Whitetail Weekly, Hit List Update
Posted 11-08-2011 at 11:35 AM by Mightymouse
As I climbed into my stand Sunday morning I certainly had high hopes in regards to what I may see. It was November 6th after all and if there is a time of year where you “expect” to see some action this is certainly it. The rut is here, the does are starting to go into estrus and the bucks are really starting to move. It’s big buck time, and I was ready.
As I watched a few small bucks pass through over the course of the morning I began wondering where the big boys were hiding. It has been a few weeks since we’ve had a for sure, in person, sighting of any of them and I was really hoping to lay eyes on one of them this weekend.
After the Sunday morning hunt I talked with a few of our neighbors and through these talks I came up with the idea for this week’s Whitetail Weekly entry. The season is now one third of the way over so I thought it would be a good time to review our original Whitetail Weekly 2011 hit list and see where we stand with these bucks.
(If you missed the original Hit List you can find it here: http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/blog.php?b=531)
5. A buck we call Pinchy was the number 5 buck on the list heading into this season.
Sightings: Spotted once on October 23rd on the Plateau Plot, was in a group of bucks that responded to a rattling sequence I had done. He skirted the food plot staying in the thick cover and, despite offering several good looks at him, didn’t offer any shot opportunities. Good looking buck with a bigger body than I thought he would have while watching him this summer.
MRI (most recent information): Still being spotted on our trail cams quite often and is certainly still using and/or living in our area.
Status: As far as we know Pinchy is still alive and well and frequenting our property.
Some in season pictures of Pinchy (the first picture was taken on October 11th at about 1am)
4. The buck known as Newber occupied the number 4 spot on our 2011 hit list.
Sightings: Spotted once on October 2nd on the Plateau Plot along with another hit list buck we call Big 8 and was captured on video by Chris locking horns with Big 8 that morning. Shortly after getting that video Chris shot another buck and Newber left the plot. Has not been seen since in person since that day.
MRI: Newber has eluded our eyes and our cameras pretty well this year and as of now we don’t have a lot of information on him.
Status: As far as we know Newber is still alive and to the best of our knowledge has not been harvested.
We haven’t pulled cards much during the season but this is the only picture of Newber we gotten since the season opened.
3. The number 3 buck on our list was a buck we appropriately named Big 8.
Sightings: Along with being seen in the Plateau Plot with Newber on October 2nd he was also spotted on the Plateau Plot at first light on October 22nd as well. I was in the stand and spotted him along the edge of the plot as he stood surveying the area. Not sure if he just decided to go the other way or if he was spooked by something but after standing in the same spot for a while and watching the cows graze in the pasture he turned and headed back to our front bedding area. A good looking 8 point that I was definitely hoping would make his way towards me.
MRI: Big 8 has appeared on several of our trail cameras since the season started and certainly appears to still be in the area.
Status: We haven’t heard anything about Big 8 being harvested and to the best of our knowledge he is still roaming the woods on and around our property.
Some in season pictures of Big 8 (the first two were taken on October 2nd at about 2:30am)
2. The buck that I really had my sights set on was Corners, the number two buck on our list.
Sightings: An hour into the season Corners came in to the River Stand setup just as pretty as you please and it looked as though I was going to get the season started with a bang. He was at 10yds and I was at full draw but just as I prepared to release my arrow he stepped through the opening he was in. I waited for him to clear some branches and instead he turned and walked straight away from me. When he turned and offered a broadside shot I drew and fired, misjudging the distance a bit and putting the arrow over his back. He bounced off unscathed and relatively unalarmed. On October 29th I jumped a buck on my way into a stand and I think that it may have been Corners but I couldn’t swear to it. Other than that sighting on opening day he hasn’t been seen (for certain) since.
MRI: We have gotten several pictures of Corners since my encounter on October 1st but they have all been night shots. Did the spook of my missed shot send him into nocturnal mode or was it just the normal end of summer, here come the hunters switch that deer go through? I don’t know but I hope that in the next week or so a hot doe brings him by me and I can get a shot at redemption from my previous encounter.
