May 22, 2010

Of course these pictures are not from Indiana. They are from a Montana Mule Deer Hunt my buddy Travis recently sent to me. I feel privileged to be able to put these pictures on this blog. Travis is as strong as a grizzly bear and as quick and agile as a rattlesnake.  He is also one heck of a shot with a rifle. He was tempted to take this buck at 800 yards, because he knew he was running out of time, but he opted to move in closer and take the shot at 350 yards instead. Before he shot this buck he passed on two bigger deer because he thought they were on private property. It was only after he got back to his maps that he realized the bucks were well onto public land.

Travis has one complaint about us eastern hunters heading west for deer season. We shoot small deer thinking they are actually big deer. He has invited me west to hunt with him. After seeing these pictures I believe I will take him up on the offer.

April 25th, 2010

It is no secret Indiana is considered a sleeper state for deer hunting. Every deer hunting magazine has mentioned Indiana as an overlooked big buck hotspot. The QDMA website says this about Indiana: "I believe Indiana is one of the most overlooked states . . . , the southern half of Indiana is terrific, consistently producing some great bucks." The good news for Indiana hunters is things are only going to get better -- especially for public land hunters.

The Indiana DNR is serious about improving wildlife habitat. For years many of the fields on public property were left idle, and maybe cut once every five years. The state is doing a lot of hard work to improve these lands for the sportsman. Controlled burns, strip mowing, and plantings are taking place on just about every piece of state controlled property that I know of. The DNR is also conducting surveys about hunting seasons and harvest changes as well.

The DNR 2009 Biological Deer Report shows good numbers. In 2001 56% of the bucks killed were 1.5 year old bucks. Over this decade that number has steadily fallen to last years harvest where 36% of the bucks killed were 1.5 years old. In 2001 14% of the bucks killed were 3.5 years old or better. Over this decade that number has steadily risen to last years harvest where 24% of the bucks killed were 3.5 years old or better. Hunters are opting to pass on smaller bucks, and as a result there are more bigger bucks. Last year's harvest had fewer young bucks killed than any year this decade. Hopefully, this means more bigger bucks will be roaming Indiana this year.

The pictures on this post are deer killed on public land. The first four pictures are of a buck I killed several years ago. I have let plenty of bigger deer walk past me, but this buck is one I will remember for a long time. I stalked him for over an hour as I waded through a marsh and killed him at ten yards. The drag involved half a day of field work for me, my brother, and hunting buddies. I could fill up two pages telling you how we got him out of the woods. The other picture is a big buck my buddy Kevin killed several years ago in the Hoosier National Forest. This buck has a story as well. Both bucks will be talked about for many deer seasons to come.

Kevin's Opening Weekend Public Land Buck

Though there are no pictures of canoes, kayaks, or waders in this post they have just about everything there is to do with the hunting that takes place from my little hunting camp every autumn. In fact, I believe there is nothing -- I mean nothing -- worth doing that can't be made better by some contraption that will get you over or through the water, even if you are just messing about, but especially if you are hunting. And, for us, hunting is just messing about and spending good quality time in the field.

Sure, as Kevin and I shoved off in the canoe and slowly bumped along the river we had hopes of big bucks walking past our stands. We knew the area well, had spent some time scouting and knew we would both be hunting good spots. As we floated the river in the misty morning darkness no less than eight beavers slapped their tails along side the canoe and we considered the hunt a success just because of it. So, when no big bucks showed up that morning it was no big deal. We rendezvoused on the river's edge and began just messing about.

The afternoon found us deerless and hungry, sitting on a log in the woods, eating a thick ham sandwich covered in mustard, talking and laughing, and trying to catch a nap during the warm Indian Summer Day. We were a little surprised to look up and see a nice buck in the middle of a heavy thicket dogging after a doe. Kevin was able to get a shot, but by all signs the buck escaped unscathed. With a little speed scouting of the area a plan was made for the following morning's hunt.

The next morning the sun was well above the horizon by the time we were in place, but it didn't matter. Kevin had just got into position when this big buck came crashing right to him. He had just enough time to turn and fire as the buck crawled through an opening in the dense thicket twenty feet from him.

It has become a custom in this camp for a person to try and kill a deer as far off the road as possible in the worst place in the world you would want to drag a deer out of. And this year it was Kevin's turn to accomplish the chore. Kevin and I did most of the grunt work in getting the deer out, but when we got the buck to the difficult stuff I went back to the house and recruited help.

My brother Ronnie and buddy Scott and his nephew Chandler had just finished breakfast when I walked through the door. "A buck is down!" I informed them. "Say no more," Ronnie replied, "I know an adventure awaits."