2012 Cummins Chronicles

[5.9cummins]

10-21-12

I went up to my buddies house in Cayuga co. and got out for the first time this year. After staying up till 1:30 catching up with him i was up at 1/4 till 5:00. He walked me into one of his spots where a thicket opens up into hardwoods with a small clearing and a nice maple in the center. I climbed up and settled in for the morning.

As it began to get lighter i had a couple turkeys start to tree yelp about 75-80 yards in front of me. Then the crows started up and a flurry of gobbles erupted from the trees out in front. Then a second set of birds 250 yards down the ridge started calling back. Then a third bird from behind me (which i later figured out was his new turkey down in the pen). I had a couple thousand geese fly over and there were more squirrels and chipmunks than i could count.

At 8:40 i looked over my shoulder to see a couple brown spots moving through the thicket at a pretty good clip. I grabbed the bow clipped the release and came to full draw. A nice doe and yearling cruzed by at 17 yards but turned and headed down the hill. I couldn't get a shot due to a couple of saplings blocking the shooting lane. If they had come another two yards before turning i would have loosed the first arrow of the season. Got down at 10 did a little trimming and headed back to the house. Where i proceeded to give my buddy an ear full about cutting shooting lanes.

Went back out at around 3:00. Sat on the end of an old stone fence near a rock outcropping. At one point i had 15 chipmunks within site at the same time. The wind started picking up and it began to drizzle a little. I took the opportunity to still hunt down the ridge a little. During the middle of the move the wind died sun came out and a rainbow appeared on the horizon. I finished my move to the other end of the ridge hoping to catch a turkey coming back to roost.

Packed it in and headed back to the house after only seeing more squirrels and chipmunks. When i got back to the house my wife informed me that she had just got a call and her cousins wife had just passed. She was 26 and lost her year and a half fight with leukemia. She passed right about when the storm broke and the rainbow came out.

[5.9cummins]

10-27-12

Went out this AM and put some miles on still hunting. Didn't see squat all morning until i was headed back to the truck. I stopped as i was crossing through some hardwoods from one field to another and had a doe pop out of a balsam plantation 50 yards to my right. She moved off but i was on the down wind side of the group of trees so i still hunted through them. Jumped a small buck and two doe which were beaded.

[oneidacountyhunter]

Packed it in and headed back to the house after only seeing more squirrels and chipmunks. When i got back to the house my wife informed me that she had just got a call and her cousins wife had just passed. She was 26 and lost her year and a half fight with leukemia. She passed right about when the storm broke and the rainbow came out.

Sorry to hear, such a young age. One of my first thoughts everytime I see a rainbow is about the departed.

Condolences

Rick

[5.9cummins]

Sorry to hear, such a young age. One of my first thoughts everytime I see a rainbow is about the departed.

Condolences

Rick

Thanks Rick

10-31-12

Got out late this morning after helping get the kids ready for school. Walked in at grey light and ended up jumping some deer but i dont know what. 3/4's of the way to the stand i see another boot print in the mud, %&*#$. I dont have sole permission but didnt want to screw anyones hunt up. Shortly after that i find another boot print heading out of the woods, so at least i dont have to worry about bumping into someone. As i ease into my spot i find this guys stand set up about 100 yards from my tree. I slipped in and climed up but never saw a thing. When i leave i decided to slip down the property line along the beech thicket where i was set up. Found another nice spot to sit at the south end of the thicket where the creek exits the thicket into a bowl and to top it off it had a couple of heavly used runs and three fresh rubs. I think i will let the other guy have the north end and i am planning on erecting a makeshift blind on the lip of the bowl where the deer are crossing between the beech thicket and a group of norway spruce.

[5.9cummins]

11-1-12

After church this morning i headed out to move one of my sets. Got to the spot started walking in and jumped a nice buck, doe and another deer half way to the stand. Long story short i am going to leave that stand and hope for the best.

Went across the road and walked in to the south side of the beech thicket. Picked out my spot and started making a little blind. Worked on it for about an hour moving branches and trimming a couple shooting lanes. Got all settled in a little after noon and sat until dark.

Didn't see a damn thing except for a red fox just before last light.

[5.9cummins]

Went out this morning and sat a little wooded point. Went in blind and picked out a tree climbed up and sat for a couple hours. Didnt see or hear anything except a red squirrle. He was unloading his stash from under a log which was entertaining for a while but then the dark side of me got an idea. Put a small game head on and while he was down the hole (only thing sticking out was his tail) i let fly. He came ran away and came back but every time he got near the arrow he came unglued. Still cant figure out how i missed, he was down the hole and the arrow was stuck smack in the middle of the hole.

