Why Am I Here Tonight?

A thought kept running through my head tonight. What is a nice guy like me and my wife doing in places like this?

I was in one of my ground blinds near a berry patch bedding area. It's a spot that has produced a good number of bucks over the years, but it wasn't to be on this evening. This was a night when the deer chose not to move.

It was bitter cold outside. My little catalytic heater seemed incapable of putting out anything more than a feeble bit of warm air. I held my hands next to it, and the wind seemed to eat its way through the wooden coop to get at me. My wife was in a pit blind, and she was fairly warm and comfortable because most of her body was below ground and the wood sides and top kept most of the chill from affecting her.

Nothing moved during this evening's bow hunt.

It was a nothing night. No chickadees, snow buntings or turkeys came to visit, and the deer stayed home as well. Not even a ruffed grouse was seen. My wife never saw a deer.

Once I thought I saw a movement back in heavy cover, but on second glance it was a snow devil twisting across the snowy woods. I'm supposed to know a good bit about whitetail behavior, and I pride myself on my common sense.

I know that deer seldom move through the open on nights like this. I asked myself: what are my chances of seeing a buck in these strong winds? The answer was clear.

None, boss. It's time to head in.

Three cheers for my catalytic heater.

I walked through the woods to my home, turned off my small catalytic heater, and went inside where sane people should go. Five minutes later I was pulling off my coveralls, and soaking up the warmth.

My many years of hunting whitetails has taught me one thing. If a person is masochistic, and enjoys self-inflicted pain, they can stay outside and hunt for some deer that won't come. Or ... we can head for the house, snuggle up to the warmth, and hunt deer another night.

Tomorrow evening is not supposed to be nice.

That's my plan, and I hope tomorrow evening is not a repeat of tonight. If so, more years of hunting deer tells me that it would be another good night to sit at home and wait for some slightly warmer weather with less wind. The forecast for tomorrow evening is not great. A winter storm advisory is being posted now, and it's supposed to be very cold with strong winds and lots of snow.

Deer usually don't move in strong winds, and my smartest move was leaving the stand tonight when I did. If I were truly smart, I would have stayed home and stayed warm.

December deer hunting isn't for sissies. However, if it gets too cold and nasty tomorrow, the deer may move early. There are very few guarantees for deer hunters, but I just may head out early tomorrow afternoon and see if this advice pays off for me. But when deer tracks are conspicuous by their absence, it's a sure clue that the deer have moved elsewhere where standing corn can be found. Hunting deer in a winter corn field is not easy, but seeing a bunch of tracks always gives one hope for a possible shot.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors