The View From My Lone Wolf on Opening Day
Well it’s the second week of Whitetail season here in Michigan and Team FLG has been out in the woods chasing deer quite a bit so I wanted to give everyone an update on our season so far.
Opening morning Tex and I teamed up for a hunt at a new property that we have permission to hunt that looks REAL promising. We saw quite a few deer while perched high in our Lone Wolf stands and I let an arrow fly at a nice mature doe. I hit her perfect front to back but knew immediately that my arrow was high but i was hopeful that 2 hours into the season we had our first deer of the year. After climbing down I recovered the arrow which to my amazement had zero blood on it and was instead covered in fatty residue. After searching for 20 minutes we were able to find the first drop of blood…a single drop. We were able to stay on a hardly existent blood trail for 3 hours and 400 yards before the occasional drops of blood disappeared into an overgrown CRP field. In those 400 yards we had only found a dozen or so drops of blood so i’m hoping that she is still running around. Until that morning i had never shot a deer and not recovered it and i have to say that it’s probably the worst feeling i have ever felt.
An Evening in The Stand at The K Ranch
We hunted a few more times on opening weekend but weren’t presented with any great shot opportunities while in the stand. Four days into the season we were ambushed by a warm front that has been sticking around ever since. Luckily the deer are still moving a little even if the bucks are still tucked away eating and moving after dark. I was in the stand last Sunday evening trying not to sweat too much and attempting to surprise a monster buck but he never showed up. Even the 14 does and 2 smaller bucks i saw all moved really late.
Luckily the weather is supposed to get a little cooler in the coming days and we are gearing up for the pre-rut. We have a bunch of exciting things coming up so stay tuned. On the 19th the 2011 Huntography Deer Tour is rolling into town and will be staying at FLG Deer Camp and hunting and filming with us. It’s gonna be an amazing time and there will be some big deer getting dirt naps for sure.
For me this is absolutely my favorite time of the year. No matter what kind of weather mother nature throws at us or how many or few deer i see from my stand it’s just amazing to be out. The fall colors are so gorgeous and the sounds and signs of fall get my blood flowing. It’s all about the chase and the memories we make along the way and this fall sure is shaping up to be epic.
I’ll be posting live blogs from my stand for the rest of the season so stay tuned and hold on. It’s gonna be a wild ride.
Opie
p.s. To all my fellow hunters; please be safe out there in your treestands.