New England Hunter: Deer Hunting 2018

Deer Hunting 2018

I've been slacking when it comes to keeping this blog record up to date. Its almost been a whole year since my 2018 season began. As I am preparing for the upcoming 2019 season I thought it was a good time to reflect on what had happened last year. I think I use the phrase "high's and low's" so much when talking about a hunting or fishing season. The truth is, every hunting or fishing experience is filled with high's and low's. That's what makes people come back for more. If it was all highs then the activity would lose its allure, and if it was all low's then it wouldn't be worth doing in the first place. However, 2018 deer season was exactly that, filled with those high's and low's.

MV Deer Camp

I can't quite remember when, but I heard of a mythical place where the deer flow like wine, and the women flock instinctively like the salmon of Capistrano. I'm talking about a little place called... The Vineyard.

I have wanted to do a deer hunt on Martha's Vineyard for some time. I grew up hunting in the hills of western Mass, but for almost the last decade I've spent the majority of my time in the south eastern part of the state. The two things that these areas have in common is that they all dream of the mythical island deer hunt. I can remember when I was in high school, Nantucket opened up an extra hunting season in January. A few guys from the Berkshires that I knew took the journey and were not ready for the thick scrub brush and prickers that the island is covered with. Never mind the fact that they opened the season up to shotgun hunters. It sounded more like a war zone than a deer hunt.

So there is a lot of talk, backed up with a few photos, of the deer on the island. The state record for largest antlered deer is still held by a lobsterman from the Vineyard. The story that I was told was while pulling up one of his pots, he also pulled up a dead buck with a rack that you can only dream about. Some say that there was a deer farm on the island that is responsible for the genetics for the island's antler size. Whatever the reason, Martha's Vineyard is known to have some big antlered bucks. They also are known for an abundance of deer numbers in overall population.

The reason why my father and I did the trip this year was two fold. One reason was because Mass decided to extend the bow season by two weeks in the early season. This gave us some extra time, seeing as I am usually bird hunting in mid October. Also, the only campground on the island closes mid October, but by going early we would be able to tow the camper along and keep the cost to stay down.

Our first few days we spent really scouting out where we would go. We brought a few light climbers, which was more than enough. The key was really just find an open area to shoot your bow and let the deer come to you.

The first night there I shot a small doe at forty yards. I was able to capture it on my Go Pro. A larger doe came down the same run a few minutes later, but I wasn't able to get a shot off.

We tried a few more areas without any luck, but by Wednesday we found where we wanted to be. I shot three does in one sit. My father also shot at one, (bow hunting from the ground). He ended up having a clean miss, which was fine because that night was filled with tracking and dragging anyways. I actually had to leave one overnight, which anywhere else I would worry about coyotes getting at it, but THERE ARE NO COYOTES ON MARTHA'S VINEYARD. Another reason why whitetail deer numbers are doing so well.

The next day I found the doe I hit the night before. I cleaned it and dragged it out. I tried my best to air myself out from getting so sweaty and went back into the woods to find a new spot. I jumped three deer on the edge of a field so I climbed a small tree and sure enough a six point buck walked in around dark. I put what felt like a good shot on him. He ran around and then walked off. We tracked him for quite awhile through a thicket I can only describe as "satan's asshole." The blood trail led us to the back of a million dollar estate. It proved difficult enough to track over a mowed area, but what made it worse was my father apprehension about using our flashlights on what could be the Obama's vacation house, so we unfortunately chalked it up to a loss. The same night we had to recover a doe my Dad hit. We tracked his doe through a similar, "satan's asshole" area and ended up finding it thanks to the Rage broad head blood trail.

By the end of the week we decided to focus on the island within the island, Chappaquidick or Chappy. We only hunted the afternoons for the majority of the trip. Mainly because we needed to scout during daylight and because we were so busy processing deer in the morning. First night on Chappy my Dad jumped what he called a "freakin Monster." He thought that it had run right by me, but what he didn't know was that I had moved my stand at the last minute... I saw three does that night, and passed on shooting a small yearling. My Dad shot a doe and recovered it right away. We tried Chappy one more time for the final sit and didn't see anything.

In total we bagged 6 deer. Plenty of meat for the freezer. I remember the nights that we say the most activity coincided with cool front temperature drops. I learned that when going to deer bow hunt camp its important to bring two of everything. I lost my wrist release on a drag, luckily my dad had a backup or else my trip would have been over. I had to break into my Dad's extra box of broadheads as well. This year I'll remember to bring plenty of arrows.

Doe hung on the custom hitch meat pole

Recovered Doe

Deer Camp

For the Freezer

The Cape

I had two run ins with deer that I should have shot. This is one of those "low's" I mentioned earlier. Later October I was hunting over an active scrape. A decent buck walked in to check it right at last light. In fact there was only about 3 minutes left of legal shooting light. The deer came in quartering away broadside at 20 yards and I could'n't see through my peep to make a confident shot. I let him walk. This year I will be practicing shooting at last light so I can get confident with that shot.

The second "Low" moment came in the heat of the rut. I hunted a spot that has always produced during the rut because its a natural pinch point between two bodies of water. This particular morning two does walked past me. I went to pull back on one of them and my string slipped off my cam! I was in shock as to what happened but later I realized that a stick had been lodged between the cam and the string. I now carry my bow in a sling to keep this from ever happening again. While I was able to record the deer activity with my camera, that was about all I could do. As I was in my stand I knew the longer the doe hung around the better chance I had at seeing a buck chase her and sure enough.... that is what happened. I watched as a buck of a lifetime came running in and stand at 35 yards. He would later wind me, blow, and take off. Heart crushing is the only description that comes to mind when I think about that deer. On opening day of shotgun season he would be taken by a guy who only hunts one day a year, while on a push, a quarter mile from my stand. Like I said... heart crushing.

Equipment Failure

Rehoboth

I still hunted quite a bit off cape in Rehoboth. I did not see one deer. My trail cams showed a few good bucks in the area, but I never saw one. I hunted one day during shotgun and didn't have much luck either. I didn't go out once for muzzleloader.