RE: The "October Lull"
My season opened on 10-1 and I seen NOTHING all day. Climbed in a different stand the next day only to hear the hickory nuts falling all aroung the first stand just 70 yards away. When it got light enough to see, I could make out three sets of legs moving through the stand of hickory trees. They were within 40 yards of a small river. The heat wave that moved through the area during opening week and a lack of significant rainfall has kept the deer close to water sources. But a number of things still hold true; deer must find water, must browse and will move even if for short distances.
The deer that I seen feeding in the hickory thicket moved out of sight. After about 15 minutes, I blew a fawn contact bleat series, waited about 5 more minutes and repeated. Doing this in hopes that a big doe would come in.
Following the last bleats about 10 minutes went by and then off to the left my eye caught the give-away flash of an ear flicker. When the deer came into view I seen what I knew was a large buck. As he came closer I recognized the rack configuration as this super 8-Point that I had been on all of last years season, but couldn't get him into bow range. He's even bigger now!
He came in closer, moving slow but deliberate. Watching for what he had heard, stopped withing 20 yards and looked around for the source of the call. He was in this close and the brush he held in yielded no shot opportunity. It was a successful hunt. No, I didn't get to harvest him, but I now know for sure he made it through last winter.
In the past nine days that I have been out, I have recorded seven bucks. Only the one forementioned was a shooter, but I know they are out there.
My closest hunting partner took a nice 13-Point Non-Typ last Friday about 600 yards downstream from my stand locations.
Watch the signs near water, especially if there are funnel areas connecting bedding areas to water sources. All but one buck came into sight between these spots.
GForce
Shoot often - Hunt always