November 24

Thanksgiving Reflection-Rut Recap

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from Corn Belt Outdoors!

Rut Recap

Hunt 18 November 19 Location Iowa

Temp 27F Wind NW 20mph Barometric Pressure 30.32 (Rising) Moon Waning Gibbous

I sat in a new stand for the first time this year.  This stand is on the edge of a thick, narrow, travel corridor where two brushy fence lines meet.  While I was walking to my stand, 3 antlerless deer ran out of the brush towards me.  I thought this was a little odd that these deer were running at me, but I then suspected that something might be chasing them.  As I got closer to my stand, I saw a wide, tall, white racked buck pushing some does in the picked bean field behind my stand.  I can only assume that this buck was the reason the does were running out of the thicket.  This was easily the biggest buck I had seen so far this hunting season.  I got settled into my stand, in hopes that this buck would return and pass by my stand.  As the evening progressed, I saw another solid 10 point buck approximately 500 yards away but he never made his way any closer.  There were several other antlerless deer feeding in a nearby picked cornfield.  With about 30 minutes left of legal shooting time, a doe appeared out of the thick cover and started walking on a trail to the cornfield.  The trail led her right into one of my shooting lanes for a 17 yard broadside shot.  My arrow was true and the doe only made it 10 yards before she died right on a fresh scrape.  I was able to recover the deer quickly and quietly, leaving the woods relatively undisturbed in hopes of another hunt for those 2 big bucks that I saw earlier in the evening.

Hunt 19 November 20 Location Iowa

Temp 26F Wind ENE 5mph Barometric Pressure 30.34 (Steady) Moon Waning Gibbous

After seeing those 2 big bucks the night before I was in the same stand in hopes one of them would offer me a shot.  It was a beautiful calm, cool morning and I saw deer movement right away at first light.  I was watching several deer 1/4 mile away that were coming out of the cover of an overgrown field water-way.  While I was watching those deer I heard grass rustling behind me.  As I slowly turned to see where this noise came from, a thick-racked mature buck was starring directly up at me in the stand.  He quickly took two big leaps and he was gone.  I was dejected.  My plan to hunt one of these two big bucks was over in seconds.  The encounter was exciting, but I was disappointed in the lost opportunity.  Not more than 20 minutes later, I heard a buck grunt in the thick cover to my right.  I then saw 2 does sneaking through the brush and looking back to where the sound had come from.  I then saw the wide, tall, perfect 10 point rack.  He was on the does, but stopped at the sound of my grunt call.  He surveyed the situation, but didn't come any closer and continued to pursue the does.  A very exciting encounter!  The deer movement slowed, and I got down from my stand at 11 am as I wanted to butcher my doe from the night before.  Before I left the farm, I checked a trail camera at the wood lot funnel stand. 

A busted up 10 pointer had walked right past my stand that same morning.  This looked like the 10 pointer I had passed 2 weeks earlier, now with his left side broken.  

I quickly butchered the doe and then headed back to the stand for the evening hunt.  I saw and heard a few does getting chased, but I never saw the buck through the thick cover.  With an hour left of legal shooting light remaining, I heard brush breaking and knew a deer was coming on the trail in front of my stand.  When the deer came out, I quickly noticed it was the broken 10 pointer that I had a picture of from earlier in the day at my other stand.  (My other stand is over a half-mile away from this travel corridor stand)  I came to full draw and gave a grunt with the buck stopping in a shooting lane at 25 yards.  I released the arrow, and saw my arrow miss low, just under the belly of the deer.  The buck stared at me for what seemed like an eternity, but I was able to nock another arrow in hopes of getting another shot.  The buck started to investigate a scrape on the trail (the scrape that my doe had died on from my hunt the previous night) and ended up moving into another narrow shooting lane.  I aimed higher to compensate for my prior miss and for the fact the deer had now moved slightly away to 30 yards.  I shot and saw my arrow hit the buck high and back with poor arrow penetration.  I carefully watched the buck head to thick cover and I could see the bright colored fletching of my arrow moving very slightly in the timber.  Ten minutes after the shot, I lost sight of the buck, but heard crashing sound in the thick brush.  After the poor shot placement I was glad to hear that crashing sound.  

