Fall Deer Hunt
This past weekend I went on my very first deer hunt. I went up to a hunt camp located in the Madawaska Highlands with my friend Rick. We left on Wednesday Nov 14th and returned Sunday Nov 18th. For the first two nights we stayed in at the deer camp on the south side of the river. For the second two night we stayed on the north side of the river in a rented cabin.
This entry contains the details of this hunting adventure day by day.
Click here for a post of a previous trip to this area.
Day 1: Wednesday: "Wet Beginnings"
We left Rick's place about 9am in the morning for the hour long drive to the cabin. The weather was warm and damp with a high of about 13C. We arrived at the cabin close to 10:30am and unloaded the truck. We packed only our hunting gear and some food and then headed across the Madawaska River using the hunt club power boat. We docked the boat and hiked into the hunt camp and arrived at about 11:30am.
I hunted along the "Y" trail and while Rick hiked up the mountain trail to an area we call the "W". We saw no game on these trails only scattered deer sign. We met at the "Balsam", a beautiful spot along the trail, for lunch. Rick stayed at the Balsam for the last-light hunt and I moved to a watch further along the trail called the "Haircut". Apparently many years ago a hunter just missed a deer in this area and only a few hairs were found..thus the name the "Haircut".
We walked back to camp in the rain and arrived at about 5:30pm. While I got the fire going to heat up the camp, Rick prepared a great supper of roasted chicken and boiled veggies. Yum! The weather cleared just after dark and I spent some time on the deck of the camp admiring the stars. I had a hard time recognizing the constellations as I am used to viewing the night sky from the city, which is not nearly as clear! We played a few games of cards and then retired around 8am as we planned on getting up early the next day.
Day 2: Thursday: "The Men from Iago"
Although we went to bed early, neither Rick or I got much sleep. Several mice in the camp seemed to really enjoy playing the garbage can and making lots of noise all night long. I got out of bed close to 5am and put on water for tea and cooked up a simple breakfast of oatmeal. After the cold night it really hit the spot. I left the camp at close to 6:30am to setup a first-light watch at a place we call the "Point" which is between the camp and the river. It was calm and cool this morning with a temperature of close to -5C. I sat at this watch until about 9am when I met a party of hunters from the nearby Iago Camp. They were setting up watches to prepare for a "Drive" from the south by other hunters and dogs. I moved to a new watch up the "Pines" to wait to see if the dogs pushed any deer my way. At about 12:30, with no sigh of deer, I headed back to camp for lunch.
After lunch we jumped in the boat and headed back over the river to grab enough food and clothes for one more night at the hunt camp. We returned to the camp at about 3pm. I setup a watch in a marsh/field near an area we call the "Hogback". Rick placed him self up on a nearby hill and, using shed deer antlers, "rattled" in the hope that we would lure a buck out of the march and by my watch. This is an interested hunting technique that has worked for Rick before, but luck was not with us tonight. We did see a large Pileated Woodpecker on the trail. What a magnificent bird! We walked back to camp in the dark and I cooked up a simple beef stew while Rick tended the fire. After dinner Rick completed one of the "winterizing" tasks which was to oil up the old wood burning cook stove to protect it from rust. You can see the stove in the picture below. As we were tried we hit the sack close to 9pm.
Day 3: Friday: "The PotHole Stampede"
We slept a bit better Thursday night as the mice seemed to have better things to do than to annoy us. We woke up to a clear and cool morning with a low of about -5C. I cooked up pancakes and ham for breakfast and then headed out in the dark to setup for the first hunt of the day at the marsh near the W trail. I sat there until about 7:30am when Rick met me on the trail. This is a large marsh (~100mx300m) with many game trails running into and around the marsh. As I was hunting with a 30/30 bolt action rifle (Savage 830) I could only take close shots. Next year I hope to bring a more powerful rifle that will reach out a bit farther so I can more effectively hunt this marsh. Afterwards I walked to a watch called "The Gut" which is in a valley just below a beaver dam east of the camp. At about 11am I left this watch and headed further east to "Grant's Watch". Rick was there a bit before me and he had a nice campfire going. We had lunch and warmed up near the fire.
