11/12/06 Still No Sightings
I spent all day Friday hunting from a tree stand near Sidney Bluff field. It was a beautiful day, but perhaps the moon was too full at night and the weather was too warm to generate much deer movement during the day. I didn't see anything. My other thought is that there is too much hunting pressure on this field due to Muzzleloader season.
The temp dropped on Saturday and the sky has been cloudy. I thought I would go to the edge of the field and look for deer this morning. Muzzleloader is out, bow is back in. The temp should be upper 30's and cloudy. Should be good conditions for daytime movement. Also the rut should be starting soon.
I parked the truck a little farther from the desination. I would walk a little farther today. The longer walk who ward off chills - 40 in the morning when still hunting is cold. I also thought this would further decrease disturbances in the field, which was about a quarter mile from the truck.
I got to the field in perfect silence. There was a northwest wind keeping my scent off of the field. I crept up into some briars on the edge of the field. I could get off a decent bow shot from this spot and I could see a reasonable portion of the field. My goal today was sightings as much as anything. I need motivation to hunt this area even if I don't get a bow shot today. I made sure I could raise the bow to shooting level amongst the brush. I nocked an arrow. I stood perfectly still - did'nt even clear the leaves from under my feet - I stood perfectly still until 7:30. By 5:30, I could see enough to shoot, by 6 it was light. Sunrise should have been at about 6:19. I saw no deer, heard no deer. Also, saw no other humans or trucks.
I decided to take a walk and scout around a bit. To the north of this field, is a pine forest - planted pines. I walked the path through these pines. I saw bedding areas. At the end of the pine area I found 3 or 4 rubs including one really deep rub on a tree about 4 inches in diameter. I made note of a good stand location. I suspect even during the busy gun season, I could find a spot in this area that would get little attention.
I headed back to the truck, veering off into the woods in a couple of places. I found another small rub near where I saw the 8-pointer last Sunday. There are definately more rubs in this area than I have ever found anywhere else and despite the lack of sightings on the last two outings, I have seen more deer here than in other areas of the WMA I have hunted. However, I have got to believe the deer per acre is very low on this place. Compared to Mousetail Landing, were we camped a few weeks ago, this WMA must have relatively low deer per acre. All of the walking, driving and still hunting I have done in Cheatham would have produced many more sightings at Mousetail Landing or along the banks of Dale Hollow...or Percy Warner Park...or along the road in general.
The temp dropped on Saturday and the sky has been cloudy. I thought I would go to the edge of the field and look for deer this morning. Muzzleloader is out, bow is back in. The temp should be upper 30's and cloudy. Should be good conditions for daytime movement. Also the rut should be starting soon.
I parked the truck a little farther from the desination. I would walk a little farther today. The longer walk who ward off chills - 40 in the morning when still hunting is cold. I also thought this would further decrease disturbances in the field, which was about a quarter mile from the truck.
I got to the field in perfect silence. There was a northwest wind keeping my scent off of the field. I crept up into some briars on the edge of the field. I could get off a decent bow shot from this spot and I could see a reasonable portion of the field. My goal today was sightings as much as anything. I need motivation to hunt this area even if I don't get a bow shot today. I made sure I could raise the bow to shooting level amongst the brush. I nocked an arrow. I stood perfectly still - did'nt even clear the leaves from under my feet - I stood perfectly still until 7:30. By 5:30, I could see enough to shoot, by 6 it was light. Sunrise should have been at about 6:19. I saw no deer, heard no deer. Also, saw no other humans or trucks.
I decided to take a walk and scout around a bit. To the north of this field, is a pine forest - planted pines. I walked the path through these pines. I saw bedding areas. At the end of the pine area I found 3 or 4 rubs including one really deep rub on a tree about 4 inches in diameter. I made note of a good stand location. I suspect even during the busy gun season, I could find a spot in this area that would get little attention.
I headed back to the truck, veering off into the woods in a couple of places. I found another small rub near where I saw the 8-pointer last Sunday. There are definately more rubs in this area than I have ever found anywhere else and despite the lack of sightings on the last two outings, I have seen more deer here than in other areas of the WMA I have hunted. However, I have got to believe the deer per acre is very low on this place. Compared to Mousetail Landing, were we camped a few weeks ago, this WMA must have relatively low deer per acre. All of the walking, driving and still hunting I have done in Cheatham would have produced many more sightings at Mousetail Landing or along the banks of Dale Hollow...or Percy Warner Park...or along the road in general.
posted by Tim Baumgartner at
7:39 AM
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