As light was fading, I got down from my stand and walked to my truck.  I drove around the section to give the buck a little more time to expire and to make sure he did not make it out of the thick cover from where I had last seen him.  I approached the timber from where I heard the crashing sound from the opposite direction slowly, scanning the area with my binoculars.  When I was about 50 yards from the woods, a buck jumped up and ran back into the brushy fence line.  I did not see a broken rack or an arrow sticking out of the deer so I assumed that it was a different buck, possibly the buck that had been chasing the does in that same area early in the hunt.  I carefully checked the area for my buck as I knew there would be little blood with the high hit.  As darkness set in, there were no signs of the deer and my headlamp was losing power.  I was just about to head back to my truck when I looked down and found a half-dollar size spot of blood.  With such little sign and no light I made the decision to head home and come back in the morning in hopes to recover the deer.

I returned in the morning to search with the help of my dad and good family friend.  We found the blood from the night before and then a few more spots.  The direction of the newly found blood quickly made me realize that the buck I jumped the night before was the buck that I had shot.  I was losing hope that we would recover the deer.  We found more blood, and then a significant amount of blood shortly after the buck re-entered the brush.  Hope was beginning to return until it left again when we completely lost the blood trail.  As we were looking for blood on the path that the deer was on, my friend found my buck in a thick sumac thicket!  I had my Iowa buck!  This was not one of the two big bucks that were roaming the farm but this deer is special to me because my dad and friend were along to help with the recovery.  It is also special because I was able to harvest it on my grandmother's farm just outside of the small Iowa town where both my grandma and grandpa grew up.  A great ending to my Iowa archery season.-KK

November 17 

Rut Recap

This November has been very mild with above average temperatures almost every day.  This weather has been a factor to what has been a difficult rut in my opinion.  In speaking with several other hunters, rut activity has been fairly strong in the mornings with the cooler temperatures, but the majority of the activity has been small bucks chasing does.  A few hunters have had some big buck encounters, but they have been few and far between.  There is a major weather system hitting the Midwest tomorrow which will bring cooler temperatures.  Hopefully this cool down and bucks trying to find the last few receptive does will provide some late November action the next 7-10 days.

Hunt 16 November 12 Location Iowa

Temp 50F Wind SSW 10 mph Barometric Pressure 30.17 (falling) Moon Waxing Gibbous

I was back in the wood lot funnel stand for the evening hunt.  After a 36 hour bout of the stomach flu, I was finally feeling well enough to get back in the stand.  At about 3:45 I saw a buck slowly working his way through the woods from the south.  It was the 8 pointer with the crooked right G2.  He was walking in my direction when all of a sudden about 100 yards from my stand he bedded down.  I contemplated calling to him with a grunt call, but ultimately determined to let him move naturally.  I still was not certain that this was the buck that I wanted to harvest.  I had set a goal of harvesting a Pope and Young whitetail this year, and this buck was not going to meet that goal.  As I watched the buck while he was bedded I decided that I would shoot if he presented me a shot.  After being bedded for 30 minutes, the buck rose and continued to work his way closer to me.  Next came the moment of truth.  The buck slowly walked through my shooting lanes at 23 yards.  I was already at full draw from when he previously passed behind a large oak tree.  I placed the pin just behind the front shoulder for a heart shot and released the arrow.  The arrow did not find its mark.  I hit the buck low and forward, high in the upper leg.  The buck started walking away while examining the cut in his leg.  I frantically knocked another arrow in hopes to get a follow up shot.  The buck moved off into some thick brush, not presenting me another shot.  For the next 45 minutes I watched the buck lick his wound and then bed down on the edge of the woods.  When he bedded down again, I was hopeful that the arrow may have deflected into the body cavity, but that was not the case.  At sunset, he got up from his bed and walked across the county road into the other small wood lot.  I did not find any blood when I climbed down from my stand, and my arrow only had a little blood and white hair on it.  Wounding and losing an animal is a bowhunter's nightmare.  The feeling is terrible, but I am confident that in this case the deer will survive as this was barely even a flesh wound.

Hunt 17 November 13 Location Iowa/Minnesota

MN Firearm season tag soup

Temp 50F Wind SW 10mph Barometric Pressure 29.87 (steady) Moon Waxing Gibbous 

I went back to the same wood lot for the morning hunt.  The plan was to hunt the bedding area stand in hopes that the buck I hit from the night before would be working his way back to his bed.  I had early action with a small buck chasing a doe and fawn at sunrise.  An hour later another small buck chased another doe into the bedding area's thick brush.  After the action slowed, I checked the area where I hit the buck the night before for blood.  I only found a couple of tufts of white hair.  It was back to Minnesota for the evening to sit in the Oak Flat stand for the final hours of the Minnesota firearm season.  Deer movement was non-existent, a common theme for the past 10 days in Minnesota.

