Last A-Zone Archery Hunt a Bust

Couldn’t put together a successful tree-stand hunt this year. My plan to invest my time on days with the best moon phase back  fired as the weather didn’t cooperate. Cool weather set in and that wasn’t the best for my tree stand as its success depended upon the deer using the nearby pond.

On the last attempt, not only was the weather cool, but the wind was inconsistent and blustery. I finally gave up when it shifted and blew directly towards the pond. Definitely no way to hunt deer.

Five yearling deer came in to drink, but didn't stick around very long.

Scrub jays and squirrels were hanging around.

This guy checked me out.

On the way home, I photographed a couple bucks feeding on the dam of a pond. The one on the left is probably a shooter. I don’t think he’s an old deer, but he would probably have drawn fire.

A couple blacktail bucks feeding in the afternoon.

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One Surprise, Otherwise an Uneventful Day in the Tree Stand

Per my plan, yesterday was a hunt day. Arriving in my stand about 10:00 AM, I sat until 1:45 PM and then got down to take a look at a pond improvement project with Rob. I have to admit the work site looked pretty rough. Lots of grass covering rock hard dirt that we’ll have to excavate by hand to make sure we don’t hurt any critters. A bull dozer could do finish the work in an hour, but it will take us several days, with Rob doing the bulk of the work.

The view from my tree stand.

Back to the tree about 3:30 and five yearling deer including one legal buck were bedded about 100 yards from my stand as I climbed up. The five deer walked right past my stand before laying down.

Stayed in the stand until 6:30 PM when the wind shifted to down hill making it very unlikely that anything good might happen. The high point of the hunt was when this hen turkey arrived with at least eight polts. Like the quail, the turkey must have been late nesting as the polts are quite small.

We don't normally find turkeys in the canyon, so maybe this brood will be the start of something good.

Tomorrow will be my last archery deer hunt for this year. I’m hunting during the day as that’s the only time when the wind is good for this site. I’m also scouting around looking for a site that will work during the morning and evening breezes, but they are hard to find. Maybe by next season.

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2010 A Zone Archery Opener – Not Much to Report

Opening day got me excited. I felt well prepared as I climbed into my treestand about 11:00 AM on Saturday. Not quite as early as I would have liked, but I figured the best chance would be during the afternoon heat.

My tree stand was well positioned, but by the end of the day, I decided to shift it a little before I left.

It was a long day. I sat until 6:30 PM and then climbed the hill after movnig the stand a few feet to make shooting a little easier.

Wildlife was all around me, but the position of the stand did not give me many chances to take interesting photos.

A yearling doe came in to drink about noon. It was the last deer of the day.

 I spent quite a bit of time studying California ground squirrels which were feeding around the base of the trees.

It looked like a family with several very young squirrels and a couple of larger ones. The moved very slowly keeping a low profile.

I’ll be checking my GPS for the best times and planning my next trip soon.

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Hunting Tomorrow

Got my A Tag this week, so I’ll be sitting in my tree stand tomorrow 9-5, just like work.

Hopefully a nice buck will lay down in the shade of the tree my stand is in. Pics Sunday?

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