what are you seeing or did you get with the muzzleloaders

[MnDeerStalker]

Just wondering how everyone was doing? All I have seen so far was a coyote. Hope you all are having better luck!

[HUNTER2]

Strange, that's all I saw also. The farmer just got his corn out also. I thought I would have deer all over.

[MnDeerStalker]

you would think so. there are no fields left unturned here so not much for food.

[Moving2thecountry]

I went up North, to a friend's property, on a river.  Steep river valley, light snow on the ground.  I planned to set up a deer stand Friday, so that I didn't have to work in the dark on Saturday.

I had already started setting up my stand down the hill, and was retrieving the rest of the stand from my vehicle, when I turned around, and saw a medium sized doe and a fawn just standing there, looking at me.  I decided to move my stand up near my vehicle, in the clearing, since it was a nice flat clearing, and the idea of getting a deer up the slippery and steep hill seemed daunting--it was hard enough going down the hill with two four foot ladder sections. 

Came back Saturday morning, about 1/2 hour before dawn.  I struggled with the fall arrest system until dawn.  Finally got it  figured out, back up the tree.  As I glanced to the right, I saw a fawn, again, just standing there.  I had about 170 degrees to scan in the clearing, and when I turned to the right, I saw the fawn just standing there.  I didn't shoot.  I tried a few calls, which was probably a mistake.  The fawn didn't mind, but didn't come closer, and it didn't run.  Whether or not I frieghtened off a dow or buck is unknown.

Then, at about 9:00, a man on a neighboring property started up an excavator, and ran it all day, complete with his wife and barking dog supervising.

Frustrated, I eventually took a stool down the hill and found a natural blind about 20 yards from a path on the river's edge.  Flushed a couple of grouse, and wished I had a shotgun.  Sat for about an hour, and started thinking again, man, if I get a deer down here, I will have a tough time even if I quarter it.  So I went back to the stand, excavator noise and all.

Later, another neighbor stopped over to see why there were car tracks in the driveway, about 45 minutes after the excavator stopped working, and about 45 minutes before dusk.  He didn't even see me in the tree, even with blaze orange.  I came down anyway, chatted for a bit, decided to take the stand down while I still had some light.  I expected the neighbor to be excavating today.  Maybe later this week or next weekend. 

All for the best, I suppose.  It wouldn't have been too sporting to shoot in the clearing, as it looked like a deer highway judging by the deer tracks I saw the night before.  But for my first deer, I think I will try it again if I am not feeling strong enough to bring a deer up the hill.

This was my first time hutning, and I learned some lessons. 

1.  Don't put a deer stand on a tree that tilts even slightly to ward the size you'll be sitting on.  It was uncomfortable.
2.  A nice large clearing means more work silently scanning.  I am still trying to figure out if I would have been better off with a smaller field of view.  For all I know, I missed some deer.  The fawn certainly appeared out of nowhere.

All in all, it was a good time.