. He got to about45 yards out and stumbled and then got his footing and stopped. I thought he may bolt so I tried to settle the crosshairs again but it was a losing battle. I was shaking so bad but I saw brown in the scope so I squeezed again. 5 seconds later, he tipped over and was dead less than 50 yards away.

This is my largest bodied buck and largest mass and spread wise buck to date. His neck was huge and he had a wire of some sort that had become entangled around his neck, head and antlers. I couldn't get the smile off of my face for the rest of the day.

Well it seems I cannot post my pictures from shutterfly because the site does not like the extension on the URL. I'll figure it out and get them posted later today.

Edited November 19, 2012 by Zemmer18

[Zem18]

Ok lets try this for the pictures - Shutterfly sucks just so you know but I didn't take the pictures and they were emailed to me.

http://2012deerpictures.shutterfly.com/pictures

[Fletch]

Way to go Zem!! Get me some pics man!!

[Zem18]

Haha I just posted the link 2 seconds ago.

[oneidacountyhunter]

Congrats Zem! great story and great looking deer

[moog5050]

Congrats

[WNYBuckHunter]

Congrats!

[Fletch]

Nice buck, pretty cool with the wire! Is it fence wire? Was it just around his antlers?

[Nomad]

nice job

[Zem18]

Thanks guys. He is a respectable deer for the mountains where I hunt.

The wire has been a mystery but we have had some thoughts on it. What I found unusual (not really) is that the deer was full of corn. We have shot bucks in years past that always seem to be full of corn, and not corn from a farmers field either because we are out in the middle of the mountains with no fields around for miles. We believe there may be a feeder or two somewhere on adjacent properties. This wire could be from a feeder, either to open it up and dispense or to hold a lid on so critters cannot get into it. It had a small mechanical stop on it and that is how it acted like a noose. The wire was around his neck, behind an ear and then in front of the other ear and around the antler. The mechanical stop was tight and it was like a snare or noose tight around his neck. Had the 3 foot long piece that was dangling off to the side had caught on something, he would have choked to death or cut his own head off trying to get free.

[First-light]

Nice deer Zem!!

[Zem18]

Had a busy week off thus far. Monday morning I went up to butcher my BIL's doe and my buck. BIL called and he went to walk-in and has bronchitis. So I skinned and quartered his doe and then got my buck hung. Went home and spent a few hours with the wife in the afternoon.

Tuesday morning I went hunting with a buddy of mine. We tried to get to a 30 acre piece of private land but there were two cars already there so we opted for State Lands. I haven't hunted State Lands in over 14 years but there were no cars parked out there so we gave it a shot. I found a great spot on top of a ridge so I sat tight until 11am. Saw 2 squirrels. I decided to head towards where my buddy was and 5 minutes into the walk I hear "BOOM". About 30 seconds later I hear "BOOM". I was sitting still waiting for deer to come running but my phone rang instead. My buddy was working his way towards me and had stopped to catch his breath when a healthy spike came running into to him nose to the ground at 15 yards. He put it down with the first shot but had hit a limb and spined the buck. The second shot was the finish off.

I was excited for him and he was glad to get some meat in the freezer. We headed to my in laws and we skinned and quartered my buck and his. Finished up the deboning and packaging Wednesday morning.

I'll be headed back to camp tomorrow morning and taking my father with me. My FIL and a few other members should be down there as well so we can get some deer moving. With all the doe we have seen down there this year, I have a feeling my Dad will finally fill his doe tag. After his miss last year I think he is ready this year.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and be safe out the there this weekend.

Edited November 22, 2012 by Zemmer18

[Zem18]

Got the image code to work

[Zem18]

11.23.12 - Friday

I picked up my Dad at around 8am Friday morning. We got a new puppy ( pictures below) on Wednesday and I did not sleep very well Thanksgiving night. Had to drop off my kids at my brother in laws too. We made it to the cabin by 9:10am. Got a fire started and headed out the door. I sat in my spot from 9:30 until 11am. The wind was picking up so I decided to walk a little. I got to a neat spot where there was a slight ridge that dropped down from the trail I was on and I could see a long way. I had stopped to look and was looking wayyy far ahead but I could hear footsteps in the leaves. I look closer to me (about 35 yards) and there is a deer walking towards me. I get the scope up and it is a buck - a spike. He was in no hurry at all. I stood there and scoped him several times He walked past me and the turned back towards me, feeding the entire time. I sat and watched him for about 25 minutes until he walked off, headed right to my spot I just left.

I continued to walk and found a few nice spots to stop and sit for about 30 minutes each. It started to rain at 4pm so I sat still until about 430 and headed back towards the cabin. When I got back my Dad and Father in law were already back and they did not see anything.