Status: The rumor mill around us has produced nothing about a buck like Corners being taken and that along with the pretty recent shots we have of him make us believe that he is still out there. I know for certain that he is still haunting my dreams.
All our in season pictures of Corners have come at night, hopefully that changes soon. (The first pic was taken on October 6th at about 2am)
1. The number one buck on the list was a late comer to the summer party but late or not we were definitely happy to see Kicker when he showed up.
Sightings: This buck has not been seen by us in person or on the cameras other than the one time in mid August when he first showed up. Our neighbor said he possibly saw him once in headlights on the way into work one morning. He was crossing the road heading towards the area where we got the picture of him in August.
MRI: In talking to our neighbor this past weekend he said a young hunter missed a monster on Saturday about a mile or so from our place. Was it Kicker, is he still around the area……
Status: This is the type of buck that would certainly get heard about if he was taken around us and so far we have heard nothing. Is Kicker still using our woods, who knows for sure but I like to think he is just laying low and we’ll see him again soon.
This is the only picture we ever got of Kicker, it is actually a screen capture from a video taken in mid August.
That gives you an update on where we are in terms of the bucks that made up our hit list before the season started. We went into the season just hoping to see a few of these bucks somewhere along the way but here we are a month into the season and we have seen 4 out of the 5 and could have had one down if I hit my mark. Unfortunately the only buck we haven’t seen yet, Kicker, is the one we wanted to see the most, although with only one picture of him all summer long we weren’t feeling too good about our chances. We felt that the other deer on the list were living on or around our property and judging by our sightings and encounters so far we were probably right.
As is always the case, the rut has already pushed a few new shooter bucks past our cameras in the last few weeks and next week (once we’ve pulled the other cards and gotten a full look at all our recent pictures) I will bring you some shots of those new bucks and we’ll see how they figure into the equation now that they’ve entered the scene.
It has been a pretty exciting season so far and I am especially excited today because starting tomorrow I am off through November 20th and will be spending some serious time in the woods trying to get on one of these bucks and get the job done. It won’t be easy but hopefully we can bring you some “after” pictures to go with all the trail camera pictures we’ve been able to share with you so far this year.
Take care, and thanks for reading!!!
As I watched a few small bucks pass through over the course of the morning I began wondering where the big boys were hiding. It has been a few weeks since we’ve had a for sure, in person, sighting of any of them and I was really hoping to lay eyes on one of them this weekend.
After the Sunday morning hunt I talked with a few of our neighbors and through these talks I came up with the idea for this week’s Whitetail Weekly entry. The season is now one third of the way over so I thought it would be a good time to review our original Whitetail Weekly 2011 hit list and see where we stand with these bucks.
(If you missed the original Hit List you can find it here: http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/blog.php?b=531)
5. A buck we call Pinchy was the number 5 buck on the list heading into this season.
Sightings: Spotted once on October 23rd on the Plateau Plot, was in a group of bucks that responded to a rattling sequence I had done. He skirted the food plot staying in the thick cover and, despite offering several good looks at him, didn’t offer any shot opportunities. Good looking buck with a bigger body than I thought he would have while watching him this summer.
MRI (most recent information): Still being spotted on our trail cams quite often and is certainly still using and/or living in our area.
Status: As far as we know Pinchy is still alive and well and frequenting our property.
Some in season pictures of Pinchy (the first picture was taken on October 11th at about 1am)
4. The buck known as Newber occupied the number 4 spot on our 2011 hit list.
Sightings: Spotted once on October 2nd on the Plateau Plot along with another hit list buck we call Big 8 and was captured on video by Chris locking horns with Big 8 that morning. Shortly after getting that video Chris shot another buck and Newber left the plot. Has not been seen since in person since that day.
MRI: Newber has eluded our eyes and our cameras pretty well this year and as of now we don’t have a lot of information on him.
Status: As far as we know Newber is still alive and to the best of our knowledge has not been harvested.
We haven’t pulled cards much during the season but this is the only picture of Newber we gotten since the season opened.
