Sunday, October 21st a.m.

Wind: South, 8 mph
Temp: 45-56 degrees
Hunt time: 3-1/2 hours

I’m after a doe this morning so I went to the same stand I hunted on October 7th. I thought sometime in the morning does might be either coming to the pond this stand is set 20 yards off of -or- visiting one of the two grass fields this stand is directly between (one up on top of the hill and one below it) since this week with the warmer weather, the deer have been hitting grass as a food source once again. I didn’t see any deer during first light, and started off with six toms down in the field below. I was hoping they’d make their way over to a drink, but they never did.

A bit later in the morning, I ended up having an 8-point come browsing through and go for a drink at the pond. Nice, young buck but not a shooter. I had two does also come to drink. The problem is they all came to the opposite side of the pond. This is a brand new stand, so it might not be in the right spot. Last year, the deer often crossed lower where we placed this stand. However, this year they seem to for the most part be crossing a little higher up and in the middle of the hill. Things change every year from variables you don’t always know so we’ll just have to continue to give this stand some time to prove itself either way. It’s also possible that it is fine where it is even if it is wrong though because the area behind it is very thick and not too far from popular bedding so it could have great potential for calling once things start kicking into gear a bit more.
Later in the morning, I saw some spooked hens and had three does run by. My husband, Matt, was hunting on the opposite end of this timber and getting out of the stand… I stay in longer than everyone else for a reason. 🙂

A couple of fresh scraps and licking branches nearby:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Total stand time so far this season: 36.5 hours. This weekend’s weather looks great to get the mature bucks moving. I’m very hopeful for the days ahead!

*Look at the difference in the visibility within the timber just from October 7th (left) and October 21st (right). Crazy what a little bit of time can make during deer season.