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Post by jnrbronc on Dec 8, 2009 17:49:55 GMT -5
I really enjoy hunting in fresh snow and/or hunting while it is still snowing. Still hunting through the timber, sound muffled by the cushion of snow, deer contrasted by a backdrop of white, I just find it a riot. I took today off since the forecast was for snow. I had my unfilled first shotgun season tag (hadn't seen anything yet that really grabbed my attention) and planned to wrap it around a does leg. There is a very steep ridge that I've peered over the edge of in the past, looking down into the creek bottom. Many times if I'm careful enough, I see the deer down in the bottom before they see me. That's how it went this morning. Three does spotted, two take off north, the third hangs around just a touch too long. 80 yard off hand shot with the Savage and her lungs are gone. Of course she has enough fuel in the tank for a death sprint that ends in a steep banked creek.
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Post by whyohe on Dec 8, 2009 18:46:19 GMT -5
well done! looks like a nice sized doe!
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Post by ozark on Dec 8, 2009 22:32:38 GMT -5
Now that is hunting at its best. And to take one offhand indicates to me that you don't need a lot of help from anyong. Good hunt, good shot and my guess you will remember it for the rest of your life. Ozark
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Post by jims on Dec 10, 2009 13:20:20 GMT -5
I like to hunt snow but right now I am glad you have it and we don't. I will change my tune when our season comes back in soon to hunt with my daughter.
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Post by smokeeter on Dec 10, 2009 14:27:27 GMT -5
usually our late muzzy season has snow and that's the reason I only apply to the second season, didn't get any real snow to speak of , no deer either.
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Post by wilmsmeyer on Dec 11, 2009 7:37:51 GMT -5
We received over 1 foot of lake effect snow last night and there is 1-2 FEET more coming.
Ought to make this weekend interesting in the woods as our regular season ends Sunday.
Maybe the does are going to get a break from bullets....2-3 feet of new snow makes driving deer, extracting deer and other things very very difficult. We were expecting to shoot 20 does this weekend and next (ML season) I would revise that figure to be much much less.
We'll see.......
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Post by jnrbronc on Dec 11, 2009 8:03:19 GMT -5
Wilmsmeyer, I hear you on the snow depth cutting back on doe harvest. We received about 7 inches of snow total and I was out at the beginning of it, so it wasn't so bad. That, plus the fact that I was about 300 yards from my vehicle when I shot the doe. Some of the state got 16 inches of snow, followed by high winds. I have a friend hunting this coming weekend, he was planning to shoot a few does but after this snow he's rethinking. He's got mile long lane just to get back to his property and he won't be able to navigate the lane due to drifts.
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Post by pposey on Dec 11, 2009 11:33:57 GMT -5
Stalking/trailing in a fresh snow is as good as it gets, one of my best hunting memories is tracking down a wild boar and shooting it in it's bed one fresh snow day.
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Post by zakjak221 on Dec 11, 2009 13:06:47 GMT -5
Nice corn-fed doe there. Well done!! The snow definitely lights up the fields and woods. I like how you can see any little movement with snow as a background. Also, it seems so peaceful with the white blanket on everything.
Mark
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Post by wilmsmeyer on Dec 15, 2009 6:52:01 GMT -5
Well the other 1-2 feet never came and the rain smashed down the other foot. So goes the weather in the lake effect snowbelt....wild and variable.
We shot 4 does on stand and 3 does on the one drive we did do.
It was the first time we had snow cover and the deer really stuck out. The 4 wheelers had no problem getting around for extractions and the 2 young bucks did a great job getting that done.
20 does is not out of sight, but it is going to be tough. 14 would give us at least the 2:1 buck/doe ratio for the year.
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Post by jnrbronc on Dec 15, 2009 8:43:52 GMT -5
Well the other 1-2 feet never came and the rain smashed down the other foot. Give me fresh fluffy snow or slush, but once that wet stuff freezes and becomes crunchy, yuck! If it freezes hard enough to walk on is better than crusting over. I hate it when you go to take a step and the crust supports you until you have almost your entire weight on the foot you moved, then it busts through. Stand hunting time at that point. Good luck on your herd management. We have been hammering the does for a number of years now and I think we are where we want to be. We'll have to wait to hear what the DNR thinks.....
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