I was “preaching” about the early season cold fronts…and I got pretty lucky! I hunted a secondary early October Feeding Front last Thurs/Friday morning. On Thursday the sustained winds reached almost 20 mph and although they calmed down a bit during an evening sit…it was still a little noisy in the woods!
Last Friday morning was “perfect” though! There was over a 20 degree temp drop from the morning before, and there was even a little frost. I caught this guy about an hour and a 1/2 after daylight moving slowly back to his bed behind a few does. They were coming off a distant corn field and he gave me less than a 20 yard shot.
This is a very good buck for lower MI…and comes from a high enough pressured area that the landowner said, “mums the word” relative to location, county, etc. And that’s part of the cool thing! In the past 27 seasons I have hunted on a total of 3 parcels of land that I did not own or hunt myself/with lease partners. In fact due to hunting a lot in WI, and also OH public land with a bow in November, these were going to be my only 2 archery sits for the entire season, with a bow in MI. I hunted this parcel because I helped design it for my client 4 years ago, and he has become a very close friend. We talk about his property a lot and although I didn’t set a stand, cut any corridors and bedding areas, or plant a plot…it was a very cool feeling to lay the framework of the property and then take part in the process of success! It was a great feeling spending the time with my hunting buddy…and this buck is a testament to HIS hard work while executing the plan.
It was a great early season hunt…a great cold front, a great celebration…and a very unique experience with a good hunting buddy!
By Jeff Sturgis, www.whitetailhabitatsolutions....