"Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person." - Fred Bear
2016 Minnesota Archery Opener:
Hunt #1-Sept. 17
Temp 57F Wind WSW 10mph Barometric Pressure 29.91in (steady) Full Moon
Anticipation for the first sit of the year was at a fever pitch. I chose to sit the oak flat stand over looking the Big-N-Beasty plot which I had referenced in my prior blog entry. This year I am making a more conscious effort to hunt "smarter" and not harder". I am going to focus on low impact stand locations and hunting those stands when the conditions are most ideal and the deer are active in daylight. I chose not to hunt opening morning as my entry routes to the huntable areas of the farm are hard to access with out bumping deer, especially early in the season. The conditions opening night were perfect. Deer activity was slow until the last hour of daylight. A doe and fawn came and fed in the food plot for 15 minutes and then made their way to the large soybean field to the west. The beans on this farm have already turned yellow and have really started to dry down. This seems about 2 weeks earlier compared to the past few years on this farm. With about 30 minutes of shooting light left I spotted a buck 300 yards to my south eating acorns along the oak tree line. I studied the buck through my binoculars and realized quickly that I was looking at a 10 point buck! This was a different 10 pointer than the one I had been focused on from my trail camera pictures. The buck was feeding along a trail that leads right past my stand. He just needed to get there before the end of shooting light. The buck unfortunately disappeared into the timber and darkness ended my first sit of he 2016 season.
A disappointing conclusion to the night is that I spooked both the big 10 from my trail camera and this new 10 pointer on my way out of the stand. I thought the old pasture that I had to cross was clear, but with the full moon and warm temperatures, I think the bucks were hanging out just inside the timber and spotted me as I walked to my truck. I can only hope that this mistake on opening day won't negatively impact the rest of my season.-KK
2016 Wisconsin Archery Opener:
Each year since moving back to Iowa from south central
Wisconsin, I have looked forward to returning for the archery opener. As many of you know, Iowa’s season
opens on October first. Since
several states surrounding Iowa open in mid-September, it provides an
opportunity to get into the woods early.
As I have for the past four years, I returned to south central Wisconsin
to film a friend for opening weekend.
Every avid bowhunter knows the excitement that builds toward opening day
and that first climb into the stand with bow in hand. This year was no different. Having filled his tag on opening day the past two seasons,
we had high hopes for this year.
Summer scouting had revealed several mature bucks frequenting the area,
making a few appearances during shooting light. Opening morning found us welcoming daylight with
temperatures in the mid-sixties and a moderate wind. We were perched above an alfalfa food plot in a stand which
produced an opening-day brute in 2014.
This sit was sadly characteristic of the rest of the weekend. We saw very little movement, having
only one opportunity at a year and half old eight-pointer. Movement this time of year is generally
slow and having a coinciding full moon may have played into the limited
activity. As we expected for this
time of year, we saw no scrapes or rubs as we moved about the farm. Cameras were checked and revealed
consistent sightings of the deer we have our sights set on, fueling the fire
with more anticipation for the weeks to come. -JM
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