This last week I found two signs that we are getting closer to fall. First I found two scrapes on Tuesday that were not there on Monday. These scrapes are the start of a territory and they should be showing up everywhere very soon. I also spotted a buck that was beginning to shed his velvet. He had not done any rubbing yet but I’m guessing by this time next week I will be able to show you some rubs.

The bucks are all looking great and they have their winter hair started and have been much harder to spot in the brush as they turn to their brownish grey color. They have also started getting more agressive in their movement and when you do spot them they aren’t around very long. Seems the antlers are hardening enough that the fear of hitting them on branches is almost gone.

I have not been getting many quality pictures because of the heat but I hope that that changes with the cold front the weather man keeps promising. I’ll have them posted on the site as we get them.

The trophy bucks seem to be finishing up on the antler growth and the velvet looks to be tightening up on the antlers. In just a couple of weeks we should be able to see rubs and hard antlers. We have been seeing a lot of great bucks moving in the early morning and evening. They are still in the passive mode but that will also be changing very soon. The groups that are still together are a mixture of age and everyone is still getting along and only competing for the apples.

The fawns are all growing and it has allowed me to start cutting the clover plots and fields. I normally wait until mid August to start the fall food plots to allow all of the young critters a chance to grow. Some of our summer birds have are not only done nesting but have even started leaving already. Within the week I hope to have the fall oats and clover planted to give it a jump on our first frost. (You know fall is coming when you have to consider the first frost in your plans!)

We were also able to see ten new fawns last night during the cooler evening. This was the first time that there were so many moving around in the same night and I am guessing that the older age will have them moving every night from here on out.

Our food plots are doing good inspite of the dry weather and it will soon be time to begin planting the fall plots. We are planning on adding several oat/clover patches this year. We are trying for something a little more frost tolerant and also providing higher proteins going into the winter. The apples are all loaded and most of the trees are being checked nightly for anything that has dropped that day. The oaks are showing a good crop as well this year although they are dropping some right now because of the drier weather.

You could easily ID this buck with his two G-2 stickers.

Our first step was hiring a local track hoe operator to help us clear and level over two miles of ground and install the twenty five plus culverts that would be needed to navigate our streams. While the progress was moving along very well, it became harder for me everyday as the archery season had started and for the first time since early high school I wasn’t able to hunt. As late October came upon us it also brought with it the rain and early snow which caused us to miss our first day of work in about six weeks. Since we were not able to work for a couple of days it only seemed right that I would try to spend a day in a tree stand.

The following morning I was up in my tree well before daylight and as it was just breaking light my cell phone went off. (I then understood the mistake of having it with me in the tree!) It was Curtis, our track hoe operator, and since we were not able to work the day before he wanted to work thru the weather today. An hour later we were hauling diesel fuel back to the track hoe and prepping for the day’s work. As Curtis worked on top of the hoe he got excited and said, “Look at that buck!”. There not more than fifty yards away stood the buck that I had wanted to hunt all year. He was covered in mud, neck swollen, and head straight out. He walked within twenty five yards of us and never even gave us a glance. I told Curtis that I had several trail camera photos of this buck and you could easily identify him by the two stickers coming off of his right G-2.

This was almost more than I could take. Once we had finished the fueling, I told Curtis to get started with- out me for awhile and that I wanted to make a couple of swings up the ridges. My good friend and hunting buddy, Don Graham, was hunting in my “Condo Stand” that morning and I had hopes of pushing this buck his way. I took the Ranger back to the house and grabbed my crossbow and headed back to the area where the buck had been headed when we last saw him. Parking the Ranger I headed back our main south trail on foot. The woods on the south half of our property is thick with a series of ridges and sharp ravines and I figured on walking each ridge out progressing toward the north and Don’s location.

