Season Ender

[bmfox30]

Ended my Michigan Deer hunting season with a Bang/Flop. Shot her at 50 yards, neck shot, with my Cva Optima loaded with 110 grains Blackhorn 209, 44 cal 265 grain Hornady FTX. I love that combo for putting deer down. What a beautiful time to be in the woods with snow on the ground and muzzleloader in hand. I watched 4 other deer pass by about 100 yards not giving me a opportunity for a shot when this came into my shooting lane at 5:28, 4 minutes to spare. I also shot another doe last friday, same gun same load same result.

 

[deermanok]

Congrats, some good eats.

 

[Scotts98rt]

Nicely done.

 

[BuckDoeHunter]

Congrats!

 

[03mossy]

Congrats! Took that hunt down to the wire!

 

[MrTom]

Way to go. Nice looking dinner doe there.

 

[Hausser1]

Great way to end the season! My hunting stopped after another back operation last Wednesday morning. I'm hunting vicariously through stories like your's, so thank-you and keep 'em, coming!

 

[BlackPowderGuy (AJHS)]

Nicely done. I was out last night and this morning, hunting the edge of turnips fields. Not a deer in sight...I wonder it this late in the season is it is a pressure thing...I'm in MD and we opened the season with archery in september, we've not had firearm, early muzzleloader and now we are in later muzzleloader. I already punched my buck tag, I'm looking to fill the freezer but the field edge strategy which worked great in early season is just not getting it done now. I guess I will go deeper in the woods, but that means shorter ranges and more chances that i'll set up in the wrong spot. Open to advice...

 

[D55]

Congrats on a nice sized deer. What is that white stuff on the ground? I'm in eastern Ohio and haven't seen any of it (yet).

 

[MTY]

Good grub right there. Congrats!

 

[Omidv]

Great job filling your tag! And good eating.

 

[snapbang]

I too ended my season yesterday afternoon. 4 does came in at 4:20. I had a home for the doe as one of my wifes friends at work wanted one. I already gave them one but they are really enjoying it. So wanted another.

I let them walk. Its been a great season and I know a young fellow who hasnt had time to go hunting yet. I guess I left the deer for him. Im done.

If I would have had one of my sidelocks Im thinking I would have pulled the trigger. But I didnt.

50 yards

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Im also done for the year. Last night i saw no deer. But i did have a young redtail hawk nearly land in my tree. Thats amazing seeing one only 10-12 feet away, his reaction when he spotted me was cool, flipping over and shootin off in a new direction.

 

[D55]

I too ended my season yesterday afternoon. 4 does came in at 4:20. I had a home for the doe as one of my wifes friends at work wanted one. I already gave them one but they are really enjoying it. So wanted another.

I let them walk. Its been a great season and I know a young fellow who hasnt had time to go hunting yet. I guess I left the deer for him. Im done.

If I would have had one of my sidelocks Im thinking I would have pulled the trigger. But I didnt.

50 yards
View attachment 18472

You know you wanted to squeeze the trigger. just sayin'

 

[snapbang]

You know you wanted to squeeze the trigger. just sayin'

I did. But the drag to the truck was 300 yards and the field in between was more mud than solid ground. I had plenty of time to think about it. I made a mistake of not taking one of my sidelocks. 65 years old and still making mistakes at hunting deer.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I made a mistake of not taking one of my sidelocks. 65 years old and still making mistakes at hunting deer.

Not a mistake, a learning opportunity. If you ever quit learning you may as well be dead.

 

[D55]

Not a mistake, a learning opportunity. If you ever quit learning you may as well be dead.

I think if we ever become un-teachable , we treading on dangerous ground.

 

[MTY]

65=Pup

 

[massbigbore442001]

Nice. A much better ending than my season ending. December 31st is the last day of Massachusetts muzzleloader. I was in one stand for the last hours of the season and suddenly I heard the sound of a horse running down the logging road to the right of me.

At the entrance to my rod and gun club is a member and neighbor who has a couple of horses. I thought to myself,' Oh no. Maureen was thrown and is out in the woods." I called the VP and she called her up. Nothing major except that her horse got out of the stall and for some reason likes to go to that spot in the woods.

I was then told that your hunt will probably be ruined as she and another person came down to round up the horse. There was a lot of commotion and noise so I took my stand down and walked to a large boulder overlooking a stream where deer will cross now and then.

Needless to say, it was a deerless year.

 

[MrTom]

I'm one of those guys who feels like the season never ends. As soon as the shooting ends, I start hiking back in the hunting area again, looking at trails made in the snow and trying to decipher what direction the trails get the most use from. I look for those "secondary" bedding areas are being used; those used when pressure has been put on the primary bedding areas.

The land-owner and I are doing buckthorn abatement on his property and these winter walks allow me to see where juvenile growth has begun again and where a spray job early next spring will be needed. Another pest that gets given away while the snow is here is the human variety and trust me, there are plenty of those. Knowing where they are entering or standing or leaving goes a long way in controlling that flow. One might be surprised that not many trespassers are from off the road, but, rather, from neighboring properties. The off season is the time to have those needed chit-chats with the neighbors about who actually has permission to be on the property, including them.

So....while the actual hunting has season limits, true hunting in its essence never ends.