So far so good. That’s the current status regarding buck kills near Horseshoe Hills during the first week of the firearms season. The reports I’ve gotten from neighbors include one mature buck that I knew nothing about, a five point on Game Lands 262, a “nice” eight point by a neighbor, and a half rack by another neighbor. I’ve gotten photos of two of the above which I’ve shared below. Obviously I’m not going to be aware of every buck that was shot but I usually get a decent accounting via word-of-mouth.
The buck I’ve been most concerned about was still walking, at least as recently as a day ago. He seems to be holed up at Horseshoe Hills, although he frequents the east border a little too much for my liking. He seems to be a pretty smart deer considering the only time I laid eyes on him during archery season was when he crossed the road in front of me as I was leaving the property late one morning. He doesn’t seem like the type of deer to suddenly go on an excursion and put himself in harm’s way.
There have been several other bucks on the property as well and I’m getting photos of them daily. My habitat plan includes providing good safety cover for deer during firearms season and it seems to be working well. I also had existing thermal cover in the form of a large patch of hemlock trees that keeps the wind and snow off the deer. Most of my photos are from in and around the habitat I created over the years and that’s satisfying.
Making it through the first week is key and with each passing day a buck’s chances get higher that he’ll be around to chase does the following fall. Not only do they limit their movement due to hunting pressure, hunters start getting sloppy and engage in tactics that greatly favor deer. You start seeing more hunters driving around than putting time in the woods. When they are in the woods they’re haphazardly walking around hoping to stumble into an opportunity.
The one advantage hunters have right now is snow cover. We got snow the night before opening day, then more snow soon after and there’s about two to three inches blanketing the ground in most areas. Hunters can see more than they would have otherwise, but it has also been quite cold making long sits more challenging. It looks like the snow and cold are going to stay through the end of the season. Regardless, I expect hunting effort to gradually taper off to minimal by mid-week with one final push on the final Saturday. One thing’s for sure. I’ll be watching like a hawk…from afar.