Well, archery season is officially over. I will say; “Even though I didn’t kill a deer this year, it was the most productive season that I have ever had and I learned more this year than the past 5 yrs combined.”
December was cold and I spent many nights chasing deer in sub-zero temps. I felt like I was back in “my first years” of trial and error. It didn’t take long to locate good food sources and get new set-ups. I had some unbelievable hunts in MN & WI toward the end of season. There were several evenings where I saw multiple bucks and between 10-20 deer per sit.
The last sit of the season in MN (New Year’s Eve), I passed up (3) 1.5 yr olds and 1 doe with 15-20 mins left before I had to wave the white flag. It felt great to have one last close encounter to end the season.
The last sit in WI (Jan. 5th) was 2 hrs of super cold second guessing and wondering if it’s all worth it. With the temp at -16 degrees and windchill in the -30 range I wasn’t surprised when the deer started to head toward the standing corn earlier than normal. In all, I passed up (5) 1.5 year old bucks(including a cool looking little 11 pt 6 x 5) and 6 does/fawns. I quit counting at 20+ deer and saw a good 2.5 yr old 8 pt and healthy 3.5 yr old 9 pt.
Fortunately I stayed warm because there were deer within 20-40 yards of my set-up for the last 45 mins. Even the deer that were downwind knew something was up but the cold and desire for food to survive outweighed my presence of danger.
For the first time in 4 years, I will be boiling up some type of MN tag soup tonight and enjoying a side sandwich with my WI tag.
I went down swinging and wouldn’t change this past season for a successful one from the past (except 07′).
Good Hunting!!!
Gobbler
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I was certain that one of your giants was going to walk by after gun season. You’re gonna have some studs next year