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THE HUNTING JOURNAL

November 20th, 2008. Today I hunted all day at the 16. I saw 8 deer between noon and 1:00 pm. When I hunt all day, I usually see good movement at mid-day. I saw about 6 more before dark, probably mostly the same deer. Still haven't seen any bucks there. Here is the video clip (be sure to click 'watch in high quality') of the buck I grunted in on opening day. For some reason, it wouldn't let me download in high quality like usual, so I might re-do it tomorrow. Good luck if you are still hunting!

November 15-17th, 2008. The first few days of firearm season are here and gone. It really wasn't too bad. Opening morning had light snow, and pretty gusty winds. I saw a couple of fawns right off the bat, and then it went quiet. At 10:30, I saw a deer walking across the north end of the clear-cut with his head down. I grabbed my grunt call and grunted three times. It stopped the deer, which turned out to be a buck. He turned and came in right at me. He ended up within 5 yards of my tower blind. He was only a four point, but I got some great footage of him. I forgot my tape at the camp, so I'll post the video later this week. The only other deer I saw was a spike right before dark. The second day I sat at 'the 16', and saw 3 does and fawns. The third day, I sat at 'the 16' in the morning, and saw 5 does and fawns. In the afternoon, I went back to the 'nisula spot', and saw a doe and a different four point that was pretty tall and wide. It is really starting to snow now, and the deer seem to moving well. If you shot a deer, please e-mail me a pic for the buck pole!

November 14th, 2008. It is the day before the rifle opener. The deer activity will be drastically different from here on out. Today I pulled some of my bow stands, and then went for one last hunt at the Toivo spot. All night long, I heard ATV's, chainsaws, and people talking and hollering. I'll never understand why somebody would go make so much noise at their hunting spot the night before season. I just don't get it. I never saw any bucks. I saw one doe. Bowseason is over for now, time to get out the gun and hope to get lucky. All in all, it was another successful bowseason. Good luck gun hunting!

November 11th, 2008. I spent a good portion of the day getting my rifle spot ready. I wasn't even sure if I would hunt tonight, but at the last minute I decided I would just sit in a stand I set at the edge of my cabin food plot. I was pleasantly surprised! I saw 13 different deer tonight, which is a lot for our neck of the woods. 5 came and ate within 20 minutes of getting set. After they left, I decided to use my grunt call. Immediately, a yearling buck stepped up to the edge of the woods, ears up, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. After watching for a bit, he put his head back down, and just stayed in the edge of the woods, looking for does no doubt. Later on, 2 fawns came in, and then 3 does, and then 2 more. 7 deer on the food plot at once, 5 of them adult does.....I couldn't believe that a buck didn't show up! I have trail camera pics of bucks on the plot, but usually after dark. If I can keep these does coming in, I'm bound to see some of the nice bucks I hope. Here is a short video diary of my night.

November 10th, 2008. Back to the Nisula spot tonight. It finally stopped snowing, but was still a little windy. I did see a lot of deer. I spotted a doe that was bedded down underneath a hemlock on the other end of the clear-cut. Soon, a few dear came out to browse on the north end of the cut. Later, a buck came out and chased them around a bit, he looked okay, but not too big. Later, this spike came running out of nowhere right past me. At first I thought he was a fawn, he has a very small body for a yearling buck. Right at dark, I spotted 3 does walking single file right toward me. I noticed another deer behind them, and could tell he was a buck by the way he was acting. He did come in shooting range, but it was really too dark, and I could tell he was a nice buck, but not quite big enough. Hopefully he can make it through until next year. Sometimes I think about how tough the deer up here have it. To grow old enough to be a mature buck, not only do these deer have to survive 3 months of hunting, but they also have to deal with wolves, coyotes, cars, and the worst winters imaginable. It really is survival of the fittest for north country deer. I have a lot of respect for the mature Keweenaw deer.

November 9th, 2008. Tonight I was really excited to go to the Toivo Spot. I wasn't excited about the blustering winds. I was sitting at 3:00 pm, and saw my first buck at 3:30. He was really nervous about the blasting winds. At about 5:20, a spike came in, and also the same 3 point that I saw earlier. I had a hard time filming this weekend, because I can't leave my camcorder out in the heavy snow. I did manage to pull it out and film tonight's bucks briefly, see the clip here.

