Well it that time of year when the leaves start falling and that action heats up. I’ve already seen some great rut activity and am looking forward to prime time.

Got some pretty nice things planned for this season so stay tuned!

Been working really hard over the past few weeks to get all of my mowing done on my clover plots.

The farm got hit really hard last summer with EHD and the deer population is really down. But whether it is force of habit or just plain old curiosity I decided to put out some trail cams to see what’s hanging around.

Decided to try out some Big & J minerals to see how they work at the recommendation from the boys over at Dream Chasers.

This farm is usually great at producing nice deer so it will be interesting to see who made it past the EHD.

Opie

Well it’s that time of the season when you have to start working a little harder to avoid eating a tag sandwich. Tex and I just finished brushing in two sweet ground blinds in prime late season spots. Hopefully this property still has a monster hanging around! Stay tuned…This could be good!

Opie

Pretty slow morning so far. Had a coyote at 5 yards but I couldn’t get my gun fast enough. Not hearing a lot of shots for the first Saturday of gun season. Should heat up soon….hopefully.

Well Huntography is in town and it’s time to spill some blood on Deertour 2012. Let the good times begin!

Tex and I had an awesome afternoon in the woods today. It’s November 4th and the rut is in full swing. Lots of deer chasing and lots of action in the woods.

We even managed to call in the first coyote of the year.

Tex did what he does best and smoked a nice mature doe with the Z7. The T3 broadhead did its job and she barely went 50 yards.

Always enjoy walking the red carpet with Tex. congrats buddy!

Opie

Tex and I are sitting 30 feet up in our Lone Wolf climbers tonight. Weather is about perfect and hopefully the deer are moving. Saw some runs and scrapes on our way in. Hopefully we get our eyes on the buck who made them.

Opie with His Opening Day Buck in the Fog

Well we had a tough deer season here in Michigan. Early season had us hopeful that we would really get into the deer but the deer and conditions just wouldn’t cooperate. We were plagued with warm temperatures, huge storms, rain and wind. Add to those factors a bright full moon during peak rut times and you end up with possibly the worst recipe for daytime deer movement.

But despite all these factors we persisted and continued to hunt hard despite the lack of deer sightings from our stands.

Things all changed for me on opening day of Michigan gun season when I had a great encounter with my first shooter buck of the season. It was a warm morning and the fog was so thick I couldn’t see more than 20 yards until an hour after dawn. At 830, staring out into the fog I was startled by the distinct thundering of a 12 gauge coming from the woods were PT was sitting. A few moments later I received an excited text from PT letting me know that he had sent an ounce of hot lead through a shooter buck. He new he had a solid hit on him with good blood but could see that the deer had went over 100 yards and was apprehensive about the shot he had made. I assured him that we would find him and told him I would come get him from his stand at 10 to help track the big boy down.

At 9:30, just as the fog began to lift around my stand i peered out of my blind to see a bruiser of a buck slowly sneak out of the standing corn to my north. I stared at him and slowly reached for my gun wondering just how big he was. A moment later he turned and began slowly walk away from me revealing an impressive rack. I quickly pulled up my 20 gauge and put the iron sights right on him. I let out a loud bleat and he came to a stop broadside at 60 yards. I squeezed the trigger and felt the recoil of the shotgun. The buck jumped, kicked and landed in the grass looking around in bewilderment. I couldn’t believe he wasn’t hit and once again put the sights on him and squeezed off another round. Another jump kick from the buck and he slowly started walking towards the swamp to my south. What the heck I thought, how am I missing him? So I took my time and put it on his front shoulder and slowly squeezed one more time. The shotgun barked and the buck dropped in his tracks. I had my first shooter buck of the season but had surely used up all of my luck for the year.

I couldn’t believe it and neither could PT when I texted him that i had a bruiser buck down on the ground. Within minutes he was walking up to my stand and we were heading over to get our paws on him.  After snapping a few pictures to send around to the boys we jumped in the truck and headed out to find PT’s buck. His buck was a little less eager to die than mine and the tracking job was pretty extensive. After trailing his buck over 400 yards we finally spotted him dead in his bed on an oak ridge. The smile on PT’s face as he rushed up to his buck was enough to make the day worthwhile.

PT with his Opening Day 8 Pointer

What a day that was! It really doesn’t get any better than that. Being out with friends and family in the woods, enjoying the tradition of hunting on a beautiful morning and the experiences and memories that are shared along the way.  That is definitely one opening day that will stay with me for a long long time.

Opie