Found a rub directly next to the tree i was in when i got down along with a fresh scrape about 25 yards away.

Made a small blind a little ways away.

Headed to the town clerks office to try and pick up an extra DMP or two and then back out.

[5.9cummins]

Went out this afternoon walked in on the south side of a bedding area that i hunted last week. Felt like one of those days that something was going to happen. Got to the corner of the bedding area and I stopped and pondered sitting in a two man ladder stand in the hardwoods about 50 yards away but decided to work up the tractor trail along the bedding area and pick a tree along the bedding area.

Got about 50 yards up the tractor trail and i thought i heard a grunt. Then I heard it again, and again, and again, CRAP caught in the open and no good place to duck in. Finally found and spot and slipped in making as little noise as possible but a lot more than i wanted. I hunkered down nocked an arrow and waited watching out the one good shooting lane i had. 20 minutes and nothing. So i said screw it and started setting up a Norway spruce on the edge of the bedding area. I trimmed some branches and settled in.

Snowed like crazy and wind was whipping. Had a couple red squirrels to keep me company. With about 30 minutes of shooting light left i hear something in the trees out in front of me. A big doe and yearling run out about 25 yards to my right but didn't stop long enough for a shot and run right back into the trees. They crossed the tractor trail about 80 yards further down. About a minute later i hear something else coming out of the trees. A little spike unicorn popped out at about 15 yards but i let him walk.

To top of the day got another two DMP's for up at my buddies house.

[5.9cummins]

Going to spend the day wishing i was in the woods. Got some Honey do chores, taking care of the kids, finishing up some church fundraiser stuff and grocery shopping to do.

On the up side i am going to be living in the stand until Wednesday night.

Only time i plan on coming out of the woods is to vote possibly on Tuesday afternoon but if i can vote late i am planning on being in the woods from sun up to sun down all 4 days.

Back to work Thursday and Friday and then 3 more days in the stand.

And I am predicting that i am going to be sick at least once next week

[First-light]

Good Luck out there!

[5.9cummins]

Good Luck out there!

Thanks

11-4-12

Went out tonight and struck out. The original spot i wanted to go was crawling with 4 wheeler activity so i went to a back up spot. Once i got there i realized i forgot my climbing sticks so i decided i would sit a two man ladder stand just off the bedding area. Half way to the stand i could hear voices and herd a saw fired up. The property owners are building a Taj Mahal shooting house down behind the two man ladder stand. So it was off to walk the rest of the property. Didn't find much that looked good so i ended up tucking back into a hole in a stand of spruce. Didn't see or hear a thing but i did watch a red-tail lay the smack down on another bird. The prey bird kept to a bush that was really thick and the hawk got tangled in the bush while the smaller bird would just hop around inside it. Eventually the hawk got the better of him though.

As i was packing up to leave i heard a couple coyotes let loose up near where the shooting house is being built. I heard them one of the other days i was at this spot. I don't think they are helping with the deer activity. Hopefully one of them will show when I am on stand and i can let the air out of him.

Edited November 5, 2012 by 5.9cummins

[fasteddie]

I have used a chain saw in the woods ( not during deer season ) and have had deer come around to see what the commotion was all about . Deer get accustomed to some farm / woods noises .

[5.9cummins]

I have used a chain saw in the woods ( not during deer season ) and have had deer come around to see what the commotion was all about . Deer get accustomed to some farm / woods noises .

I know, I have done the same but i like my peace and quiet.

11-5-12

Got a wild hair today and decided to try some place new. Public land . Had a little six pointer run in front of the truck just before i got there and saw a half dozen does in some of the fields near by.

Got there a little late but i had not scouted it so i wasn't going anywhere in the dark. First couple spots i wanted to try already had trucks parked at them. Found a spot I wanted to try without competition and set out to find a decent spot. Got a couple hundred yards in and started still hunting. Had a half racked six pointer with a spike on the other side (or busted main beam) cross behind me at 8:30. I probably could have gotten a shot at him but I am looking for something a little bigger.

Got cold and decided to take a drive by 10:30 and have a look around. On the way out crossing a field i spotted another spike and doe fawn feeding about 100 yards away. Shortly after that i spotted three more doe silhouetted against the skyline just off the property line at the top of the hill.

Took a drive to find where the pressure was coming from, had lunch and got warmed up. Went back to my original spot that i wanted to try and found the guy that was there in the morning at his truck. I had a nice conversation with him and he gave me a good idea of where most guys were hunting. He also told me that a nice 8 point had just been seen by his buddy less than 20 minutes ago standing in the middle of the road about a 1/4 mile away. He was going to one end of the property and i wanted to go to the other so it worked out well. I went back and found another guys stand along with a lot of foot prints and a couple pools of day old blood. Also found quite a bit of rubs.