November 8th, 2008. We got the weather change I'd been hoping for. Snowing and cold all weekend. It was actually a little too windy, but at least we have snow. Saturday night I went to the Nisula spot. I scared a doe on the way in at 2:00 pm. At about 4:30, a couple of does showed up about 150 yards away in the other end of the clear-cut. Soon after, a really big buck came out behind them. You didn't need binoculars to know that he was a shooter. He followed the does around, always staying about 20 yards behind them. He even bedded down for about 20 minutes, watching them. Later, a smaller buck came out to check on the does, and the big promptly ran him off. Unfortunately, the does kept moving away from me, and of course the buck did too. About 30 minutes before dark, a doe and two fawns appeared beneath my tree. Soon after, 2 deer were heading towards me from the north. They were both yearling bucks. A spike and a 4 point. They began looking back, and here came another buck. A nice 2 1/2 year old 8 point. He briefly sparred with one of the yearlings, and then was broadside at 15 yards. I think that is the first time I've passed up a 2 1/2 year old. I have a few reasons, 1. I was still hoping to see the real big one that was with the does, 2. I just know that there are a few bucks better than him (and I only have 1 more tag), 3. my arrow was totally covered in ice, and I was concerned about my arrow flight. All in all, I saw some action, most of it just before dark.

November 7th, 2008. The hunting has been terribly slow, especially for this time of year. Tonight I went to my river bottom spot and saw one doe, just walking slowly along the riverbank. I'm sorry I haven't been able to get any good videos to post lately, but that is just how the hunting has been going. I'm sure the culprit is the warm weather. However, temps are supposed to drop tomorrow, and it is supposed to snow. I'm confident that this will seriously jumpstart the deer activity. I can't wait to go hunting tomorrow! I have two great spots that I haven't been able to hunt because of the southerly wind directions we've had for about a week. Anyhow, I should have some video clips by Monday! Good luck if you are out in the woods this weekend!

November 3rd, 2008. Tonight I went back to the deep woods river bottom spot. I usually like to give my spots more time between hunts, but the wind direction didn't leave me much of a choice. As I suspected, the deer weren't moving very well with the suddenly warm temperatures. Just before dark, I was pretty sure I could here a deer moving very slowly along the riverbank. Then I heard the pawing of leaves, and was able to barely see a buck making a scrape. It was getting dark, and it was hard to see him, so I don't want to exaggerate, but I'll just say that the buck was a wall-mount for sure. I can definitely say that he was BIG. Anyhow, he never came any closer than 70 yards. I needed some does around to lure him in. Maybe next time.

November 2nd, 2008. It is now the time of year where bowhunters need to spend as much time in the woods as possible. The bucks are on the move, in search of does. It can be very exciting, and very frustrating. Saturday night I went to my deep woods river bottom spot. I had really high expectations...and never saw a deer. As I was getting ready to get down, I heard a buck grunting and chasing does all around the ridges behind me, but it was too dark to get a look. My buddy Jim got a buck down in lower Michigan tonight, so congrats to him. I'm hoping to hunt hard this week.

October 31st, 2008. Halloween is my birthday, and I've always wanted to shoot a buck on my birthday. Tonight was the closest I've ever came. I went back to the Nisula spot, and tonight I saw the buck that I have officially named "Lucky". This is the buck that my friend Jim missed back in early October. Then a week ago, my brother was within bow range of him, but never got a good shot. Tonight he came in for me, but was facing me the entire time. This deer seems to have a sixth sense for how not to get shot. I only had a matter of a couple minutes of legal shooting time left when he came in, and I never got a shot. I'm starting to hope we can get some snow to get the deer moving earlier.

October 28th, 2008. It is getting to be that time of year when the bucks have love on the mind. Before I got ready to go hunting, I had another deer come out in my food plot right next to the cabin. I've seeing more and more deer on it lately. On the way to hunting my spot in Nisula, I found out the two track is getting wetter all the time. Sometimes you have to four wheel through the rough stuff to get back in the deep woods. I was sitting in my stand by 2:50. It was really windy and cold. I didn't see my first deer until 7:00 pm. It was a nice buck that just stood in the corner of the clear cut. Finally when a doe and fawn came out, he briefly chased the doe. After that, he simply walked back and forth along the woodline, scent checking the edge for does. He never did come out into the clear-cut. I managed to shoot a short video of the buck here (remember to click 'watch in high quality' and it will be a little clearer). After watching him for so long, I wasn't paying attention right in front of me when a nice little buck appeared out of nowhere. He was a nice buck, but not quite a shooter, and it was pretty dark by then. Anyhow, the bucks are interested in does, the does aren't interested in bucks...pretty typical for this time of year.

