the things iv learned on my first day of MA shotgun deer hunting

[Augustus McCrea]

5 Am to 5 Pm....... Deer notta one, 12 hours is a long time , and my rear is killing me. I sat from 5-11 am, got down and did a little stalking stroll thru the woods in hopes to change my quiet luck, but only felt like i was missing the action at my stand, walked over to my two man stand over looking a ten acre field, in hope that the larger seat would be more comfy, around 2 i was feeling the ass cramp setting in so i took a SLOW walk around the woods and then to the power lines and back in hopes to change my quiet luck.. sat in the two man stand over looking the field figuring the deer might feel good enough and wanna walk across the field seeing as it was loaded with tracks every which way. put up a few estrus wicks and went back to my post, nothing , so at 445 i bailed, So i went home ALMOST empty handed, but wanted to share what i did take home / learn from my first day...

~apparently everyone in grafton got a deer besides me, either that or thye just enjoy popping 4 shells in a row, it was odd right at 7 am, i heard 4 right in a row... an hr later 3, then random shots always at least 2 at a time, i always figured one shot is all it should take.

~ People are dumb, this kid was jogging in a t shirt with his dog NO ORANGE .. jogged right past 2 guys covered in orange with 12 gauges stalking who had just walked under me and not noticed.

~ apparently there are not as many deer as once thought at my spot and my camera might possibly be a liar.

~ sometimes the creeking of 50 ft oak trees sounds ALOT like faint deer calls, especially when your jonsin for a flash of white

~ never under estimate the necessary size needed for a piss jug

~ patients is a virtue


I cant wait to go back tomorrow, 5-5 ! hopefully a bit more lucky i think im gonna go right to the field see what sunrise brings there and then move to my other stand in the mid morning, as for the rest of the week 5 am - 10 ish cause a mans gotta eat/work and back at it sat full time, i DO realize the more opportunity i give myself the better my chances.
What do you guys think about getting out and walking around looking for a shot, i just cant shake the feeling im not trying hard enough just sitting for 12 hrs. Also iv been dragging estrus and what not .. is that just a waste of time or what ... what a smell eh ?

Yerp... Day 1

Deer 1
Augustus 0

 

[mcb]

~ People are dumb, this kid was jogging in a t shirt with his dog NO ORANGE .. jogged right past 2 guys covered in orange with 12 gauges stalking who had just walked under me and not noticed.

I'm not sure that persons not wearing orange in the woods makes them dumb, but certainly a hunter shooting a runner with his dog, orange or otherwise, would seem fairly dumb.

 

[Augustus McCrea]

but of course, i guess im just amazed that it hadnt occurred to him that orange is a vital key to this time of the year and bombing around in the woods .. on opening day shotgun... hes probably a neuroscientist

 

[Brian5582]

Man what a crappy day for hunting. Too damn hot! You shouldn't have a problem with flying bugs buzzing around when it is just a couple days from December. Between that and the ticks, I figure if they keep up like this I will have lymes by the end of the week.

 

[Sparkey]

I was working in grafton today at the new water treatment plant and heard 9 shots close right behind the job.

 

[JFR2]

but of course, i guess im just amazed that it hadnt occurred to him that orange is a vital key to this time of the year and bombing around in the woods .. on opening day shotgun... hes probably a neuroscientist

99.9% of the rest of the population has no clue that today is opening day.

-JR

 

[Augustus McCrea]

ya .. is multi shot SOP for shotgun season .. i mean if you cant make it on one shot chances of you landing a good 2,3,4,5 shot safely is slim to non, unless it was 9 guys all shooting at the same deer ! I expected to hear a few single shots all day ... and they where all around me to boot.
@ brian.. it was wicked warm around 1 .. i DID NOT NEED thermals on .. tomorrow im wearing a teeshirt and a jacket and my hunting pants ... this is crazy

 

[Augustus McCrea]

More like 99.9 % of grafton knows this

That comment seems to be taking some serious heat , in lieu i retract that whole bullet form my original post ... moving along

 

[shootback]

Don't feel bad. I had the same luck you did today.

 

[oldguy]

Heard a volley of 4 shots at 1st light this am not to far from my house.
Sending 4- 1 oz slugs off into the woods is a big responsibility.
Throughout the day I heard more volleys of 4 and 5 shots.
Don't these fools sight in there guns?
Maybe they sight them in on opening day at there stands

 

[HorizontalHunter]

This is the first time in nearly 30 years of hunting that I hunted on opening day, which I never miss, and I didn't hear one single shot all day long. Too hot . The deer were not moving and neither were most of the hunters.

