2010 Season Blog, Dad's Buck
Posted 07-20-2010 at 10:20 AM by Mightymouse
Another weekend has come and gone and once again I was at home. With a 3 month old at home it's hard to be too bummed out about staying at home, but going north is sure nice too.
I talked with my brother in law over the weekend and we laid out our game plan for the next few weeks. Hard to believe we are over half way done with July already. Pretty soon it will be the end of August, followed by the end of September and then into October!!!
Since we are nearly that late July/early August time frame it is time to get our brassica's in the ground. It is looking like the last weekend in July will be the weekend we plant. We planted them last year and the deer hammered them, hopefully that will be the case again this year. Last year we went a bit to heavy on the seed and saw some stunted growth do to the crowding. This year we will hopefully correct that issue and get an even better crop for the deer to enjoy.
The brassica will be getting over seeded into our existing stands of clover and alfalfa after some prepping of the plots. We will also be fertilizing at that time as well. The current plan is to use Biologic Maximum, which we used last year and had good results with.
Since we didn't get north this weekend, its back to the 2006 story this week. This will be the final chapter of the "Season of '06" story and is probably the part that I was the most excited about. If you remember from past entries, the year has already brought me two 8pts and also saw my dad take his first bow buck in umpteen years while we were up in the UP. It's now late November and gun season is winding down.
"Season of '06" Part 3
Since back when I was in high school I have spent Thanksgiving up at our gun camp near Cadillac. Camp is an ancient farmhouse built decades and decades ago that is known as "Hawks". Thanksgiving deer camp has had a wide list of hunters but myself, my dad and my uncle Dan have been constants as long as I can remember. As my brother has gotten older he has become a fixture as well.
Hawk's sits on 480 acres of beautiful private land owned by friends and we are truly blessed to have access to this great property. Every year there is great sign and good deer taken off this land, but usually by Thanksgiving things have slowed down considerably. We see lots of deer, mostly does, and have great hunts during the Thanksgiving weekend but we don't have great success harvesting nice bucks.
I always look forward to this hunt but this year it was a bit different. Having already taken two bucks I was out of buck tags and there were no doe tag's available for the area. I wasn't going to be able to hunt Hawk's this year. I talked to my dad and we decided that I would come up and stay overnight to hang out at camp and go sit with him on a few hunts. Since I couldn't carry a gun I would carry a camera instead and see if we couldn't have some fun out in the woods.
As usual I was running a bit late on the way north and didn't get up to Hawk's till about 3pm. As I pulled up the drive my dad was walking out for his afternoon hunt so I ran in and threw on some orange so I could join him. Being short on time we decided to just have a seat up against a few trees at the corner of a food plot and see what happened.
The field we were watching is about 5-6 acres in size and was mainly planted in winter wheat. It also had some long strips of corn mixed in as well. The spot that we sat in was on a slight rise that allowed us to see out into the field as well as down two sides of the field.
We settled in and spent the first hour or so just talking and enjoying the evening. It was a beautifull afternoon and it was great to be outdoors sharing some time with my dad. At one point we realized it was about an hour or so before dark and we should probably be paying attention. I don't think we really thought there was much chance of anything happening but we sat quietly, eyes scanning the field.
I saw what I thought was a cornstalk blowing in the wind but something about it caught my eye. As I focused on it I realized it was an antler, a buck had entered the far end of the field and was walking along the far edge of the corn. I caught a quick glimpse of one side of the rack and realized we were about to have some fun. We have a 6pt or better rule on this property and from what I saw this buck was a shooter. I got my dad's attention and pointed to the buck as I grabbed the camera.
As I got ready to start recording I heard my dad saying that he couldn't see the deer. As I set the camera back down the deer walked out from behind the end of the corn and into a strip of winter wheat. The buck was now standing there broadside, in the open, and my dad was still saying he couldn't see him!!!
At this point I was getting nervous, this was a good buck and I didn't want him to slip past my dad. After what seemd like forever I got him on the buck. Once he was on the buck he started asking if it was a shooter or not. I assured him that it was indeed a shooter but by this time the buck had crossed the strip of winter wheat and was heading back into a strip of corn. If he got into that corn there was a chance he would not present another shot. Thankfully the buck paused just on the edge of the corn and, before I could even think to get the camera back up and recording, my grandpa's old 30-30 lit up the dusk. The deer dropped on the spot and we both sat there for a moment in silence. Had this all really just happened? Did the deer really drop in it's tracks?
After a second or two I caught my breath and stood up, as did my dad, and it was once again time for hugs and high fives. For the third time this season we were celebrating an amazing hunt together. We couldn't believe what had happened, my dad's buck of a lifetime just strolled out into the open. We weren't even in a blind, just sitting against a tree. As is often said, it's better to be lucky than good!!! We left most of our gear on the ground and headed across the field to the buck.
The last light of the day was fading away, as was the 2006 season, but neither of us cared at all. Often times there is a sadness when the season ends but there was no sadness to be found that day.
We walked up to the buck, by far my dad's best buck ever, and all he said was "oh, I guess that is a good one". I couldn't help but laugh. Looking back at the 2006 season I think my dad said it best "I guess that is a good one".
A few pictures of my dad's buck. We never had it scored or weighed but If I had to guess I would say it was likely a 3.5yr old deer. It if it was a 2.5yr old it was a big bodied 2.5yr old.
It was my dad's biggest buck by far and to say he was on cloud 9 for a while would be an understatement
Hopefully you enjoyed the story of my 2006 season. It was an amazing few months. It's a shame that every year can't be that way but the fact that we know it will likely never happen again just makes it that much more special.
