First 2011 trail camera pictures - 8/30 thru 9/1/2011

To start the season, we put the trail camera on the clover and chicory food plot that is shown on the map here: http://bowhunting2010.blogspot.com/2011/09/intro-to-2011-season.html. Here are some of the first pictures of  the year from it showing a group of young bucks feeding on the food plot and a grain block.

   

Intro to the 2011 season

Unfortunately, the hunting land that we got permission to hunt in previous years was sold and developed. Luckily, a friend was gracious enough to give us permission to hunt his land this year. And, it looks great. Below is an overview map of the 40 acre plot (outlined in blue). We built two stands at the end of last year and two more this year and even added a food plot of clover and chicory. The field of soy beans should hopefully help contribute to good antler growth. We just put the trail camera out within the last week and will be posting pictures soon. I'm really looking forward to this year. Thanks Chuck!
PS- Here are a few pictures of the buck that Chuck shot on this land last year: http://deerhunting2010.blogspot.com/2010/11/down-goes-frasier.html It officially scored 197 6/8. Wow. Hopefully some of his offspring are still around.

Trail camera thief

After the close of deer season about a month ago, I went into the woods to pick up my trail camera and download the last pictures. When I got there, this is what I found:

Someone had tried to steal the camera by cutting the cable and even tried destroying the lock by shooting it.  Needless to say, I am very thankful for investing in a security box and a Master Lock Python Locking Cable. I had hoped the camera had caught the thief, but unfortunately the memory card had already filled up. The camera did snap these pictures, including a nice one of the three-legged buck:

Muzzleloader success.

Two Sundays ago, I got my first deer of the year, a nice sized doe, with my Thompson Center muzzleloader. It was also the first deer that I have shot with a muzzleloader. A big thanks to Troy for pushing it to me (here is his blog: http://deerhunting2010.blogspot.com) and to Chuck for giving us the chance to hunt on his land. Here is a 17 point buck that Chuck shot on the same land earlier in the year: http://deerhunting2010.blogspot.com/2010/11/down-goes-frasier.html.

Below is a picture of the doe. We got it on a two man push of Chuck's property and with a little luck. As Troy approached the the thick cover where the deer were, he waited for a distant train to get closer. When the train started to pass, Troy pushed out the thick cover. The six deer couldn't leave the property and stopped within 40 yards of me through some brush. After checking for a buck, I ended up taking the lead doe. Thankfully she fell on the spot and died within a few seconds.

Trail cam pics - 12/2 thru 12/15 - Bucket Stand

Based on the recent trail camera pictures from my Bushnell Trophy Cam (see here), the deer have gone nocturnal due to the pressure of gun season. Now that the gun season is over, I put out some bait in the hopes of drawing them back in during daylight hours. Below are a few of the pictures from the trail camera. (Note: Unfortunately, the memory card filled up on 12/15 and didn't capture anything the last 8 days. It appears that the camera triggers more easily when there is snow on the ground. I will need to turn the sensitivity down.)

Trail cam pics - 11/24 thru 12/2 - Bucket Stand

Last week, I moved the trail camera to another one of our stands (nicknamed the bucket stand). Below, I've posted some of the pictures, including some showing a couple 8 point bucks. One of them has a tall narrow rack and is missing a back hoof. I saw him earlier this year (rattled him in) at at the carpet stand. The other has a typical rack. Most of the deer activity over the last week at the bucket stand is at night, with some at sunrise, noon and sunset.

Trail cam pics - 10/28 thru 11/4 - Pond Stand

Below are some of the pictures that have been captured by my Bushnell Trophy Cam over the last week at the Pond Stand, including a decent buck, an interesting spike, turkey, and a coyote. As a side note, the trail camera has been operating in the woods since September and still has a full battery level.

 

   

And here is a summary of deer sighted so far at the Pond Stand: