Monday, December 3, 2007

MO - Muzzle Loader 12/2/07

Northern MO had a weather front move in late night on 11/30 and it brought rain/freezing rain, high winds, and a 30 degree temperature change. The rain and wind kept me out of the stand on Saturday, but with Sunday being the last day for filling my 07 firearms buck tags, not even mother nature was going to keep me out of the woods.

12/2 I hunted the property in New Cambria, after giving it a break for 2 weeks. The wind was 20-30mph out of the W - NW and temps started out around 57, but plummeted to 32 by 10am. I started out hunting N of the middle pond. I thought the draw would provide good shelter from the wind and the bank was covered in fresh tracks. There was no movement at all. Around 9am I slipped into the bottom and began to spot & stalk the beach. I only made it about 60 yards down the bottom, when I noticed a small tree that was thrashing back & forth. I worked up another 30 yards and could see the rack of a buck behind a curve in the creek, working the tree over. I slid up the bank on my side hoping to get a better luck at him, since I could only see his tips from the bottom of the creek bed. I got settled behind a huge white oak and prepared to wait him out. The wind was swirling from every direction in the bottom. After about 3 minutes of watching him maul the tree he finally lifted his head. I guessed him at about 3 1/2yrs. old His left side was very tall and carried 4 solid points, but his right side had only a 10-12 inch fork. Very cool/odd looking. He went back to rubbing the tree, and was totally blocked from offering me a shot. I noticed movement to his left as 2 does walked up over the bank edge he was behind. I was on the wrong side of the tree to get a shot at the does and they kept walking right to me. At about 2 yards the bigger doe figured out something wasn't right and they all headed up over the road, no worse for the ware.

I moved the ground blind to the N meadow for the antlerless season and also located an awesome funnel on the N side of the road (great sign).

I'll be back out next weekend and hopefully my season will take a turn for the better!!!!

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