I had slowly walked about two hundred yards and was looking for a good place to cross the first ravine when I spotted a deer. It was about seventy five yards out and with all the brush all I could tell was that it was a deer. I had grabbed my grunt call when I went for my crossbow so I thought I’d give it a try. I hit the grunt and the deer immediately raised its head and I could see antlers. I was still not sure if it was the buck I was after and gave two more short grunts. The buck spun on a dime and headed my way! As it came my way I was trying to decide on which side of the ravine it would travel. Can I find an opening to shoot thru? Will I be able to stop him when the time comes in the opening? This all seemed to take forever and I could not decide on the best option. Finally I knelt on one knee and held the crossbow in place for him to pass down the north side. When the buck was twenty yards out he crossed to my side of the ravine. Now I was screwed, everything was set for him to go right and he went left! I decided it didn’t matter it was either going to happen or not. I stood up turned left and picked an opening. He was still coming and I couldn’t believe it. This buck was the one I had all the photos of and now he was walking right to me! When he was broadside he stopped suddenly and looked directly at me but it was too late. (I figured he could hear my heart pounding.) I pulled the trigger and watched as the arrow blew thru him right behind his front shoulder. He jumped, kicked and was gone. I had watched him travel out of sight some fifty yards out and I could see the blood spraying from both sides.

Was this really happening? It was like a dream and I had not done anything to even remotely deserve this buck. I was on the ground walking, wearing my red Ohio State hat, dressed in my Carhartt work clothes, smelled of diesel fuel and this buck walked to within thirteen steps. I know that you cannot take off directly after a buck you shoot with a bow but I was in serious need of something to hold me down.

I phoned my brother Scott and asked him if he could give me a hand tracking a buck I had just shot. He asked if I had a good shot and I told him, “ I know I killed him but need a reason to stand here for awhile to be sure he’s down”. Scott and my niece Siera came down on their four wheeler and the first words my niece said were, “ Are those Scent-lok Carhartts?

We found the buck after a short and quick blood trail. He scored 141” SCI with twelve scorable points and was a main frame eight point. Once we had him loaded I called Don and told him to get ready I would be driving the buck by him in the next few minutes. As we approached the “Condo”, I could see Don climbing down. While I can’t actually tell you what he said about my call, I can tell you he was glad that I had killed the buck.

I think that this buck was a good omen and that it was a sign that our dream of having a hunting preserve was the right one for us. I call the buck the “Fence Buck” and he now hangs on the wall of our new lodge. What a great way to enjoy your one day of hunting for the year!

The older fawns are all out following mom in the evening and they are really fun to watch. Their energy is like that of a puppy and they do not stand in one place very long. We have seen a couple of the yearling does that look like they are getting close to dropping their additions. This timing would put the second rut somewhere toward the end of December or early January.

Our bucks are all adding quickly now and the main beans are pretty much where they will finish. All of the growth now seems to be on the tine length and we are seeing several strong eight points and a few that have already started the ninth and tenth points. We have seen one buck that is going to be a main frame twelve point and he looks really great. I also had one trail camera picture this last week of a heavy eight point that clearly shows a drop tine starting on his right beam. This is very special and if he can keep it growing it looks heavy enough that he shouldn’t break it off fighting right away this fall.

We did post some new buck pictures this past week on the “2010 Photos” page and I will keep adding them as I get more quality pictures.

The bucks were out in full force last evening and it looks like we are going to have a great group of trophy bucks this fall! It is still way to early to predict any scores as there are still three months of growth but the antlers are really coming into the potential. We saw three exceptional bucks last night. They all three have heavy mass and ranged from about 18-20″+ in width. The tines are still on the short side but you could see that there were two with g4’s and another that was showing a potential drop tine. We are far enough along now to be able to start identifying bucks that we see fairly regular. Single Brow, Double Brow, and Wide Rack are just a few that we know when we spot them.

I have been having some issues with my trail cameras but I hope to be getting that worked out sometime in the near future so that I can add additional pictures to the photo gallery. I am also going to start spending some stand time with my camera to see if I can get some early evening shots or video.

I can tell you that the majority of the older does all dropped their fawns within about five days of each other. While I have only seen about five that I know have had their fawns I would guess that they are all either close or finished. This goes right along with the one week of peek rut that we all see in early November. It will also be interesting to see when the yearling does start to have fawns.

Our bucks in the preserve are also coming along great and they have been hiding pretty well themselves. I did post some new trail camera photos this last week on the 2010 Photo Gallery so you can keep up with the progress. The weather has been quite warm and the bucks or any any of the deer do not move around much when it is very warm.