October 27th, 2008. Today was very cold and we had snow flurries in the air. I was pretty excited to go hunt the Toivo spot. I was sitting in my stand just before 4:00 pm. As soon as I got settled in, I pulled out my bleat can and called a few times. I'm not usually that big on calls, but I have had success when the situation is right. Anyhow, within 30 seconds, I had a curious young buck come right in. Here is the video clip of him trying to find the 'doe'. After he couldn't find another deer, he proceeded to a big scrape underneath my stand, and worked the licking branch a bit. Later on, the 3 pointer that I see almost everytime came through right on schedule. That was all that I saw. Usually I see some nice bucks at this spot in late October, hopefully it picks up soon.

October 26th, 2008. I didn't do any hunting this weekend, as I was guiding my brother who only had the weekend to hunt. Friday night, he hunted in the pouring rain at the Toivo spot. He saw two deer, and both were bucks, but only small ones. Saturday morning, he hunted the Nisula spot, and only saw a doe and fawn. Saturday night, he went back to the Nisula spot, and had a shooter buck come in at dark. It was the same buck that my friend Jim had missed earlier this season. The buck never gave my brother a good angle, and it was getting very dark, so he did the right thing and decided not to attempt a shot. We are suppose to get some snow tonight or tomorrow, and I'm anxious to hunt hard this week.

October 23rd. 2008. Last night I hunted at my property, 'the 16'. I saw a doe and a fawn early. Later on this 5 pointer came through. After I got back to the cabin, my friend Gary returned, and said that he had shot a buck. He couldn't find any blood, so we decided to go out in the morning and try to find his deer. About 20 yards from where he shot, we finally started to find some blood. There wasn't much, but there was just enough to follow the trail for about 150 yards. We found the buck right on the edge of the river. We sure were happy to find him. Here is a pic, and the video. Here is a video of getting buck out of the river bottom with my ATV. We had a really fun day out in the woods. Tomorrow my brother shows up for a couple days of hunting. This will be his first hunting trip up here.

October 20th, 2008. It was cold and rainy out in the upper peninsula woods. My buddy Gary got up here last night. He hunted at 'the 16' and saw a doe and a fawn. We got some nice trail camera pics, so we know there are some nice bucks around. I sat on the food plot, just for the heck of it, and saw 5 does and fawns. Tonight I hunted the 'toivo spot', and saw 2 yearling bucks. One was the same 3 pointer that I saw last hunt, and the other I couldn't get a very good look at. Gary had a good night at the Nisula spot, seeing 4 bucks, and one of them was pretty good sized. I think the deer hunting should get better and better over the next week or so. By the way, the buck I shot a few days ago ended up weighing 171 lbs field dressed.

October 18th, 2008. Big buck down! Tonight I went to the deep woods river bottom spot. The wind direction was perfect for this stand. At about 5:00pm, this doe and fawn came through. By the way, if you click "watch in high quality" underneath the video clip, you can view them much more clearly. At about 6:50, I heard a deer coming in from the west. As he came closer, I could see that he was really wide. Here is a short clip of him coming in. The buck was very cautious and nervous, and I was wondering if I would even get a shot. He ended up very close, almost too close, at about 8 yards. I realized this may be my only shot opportunity, so I drew back and took aim. The shot was perfect, right behind the shoulder, and I watched him charge off about 60 yards and then crashed. There is no better feeling than when you see them go down. Here is a video of the recovery, and a pic. The buck ended up having a 16 1/4 inch spread. I'm anxious to see what he'll weigh. Getting him out of the river bottom was a ridiculous amount of work for one person. I'm so happy to have already taken a nice buck!

