8 Years Ago Today

September is usually one of the most exciting months for deer hunters (next to November). The mornings are beginning to become cooler and the grass is filled with dew. As archers, we are shooting our bows now more than probably any other time of the year. We want to ensure our equipment is on its mark and building our confidence for that moment when the big one steps out. I also look forward to the early season evening hunts. The deer don't know that the season has begun and they are still fairly predictable in their feeding patterns.

However, September is also a month that has two days that are personally challenging for me. One day that I obviously struggle with, as a firefighter, is Patriot Day. Just like you, I reflect back on that horrible day on 9-11-01 when our country was cheap shotted by a bunch of cowards. I ache for the firefighters and their families that had their lives turned upside down with the loss of 343 of our brothers and sisters in the fire service. Not to mention the loss our country felt from the additional thousands of victims that died that day. I happened to be working on shift this year for the 10 year anniversary of Patriot Day. We had numerous families stop by the station to express their gratitude and bring us food. One lady said to me that she was so grateful for the sacrifices that firefighters made that day. I replied that although I did feel a special bond to our lost 343, I feel Patriot Day is truly about Americans and not just firefighters. She replied, "what do you mean?" I continued that there were no firefighters on Flight 93 but those passengers were truly heroes as they attempted to reclaim the plane from their attackers. They saved hundreds or thousands of lives that day. There are countless stories about ordinary people who stepped up that day to do courageous things, saving lives. They are as much a Patriot as as I am as a firefighters and they displayed the true courage and pride that all Americans should have inside their hearts. Today we are free but we should never stop defending that freedom. We should never stop thanking those soldiers that have, or currently are, defending that freedom for us. Please- don't let a soldier, or previous soldier, walk by without thanking them for their sacrifices. It is the least we can do!

The second day that I struggle with each year in September is today. Eight years ago on September 19th I received a phone call at the fire house while I was finishing my shift. It was my father who struggled to maintain his composure as he explained that my grandfather had passed away. I still vividly remember how he struggled to get the words out and how hard it was for me to comprehend and accept the information. You see, my Grandpa Fred had been one of my best friends and hunting buddies. So I actually lost three people that day. A grandpa, a best friend and a hunting buddy! I still often feel his loss, eight years later.

So, what does this have to do with hunting? Actually it has a lot to do with hunting. Patriot Day should be a day that we morn the loss of heroes and Americans. It is also a day that we should be thankful that we are Americans and have the freedom to hunt animals and pursue our passions. Think of all those soldiers that are protecting us when many of them would rather be hunting just like us.

September 19th is a day that I lost a loved one who was responsible (in conjunction with my father) for sharing the outdoors with me. I am a hunter because of his influence. How did you get into hunting? Have you taken the time to thank those that introduced you into hunting? Better yet, have you tried to return the favor by taking them hunting or fishing? Have you introduced someone new to hunting? I am not oblivious to the fact that we are all going to experience loss in our lives. What is important is that we cherish what we have and who we have in our lives today with no regrets tomorrow.

Thanks Grandpa Fred! We miss you and know your in a better place.

(The last picture taken of grandpa, before he passed on, is at the bottom of this page to the right)

(P) Our first week of deer hunting!