KK

November 10 

Rut Report

The final days of my "Rutcation" are approaching.  Unfortunately at the time of posting, I have yet to fill a tag.  Hopefully with cooler temperatures predicted this weekend that will change.  Here is a quick summary of my daily hunts.

Hunt #10 November 5 Location Minnesota

Temp 58F Wind SE 3 mph Barometric Pressure 30.28 (steady) Moon Waxing Crescent

I donned the blaze orange and sat for opening day of the Minnesota firearm season.  Action started quickly with a doe and fawn walking by my stand at first light.  Things were looking promising.  Unfortunately those were the only deer I saw the entire day.  Another hunter on the same farm did harvest an 8 pt buck on opening day.

Hunt #11 November 6 Location Iowa

Temp 54F Wind SSE 6 mph Barometric Pressure 30.28 (steady) Moon Waxing Crescent

A funnel between two small wood lots was the location for my morning hunt.  At first light I had a 2.5 year old 8 pt walk past my stand.  Not the caliber of buck I am looking for, especially on my first sit in Iowa during the rut.  A couple of hours later a 1.5 year old buck made his way out of the standing corn and also passed my stand.  An overall slow hunt.  Mid-day I hung a new stand on the new property which I obtained permission to hunt.  While hanging the stand an 8 pt buck came within 5 yards of me, and a nice 10 pt walked right under my freshly hung stand (my bow was in the truck.....).  My evening hunt took place over my corn food plot on a different farm.  Action started quick with 2 small bucks working their way passed my stand.  Several antlerless deer fed in the corn plot and commercial bean field the rest of the evening.  I was surprised that no other bucks came out to the plot to check the half-dozen antlerless deer.


Hunt #12 November 7 Location Iowa

Temp 51F Wind S 9 mph Barometric Pressure 30.20 (steady) Moon First Quarter

I sat in the new stand that I hung on the new property.  This stand is on a narrow strip of timber overlooking a large river bottom.  Access to this property is a problem.  I have a 1/2 mile walk to access the property, and to get to the woods I need to walk through a picked corn field.  Not an ideal set up.  I bumped a half-dozen deer that were in the picked corn field on the way to my stand.  The deer slowly returned back to the field to feed, and then worked their way back to the timber to bed down for the day.  I had a doe and fawn bed down 20 yards from my stand for over an hour.  2 small bucks came in and bumped the doe out of her bed.  The action the rest of the day was very slow which made of a long all day sit.  I was encouraged by the number of deer I saw at this new location, but the lack of mature buck sightings is getting frustrating. 

Hunt #13 November 8 Location Iowa/Minnesota

Temp 48F Wind NW 9 mph Barometric Pressure 30.28 (rising) Moon First Quarter

A day to forget.  I was in another funnel between a large section of river bottom public land and a series of narrow wood lots.  This stand does not look like much, but I have had some exciting mature buck encounters here in the past.  Unfortunately the only action was a doe and spike buck.  For the evening hunt I was back to Minnesota with the gun overlooking my brassica food plot in the Oak Flat stand.  Deer movement was terrible with only a button buck and doe coming out at last light.  Another day of slow deer movement.

Hunt #14 November 9 Location Iowa

Temp 57F Wind SW 4 mph Barometric Pressure 30.40 (falling) Moon Waxing Gibbous

I was back in the same location as Hunt #11.  When I arrived to the woods, I found that the farmer had started harvesting the corn that surrounded the woods the day prior.  When I pulled into the driveway, a doe and fawn crossed the road into a strip of corn that was still standing.  I made it into my stand "clean" and got comfortable for another all day sit.  The doe and fawn that I saw earlier entered the woods an bedded down 30 yards down wind of me.  I can attribute using Nose Jammer as the only reason these deer did not wind me.  An hour later, a 2.5 year old 8 pt entered the woods from the corn to check the doe and fawn.  The doe and fawn were pushed from their bed by this buck.  Finally some rutting activity! About 10 minutes later a nice 10 pt buck entered the woods and checked the bed that the doe was sitting in.  He proceeded to then walk run under my stand and stop in a shooting lane giving me a perfect 5 yard broadside shot.  I passed on the opportunity thinking the buck was only a 2.5 year old.  Mid day was slow, but about 2 hours left in the hunt the 10 point buck worked his way back to my stand.  After the slow afternoon and more time to see the deer through my binoculars, I convinced myself that this buck would be worthy of my tag.  Unfortunately he did not provide a shot attempt on his return visit.  An hour late a nice 8 pt came and checked that same doe bed.  He had a couple of sticker points and some unique character on his right G2.  The buck did not provide an opportunity, and I think I would have passed him anyway with my focus shifted to the 10 pointer.  A very exciting hunt! (One I may regret the longer my tag goes unfilled)