While eating lunch we saw another party of hunters was moving through the area. They were setting up a drive with dogs and they suggested we join in. Rick went down to the Gut and I move a bit south above another marsh called the "Pothole". Just as I was choosing a nice comfortable rock to sit on I heard the dogs barking several hundred meters to the south. Then I heard a VERY loud noise coming towards me. Figuring that this was a buck spooked by the dogs I faced the sound to check it out. The sound was very LOUD, like a stampede of cattle in an old western movie, coming towards me. Just as a raised my rifle and looked through the scope two large moose (a cow and a calf) moved onto the trail I was on. Apparently they figured it was a safe escape route away from the dogs. As soon as they saw me the thundered off the trail and out of sight. I am guessing that there were only about 5 meters away from me before they veered off. They were massive animals and scared me half to death. It took me nearly 20 minutes to calm down. What a rush! Thank God they decided not to run me over, which they certainly could have! I will never forgot this as long as I live!
I walked back to the Gut to meet up with Rick. I walked back to camp via the old logging road trail through the Balsam watch and then down the Y trail. I saw many scrapes and rubs along this logging road. Here is a picture of one of the largest:
We cleaned up the hunt camp a bit and then headed back over across the Madawaska River to stay in the rented cabin. I started the fire to warm up and dry out the cabin while Rick prepared a dinner of pork chops and beans followed by blueberry pie for desert. Life is good! After cleanup we talked and planned the next day's hunt.
Just before bed I took a walk down to the river and sat out under the stars. The river was perfectly calm and the stars were so bright that I could see the reflection of complete constellations in the river. What an amazing sight! I spent some quality time with nature and thanked our Creator for this beautiful place and asked His protection for the following days hunt.
In the evenings at the cabin we listened to Valley Heritage Radio and before long we were singing along to tunes by Stompin'Tom Conners and Elvis Presley. I am very pleased that there was no tape recorder in the camp!!
Day 4: Saturday: "Flag up at Grants Watch"
Saturday was another sunny day, but a bit more windy than the previous days. I had a good nights sleep (no mice in this cabin ;-) and was anxious to get back to the hunt! After a breakfast of eggs and bacon we hopped on the boat and were across the river by 7:45am. We saw close to 50 ducks in the bay as we motored in. What a sight! There was a mixture of mallards, mergansers, and black ducks. With so many ducks here we figured that the ponds up north must already be frozen over. We felt that seeing this many ducks was a positive omen for the day's hunt.
I setup a watch on just off the Y trail at a place called the "Pine Knoll". Rick hunted towards me from the north in the hope of pushing deer towards me.. but once again not a single deer to be seen or heard!
We then split up with a plan of meeting in about 1.5 hours back at Grant's Watch. I went over the W and through the Balsam. Rick took a different parallel route. I saw several Ruffed Grouse along the way and plenty of fresh deer sign.
As I approached Grant's Watch I was as quiet as I could be as I knew that there have been deer there very recently. I carefully climbed up to the watch and did not see any deer. Then, just as I started to take my pack off, I heard a commotion behind me. Turning around and raising my rifle I was too late and saw only the "White Flag" of the deer tail as it ran off down the trail. This was the first time I have ever had a deer in my sights! My heart must have been beating close to 200 beats per minute! I was so close, but did not take the shot as I could not guarantee a safe shot. About 2-3 minutes later Rick appeared in almost exactly the same spot the deer was at but Rick had not seen or heard anything. Amazing! We decided to try to circle around to see if we could see the deer, but no luck!
We split up once again and I hunted along the main trail back to camp. We were at the water just at dusk and headed back across the river.
I cooked up a meal of pasta and meatballs. We enjoyed a glass of red wine and the last of the blueberry pie for desert. Can life get any better?
Day 5: Sunday: "Just Reward for hard work"
It was a bit cooler Saturday night. As I slept on the lower bunk it was my job to keep the fire going. We needed 3 logs of hardwood every 2 hours to keep the cabin warm. As Sunday is the last day of the hunt, and we hope to head home just after lunch, the plan was to hunt close to the river.
The trip over in the boat was breathtaking. The river was perfectly calm and there was a mist just over the water. Ice was starting to form along the banks as well. This time of year you have to watch the weather very closely as it would not be pleasant if the bay froze around your boat during the night!
I hunted the trail into camp and then walked half way up the mountain and setup a watch on a place called the North Ledge along a game trail. Rick went over the top with a hope of pushing any deer towards me. No luck!
Rick showed me around the North Ledge. We saw plenty of deer sign and as well wolf sign and what we think may be a wolves den. Rick also showed be a large cave created by falling rocks. He dubbed it the "Bear Cave" and suggested that my kids would love to check it out in the spring.
Here is a picture of me next to this cave:
As we still had several hours before our planned departure of noon, we decided to once again head east towards Grant's Watch. I went up over the mountain and through the Balsam. At the Balsam I saw a very large ruffed grouse sitting very close to the watch. If only I has my shotgun! I continued down towards Grant's Watch when I met Rick. As we only had one hour left to go, we split up and headed back to camp two different ways.
