It’s hard to believe that it’s almost Christmas and another deer season is almost over.
The 2016 buck season totals are in and hunters took 45,871 bucks during those two weeks. As predicted, this year’s buck harvest was down 25% from the 2015 total of 60,814 bucks taken.
Tucker County hunters took 726 bucks this year and didn’t see much of a decrease compared to 783 in 2015. This year’s buck harvest was actually the 2nd highest in the past 5 years for Tucker County hunters. The lowest occurred in 2014 when 494 bucks were taken.
For those that are still hunting, your chances of connecting with a nice buck are limited to archery season which ends on December 31. Getting within bow range is challenging during this time of the year but it can be done and provides extra days in the woods for those with unused tags.
There are still opportunities to fill the freezer for those counties open to the late antlerless deer seasons that runs from December 28-31. There will also be a two day antlerless season for youth, seniors, and hunters with handicaps on December 26 & 27. After December 31, deer hunters will have to wait until next fall to pursue the majestic whitetails once again.
I’m already looking forward to next year’s deer seasons as there should be some really nice bucks running around with the lower buck harvest this year. The same thing happened in 2014 when the buck harvest was the lowest it has been in the past 5 years which in turn produced some record book bucks for the 2015 season.
I saw a few bucks during muzzleloader season while hunting for a doe. It was kind of funny because 2 out of the 3 evenings I hunted the only deer that came within muzzleloader range were young bucks. Finally on the last day about 15 minutes before dark a big doe came to the food plot and gave me a 50 yard broadside shot.
It was cold that evening with temperatures in the low 20’s and wind chills in the teens.
I got to thinking, as you have a lot of time to think while sitting in the blind, that I would have been freezing to death back 25 years ago when I first started hunting on a day like that. I would’ve had 5 layers on and still been shivering like crazy.
Not now as the advancement in clothing has been amazing. I have a heavy coat and pants that I wear two base layers under and stayed comfortably warm even though the thermometer hovered around 20 degrees. I actually can’t wear this suit if it’s much over 30 degrees as you’ll sweat profusely. I was reminded of this after I cleaned and loaded the big doe in the side by side when I took off my base layers that were soaking wet.
Ground blinds have made hunting in the elements much more tolerable as well. You don’t get wet in the rain and snow and they help block the wind on a last day muzzleloader hunt when the wind chills are in the teens. They also keep your scent in and rarely do I have deer smell me when I’m hunting out of one. Over the past 5 years I’ve almost completely converted from hunting out of a treestand to sitting in a ground blind. They’re much safer too as my one buddy always says, “you can’t fall out of a ground blind and if you do you’ll live”.
These were just a couple of thoughts from the blind as this year’s deer season winds down. Get out and make the most of the next two weeks as winter will set in and visions of big bucks will have to wait until fall. Be sure to take a close look at the deer’s head before shooting as the bucks will be shedding their antlers soon.
I saw a 4 point that already lost one side sometime during the first week of buck season. He had both sides the week before. I just saw him again last week. Good luck to those venturing out for one last chance.
