October 21 - P.M.
  This evening I hunted an area on public land where a very thick creek bottom creates a funnel between two ridges. I had scouted it before season and saw good buck sign from last year, and lots of tracks. It was supposed to be nice weather this evening, but it was drizzling instead. About 4:15 A doe came ambling by down the creek bottom by herself. I was hoping maybe she would have a buck trailing her, but she didn't. A little while later, a young 6-point buck came in from behind me, I think he may have smelled her. Then, right before dark I saw another doe a little distance away. I did some rattling throughout the evening without success.  The first doe I saw this evening  The 6-point that came in behind me October 24 - P.M.  This evening I hunted a spot on private land that was just too good-looking not to give a chance. It was a swamp that was about 5-10 acres in size, and nasty thick.  Fresh deer trails everywhere. It was also between a thick bedding area and a clover field about 500 yards away - a field where I have seen deer feeding numerous times. I felt my chances of seeing a good buck in the daylight were better if I hunted off of the field a ways. Fortunately for me, there was one tree big enough to support me and my climbing stand, in the spot where I wanted to be. I got up as high as possible (about 25-30 feet) because there weren't any leaves or much cover around. I didn't see anything for several hours, and then right before dark, two big does and a button buck came waltzing by on the trail, likely on their way to the clover field. I did not see any other deer before dark. I don't think the rut is quite kicking in yet, but it won't be long.  One big doe from this evening  The button buck that was with the does  It's a heck of a view from up here!  A nice rub I saw on my way to the stand October 28 - A.M.  
This morning I hunted an area of public land that I scouted several times before the season. It's a small strip of big woods between two thickets. It's a great edge area and there were several good looking antler rubs here from last year. This was my first time to hunt the spot this season. I spooked a deer near my stand on my way in before light. Unfortunately, I didn't see anything while I was hunting. After I got done for the morning, I did a bit of scouting on my way out, and found numerous fresh rubs and scrapes in a several hundred yard area. I was in this general area hunting another spot about 500 yards away a few weeks ago, and the number of rubs and scrapes have gone through the roof since then. The rut is about to bust loose here, I believe. 
October 29 - A.M.  I was really excited about this morning's hunt on private land. It was a spot of open woods surrounded on 3 sides by thickets, several hundred yards from a clover field, and about half half a mile from a corn field. It was supposed to be a hard freeze during the night and then be clear the next morning, and I felt that would really have the deer moving well. That did turn out to be the case. I saw nine deer this morning - 5 does, 2 bucks, and 2 deer I couldn't identify for sure. There were deer moving through the area from every direction for most of the morning. Unfortunately, because of the thickness of the area and where the deer were traveling, I didn't get any good deer pics. I do need to fine-tune my stand placement just a little bit, because most of the deer were going by just a little out of range. The deer that came closest this morning was the first decent buck I've seen this season. He was about a 110" 8-point that was cruising by himself about 8:30. I was looking for something bigger, but it was exciting to see some slightly bigger bucks on the move in the daylight. He came within about 18 yards of me and was just about to step out for me to get a picture when he stopped, turned around and walked back the other way. I looked behind me and there was another buck - a smaller 8-point, standing there kind of half chasing a doe. All in all it was an exciting morning, and I can feel the rut in the air! The next 2 weeks should be good!  One of the does I saw this morning updates throughout the bow season!
Joshua Flournoy owns and manages the Livehunts.com web site. Joshua resides in Ohio with his wife and five children. |
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