First off, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to my post last year--I came away with enough knowledge and encouragement to at least get started.
I did a LOT of scouting on OnX and came up with a good deal of prospective hunting grounds that looked accessible. But, I found out that looks can be deceiving--several of the access roads I had planned to use ended up being gated. Moreover, a couple of my other prospects were inaccessible purely due to road conditions--my vehicle just wasn't quite up for the task. I drive a stock Subaru Outback (white with a black wolf head sticker on the back), so if you see me out there, just know that I'm not a liberal--I just needed something that was a bit more "family friendly".
At any rate, I did come across 2 spots that were accessible AND within a reasonable distance of my house. I knew that I'd only really have one full, good day to hunt so I focused on scouting the one that (to me) felt like it was most likely to have some deer. I was able to get out a few times and scout, but I never really saw anything that made me think there was going to be any deer in there. Regardless, I'd already put in the time scouting so I committed to the hunt.
It was mid-November by the time I had an opportunity to get out there and I wanted to make the most of it so I left the house around 3:30 am and arrived in the dark about an hour later. My initial plan was to hike to a glassing spot before first light, but after nearly falling off a cliff in the dark, I resigned myself to hiking up the road a ways and searching for a less treacherous crossing. Further up, I came across what I thought would be a perfect spot for a deer: a nice shady draw filled with oak trees and a small creek running through. I'd come up so noisily that I was sure there was no chance of anything still being there, but I thought that I could at least examine the are for some sign. I didn't see anything. No tracks, beds, poop, nothing.
I eventually made my way to the glassing spot I'd identified, but it was so windy that I couldn't even hold my binos still enough to see anything. Even if I had seen anything, I really doubt that I could have held steady enough to get a clean shot off. Also, by this point I was wiped out! Everything had taken longer than I had planned, my shins were beat to hell from pushing through the brush, and I was just plain tired. I found a spot that was a bit more sheltered from the wind and stuck around glassing for a couple of hours. I saw a couple of trucks driving along the road and stopping in spots to glass. Eventually, I decided to pack it up and head back to my car. The journey back also ended up taking a lot longer than I had expected. Along the way, I destroyed my shins even more, slipped on a rock and fell waist-deep in a scummy pond, put a scratch in the buttstock of my Remington 700 BDL .243, and discovered that I was coming down with the flu (luckily I'd packed some biodegradable toilet paper).
I don't remember ever being so happy to see anything as I was when I rounded the bend and saw my car. I was beat up, exhausted, and soaking wet. I didn't see a single deer, but I did learn quite a bit.
I'm looking forward to doing it again this year! I'm going to try and do a couple of day hunts, but I've got a definite 3-day hunt planned this year. I'm keeping my expectations reasonable and I think that as long as I get to spend some time away from civilization and cell service, I can call that a success.
Good luck to all the D16 hunters this season!
I did a LOT of scouting on OnX and came up with a good deal of prospective hunting grounds that looked accessible. But, I found out that looks can be deceiving--several of the access roads I had planned to use ended up being gated. Moreover, a couple of my other prospects were inaccessible purely due to road conditions--my vehicle just wasn't quite up for the task. I drive a stock Subaru Outback (white with a black wolf head sticker on the back), so if you see me out there, just know that I'm not a liberal--I just needed something that was a bit more "family friendly".
At any rate, I did come across 2 spots that were accessible AND within a reasonable distance of my house. I knew that I'd only really have one full, good day to hunt so I focused on scouting the one that (to me) felt like it was most likely to have some deer. I was able to get out a few times and scout, but I never really saw anything that made me think there was going to be any deer in there. Regardless, I'd already put in the time scouting so I committed to the hunt.
It was mid-November by the time I had an opportunity to get out there and I wanted to make the most of it so I left the house around 3:30 am and arrived in the dark about an hour later. My initial plan was to hike to a glassing spot before first light, but after nearly falling off a cliff in the dark, I resigned myself to hiking up the road a ways and searching for a less treacherous crossing. Further up, I came across what I thought would be a perfect spot for a deer: a nice shady draw filled with oak trees and a small creek running through. I'd come up so noisily that I was sure there was no chance of anything still being there, but I thought that I could at least examine the are for some sign. I didn't see anything. No tracks, beds, poop, nothing.
I eventually made my way to the glassing spot I'd identified, but it was so windy that I couldn't even hold my binos still enough to see anything. Even if I had seen anything, I really doubt that I could have held steady enough to get a clean shot off. Also, by this point I was wiped out! Everything had taken longer than I had planned, my shins were beat to hell from pushing through the brush, and I was just plain tired. I found a spot that was a bit more sheltered from the wind and stuck around glassing for a couple of hours. I saw a couple of trucks driving along the road and stopping in spots to glass. Eventually, I decided to pack it up and head back to my car. The journey back also ended up taking a lot longer than I had expected. Along the way, I destroyed my shins even more, slipped on a rock and fell waist-deep in a scummy pond, put a scratch in the buttstock of my Remington 700 BDL .243, and discovered that I was coming down with the flu (luckily I'd packed some biodegradable toilet paper).
I don't remember ever being so happy to see anything as I was when I rounded the bend and saw my car. I was beat up, exhausted, and soaking wet. I didn't see a single deer, but I did learn quite a bit.
I'm looking forward to doing it again this year! I'm going to try and do a couple of day hunts, but I've got a definite 3-day hunt planned this year. I'm keeping my expectations reasonable and I think that as long as I get to spend some time away from civilization and cell service, I can call that a success.
Good luck to all the D16 hunters this season!
