DeerBlaster blasts

3 trophies in 1 season! Trailcams banned in 2 states, Hunt bedding areas

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John Paul Tupta got ‘er done this season! 👊👊👊 Story from the WV MetroNews:

> Tupta didn’t luck into these 3 big bucks, he invested some boot leather in finding them and was patient with his opportunities.

> The first buck turned out to be his biggest. The bruiser was killed while hunting in the South Charleston urban hunt and only after his qualifying doe was taken on the first day he hunted. Hunters in an urban hunt get 7 tags and 2 of them can be filled with antlered deer, providing an antlerless deer is killed before each of the bucks.

> “I killed that first buck Sept 5. The evening I killed him, he was with a group of 6 other bucks that were all 6 points or bigger.”

> “I killed my doe Sept 21 in the Charleston Urban Hunt, so Oct 5 the daycare opens at 7:00. I dropped her off, got in my stand and was sitting there on my phone and looked up and he was already in bow range. It had rained the night before and it was real quiet. I got up and delivered a perfect heart shot on him.” …a nice 8-pointer.

> …John Paul began to concentrate on the property his family hunts in Lincoln County. He had a couple of bucks…which peaked his interest.

> “This was Nov 11, Veterans Day, and I had the morning off. I had a spike and a couple of does come by, but the does started acting strange. I look down the hill and I could see a deer. I couldn’t see his rack, but I could see that scar on his back. He came right up into bow range.”

> “This year was just really special. It’s the first time in a while I’ve had the chance to get outside and prepare for the season.”

Wow! Says he donated a bunch of meat to the Hunters Helping the Hungry program. 👊

LA’s Ayden M has been hunting deer with his dad for 10 years – so doesn’t that qualify him as a long-time hunter even though he’s only 13? Heck yeah it does, even if that’s his first buck. The Daily Iberian had the story:

> …on an afternoon deer hunt Dec 19 alone in a box stand…. He knocked gently on the deer stand to make a soft noise that halted the buck as it made a beeline for a doe in the peak of the rut.

> That pause was long enough for the young deer hunter to put the riflescope’s crosshairs on a shoulder, pull the trigger and hit the deer at a distance of 70 yards. The deer ran 20-30 yards and, following a brief search, was found….

> …it could be the biggest buck ever shot on the lease. The rack’s spread was 23″ wide.

His dad gave him some confidence:

> Ayden was carrying his father’s rifle, a Browning X-Bolt Composite Stalker .270 WSM bolt-action rifle, because he had only one bullet for his CVA Hunter 7mm-08 Remington Break-Action Rifle. “I said, ‘Look, my gun’s a little bigger, but I think you can handle it.'”

Heck yeah he could! 👊 Congrats!

Kendra Menard’s son Cooper was 6 but she said he was ready to take his first deer – and she should know because she started going hunting with her dad at age 3! Outdoor Life with the deets:

> On the afternoon of Dec 4, Kendra and Cooper headed to the 1,000-acre property they hunt in central LA. They were hoping to see one of the small bucks that had been hanging on the property. The two sat in a comfortable box blind…overlooked a transitional area, where young pines bordered taller ones.

> That spot is also where Kendra has been getting trail camera photos of a big buck over the last 3 years. The deer would usually show up for just 3 weeks every season, from about Thanksgiving into early December.

> …hadn’t hunted long before they spotted one of the small bucks. But the shot wasn’t right for Cooper, so…waited and watched for another opportunity. Just before dark, Kendra spotted another buck that she recognized…. Kendra saw the deer step out at 75 yards – too far for Cooper to shoot – so she waited for the buck to turn broadside, and took the shot with her 7mm-08.

> Kendra and Cooper waited until dark, when her father showed up to help track the deer. They checked the spot where she’d shot the buck and found tracks and hoof scuffs, but no blood. So they left went back to camp for dinner, then returned with their tracking dog, Boss. …no blood trail they could follow, but in less than 30 minutes Boss found the buck….

> “The bullet didn’t exit the deer. It was between the cavity and hide when we skinned him. There wasn’t even a drop of blood where he was laying.”

> She estimates the 200-lb buck, which had 16 points, was between 5 and 6 years old. The circumference of the antler bases measured 5″, and the buck had 22″ main beams and a 16 5/8″ spread. State wildlife officers green-gross scored the buck at 161 3/9″.

Congrats!

For those of us out East it’s tough to make sense out of this but here you go:

Utah

> A divided Utah Wildlife Board voted to ban trail cameras for hunting when the motion-activated devices are used to aid in the taking of big game.

> Surveys of UT hunters…documented support for restrictions when it came to hunting deer and elk, but less so…cougars and bears. Still, 3 members of the Wildlife Board refused to support the new restrictions, forcing chairman Kevin Albrecht to cast the deciding vote….

> The new ban will be in effect from Jul 31 to Dec 31, and applies to both cameras with internal storage memory and those that transmit images to the hunter’s cellphone.

> “There’s a lot of people that love to just get outdoors and do their niche, and trail cameras are a niche for a lot of people. I’ve had several families that reach out to me and say, ‘That’s just what our kids do. We can’t draw tags anymore, so we just run trail cameras and that’s our fun. We get those [memory] cards back and it’s Christmas morning.’ I don’t want to see us start to further limit people’s enjoyment of the outdoors just because there’s a problem here or there.”

> “One of the things we’ve noticed popping up around the West are services where you will go online, see a picture of an animal that you like and then purchase that animal’s image, location information and date that photo was taken from a trail camera in the hopes of harvesting that animal in that location. Public sentiment was that they would like to see that prohibited, and that’s a recommendation we’re making.”

