Pennsylvania Game News - November 2022 - 12

with climbing wet tree trunks and the
chance a blood trail could wash away.
These weeks also brought other hunters
to the area in pursuit of pheasants and
woodcocks. In the only afternoon hunt I
tried - I was mixing it up - I heard a shot
ring out about a quarter-mile or so away.
Immediately I thought, maybe it'll push
some deer my way. About 45 minutes
later, I spotted the orange vest, then saw
the hunter's dog. Within two minutes, a
woodcock must have flushed; his shotgun
bellowed twice. Then he and the dog
worked their way into thicker cover - an
adjacent deer bedding area.
That finished my hunt.
As the fifth week closed, scrapes
started to appear, particularly in the area
where the 8-pointer was running last
year. There also was some fresh sign -
droppings, tracks - in these areas, which
suggested deer were using them. I'm sure
more sign was being left, but detecting it
was becoming tougher with leaf-drop.
Along with sign, I was finding other
tree stands and trail cameras in areas I
wanted to hunt. I generally steer clear
of areas others are hunting, so I don't
go through encounters like the one I had
in the third week. It's all part of hunting
public land.
Avoiding these areas, however, was
tough. In one, I found where a tree stand
hung in a good deer activity area I hunt.
The stand hadn't been used in weeks;
leaves were rotting on its deck. In another,
I found where a ladder stand was set up
about 120 yards from one of my best hunting
locations. Finding it, however, helped
sort out why I might not have been seeing
deer there.
But the truth of the matter was: I wasn't
seeing any deer. Five weeks into bow
12
season and I hadn't seen a deer while on
stand. That was unprecedented for me.
Of course, some of this was caused by
my unwillingness to go hunt somewhere
else, where deer might have been found
in larger numbers, where there were fewer
hunters.
I was bullheaded about it. There were
deer where I was hunting, likely including
at least a fine 8-pointer. I didn't want
to drive greater distances. I preferred to
stay the course, to accept the challenges
of tougher hunts that are typically found
on public lands, where almost all my deer
hunting occurs.
At times, deer hunting will test your
sensibilities. It's usually when reasoning
and logic assail your thinking. But this
wasn't a matter of rationality, although
five weeks without seeing a deer is surely
grounds to move on for many hunters. I
felt I had nothing to prove and the woods
didn't owe me anything. And a good dose
of humility is strong medicine for any
hunter's soul. I faced the music.
PUZZLE PIECES
Scouting on the sixth week's Sunday,
I had a doe lope within 25 yards of me.
Finally, I had more than tracks to confirm
deer were around. She had that inquisitive
looking-for-a-buck demeanor as she
veered around me, slowly bouncing along
in big gaits, in and out of cover. Apparently
both of us sought company with that
fine 8-pointer.
As the week unfolded, I tried not to
reinvent how I hunt. I continued to hunt
my stand rotation, but I scouted a little
more than usual after every hunt. One
of the cornfields finally was harvested,
clipped clean.
But the sixth week brought with it
Pennsylvania Game News - November 2022

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