Hunterofwa's deer season-stay tuned

[HunterofWA]

So I haven't been on here for awhile but I thought I'd start up a spot to record my hunting efforts in the upcoming late archery season.

So to start off I got a new Diamond Prism this summer and have become accurate with it all the way of the 35yrds with a 55lb draw. So far, the bow is holding up well and I feel very confident to strike a good shot when the opportunity arises.

Anyway I am still hunting the same private land I have been for the past 4 years mainly because I haven't got a driver's license yet so my opportunities are limited to areas close to home.

I have a few nice bucks showing up on cam and coming irregularly during the daylight as long as does are around. Below are a few nighttime pics of the hit-list: 1st KING 2nd STICKS 3rd FORKS

[Blacktail Sniper]

 

How did your food plot experiment do?

[HunterofWA]

I ended up not planting one in the timber just cause I tried a little in a part of it and it struggled with the lack of sun reaching the ground. The clover out in the cut is doing fine but It's too thick to sneak up on deer in there so I hunt over it for bunnies instead and leave the deer alone in there. Sitting in my stand on the edge has worked very well for deer though.

[pianoman9701]

Nice big body on that three-pt.

[Big6bull]

Good luck neighbor

[jackelope]

Hey I've been wondering what happened to you. Glad to see you're still around. Good luck this year. Keep us posted. Looks like you've got some nice bucks around.

[Rainier10]

Great looking bucks.  I hope you connect.  You can't eat the horns so a tasty doe is just as good.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[predatorG]

Interesting looking bucks. I don't know the area very well, are there Columbian Whitetails down there ?

[HunterofWA]

Interesting looking bucks. I don't know the area very well, are there Columbian Whitetails down there ?

These are all Colombian Black-tails out by Yacolt near the Washougal/battleground boundary. As far as I know, the whitetails you are talking about generally hang tight around the Ridge field National Wildlife refuge. It's funny how a lot of the bucks that I have seen in this area don't seem to develop a fork on their G1's until they get about 4yrs making them look like whitetail racks for a while.

[predatorG]

Interesting looking bucks. I don't know the area very well, are there Columbian Whitetails down there ?

These are all Colombian Black-tails out by Yacolt near the Washougal/battleground boundary. As far as I know, the whitetails you are talking about generally hang tight around the Ridge field National Wildlife refuge. It's funny how a lot of the bucks that I have seen in this area don't seem to develop a fork on their G1's until they get about 4yrs making them look like whitetail racks for a while.

From what I've heard, the whitetail population has been doing pretty well and maybe spreading, but whenever I'm down there I'm quite a ways west of you, so I wasn't sure what the population was like around you.

[YoungFowler]

Interesting looking bucks. I don't know the area very well, are there Columbian Whitetails down there ?

These are all Colombian Black-tails out by Yacolt near the Washougal/battleground boundary. As far as I know, the whitetails you are talking about generally hang tight around the Ridge field National Wildlife refuge. It's funny how a lot of the bucks that I have seen in this area don't seem to develop a fork on their G1's until they get about 4yrs making them look like whitetail racks for a while.

From what I've heard, the whitetail population has been doing pretty well and maybe spreading, but whenever I'm down there I'm quite a ways west of you, so I wasn't sure what the population was like around you.

Colombian whitetail are now classified as "threatened" due to population rise.

http://www.columbian.com/news/2016/oct/12/columbian-white-tail-deer-rebound/

Nice deer by the way! 👍🏻


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

[HunterofWA]

So I checked the trail cam yesterday evening and found there to be only activity at first light and last light with an occasional doe/spike buck during the middle of the day.

My question is, since the bucks seem to linger a little into daylight would it be worth trying to call them in with the doe bleat can call or a rattling sequence? Or just hope they show up?

[HunterofWA]

Sticks (4x4 if you include brow tines) has been showing up a lot in the morning. Can't wait! 4 more days...

[Rainier10]

Solid buck right there, I hope you get a crack at him.

[HunterofWA]

Pulled the card this evening and saw very little buck activity in the area. Still planning to at least do a morning hunt. We'll see how it goes, but likely I'll have to take a doe. Still got a lot of weeks ahead so I am not gonna rush it.

[fishnfur]

Might be a good time to try some Doe in Heat urine scent upwind of where you think the bucks cruise to scent check for does.  They should still be out looking for the ever diminishing supply of does coming into estrus.   Good luck.

[predatorG]

I have a half day of school today and a basketball practice, so it may be a while before I get out. Luckily we're playing poker in my AP Statistics class so that eases the pain 

[GOING2HUNT]

Good luck! Hope to see pics

[HunterofWA]

So I didn't see any deer this morning. I am going to order some doe-p and see if I can put a wick high up in the stand and down on the ground as well. We'll see if it pulls some of the bucks back for a while.