Bob

 

[BerkshireHunter]

Heard some shots and a string of five. Jumped 2 does on ridges with laurel but didnt get a permit this year.

 

[ra5451]

Agustus...where abouts w=in Grafton were u

 

[Augustus McCrea]

on some private prop around orchard st / george hill rd

 

[AllaSnackbah]

its not just you mass guys, down here in CT i have heard very few single shots. mostly 2's and 3's but ive heard a few that made me wonder if the guy was hunting or target shooting, 5-6 shots in a row lol. crazy, you would think these guys are hunting with AR's.

 

[CdP]

I've heard the same in Assabet throughout archery season. I figured it was duck hunters. Any water / goose fields near you?

 

[davemata]

Naw, people that use these areas know it's hunting season and that not wearing orange is dumb.
Not wearing orange in this season is taking your own life in your hands, but hey, everyone has to go sometime.

I was warned that a lot of morons will just start firing off rounds at the end of the day "because they're loaded." Apparently the guy was telling the truth. Boggles the mind.

 

[DURAMAX_1]

One thing I do if I want to see deer is not tromp all around where im hunting. Deer can tell every step u make. When u start seeing deer u can watch when they come acros where u walked most will back up and go the other way . So many guys dont understand this, and wonder why they dont see any deer.

 

[Augustus McCrea]

@ duramax ... isnt that stalking .... i have some stands up but today i figured was too hot for them to be out walking around so i took a quiet 2 miles loop thru the woods in hopes to sneak up on a few

 

[DURAMAX_1]

I absolutelly wont walk anywhere unnessarly where I hunt. No way! Even to ck my cameras I will only do that before a rain. Unless u are hunting place that deer are accustomed to it.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

One thing I do if I want to see deer is not tromp all around where im hunting. Deer can tell every step u make. When u start seeing deer u can watch when they come acros where u walked most will back up and go the other way . So many guys dont understand this, and wonder why they dont see any deer.

The animal world is ALL about smell. Picture a big tear drop around you with the small end down wind. That is how they "see" their world. IMO you can never ever fool a deers nose. The best you can do is everything you can to minimize the size of your "tear drop" by following a scent control regimen.

One thing I do if I want to see deer is not tromp all around where im hunting. Deer can tell every step u make. When u start seeing deer u can watch when they come acros where u walked most will back up and go the other way . So many guys dont understand this, and wonder why they dont see any deer.

Very true. This is one reason that my hunting boots are only for hunting and they only get worn in the woods. Plus they get sprayed (read soaked) with scent killer when I put them on. This doesn't eliminate the problem. I am just trying to minimize it.

Every time you brush up against a branch you leave some of your scent behind.

Bob

 

[Augustus McCrea]

@ horizontal .... heres my regiment as follows..

before the woods .. i shower sent away soap shampoo , nonsented deoderant , baking soda ( the powder) for toothpaste.. clothes all stay in a tupperware container a sent wafer, they goin in the back of the truck via container .. i put on a base layer then spray myself with sent killer .. then out comes the outer layers .. which get sent killed ... spray the bottoms of my feet/boots , sometimes a few drops of estrus. sent wafer pinned to my hat ...

today was so frickin hot , i had on just a long sleeve AFTER i came home to shower and switch hunting grounds/towns...brought the sent killer with me ... wafer on shirt water on hat , and a drag of estrus , to day was miserably awesome . ALSO note .. i was sitting with my back to a huge pine tree today on the ground , and fom behind about 30 yrd to my left 5 Does come marching over ... i was too low to take the shot thru the brambles and what not .. but i heard them coming long off ... and just sat there .. they never knew i was there ... and i was DRIPPING with sweat from stalking and finding their bed

 

[ra5451]

I think that the deer are used to certain smells. I.e. I have a horse farm and an outdoor furnace. My belief is that if you smell like their surroundings then your good. So I stomp through horse poop and stand in front of the furnace with the door open to get the smell on me. It really works!

 

[DURAMAX_1]

Sm amount of estrus on ur boots as well. From what ive seen the rut is over and wont use estrus for a couple more weeks til the next mini rut. Rugular doe p on my boots.

 

[Augustus McCrea]

its funny . All the work i did this summer /fall for my stand sights , recon , cameras .. blah blah blah .. there were SERIOUS deer there like LAST WEEK ... now there doesnt seem to be one in the whole area .... so i packed it up and switched towns ... in the last 4 hours of light i saw 9-11 deer ... 2 groups different times ... both time circumstances not shot worthy ... but what a difference . i just cant understand where they all went around my stand maybe its just the heat ?