Hopefully the next few weeks will bring some "reports from the field" as opposed to stories. We certainly have some work to do over the next few weeks so I should have plenty to talk about.
Take care, and thanks for reading!!!
I talked with my brother in law over the weekend and we laid out our game plan for the next few weeks. Hard to believe we are over half way done with July already. Pretty soon it will be the end of August, followed by the end of September and then into October!!!
Since we are nearly that late July/early August time frame it is time to get our brassica's in the ground. It is looking like the last weekend in July will be the weekend we plant. We planted them last year and the deer hammered them, hopefully that will be the case again this year. Last year we went a bit to heavy on the seed and saw some stunted growth do to the crowding. This year we will hopefully correct that issue and get an even better crop for the deer to enjoy.
The brassica will be getting over seeded into our existing stands of clover and alfalfa after some prepping of the plots. We will also be fertilizing at that time as well. The current plan is to use Biologic Maximum, which we used last year and had good results with.
Since we didn't get north this weekend, its back to the 2006 story this week. This will be the final chapter of the "Season of '06" story and is probably the part that I was the most excited about. If you remember from past entries, the year has already brought me two 8pts and also saw my dad take his first bow buck in umpteen years while we were up in the UP. It's now late November and gun season is winding down.
"Season of '06" Part 3
Since back when I was in high school I have spent Thanksgiving up at our gun camp near Cadillac. Camp is an ancient farmhouse built decades and decades ago that is known as "Hawks". Thanksgiving deer camp has had a wide list of hunters but myself, my dad and my uncle Dan have been constants as long as I can remember. As my brother has gotten older he has become a fixture as well.
Hawk's sits on 480 acres of beautiful private land owned by friends and we are truly blessed to have access to this great property. Every year there is great sign and good deer taken off this land, but usually by Thanksgiving things have slowed down considerably. We see lots of deer, mostly does, and have great hunts during the Thanksgiving weekend but we don't have great success harvesting nice bucks.
I always look forward to this hunt but this year it was a bit different. Having already taken two bucks I was out of buck tags and there were no doe tag's available for the area. I wasn't going to be able to hunt Hawk's this year. I talked to my dad and we decided that I would come up and stay overnight to hang out at camp and go sit with him on a few hunts. Since I couldn't carry a gun I would carry a camera instead and see if we couldn't have some fun out in the woods.
As usual I was running a bit late on the way north and didn't get up to Hawk's till about 3pm. As I pulled up the drive my dad was walking out for his afternoon hunt so I ran in and threw on some orange so I could join him. Being short on time we decided to just have a seat up against a few trees at the corner of a food plot and see what happened.
The field we were watching is about 5-6 acres in size and was mainly planted in winter wheat. It also had some long strips of corn mixed in as well. The spot that we sat in was on a slight rise that allowed us to see out into the field as well as down two sides of the field.
We settled in and spent the first hour or so just talking and enjoying the evening. It was a beautifull afternoon and it was great to be outdoors sharing some time with my dad. At one point we realized it was about an hour or so before dark and we should probably be paying attention. I don't think we really thought there was much chance of anything happening but we sat quietly, eyes scanning the field.
I saw what I thought was a cornstalk blowing in the wind but something about it caught my eye. As I focused on it I realized it was an antler, a buck had entered the far end of the field and was walking along the far edge of the corn. I caught a quick glimpse of one side of the rack and realized we were about to have some fun. We have a 6pt or better rule on this property and from what I saw this buck was a shooter. I got my dad's attention and pointed to the buck as I grabbed the camera.
As I got ready to start recording I heard my dad saying that he couldn't see the deer. As I set the camera back down the deer walked out from behind the end of the corn and into a strip of winter wheat. The buck was now standing there broadside, in the open, and my dad was still saying he couldn't see him!!!
At this point I was getting nervous, this was a good buck and I didn't want him to slip past my dad. After what seemd like forever I got him on the buck. Once he was on the buck he started asking if it was a shooter or not. I assured him that it was indeed a shooter but by this time the buck had crossed the strip of winter wheat and was heading back into a strip of corn. If he got into that corn there was a chance he would not present another shot. Thankfully the buck paused just on the edge of the corn and, before I could even think to get the camera back up and recording, my grandpa's old 30-30 lit up the dusk. The deer dropped on the spot and we both sat there for a moment in silence. Had this all really just happened? Did the deer really drop in it's tracks?
After a second or two I caught my breath and stood up, as did my dad, and it was once again time for hugs and high fives. For the third time this season we were celebrating an amazing hunt together. We couldn't believe what had happened, my dad's buck of a lifetime just strolled out into the open. We weren't even in a blind, just sitting against a tree. As is often said, it's better to be lucky than good!!! We left most of our gear on the ground and headed across the field to the buck.
The last light of the day was fading away, as was the 2006 season, but neither of us cared at all. Often times there is a sadness when the season ends but there was no sadness to be found that day.
We walked up to the buck, by far my dad's best buck ever, and all he said was "oh, I guess that is a good one". I couldn't help but laugh. Looking back at the 2006 season I think my dad said it best "I guess that is a good one".
A few pictures of my dad's buck. We never had it scored or weighed but If I had to guess I would say it was likely a 3.5yr old deer. It if it was a 2.5yr old it was a big bodied 2.5yr old.
It was my dad's biggest buck by far and to say he was on cloud 9 for a while would be an understatement
Hopefully you enjoyed the story of my 2006 season. It was an amazing few months. It's a shame that every year can't be that way but the fact that we know it will likely never happen again just makes it that much more special.
Hopefully the next few weeks will bring some "reports from the field" as opposed to stories. We certainly have some work to do over the next few weeks so I should have plenty to talk about.
Take care, and thanks for reading!!!
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