Field report

[dbltree]

Pretty quiet out there...

Kinda like someone turned out the lights and the wild party just ended

Nothing but fawns wandering around "mewing" plaintively while their Moms are out with the boys.

Safe to say that there's a lot of "hanky panky" going on out there

Even my "Road Warrior" wife (who is rivaled only by a UPS driver on Christmas Eve in miles traveled per day

) hasn't seen a single deer since Saturday night.

3 days either side of the 15th of November has always been a slow time, but there is always the chance a doe will drag a big boy by ones stand.

Good time to back off a little after over a month of hunting...my lips are chapped, my hands are like sandpaper and my eyes look like I've been out with the boys all weekend

It will be interesting to tally up the Harvest Reports at the end of the month and see when the hottest days were...or weren't.

Personally I really like the week before TG...time will tell.

This pic is from 11/10...they started it in late September and as you can see it was "used" sometime before daylight...kinda curious just how long they will keep it up.

There is still a huge amount of corn stubble that hasn't been tilled and thousands of acres of standing corn in my area.

Some wet weather may delay harvest thru shotgun season...bummer

If your stuck in the office this week...relax...your not missing much

 

[JMM1]

Keep em comin.Great Pics.

 

[Daver]

Paul - you're right, today was quite slow in our timber too. Saturday was rocking, today was a 180 degree switch. Of course, I am least prepared for an east wind though in terms of stands up. Something I will have to adjust before next year as this is at least fourth time this year we have had a predominant east wind. I had two small bucks that I could have drilled at less than 25 yards about an hour apart and I missed my 4th coyote of my life with a bow, but other than that, the squirrels weren't even scratching around much. I have scads of little bucks this year, probably 12+ different ones and several of them multiple times now.

My son had the day off school and he did see a bobcat, the first one we have seen on our farm, at close range, but no deer sighted all day. Oh, except for the nice buck that was 30 yards from our camper when we drove back up to the buildings for lunch! He was on a doe and would not leave her even after we drove up to within 25 yards of him! He was a pretty decent basic 8 with a couple of stickers, probably about 135" or so.

Keep the good reports coming, I really like reading them!

 

[dbltree]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh, except for the nice buck that was 30 yards from our camper when we drove back up to the buildings for lunch! He was on a doe and would not leave her even after we drove up to within 25 yards of him!

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Ain't that the way it goes!

Yesterdays Road Report:

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There's two big bucks...
just standing there in a wild open field
with a little doe...
their just watching her...
poor thing

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Hope they played nice...you know...sharing and all that..

Right now these bucks are going to be "tied up" fo 24-48 hrs with a doe that's not going to travel far.

One could get lucky (the hunter...not the deer

) or more likely bored out of your mind right now.

Few more days and it will start to change

When I was a young man I milked cows in a stanchion barn setup and the constant 7 days a week, twice a day "up and down" eventually put me in the hospital for knee surgery.
Years later they are getting worse and make climbing my stands tough sometimes.

For years I used the TreeHopper auger and bolt system for so long in fact that every so often I have to crank the bolts out because the trees have grown so much since.

It has advantages of course but I worry that one slip could leave precious body parts on a bolt...instead of where they belong...

A hunting friend who at 70 has had to find safer ways to hunt started using a different kind of ladder stand which at first I scoffed at...until I kept helping him drag out deer...

Hey...let me try that!

Every doe I have shot this year was from one of these, each in a different spot:

22 foot alum. extension ladder painted black

We use a ratchet strap around the top so it cant slip. It's a very safe and handy way to allow us to keep hunting from a stand.

Why not use a ladder stand? I have one of those also, but I don't like the ladder portion being in front, it's difficult to put up and move and the small rungs are still easy to slip from.

I like these because I can hide the ladder behind a tree or in some cover when available. In come cases I put it against a fork which allows me to just step into the stand.

So far not a deer has given one so much as a glance including some whopper bucks that stood within feet of it (in that heavy cover I "hid" the stand in

)

Not for "run n gun" style hunting but if you have your own ground or family property it's just an idea...

You can buy them at auction sales but most of ours we just bought new. It's easy to but a heavy duty chain and lock around them and they actually quite light and easy to pull down after season.

Few more days maybe there will be some action to "report"...that's not -X- rated...