October 16th, 2008. Tonight the conditions were perfect for the Toivo Spot. I haven't hunted there since October 4th. At about 5:30, I heard some crunching in the leaves coming from the north. A nice little yearling buck worked his way through the deep woods. See the video clip here. Closer to dark, I heard a deer coming from behind me. I couldn't tell what it was, but then I heard him rubbing a small tree. When I finally got a look at him, he was nice tall 8 pointer. He had dark horns and nice tines. Then I heard another deer, and this buck started staring it down. Then he actually did a 'snort wheeze', a threatening sound that I have seen on videos, but never in person. The other deer ended up being the same small buck that I had saw earlier. Anyhow, I never got a shot at the 8, but it sure was an entertaining hunt.

October 14th, 2008. The weather finally dropped back down into the normal fall temps. I went out to the Nisula spot tonight. I saw 3 different does and fawns over the course of the night. Here is a video of a young deer moving across the clearcut. At dark, I saw a really nice buck, probably an 8-pointer, out in the clearcut. That is only the 2nd buck I've seen while hunting this year. I expect the hunting to start getting better and better from here on out.

October 10th, 2008. Tonight I went hunting at my spot along the riverbottom. I wondered if the deer would be moving, since the wind was not moving at all. I never saw a deer. The grouse were really drumming, but that was about it. Better luck next time.

October 7th, 2008. Tonight was the last night that my buddy Jim would be hunting with me. I didn't really want to set at my stand at the 16 so soon after spooking the big buck, but it was the only option I had for the wind direction. About an hour before dark, this doe moved through the valley. All of the sudden, she was looking intently at something coming in, and then she took off. I was surprised to see a big ol' porcupine bumbling down the trail. After that, I heard a couple of deer right at dark, but never was able to see them. Meanwhile, Jim had a little more excitement. He had a pretty nice buck come in, but he shot under him and missed. He was a little bummed, but I'm glad he at least had a shot at one after traveling so far. I know that he had a lot of fun on this trip. Now I have the woods to myself for about 8 days until more company arrives.

October 6th, 2008. Bowseason is off to somewhat of a slow start. Windy conditions seem to have kept the deer movement to a minimum. Saturday night I hunted the Toivo Spot, and only saw a doe and a fawn. I was pretty surprised after all of the buck pics I had with my trail camera. Here is a video of the doe. Sunday night I was running late after dropping my buddy off at a hunting spot, and decided to crawl into a stand that I had set at 'the 16' (my cabin property) last fall. As I kind of expected, I didn't see anything all night. At dark, I took off my release, and hooked my bow hoist rope to the bow. As I started to lower the bow down, I had a gigantic knot in the string. Frustrated, I pulled the bow back up, and spent about 5 minutes trying to undo the massive knot. All of the sudden, I thought I heard a snip down below. I looked down and couldn't believe my eyes. Even in the growing darkness, I could see wide, tall horns on a massive buck. I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what I would do since I already took off my release, put my arrow back in the quiver, and had the hoist rope clipped to my bow. I decided to try and unclip the hoist from my bow, and when I did, the metal made a clink, and of course, the buck bolted off. He would have been my biggest buck ever. I am frustrated, but very impressed that deer of that caliber are hanging around my property. From now on, I'm not taking off my release until I am back to the truck. Maybe I'll get another chance at him later on. Oh well.

October 1st, 2008. Finally! Bowseason is underway, and the hunting journal is back. The conditions weren't great for opening day. Very windy, and the deer were very nervous as I expected. I went down to the Nisula spot, where I've had plenty of good luck in the past. It wasn't long after 3:00 pm, and I had already spotted a doe browsing about 70 yards away. After that, I didn't see another deer for about 2.5 hours. I saw several different does and fawns as the night went on, 8 deer total. I never saw a buck. Here is a video clip of a doe and fawn.

May 16th, 2008. I have another video clip for you. This is a very tall 10 pointer that I saw while bowhunting in Houghton county about 4 years ago. Once I realized the buck wasn't going to cross onto my side of the river, I pulled out the camcorder and began taping. I hunted him hard the rest of the season, and never saw any sign of him again. Watch the video here!

May 13th, 2008. There isn't a whole lot of hunting activity this time of year. I've been working on making copies of my old VHS footage from years past, and being able to upload them onto the computer so you can watch them! Here is a clip from a few years back when I was working on a Moose/Wolf research project on Isle Royale. This video clip is of a cow and calf that weren't very afraid of my tent. Enjoy!

