Muzzy 2018

[Wanderer]

I started a thread on HSO too but might get a little more input here?  

 

Anyone got plans for the season?  Anything new or anyplace new you’ve been waiting to try?

 

Well, I finally practiced with the Blackhorn and 209As.  Seems like the combo lives up to its reputation.  

 

Only question now is: Will I use it this season???  Seems like a dumb question but I’m not feeling short on venison and have been hunting every weekend since September 22nd, ‘cept last weekend.  Felt kinda good sleepin’ in for a change. 

 

The SIL might have some private ground for us to try so that could play into the motivation factor big time.

 

So, yeah, I guess that’s 2 new potential things to look forward to.

[ANYFISH2]

No plans for me Wanderer.  I think the Muzzy is just here to clean once a year and look at!

 

Should be plenty of deer left from rifle season to chase.  Wish I had more time.

[Wanderer]

Picked up a new supply of pretreated cleaning patches and some Blackhorn loading tubes tonight at Shooting Sports.

 

I’m just dabbling with getting things ready but the more I do, the more motivated I get to go.  Too bad you’re so wrapped up in hockey this time of year that you can’t really get into it now!  Good to spend time with the kids but ignoring the call is tough.

[ANYFISH2]

Yeah, I just tell myself, I only have these few years to really enjoy the kids things.  It will fly by I am sure, then I will miss it.

 

Over the First 3 weekends of Muzzy season Isaac has 12 games, Friday thru Sunday.  Time would be thin.

 

Muzzy season has always been a hit and miss season for me.  Usually dont need any more meat, and no really established properties to hunt.  Public is the usual.

[Wanderer]

Well, it’s looking like any muzzy hunting for me will be on public land also.  And some motivation comes in the way of a friend in need of a deer or two.  I had to take 1 last shot yesterday to check my zero.  I want to be 2 inches high at 50 yards.  I aimed for the hole in the “d” from the prone position.

 

I guess I’m golden. 

 

 

Good of luck to those who go!

 

 

[ANYFISH2]

Good luck Wanderer all others!

[Wanderer]

I got out yesterday with a couple friends to try some new to us public ground.  Chasing deer was the main reason but also an opportunity to stretch the legs and see places I’ve been curious about.  We worked the slow drive method instead of stand hunting.

 

Our first area was bigger and more hilly than we thought going into it.  There was no way we were going to drive it effectively so we just basically stalked toward each other’s directions and hoped for the best.  The blue jays let me know I was probably pushing deer several times and I saw quite a bit of sign, but no deer.  It’s a good area to sit and I plan to the next time I can.  One of the other guys saw 1 deer but didn’t have a chance at it.

 

Area 2; we took a much smaller piece of cover but it was still no slouch.  We managed to work the drive perfectly to our poster and all saw deer but couldn’t get shots at em.  The kick in the shorts was, when we started, we had the place to ourselves but during the push another group came in to the area on the end we were pushing to.  They no more got into their stands and started dropping the deer we pushed.  Our poster didn’t shoot cuz it would’ve been in the direction of one of em.  They were happy and thanked us! 

 

Area 3 was another small piece that had a good amount of sign but we didn’t see any deer.  It’s another spot I might return to though.

 

On the drive back to my truck with about 30 minutes of shooting time left, we saw 3 deer go into a patch of woods.  We opted to pull over and pursue.  We split up and headed in quickly.  They came my direction and I was able to drop a doe for my buddy who I was really hoping would come out of the day with a deer.

 

The last minute success was almost anticlimactic for the adventurous day it was but we were happy.

[CANOPY SAM]

Interesting read, Wanderer.  Thanks for sharing.

 

I've been out 4 times since the muzzy season opened, and I don't think I've EVER seen a muzzy season with so many of the animals virtually all nocturnal!  I knew, in our area at least, that the firearms season drove most of our animals nocturnal almost right away, but most muzzy seasons find the animals back to a fairly normal pattern.  Not this year.

