Deer season began on Nov. 2. I spent the pre-season setting game cameras and hoping to see a big buck, but the cameras showed nothing but a couple spikehorn bucks and does. As opening day approached, the deer went elsewhere. Not seeing any action on my game cameras, I opted for a spot I didn’t have a camera hung, and that is “tried and true” in annual deer behavior, with hopes I’d see a buck chasing a doe.
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| Staci Warren is shown with the buck she took home for the 2024 deer season. It ended up being the largest one that she's harvested so far. PHOTO BY JOHN WARREN |
The first morning, I gave myself a half hour to get into my stand. The walk was long, and I have to navigate over a brook and a boulder field before I hike up the hill to my stand. I struggled getting in. I felt like I was exceptionally clumsy in my boots, but I think it was all the tension my body was holding. Once in my stand, I settled in for the sunrise. I could feel myself relax. I listened for sound of deer. I saw a Barred owl, usually a good sign that I’ll see other game. The first day didn’t disappoint; I saw a group of three does that just appeared out of nowhere.
I never heard them coming since the breeze was steady and the leaves rustled constantly. Cautiously they crossed the opening in front of me, only 20 yards away. With the wind in my face, they never smelled me. I watched as they stopped and fed off to my right before heading over a ridge. Not even a half hour later, I got a glimpse of movement. A deer was headed my way. It circled to my left and came up the hill parallel to my stand and then stopped to eat acorns. Luckily, it didn’t smell me.
Then three more joined in and I sat frozen in my stand as I watched them cross out in front of me and leave. I left feeling happy and for the first time in weeks, I felt refreshed and not anxious.
My second weekend was a lot like the first, only the deer that appeared from nowhere seemed to be a buck that had lost its antlers already. The top of its head had clear signs of a pedicle where an antler should be. It was a nice deer, but I chose to watch it since I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I then had a doe come in on my right, but behind me. She didn’t get that far before she blew, alerting others that I was there. She stomped off through the woods. I was actually having fun seeing all this wildlife and again, I left feeling more relaxed than when I got there.
After the first two weeks, things seemed to go dead. No deer sighting and no deer on camera, not even at night. It was a little disheartening since I, for the first time in my life, took the third week of deer season off to hunt, and after the election, I really needed some treestand therapy. I hunted the first of the week without seeing anything. In an effort to change things up, I decided to sit close by in a stand that had no sign, or not much sign, around it when we scouted earlier in the season. I hadn’t sat there for two years. I rode my four-wheeler down to the paved road and parked. I crossed and then walked the remaining 100 yards into my tree stand. I left early because it was such a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and it was sort of cold. I wore my cold weather gear and even though the wind was pretty steady, I was very comfortable.
I knew I’d have to watch for movement since the wind and noise from traffic would drown out any footsteps of a deer. I looked to my left and began scanning the area for movement. I checked the time on my phone. I had two hours to hunt. I put my phone away and looked up. Straight out in front of me, I caught the hind end of a deer. About fifty yards out there is a line of trees, from which the deer appeared and disappeared. I took out my buck grunt and gave a couple grunts.
Disgusted with myself for not seeing the deer earlier, I watched the woods. Then a doe appeared. It ate along the edge of the woods and walked through an opening and moved away from me. I gave a couple more grunts. About five minutes passed. I hadn’t really gotten too excited since it was just more does, when a doe bound out of the tree line, and circled up and around me.
She stopped to eat acorns. I then saw another doe, and I thought what if a buck was chasing her?! And then I saw the buck step out from the edge of the trees. He grunted, spotted her and headed my way with his head down as if being led by the tip of his nose. I got into position without moving quickly. It approached on my right, and I shoot right. I stood up and used the tree to brace myself. I waited for a clear opening, exhaled and squeezed the trigger. I got my biggest buck yet, but I still didn’t make the Big Buck Club. Maybe next year.
Staci Warren provides a unique woman’s perspective and column on the outdoors every month. She is a freelance writer whose blog, My Mainely Girl Adventures, is about a woman hunting, fishing, trapping, foraging and living in the Maine outdoors. She also loves camping, star gazing, wildlife watching, and hunting for fossils. She’s an active member and board member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association and is a monthly columnist and feature writer for The Maine Sportsman Magazine. In her free time, she enjoys mentoring women hunters and trappers. <