The guy i talked to said that you could not cross the swamp and that is where the deer were coming from. Judging by the amount of traffic the field was getting i figured that there wouldn't be much coming out early. I went back and picked my way through the swamp to a little elevated ridge that ran through the middle of it. As i suspected it wasn't that hard to get there and NO ONE had been back there. The little rise was torn up with rubs. I worked back about 150 yards and found a couple hemlock trees and made myself at home. For a while i was entertained by some geese in the swamp and some owls hooting back and forth. At about 4:30 i caught movement and had a little button work in and stand directly under me. Then a second button worked in and did the same. They eventually wandered around behind me until one of them got out far enough to catch my wind and they split. I thought i could hear several other deer in the hardwoods but i couldn't see them.

I am definitely going back to that spot.

On the way out once on the road i saw another half dozen deer right down the road one of which was a doe with three yearlings and a busted / injured front leg. I also saw one of the biggest bucks i have seen in a very long time on the way home. Unfortunately i don't have permission for any land close to where i saw him.

[5.9cummins]

Sweet i just got my vacation extended by two days. My meeting on Thursday and Friday got bumped to next week.

Off to vote and back in the saddle for the afternoon.

[5.9cummins]

11-6-12

Tonight was not my night. Got done voting and taking care of some other stuff and i headed for the woods. Once there i got dressed and all ready to start walking and i go to grab my bow...............................and its still at home.

Back in the truck haul ass home grab it and back to the woods. I go in get up the tree and start to settle in and drop a glove. Figured i could do without that so i went to grab my pull up rope only to see it laying in a heap on top of my bow. Back down the tree grab the glove and rope and back up. Sat for a while but didn't see a thing except a fox and one deer way off in the distance.

Saw a dozen deer in one of the lower fields when i was leaving the farm. Only one small 4 pointer that i could tell but he was glued to a doe.

Back to the public land tomorrow to see what i can find. Hopefully i pull myself away from the election results tonight otherwise its going to be a long day tomorrow.

[5.9cummins]

I should be in a good mood this morning its the rut after all but i have this dark cloud hanging over my head.

[5.9cummins]

11-7-12

Went out this morning and made a stupid mistake. WAY to crunchy to think i could sneak anywhere. Tried making my way through the swamp like i did last time which turned into me sounding like an elephant because of everything being frozen. Busted a bunch of deer out of a bedding area crossing through the cattails. Still hunted for about 4 hours down a ridge and into some hardwoods along the swamp. Passed 200+ rubs some of which were very impressive. Just as i was getting to where i wanted to set up i caught movement and saw a flag running away but couldn't tell what it was. Got up the tree about noon and sat until dark.

Lots of squirrels which was annoying to say the least. One squirrel came running through the woods with a full ear of corn. He must have had help from a deer or coon or something because the nearest corn field is a half mile away.

Had a doe come out of the swamp to the north and work by at about 45 yards. Shortly after that heard a bunch of branches breaking in the swamp but nothing ever materialized.

I wish i had set up another 50-75 yards to the south because it sounded like multiple deer came through but i couldn't see anything due to the hemlocks.

[5.9cummins]

11-9-12

Stayed home yesterday because of sick kids.

Late start this morning and i got beat to my spot by some one else. Did some still hunting at the farm in a new area and ended up jumping a deer out of its bed. Found one spot that looked fairly promising but i had 8 four-wheelers show up and raise holy hell so i called it quits.

A friend of a friend has been complaining about some deer that get into her garden and wanted to know if i could get rid of them. So i decided that i would give it a shot this afternoon since i had nothing else going. I wasn't too optimistic. I was told that i should sit down between the small pond and 4 small spruce trees. Supposedly three doe come out and walk the edge of the field every night within shooting distance of these 4 trees. When i got there i wasn't to impressed with the amount of cover and really didn't expect much. I was sitting watching over a 25-30 acre field with two small ponds on the opposite side. Beyond that there was a 65-75 acre field full of golden rod and scrub.

I spotted a doe 200 yards off in the golden rod. I watched her for a while and then I caught some movement closer to where the two fields meet. The deer was behind some bushes and i could not make it out so i went back to looking at the doe. A little while later i saw the other deer moving out from behind the bushes and my jaw dropped. A nice wide 3.5 year old 8pt who was following the doe around.

