Weeds and undergrowth are starting to thin out.
Nights are getting chilly, and with the days getting shorter.
It's time for the bucks to start shedding and rubbing!
First of the year, and some good one's too...
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1070662firstrubs.JPG)
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1070663firstrubs.JPG)
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1070664firstrubs.JPG)
Overgrown apple orchard in this area is loaded...
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1070666firstrubs.JPG)
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1070667firstrubs.JPG)
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1070669firstrubs.JPG)
With the record rain fall we've had this summer, the ground is loaded with more and different kinds of mushrooms than I've ever seen...
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1070670firstrubs.JPG)
Turkeys have been busy...
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1070672firstrubs.JPG)
I love this time of year also Buddy!
My Doc came by to check on me yesterday and I got some VERY good news....text me tomorrow and I'll call you..
Great Pics Also!
Bite taken out of this one....
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1070673firstrubs.JPG)
All over the place...
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1070675firstrubs.JPG)
Trail cams revealed some interesting stuff as well...
Excitement builds and practice has a little more focus....the time is near...
I luv this stuff :campfire:
AMEN!! It can not come soon enough!
chris <><
X2 Nice pics! Thanks for sharing.
Work days are almost unbearable right now! x3 nice pics!
Rob
Lets GO !! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Good stuff Curt
what bow are you Toting Now?
Absolutely my favorite season too... and not just because of the hunting. Autumn is wonderful! The sky's moods, the smell in the air, the demeanor of birds and animals, even the wild rivers here are attired in their flashiest garb.
But, I have to admit that our first frost a little over a week ago sure stimulated my hunting instincts!
Birds riding the north wind have been satisfying me lately but come next Saturday, my wife and I leave for our 39th wedding anniversary moose hunt... which we have been doing most years since our "honeymoon" moose hunt that first September we were married.
The only time she couldn't join me was when our children were little.
Problem is we still have over a month before season starts. Most of bucks have shed, but saw several today in velvet. Nic pics. bud! Shawn
Don, Will do bud...
Charlie, That's "Timex", my 1st Kwyk Styk built back in '97...62@28"...and has killed a bunch of critters!
Curt, between you and Shawns thread I am really missing those North Eastern hardwoods. Some pretty deer ground there. For whatever reason we just dont get the rubs out here like you back there.
I'll be keepin tabs on you guys. BOL.
Curt, Thanks for the Pics. Our season is on, started the 3rd of Sept. Have not been able to get out yet. Soon.
Great pics buddy. This is my favorite time of year as well.
I am diggin' those pics Curt...I get to cheat a little before the opener Oct 1st. Going to go and hunt in KY for a few weeks before the quest for "The Boogieman" starts. Good luck this fall!
Thanks Curt. I'm Quite excited about hunting this fall.
Your thread is only fueling it!
Thank You!
Oh yeah!
Scouting has shown some promise, just need the farmer(s) to get their corn out and I'll be in good shape for the October 1 opener.
Finally some relief from the heat, but still dry as a bone.
Great pics! If it ever drops down below 90 degrees here I will start loving it too!
I missed this one.....but you and Shawn have me excited seeing all these rubs. I'll be in a stand later this week.....
David
David how is the bear hunting going, have not seen the thread. Shawn
It's the most wonderful time of the year,we don camolflage clothes and the wind it does blow we go hunting the deer. It's the most wonderful time, its the hap-hap-hap-happiest time,its the most wonderful time of the year! My wife and I sing this song every fall. Yea I know,we are a lil weird,but we sure have fun hunting whitetails together! :thumbsup:
Good stuff Curt..My favorite time of the year too.
Great pictures! Definitely a special time of the year. Everybody's itchin' to put in some hunting time!
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
I save all my vacation for this time of year!! 4 more days till i can get out there and try to kill a deer!!
Thanks for the pics. The only thing we're missing in them is the aroma of fall in the air!! You can smell it! Hunting time is here!
Great pics!
"Fall" is my favorite season of the year. The days are still warm, the nights much cooler and I can do the things I love to which are: Dove hunting (with a shotgun), quail hunting (with a shotgun, but no dog), saltwater fishing (sometimes with my SOT kayak), saltwater blue crabbing and bowhunting.
BTW, your photos were "awesome". :thumbsup:
Thanks for taking us along Curt. Looks like you got some nice bucks running those woods.
Last night, I recieved the keys to my "new to me" 2BR/1B cabin that borders a 23,000 acre WMA! Only a easy 100 mile drive from home, the area is in the panhandle of WV and holds plenty of deer, bear, turkey and grouse. Fishing in the area is also outstanding. Needless to say, I'm pumped to start scouting the area. Leaves will be turning and falling soon. Can't wait!
JL
yep!! saw a dandy p & y buck this morning crossing the road by my house. it was still dark but I could see him easily in the headlights from 30 yards. C'mon bow season....
