I've had three stands setup since June and have two trail cameras near two of them. I've named the stands after their locations : Stand One - Inside Corner, Stand Two - Fence Row Buck and Stand Three - Swamp Buck.  

--Last edited by tracer on 2008-09-17 06:00:58 --

Oct.1 Archery deer season opener.
Tree stand three( Swamp Buck)
Simcoe County Forest 76C
Weather : cloudy,sunny breaks, few light showers.
H 13C L 11C  wind N25km/h changes to NE.
pressure: 100.5kPa

I was in my stand just at first light and all set for an all day sit. The morning was pretty quite aside from all the geese flying over my head constantly. After lunch at 2:00pm I got down to stretch my legs and check my trail cam. No pics stored since I checked it on Saturday.

The afternoon continued to be quite until shortly after 5:00pm when a fawn approached from my left about 40 yards out. The fawn continued to get closer and ended up at the two pieces of trace mineral block that I had left there in July. Another fawn follow suit and they where both lined up side by side licking the mineral. They where both facing me broadside ten yards out and I could have got a double header with one shot ( two tags in pocket) but I wasn't interested in that action. I figured mom ma's going to be coming along here shortly so I just had to keep my cool and be still. I watched these two fawns for about 20 minutes as they worked their way around to me ending right under my stand. Now I'm 16ft up and these guys didn't have a clue I was above them. The one fawn even looked up, seem a little startled but then continued on eating and circled around back to the lick. Then mom showed up and the two headed back over to her where she was hung up at about 30 yards but didn't present a clear shot. All three deer slowly headed south to feed in the bean field when she winded me from a N/E breeze and they ran off. All was quite for the rest of the watch as a light rain began and I made my way out of a very dark cedar bush. Well that was a fun evening, I'll give this stand a rest and head over to stand one ("the inside corner") tomorrow.

Note: First time all year that I've seen this pair of fawns. No pics of them on the trail cams.

Tree Stand Three

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--Last edited by tracer on 2008-10-02 05:28:13 --

Oct.2
Tree stand one( " inside corner " )
Simcoe County Forest 76C
Weather: cloudy,sunny breaks,heavy rain showers, 2-4mm
H 11C L 3C wind NW20 km/h
pressure: 100.43 kPa

Into stand one by 7:00am and discovered a fresh rub on a sapling, 100yards from it. Looked like rain so I setup the umbrella. By 9:00am it began to pour and the rain continue for an hour and a half. This umbrella worked really good and was money well spent. No deer sightings for the morning and at 1:30pm I headed home to change camo and return for an afternoon sit.
Back in the stand by 3:30pm with the sunshine, it was  nice. At 5:30pm I hear a twig snap to my right, 100 yards out. It's a hunter with a shotgun walking through, didn't see me and I kept quite. He was dressed in a brown hat,coat and pants - no blaze orange, likely a waterfowl hunter. This is one of the draw backs of hunting public land and it pretty much messed up my hunt for the evening. I remained in stand until dark but it was no surprise that no deer came in.

Love reading these journals,,Did you get out  today??,,, I had doe come in, but no shot,, I almost took out a really nice racoon but passed,,maybe next time,,Frank

Thanks and yes I did. I also had a doe come in close, but no shot. I'm going to giver again in the morning.

Oct.3
Tree stand three & two ( Swamp Buck/Fencerow buck )
Simcoe County Forest 76C
Weather: cloudy, sunny breaks, windy, showers.
H12C L6C wind 25 km/h
pressure: 101 kPa

Got a late start this morning because of the heavy rain showers and was into stand three by 9:00am. Hunted there until 2:00 with no deer sightings and no pics on the cam. After picking up a warmer coat and gloves at home, I headed for stand two. Lots of deer tracts and you could see where they had been feeding on the corn, right behind the stand. This stand is in the only large tree along there and it is surrounded by food crops of clover, corn ,soya bean and up until Sept; wheat. A cluster of pine trees acts as a perfect wind break. It was a beautiful evening on stand but no deer sighting however. The wind and the rain seems to be suppressing deer movement.  

