Another fantastic opening weekend has come to a close. It's always fun to get our crew together for the big deer hunt. While we didn't shoot da tirty pointer (in fact we didn't shoot any deer on opening weekend) we had a great time and saw a lot of deer.
HUNTERS: Joe, Dan, Mike, Bill, Tom R., Jared, and Brian.
WEATHER: It was a beautiful opening weekend overall. It rained on Friday, 7 November, but the rain froze that evening, causing a little bit of crunch in the leaves. There was also a slight dusting of snow, which made it a bit easier to spot deer in the woods. A major snowstorm moved in on Sunday evening and into Monday, which changed some travel plans and disrupted normal deer patterns. The Brainerd area had 4-5" of snow while Minneapolis had 11" or more. Temperatures were in the 30s for highs, but crept into the teens as the week wore on. There was a lot of snow on the ground for the Monday morning hunt.
STANDS: Joe went to Western Ladder. Dan went south of Palace Ladder with his climber. Mike went to 24. Bill went east of Cutover Corner with his metal stand. Tom went to the new Brush Hill stand. Jared went to Bucksnort. Brian went to Cutover Corner.
SIGHTINGS: Joe kicked up a six to eight point buck while walking around the side of Ghost Hill. The buck must have been bedded down in the area. The buck popped up 50 yards from Joe, but Joe didn't have a good shot. Dan kicked up some deer walking into his climber stand south of Palace Ladder. Mike saw a couple of flags out of 24 down in the thick stuff, but couldn't get a good shot. Neither Bill nor Tom saw anything on opening morning. Jared kicked up a buck and a doe walking into Bucksnort, but he could not get a shot. Brian did not see anything out of Cutover Corner, but Tom R. kicked up a doe that Brian saw out of Ambush Alley. In the evening, Brian could have blasted three does out of Western Ladder. Overall, the crew saw a ton of does, but only three bucks. This was an interesting year because the deer herd was way down. That meant only 500 doe tags for all of area 246. None of our hunters had a doe permit this year. Oddly, Cutover Corner had no deer sightings either day for the first time ever!
OTHER: The property had never looked so good! The property featured numerous new trails and freshly tilled openings with a fresh fall plant. We think the food source was a key factor in keeping deer on the property. For example, Jared spotted four deer eating in the western field and gravel pit field on Saturday evening. There was a ton of deer sign all over the property--probably the most we have seen in a long time. The area south of Palace Ladder had a ton of scrapes and rubs.
FORWARD: We all agreed we should put a stand off the Ghost Hill trail next year. Also, 24 will need a new look because it is getting too thick down low.
FUNNY: Dylan (19 months) came home with Brian and chucked a fried potato on-top of a bald guys head on the flight to MSP. At 4:45 AM on opening morning, Brian dropped his iPhone 5S in the toilet. Luckily, it worked fine afterwards! Joe and Bill experienced a trailer nightmare when driving Bill's camper from Minneapolis to Pillager. They had to stop twice along the way--once to change a tire and once to change the bearings.
HUNTERS: Joe, Dan, Mike, Bill, Tom R., Jared, and Brian.
WEATHER: It was a beautiful opening weekend overall. It rained on Friday, 7 November, but the rain froze that evening, causing a little bit of crunch in the leaves. There was also a slight dusting of snow, which made it a bit easier to spot deer in the woods. A major snowstorm moved in on Sunday evening and into Monday, which changed some travel plans and disrupted normal deer patterns. The Brainerd area had 4-5" of snow while Minneapolis had 11" or more. Temperatures were in the 30s for highs, but crept into the teens as the week wore on. There was a lot of snow on the ground for the Monday morning hunt.
STANDS: Joe went to Western Ladder. Dan went south of Palace Ladder with his climber. Mike went to 24. Bill went east of Cutover Corner with his metal stand. Tom went to the new Brush Hill stand. Jared went to Bucksnort. Brian went to Cutover Corner.
SIGHTINGS: Joe kicked up a six to eight point buck while walking around the side of Ghost Hill. The buck must have been bedded down in the area. The buck popped up 50 yards from Joe, but Joe didn't have a good shot. Dan kicked up some deer walking into his climber stand south of Palace Ladder. Mike saw a couple of flags out of 24 down in the thick stuff, but couldn't get a good shot. Neither Bill nor Tom saw anything on opening morning. Jared kicked up a buck and a doe walking into Bucksnort, but he could not get a shot. Brian did not see anything out of Cutover Corner, but Tom R. kicked up a doe that Brian saw out of Ambush Alley. In the evening, Brian could have blasted three does out of Western Ladder. Overall, the crew saw a ton of does, but only three bucks. This was an interesting year because the deer herd was way down. That meant only 500 doe tags for all of area 246. None of our hunters had a doe permit this year. Oddly, Cutover Corner had no deer sightings either day for the first time ever!
OTHER: The property had never looked so good! The property featured numerous new trails and freshly tilled openings with a fresh fall plant. We think the food source was a key factor in keeping deer on the property. For example, Jared spotted four deer eating in the western field and gravel pit field on Saturday evening. There was a ton of deer sign all over the property--probably the most we have seen in a long time. The area south of Palace Ladder had a ton of scrapes and rubs.
FORWARD: We all agreed we should put a stand off the Ghost Hill trail next year. Also, 24 will need a new look because it is getting too thick down low.
FUNNY: Dylan (19 months) came home with Brian and chucked a fried potato on-top of a bald guys head on the flight to MSP. At 4:45 AM on opening morning, Brian dropped his iPhone 5S in the toilet. Luckily, it worked fine afterwards! Joe and Bill experienced a trailer nightmare when driving Bill's camper from Minneapolis to Pillager. They had to stop twice along the way--once to change a tire and once to change the bearings.