 

[ra5451]

its funny . All the work i did this summer /fall for my stand sights , recon , cameras .. blah blah blah .. there were SERIOUS deer there like LAST WEEK ... now there doesnt seem to be one in the whole area .... so i packed it up and switched towns ... in the last 4 hours of light i saw 9-11 deer ... 2 groups different times ... both time circumstances not shot worthy ... but what a difference . i just cant understand where they all went around my stand maybe its just the heat ?

That's because you in my area

 

[DURAMAX_1]

Different pattern or they are getting pushed around. And will hide in thick place that we dont want to go through. Or someone is walking around where they like to stay. It does not take much to totally ruin an area.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

Sm amount of estrus on ur boots as well. From what ive seen the rut is over and wont use estrus for a couple more weeks til the next mini rut. Rugular doe p on my boots.

Part of that is based on the local does. I have been in two areas the last two days and I have seen more scraping than I have all season so far. The rut is really disjointed this year for lack of a better term.

I rarely use scents now and when I do I try to stay to the less common stuff. The way I see it is that the usual over the counter stuff gets used by everybody and IMO a lot of it gets contaminated with human scent by hunters that are not as careful as I am. I even spray down the scent bombs I used to use with scent killer because they are handled at the factory. Once the deer associate a scent with a human smell you will not fool a mature buck (for the most part). JMO, JME There is no always or never in the deer woods.

If I have a doe tag I will never use doe in estrus pee as most does will go the other way if they are not in heat as they do not want to be bothered by a horny buck.

This muzzleloader season will be a great season to put out food based scents IMO though.

@ horizontal .... heres my regiment as follows..

before the woods .. i shower sent away soap shampoo , nonsented deoderant , baking soda ( the powder) for toothpaste.. clothes all stay in a tupperware container a sent wafer, they goin in the back of the truck via container .. i put on a base layer then spray myself with sent killer .. then out comes the outer layers .. which get sent killed ... spray the bottoms of my feet/boots , sometimes a few drops of estrus. sent wafer pinned to my hat ...

today was so frickin hot , i had on just a long sleeve AFTER i came home to shower and switch hunting grounds/towns...brought the sent killer with me ... wafer on shirt water on hat , and a drag of estrus , to day was miserably awesome . ALSO note .. i was sitting with my back to a huge pine tree today on the ground , and fom behind about 30 yrd to my left 5 Does come marching over ... i was too low to take the shot thru the brambles and what not .. but i heard them coming long off ... and just sat there .. they never knew i was there ... and i was DRIPPING with sweat from stalking and finding their bed

You have an excellent routine. Keep at it you will score.

Different pattern or they are getting pushed around. And will hide in thick place that we dont want to go through. Or someone is walking around where they like to stay. It does not take much to totally ruin an area.

That and food. Unless a deer hunter lives under a rock he/she knows that deer love acorns and the whites above all others. There are not a lot of acorns this year so what else to they eat??? That is the real question this year.

I am convinced that one of the reasons that "no one" is seeing deer is that we have had 7 years of decent acorn crops and the hunters have fallen into their own patterns about where they like to hunt based on past years successes.

It is all about where they can sleep undisturbed and what they are eating at the moment.

As always this is just my opinion and it is worth what you paid for it. LOL


Bob

 

[Fixxah]

My neighbor shot a big 15-pointer from a kids tree fort and the deer died in the neighbor's driveway. Dressed at #184.

His prep consists of putting on the blaze jacket and hat that sit outside for a day. No scent killer etc.

Sent from the Hyundai of the droids, the Samsung Replenish, using Tapatalk.

 

[arlow]

~apparently everyone in grafton got a deer besides me, either that or thye just enjoy popping 4 shells in a row, it was odd right at 7 am, i heard 4 right in a row... an hr later 3, then random shots always at least 2 at a time, i always figured one shot is all it should take.

~ never under estimate the necessary size needed for a piss jug

1 shot = dead deer

2 shots = maybe dead deer

3 4 or 5 in rapid succession means deer still running

No piss jug, just hang it out and let if fly off the stand.

This is the first time in nearly 30 years of hunting that I hunted on opening day, which I never miss, and I didn't hear one single shot all day long. Too hot . The deer were not moving and neither were most of the hunters.

Bob

They were moving, I had two groups of does go by me ( 4 and 6 does) at 9 am and 10:30 and then at 1 pm (warmest part of the day) I had an 8 pointer come in fast nose to the ground like a bird dog on scent. zig zagging and running in circles I tried to stop him but he was too wound up. I took a shot at him at about 60 yards moving fast through the trees but it turned out to be a clean miss.