2011 Rifle Season Review

A preview of TCT

The first week of rifle season held most of the excitement, as it normally does. This is a quasi-holiday in WV, some school systems take off the opening day and other give the kids off the whole week.However, the second week, it is the forgotten week. This week is when the woods start to settle down and everything gets back to normal. Most people have to go back to work or school, this is where the folks that have retired or have some extra time off enjoy some quite hunting.  Sadly enough, between a project and a paper due during last week I didn't get out as much as I wanted to. But what can you do in those situations?
I was only able to make it out on Friday and Saturday, the final day of antlered rifle season. And wouldn't you know it.. I shoulda, coulda, woulda - If I had been in my tree stand on Monday evening I would have seen a great looking deer and possibly had a chance at taking it, but then again if I was in stand would he have came in following these does? There wasn't much activity the rest of the week on camera, actually the only activity was me catching a nasty head cold. This put a damper on the rest of rifle season, if you didn't know the deer aren't to fond of hacking and coughing as well as blowing your nose. While only having the last two days to hunt I sucked it up as best I could.

On Friday I slept in a little and finished up some studying before I hit the woods around 11:15 AM. I thought with a cold all I would be able to pull off was a mid day and evening hunt. In theory this was a great idea, but my cold didn't think so. When I arrived and radioed to Rick, who had been there since day break, I was there , he said he had a deer in front of him, but it had bedded down. It was a very slow day on part of Foggy Mountain to say the least. Then again that could have been due to the coughing and sneezing. I spent part of this day in stand but after realizing that there wasn't going to be a deer come within a mile radius of me, I went to check some cameras and do some scouting. The day ended with no deer, one hell of a headache, but one amazing view.

Then next  morning came and I still wasn't feeling my best but I managed to hit the woods around 8:00 AM. I was still straggling in, but at least I could breath. I'm not sure if this was from the medicine but  I was grateful. As I slowly walked into my stand I knew I would probably jump something, I was right. As I walked in, I jumped up a doe and yearling that frequent the area. Shortly after this I got into my stand and it didn't take long for another doe to make its way in. After it milled around for a while I had hoped that a buck would be trailing it her. It was only about two hours later, and a little less than a stud. It was great getting to see a buck on the last day, but I wasn't going to take him, if he had made it this long, he deserved to make it to be another year older. Although I did get some good video of him. The rest of the day I spent in anticipation waiting for the evening to roll around to, this was the only pattern I had on the deer, that I talked about in the opening, he liked evenings. I was hoping the buck would make an appearance, but he didn't. Then as it went from twilight to dusk to dark, he never came in, the most I saw were two more does running up the hillside behind me.

The season closed out on a gorgeous sunset I could help but to be thankful for having a good season and just being able to hunt and take part in the outdoors with great friends and family. Now it's on to a week of doe season, then because I don't have a muzzle loader, I'll be back to bow hunting until the end of the year.

The sun setting on the final day of antlered rifle season.