 

[dbltree]

A farmer friend said he notcied a huge buck laying in a wide open(mowed) field behind his house. He tried to sneak up on it and take a picture but when he got close it "picked it's head up and watched him" so he backed away...

What other time of year does a mature buck lay out in a wide open field and let you approach with in a country mile...let alone a hundred yards!

That vulnerabilty this time of year is one reason I oppose shining during November

It's also the reason other states who have firearm seasons at this time...don't have Iowa's quality of whitetails...and why we have to work to make sure it doesn't "creep" into our state via ever changing new rules aimed at "controlling our deer herd

On a different subject...

If you process your own deer and aren't already "power skinning"...give this a try

If your not doing a shoulder mount, cut around the neck and up the front legs. Skin down just far enough to make a fold in the skin and use a clove knot around a small rock under the skin:

Clove Hitch

Make sure you chain or rope the deer to something solid (not a truss in your garage!

)

I hook the other end of the rope to the ball on my truck and put in creeper. You can use a lawn mower or a block and tackle ...but the truck is the easiest!

Just pull steady until it starts to come and then just "peel" it off!

Takes only moments compared to hand skinning!

This buck was a friends who wanted to do a european mount. I needed mine caped whole of course, so we reversed it...hung it by the hind legs and pulled using the tail (cut thru the tail bone first

)

I just take the whole hide and head and let the taxi make the cuts from there.

Hope everyone has the weekend off...I think it's going to be a good time to get back in the woods!

 

[muddy]

I can't wait to tell my wife that I need a JohnDeere to assist in the skinning out of whitetails. That aughta get a great comment.

 

[Daver]

Ya know Paul, that post somehow makes me think of those "Redneck" jokes that Jeff Foxworthy puts out.

"If you use your tractor to skin a buck in your front yard... you might be a Redneck."

 

[Blaster]

Man that bucks neck is long!

 

[Mandity]

Thats the coolest thing I have seen. Now my question is if the deer was fairly warm like just shot or has it cooled off from hanging. Just wondering cause I know it is alot easier when the deer is warm.

 

[Skully]

I have heard of it but never seen it done. Thanks for the pics Paul, I especially like the "poodle puff" left on the end of his tail!

 

[dbltree]

[ QUOTE ]
I can't wait to tell my wife that I need a JohnDeere to assist in the skinning out of whitetails. That aughta get a great comment.

[/ QUOTE ]

Muddy if sweet talkin doesn't work...don't worry, I'm sure you can borrow Bonkers tractor

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"If you use your tractor to skin a buck in your front yard... you might be a Redneck."



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As my Dad used to say..."Heyyy I resemble that!!

This is southern Iowa ya know

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Now my question is if the deer was fairly warm like just shot or has it cooled off from hanging. Just wondering cause I know it is alot easier when the deer is warm.



[/ QUOTE ]

Always cold...hung over night. Over the years I've grown weary of processing my own deer but the locker I use will only take them unskinned if killed sameday.

If hung over night I have to skin them...so I only take does in the morning

[ QUOTE ]
I especially like the "poodle puff" left on the end of his tail!


[/ QUOTE ]

I'll save that for ya next time Skully!

3 does, a fawn and a nice buck in the yard at 11:30 a.m. yesterday...are you taking notes here?

First...they are starting to move ...mix and mingle a little.

Second...there is midday movement...so pack a lunch this weekend

Wonder what they are doing in my yard anyway...

Yard deer

The past few years (the week preceeding Thanksgiving) I have tried to set all day...or at least until late afternoon and I have seen the largest bucks of the year each time.

Most I saw between 12:00 and 1:00...on a mission, searching...

I also saw the most bucks, including one lil ole doe who strolled by with 13 bucks in tow

Hey...if there's only one left...what's a boy to do?

I think all next week will be hot with this weekend being the start of things picking up where they left off...time will tell

The forecast looks awesome

[ QUOTE ]
Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. South wind at 5 mph becoming north.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. North wind between 3 and 9 mph.

Saturday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 44.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 28.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 43.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 26.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 47.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 33.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 34.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 56.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 36.

Thanksgiving Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near

[/ QUOTE ]

Notice the mean movement times for the week...

