I thought this might be a good time to discuss what worked and what didn't work in your hunting season.
I will start by saying that I prefer to do somewhat of backcountry hunts, I try to find a bigger buck. I passed on a couple of forkys the previous years but honestly, I don't know if I will do that again. The deer are just hard to find around here.
I hunted 2 D zones. One of them D16. I will admit that I did not spend much time scouting D16 this year, I just did not have the time. I saw the least amount of deer I have seen so far compared to the last 3yrs in both zones. I did hunt hard though I was out there almost every Friday afternoon, Sat and Sunday. I even hunted on a Wednesday a couple of times.
The one zone I know well and where I had opportunities in the past, was a ghost town until the very end of the season. I could not hunt the last few days of the season but people I know told me the deer was just starting to show up. As of matter of fact, the biggest deer that was taken in the area that I saw a picture of was in a place where I was hunting just a couple of days before, literally within a few hundred yards of where I was posted.
It seems to me that this year I ran into some things I think contributed to the deer being bedded most of the day. High winds was one of them, and somehow it was always super bright the night before (full moon). I glassed more than in other years but still could not find a buck. I covered a lot of ground moving from spot to spot thinking I just might be in the wrong place, but still, I could not find deer. Plenty of tracks still around but not fresh poop.
The good news is that I saw different hunting spots. Spots I have heard about but that I would avoid since they are popular and I don't care for crowds. The spots looked great with awesome terrain yet no game around, again very windy.
The other good news is that I lost 8lbs..lol which of course I am working on putting back as we get into the holiday season.
As it relates to my gear and setup. For the most part, I am very happy with it. I am a minimalist but still make sure I got everything I need with me. The one thing it has added weight to my pack is the 15x56 Vortex binos I use for glassing. I carry my 10x42 on my chest. I wish I could just leave one home but when the deer are not around the 10x42 are just not enough for glassing longer distances. Other than that, no need to buy more or replace anything.
If there is something i would do differently for next year is look at the moon phase and the winds, and perhaps stay home those days. More scouting would not hurt.
How was your season hunting public land?
I will start by saying that I prefer to do somewhat of backcountry hunts, I try to find a bigger buck. I passed on a couple of forkys the previous years but honestly, I don't know if I will do that again. The deer are just hard to find around here.
I hunted 2 D zones. One of them D16. I will admit that I did not spend much time scouting D16 this year, I just did not have the time. I saw the least amount of deer I have seen so far compared to the last 3yrs in both zones. I did hunt hard though I was out there almost every Friday afternoon, Sat and Sunday. I even hunted on a Wednesday a couple of times.
The one zone I know well and where I had opportunities in the past, was a ghost town until the very end of the season. I could not hunt the last few days of the season but people I know told me the deer was just starting to show up. As of matter of fact, the biggest deer that was taken in the area that I saw a picture of was in a place where I was hunting just a couple of days before, literally within a few hundred yards of where I was posted.
It seems to me that this year I ran into some things I think contributed to the deer being bedded most of the day. High winds was one of them, and somehow it was always super bright the night before (full moon). I glassed more than in other years but still could not find a buck. I covered a lot of ground moving from spot to spot thinking I just might be in the wrong place, but still, I could not find deer. Plenty of tracks still around but not fresh poop.
The good news is that I saw different hunting spots. Spots I have heard about but that I would avoid since they are popular and I don't care for crowds. The spots looked great with awesome terrain yet no game around, again very windy.
The other good news is that I lost 8lbs..lol which of course I am working on putting back as we get into the holiday season.
As it relates to my gear and setup. For the most part, I am very happy with it. I am a minimalist but still make sure I got everything I need with me. The one thing it has added weight to my pack is the 15x56 Vortex binos I use for glassing. I carry my 10x42 on my chest. I wish I could just leave one home but when the deer are not around the 10x42 are just not enough for glassing longer distances. Other than that, no need to buy more or replace anything.
If there is something i would do differently for next year is look at the moon phase and the winds, and perhaps stay home those days. More scouting would not hurt.
How was your season hunting public land?
