Last chance deer hunt.

[JonnyReb]

Coming to the end of the season here and tomorrow(12-23) I get to do the last semi serious hunt of the year. I've spent 2 weeks mostly leaving our stand areas alone as i hunted other places. I've got 2 nice ladder stands up on the back 40 and have kept a steady supply of feed to the many different animals that come in for a snack. My brother in law and i will be hunting and it's not only supposed to be an excellent morning according to the lunar tables"lol" but its going to be very cold here, 16ish. Thats about as cold as we get during the season.

I'm packed and ready, 5 hours till time to go, gonna try to sleep but not for to long I'll let ya'll know how it goes, wish us luck..J.R.

[hunter33]

Good luck. Hope you shoot straight!

[freakintoguns]

good luck sir!

[simonkenton]

Good luck!
I am in the NC mountains, we are 17 degrees now, pretty cold.
Our season ran out Dec. 13, not many deer around here.

[JonnyReb]

Thanks for the well wishes guys, but it wasnt to be. Absolutely perfect morning. I was in my stand 45 minutes before sun up. They had been into the corn but there lies the problem. Almost all movement is nocturnal. I was hopin the cold day might keep them moving but i hunted for most of the day and saw zip. Barely a squirrel. Time to start planning some food plots for next season i guess. J.R.

[hogdogs]

JR, The foodplot may or may not help... They eat greens in the dark too...
Just a little smart aleck remark from me to you...
Brent

[JonnyReb]

Gee thanks Brent.. i really didn't want to have to deal with logic. Just let me believe.

Yes with grass and clover, turnips and whatever will bring em runnin. In the day. Where we can take out pick
next year.

I actually only have 17 acres of mine to hunt. That limits me quite a bit altough the area was devoid of deer or turkey 20 years ago. Now were really seeing some nice animals. Just not lately..J.R

[zahnzieh]

Heavy snow in Illinois! We've had it a lot colder than normal too. Deer are bunched up in cover( pines, heavy thickets) that's where you'll find them here. Dont really care though, filled my tags archery and shotgun by 2nd season. Love seeing my buddies freeze while I curl up with a good book and some hot chocolate!! Just kidding guys - I'm more likely to curl up with a good tall glass of scotch!!

[JonnyReb]

Good poiny zahn, mine are bedding in a thick creek area that is off limits. They are taking trails onto my spots but you only see them early in the season. By november they either have us patterened us or are going nocturnal for other reasons. The nice bucks are gone from the trail cameras and does are all thats to be seen. The bucks are probably using paths off the main trail and so are missing the camera. I find their tracks so i know they are still here.
It's just at night. Gonna have a good ambush plan ready by next bow season. J.R.

[BIGR]

I hope you got one. I messed around during November and didn't shoot any deer. Went back on DEC. 13th and the weather was bad and the deer were feeding alot at night. Thought it was going to be my first deer season in years that I didn't bag a whitetail. Luck and persitance paid off on the 22nd. Temps were around 22 Degrees F with high winds but I hunted on the ground behind a blind from 10 AM to 5:22PM that day. At 5:22PM a doe came out into the field at 90 yards and with the crack of the 30.06 it hit the ground. I had to come home on the 23rd so I was lucky this year. Its over for me until OCT. of 2009.

[shortwave]

Sorry bout your luck Reb.Muzzle Loader started here in Ohio yesterday(12/27). Got almost 70 degrees. You should have seen me. Snow white fat guy hunting in speedo`s. Temp. almost set record and after 1st light deer bedded and didn`t move. Rain expected today, go figure. Last two days(Mon,Tues) looking real good weather wise,cold front moving in Sun. night. Hope to score.

[JonnyReb]

Hey guys, feel no sorrow for me!! I did get two earlier this season,, was looking for a 3rd. when i posted this. I was more upset that the season was almost out rather than lacking to kill something for the freezer.

I've just had the absolute best time sitting in a tree throughout our long season (4 months) I've hunted at least 3 times a week and seen hundreds of deer. On top of that would be every other possible critter that lives in my woods. Saw 12 turkeys yesterday during the short 1 1/2 hour hunt i took out back. Gonna try for my true last hunt on our last day, jan 1st.

Heres my two from earlier this year. They were taken at a farm north of me where rifle is legal.

[JonnyReb]

Down to 4 days here, Did some scouting today and discovered quite an amazing....discovery. My one big deer i've been seeing in my cameras at at night, has been traveling in and out on 2 paths that literally pass within 100 yards of my house.

All along i've been searching for him in the bottomland he travels at night. He must be bedding on the top of the valley ridge, and passing my house on the way to the creek.

Both trails contained his tracks and passed through some VERY thick crap that i had a 4 wheeler trail passing through, but never thought it would be used as his seasons sneakiest path. Seems too close to my house but i guess it worked well for him as i was 1/2 mile away.

I relocated 2 climbers in spots that overlook the brushy valley and will try to catch him early before my work or afternoon if i can get off early. It's going to be strange sitting in a tree stand about level with my kitchen window 100 yards away. Gonna wake mama up too if he comes through early. 12 ga make big boom.

I'm grasping at straws here but big buck fever hit me bad this year and i hav'nt even seen one. Gonna hunt every moment till the last minute of the last day then i'm gonna start plotting on these darned flocks of turkeys