Arizona

> …those seeking to bag an elk, a bear, a bighorn sheep or a host of other animals legally hunted in AZ will no longer be able to get an edge by using trail cameras. Violators can be subject to fines, losing their hunting rights and having to forfeit their kill.

> The new rule is an extension of what hunters call “fair chase,” says Kurt Davis, chairman of the state Game and Fish Commission.

> …the type of remote trail cameras that can send a signal through cellphones when they spot something were outlawed by the commission for hunting use in 2018. That created another problem. Each hunter wants to check his or her camera on a regular basis. But all that traffic scared away animals….

> “Now you can buy them in 6-packs. The technology, like all technology, is getting cheaper and cheaper.” The result is multiple cameras are being set up around water holes to see what animals gather there and when. AZ has only about 3,000 water holes, all of which are mapped….

> “Our bows are better than they were 20 years ago. Our rifles are better…our optics are better….” Even the clothing that hunters wear has improved. “And we have a lot more people in the field than we did 20 years ago as the state has grown. So all of those things have created pressure on wildlife and on people’s outdoor experience.”

> He said there were indications entrepreneurs were setting up hundreds of cameras and then selling the images to hunters who wouldn’t even have to go out into the field and check their own cameras. “…that begins to monetize wildlife. And that’s a whole other issue.”

Hunters are like:

From a crazy poaching story – here’s more from the Rochester, NY Democrat & Chronicle:

> Two officers – patrolling along a shallow river after receiving a tip that a hunter would park on one side of that stream, wade across, and hunt deer over a bait pile on the other side – came upon a suspiciously-parked vehicle.

> So they drove to the other side of that stream, hiked 2 miles, and finally approached the bait pile with a cozy little hut built nearby. They observed a pair of waders and foot prints leading right to the door of that small building.

> They sat within 10 yards of that hut for the next couple of hours until well after the sun had set. They wanted to see if any spotlights were being used, but didn’t see any during their surveillance. Finally, they approached the hut and opened the door.

> The poacher was sitting inside in a lawn chair. He was holding a loaded .308 rifle. He was also holding a night-vision scope. There was a portable spotlight on the ground next to his chair.

Sounds like it would’ve been just as much effort to go legal deer-hunting??

1. DE: Hunting open every Sunday this month.

2. CO might require orange for bowhunters.

Let the DNR know what you think about that here.

3. IA harvest down about 6% but hunt still on.

> …totaled more than 89,000 at the conclusion of the state’s shotgun seasons, about 6% shy of last year’s total after those seasons….

> …IA DNR recently announced a special 2-week hunting season in Jan in 5 counties with larger deer populations and known cases of chronic wasting disease….

4. VT: Deer harvest down a little but about average.

About 15,600 deer taken.

5. OH: Here’s the entrance in the Adams County Courthouse.

4. New Maven C Series scopes.

> Introducing the CRS.1 and CRS.2, the first rifle scopes in our award-winning C Series collection. Based on the popularity of our C Series optics and on requests from our customers, we developed a completely new lineup of rifle scopes. Not only does this introduction fulfill those needs, but it also fills a gap in our suite of hunting optics.

> Both feature our award-winning C Series glass, with an exceptionally clear, bright and high-contrast image with excellent color fidelity. The CRS.1 offers a lightweight 14.18-oz footprint and a streamlined profile, while the CRS.2 gives those who need that extra reach a bigger objective lens coupled with a 4-16x zoom and parallax adjustment.

6. New TrueTimber apparel for harsh conditions.

You can also get a TrueTimber Segway side by side now.

7. New FoxPro merino wool base layers released.

> Merino wool is the ideal base layer for hunters due to its anti-microbial qualities that prevent the buildup of bacteria, which in turn allows for a reduction of odor, especially when damp. Its moisture-wicking qualities help remove moisture from the skin.

> Our blend of 95% Australian merino wool and 5% Spandex gives ultimate comfort and allows for greater movement.

Good perspective on finding and hunting bedding areas.

Good stuff from CJ Winand at Bowhunter.com:

> …many hunters focus their efforts when selecting stand sites on feeding areas while totally ignoring prime bedding areas. Granted, bedding areas are much harder to find.

> One big mistake many hunters make is assuming that just because an area has a thick understory, it’s a bedding area. Many times deer will use topography more than ground cover to bed when the winds are advantageous. Additionally, deer bedding areas are very dynamic: They will change throughout the day, from day to day, and throughout the season.

> I often find prime bedding areas simply by chance. In other words, I find a random area off an agricultural field that just “feels right” and then I’ll set up a trail camera. Over the years, these “accidental” trail-camera setups have proven themselves time and time again.

> Is there a common denominator…? Maybe. One factor that seems consistent is that deer seem to prefer bedding near the top of a hill with the wind in their face. …doesn’t always occur, but it has helped me find some bedding areas I otherwise would have totally overlooked. Even a slight change in elevation can be the clue you’re looking for….

> When setting up close to a buck’s bedding area, one of the biggest challenges you’ll face is doing so without pushing him onto your neighbor’s property. …you can play it safe and stick to the edges of an agricultural field, but chances are you’ll be wasting your time – especially if the buck has already gone nocturnal.

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The DeerBlaster is a weekly roundup of the best, funniest, newest and most important stuff about whitetail deer hunting – culled from around the interwebz for DIEHARD whitetail hunters and blasted into your inbox.

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