Hunting Public Land
I'm hunting in a Wildlife Management Area that is part of a National Forest just south of Spartanburg, SC. I'm pretty busy at work and the WMA does not allow hunting on Sunday, so Saturday is the only day of the week I get to hunt. I suppose Sunday is set aside for non-nunters to enjoy the woods. There are trails used by horseback riders, but they usually know to stay out of the woods during hunting season. I have two locations scouted for hunting. One is in a valley near a creek. I found plenty of deer tracks in the sandy bottom of the creek during early scouting so I built a ground blind there. I found an area of heavy brush on the hillside where I think they are bedding. Near the top of the hill is a area with American Beauty Berry trees that seem to be a food source. I saw branches that have been stripped, droppings, and one rub. I observed a few trails that lead from the brush to the food and found a few good spots to simply hide behind trees with good shot lanes of these trails. I've been following all precautions regarding scent control and being very careful to limit movements and sounds. I take 40 minutes to walk the half a mile to the valley blind and another 30 minutes to climb 150 yards up the hill.
Saturday, I was in the valley blind when the sun came up. I hung some estrus scent nearby in case a buck wnted to start the rut a little early. The temperature was 36. By 11 AM I had heard some other distant hunters take some shots, but I saw nothing. I ate my peanut butter sandwich, drank some water and decided to move up the hill. The temperature was in the mid 50s now. I went to the berry area and saw some fresh droppings from the morning. I decided to settle in and wait for sundown, thinking they would come back this way again. It was nice to enjoy the peace and quiet of the the forest. I continued to hear others getting shots and knew my opportunity would come.
About an hour and a half before sundown, I heard voices. I knew that there was a seldom used horse trail at the top of the hill about 30 yards from me. I thought, "Crap, someone's out riding. I hope they move through quickly." The voices were loud and obviously male. Sure enough two guys came riding slowly on the trail on horseback. They were obviously drunk. They actually stopped at the point nearest me and I heard one of them say, "I need a chaser." I stepped out to get a closer look, just in time to see him turn up a bottle of whiskey. The other rider encouraged him to have another drink, which he did. The first rider took the bottle from him and continued to slowly ride the trail. The second rider stayed for a few seconds, then proceeded to throw up off the side of his horse. He did it again. Then he got down off his horse and yelled, "Wait, I'm throwing up!" He squatted down and threw up two more times. Now the whole hillside smells like whiskey and vomit. I moved out into the open as he got back on his horse. He yelled, "I ain't ever gonna drink straight whiskey again!" Then he saw me. I'm wearing Realtree Hardwoods camoflage coveralls and afacemask with an orange breakup ball cap. I'm carrying the Remington 700 SPS with a scope. I yelled, "That's a damn good idea!" He took off to catch up with his friend. I moved about halfway down the hill thinking that if the deer avoided that area they might come down there, but I didn't see a thing. I left at sunset, pissed off that these drunks had ruined my days hunt.
I need to find some private land to hunt, but it is probably too late to scout any. Tell me, how long will the deer avoid this area now that the drunk cowboys have left their mark?