I am thinking that I will try to squeeze in a few late afternoon hunts after school next week as the weather report for-casts a break in the weather. I'll also try to catch my hunts on film.

[pd]

Jeremy, you live close by, so take advantage of your situation.  Hunt frequently, but feel free to pull the plug after a while if you don't see activity.  As you said, you are not getting a lot of traffic mid-day, so you will just have to get lucky.  Good luck to you!

[HunterofWA]

So today I was able to do something a little different. I was able to tag along with two of my brothers who wanted to go Grouse hunting up by spotted deer mountain. We split up and I hunted down in some creek bottoms in hopes that the deer would be tucked up in the thick stuff. As is to be expected, a lot of sign but no sightings.

I would like to know this spot better in the next few years, but I have to say it will take a lot of work to get a deer out of there with a bow. So for now, I am going to be concentrating my hunting efforts on the tract of land next to home.

Fun day out side though. Sorta funny but at the same time not: My brothers saw some deer while I was the one who bumped a grouse.

[fishnfur]

Keep at it.  It will happen.

[predatorG]

Keep at it.  It will happen.

I can attest to this.

[pd]

Aaaaaaaaaand?

C'mon, Man.  What's happening down there in Almost-PDX-Land?

[HunterofWA]

Finally managed to get out this afternoon. Didn't see a deer but I pulled the card to see what's been coming. After a week of doe estrous scent the bucks didn't show up on cam again, which is what I thought would happen but at least I tried.

Anyways these deer are driving me crazy... they're so unpredictable. I'll see if I can get out again tomorrow afternoon as well just for grins.

The pic is the doe I'd like to take, seems mature to me.

[AKBowman]

Late archery post rut is tough for bucks. Definitely takes more time sitting but when it happens it can happen fast. The few times I've seen rut activity in late Archery were between first and second week of December. You won't see the volume of bucks like during the pre ritnor main rut so you have to sit more often but the rut activity can be really good in short spurts in isolated spots.

I've had the best luck Late Archery immediately following a rain or snow storm.

Best of luck. Keep us posted on how you do.

[Skyvalhunter]

That's the way it is with most deer.

[HunterofWA]

Soooo... an update on the evening's hunt.

I headed out to the stand around 3:15pm and started hunting at about 3:50. There was a strong crosswind that was decent but on the edge of my comfort zone. Anyhow, I was confident that this would be the day.

As time went on, I spotted a rabbit at 25 yards and took a shot at it just missing it by a hair. That cost me an arrow and made me a wee bit frustrated.

Skipping ahead. At 4:30ish I was pretty bumbed and stupidly decided to pack up my gear. After I finished blundering around I uncapped my p-bottle to relieve myself. As I was about to do so, I looked around behind me and 50 yards out 3 does are staring me in the face. The bottle slipped out of my hand and spilled all down the stand. In the excitement I had been busted by the deer and they stared me down till the end of shooting light and worked their way back up the ridge. All the while I was shaking so bad it probably made the tree shake.

Overall, I am pretty annoyed by this hunt but I am sure I'll laugh at it someday. As far as my next hunt goes I think this stand is blown for a week or so. I'll try to look for a storm soon or hold out till Christmas break. These does are huge so I want to play it safe and make sure I connect in the near future.

Thanks for reading!

[fishnfur]

I think you meant: "As time went on, I spotted a rabbit at 25 yards and took a shot at it just missing it by a hare" .  Never pass up a chance to throw in a bad pun. 

Hang in there - the action always starts when your trousers are around your knees.  Just expect it, then you're not surprised when it works out that way.   Consider this a chance to check out some other areas while your spot cools off.

[HunterofWA]

Soooo... Let me start out by saying the season was a flop for me.

I never did let an arrow fly, but I still have to admit that I did have a few opportunities. At one point right before shooting light I had the big doe I was after walk below my stand so close I could smell her! But she ended up working off the area before it was light enough for a shot.

On several other occasions I would be approaching my stand and of all the times I was being just a wee bit careless, there would be a deer somewhere nearby that spooked off. What is frustrating is that in most of these scenarios If I had been more careful, I might have been successful.

Anyhow, no need complaining about it. I hunted hard, but some years it just doesn't go as planned. That's hunting though. And honestly I don't care that much this year, the deer were smarter so I have to hand to em.

I can say this though, I definitely want to focus more attention elsewhere for next season.

Well thanks to everyone who read this and I hope you have a Happy New Year!!

[fishnfur]

Don't feel too bad.  Way better to eat a tag then never venture out into the woods at all, and if you learn from your mistakes, then you're making progress towards becoming a better hunter.  Better luck next year.