January 1st, 2008. Today was officially the last day to hunt deer in Michigan. I wanted to get out bowhunting tonight, but the weather simply wouldn't permit it. Here is a really neat video from my last muzzleloader hunt this season. As many of you know, this property is currently for sale. All in all, 2007 was a fantastic hunting season. I put in a lot of work, and many, many hunts. It was new challenge trying to capture some of these hunts for your enjoyment here on the website. I look forward to doing it again next season, and doing a better job. I'm already counting the days until next season!

November 17th, 2007. Today I hunted the Ponderosa. I saw 5 does, two of which came to the food plot. The evening was very cold and quiet. I'll tell you what, if you don't bowhunt, you should try it. Once you get into bowhunting, rifle season isn't nearly as exciting.

November 16th, 2007. I had to do some real estate work in the morning. For the afternoon, I headed back out to the Toivo Spot with some high expectations. I didn't see any deer. That's gun season for you.

November 15th, 2007. As most of you know, today is the opening of firearm deer season. I actually don't look forward to this season as much as most, since I'd just as soon go bowhunting. The conditions seemed great opening day. Fresh snow and cold temperatures, but most reports I got were pretty slow. My friend Gary hunted the Ponderosa and only saw one deer the entire day. I set up a ground blind at the Toivo Spot and saw 8 or 9 and one spikehorn. Another friend of mine hunted my property out in Victoria, and saw more wolves than deer.

November 8th, 2007. Success!!! I was in the stand at the Nisula spot by 2:30 this afternoon. My expectations were high with the amount of deer sign. I honestly can't even recall how many deer I saw tonight. I know that I saw at least 6 different bucks. These two bucks were the first to come in close, and were sparring right underneath me. Later on, a doe came walking into the clearcut, and she would prove to be the key to my success. With several bucks browsing in the clearcut, she ended up being quite popular. As the young bucks were grunting and chasing her around, a big buck heard the commotion, and came out to see what was happening. He quickly began grunting and chased the doe all over for 10 minutes or more. I never even expected to get a shot, but all of the sudden the doe began running right toward my stand with the buck in hot pursuit. It seemed like all one motion as I grabbed my bow, drew back, and let an arrow fly as the buck trotted by. He only ran about 40 yards, and expired quickly. That was probably the best shot I have ever made on a deer given the circumstances and the fact that he never actually stopped. Anyhow, he's a great buck, and I'm sure happy to have him after such an exciting and frustrating season. I'm anxious to find out how much he weighs. Here is a pic, and a video. I still have one more tag, so stay tuned!

November 7, 2007. Tonight's wind direction prompted me to hunt "the 16", a new parcel that I just purchased. There must have been at least 5-6 inches of snow down in Nisula. I was sitting by 3:00 pm, and at 4:00 pm, this tiny spike came in. His horns may not even be three inches long. In fact, you can't hardly see them on the video. About an hour later, two does were getting chased around by a 4 pointer. The rut is definitely on. As it got closer to dark, the wind stopped, and it was so calm you could hear your eyes blink. All of the sudden, a nice shooter buck came in. I got my bow up, but he was so jumpy, everytime I tried to move at all he would lift his head up. I decided not to even try to draw unless another deer came in to distract him. All of the sudden, he started heading towards the base of my tree as he spotted a doe coming in. He grunted and began chasing her. It was nice to see good buck activity on my new property. Maybe I'll shoot him in rifle season.

November 6, 2007. We got out first big snow of the season, there was about 4 inches in the ground in the woods. This gets any deer hunter excited. I went back to the Toivo Spot to give it another try. There were tracks everywhere in the snow. I had just got in the stand and was getting my equipment organized when a tall 4 pointer went cruising through, looking for does I presume. The woods were then quiet until soon before dark when 6 different does showed up at once. Here is a video of one beneath my stand. Soon after, a 3 point came in and chased around the does until about dark. It was a pretty nice hunt, I love being out in the snow. All in all, I saw 8 deer, two being bucks. Not a bad night.

November 3, 2007. Tonight was a memorable evening at the Toivo Spot. I jumped a small buck walking in, I think it one of the 3 pointers that I regularly see. I noticed some fresh rubs near my stand when I got to it. The night was dead quiet until about 30 minutes before dark, when a doe and two fawns came in from behind me. Here is a video of the first fawn. Just before dark, a large deer was approaching from the north. The doe immediately retreated, which gave me a good indication that it was a buck. I grabbed my bow and got ready. When he appeared, I saw that he was a buck that I had not seen before. He is probably the biggest buck I have ever seen in my life. I didn't even try to count the points. Anyhow, as always seems to be the case with this spot, things worked out in the deer's favor....again. I think I might have to give up on the big ones.