Go get them . Cool pictures, looks like a great spot.
Man, this time of year really makes you want to slow down, catch a breath and say "Yeah, it is good to be alive"!
Yes I do
Nice pics
Nice pics
Wanted to bring this up again as I have been hanging stands and clearing shooting lanes like mad. I have been in the woods a lot the last 2 weeks. I have seen more rubs than I ever have and I have been hunting deer for 34 years. I snuck into a bedding area today in the pouring rain to hang a stand and I counted no less than 60 rubs in an area half the size of a football field. Gonna only sit this stand one or two days during the rut and get in there by no later than 4am.. There is a doe group in there and a bruiser of a buck nearby, hope he comes a looking one of those days. I have also counted at least 20 scrapes already this year and some have been hit repeatedly!! I am pumped for sure!! Shawn
nice pic's!
Ken, Bucks run on their own timeclock, has nothing to do with scents or anything artificial.
It all has to do with decreasing daylight hours, competition, showing off, etc...
Once their antlers harden, their just bucks being bucks!
Believe it or not....
Ken, also there are some doe's that come into heat in Oct. even in your neck of the woods. Most years they are missed(not bred) because the bucks just are not ready or even looking. It has been proven by many deer experts that some deer scrape year round. Just bucks being bucks as Curt said. I noticed the first scrapes almost 2 weeks ago and that cool snap we had, got some of those older bucks a lil' worked up!! I also know the rut(actual breeding) up by you and even in areas Curt and I hunt varies by as much as 2 weeks depending on a multitude of factors. Shawn
yes i understands rubs but active scraping? then again there is a BIG deifference in the deer populations from your place to mine, more deer = more activity and sign i guess. my other questions would be if they are rubbing and scraping that area Shawn is in why would he wait untill the rut to sit that stand???
Ken also look at the pictures Curt posted, A lot of those rubs are not shedding velvet rubs ok! I have seen rubs as big as my thigh every Sept. since I have been hunting(34 years of deer hunting) and trust me they were not made by bucks just shedding velvet, they are getting worked up and strengthening neck muscles and leg muscles by digging in and pushing as they rub, getting ready for the sparring and battles to come. Shawn
Ken, it is a doe bedding area(I want to shoot a good buck), I want to get in there before the does(early like 4am.) and wait until the bucks are seeking or looking for a hot doe before I hunt it, for me that will be around the 7th. of Nov. Do not want to risk buggaring it up before than as it is a bedding area and I may only get 1 or 2 chances before I buggar it up, that is why I waited for a pouring ran to even put up the stand and do a little trimming, the rain should wash away any of the scent I left, come on this is not rocket science!! Shawn
LOL rocket science, ok good luck to ya all.
Actually Curt may be the first to sit it, as I set it for a lefty with him in mind!! I will post some pics. of the scrapes in the next day or two as well. Shawn
Should clarify that the area I found the rubs is about a quarter mile from where I actually hung the stand. Shawn
Yes it is a great time of year ... Curt, great pics to get the blood and thoughts of the up coming season running quickly through my old body.
We are between early and late seasons now in Washington so I took a hike up in the Cascades yesterday. I saw nine Mt Goats, one deer and one bear. The berries are out now at 5,000 feet and that bear was a busy boy. I was hoping to hear a few elk bugling but no such luck. Sorry no pics my camera is in the shop getting fixed and my back up does not have the zoom needed for good pics in the high country.
Good luck to all :archer2:
Nice thread Curt!
Ken
You're in the Adirondacks right?
In my experience there's a world of difference between a place where deer density can be measured on two hands- compared to woodlot and agricultural areas where you need a calculator-
Bucks have to be way more market savvy and begin advertising programs earlier - they see each other more frequently, spar more, smell each other more
We have deer stocks in GA from MN TX VA and native deer all the transplants were put in regions separately
We have rutting in Ga that's in full swing in some areas in
early October and some peaks in late Nov and into December elsewhere
Our mountain deer act a lot like what u describe
Our metro and rural deer below the Smokies act more like what curt and Shawn describe
I saw scrapes in SC last weekend while hunting pigs!
Whitetails are amazing huh?
This has been my favorite time for allmost 50 years
Ray,
yes deer dinsity is LOW at best where i hunt. never killed one with the bow, killed many otherwise including a B&C and 2 in the 140's. i LOVE the area i hunt and would have it no other way.
Ray, the deer I saw in SC must have been the MN deer. :readit:
They were no where near as small as I expected a "southern" deer to be :readit: .
Good luck everyone this Fall however, whatever and wherever you hunt :campfire: .