--Last edited by tracer on 2008-10-05 16:11:56 --

Oct.4
Tree stand One ( " inside corner " )
Simcoe County Forest 76C
Weather: cloudy, sunny breaks, showers
H12C L3C wind 15 km/h
pressure: 107 kPa


I arrived at stand one by 7:00am. All was calm until 8:30am when I spotted the back half of a deer moving by in front of me through the trees. The deer than disappeared into cedar bush to my right and than reappeared in the lane where I had walked in. It was a doe, standing pretty close to where I nailed one last year, 20 yards out. The doe was sniffing my tracts(standing broadside) and then she turned and walked towards me to within 10 yards, looking at me constantly, my hands where shaking. There was no clear shot to take with saplings and conifer branches in the way. She turned and walked back into the cedars. About 10 minutes later she gave out an alarm scream and then I heard a snort to my left about 60 yards out. It is very difficult to see in the woods at this present time, but once all the sapling foliage dies off, you will be able to spot the buggers better. I stayed on stand until 7:00pm with no further deer sights. Had a look at the apple orchard which is 100 yards in front of stand and there is still a decent amount of apples on the trees ( though they are very small this year ) to draw the deer in.  

--Last edited by tracer on 2008-10-04 22:55:24 --

Oct. 11
Stand three
Temp.7C to 20C

Got into stand three by 9:00am on a beautiful sunny morning with light winds from the S/E. No deer sightings, by 2:00pm, too warm for deer movement. Several pics of the doe and her two fawns on the trail cam that I have relocated there. I moved to my other cam site to swap out cards. Got into stand one by 4:00pm for the evening sit. No deer sightings. Warmer temps forecasted for tomorrow and Monday so I will not be going out until next week.

Oct.18
tree stand three
frosty morning, winds light from S/W
sunny, clear

Got into this stand at 9:30am and hunted until 1:00pm. No deer sightings. Checked trail cam, two pics of the doe and her two fawns. Started a scout of the area south of the stand and marked(GPS) some rubs from last year. Worked my way over west to the creek and marked it on the GPS. From there I headed north to the road( N/W wind) and bumped a deer bedded by the creek. All I could see was a patch of brown as the deer bolted and snorted once. I found some fresh but small deer droppings from where the deer was indicating a young deer.
 Got over to stand one for the evening hunt to find fresh scrapes 10 yards from the stand. This is the third year in a row that this same scrape has been made in the same spot. Hunted until dark, no deer seen. On my walk out I was serenaded by coyotes from a N/E location.

Oct. 19 Checked trail cam at salt lick. 2:30pm.

35 pics including three of a young buck on the doe trail.

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--Last edited by tracer on 2008-10-26 19:02:17 --

Oct.25 Stand Three
9:00am  10C W 15 km/h
Found some scrapes on the way into the stand. After a four hour sit with no action, I scouted a bit around the stand area and found a series of rubs. Checked both cams, no bucks and headed home.

Oct.26 Stand Two and One

9:00am  10C  SW 25 km/h

Into stand two, found two fresh scrapes 10 yards from the stand. No action, did some scouting around, found more scrapes and tracks. Found a series of rubs in the apple orchard. On my way out laying along the bank of the drainage ditch was a dead coyote pup. Headed for stand one.

Got into the stand before it started to rain. Setup my trusty umbrella and a short shower hit. Then it cleared and the sun came out( wind change: W 30km/h ). Fighting to stay awake, I heard gun fire from the east which really makes me mad as there is no firearm hunting in this township on Sunday. Took down the umbrella and got ready to head out as it looked like another storm was moving in. At 6:15 a doe came into view from the east followed by another doe. They approached quickly as the wind started to pickup. I put the cross hairs on the lead doe but there where to many branches for a clear shot at 20 yards. They walked behind me into the conifers as it looked like they where seeking shelter from the approaching storm. Then they walked back out into the open again, still no shot and headed N/E. Then all hell broke loose as a tremendous gust of wind hit and a large tree fell behind me. It started to rain and hail as the wind was gale force. I manage to get down safely in between wind gust and got out of the bush before dark. I later learned that there had been a weather warning issued for sustained winds of 60km/h and gusts of 90km/h. It pays to pick good healthy hardwood trees to hang your tree stand in   .  