Hunt #15 November 10 Location Iowa 

Temp 64F Wind W 10 mph Barometric Pressure 30.00 (falling) Moon Waxing Gibbous

I went back to the same location as the day prior to see if there would be similar action. I only saw one yearling buck.  I figured it was time to regroup and try a different stand.  I went back for an afternoon sit on the new property.  I was hopefully that getting to my stand in the afternoon as opposed to the morning would spook less deer.  This did help, but I did jump a few deer on my way to the stand.  Mid-afternoon action was tremendous.  I saw 3 small bucks on their feet cruising for does.  I saw a HUGE buck down in the river bottom about 75 yards from my stand.  I grunted at him in an attempt to bring him in, and he started to walk down wind and ultimately caught my scent (I had my scent-lok jacket off due to the warm temps and not wanting to wear it on my 1/2 mile walk to the stand.  I ended up seeing 6 different bucks and another half-dozen anterless deer.  Another exciting hunt,  the rut is really heating up now!-KK

November 3

Iowa pheasant opener recap-Minnesota and Iowa Rut Outlook-Fall Fishing Report

Iowa pheasant opener recap:

North Iowa received two inches of rain the week prior to the weekend pheasant opener.  This made for wet and muddy conditions and tough hunting with lots of crops remaining unharvested due to poor field conditions.  The large, unpicked corn fields create an ideal sanctuary for pheasants to feed and elude hunters.  We did have some success both on private and public land hunting the edges and transitions from grass cover to the crop fields.  Pheasant numbers were very encouraging.  Once the crops are harvested late season hunts show promise.-KK




Hunt #9 October 30

Temp 43F Wind SSE 4 mph Barometric Pressure 30.23 (falling) Moon Waning Crescent

I went back to the Oak Ridge stand in hopes to see some of the same bucks that I saw a week prior and detailed in Hunt #7.  I also wanted to see if the "spooky doe" would come back into the food plot and present me with an opportunity.  Early in the hunt, a group of turkeys fed in the woods immediately behind me.  The initial sound of rustling leaves and sticks breaking made me think that a big buck was working his way towards my stand.  At about 5:30 pm I happened to glance toward the edge of the woods where I expected deer to enter the field.  My eyes were met with a second pair of eyes starring right at me! The "spooky doe" was back and had spotted me in the stand again.  I stood motionless in the stand, hoping she would not ruin my hunt again.  She remained calm, and proceeded on the trail to my food plot.  When she stepped behind a tree, I drew my Mathews bow back and waited for her to present a shot.  At 17 yards I released an arrow tipped with a Rage broadhead which found its mark just behind the front shoulder.  The "spooky doe" was down within sight of the stand. I finished the hunt and saw two more anterless deer and a nice tall 8 point buck a half-hour before end of legal shooting on the opposite side of the overgrown pasture.  A great night on stand and I feel fortunate to harvest a nice mature doe for the freezer.-KK

Minnesota and Iowa Rut Outlook:

The Minnesota firearm season opens this Saturday.  I have purchased a gun tag and will likely hunt the first two days of the season with a gun.  I am vehemently against a gun season during the "seeking" phase of the rut (a topic for another day), but with limited time and an Iowa tag also to pursue I will be joining the orange army.  This Saturday also marks the first day of my annual "Rutcation".  I have tried to take a week of vacation time to hunt the rut since my last year in college.  This is an exciting time to be in the woods and something I look forward to every year.  I will be spending most of my time in Iowa trying to fill my Iowa archery tag.  I just recently received permission to hunt a very nice piece of private land that I had hunted for shed antlers 2 years ago.  I will be hunting this property with zero prior scouting and minimal knowledge of the land layout, so it will be an exciting challenge to put a plan together on a new piece of property.-KK

The rut can be brutal. Local wildlife technician Andy, found this dead buck on public land with his eye gouged out.  A life-ending traumatic injury suffered in a fight for dominance.



Fall Fishing Report:


Fly fishing for trout in Northern Iowa:
The water was high and slightly stained from recent rains.  Fish were not in the usual runs, but holding in slower water against the bank.  Smaller nymphs were totally ineffective so we started using zonkers and wooly buggers with a jerk retrieve that stimulated strikes.
Flies were never struck on a down stream retrieve but when stripped across or up stream.
Landed 15 rainbows in the 11-13" range.-JK