Early ML up north 2021

[wolc123]

Not much rain yet this morning, but there is 1.73 inches predicted for today.   I hung out at the campfire last night and did not get my pop up blind up until first light this morning.   I left that in a good spot, close to camp, and headed out to some old lean-two’s in a good spot about a mile away.

This is the spot where I have  seen the most deer activity over the last 8 years up here.  Ordinarily, I don’t hit it in the first hunt but I figured all that rain would wash away any of my scent.  
 

I am wearing my full rain gear and can back into a lean-two if the rain gets too intense.  I have not seen any deer sign yet but I did hear some coyotes howling last night.

My father in law put up an axe throwing target and I was able to get my edc knife to stick close to the bull last night on my 10th attempt.

 

[grampy]

Good luck up there this weekend!

[Fletch]

Sounds like a good time will be had! Hope you have some luck!


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[wolc123]

It is raining hard now.  I can only see and shoot downwind from inside the lean-two, so I think I will pull the plug on the morning hunt and take a slow, wet walk back to camp.   The only game this morning was 2 red squirrels sighted and a grouse flushed on the way in.

If it is not raining too hard, I will do the evening sit in my pop up blind, back near camp.  This is the first opening morning of ML, in 9 years up here, that I did not hear any shots.   It is a little on the warm side (about 70) to deal with a carcass.  Two skeeters got thier last meals from my left hand, but I got them with my right.

[wolc123]

I went back to the house for a bowl of soup and a short nap.  Now I am back out in my pop up blind for the evening sit.  I asked the gang not to eat up all the smoked brisket they are cooking in the big green egg because I will be back for some at about 6:30.

I have seen lots of antlerless deer in this spot, but never a buck and never before Thanksgiving.  I am hoping the cold front brings one in a little early this year when they are legal to kill.  It is still raining steady, but only an occasional drip makes it in.

 

[wolc123]

Day 2 and what a difference.  I stepped outside, 1/2 hour before sunrise,  and was immediately struck with a breath of cool air, for the first time in about 10 days that I have gone deer hunting this year.  
 

I was worried after no deer signs at all, in yesterday’s heat and rain, that there may not be any deer at all within 50 miles of my NW Adirondack location.  Those fears went way before I made ten steps, when I heard a deer snort at the end of my in-laws driveway.  It took a left onto the main camp road and I took a short cut, up the ridge to a stand of young hard woods, where I guessed it was heading.   
One went up there at this time when I spooked her down below last year, probably the same old doe.   Sure enough, when I got up there and set up my hammock chair, I heard her snort again, maybe 50 yards behind me in the thick stuff.  
 

I hope my evercalm, scentaway deodorant, and scent blocker jacket fool her nose a little and that maybe she draws a honrny  buck over to this area.  Either way, it feels good to finally have a little deer action in the cold woods.
 

Edited October 17, 2021 by wolc123

[wolc123]

About 45 degrees and steady rain most of the morning here in day 3.  I am near the spot where I had a 15 yard encounter with the largest Adirondack buck I ever saw on opening day of gun last year.  I will give it till about 11:30.   
 

I tried rattling a bit but the only game seen was a red squirrel and a grouse.  I had my crosshairs on the grouses head, but it looked like it may have been a spruce variety, so I did not touch off.

My orange hat is hanging on a branch above my umbrella.  Not sure if that is legal but common sense trumps the law when it comes to matters of life and death.

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by wolc123

[sbuff]

Its a shame TC stopped making the omega 

[wolc123]

On 10/18/2021 at 11:30 AM, sbuff said:

Its a shame TC stopped making the omega 

That gun worked real well for me for quite a few years, but I was almost ready to break it over my knee, after a rough stretch the last few years.  It started with striking a branch with my shot and missing a big doe clean 3 years ago, then a bad hit on one doe and a miss on another 2 years ago, and another missed doe and buck last year.

I am fairly certain that the cause of the last 2 clean misses was my new no-line bifocals, which caused me to shoot low.  Now, I am using single prescription glasses when hunting and sighting in, and was finally able to get back on track with that gun this morning.  
 

I aimed for her shoulder blade, from 35 yards away, and that is where the bullet struck.  That is the exit hole in the photo.  The entry was centered on the shoulder blade, on the opposite side.  
 

I forgot to get a chest girth measurement but I am guessing that she is at least 3.5 years old and I had quite a history with her.  I did not see the two fawns, that were with her this morning, until she went down.  

