Deer Season Requiem

[jdm49]

I thought I would relay my sorry closing weekend deer season attempt, for those who are interested.  If you are expecting a comedy that ends well, don't bother, however,  if they may provide some solace for other luckless ones this season, then it has served some good...

I was given GPS coordinates for a public land hunt by a hunting partner of mine who had no open slots to hunt with me on his private land access.   So he gave me his secret 'hotspot' and also  the advice that 'if its deer season,  and it starts to rain,  drop work, drop everything, put the rifle in the car and start heading North...'    

So it was the last weekend of A zone deer season,  which had been very hot and dry (not good as the heat tends to keep the deer bedded down except in the cool of the night).    But I got a break in my schedule for the last Friday - Saturday of closing weekend and it was cooling off.   As I was headed over the Richmond bridge north , I saw the first rain drops and by the time I was halfway through Napa, it was belting down rain. So conditions were looking good.

I got to the location in the Mendocino NF by about 4 and immediately geared up and hit the ridge lines.   It looked like some good habitat with tree lined ridge trails with good open areas on the slopes surrounded by trees with creeks here and there.   I tried to cover as much ground as possible to scope out the place and saw lots of light criss crossing deer trails on the slopes and some decades worn deer highways through the wood trails.... and no sign of any other hunters... which is a good thing?   I scoped out several of the open areas but saw nothing before nightfall.... leaving  me to set up a tent in the drizzle and dark.    I can say now, that there was a half hour of hopeless hilarity when I couldn't find my truck key and was locked out, and I had already accepted the humiliation and exhausting of the 7 mile hike in the rain and dark back to the nearest spot I could hope to find a place for some assistance and maybe some cell signal.   Alas,  my key was just deep in my hunting jacket inner pocket than I had dug for the 18 times I checked that pocket that night,  and I eventually found it and all was good.   

By that time, though,  it was not lost on me that I was drying out in my tent deep in Mendocino, major bear territory,  and it was daaaaark  without a fire and trying to conserve flashlight batteries.   In any case,  the bears spared me and I got up around 5 in what seemed like impossibly cold temps for that time of year, to take my position on the ridges.    As I crept out to the covered, perfect vantage spot, I was delighted, but disappointed to so the top of a camo baseball cap and a rifle barrel as I got close to the spot from above.   Ah well.   I checked out the other stops I had scoped out the night before and stopped at some of them... No sign of any deer whatsoever until well after day break  although I heard rifle shots in the far distance (private land?).   By about 11  I was ready to head back on my last sweep and the 1 mile hike back to the truck when I saw a does and some fawns  way down slope.  I tried to work my way downs the edge of the tree line,  but they had already seen me,  and they were keeping well ahead of me.   After an hour of that, no indication of there being actually and actual buck, and the hot climb back home getting longer with every step, I bailed and headed out.   On the way back I ran into the guy who had poached my spot on the hillside.   he had seen only a couple of does himself even though he claimed thiat to also be one of his favorite public land hotspots.

I saw a few does on the drive out,  but never saw a buck and went home soggy and empty handed.  Based on the amount of deer tracks,  I have to assume that early season hunters had cleared out or driven the game off of the spot.   Might be worth a try opening day in a future season...

Any of you have any luck this season?

[Fred Salisbury]

Great write up.  Not a deer hunter myself, but I've had similar public land pig hunts before.

-Fred

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[David Grove]

Yeah deer hunting on public land is tough and to find a spot there there aren't going to be a bunch of other guys is even tougher. I have found that the only way to get away from other people is to pack into a wilderness area where there aren't roads. 

I used to hear the same comments as well about deer hunting in the rain. When I lived on the coast in Oregon where it rained all the time that seemed to be true but not here. I have found in the bay area at least, when the weather gets bad, the deer hunker down and wait it out. When it gets nice again after a storm, that is the time to be out looking for them.

I ended up taking a decent buck on private land in the east bay this year with a bow. 

[Cork]

Nice buck, David!

Sure beat my season in Alaska this year. I was only able to call this bull in I videoed:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=547838721937025

It was too much to risk right on the 50" mark, which is the bare minimum. Or four tines on either side. All the spikes for resident hunters were thinned out by the time I got back from the gold mine in Aug.

I'm down here visiting in CA for a few more weeks and will go after the hybrid Mulie/blacktail in the lower Sierra, next week while I'm checking out some placer mining areas. Bringing my Brittany and my trout rod for some extra protein.

Good hunting,
Cork
Http://www.corksoutdoors.com

[David Grove]

Thanks Cork!

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From: Cork <charlie...@gmail.com>
To: bull...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2013 3:57 PM
Subject: Re: [BMHS] Deer Season Requiem

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