Today, I returned to my old stomping grounds. Haven't been there since I'm seeing so many deer right here at home--but I've got a "buck shortage." I saw a number of does this morning, but when I got down and investigated the area where most of the deer were entering and exiting--my jaw dropped. There were rubs and fresh scrapes literally all over!

I rattled in a buck earlier this AM and he busted me because I was still rattling when he showed up. I also alerted several deer while setting up and getting down. I was very careful, but probably touched a few things while looking the area over. And it's very warm -- 70's.

Now the question.

Should I hunt this smoking hot sign NOW while the temps are too warm, the deer were spooked, the real rut is still probably a week away, and there might be a tiny bit of scent in the area . . .

OR . . .

Should I give it a day or two to cool down and hope that the bucks don't leave the area to cruise for does elsewhere? The weather is featuring "above average temps" all week. [:@]

I personally would give it a couple days. If there are does there, there will be bucks there during the rut.

When I saw that the wind was going to be perfect for this spot, I decided to hit while the iron was hot. When I got there, the corn was being shelled and two giant pickers were working the field with more trackers hauling it out. I knew this would be a good thing.

I saw a couple does that would walk out of the corn when the pickers were at the other end of the field and then slip back end when they got close. They were good sized and I had the biggest one at 20 yards broadside, but chose not to shoot becuase I KNEW she'd run back into the corn and get mashed by the picker!

I waited and the pickers finished right at sunset[:@] However, there were 5 does standing nearby waiting for the pickers to finish. When they walked on a trail about 18 yards distant, I took the largest one--a perfect heart shot (I got a pic of it) and she went no more than 50 yards. I waited before getting down and turned to see one of the largest bodied bucks I've ever seen. He stomped around behind me for close to an hour. It sounded like he was stomping every time he stepped--like the alrm sound, but he did it the entire time and never spooked. It was hard to see (even when I first spotted him), so I didn't get a decent look at him, but he was huge and his rack looked pretty nice from the brief, dark glimpse I got. I retrieved my doe and left until this morning.

I wasn't in my stand 5 minutes when I started hearing deer moving in the field. When it got light enough to see, I rarely went 5 minutes without seeing a deer. To make a long story short, I had a doe in the same spot as the one I couldn't shoot the night before because of the corn, Now that it was down, I was thinking about taking this one. A much bigger doe joined this one and I watched for over 1/2 hour because some branches sheilded the vitals. While I was waiting, another doe came over a rise in the field with a BIG BUCK following her grunting with every step! I shifted my attention to him, but they never approached my position and eventually went away. A few minutes later, a VERY wide 6 point appeared and decided to check out "my" does. They didn't want any part of him. He eventually offered me my choice of shots, but I'm holding out for one of the big ones I've seen there and at my house. After he passed me at 15 yards, the big doe came back and I started considering her gain. When she decided to intimidate the smaller doe and bully her, I made my choice.

She stepped clear of obstructions at 25 yards as I reached full draw and centered her vitals between my 20 and 30 yard pins. I sent the arrow on it's way and thought it looked good. She took off and ran less than 50 yards across the cornfield. She stopped and I began to question my shooting, then she fell, kicked once and lay still. I perfectly centered her lungs.

I'm nearly done butchering them. The weather is supposed to be in the mid to upper 70's for the next week, so I took these two to finish filling my chest freezer. With the one I took last Friday plus the one is Sept., the meat obligation is fulfilled and now I'm after big bucks exclusively!

Good job and good luck. Don't let that big ole buck catch you on the ground. He might knock the crap out of ya for taking all of his sugar wall's.

Wow, sounds like you've got a great spot. I wish I could find a spot that the deer were so thick I had trouble getting to and from my stand. Good luck with the big boy and congrats on filling the freezer.

Great hunts Dave.