11.24.12

Saturday it was windy and blowing snow but not sticking like I had hoped. I sat for 45 minutes and then walked to try and get some deer moving. By the time I reached the spot my Dad was going to be at, he was gone. Figured he got cold so I headed to the cabin to check on him. He wasnt there so I went up behind the cabin and he was sitting there. No deer sighted by the three of us on Saturday either. Headed home that evening.

11.25.12

My buddy called last night and they were headed to his lease to do some drives. I went with him and we got set up for the first drive. My buddy had a nice 6pt come running right into him so he dropped him. We helped him get his deer to base camp in the woods and then set up for more drives. We did 3 more and on the final one, 2 brothers both got a doe. 3 deer in 4 hours. Not too bad. It was snowing like crazy by the time we finished.

I think I am going to head down to the cabin Friday night and work on filling the doe tag Saturday. There is a Turkey party at the local firestation as well so that should be fun - All you can eat and drink - $1 hands of poker for Turkeys and another bird ( It is killing me that I cant remember the name of it right now) Ok now for pics of the new puppy Ciara ( Siberian Husky)

The first picture they sent us before we went to look at her

At the house where we picked her up

First picture we took of her in our house

[erussell]

Nice buck and beautifull dog. Sorry about the loss of the old one. Back about 4 yrs ago I had to put 2 dogs down about a month apart. The house was really quiet after that. So we went out and bought 5 dogs so we would never be without.

[Zem18]

Thank you.

2 kids, 2 cats, a dog, and my wife is about all I take right now, let alone 5 dogs. I can say that I didn't miss getting up in the middle of the night to take her out to pee. Man it was cold out there last night. Next time I will put on pants, lol.

[First-light]

Zem,

Nice dog!!! good luck with her. Hey I'll text ya when we drive by should be around 11:30! lol Good luck hunting for that doe. We are all fully loaded with tags this weekend.

Use'em or lose'em, final weekend for us. Good luck!

[Zem18]

Wow I have been away too long - Sorry for slacking and now time to play catch up -

November 30th

My Father in law and I headed down to the Turkey party near our cabin. Was a great time - All you can drink and eat for FREE, yes FREE. It was Busch beer but beggars can't be choosers. Hot dogs, sandwiches, chips, crackers, cheese, etc... Was a good time. I won a capon (word I was looking for in previous post) which is a castrated rooster. Very tender and juicy bird my wife cooked up when we got back. Spent $10 to help support the fire department and had a good time.

There was plenty of snow on the ground at the cabin and we got a light dusting overnight Friday. My FIL and I hunted hard all day Saturday and both saw zippo. I found 3 beds from Friday night around 11am and cut my first set of fresh tracks at 2:30pm that afternoon going up into the neighbors posted porperty. Got plenty of exercise.

Got home and my buddy called to see if I was heading out to his property for drives in the morning. Heck yeah I will.

December 2nd - Sunday

Met at 9am at my buddy's hunting club. We set up for 4 drives. I was driving the wheeler to my stand and I spotted 2 doe. I jumped off, chambered a round,and couldn't get a good bead on the larger doe. Got back on the wheeler and headed to my stand. I was first in my stand and the other wheelers were headed above and below me. AS they went out of sight, I hear a deer in the leaves coming towards me. The drive hasn't started but the 4 wheelers got the deer moving. I get the scope up and see it is a buck. He runs in to 25 yards and stops quartering to me. I can only count 7 points but he is outside of the ears. Figures I have no tag anymore. Just then I hear a wheeler headed back towards me. I am waving to him to let him know there is a deer right under me and only 15 yards away now. He sees me and stops and is only 45 to 50 yards away. I yell to him Buck right here - 15 yards - but no response. I repeat and the deer is just standing there. Finally I said do you want your buck tag filled? and the deer then decides to run off. Man what a cool encounter with a decent buck.

The next drive, I set up about 250 yards from the the stand I was just in but on the same level of the hillside. 5 minutes later, here comes a coyote right to me. It would stop behind trees so all I could see was a tail and a nose. Then it would trot and stop again. Finally I took a leading shot as it started to bolt and I missed. Just as I miss, I turn back the way it came from and here comes another one only 20 yards away but already at a full sprint. I didn't even waste a slug on that attempt. Within a minute, I see more movement from below me and here come 3 little skippers. These babies were only slightly larger than the two coyotes I just saw. The come in to about 30 yards and 2 of them bed right down next to a log. I can hear and see the drivers coming over the hill top now and these doe are just watching up the hill. Finally the one standing looks at me and I say "Boo" and the 3 of them took off at Mach3. One of the guys saw a nice racked buck lower on the hill during that drive but had no shot. I believe it was the 7 I saw on the previous drive.