October 30, 2007. I feel very fortunate that I've been able to hunt so many times this fall. I was going to hunt the Ponderosa, but they are still putting gravel on my access road, so I decided to put in a hunt at "the 16" which is my new purchase in Nisula. It was actually a pretty good hunt! The deer weren't moving until late because of the temps in the high 60's all day, but the first deer that came in just before dark was a 4 pointer. Soon after another small buck showed up, and soon I could see three different bucks chasing does all over the hardwood ridges. Unfortunately it was too dark to get footage, but it makes me very optimistic about the potential of this property. I probably won't hunt again for a couple of days since we are supposed to experience extremely high winds and nasty weather.

October 29, 2007. Well it was another interesting night at the Toivo Spot. At 4:30 I saw a very big buck cross the creek about 80 yards away through the thick stuff in front of me. Later on, a spike that I had never seen before came in, and soon after the 3 point that I usually see. The two of them were sparring a little bit, see the video here. Later on, a tall spike that I haven't seen since Oct 1 came in to work some scrapes. There are several fresh scrapes around my stand now. A doe came through and ended up getting chased around by the spike. Right at dark, a tall wide 8 point came in from the west, but took forever coming in. By the time I had a shot, I really couldn't see through my 'peep sight', and I never ended up getting a shot off. It is getting frustrating, but still exciting.

October 27, 2007. This evening found me at the Nisula Spot, and the conditions were extemely windy most of the night. I ended up seeing about 10 deer total, 4 of them being bucks. I'm on the edge of a partial clear-cut that was logged one year ago, and the deer are really enjoying the new growth coming up. It is kind of exciting and frustrating at the same time, seeing a lot of deer, but only one came within bow range. One of the bucks was a big one, definetely a shooter, but he was too busy sparring with another buck. I think that this spot is going to get pretty good as the rut approaches.

October 26, 2007. Tonight was a VERY interesting night, and I must say that it left me a little deflated. I was setting at the Toivo Spot by 3:15 this afternoon. At about 4:30, a 3 pointer came in from the North. Here is another pic. At around 5:30 a different 3 pointer came in from underneath my treestand. For a yearling buck, he was a very large deer. The buck proceeded to aggressively rub a small sapling, which I got on video. About 20 minutes later, I saw a deer moving through the hardwoods, but it was too far away and I was unable to determine what it was. I also had a great blue heron wading in the creek tonight, I have never seen one before this deep in the woods. Anyhow, I heard a deer walking in about 20 minutes before dark. When I could finally see it through the thick balsams, I could immediately tell that it was a shooter. When he stepped onto the trail, he turned out to be a perfect 10 pointer. He was a huge buck, and would be my biggest buck ever, a wall mount for sure. He was standing broadside at 5 yards, and when I drew my bow, he heard me and bolted. He ran about 10 yards and was standing in the thicket staring at me. I had to hold my bow at full draw for a couple of minutes, which is agonizing. He then started the other way and ended up making a scrape. He didn't seem very spooked, but I can't believe I didn't get a shot!! I feel so deflated tonight after hunting so hard to have an opportunity be this close, but not work out. There is always next time, but I'll need a couple of days to get over this one. Sigh....

October 24, 2007. The weather conditions were great today as I drove down to 'the Nisula Spot' for an evening hunt. I jumped a buck on the way in that only had one horn. The other must have been broken off in a fight most likely. As soon as I was in the tree, I noticed a deer on the west side of the clear-cut. I couldn't tell for sure if it was a buck or not with the binoculars, and then the deer bedded down. About 20 minutes later, another deer came from the north and also bedded down. The deer are obviously more than comfortable on this parcel. Later on, I heard a deer coming behind me, and turned to see a pretty nice buck. He looked pretty nice and turned out to be a 5 point. That was pretty much it for the night. If I don't get a chance at a bigger one soon, I might have to shoot that buck, he is pretty nice for a 5. As rifle season approaches, the woods fill up with hunters, and the deer start to get nervous. All in all, it was a beautiful night.