 

Edited October 19, 2021 by wolc123

[Moho81]

That gun worked real well for me for quite a few years, but I was almost ready to break it over my knee, after a rough stretch the last few years.  It started with striking a branch with my shot and missing a big doe clean 3 years ago, then a bad hit on one doe and a miss on another 2 years ago, and another missed doe and buck last year.
I am fairly certain that the cause of the last 2 clean misses was my new no-line bifocals, which caused me to shoot low.  Now, I am using single prescription glasses when hunting and sighting in, and was finally able to get back on track with that gun this morning.  
 
I aimed for her shoulder blade, from 35 yards away, and that is where the bullet struck.  That is the exit hole in the photo.  The entry was centered on the shoulder blade, on the opposite side.  
 
I forgot to get a chest girth measurement but I am guessing that she is at least 3.5 years old and I had quite a history with her.  I did not see the two fawns, that were with her this morning, until she went down.  
 

Curious how you know it was the same doe from year to year? Something unique she could be identified by? Hard to tell in the couple of pictures.

Congratulations by the way!


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[wolc123]

45 minutes ago, Moho81 said:

Curious how you know it was the same doe from year to year? Something unique she could be identified by? Hard to tell in the couple of pictures.

Congratulations by the way!


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Old “taco meat” and me go back a few years.   Basically,  because I had her patterned.  The layout here is a narrow lake with wide flat area that slopes up to a parallel ridge.  Last year and this year, I spooked her down on the flat in the dark, soon after I left my in-law’s lake house.  
 

Each time, she ran with her brood, up to the north end of the ridge.  Last year I took a short cut, and got up there before she did, while it was still dark.  Her nose saved her that time, and she winded me from about 15 yards away.  
 

Ditto last Sunday, only we tied that time and I heard her snorting about 100 yards away, but out of sight in the just legal light.   I had heard her first snort, before I cleared the driveway down on the flat.

I hunted a perpendicular ridge on the other end of the parallel one on Monday, to give her a break.  This morning, I still hunted up to “her spot”, starting 28 minutes before sunrise.  I reached “the spot” right about sunrise, with no contacts on the way up.

At 8:00, I heard some crashing thru the woods, about 100 yards away.  I saw just one deer without antlers.  She hung up there behind trees for a while, with her tail about half way up most of the time, occasionally flashing as if to signal.  

I heard some quieter crashing far behind her.  She doubled back and began working her way up to the beech trees I was hiding under.   The whole time she was using her tail to signal the two fawns that I never saw until she went down.  

I had the wind to my advantage and I had treated my boots with evercalm prior to my walk up, and scraped more on the tree I was strapped to.  I have never seen a deer this skittish, probably due to our prior encounters.

She was probably starting to associate me with the evercalm and no doubt crossed my trail on her way up.  When her head got behind a tree, I swiveled and lifted, and when she stepped out at 35 yards I pulled.

I hope the fawns make it (she had lots of milk in her). She is at rest in a walk in cooler in town now, and should be made ready to come home with me on Sunday.  We will have the tenderloins with eggs for brunch tomorrow and her salted tail is already in my car.

I got the utensils cleaned up and ready for 2 bucks the rest of this week and this coming weekend.  They will need some big antlers to trip my trigger now though, because we have almost enough meat now. 
 

 

Edited October 19, 2021 by wolc123

[wolc123]

Tomorrow’s wind looks like it is supposed to blow from the sw, just like todays.  That means I will most likely go back to the same spot where I killed the doe this morning, tomorrow morning.  

I missed a small buck in that location during the late ML season last year.  Hopefully, he’s growed up some and comes back tomorrow looking for some beech nuts.  Maybe a bear will come for the doe guts.  
 

My ML is cleaned, the bore is lubed, and ready to be reloaded.  I am not staying out too long, because my mother-in-law said she will make us a steak and egg brunch with the doe tenderloins.
 

After that, I want to pound in stakes for the snow fence that my father in law puts up to catch the snow blown off the north end of the lake, and keep it off the road, that he plows all winter.   That’s a noisy job with the hand held pile driver, but I brought my ear plugs.   I got to protect my radar (hearing), which helped ton in killing that doe this morning.  

It is looking warmer tomorrow afternoon, so I think I will skip that hunt and try for a 22” smallmouth instead.  I have a few gallons of gas to burn up and might give trolling hot-in-tots a try. 

[wolc123]

I didn’t see anything up by the gut pile this morning.  Only the flies found it so far.  No luck finding the heart either, walking up there and back.

I had one yesterday’s doe’s tenderloins with eggs for brunch. It tasted good but was a bit chewy.  She was probably 4.5 years old and it was likely near max rigidity from rigor mortis at 10:00 this morning. I asked my mother in law to save the other one raw in the fridge until Sunday.  By then it should delaminate a bit. 
 