--Last edited by tracer on 2008-10-26 20:12:38 --

Tracer,,Its just a matter of time before you connect,,Best of luck,,Frank

Nov. 2
Stand One
-2C S/E wind 10km/h frost

S/E wind in my face and expecting deer to come around the corner from that direction. Sure enough a doe runs in to view and works her way by me and stops. A few minutes later a buck appears and chases her into the conifer forest to my right. I was unable to get a clear shot as the doe wanted nothing to do with the buck and ran deeper into the forest. He was a decent eight point from what I could see of him as he made his way back out into the hardwoods and headed N/E. The rut is definitely on in this area and it was awesome to witness.  

--Last edited by tracer on 2008-11-04 20:38:59 --

Nov.8
Stand One
Cloudy 7C wind S/W 17km/h

At approximately 9:00am a buck came by my stand on my right, 20 yards, moving fairly quickly I was unable to get a clear shot with too many branches in the way. He was an eight point and about 2 1/2 yrs old. Not sure if it was the same buck that came through here last week. As I grunted at the buck to get him to turn around, I heard some leaves ruffling behind me and as I turned to look, I spooked a coyote that was looking up at me from 10 yards. I was unsure whether the buck was still there or not because my view was restricted to the north so I didn't take a shot at the coyote. The coyote continued on his way in the direction of the buck. No action for the rest of the day.  

--Last edited by tracer on 2008-11-16 19:59:09 --

Nov.15
7C light rain
wind N 20km/h gusts 34m/h
On watch at stand three from 9:00am until 1:00pm. No deer sightings. Noticed a pile of deer hooves,fairly fresh where I park my car, they added up to two fawns and a doe. The rain and the wind became too intense and I was finally getting over a bad cold so I call it a day and headed home.  

--Last edited by tracer on 2008-11-16 20:15:29 --

Nov.16
snow - heavy at times
1C wind NW40km/h gust 57km/h

High winds and snow where going on early this morning so I waited until late morning to head into stand one. An overnight snow fall had blanketed my hunting area but I only saw one set of deer tracks on the way in. In my stand by 10:00am, snowing off and on waiting to intercept a noon hour buck. No such luck as clumps of wet snow fell from tree branches above. Hunted until 1:00pm with no deer sightings.

Here's a pic from the stand

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Nov.22
Sunny,clear,cold, -7C/-13C wind chill,
two feet of snow on the ground.
wind NE 15km/h

Driving along my road to Stand Three, there where two fawns and a doe feeding on some standing corn near the road, 200 yards from where I walk in to the stand. Lots of tracks seen on the walk in as I slowly made my way into the stand through the two feet plus of powder snow. I was in the stand by 9:30am and hunted until 1:30pm with no deer sightings. Day old deer tracks right under the stand too.

Decided to move this stand to a rub line location not far from this spot.  

--Last edited by tracer on 2008-11-22 16:36:42 --

Nov.29
Stand Three

Hunting from ground cover ( tree stump ), wearing white camo, I had a doe come in to 20 yards, but was spooked by her fawn running by, no shot presented. Time was 11:45am.

Using doe scent and corn/oats

Update - Dec.6 to 13

Had a couple of encounters with does but no shot opportunity. Seeing lots of sign and doe beds, especially in the cedars where they are browsing.

It's getting down to crunch time with the season nearing it's end and I figure I have about three full days left in which to fill a tag.

Dec.27
Tough luck hunting today

Hunted at Stand Three this morning. Around 10:30am somebody started target practicing with a shot gun to the west of me. I stopped counting the rounds at 24. I had setup the umbrella as it began to pour and the shooting stopped. But than came the thunder and lightning, so I packed up and left. Drove down the road a piece and a doe had just crossed the road and was headed in the direction of my stand.

Back at it one last time tomorrow morning.  

--Last edited by tracer on 2008-12-27 13:40:14 --