The bucks are coming out of velvet now, and have almost entirely disappeared into the standing corn. That’s no surprise, but it sure makes riding around in the evenings a lot less fun. And, my jinx with trail cameras continues. There is no end to the things that go wrong every time I put them out, trying to get pics of velvet bucks, just a different set of circumstances.
For instance, how many squirrels do you think can live in one tree? I didn’t notice the den when I set one camera out, leading to literally hundreds of pictures of squirrels. Batteries that go dead, memory cards that suddenly fail, etc. have all lead me to just about give up on getting images. And, now we have the ginseng diggers entering the woods, so I pulled the cameras to keep them from getting “borrowed”!
The crops are coming along, so the farmers are starting to smile a little more. We should have a late harvest, but that’s no big deal. The second gun tag lottery was completed, and there are quite a few tags left ofver. So, if you have decided you want to come gun hunt with us, there is still some hope!
I have been busy working on the bunkhouses, putting out stands, and all of the other stuff we do during the off season. It’s been nice all week, with no rain, and moderate temps. And, over the next few weeks we will complete everything , and kick off the 09-10 season.
A few hunters have already hit the fields bird hunting. They have been shooting pheasants and quail, mostly in the mornings. Don has jumped two different shooter bucks out of the bird fields, and he told me one has very tall brow tines. This happens every year, and some of our stands are set up to cover the escape routes that these deer use when they rush out of the fields. Its an exciting way to spend a morning, especially when you see them come running across the open ground right at you, from a half mile away!
We are experiencing an unusual early acorn drop, so we will be monitoring some of the white oaks to see if they are going to last until the last week of October. Persimmons will be watched too. We know what these additional food sources mean, and will set up on them if we find deer using them in prime time.
I want to remind all of our bowhunterss to keep practicing. And, wear some heavy clothing when you’re at it. You need to be ready when your opportunity comes!
That’s it for now… The clock is running down, and I still have some things to do to get ready!