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2 Months until the DE Archery Season Opener! Man the time is flying this year!

Since the last post, I've had the Bow restrung and had a new Whisker Bisquit Deluxe rest put on. Shot the bow a couple times afterwards and It definately need some retuning and practice. Hopefully start shooting more regular in a week or 2.

Also got my supplies from Cabelas. With Gift Certificates and my Cabelas Points, the bill came to $0. Cant beat that! New Arrows, Broadheads, Scents, Bug Sprays, etc. Bought a Tree Seat so I can take a break from standing when I hunt the Leased place. 5 hours standing on a plank was losing its appeal by the end of the season.

Plan to put the Trail Cam out in a couple weeks. Put a couple stands up and get the corn out in August. If DNREC pushes these October Antlerless Gun seasons through, September might be the best shot with the Bow until late season when pressure starts to drop off. Cant wait to get back out in the field!

How's everyone else doing?

Until next month, Have a great July! :)

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Except for a bad bout of tendenitis in my right arm...I'm ready! Haven't been able to shoot a bow in two months[:@]! But, I've been scouting a bunch! Things look real good!

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DEBob, Sorry to hear about the tendonitis. Hope it clears up by 9/1. I finally got to get back to back practice days in this weekend. Shooting well and new rest is working out just fine. I too though am having some physical problems. I can only shoot about 20x a session before my left shoulder starts to ache. I tore my biceps tendon when I was younger and I restrained it back in March. Lucky for me its not my draw arm, but when it hurts, I have a tendency to drop the bow and look at the shot instead of watching the arrow flight through the sight. I always shoot left when I do that.

Hopefully we'll both be healed for opening day. Only 52 days away! :D

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soooo, come on guys..what r u seeing in the fields??? where are the deer keying??? what times of the day r u seing them??? bucks??? bigs one left from last year and the year b4??? what's up??

let's get this thing going until the start like we did last year. that was one heck of a board that we had going.

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All of the fields I hunt are in corn this year. What am I seeing? Nothing due to the corn. I do have a game cam out with a few pics on it, when it fills up I'll let you know what I'm seeing!!! Can't wait to check it out, might just get the film developed anyway and switch to 12 expsure film so I don't have to wait as long.

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I havent been out yet. I had planned on heading down this weekend to put out the trail cam and poke around the public land a bit. But, I have friends that came into town unexpectedly who are staying with me friday and saturday. Sunday they are calling for rain. If that changes, i'll head out Sunday. If not, next week.

49 days and counting! :D

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Ill be heading out this weekend to check the public land, see if there is any activity in the areas i found in the last season and post season.

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also areas that i got lucky in the early season in previous years.

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saw some deer today in the the middle of the highway heading south on 95 b4 44b exit. i have seen them in there b4. looked like twin fawns...which means:) i will tell u what, a buck can get big and old living in those medians.

has anyone ever hunted lums pond??

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Lemond I have never hunted Lums Pond, however I am chairman of the State Parks Council and Lums is one of our high problem deer areas that needs to be hit hard this year, hunt it , Trappe Pond is another and White Clay Creek., We are going to open some areas that have been reviously closed. The problem is with the parks being open to visitors and hunters at the same time, its going to be tough to manage the deer herd......

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ron, thanks for the info. am i right about the following. i can hunt in lums pond from any tree within the areas listed as long as i am not damaging them??? no permit is needed??? i have a park permit. when you say problem, do u mean that there are alot of deer in the park??? or..do they want no deer in the park. i am lums everyday and i have only seen 1 deer:)


thanks for the info

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Lemond there are going to be some rules changes this year on stands and movement within the park system , I dont think all is finalized just yet, I"ll get back to you on that. What I mean is there are a lot of deer in the parks , no they are trying to readicate them , just get them down to sustainable size herds,, neighbors complaining about flora damage, etc.

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Supposed to read not trying to eradicate the herd

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Ron M,
I am a NCC res. and do most of my hunting in WCC. If you have any info about reg changes or can point me in the direction of where info might be regarding new regs I would be most greatful!

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de hunter, how is the hunting in wcc??? is there room for archery and are the deer visible during shooting hours?? what quality of animals do u c?>


thanks

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Lemond33,
There are lots of deer in WCC St. park. I would rate the deer quality as Good. Most mature does (3 yrs +) run about 95 to 120 lbs. Bucks tend to be in the 100 to 130 lb range. Again these are the mature deer, there are lots of 75 to 90 pound does and spikes running around. Each year there are mabey 3 or 4 good bucks taken. Good for WCC is 120 to 130 class. The biggest I have personally ever saw was a teen who shot a 130+ buck in January (shot gun). I couldnt believe how big it was. I would'nt have thought the park held deer that big. I guess there are a few really big ones in the park too.

I feel at this point I must qualify my experiance in judging antler size, very little. I'm saying 3 or 4 bucks taken at this park each year are comparable to deer that you would expect to see on a hunting show on TV. I believe I'm better at guessing weight! At least better than I am at spelling.

I took 2 deer from the park last year (1 archery and 1 shot gun)and saw lots more. One morning during bow season, I saw two great bucks. One snuck up on me before I saw it and I missed the second.

The only problem with the park is it is heavely regulated!!!! The season is short, there are lots of rules, and you must hunt within specific areas. This very much limits any chance of what I call real hunting (being able to scout for sign, food, bedding, etc.) You pretty much have to hunt from a stand site. However for bow hunting you are allowed to use climbers. The three weeks of gun hunting are even more strict with regulations.

