Big Buck Talk

We have had a lot of debate in our camp as to whether an infrared camera will bother a deer.  I am posting this short video of a big bucks reaction to my camera.  He is working a scrape that is about 7 yards from where the camera is hanging.  The camera is about 8 feet in the air.  He obviously sees it.  The still shot taken after the video stops does not show the deer.

I am using a Moultrie 5.0 camera.  It does make a click when a picture is taken and it does glow red when the infrared is on.  I am sure that the deer hear it and see the light at night.

That being said, check out the picture of the small buck checking out the camera.  He doesn’t seem to be bothered by the camera at all.

In the end, I think the camera does more good than bad as it does not scare the bucks away for good.  It might just bother them for that second.

December 1st, 2008 | Category: Camera Sitings | Comments (1)

One of the leaders in our camp shot his nice buck.  Pete always tells a great story of his hunts.  Here it is:

Woke up to a cold, windy morning.  The smell of the neighbors’ dairy farm in the air.  I decided to hunt in my brother’s “cry for help” stand that morning.  Many of the camp members, already departed for the week.

It was a Monday, the wind was settling, the sun finally woke up to put some heat on my sculpted body.  About 8:00a.m. I watched a good buck  make his way methodically through the pines, the tall grass, and then into the hardwood ridge.  He looked in control and on the rut prowl.  He did not stop on my grunt call.

At 9:15 a.m.  my hunting buddy Wayne showed up, ending the morning hunt.  He said he noticed many deer moving, especially on the east face of the farm.  The does were being chased by the buck or bucks, but they would not show themselves.    More confirmation that the rut had kicked in .  Our other buddy Steve chimed in, he had only seen 17 deer.

We quickly decided to relocate on another part of the farm after we completed our Camp Charming (code name for our hunting cabin) details. We would reorganize about 1:00 p.m. for the evening hunt.   The 3 of us journeyed out and decided to surround the big cornfield on top of the farm.  The sun was bright and the wind stopped howling.  Wayne decided to hunt with a bow,  because we were attempting more deer management.  The bow worked for that.

The stage was set.  At about 5:00p.m.  I noticed does mingling next to Wayne.   I thought if he decided to fling an arrow at that group a lurking buck might offer pursuit.  That did not happen as the buck came in from the south, obviously scenting all of those does.  I looked twice and noticed it had size.  I determined it was a shooter, maybe the” walk away” buck on camera in one of Doc’s early blog posts.  Boom, how I like those Hornady slugs.  The buck immediately crashed down in the cornfield.  His front shoulder shattered; it was a quick death.  As I approached my kill I noticed he had suffered a little ground shrinkage, but it was definitely a shooter.

My buddies met me at the crime site.  I was talkative and happy.  It had been awhile since my last buck.  It was nice to  have that fresh gutting aroma from a buck shot by me.  The sunny day turned to a bright moon starry night.  My other buddies showed up late at the cabin and after lots of pictures and yuks.  I went to bed.  What a day deer hunting.  Capt Pete

November 22nd, 2008 | Tags: Big Bucks, buck, deer, deer hunting, hunting, white Tails | Category: Big Bucks | Leave a comment

Each year we have a little contest with some buddies of ours.  We call them the “enemy camp”.  The bet each year is simple.  The biggest deer takes the prize money.  The biggest deer shot in our camp this year was mine (see my previous blog post below).  We were feeling pretty good until the enemy came rolling in with this guy in the back of the truck.

My deer would fit inside the rack of this guy.  Looks like the enemy camp will be collecting on anther bet this year.  That makes two in a row.  Ouch!!

Congrats guys!

Who says that Minnesota doesn’t produce the monster bucks!!

November 17th, 2008 | Tags: Big Bucks, buck, deer, deer hunting, hunting, minnesota, monster bucks, white tale | Category: Big Bucks | Comments (2)

Here is the buck that I took at 8:15 AM on opening day.  What I learned from this hunt is that preparation is key.  I worked with a guy who know these woods like the back of his hand.  His help was extremely valuable in my success.  He suggested an area that I hunt in.  I also asked the opinion of a guy who I respect as an experienced hunter who knows his stuff.  He helped me fine tune the selection.  Then I worked with my buddy on camera’s and scouting missions into the area to get an understanding of what was around and where it moved.

I learned even more watching the deer patterns in the first couple of hours in my stand and developed ideas of how I can make this spot even better for next year.

As for the hunt, conditions were tough.  37 degrees at sun up, light rain and winds blowing at 20 MPH.  However, the winds were right in my face blowing my scent to an area that I couldn’t monitor and my research said the deer would not come from.  The wind also helped to cover up any noise or movement I might have made.  I also liked it because I couldn’t hear every little freak’in squirrel and bird that wanted to make noise.

My spot sits on the edge of the woods with a row of planted pines 30 feet off the wood line.  The deer would come up out of the woods on a trial about 20 yards from my stand.  They would come out into the opening and either move down between the pines and the wood line or go past the pines into a food plot at the top of the hill.

This guy came to the edge of the woods but did not come out.  He moved toward me just inside the woods with brush between us.  Since I was using my slug gun I figured I could shoot through the light brush.  As he turned to head back into the woods I took him.

I have not scored him yet.  He is nice and tall as you can see.  It was good to have the pressure part of the hunt over early and relax the rest of the weekend helping others in my camp try to score as well.  Thanks to the guys that helped with my success!!

Here he is on camera.

November 10th, 2008 | Category: Big Bucks | Comments (1)

Caught this guy on one of our field cameras that we have set to take a short video.  It was taken right at sun up.  He would be a shooter in our books.  I post them on YouTube first because they display better within WordPress.

October 28th, 2008 | Tags: bucks, deer, hunting, white tale | Category: Big Bucks, Camera Sitings | Comments (2)

Earlier I showed you a picture of a drop tine buck.  I was hoping to get a picture of him from a bit further away.  Here it is.  This would be a nice deer in camp.  Note the other big guy coming in on the right hand side of the picture.  This farm has been left alone all year.  Little to know activity on it.  However, we only have pictures of these guys at night.  We have not seen any daylight movement yet.  The trick will be understanding their movements during the rut and when they are under pressure.

October 21st, 2008 | Tags: Big Bucks, buck, deer, deer hunting, Food Plots | Category: Big Bucks, Camera Sitings | Comments (2)

We had this guy on camera this weekend.  He spent about 30 minutes browsing in this spot.  This is the type of deer you get when you practice quality deer management.  We are guessing that he is 3 1/2 years old.

October 15th, 2008 | Tags: Big Bucks, buck, white tale | Category: Big Bucks | Leave a comment

Out checking cameras and spotted some scrapes along the trail. It has started.

The scrape is at the bottom right center of this shot.  Just down from the front deers left front hoof.

October 9th, 2008 | Category: Big Bucks, Camera Sitings | Comments (2)

Looks like the bucks are working the field edges.  This Saturday’s camera check found this guy.  The camera is set up inside the edge of a corn field.  We walked the field and found several does that ran back into the woods on trails where this camera is set  up.  The rut will change these patterns to some degree but setting up some stands on the field edges is always a good idea.

Big Boy on Field Edge

October 5th, 2008 | Category: Camera Sitings | Comments (9)