Day #1- September 24th finally came! It was the first hunt of the year and I couldn't wait to get in the tree. Over the last month, most of our big buck pictures on our big farm came off a secluded clover food plot hidden in the woods. We had recently replanted the clover in this field and I had checked it when I put up the trail camera. It looked like this on September 19th:It looks like the clover is coming up good, right? Well, I was very confident that we could kill a mature buck on this field so I elected to let my Dad hunt and I filmed him. This was the first time we had hunted in the tree together. I was pumped. We had a NW wind at approximately 5 mph. The evening was supposed to drop down into the 5o's. The night was setting up to be perfect for good deer movement. We pushed a small buck, doe and fawn off the food plot as we approached the stand sight (they didn't know what we were and did not spook). However, we did not see a single deer the rest of the night. Here is why- they ate all of our clover in 5 days! It looked like we were hunting over a plowed field. Disappointing.Day #2- On September 25th Dad and I decided to split up to cover more ground on the second evening. He went to a clover food plot and I hunted a winter wheat food plot. I had a couple recent trail camera pictures of a buck in the area. Once I arrived, I found that 3/4 of the winter wheat had also been eaten in this food plot. I couldn't figure out why the deer were devouring our fall food sources. We had Whitetail Institutes Pure Attraction also planted on the other side of the food plot (it was still standing), so I elected to hunt the field anyways. We had a light rain come in around 4:30 but it did not last more than 45 minutes. I was expecting some good deer movement right after the rain cleared out but we did not see much. Dad saw a few does, some small bucks and a 125" 8 point 2 1/2 year old. I saw a doe, 2 fawns, and two small bucks. One of the small bucks kept following the doe around. She kept chasing him off trying to hit him with her front hoofs. I think she must have been his mother who was chasing her 1 1/2 year old buck away for good (to eliminate cross breeding in the coming months). It was sad to watch. I also saw approximately 15 turkeys who managed to pick me out in the tree at 60 yards. Why is it that turkeys can spot you a mile away in a tree but they can't make you out 10 feet in front of them on the ground? Crazy.

Day #3- Semptember 26th found us 3 days after the full moon, temperatures were in the mid 60's, it was a cloudy day with a mild NE wind. Dad went home so I elected to hunt between a corn field and a known bedding area. I didn't see a thing so at dark I walked out to the south fence line to see if I could spot deer heading out to the corn field with the horizon behind them. I was in for two surprises. First of all, the farmer to the south had harvested the corn within the last couple of days. The corn field was gone. This was one of the reasons the deer were hitting our food plots so hard. The farmer pulled the corn off early in the area and the deer weren't hitting the soybeans for some reason. Secondly, I found a hunter hunting near our fence line out in the cut corn field (the neighbors has no woods, so he was sitting in the field waiting for our deer to step on his side of the fence). I politely confronted him since he was wearing no orange (during muzzle loader season) and reminded him to stay on his side of the fence. I doubt he will be back to hunt that area.

My cousin Steve and our buddy (Monty) were down from Wisconsin hunting on another farm in the area. Steve attempted to thread the needle and took a difficult shot at a 135" 8 point. He did not get the deer though (the arrow could have deflected off some brush). We searched the area for 4 hours the next morning and found no deer. The buck was lucky this time. The buck was standing in grass that was approximately 3 feet tall so finding the arrow was impossible. Steve worked hard to locate and hand that particular stand set. He really wanted to harvest that buck!

Day #4- Steve and Monty had hunted a few morning but there was zero deer movement. Usually they deer are back in their beds by day break this time of year. On September 27th Steve had to head home due to work responsibilities. So Monty and I packed up and headed North to a different farm near the Kansas River that we had not hunted yet. We hung our stands just inside the woods line, staying off a 2 1/2 acre Whitetail Institute chicory food plot that we had planted last fall. We had a SW wind at 3 mph, cloud cover, with temperatures around 63 degrees. I saw over 20 deer that night with 16 of them being bucks. Can you believe it? I did not have a shooter come within bow range. However, Monty was a couple hundred yards away from me and he had a a 145" 8 point come by at 4 yards. He elected not to shoot him because behind him was a beautiful 160" mainframe 10 that came by him at 15 yards. There was so much brush that he elected not to try and take a shot. He was afraid of wounding the monster if the shot hit brush. Monty saw 13 additional bucks that night. Most of the bucks were out in the food plot between 5 and 6:30 pm. They were sparring and rubbing trees like it was the end of October. Although we didn't kill anything that night, It was a great experience.

Day #5- On September 28th, I recruited my Dad to join Monty and I the next night for the hunt. Monty elected to return to the same stand that he hunted the night before. You can bet he trimmed out the brush that blocked his shot at the 160" buck the previous night. I offered up my stand to my Dad. Most of the deer walked within 15 yards of the tree, so I was confident that he would have some good action and a chance a killing something. I decided to get aggressive and hunted in a ground blind right next to the food plot. Our weather conditions changed a bit on us. It was hot and sunny with temperatures in the high 70's. The deer did not hit the food plot until almost dark. I saw 10 bucks and 8 does. Dad and Monty had similar results. The only big buck we saw was a 135" 9 point that had a tenth point coming off his left brow tine. I had him at 25 yards in the food plot. I passed on him though so he could grow 2 more years because he looked like a 3 1/2 year old deer. In two evenings, Monty and I had seen over 25 bucks. Although we weren't successful, it was a lot of fun.

