2022 Hunting

2022: Successful, at times alarming, and definitely more expensive than usual…

The big male wolf in the middle of the trail has been around for several years, but has taken to ghosting me around when I’m working down in the creek bottom on our property. I warned my buddy about it who thought (and told me) I was full of beans until that male snuck up and sat down about 10 yards behind his bear bow stand as he was climbing into it one afternoon. We had a good laugh over it but I’m pretty sure he’s still scrubbing out his camo pants.

The bears chewed up not one but three cameras this year, one of which was a cellular camera. That gets a little rough on the pocketbook.

First week of firearms deer was pretty quiet for us with more coyotes and turkeys seen than deer. The second week my Dad who’s 85 and still gets as excited as a kid on his first hunt took an enormous-bodied spike. The photo isn’t a cheater either, the head is resting on his knee.

My son had a bruiser 9pt. we were after blow by him several times chasing a doe the next day. He ended up taking the trailer on a shot I’m still not sure how he pulled off given the tiny little shooting window/lane he had. He was happy with it but I was way more excited than he was.

I stuck it out alone through the last weekend and was rewarded despite a very windy, snowy morning. I got lucky when a doe and fawn hoodwinked a heavy 8pt. past my stand. I run cameras from early April through end of November every year and have no pictures of that buck whatsoever. I’m not sure where he came from but was glad he showed up and offered a shot.

Rounded out the season helping my neighbors recover a doe they had lost while muzzleloader hunting. I was cutting a Christmas tree for my folks and spotted a fresh trail with one tiny, tiny drop of blood in it. I followed out of curiosity and after 1/2 mile, located her on the edge of a grassy swale at the east side of my place. Felt really good to go tell them I had located the doe and where to find her.

Hope everyone’s season was safe and successful! Now if I could only get as lucky ice fishing…

Regards-

H2O