We are half way through the season and hunting has been slow for the crew. We kicked off in mid October with a bang harvesting a big mature bruiser in Kentucky but have fallen short on putting any other antler on the ground. We have been able to take several doe which has helped with our doe management plan and in the long run will be helpful with our overall whitetail management.
There has been some ups and downs. The Kentucky rifle opener came in first and was more than disappointing for Michael. He has put in extensive time and effort on his farm and has had several nice shooters hanging around. He had an early encounter with his number one deer just before rifle season opened and unfortunately was unable to seal the deal. With rifle in hand, hopes were high that one of his hit listers would show up on opening weekend. Well they sure did just not at his stand and two other hunters on the farm harvested two of his hit list bucks. However number one has remained unseen. Michael isn’t sure if he has been killed or is just very smart, he is hoping that the big ol boy will show back up for the late season.
Maryland firearms season opened just after Thanksgiving and we had two very nice mature deer showing up on the farm. However just days before the opener the number one buck made a late night appearance on trail camera and had completely broken off his left antler just above the brow tine. We still had another nice buck with a high and tight set of antlers, sporting lots of mass and a few kicker points. We were hoping he would show up opening morning, and as the sun came up opening morning deer movement was extremely high. Several bucks were seen, and J.R. passed the big half rack buck just after first light. Fingers are crossed that he makes it to next season, looking at the pictures we think he is at least 4 years old maybe even 5, and has great potential to be a giant deer next season. The high and tight buck never showed up and we have not seen any pictures of him since the season started. We did put a nice doe on the ground putting more meat in the freezer and continue to reduce our doe numbers.
In just a few short days Michael will be heading out for the late firearms season in Iowa to hunt with his friend at Monster Whitetail Outfitters. He looking to put one of those big mid west giants on the ground. We are hoping that the temps get cold for his trip and gets the big deer on their feet coming to food. The rest of us will continue to finish out our firearms season over the next week, and prepare for the late muzzleloader season. There is still plenty of time left in the season and plenty of deer on our farms. We will keep you posted on Michel’s hunt and hope to have some picture of his success. For now get out in the woods while there is plenty of time left to hunt and stay safe!
Chris
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