Set up for the 3rd drive had me in the same stand as the first drive. This is the one that paid off. Only minutes into the drive I have 2 doe, two decent sized ones, come runnig in to 30 yards and stop. I could not get on the vitals of the first one until she took a step and I squeezed the trigger. She hopped about 10 yards and stopped again broadside. I friggen missed the first shot but I connected with the second. She ran about 40 yards and fell over. I must've bumped my scope somewhere along the way on my shotgun as my 2nd shot that connected was about 4 inches low and 4 inches right. I caught her in the bottome of the sternum about 1 inch high. An inch lower and it was another clean miss. I split the doe with my buddy so we both have 1.5 deer in the freezer now. I was a driver on the 4th drive to let someone else get some shooting in.

That was one of the best days I have had in hunting up there in the past 10 years I have hunted there. Great way to end the weekend.

[Zem18]

Sunday December 9th

Only 4 of us at my buddy's place this morning. Did 3 small drives and on the 2nd one I had a medium and a tiny doe come in and offer 3 different shot opportunities between 40 and 60 yards. I passed on them in hopes they would go to one of the other sitters but it never worked out. Looking forward to muzzleloader next weekend. I will post up with any details sooner than later.

[Fletch]

Congratz on the doe! Sounds like a fun day hunting.

[Zem18]

Thanks Fletch. It was a fun day.

[tughillhunter]

Just browsed through your thread and saw your husky. beautiful dogs.

[Zem18]

Thanks THhunter. They are great companions and very good with kids.

Again I am late posting about ML hunting but better late than never.

Saturday Dec. 15th

My daughter had a soccer game so a morning hunt was out of the question - Her team won 9-1 and she had 1 goal. Felt bad for the other team. I got out in the woods by 1pm. I was hunting my in laws neighbors land. I wlked for a while and found a nice spot to sit. Then walked some more and finally headed out of the woods. Was in the 40's and no deer spotted.

Sunday morning mt buddy and I went to his camp property. No one wanted to drive that morning so it was the 2 of us. We decided to split up and walk the trails parallel to each other. 150 yards in on the first trail and he bumps 3 deer right to me. I look up and they are running up the trail straight at me at 100mph. The first one veers off to my right and stops 30 yards away, vitals behind a tree. I have a neck shot, but this small doe was from this year and no way I was going to shoot for the sake of shooting or to hopefully get 30 pounds of meat. She got a pass, as did her sister who was behind her and the same size. That was my close encounter of the day. Saw 5 more all running away from me and the season was over. Or so I thought....

Monday morning I went to work and it had slowed down quite a bit and I had alot done that morning. I was feeling kinda cruddy so I decided to take half day and head home to rest. I left at 12 and was home changed and ready to rest in the woods by 1pm. I decided to hunt the old "honey hole" that I haven't been to in a few years. It is a swampy area across the street from my in laws. The last time I hunted down there, I visited that area approx 6 to 8 times that season and saw deer everytime I went there. I had nothing to lose. I made it to the edge of the pines and started scanning. I didn't see anything so I crept in closer to where to I wanted to be. 30 yards in and I look and I think "oh crap, busted!" I froze and could see a deer looking in my direction. We had a standoff for over 4 minutes but the deer moved first. Woohoo I won!!!

I get the ML off my shoulder and get the scope on the deer and see it is a buck, a lopsided spike. His left side curved up and was maybe 8 inches long. His right side was a straight up 5 to 6 inches long. Nice looking deer and again, all I had was a neck shot as he was looking in my direction. He knew I was there but he didn't take off. We were approx 60 yrds apart through the woods. I watched as he proceeded to feed along and waited for a shot opportunity but to no avail. I waited about half an hour and headed the direction he went. 70 yards from where I last saw him, he sprang up from his bed in the thickest greenbrier thicket you have ever seen. He boogied back the way he came from when I first saw him and again did not offer a shot.

I continued to walk up out of the swamp and up the hill to where I had hunted on Saturday afternoon. AS I got to the top of the hillside where it levels out, I scanned the open hardwoods for movement. Nothing so I took a few more steps and I hear a thump from behind me. Yup, I walked right past two bedded deer and they let me pass by them about 20 yards before springing up and running directly away from me. No Texas heart shot from me so all I could do is watch and hope they would stop. They didn't. Maybe next year I will get a good shot opportunity and finally get to take a deer with the ML.

I have to say I am disappointed it is over but I had a great season. I saw two bucks during bow season, a button and a spike, both up close. And then I saw 4 bucks during gun and ML season which is the most I have ever seen during any firearms season.

There are plenty of squirrels still out with this warm weather so maybe I will get the kids out again in the next few weeks. Need some snow to get the bunnies out and moving for easy visibility.

Merry Christmas to everyone. Enjoy the Holidays with family and friends.

Z