5 Pines Farm Whitetails 2014

[Hopewell Tom]

A movie with the Mrs. Way to mix it, Jim!
Keeps a fella fresh.

The inconsiderate trespass is global. We(sort of)lucked out this year. Usually a barrage of shots to our south, but not this year. My son found a dead deer with the antlers and hind end cut off before the season started on our neighbours to the south. We reported it to our "woods cops" and they already knew about it and had been around a few times in a week.
The dairy farmer spread poop and is plowing down a lot of ground, south as well. That activity may have kept the bozos out. I say bozos, not lovingly...

Snow is much appreciated here as well, although the "crunchy" kind makes it tough to get situated, but like crunchy leaves sure ups the anticipation on stand. Keep at it, we're rooting for you.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

   

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #77 lower AA

Well what an interesting 48 hours it has been weather wise that is!

Friday the high was in the mid 30's and most of the snow melted. Yesterday we had a high of 55! it rained most of the day and the food plot behind the house looked green as an Irish spring!

Sometime after 3 am the wind switched to the north and it started to snow . My brain is suffering from sensory overload!
 

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

we got some where in the area of 4 inches by the time it stopped around 4 pm. I hoped the deer would be on their feet earlier to feed. So I geared up and slowly crept in to the thicket around 1 30 pm.

below the stand about 50 yards
 

checking my back trail for lions. Ha!
 

the trail that big doe was on last time I was here
 

25 yards out
 

10 yards out
 

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

I actually did spot a doe and her fawns as I was stalking in . They were across the valley and they spotted me too.

After getting in the stand over the course of the 1st two hours, I counted 12 deer filter across the bluff side opposite me.
 
The snow is so great this year. I am having a blast hunting in it.

The last hour of the day just dragged. My feet felt like rocks. I kept telling myself to hang in there just 5 more minutes. Finally I spotted brown moving towards me thru the cobwebbed white branches.

It turned out to be a small doe, a yearling. She came in under the apple tree in front of me. I kept watching her back trail and couldn't believe that she was all alone. But she was.

As I left, I snuck to a good vantage point over the beets and counted 21 dark shapes in it. I couldn't make out antlers on any of them. With this many does coming to the beets already , I am hoping the 2nd rut phase in about 8 days will start to kick in. The bucks will be back , I am sure of it.

[Chuck Janssen]

Hang in there Jim, Just in from shoveling. As you say this morning no snow and rain, now close to 6 inches of wet heavy. Still coming down,
Thank you for hanging in there.

[Chuck Janssen]

Beautiful morning after the storm, sure wish I was out. Hope you made it.

[Tater John]

Hi littlebigman,
I've been quietly following your thread and I thought it was about time that I said hello and thanked you for sharing your amazing adventure - I wish you every success.
Rusty

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

#78 Pants down

Hey everyone, before I forget, Happy T day to you all. I hope you are spending it with family and if you aren't ,then I hope you are in the woods.

What ever your beliefs , lets be thankful for the opportunities we have to hunt and for the beauty we have all around us.

Yesterday unfortunately was a no hunt day for me. But I made it out to the PD stand this am .

The sunrise alone was worth getting up for.
 

I was reading the other day about how deer see the wavelengths for blue and violet four or five times greater then we do. these wave lengths are move prevalent at dawn and at dusk.  Since deer see best at these times, that is why they are more active. The photo of today's sunrise certainly plays into that theory.

Just after snapping this photo , the first deer of the day came by. A small yearling doe. My stand creaked as I tried to turn to watch her and she was instantly on alert. She knew where to look for the source of that noise too. Up!

Deer 2 and deer 3 were more does and moved along the trail on the bench down below me . After today. I am more convinced then ever that the stand needs to be on that bench. But which darn tree?

An early morning meeting called me in and the sit ended with no bucks being sighted. Where the heck are they?

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

#79 Logging road ladder.

Since the does are just pounding the beets behind the house I am still focusing on this part of the farm. Hoping I will catch a keeper out cruising for love.

It has been snowing all day up north and it finally started here around 3 pm. I had been in the stand about an hour already and another small doe slipped by me just up hill from my spot. She made absolutely zero noise. I almost missed her since I was focused on the trails below me.

But she was the only deer I saw while on stand. AS I left I stood on the edge of cover and spotted deer in every field I and my closest neighbors own.  

So I thinking I need to be up on the top of the ridge in the am. It's going to be darn cold too. Single digits are forecast. Woopee!

[mangonboat]

Stay warm ,Jim! Ain't it amazing how cold crisp air seems to magnify every sound, the white backdrop seems to make every movement more visible, but does can sneak up on you like they are ghosts.

[CoachBGriff]

Jim,

I love the snow pictures!  Late season hunting is some of my favorite.  Many of my best hunting memories are late season hunts in the snow - quiet evenings where the fields fill with deer.

Thanks.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Thanks again Jim. Good Luck!  Its amazing, this year is a polar opposite of Last!

[Big Ed]

The women are there , they won't be far behind!!

[Chuck Janssen]

Brautiful picture Thanks for sharing. Happy Turkey day to you also.

[Horne Shooter]

Happy Thanksgiving Jim.  Thanks again for your entertaining post-I check in on you every day.  On a side note, I leased an additional 300 acres to hunt near my 300 acre place.  It doesn't start until next season but I looked it over and it looks like a wonderful place for deer and turkeys.

[pitbull]

Happy Thanksgiving to you also, hopefully you will be dragging some fresh venison by the antlers, after the morning hunt.

[Bernie B.]

I hope you dressed warmly this morning Jim!  -5 degrees with a wind chill of -24 degrees when I got up!  Too cold for me!  Wonderful snow pictures!  Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

Bernie

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #80 The Ivy Stand

BRRRRRR Bernie! I don't think it was that cold here but almost!

To the list of clothing I posted the other day , I added an additional wool bib and swapped out my boots for my big Sorel Pacs.

It was full light by the timed I was settled in my perch. But it wasn't until 9 am that I heard an animal trotting towards me. A big male coyote was running down the deer trail going right in front or me. I reached for the bow but too late as he was already thru the shooting lane.

But he looked over his shoulder and sure enough I spotted a smaller one in the cedars. This one was having a very bad hair day and reminded me of Phyllis Diller! My draw was late started and I short drew and my arrow fell just shy of the dog.

Darn another coyote missed!

Finally at 11 am I saw a dark shape working its way up ridge. All I got was a glimpse. I rearranged my muff, and got ready for a possible shot. Darn! It was a big black Tom turkey!  Fitting I guess since the day was national eat a turkey day. With no tag in my pocket and turkey season long past, he got off with just a warning.

Where the deer were this am , I have no idea. I was frozen out by 11 and went in to see the Mrs. Didn't hunt tonight due to too much stuffing.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Hey Jim, how do you position the hand muff?  do you spin it around to your back side?