After 2 days of not deer hunting due to covid, I decided to go out this morning come hell or high water. Got to my area at 5:45 AM, a full hour before legal shooting time. Headed back to my stand at 6:00 AM. Sunrise was around 7:15 am. At 7:30 AM I heard the first tree sounds and couple of fly downs. I saw a few turkeys working to my right way up the ravine through the brush. I started to hear beagles around 8:00 AM and later found that a couple of rabbit hunters had come to the clear cut area that I have to pass to get to my stand. These are the first "other" hunters I have encountered on this tract all this season. About 10 AM or so I saw two birds across the ravine on the hillside scratching for beechnuts. Probably could have taklen one with my slug gun but they were 60 yards and I would have had to take a body shot and an Accutip probably would not have been kind to it. Too risky and just not that important. So they sort of disappeared. Literally. In a Willy Wonka sort of way, they meandered behind a big tree and didn't come out on the other side. I guess they went up the hill behind the tree.
Didn't kill a deer today. In fact, I haven't seen a buck (except in my yard) since the little fork I passed up on the opening day of muzzleloader season. Lots of does and fawns, no bucks. I probably won't use the doe tag I drew. I've got plenty of deer meat in the freezer. I'm going to go back out on Friday (its supposed to rain tomorrow).
Deer season here ends January 7. On January 14-28 the last segment of fall/winter turkey season opens. I'm going to try and get one or two days out during those two weeks. Maybe with all the bird I'm seeing, I might be able to snag a second fall bird. Won't have to wear blaze orange those weeks since deer season is over.
I'm pretty pleased with what I'm seeing. I am seeing way more birds this year than last. The line where the new growth pine thicket meets the old hardwood bottomland is key. They are roosting in the pines at the top of the fill and flying down in the morning into the bottom areas to scratch for beechnuts.