Regardless it's a beautiful park, a well run program and lots of deer!

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de hunter..thanks...how do i get in to hunt wcc?? do i have to apply??

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de hunter..i just looked at the maps of the park. looks like the water sources and crops are the deal....what crops are in the park. bean and corn?? i have never seen anything quite like it. i can bring my own stand for archery??? i have the lone wolf alpha system. great for hit and go hunting

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Lemond33,
It will be great to have you hunt WCC! All that you have to do to archery hunt is stop by the park office and register. You can call for their hours 302-368-6900. Registration usually begins after labor day. If you've looked at the maps on the web you can see what the season dates are again these will be updated after the laborday holiday. I;m hoping they open more of the park to hunting, we'll have to wait and see.

Historicaly the park has 4 weeks of archery begining sometime in October. The first week and each weekend are lottery, after the first week Monday - Friday is first come fist pick!!! (There are 2 or 3 retired guys that get there about 3 AM to reserve a stand... although plenty to pick from) After the first week, you can get a stand just about any day. During archery you can harvest a buck or doe. Yes you can use a non-damaging climber (your Loan wolf will be fine) or you may hunt from the state stands. There are two areas of the park that are "Archery only", you must have a climber. These areas are marked with a yellow 4X4 post. It's a good idea to get familliar with the stand sites prior to opening day. Some can be hard to locate by flashlight if your new to the park.

Registration for shotgun hunting can be done right from the DE hunting guide or on line. The one requirement is that you must first harvest a doe before you can shoot a buck. Lot's of guy's get their doe during archery season. Don't let this get out but it's very easy to get selected for this Park. As a matter of fact even if you dont have a reservation for a specific day all remaining stands are given out on a daily lottery. Very few get turned away. I like to put in for a stand in January and get in the lottery for the earlier Nov & Dec season. You'll have to let me know when you plan on hunting, it would be great to meet you.

I almost forgot, the crops are usually a mix of corn and beans depending on which tract of land.

T

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de hunter..thanks for all of the info...this sounds like a nice park to hunt. i will give it a shot and i will scout it b4 the season. with the crops in the park, why are they having a problem with the deer. i saw a program on tv and they were saying that there were to many deer in the park. they showed the deer coming out in daylight hours like there was nothing to it. :) good for me i guess. let me know where the best area is for high populations of deer...thanks again.


leMond

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de hunter, i just looked at an overhead of the area. is it fairly developed?? looked like it. close to the pa border...looks really nice. crops, water, and i am sure there are some fruit trees here and there. i am in:) thanks

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Lemond33,
the property around the 4 areas of the park that are open to hunting are fairly developed. I tend to favor the stand sites that are off the beeten path. All of the letter stands (archery only) are very good. The maps on the web of the 4 areas don't clearly show the walking/bike paths. Some of the stands are to close to these main trails for me. I hate watching joggers and people running with their dogs just after sunrise. In some areas they come and go all day. The Judge Morris track is the worst for this. However the hunting areas are closed to the public during shotgun season and JM is only open during the January season. This is a great draw if you can get in there.

I tend to spend my time in the preserve section and some of the Carpenter section. Possum hill is not bad, most of the stands are far enough off the main trails but you have to like walking!

Here's your WCC tip of the day. Print a copy of the maps from the park website now. They will be updating them soon for the upcoming season. Any new area open to hunting or any stand that has been slightly re-located is a "best bet". Compare the current map with the new one to find which ones where moved. I mentioned earlier that I saw two good bucks on a morning hunt. The stand I was hunting was relocated 75yds from it old position just over a slight rise on a ridge. I'll plan on spending more time in that area this year!

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de hunter, how r u?? i looked over the maps again and i have to say, they look pretty good. aside from the stands being a little close, i like the set-up. i archery hunt only...mathews blk max, acc's, trophy ridge sight, and of course...muzzy's:) deadly set-up:) i will have to scout the area out and i will look at the areas that u sent. how is it hunting during archery season?? iwould imagine that everyone is out there in the beginning and then they vanish a little. let me know if u are scouting the area and what u r seeing and i will do the same. i will take my dig camera when i go and snap a few pics if the opp presents itself. thanks for the info.

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I think we are going to have a good year in my area of southern indiana. i have seen more deer already this year than any other year, and i cant believe all the HUGE bucks that are begining to pop up, I CANT WAIT!!!

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Just got back from the first scouting trip of the season. Threw out some corn and hung the Trail Cam at the leased place. Didnt see any deer this morning but there is some nice sign around. The leased place has been planted in Bean this year. :) A heck of alot better than the weed field I had last year. Its pretty tall too. It should really help keep the deer in the area.

Then I headed over to the public land and checked out a few stands. I may make some early trips out the next few weekends to see what I can see. I always check the stands first before heading out in the dark. Wouldnt want to climb into a Wasp Nest [:o]

Replaced the Vitals in my deer target yesterday and shot about 20 arrows. Hit the vitals with every shot at 25yds. Really starting to get the itch now!:D Bring on 9/1!

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Scott did you checck out the Ennis farm?

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Yep, thats where I was poking around. There's alot of water in the woods and the sign isnt quite as thick as it was last year, but enough to keep it interesting. I think the fact that the area is QDM this year will keep the weekend warriors away. I guess time will tell. ;)

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hey guys. i do not want the NJ boards to get to far ahead of us. i work in NJ and have the chance to hunt alot of places. i never have the time and i love hunting DE. mayb this year i will hunt one of the farms in south jersey that i have permission to hunt. who knows

how are the acorns this year???