Here is a picture of me at the W, enjoying the warm sun:
I made it back to camp at about 11:20am and sat to wait for Rick who I was expecting any moment. At 12:30pm Rick had not yet arrived and I was starting to get a bit nervous. I pulled out my FRS radio as we each had one of these radios for emergency. I pressed the "call button" on the radio and heard Rick's voice come back. The signal was very poor and all I heard was "Balsam.....bring the deer carrier.. take the Y trail...." and then the signal was gone. As I did not hear any rifle shots I assumed that Rick must have fallen and needed help. I found the camp deer carrier (basically a large wheel barrel) and start off up the trail. Just before I got to the Balsam I saw Rick walking down the trail with red (bloody) hands. Yipee! He had shot a deer!!!!! It was a mid-sized 8 point buck. Rick shot it at about 75 yards with his 30.06 rifle. The buck dropped right in his tracks. Good shooting Rick!
Here is a picture taken from where Rick was sitting when he shot the buck. Rick (wearing hunter orange) is standing right where the buck was. Ricks says that he heard the buck quite a way off and it sounded just like a person walking through the woods. The buck stopped for a brief second and looked toward Rick, giving Rick just enough time for a shot.
We figured that I did not hear the shot because we had the mountain between us. By the time I got there he had the buck cleaned out so we loaded it up and started the long and painful work of getting the deer out of the bush and to the boat.
We got the deer to the boat by about 2:30pm and we were across the river by 3pm. As I cleaned up the cabin, Rick loaded the boat on the trailed for the drive home. We were both very excited! What a perfect end to a great hunt!
We made it back to Rick's place by about 5pm. My family was waiting there for me and all were excited about the deer. Matthew thought it was pretty cool but all Anna kept saying was "It's gross..it's gross!". ;-)
It was an amazing first deer hunt for me, even if I did not harvest a deer myself. Rick and I hunted very hard over the 5 days and were satisfied with our results. It is a beautiful location and I am looking forward to returning in the spring for some hiking and exploring.
It is funny in that I have never really considered myself an "environmentalist" or "conservationist" but after this trip I now have a much better appreciation of the beauty of nature and an understanding of the need to protect it.
That is all for now. I have more unpacking to do and then I will start making plans for next years hunt!
Tom
This entry contains the details of this hunting adventure day by day.
Click here for a post of a previous trip to this area.
Day 1: Wednesday: "Wet Beginnings"
We left Rick's place about 9am in the morning for the hour long drive to the cabin. The weather was warm and damp with a high of about 13C. We arrived at the cabin close to 10:30am and unloaded the truck. We packed only our hunting gear and some food and then headed across the Madawaska River using the hunt club power boat. We docked the boat and hiked into the hunt camp and arrived at about 11:30am.
I hunted along the "Y" trail and while Rick hiked up the mountain trail to an area we call the "W". We saw no game on these trails only scattered deer sign. We met at the "Balsam", a beautiful spot along the trail, for lunch. Rick stayed at the Balsam for the last-light hunt and I moved to a watch further along the trail called the "Haircut". Apparently many years ago a hunter just missed a deer in this area and only a few hairs were found..thus the name the "Haircut".
We walked back to camp in the rain and arrived at about 5:30pm. While I got the fire going to heat up the camp, Rick prepared a great supper of roasted chicken and boiled veggies. Yum! The weather cleared just after dark and I spent some time on the deck of the camp admiring the stars. I had a hard time recognizing the constellations as I am used to viewing the night sky from the city, which is not nearly as clear! We played a few games of cards and then retired around 8am as we planned on getting up early the next day.
Day 2: Thursday: "The Men from Iago"
Although we went to bed early, neither Rick or I got much sleep. Several mice in the camp seemed to really enjoy playing the garbage can and making lots of noise all night long. I got out of bed close to 5am and put on water for tea and cooked up a simple breakfast of oatmeal. After the cold night it really hit the spot. I left the camp at close to 6:30am to setup a first-light watch at a place we call the "Point" which is between the camp and the river. It was calm and cool this morning with a temperature of close to -5C. I sat at this watch until about 9am when I met a party of hunters from the nearby Iago Camp. They were setting up watches to prepare for a "Drive" from the south by other hunters and dogs. I moved to a new watch up the "Pines" to wait to see if the dogs pushed any deer my way. At about 12:30, with no sigh of deer, I headed back to camp for lunch.