Hunting times

Have a great weekend all and....
be careful out there

 

[dbltree]

11-18

Saw several bucks "loping" across fields at day light this morning, a couple checked some does and did the "stiff legged" walk around each other and saw an eye popper...to bad he only had one horn

At 11:39 does started coming out of the woodwork and they kept moving by until nearly 1:00!

Very tempting not to take one but last year I did that and befoe I got her dragged out to the field a beautiful buck popped into view...took one look at her and decided there might be safer areas

Dang it was cold and damp today though...

 

[iowabruce]

I tried to fill a doe tag tonight but it was one of the slowest nights in a long, long time. 2 baby's right at dark...and yeah, it was damp and cold.

 

[dbltree]

11-19

Sure was a beautiful evening last night!

Deer were already out feeding by 3 or so

Hard to see it standing in the shadows...

They kept me enertained all evening

Up close and personal!

Until sunset..

Not a buck in sight but it sure beats sitting around the house...or worse yet...getting down Christmas "stuff"...

White frost this morning....

 

[fatboy]

11-18 sat for 6 hrs to only have a 4pt.come by at 5:00pm.11-19 spent time with the family.On the way to work this morning the neighborhood buck was trailing two does at about 6:30am.Will be back out wed. afternoon and the end of the week as time and family allows.Last years nov.doe season sounded like a war zone where I hunted with not much deer movement.Hope it's quieter this year.

 

[dbltree]

[ QUOTE ]
Last years nov.doe season sounded like a war zone where I hunted with not much deer movement.Hope it's quieter this year.

[/ QUOTE ]

You would have to bring that up...kind of a sore spot with me since I feel we already have ample time and seasons to harvest does.

11-20

Yesterday morning broke records for lows at around 16-18 degrees in my area!

Beautiful morning...but not much movement. Had a buck come thru at 12 yards, covered with frost at 6:30...and a doe at 8:30.

I stayed until 1:00 but with winds changing to WSW I moved for evening.

The field was already full of deer when I pulled in...but they don't have far to go to be out of sight

I saw one 3 1/2 buck at 3:40 and then this small one at 4:00...pretty quiet after that.

So far it seems like movement is very early morning and early afternoon. I suspect by the weekend it will be more evening.

South winds for the next several days at least....

 

[dbltree]

11-21

Warmer temps but still a cold wind yesterday morning. Hunted a stand for a south wind that was hot earlier when there was lots of feed...should've known better

Just being there alone with my thoughts...watching the sun wake up the day makes it worth being there though...

Sometimes it seems as though the angels have painted the sky...just for me

A few deer did move about 7:30:

I headed out mid morning and noticed a buck feeding in corn stubble...and another scross the fence in some switchgrass...food and cover...dah!

I have plenty of both...just hate to overhunt them but no choice for now.

They started moving at 3:30 and the field was full of them when I walked out after dark.

You would think I would trim that branch...there is a deer satnding right behind it. If I can't shoot it with a camera...I'm sure not gonna have a prayer with a bow

Keep in mind the firearms season coming up this weekend and please be smart...wear some orange walking in and out...use a flashlight if it's dark (darkness doesn't stop some people

)and let us know how the hunting was.

[ QUOTE ]
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. South wind between 8 and 11 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 37. South wind between 7 and 10 mph.

Thanksgiving Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 58. South wind between 7 and 14 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 42.

Friday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 55.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 34.

Saturday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 51.

Saturday Night: A slight chance of rain. Partly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Sunday: A slight chance of rain. Partly cloudy, with a high near 50.

Sunday Night: A chance of rain. Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.


[/ QUOTE ]


Looks like it will continue to move towards early morning and late evening thru the weekend:

Hunting Times

Have a great Thanksgiving (remember to be thankful for all our blessings!) and be safe on the road and in the woods

 

[dbltree]

11-22

The past few mornings have been a bust as far as deer movement

Evenings...now that's another story

They started at 3:30 tonight...

Little after 4:00 they started pouring out

This buck came feeding along with the "herd"

The field was full when I walked out...and the sky looked like it was on fire

Hunt all you can but be there by early afternoon for sure!!

 

[Renobber]

I cant wait to get home to those great iowa skies....

 

[Central Iowa]

[ QUOTE ]
The past few mornings have been a bust as far as deer movement

Evenings...now that's another story

They started at 3:30 tonight...

[/ QUOTE ]

Same here Paul.