Well, it was a great time hunting early season with my Dad, two brothers, Cousin Steve and Monty. It was definitely a different kind of hunting compared to the rut. My next goal is to shoot a couple of does in a couple of weeks out of a ground blind with my kids. I can't wait to hunt with them!

(P) September 28th

Today is my last day of my early season buck quest. I got aggressive and placed a ground blind next to the food plot on a fence line with thick vegetation. It was 72 degrees today, sunny, with a NW wind @ 8 mph. I saw 10 bucks including a 135" 9 point with great mass and three browtines. Most of the deer came out right at dark. A doe was the only one to notice the ground blind. I with the big 1o would have showed up from the night before.

(P) September 27th

After searching for half the day for my cousin's buck, we loaded up our gear and headed to a new farm to the north for the evening hunt. We had a 2.5 acre clover plot that was getting a lot of attention from the deer. My friend, Monty, and I saw 16 bucks and 8 does. The bucks were aggressive making rubs, sparing, fighting, etc. One of the bucks was a chocolate racked 8 pt. that would score close to 150" while he was followed by a mainframe10 165" monster. non of the deer offered a shot. The SW wind was at 3mph with cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid 60's.

(P) September 26th

We are three days from a full moon with temperatures in the lower 60's. Today is cloudy with a mild NE wind. Deer movement appears to still be slow. I decided to hunt the south end of a ravine which is a bit closer to bedding areas (stand #5). I saw nothing. On my way in from the stand I found a guy (Allen) hunting a field next to our fence line with a muzzle loader. He was sitll out in the field after dark and had no blaze orange in his possession. I chased him off and said I would call the game warden next time. I also advised him to find a new place to hunt that had its own woods. There are some idiots out there that continue to give our sport a bad name.

My cousin Steve hunted a new farm for the first time (hanging a set mid-day). He shot at a big 135" 8 pt. but hit him too high on a very difficult shot. We searched for 4 hours the next morning for the buck covering the whole farm without success. There was almost no obvious blood. Sometimes that is hunting.

(P) September 25th

No morning movement what-so-ever. Dad and I split up tonight to cover more area. We experienced a light rain for about 45 minutes at 4pm. The deer movement was right after that. I saw a doe with 2 small fawns and a 6 point while sitting on a food plot (stand #8). Dad sat on another food plot (stand #7) and saw 2 does, 4pt., and a 125" 8 pt. with should grow into a very nice buck in two years. A cold front moved in after the rain bringing heavy NW winds.

(P) September 24th

First night out this year. Had a NW wind at 5 mph. I videoed my Dad hunting off a food plot hidden in the woods (stand #4). We pushed a small buck, a doe, and a fawn in the east end of the food plot. We had just planted this clover plot 3 weeks ago. It was coming up nicely but on this night we found that it was all gone! Bummer! The deer hammered it down to nothing but dirt. We obviously saw nothing else during the night sit.

(P) September Deer Activity

Deer activity this month is a bit hard to predict. Most of the deer should be on their feeding patterns for the next month as they begin to bulk up for the rut and winter. We won't see early activity related to the rut until October 19th. To be successful, hunt close to the bedding areas unless you are hunting near a good evening food source (unless otherwise noted below). In the meantime, here are your lunar times for the rest of September:

September- Time
22-1259 (Autumn begins)
23-1333 (Full Moon)
24-1402
25-1443
26-1538
27-1622
28-1718 (Don't be afraid to hunt a transition area in the morning on this day)
29-1813 (Hunt transition areas in the morning and evening)
30-0638/1906 (Hunt transition area in the morning and a good food source staging area in the evening)- Last quarter Moon

* For more information on this topic, read my previous article on Moon Phases (February 2010)