They milled around in the golden rod for a while moving toward a large patch of scrub about 100 yards across the field before disappearing into it. I kept watching the other end to see if they would come back out but they didn't. Then i spotted two more doe back out in the golden rod. While i was watching them and the patch of scrub i caught movement off to my left where the golden rod field meets the hay field and there was another smaller 8 with a high tight rack, 2.5 year old or possibly 3.5 years. The small 8 disappeared as fast as he showed up. I grabbed my grunt tube and gave it a couple grunts and did a snort wheeze to try and see if i could peek one of the bucks curiosity.

Shortly after that i caught movement in the patch of scrub. I saw the wide racked 8 moving along the edge of the scrub and i could just see his rack. Then I caught movement up further in the golden rod and saw another doe running. The doe in the scrub then stuck her head out of the scrub for a little while and stare across the field before she turned back and went back into the scrub.

About 20 minutes later i caught more movement. There was a small fork horn running along the edge of the scrub next to one of the ponds. It looked like he made a lap or two around the scrub but i think the big 8 was keeping him at bay.

Unfortunately nothing came into the field i was watching.

At least i got to see a couple nice racked bucks.

Edited November 10, 2012 by 5.9cummins

[Fletch]

Sounds like a fun watch! Might need to put up a blind.

[5.9cummins]

Sounds like a fun watch! Might need to put up a blind.

I would if i had one. I already did some research and found the one i will buy for next year but its not going to happen this year. That spot is going to be tricky its where four different properties come together. I am going to have to get some additional permissions so i got my work cut out. But as far as i can tell no one hunts it.

11-10-12

Didn't go out this AM because of kids and Dr. Appointments.

Went out this afternoon to another chunk of state land. I decided to break out the climber and hike up the mountain. 400 foot elevation change over 8/10ths of a mile hike and i arrived at my spot. Needless to say it looks a little different with the leaves off. I scouted this spot and it was dense during the summer but not so great now. Sat for about three hours and didn't see a thing. I heard some turkeys work down the hill below me and saw a turkey hunter leaving onto private property which probably didn't help me any. I think i am going to get a different climber next year because the cheap piece of crap i have isn't worth a #%^&.

One interesting thing i did see on the way in was a spot where something decided to tangle with a porcupine. There was a 20 foot diameter area that was tore up. Quills and fur everywhere but no blood or carcass. I have never seen a fisher around here and would have expected to find some sign of a carcass had it been a fisher which makes me wonder if a couple coyotes got there but handed to them by the pincushion.

If i hunt this spot again i am going to hunt the property boundary where two gully's come together. It looks to be a better funnel than i had originally thought.

The view from the stand tonight.

[5.9cummins]

The view from the stand on 11-5 overlooking the swamp

[5.9cummins]

11-11-12

So yesterday i go out to put a couple more rounds through the rifle just to make sure i have it where i want it.

I went to a piece of property that i have not been to all year. After i was done i poked around a little and found the big boy is still alive. Hes got a cluster of rubs on this property and he comes back to rub them every year. Some of these are as big as my thigh. He also had a fresh scrape at the base of one of those trees. I saw this deer two years ago at which time i would estimate him to be 4.5 years old with 140" 8 pt rack. He looked like a tank. To my knowledge he has not been taken yet and judging by the sign he left behind hes still alive.

Fast forward to tonight. 11-12-12

I go up to the same spot and go up in my climber and hope that maybe i will get lucky. Only problem is i don't have a doe tag for that area and that is why i have not hunted up there yet.

I pick out a tree and shimmy up it but after about 10 minutes i decide i don't want a flying lesson tonight so i get back down. I walk over toward the road a little more near a blow down. Pick out a tree with two stems, one of which has been cut and has a nice stump and back rest and take a seat. Sat for about 3 hours not seeing anything. Then with about 10-15 minutes shooting light left i see a car coming down the road and it breaks hard then he lays on his horn.

Three deer come bounding into the woods. A big doe with a yearling and another decent sized doe. After the car leaves the first doe walks down by the blow down at about 10 yards and then spots me. She gives me about 30 seconds worth of head bobs and decides I'm OK, thank god for my leafy suit. Then she walks behind the blow down which is getting on the down wind side of me. She winds me and runs off 20-30 yards.

The doe in front of me at 12 yards watches her for a little while but goes back to milling around. Then she spots me. She doesn't give my much scrutiny and then turns to walk down hill to the other doe. She then looks back at the road and i took the opportunity to draw, anchor and release.

Thwack - double lung. She ran about 30 yards and started doing wobbly legged circles before dropping.

[shawnhu]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the golden rod?

[Ford]

Golden rod is a plant. It grows mostly in fields that have not been mowed in a bit. Sides of roads, ditches. It is kind of brown this time of year, 3 or more foot tall, slender..

[oneidacountyhunter]

congrats, no pics of her??

[growalot]

with a yellow flower head in fall

Congrats