Over the last few years, it has become customary for me to go to Delaware for a final hunt starting the day after Christmas and going until New Year’s Eve. That’s a solid five or six days to try to fill a few more tags, and particularly a buck tag if I haven’t done so to that point. I first gave winter hunting a real effort about 20 years ago and quickly learned it’s likely the best time to get an opportunity at a mature buck. In fact, in 2016 I killed one of the best bucks of my life when I took a giant 8-point in Ohio on January 15.
As far as Delaware goes, I at least laid eyes on a shooter buck every December trip down there. While I haven’t killed a buck during winter there yet, it’s not due to lack of opportunities. A couple years ago I missed a wide racked mature buck by shooting under it at just 20 yards. Not one of my best moments as an archery hunter. This year I made a bad shot on the biggest buck of my life and that’s going to get a full story of its own so I won’t detail it here. In fact, when I think about my now eight years of hunting the Great Cypress Swamp, the majority of the mature bucks I’ve seen were during my December trips.
This year’s trip started out well as I saw several bucks on my first sit, including one decent three-year-old. He wasn’t a shooter, but he will be next year. On the first morning sit, Ron and I had what I quickly estimated to be a 150-inch buck chased right to us by a coyote, but it happened so fast I didn’t have time to prepare for a shot. Later that evening is when I had the encounter with the giant buck mentioned above, but failed to make good on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Throughout the trip I saw several bucks and if I was keeping a true tally it wouldn’t surprise me if I saw more bucks than does. I don’t know what it is during this time of year, but it seems to have the bucks up and moving during daylight hours more than other time of the season. Unfortunately, I still managed to come home without filling a tag and thinking back, this might be the first season I ever hunted there without bringing home at least one deer. Some of it was due to choice, and some can be attributed to a string of bad luck.
For example, I had three nice does come within range on an evening sit but they were at every possible angle that what would be considered acceptable as an ethical shot. When one finally did end up quartered away, there was a few small branches in the way covering her vitals. In another instance a mature doe stood broadside at 40 yards, but she was nervous and it was windy and a shot given that scenario is a bad idea. On another occasion I played cat and mouse with a doe as she sensed something was wrong and walked back and forth for about 10 minutes trying to figure it out. While she was in range, a shot I was comfortable with was never offered.
My last two sits of the hunt didn’t result in any deer sightings, although Ron saw a fully mature shooter buck on the last morning. He already got a giant buck in early October so all he could do was watch, and get a little bit of video with his phone. Even though I didn’t fill a tag, my third trip to Delaware this season was easily the best in terms of deer sightings and I’m grateful for the opportunity to go. I hated to see it end for the season but at the same time, I missed home, my body was tired, and I could feel my mental focus slipping. As they say, all good things must come to an end, but I’m already looking forward to next season.