After lunch we jumped in the boat and headed back over the river to grab enough food and clothes for one more night at the hunt camp. We returned to the camp at about 3pm. I setup a watch in a marsh/field near an area we call the "Hogback". Rick placed him self up on a nearby hill and, using shed deer antlers, "rattled" in the hope that we would lure a buck out of the march and by my watch. This is an interested hunting technique that has worked for Rick before, but luck was not with us tonight. We did see a large Pileated Woodpecker on the trail. What a magnificent bird! We walked back to camp in the dark and I cooked up a simple beef stew while Rick tended the fire. After dinner Rick completed one of the "winterizing" tasks which was to oil up the old wood burning cook stove to protect it from rust. You can see the stove in the picture below. As we were tried we hit the sack close to 9pm.
Day 3: Friday: "The PotHole Stampede"
We slept a bit better Thursday night as the mice seemed to have better things to do than to annoy us. We woke up to a clear and cool morning with a low of about -5C. I cooked up pancakes and ham for breakfast and then headed out in the dark to setup for the first hunt of the day at the marsh near the W trail. I sat there until about 7:30am when Rick met me on the trail. This is a large marsh (~100mx300m) with many game trails running into and around the marsh. As I was hunting with a 30/30 bolt action rifle (Savage 830) I could only take close shots. Next year I hope to bring a more powerful rifle that will reach out a bit farther so I can more effectively hunt this marsh. Afterwards I walked to a watch called "The Gut" which is in a valley just below a beaver dam east of the camp. At about 11am I left this watch and headed further east to "Grant's Watch". Rick was there a bit before me and he had a nice campfire going. We had lunch and warmed up near the fire.
While eating lunch we saw another party of hunters was moving through the area. They were setting up a drive with dogs and they suggested we join in. Rick went down to the Gut and I move a bit south above another marsh called the "Pothole". Just as I was choosing a nice comfortable rock to sit on I heard the dogs barking several hundred meters to the south. Then I heard a VERY loud noise coming towards me. Figuring that this was a buck spooked by the dogs I faced the sound to check it out. The sound was very LOUD, like a stampede of cattle in an old western movie, coming towards me. Just as a raised my rifle and looked through the scope two large moose (a cow and a calf) moved onto the trail I was on. Apparently they figured it was a safe escape route away from the dogs. As soon as they saw me the thundered off the trail and out of sight. I am guessing that there were only about 5 meters away from me before they veered off. They were massive animals and scared me half to death. It took me nearly 20 minutes to calm down. What a rush! Thank God they decided not to run me over, which they certainly could have! I will never forgot this as long as I live!
I walked back to the Gut to meet up with Rick. I walked back to camp via the old logging road trail through the Balsam watch and then down the Y trail. I saw many scrapes and rubs along this logging road. Here is a picture of one of the largest:
We cleaned up the hunt camp a bit and then headed back over across the Madawaska River to stay in the rented cabin. I started the fire to warm up and dry out the cabin while Rick prepared a dinner of pork chops and beans followed by blueberry pie for desert. Life is good! After cleanup we talked and planned the next day's hunt.
Just before bed I took a walk down to the river and sat out under the stars. The river was perfectly calm and the stars were so bright that I could see the reflection of complete constellations in the river. What an amazing sight! I spent some quality time with nature and thanked our Creator for this beautiful place and asked His protection for the following days hunt.
In the evenings at the cabin we listened to Valley Heritage Radio and before long we were singing along to tunes by Stompin'Tom Conners and Elvis Presley. I am very pleased that there was no tape recorder in the camp!!
Day 4: Saturday: "Flag up at Grants Watch"
Saturday was another sunny day, but a bit more windy than the previous days. I had a good nights sleep (no mice in this cabin ;-) and was anxious to get back to the hunt! After a breakfast of eggs and bacon we hopped on the boat and were across the river by 7:45am. We saw close to 50 ducks in the bay as we motored in. What a sight! There was a mixture of mallards, mergansers, and black ducks. With so many ducks here we figured that the ponds up north must already be frozen over. We felt that seeing this many ducks was a positive omen for the day's hunt.
I setup a watch on just off the Y trail at a place called the "Pine Knoll". Rick hunted towards me from the north in the hope of pushing deer towards me.. but once again not a single deer to be seen or heard!
We then split up with a plan of meeting in about 1.5 hours back at Grant's Watch. I went over the W and through the Balsam. Rick took a different parallel route. I saw several Ruffed Grouse along the way and plenty of fresh deer sign.
