Happiness is a Thanksgiving Day deer hunt

Some Thanksgiving Day hunters camp. The object of our attraction.

 

Thanksgiving Day is something special where we celebrate our good friends, the weather, and a fine chance to hunt with friends.

The weather was a bit blustery today, and it appears this nasty weather will continue into the weekend with possible snow. The first day of a winter storm arrived last week, and the whitetails moved well.

Tonight the deer didn't move as much as last night, but deer sense these upcoming weather changes and increased hunting activity. Weather can kill deer quite quickly if they don't have easy access to heavy cover and an available food supply.

Thanksgiving Day deer hunts with snow are better than without.

 

We are indeed fortunate that our whitetail herd has plenty of thick cover where they can take refuge against the cold and snow. We have low-lying swamps, huckleberry marshes, tag alder thickets and other areas of thick cedar cover. Many of these spots provide fair to excellent thermal cover against the cold, which is expected to arrive this weekend.

Deer in our area are never found very far from cover or food, but we still experience a certain amount of winter kill. Occasionally, it may be a big buck that succumbs to death after rutting hard, losing 25 percent of its body weight, and not being able to recover that lost weight before deep snow and cold weather sets in.

A few bucks are still chasing an occasional doe, but the rut has pretty much ended, and bucks are going to feed as often as possible. Storms such as last week are the early warning sign for post-rut bucks, and they are eating as often as possible to regain fat reserves to get them through the winter.

Much of any winter kill is attributed to late-born button-bucks and doe fawns that simply do not have the fat reserves needed to make it through a long winter, and I suspect we may have one of those this year. Some whitetail deer biologists feel that button-bucks die before a doe fawn for one very simple reason: button-bucks are more aggressive and always are the first to a feed station or bait site while doe fawns often were forced to forage more for food.

It doesn't make that much difference in this region because there is a continual food supply unlike what is found in many other more heavily hunted areas. I've seen years when button-bucks were dead from starvation by late November or early December when we get early and heavy snow storms. It's nature's way of making the strong stronger and the weaker ones die early of starvation or being pulled down by coyotes in the Lower Peninsula or wolves in the Upper.

Predation in late November and December increases with snow.

 

There is still a good bit of standing corn fields although my neighbor had his cut yesterday. Since baiting and winter feeding has returned, many people put out small amounts of food (two gallons) and deer with this handout and regular forage, can do fairly well providing we don't get severe ice storms.

Ice storms on top of deep snow is a major killer when combined with a low wind-chill factor and poor thermal cover. Last year, many corn fields were never cut and they provide fairly good winter cover.

Think about it. A big corn field offers continuous cover, an adequate winter food source, and snow melt and frost provide some moisture. An uncut corn field is a magnet for winter deer.

I didn't kill a buck today, but over the years I've managed to shoot a buck 45-50 percent of the time on this day. Driving deer is our major hunting method, and between my in-laws and neighbors, we have a number of people who will participate in a deer drive.

Just hunting on Thanksgiving Day is a treat for most hunters.

 

We prefer long and narrow strips of heavy cover, and two or three people will move slowly back and forth, with frequent pauses, to let our scent blow down to the deer. We try not to make much noise, and we have people stationed quietly and motionless at key spots along the edges and the downwind end. Drives are the most popular hunting method on Thanksgiving Day, and other than the first three days of the firearm season, Thanksgiving Day is the next best day of the hunting season.

Tonight wasn't a major hunting night except for family. We spent some time hunting, and more time indoors telling old deer stories. We do give thanks for our hunting land, the deer that live around here, and the opportunities we have to spend time afield with family and good friends.

For that, we are most grateful. Happy Thanksgiving!

A lazy Christmas for me

Some very nice bucks like this one are taken in late December.

There were thoughts of bow hunting this evening. They were very brief thoughts, and then the notion quickly passed.

I have hunted a good many Christmas days over the years, and there have been a few bucks taken. Not many though, and frankly, it's become more difficult of late to muster up much energy after chowing down on a big dinner.

Too much food makes me act a bit like an old bird dog curling up before the fire. I turn around in a circle two or three times, slump into an easy chair, and if the chatter isn't too loud and the mood suits me, I might study the insides of my eyelids for an hour or two.

Life is good when such luxuries exist in the afternoon.

Old dogs, especially those lean and long-legged pointers, hit the floor like a sack of old bones, and are about as noisy on a hardwood floor as anything could be. The dogs curl up, make little puppy-like sounds as they follow the heady scent of a grouse, pheasant or woodcock through their dreamy coverts.

The older I get, the more sense it makes to sleep off at least an hour after a big meal. It allows the grub to settle into all the nooks and crannies of my digestive system, but sadly, I didn't get a chance to doze today. Good chats about deer hunting got in the way.

Some basketball game was on, and two or three of the players acted as if they had eaten far too much before the game, but perhaps that was just my lazy attitude this afternoon. It would have been a decent bow-hunting day.

There was just enough people around to keep me indoors. A soft breeze may be fun to listen to but the deer do not move well in deep snow, and in my area, many deer have found the yarding areas already. Hunting such areas is not a wise decision this late in the season.

There is a lot of snow still on the ground, and somehow, heading out for an afternoon of bow hunting in too much deep  snow seemed pointless. It's not that I might not have seen a deer or two, perhaps even taken a shot, but it seemed a far wiser decision to spend time with my family.

Hunting in or near deer yarding areas puts too much pressure and stress on them.

I did kick back, put my feet up on a foot stool in the late afternoon, and remembered two or three past Christmases when I hunted. As I recall, all had snow on the ground and much colder temperatures. Our snow this year is deep, and where I live about 60 inches have fallen since it first arrived six weeks ago.

Years ago, the cold and snow made the deer move, and on one such day, a nice 8-point came walking by and offered an easy shot at 12 yards. The buck ran 45 yards, and fell with a two-bladed hole through his heart. It was an easy shot, and a wonderful Christmas gift.

Now, as a rule, hunting on holidays (especially Christmas) is something I seldom do. It doesn't bother me to hunt Thanksgiving Day or New Years Day, but I usually stay inside on Christmas.

My son-in-law was up early this morning, and as the sky began to lighten in the east, he spotted a 140-class buck bed down with a doe in an open field about 75 yards behind the house. He watched the buck for a half-hour, and as the light grew stronger, both deer got up and moved off into the pines. He felt that was his Christmas present from the deer in his hunting area

And, guess what for me? Missing out on hunting today didn't bother me one bit. I can still hunt through Jan. 1, and expect to do so. Some cold weather would certainly help, and then I'll hang up the bow for a month before starting to practice for next year's bow season and start dreaming about next year's spring turkey hunt.

Merry Christmas from my house and family to yours. May the best of the Christmas season bless and keep you, and while you're at it, say a prayer for the men and women in our Armed Forces, who make such Christmas events possible for us. God bless one and all.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors