Indiana Action
Posted By
Hunter Kailos
at
11/8/2011 12:00:00 AM
Indiana Action
Things have certainly began to heat up over the past couple of weeks. Deer movement is on the increase even though the temperatures have been warm. About the 25th of October the woods seemingly came alive, with buck sign showing up everywhere. Bucks were seen cruising, as they started to feel the first urges of the rut. We even came across a buck that had been beaten badly in a fight, both eyes had been punctured, blinding him and causing him to fall into a creek that he couldn’t find his way out of. The deer was later put down and given to someone who needed the meat.
Within the past couple of weeks my wife was also able to take her first deer ever, a small button buck on October 20th. We were hunting from a ground blind trying to intercept deer as they travelled from a thick bottom area up a ridge toward an alfalfa field. She made a great shot on it and it quickly went down only 60 yards from the blind. Although she was a bit discouraged about the small size of the deer I quickly pointed out that this was her first deer and she should be proud of the great shot she made on such a small target! We were both very excited with her first deer. I was also able to harvest a large doe on October 23rd.
|
The morning of the 28th was an eventful morning for me, I had 3 buck encounters. I was hunting a couple of my hit list bucks, a big 10 pointer and a tall 8 pointer that I'd gotten pictures of in the summer. A week earlier on October 21st I had hunted about a 1/4 mile from where I'd gotten the summer pictures and had an encounter with the big 10 point but he didnt come any closer than 80 yards. So I was back in the same tree hoping to get the big 10 point in range on the 28th. Early in the hunt I had a nice buck come across the ridge in front of me out about 90 yards. About a half an hour later a smaller buck came from the same direction and passed by within 40 yards. Later on this 3rd buck of the morning was crossing the ridge in the same place the first buck had. I made a series of grunts to stop him, after he stopped I made a couple of other grunts to let him know what direction the grunts were coming from. He turned and quickly came straight toward me, grunting all the way.
As some hunts do, it all happened quick. I didnt get a lot of time to study his rack as he came in but I knew he had a tall rack and I thought it might have been the tall 8 point I had pictures of from the summer, regardless he was a good buck. He came by and presented a perfect 20 yard broadside shot. The shot was good, he ran out about 70 yards and went down. Turns out this is not the tall 8 point, but is an 11 point with a rack that sits tall on his head due to the main beams angling up. A quick score of the antlers put him at 135”. It was an exciting hunt and I'm happy with taking this nice mature big woods buck here in Southern Indiana!
With all of these deer there is one thing that stands out that should be taken note of. Each of these deer had recently fed heavily on black or red oak acorns. How do I know? Something that I like to do, and maybe it’s the biologist in me, is to take a look at the rumen (stomach) after I get done gutting the deer. Due to the odor this is certainly not a pleasant experience in most cases but it does allow me to figure out what that deer was feeding on. This can be a great clue to your next hunt. It has been said many times, “find the food and you’ll find the deer”. Looking at what a harvested deer has been primarily feeding on can be a quick way to figure out the main food source and may help narrow your search next time you head to the woods.
We are now into November and the rut is picking up. Warmer temperatures may have a slight damper on the action but the bucks know what time of year it is and they will still be on their feet. As I look at the forecast of the week ahead there is a big cold front about to push through that is bringing the coldest temperatures of the fall so far, I cant wait to be on the stand to see some heavy rut action in the days ahead. Its now the time of year that we all look forward to when the big bucks are moving during daylight hours and could come your way at any moment.
Good Luck and God Bless,
Brady Miller