As I approached Grant's Watch I was as quiet as I could be as I knew that there have been deer there very recently. I carefully climbed up to the watch and did not see any deer. Then, just as I started to take my pack off, I heard a commotion behind me. Turning around and raising my rifle I was too late and saw only the "White Flag" of the deer tail as it ran off down the trail. This was the first time I have ever had a deer in my sights! My heart must have been beating close to 200 beats per minute! I was so close, but did not take the shot as I could not guarantee a safe shot. About 2-3 minutes later Rick appeared in almost exactly the same spot the deer was at but Rick had not seen or heard anything. Amazing! We decided to try to circle around to see if we could see the deer, but no luck!
We split up once again and I hunted along the main trail back to camp. We were at the water just at dusk and headed back across the river.
I cooked up a meal of pasta and meatballs. We enjoyed a glass of red wine and the last of the blueberry pie for desert. Can life get any better?
Day 5: Sunday: "Just Reward for hard work"
It was a bit cooler Saturday night. As I slept on the lower bunk it was my job to keep the fire going. We needed 3 logs of hardwood every 2 hours to keep the cabin warm. As Sunday is the last day of the hunt, and we hope to head home just after lunch, the plan was to hunt close to the river.
The trip over in the boat was breathtaking. The river was perfectly calm and there was a mist just over the water. Ice was starting to form along the banks as well. This time of year you have to watch the weather very closely as it would not be pleasant if the bay froze around your boat during the night!
I hunted the trail into camp and then walked half way up the mountain and setup a watch on a place called the North Ledge along a game trail. Rick went over the top with a hope of pushing any deer towards me. No luck!
Rick showed me around the North Ledge. We saw plenty of deer sign and as well wolf sign and what we think may be a wolves den. Rick also showed be a large cave created by falling rocks. He dubbed it the "Bear Cave" and suggested that my kids would love to check it out in the spring.
Here is a picture of me next to this cave:
As we still had several hours before our planned departure of noon, we decided to once again head east towards Grant's Watch. I went up over the mountain and through the Balsam. At the Balsam I saw a very large ruffed grouse sitting very close to the watch. If only I has my shotgun! I continued down towards Grant's Watch when I met Rick. As we only had one hour left to go, we split up and headed back to camp two different ways.
Here is a picture of me at the W, enjoying the warm sun:
I made it back to camp at about 11:20am and sat to wait for Rick who I was expecting any moment. At 12:30pm Rick had not yet arrived and I was starting to get a bit nervous. I pulled out my FRS radio as we each had one of these radios for emergency. I pressed the "call button" on the radio and heard Rick's voice come back. The signal was very poor and all I heard was "Balsam.....bring the deer carrier.. take the Y trail...." and then the signal was gone. As I did not hear any rifle shots I assumed that Rick must have fallen and needed help. I found the camp deer carrier (basically a large wheel barrel) and start off up the trail. Just before I got to the Balsam I saw Rick walking down the trail with red (bloody) hands. Yipee! He had shot a deer!!!!! It was a mid-sized 8 point buck. Rick shot it at about 75 yards with his 30.06 rifle. The buck dropped right in his tracks. Good shooting Rick!
Here is a picture taken from where Rick was sitting when he shot the buck. Rick (wearing hunter orange) is standing right where the buck was. Ricks says that he heard the buck quite a way off and it sounded just like a person walking through the woods. The buck stopped for a brief second and looked toward Rick, giving Rick just enough time for a shot.
We figured that I did not hear the shot because we had the mountain between us. By the time I got there he had the buck cleaned out so we loaded it up and started the long and painful work of getting the deer out of the bush and to the boat.
We got the deer to the boat by about 2:30pm and we were across the river by 3pm. As I cleaned up the cabin, Rick loaded the boat on the trailed for the drive home. We were both very excited! What a perfect end to a great hunt!
We made it back to Rick's place by about 5pm. My family was waiting there for me and all were excited about the deer. Matthew thought it was pretty cool but all Anna kept saying was "It's gross..it's gross!". ;-)
It was an amazing first deer hunt for me, even if I did not harvest a deer myself. Rick and I hunted very hard over the 5 days and were satisfied with our results. It is a beautiful location and I am looking forward to returning in the spring for some hiking and exploring.
It is funny in that I have never really considered myself an "environmentalist" or "conservationist" but after this trip I now have a much better appreciation of the beauty of nature and an understanding of the need to protect it.
That is all for now. I have more unpacking to do and then I will start making plans for next years hunt!
Tom
posted by Zinck Family at 10:06 PM
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