Where Ken and I hunt in the Adirondacks the deer numbers are very, very low. There is .5 bucks per square mile and 1.5 deer per square mile. Those numbers are from the State. so in 2 square miles you will have 1 buck and 3 does/yearlings. That takes deer activity off the charts compared to other areas where number are higher. Even where I hunt in the southern Zone those numbers are the same. Makes a big difference when scouting and looking at spots to hunt deer. There is also very little food sources. Mast crops and the main one but some years they just don't produce! Have a good season!! :wavey: :thumbsup:
Great time of the year.
Ron, than I would say there are at least 5-6 times that many. This state does a terrible job at managing the deer herd. They say there are only 8-10 coyotes per ten square miles also, I know in the ten square miles around my home their is at least 10 times that many. I know there are less deer but the same rules apply, when going into bedding areas you only get a brief opportunity and therules about wind and scent are the same. Give me a few days up by you guys and some foot time and I promise I could find rubs ad scrapes as well, even this time of the year. Deer are deer whether there is 5 per square mile or 10, they just may be harder to figure out is all. This heat we are having has slowed everything down again, but it won't be long and it will pick up again. Shawn
:saywhat: :saywhat: :saywhat:
good luck this season, guess i'm just REALLY needing to get in the woods and hunt!
Well, I know when I started this is not the direction I wanted it to go.
Somehow Ken, while doubting the validity of what Shawn was saying changed the whole focus of the thread....
Ken, If you enjoy hunting where there's hardly any deer, that's fine man, have at it....but please don't doubt what guys like Shawn and I post about the areas we hunt!
In case you haven't figured it out yet, Shawn's a no BS type guy...he tells it like it is, doesn't sugar coat a thing. He knows his areas, and he gets it done every year!
So please, lets stop with the my area, your area non-sense and get this thread back to it's original focus please...
Thanks bud! Back to the thread, I went out again this am and it is without a doubt a great time of the year. The smell of fall in the air and tons of deer sign. Should be a great year! Shawn
A great outdoor author, Halivah Babcock, once wrote a story called "My Health Is Better in November". I know what he meant. Those first cool mornings, finding that first rub of the season, getting the gear ready... love it!
Gotta agree with you Curt.......NOTHING like this time of year....right through December! The only thing that I would change is to make it a rule that no work is allowed....at least until deer season ends!!! :readit:
:campfire:
No deer hunting yet but every time I hit the woods to scout or squirrel hunt I can feel the clumsiness of urban living falling away. My hearing gets more acute, my vision sharper and Im starting to use my sense of smell to interpret my surroundings. The best time of year for sure. Good luck to all of you and may you each enjoy your time in the ways that reward you and you alone.
getting close now, will be chasing them this weekend!
You fellers are as different as the methods and deer populations you hunt. At the same time your both a set of trophy class individuals. I hate to see something silly put a rift between you folks. Lets just say our necks are swollen, our hocks are black and we have a lot of pent up energy waiting to get up in our trees and ground blinds so lets not pee in each others scrapes. This thread is about Curts (as always) world class photography and what he's been seeing in his haunts nothing else from what Ive seen. You folks are too good for anything less. :campfire:
well put Izzy,
In more than many ways its evident The season can't start fast enough. :thumbsup:
Good luck fellars.
Hope all you fellers the best of luck. I would like to see a few days down here below 90 degrees. Till then I`ll hunt in the heat.I`ve been seeing a few rubs and scrapes around here. I mostly hunt food then funnels during the rut.
I gotta hand it to you fellas that hunt where there are only 1.5 deer per square mile. I would have to move and I mean that in a good way. I think around here they say there are 18 per square mile.Where I hunt at my cuz`s place in Bama there are 50 psm. I hunted there for 4 days and was ruined.I killed deer without trying hard.Came home and had to hunt a little and realized I like the 18 more than the 50 simply because I had to "bear down". But 1.5 would be tuff.RC
Good Stuff....I was out this weekend also, St Jude Bear Hunt. We saw EIGHT bears in two and a half days....I got in a stalk, and so did the St Judes winner on a 300#er.
It was a really nice weekend with the cool breeze and the smell of fall....
Love to see some pics of that hunt Tarz.
"My" bucks woke up last night. Finished up a last minute stand this morning and there were a mess of fresh rubs, some made last night.
Still pretty damn hot though and enough skeeters to make you Georgia boys cringe. These deer will be anemic by opening day if we dont get some frost to kill the bloodsuckers off.
Spent the mourning in the north with a couple of guys. Hour before daylight till 11 AM. Saw a grouse and some Bluejays and Chikadees. Very warm for opening day. Had breakfast in the woods.....a lot worse thing I could have done!! Leaves were falling like crazy......... :thumbsup: it will get better soon!
Ron,
Grouse are in season :rolleyes:
were you up at camp?
Saw a grouse....didn't have a shot at a grouse! Not at camp, at the new "secret spot"...LOL!