Pennsylvania Whitetail
Day 2
On the second day of the hunt our strategy was basically the same, except we were faced with significant rain that caused us to hunt from an enclosed blind uphill from where we had had the action the previous morning. This blind overlooked a small food plot that had been planted to corn during the summer.
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As the morning progressed the rain continued but that did not stop the deer from filtering through. What we saw were mostly does and young bucks that stopped to feed briefly on their way to the bedding area. After about two hours the rain let up and we decided to go look around for likely treestand locations for the afternoon hunt.
As we began our scouting mission we traversed across the hillside on which many of the deer were bedding. We jumped a few does and fawns, but that could not be helped. It was interesting to see this new habitat, and entertaining to look at the trail system, trying to determine the best locations for a new stand. This, to me, is one of the most exciting aspects of deer hunting. To use your brain to locate a stand in exactly the right location to intercept a big buck is both challenging during the process and deeply satisfying after you have been successful!
We saw many promising locations near scrapes, and a couple of locations that caught our eye near one of the largest rubs I have ever seen a whitetail make! This rub looked more like it was made by an elk! Undoubtedly, this was a community rub, and looked like a great place to encounter a pre rut buck looking for one of the season's first hot doe. We settled on this location to erect a stand for our afternoon hunt.
After breakfast we were back at this location to get our two treestands up as quietly as possible. I was using the treestands and climbing sticks made by Lone Wolf. I use two sets of their climbing sticks which gets me up about twenty-five feet up in the tree. We cut out the interfering branches and then made shooting lanes from ground level. Then we vacated the area for a couple of hours before it was time to return for the afternoon hunt.
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As is typical of early season whitetail hunting in the afternoon, we had very little action until it was close to dark. The last 45 minutes, however, was action packed with sightings of several does and three nice bucks. The best buck that moved through the area was an impressive 6 x 6 that came walking down one of the logging roads about 35 yards out. He was on a fast walk and passed through the shooting lanes so quickly there was no time for a shot. This buck was old, at least five. I would have taken him if I could but the shot opportunity newer presented itself. To complicate matters further, Jason Huntsman, who was filming from the stand on my left, never had a clear view of the deer so video would have been almost impossible. We watched as this beautiful 160 plus buck passed by and then continued on in search of a hot doe.
As the evenings light faded and all hope of having a giant buck cruise by our stand was lost, thoughts turned to the lodge where and excellent meal of venison backstrap was waiting for us, along with an opportunity to share a few stories with long time hunting buddies. We headed back to the camp with great anticipation for tomorrow's hunt.