It is great to read and see through forum members pictures and stories > all the cool hunting adventures from all over the map !
Keep em coming !
The Ontario season has been fun so far for us …. No decent bucks showing yet in our areas but lots of other critters have entertained us as we hunted the last few days .
If you are following the moon phase here are the charts for
Oct/Nov/Dec ….
Remember > Your recovery % remains high if you pass shots on alert deer like this example.
And capitalize on close broadside shots like this example > This doe expired (previous season) , seconds after this picture was taken , when she took a step forward and offered an complete exposed vital area .
And deer vital diagram is a good reference as well .
It's that time of year again when I type , what I feel is a helpful "Rule of Thumb" guideline for Whitetail behavior during Oct/Nov/Dec for Southern Ontario Whitetail .
Oct week 1 and 2
Feeding : Alfalfa , Soybeans , apples .
Bedding : Small upland deciduous forests .
Rutting: Boundary scrapes and rubs
Oct week 3 and 4
Feeding : Standing corn , corn and bean stubble.
Bedding : Larger deciduous forests , standing corn .
Rutting : Secondary scrapes and rub lines .
Oct end week into Nov beginning weeks ...
Feeding: Does and fawns ~bean and corn stubble ... Bucks very little feeding leading into the rut peak ( est peak rut 1st week of Nov ).
Bedding: Larger deciduous forests and valleys .
Rutting : Breeding scrapes .
Nov week 2 into weeks 3 and 4
Feeding : Corn and Bean stubble.
Bedding : deciduous and coniferous forest valleys .
Rutting : Secondary scrapes and rub lines .
Nov end week into Dec begging weeks ...
Feeding : Does and fawns ~ corn and bean stubble ~ Bucks very little Feeding leading into the 2nd rut .
Bedding : deciduous and coniferous forest valleys .
Rutting : secondary breeding scrapes ~2nd rut ( yearlings and doe fawns )
Dec 2nd week till Dec end week .
Feeding: corn and bean stubble as well as browse .
Bedding : coniferous forest valleys .
Rutting: Secondary scrapes and rub lines in coniferous forest ..
Watch for 3rd rut peak signs ( late dropped doe fawns )
Note : Date/week/timing is approximate and will vary according to your area and area land make-up ( swamps etc ) ...
Also moon phase and weather fluctuations / seasonal advances from year to year .
Myself , I take note of what I think is peak rut in my area ( seeing
rut drunk bucks out mid-day etc. ) ... Mark the calendar and count
approx 28 days ahead for the 2nd rut and approx same for 3rd rut .
Like in 2013 when the 3rd rut came in around Dec 26th …
I got a few cool frames during a snowfall of a 20 yard buck with a hot doe … he chased her everywhere !
Bottom line ... Believe 50% of what you read and 110% of what you actually see and experience when you are out in the field !
OK Back to Current Season 2015 ….
Earlier this week I started cutting trails again at my place and started prepping stands including Wylies 1st generation ramp stand …
Opening morning finds me at the South/West tower stand on my property … I had a small rack buck jump the fence and cross thru my 15 yard shooting lane but it wasn’t legal shooting time and he headed to my neighbors bean field … soon after two young fox followed the bucks trail before disappearing to the East ridge ( sorry no pictures due to the poor light ) ( easy to see but not enough light for picture )
Then Thursday afternoon , After I sort out a hydraulic issue , I load the tractor and bush hog rig for a drive approx. 1 hour North to cut trails at one new farm I got permission on in the spring and one of our regular places with Randy S …
I cut a trail right thru the bush at the new farm > then cut in a 10 yard shooting lane / a 20 yard shooting lane out to the corn field edge / and a 30 yard shooting lane out to a cut bean field . Then I trimmed a new climber stand spot .
Randy took a stand at one farm I started the season with my 1985 Relayer at the new farm …
Once up the tree , I look down into my 10 yard stop spot / my 20 yard / and 30 yard bean field opening .( elevated view > I forgot my Pentax SLR so these are pic’s from my BlackBerry ) .
And not long after some nice mature tom turkeys moved past the bean field opening > later a distant doe/fawn cross and that was about it for the night .…
As I get use to the new farm location , I see the resident Tom cat , that seems curious of my activities …
Later as I walk by the barn , I see the dominant female and then all of a sudden a single kitten jumps out of its hiding place and joins it’s mom …
Thursday night ends with a picture of geese flying over with a cool colored sky as the sun drops !
Friday afternoon Chris H and I hook up for a walk with climbers to scope out fresh sign .We found a beauty heavy traveled intersection between clover field/ apple tree/ corn .
Carved a new tree and I set in South of that location where I could take pictures if the deer passed thru the intersection . We watched turkeys in the field as we set up …
Was a brutal North/East wind but I did some contact doe bleats and buck grunts anyway .1st deer in the field approx. ½ hour into the stand …
It walks West and seems to be looking down the field … at the same time I spot deer about 60 yards walking towards Chris and the intersection before they are blocked out by the branches of the apple tree …
West a head pops up and another deer enters the field …
Soon after a mature doe with twin fawns enters the field and then a yearling tries to join them but the doe puts significant effort into chasing it away ( cool to see the interaction ) .
I’ve lost track of the closer deer by the apple tree but then all of a sudden the 1st deer that entered the field turns our way stomps and I hear loud alarm snorts near Chris’s location and turn in time to see a coyote flash thru the corner into the grass ….
Chris looks at me like “ What going on “ ?
Next thing I see is the closest two deer bust out of the grass edge and head west with all the other deer that blew out at the same time … and that was the end of our night . Fun night overall !
The last critter to stop by before nights end was a little bird that I barely got the camera on before he took off …
Saturday morning saw nothing on stand and Saturday afternoon was a bust with the weather so we just worked on stands ( 2 new and one repair ) .
Slept in this morning but planning for an afternoon stand later today .
PS : Forgot to mention I found a damaged limb end on my 1985 Relayer ( string pulled thru the carved tipped groove and splintered the limb ?? ) …
So now I moved onto my 1970’s Red Wing recurve for my next challenge …. Will be on stand with it tonight .
Good Luck to all that are out chasing Whitetails … Hunt Safe / Have Fun / Take lots of pictures/and keep the hunt stories coming !
