Thanks for the heads up. If I remember correctly you mentioned this last year and the same day you said to stay up all day is when I got my buck.

the chef

Yip...here too. There has been a lot of mid day activity opposite the full moon and they are feeding under the moon at midnight too. The rut is on in the mid Atlantic for sure!!

Damn I should have gotten out earlier!! There were deer all over the place on the drive out. Unfortunately things didn't allow for a full day afield. When I got to my stand there were 4 deer under it and I had to shoo them away before going up. I did manage a shot at a nice big doe but she had her head behind a large poplar. You guessed it I killed a poplar!! I still don't see any rub-lines though. I think we might need 3 or 4 days here.

the chef

the chef

I saw a two-year-old buck chasing a young doe on Saturday. Saw him skulk in and bed down about 75 yards from the stand Sunday.

I have seen nothing else.

Could the does be avoiding my area because he's hanging around and they are not in the mood? It seems the only explanation to me. Unfortunately they have moved onto a different property. These small places can be frustrating to hunt!

Deer are strange sometimes. My brother hunted one of our stands 2 evenings and saw nothing. I went there yesterday and deer were all around from 140pm til dark. I'm hunting for a buck, so it was nice just to watch them.

My boys and I went out after the storm this afternoon and we have 3 doe hanging as I type. It is too damn warm here so I need to cut them up tomorrow and get them in the freezer.

Between the 3 of us we saw 30 deer in 2 hours. More deer than squirrels in the woods this year!!

I sat 8 hours today at minus 14 C...near froze my azz off!!! Things were getting pretty serious between a big bodied buck with small horns and me. He just wouldn't take that final step to clear the bush. Oh well it's for the best I only wanted to pop him so I could get out of the stand and quit freezing. Finally a really nice buck came along but he was only interested in the doe he was following. They stopped and made woopie behind a bush-so I guess things are rocking and rolling here. No way in hell I could call him or her over my way, I thought that might be possible once they were finished. It was really nice to finally see something I've been out 4 nights without seeing anything at all, and that sux!!

good luck everyone

We have a cold front coming thru tonight...I hope! It is 59F at 0130...too damn warm!!

I was driving to town tonight and an 8+ pt buck jumped the fence on my right side and a couple hops later was over the fence on the left side of the road. Damn....that was a nice deer...big thick neck and a nice rack even thought I will not get a shot at him.

Chef,

Hope things turn around for you soon!!