 

I can appreciate the "slow drive" method you're using to get the animals up on their feet and moving.  I don't have enough other folks to look to that we could put something like this together, but I believe I will spend the remainder of the season still-hunting the areas I know are holding deer.

 

They're not coming out with enough light remaining to shoot, so it's time to start going in after them!  If I'm going to have any chance of filling a tag this year I'm going to have to shift into stealth mode.

[huntnfish]

I agree about the skittish animals. The area I muzzy hunt isn't one that I hunt during regular firearm season. it's also an area that can see a lot of road hunters and noticed that you can't stop a vehicle on the road and not have deer running no matter how far away they are. 

 

There was a day last week that had deer all over the place well before daylight hours. I would've written that off as some fluke related to one group of deer but there were deer out all over in the 60 mile stretch I drove. Haven't seen that since then. This time of year it can be hit or miss and I don't pay close enough attention to what the weathers doing to maybe have some idea why. I'm guessing that the pressure was rising or dropping like crazy and the deer felt like they should eat. 

 

I've hunted muzzy since 97 and love it. It doesn't have the same opening day feel as regular gun season but there still something about those super cold mornings. It always seems to be a guessing game this time of year. I remember one year my dad and I were hunting and there were 3 different routes the deer could get to the cut corn field across the road. We sat 5 evenings and never saw a deer. And when we left there were always deer out in that cut corn. There was no way the deer would smell or see us on our approach. We finally did a "slow push" and nudged the deer using the wind to blow our scent into their bedding. We ended up with 2 bucks doing that. And of course everyone loves the puff of smoke and the wonderful blood trail in the snow that late season hunts are all about. 

[Wanderer]

The last weekend.

 

I put my stuff away last weekend after the hunt but am having a hard time with keeping it there. 

 

Ice fishing, or just a little more time in da deer woods... Tough call.  We’ll see how it shakes out.  I do have a birthday party to attend that will last at least half the weekend.

 

You guys still giving it a go?  One of the guys I hunted with last Saturday got a nice doe Thursday.  Now everyone I’ve been talking to is good on venison.  But everyone also wouldn’t mind just a little more.   It’s amazing how liberal our deer limits are compared to how they were in my formative years of deer hunting.  Statewide: 5 total with 1 buck; special hunt deer don’t count against any area limit, just the statewide.  I’ve taken two deer this year and can still roam most anywhere to hunt.  Doe only but that’s OK.

[CANOPY SAM]

I hung it up on Wed..

 

So many of the deer in our area are now completely nocturnal.  Only seeing small does and fawns just before shooting hours close.  Deer sign is HEAVY long after dark!!!  To me, I'd just rather see those young animals get a little older, and markedly larger!!!   It's just too much work for 25 lbs of deer meat in the end.

 

Time to get the ice-fishing gear ready to go.  We've got good ice, and really nice weather coming this week. 

 

Next year!

[Wanderer]

I stayed on the ice this afternoon and out of the woods.  I watched the sun fade with the last day of the ML season with mine in the truck at the access.

 

The darndest thing: the fishing was terrible.  Kept hoping I’d find em or it would pick up in the evening.  Neither really happened.   

 

Still, it’s been a good hunting year.  Thanks all of you that shared your season here!

[paceman]

It is always a bit sad putting the gun hunting gear away for the year. I found this year's muzzy hunting to be really challenging. I agree with others that the deer have been super nocturnal. If your lucky, they would pop out into the fields the last 5 minutes of light. And the warm day just before the muzzy opener was nice for hanging Christmas lights on the house but sucked as it turned the 5 inches of soft snow into 3 inches of a hard, frozen, crunchy mess. Pretty much ruined any chance of sneaking into stands quietly or for still hunting. That being said I still enjoy it immensely. I spent most of the season trying to get my son his first muzzy deer. We had a couple close encounters where things didn't quite work out as intended. Saw a couple dandy bucks just out of his range. learned a bit on some new properties. Spent time with a buddy the last day.. overall just had a blast. I still have an archery tag so may don the snow camo a few times the end of the month.