October 22, 2007. All day long I was telling everybody how excited I was to go hunting tonight. The temperature had dropped, and the wind direction was perfect to hunt 'the toivo spot', which seems to be my best spot. I really thought the odds were good for me to get a chance at a nice buck tonight, but it didn't quite turn out that way. I was set in my stand at 3:30, pretty early, and at 3:42 I had this 3 pointer in front of me. About 20 minutes later, a button buck fawn came by me as well. I was really expecting a great night with all of the early movement. I spent the next 3.5 hours basically staring at nothing! I saw a small doe right before dark and that was it. The usual pack of coyotes were howling like mad right at dark, and they were pretty close. I'm starting to wonder if this pack of coyotes is adversely affecting my hunting. I'm half tempted to go try to call in some coyotes one of these afternoons. Anyhow, we're getting into the time of year when the bucks should start moving.

October 20, 2007. Tonight was somewhat warm and windy, but I went down to 'the ponderosa' to hunt over my food plot that I worked on all summer. I finally saw some deer there tonight, 4 to be exact. I had a doe come in and eat at the foodplot for almost an hour. Later on, another doe and fawn joined her, and all three were enjoying the oats. They left before dark, and then I scared a deer off at dark when it was time to get down. I couldn't tell what it was, but I can't help but think that it was a buck. All in all, it was nice to relax and see some deer enjoying my property. Hopefully I can hunt somewhere tomorrow!

October 17, 2007. I went to check on some of my spots today. The toivo spot looks good with a fresh scrape, but there is also bear sign present. I do have my bear tag, so we'll see what happens. The pleasant surprise today was all of the deer sign on the ponderosa. This is one of the biggest buck tracks that I have ever seen! The food plot is getting hit hard. I haven't hunted the property since the third night of season so I'm anxious to get down there. Anyhow, I ended up hunting the swamp spot and saw this doe and fawn. Just as it was getting to be prime time for deer movement, some trespassers ended my hunt early. I had to get down and have a discussion with them, and then I just went home. I don't like when things like that happen. The weather is supposed to be cruddy again for awhile, so I'm anxiously waiting for the right conditions to get back out.

October 14, 2007. This evening finds me in Osceola County in the lower peninsula of Michigan. I'm down here for a family reunion, and I 'just happened' to bring all of my hunting gear 'just in case' my brother and I could fit in a hunt on his property. It is a much different deer herd in this part of Michigan as compared to the U.P. I saw 18 different deer! Only 1 deer was a buck. The buck was a decent 4 point, he may have been a 6, but his brow tines were pretty short. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening. A couple of nights earlier, I snuck out to the edge of a rye field on our family farm in time to get some video footage of a big buck scraping, and chasing some does. Enjoy the footage!

October 11, 2007. Tonight we finally had some decent weather up here! 41 degrees, overcast with a light north wind. I had a real estate closing up in Calumet at 4:30, so when it was over, I was hustling down to 'the toivo spot' anticipating a good hunt. I was in my treestand at 5:30 (much later than what I usually set). At 5:45, a nice 4 pointer came right in. See the video here. A little over an hour later, a 3 point came in from the north. He might be one of the bucks from October 1st. It is important to note that because of the wet ground, I couldn't hear the deer coming in at all tonight, they would just appear. Anyhow, the 3 pointer headed up in the hardwoods, he acted like he saw another deer, but I couldn't see anything. After he left, I was sitting in my stand reminiscing about all of the nice bucks I saw last year. Then, right at primetime, I looked to my left and saw a BIG buck. He had one of the biggest bodies I have ever seen on a deer. He looked to have about a 16" spread, and nice, heavy horns. As he started to work his way in, I wanted to get situated before he got too close, so I pulled my facemask down, slid out to the edge of my seat, and grabbed my bow off of it's hanger. All of the sudden out of nowhere I heard a deer blow! Apparently another deer had snuck in behind me, and saw the movement. Big bucks are very wary, and because of the other deer spooking, the big buck trotted back into the swamp. Ughh! My heart was really pumping tonight, but I guess I'll have to save my tag for next time.