My hands are blistered from pounding in those 30 snow fence stakes across the end of the lake.  I don’t think I will be up for a lot of casting m this afternoon so I guess it will be trolling for bass.  There is a good west wind and a nice chop on the lake, so I hope the big ones are biting. 

I also got the heavy Honda stroke outboard off, chained the barge to a tree, and got the docks ready for winter.  I probably won’t be using my new waders for hunting or fishing yet this year, but they worked good for that.

Most of the work is done now so I ought to be able to “relax” hunting and fishing until Sunday.

 

[wolc123]

It was too windy and warm for me to try to kill a buck this afternoon, so I went fishing instead, catching about a dozen smallmouth bass.  The biggest one was my biggest of the year up here so far, and just 3” shy of the 22” I am looking for to mount.
 

It looks like the wind will be from the south again tomorrow, so it will be back up to the gut pile again for me in the morning.  As warm as it was today, that scent has got to be getting intense and I hope it will draw in a bear.   
 

There is rain in the forecast, but light winds, so the tree umbrella ought to work ok.  I am also packing a plastic bag, so I don’t loose another heart.  I wonder if pickled bear heart would be good ? 
 

I am going to give the rattle bag a shot, if it’s not too painfull on my blistered hands (from pile driving the snow fence stakes this morning).  The last time I rattled up there about 4 years ago, I didn’t fool any bucks, but I did fool the guy from the end of the lake who thought he was walking in to a real buck fight.   
 

At first I thought he was a bear, on its hind legs, coming up out of the swamp.  His chartreuse hat gave him away. He will need to ditch that for blaze orange or pink per the new rules this year.  
 

Edited October 21, 2021 by wolc123

[wolc123]

The rain has arrived on schedule and I am comfortably nestled in, 40 yards downwind of the Tuesday’s gut pile, up on the ridge.  If that smell don’t draw in a bear, maybe the hot cider will.  
 

The only thing I know I forgot this morning was my electric tape so I just sacrificed a “little finger condom” from one of my gutting gloves.  

I don’t have enough cash for another butcher fee.  If a bear does show up I am taking the hide, head, and heart out on my first trip, then coming back for the back straps and butt roasts.

I can smell those guts, since the rain has been falling.  Hopefully, a bear can also.

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by wolc123

[wolc123]

No action on the north end of the ridge today, except for the bugs.  One mosquito bit me on the hand and a bunch of midges got in my cider while it was raining.  Maybe they took out some of the deer with EHD, which would explain the lower than usual sightings and sign this year.

 I thought the rotting gut pile might draw in a bear,  but no luck there.  I tried rattling a bit also, with no responders.  The rain stopped around noon.  It was too warm to hunt so I went back out on the lake fishing this afternoon.  

I caught one 13” smallmouth, trolling with a small silver hotintot, (4) 12-14 inchers on bucktail jigs, and two shorter ones, all of which were released.

They almost finished the roughing of a new place on a little cove across the lake.  I knew the guy who owned that lot and he was pretty close with my father in law.  He passed away the year after I got my first buck up here, in a spot he told me about. 

They said he was very happy to hear that I got that buck and I am sad that he never got to see the mount.  It is one of two deer that I have named, both after friends who have passed on.  This buck ain’t the biggest, but is my first from the Adirondacks, which makes it my favorite. 

My first hunts up here were with that fella and his elderly uncle, who has also passed on. His widow is putting up the new place across the lake.  You can see it to the right of the bass.  Someday, I will introduce their kids to the buck on the wall up here, that I named after their father.

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by wolc123

[wolc123]

Stick a fork in it, early ML is done. I heard (4) large things moving around close, but saw nothing but one red squirrel this morning in my spot on the perpendicular ridge shelf south of the lake. 
 

I am not sure if what I heard was deer, bear, coyotes, or other hunters (very doubtful as it has been several years since I saw one of those up here), but they definitely got the old heart rate up.

I was near the spot where I killed my last Adirondack antlered buck in 2016, and had a 15 yard encounter with a giant on opening day of rifle last year.

I did learn how to keep my but and legs dry , under the tree umbrella in the rain, using the tree hammock seat.  Tucking the bag under the strap against the tree allows the rain that runs down the trunk to fall down to fall off to the side, rather than fill the seat like a funnel.  That keeps your but dry.   
 

Moving the pedestal further away from the trunk raises the height and keeps your lower legs under the unbrella.  I was good and dry thru some heavy rain this morning but have yet to kill a deer from under one of those umbrellas.  I always take it down as soon as the rain lets up.

 

Edited October 22, 2021 by wolc123