3. The number 3 buck on our list was a buck we appropriately named Big 8.
Sightings: Along with being seen in the Plateau Plot with Newber on October 2nd he was also spotted on the Plateau Plot at first light on October 22nd as well. I was in the stand and spotted him along the edge of the plot as he stood surveying the area. Not sure if he just decided to go the other way or if he was spooked by something but after standing in the same spot for a while and watching the cows graze in the pasture he turned and headed back to our front bedding area. A good looking 8 point that I was definitely hoping would make his way towards me.
MRI: Big 8 has appeared on several of our trail cameras since the season started and certainly appears to still be in the area.
Status: We haven’t heard anything about Big 8 being harvested and to the best of our knowledge he is still roaming the woods on and around our property.
Some in season pictures of Big 8 (the first two were taken on October 2nd at about 2:30am)
2. The buck that I really had my sights set on was Corners, the number two buck on our list.
Sightings: An hour into the season Corners came in to the River Stand setup just as pretty as you please and it looked as though I was going to get the season started with a bang. He was at 10yds and I was at full draw but just as I prepared to release my arrow he stepped through the opening he was in. I waited for him to clear some branches and instead he turned and walked straight away from me. When he turned and offered a broadside shot I drew and fired, misjudging the distance a bit and putting the arrow over his back. He bounced off unscathed and relatively unalarmed. On October 29th I jumped a buck on my way into a stand and I think that it may have been Corners but I couldn’t swear to it. Other than that sighting on opening day he hasn’t been seen (for certain) since.
MRI: We have gotten several pictures of Corners since my encounter on October 1st but they have all been night shots. Did the spook of my missed shot send him into nocturnal mode or was it just the normal end of summer, here come the hunters switch that deer go through? I don’t know but I hope that in the next week or so a hot doe brings him by me and I can get a shot at redemption from my previous encounter.
Status: The rumor mill around us has produced nothing about a buck like Corners being taken and that along with the pretty recent shots we have of him make us believe that he is still out there. I know for certain that he is still haunting my dreams.
All our in season pictures of Corners have come at night, hopefully that changes soon. (The first pic was taken on October 6th at about 2am)
1. The number one buck on the list was a late comer to the summer party but late or not we were definitely happy to see Kicker when he showed up.
Sightings: This buck has not been seen by us in person or on the cameras other than the one time in mid August when he first showed up. Our neighbor said he possibly saw him once in headlights on the way into work one morning. He was crossing the road heading towards the area where we got the picture of him in August.
MRI: In talking to our neighbor this past weekend he said a young hunter missed a monster on Saturday about a mile or so from our place. Was it Kicker, is he still around the area……
Status: This is the type of buck that would certainly get heard about if he was taken around us and so far we have heard nothing. Is Kicker still using our woods, who knows for sure but I like to think he is just laying low and we’ll see him again soon.
This is the only picture we ever got of Kicker, it is actually a screen capture from a video taken in mid August.
That gives you an update on where we are in terms of the bucks that made up our hit list before the season started. We went into the season just hoping to see a few of these bucks somewhere along the way but here we are a month into the season and we have seen 4 out of the 5 and could have had one down if I hit my mark. Unfortunately the only buck we haven’t seen yet, Kicker, is the one we wanted to see the most, although with only one picture of him all summer long we weren’t feeling too good about our chances. We felt that the other deer on the list were living on or around our property and judging by our sightings and encounters so far we were probably right.
As is always the case, the rut has already pushed a few new shooter bucks past our cameras in the last few weeks and next week (once we’ve pulled the other cards and gotten a full look at all our recent pictures) I will bring you some shots of those new bucks and we’ll see how they figure into the equation now that they’ve entered the scene.
It has been a pretty exciting season so far and I am especially excited today because starting tomorrow I am off through November 20th and will be spending some serious time in the woods trying to get on one of these bucks and get the job done. It won’t be easy but hopefully we can bring you some “after” pictures to go with all the trail camera pictures we’ve been able to share with you so far this year.
Take care, and thanks for reading!!!
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