October 10, 2007. Frankly, the weather still stinks! Even though it was raining and blowing most of the night, I decided to head down and hunt my 4th spot, which I call the 'Nisula Spot'. The spot is basically a partial clear-cut, with my stand being along the edge of a creek bottom, overlooking the partial clear-cut. See a video of the stand area here. Last year, I shot a buck on this property, and so did my friend Gary. Once I got settled in tonight, it started to rain hard and never stopped. I did manage to see a doe and a fawn take over an hour to browse across the clear-cut, eventually exiting towards a nearby hay field. At dark, a pack of wolves began howling, I'm sure the deer enjoy that sound less than I do. Anyhow, I'm still waiting for some reasonable weather conditions.

October 6, 2007. After getting home from selling a house today, I didn't even plan on hunting. But I was watching a hunting video which kind of gets you fired up to go, and then the rain stopped, and I decided to throw on my hunting clothes and hurry down to 'the swamp spot'. During the entire hunt, the swamp was blanketed with thick fog. Last time I hunted here, I didn't see anything, so I was hoping to at least see a deer. After noticing the sun reflecting off of the bright silver on my camcorder on a previous hunt, I purchased some camo tape to help keep the camcorder from being noticed by the deer. At about 6:15, I heard a twig snap as a doe and a button buck fawn worked their way along the edge of the swamp. She was a really good sized deer. See a video clip of both deer here. That was it for the night as I listened to the coyotes howl at dusk. As I mentioned before, once the temperature drops, the deer movement will go up. At least I saw some deer.

October 3, 2007. I'm getting the impression that this hunting journal isn't going to be very exciting until the weather cools down. It was hot last night, and it is supposed to be in the 80's tomorrow! I went down to spot #3, which is 80 acres that I call "The Ponderosa". Many of you are familiar with this property since I have documented this food plot that I have been working on all year. I sat in the hemlocks for several hours last night, and saw nothing but a beautiful sunset. This warm weather doesn't agree with the deer, who have already started to put on heavier fur coats for the upcoming winter. Typically the deer will now become very nocturnal, waiting until late at night to be active since the temperatures will be lower. Here is the video overview from this stand. Anyhow, I'm not going to hunt tonight, and I may not hunt again until we get some reasonably cool weather. I've hunted three counties in three days!

October 2, 2007. Tonight the wind was out of the Southeast, which is ideal for the property I call "the swamp spot". Here is a video perspective from the treestand. This is the view looking at the cedar swamp. The conditions were extremely poor tonight. The temperature was unseasonably warm, raining, and the wind was strong, gusty, and shifting. I figured that the weather would limit the deer movement, and unfortunately I was right. I never saw a deer, not one, zero, zilch. I don't get 'skunked' very often, but tonight I did. Anybody that hunts has been there, I guarantee it. My excitement was limited to this chattery squirrel, and the fact that I noticed a tree that resembles a goalpost. When the deer aren't cooperating, you have to stay entertained somehow. Anyhow, there is always tomorrow!

October 1, 2007. Welcome to the hunting journal! This marks the first journal entry as we head into another fall spent outdoors. You'll be able to look forward to pics and video of deer and any other interesting wildlife that I encounter. I have 4 primary stands that I bowhunt. Tonight the wind was out of the NE, so I opened up at 'the toivo spot'. Here is a link to a video that shows the view from my stand. The fall colors were in full force tonight! The videos that you will see on here are short clips that I take with my digital camera. I also capture video footage with my camcorder that is mounted on this 'tree tripod'. Anyhow, I was setting by about 3:00 pm and didn't see my first deer until about 6:15 pm. This spikehorn came in all by himself. (sorry the pic is blurry on this one). Soon, two other bucks came in from the west, and the spike chased them off. The three bucks stood around staring at each other, when a doe came in on a dead run, which scared off the three bucks. She had been running so much she was panting, and I couldn't understand what would be chasing her (the breeding season is over a month away). She was a very large doe, and ended up directly at the base of my tree. See the video here. I ended up seeing one other deer that I couldn't identify before dark, making a total of 5 deer for the night. I think I figured out what was chasing the doe when a pack of coyotes began howling right at dark, conveniently located between the truck and my stand. I'll try to take pics or video of the deer I see as much as possible, but understand that many times I can't because it is EXTREMELY difficult to move when you are within mere yards of a wary deer. We'll see what the weather brings tomorrow, and hopefully I'll get out to another one of my spots. I never hunt the same stand two days in a row because I don't want the deer to be pressured. I hope you will enjoy the hunting journal!