2015 deer season

  The 2015 deer season was the best one yet that we have experienced at Moose Mountain Guide Service. We began our 2015 season in early spring with ordering seeds for the upcoming planting season. This year we tried many different varieties to hopefully get "one" the deer really liked. We had trouble with weeds, a lot of weeds, this  growing season. (mostly wild mustard). The plots did not do as well as we would of liked, but the effort we put into pruning out apple trees and clearing brush around them paid off BIG time. So far we have found that clover and standing oats are what deer prefer in our area.

Dixie Crimson clover

       We seen a record number of deer around our property throughout the year. We had all ages, from does with fawns to large old mature bucks.

     We started to get pictures of one buck in particular that "caught" my attention. We nick-named him OLE GNARLY.

2014 picture of Ole Gnarly

2015 continuing to grow

He was a very "different" racked buck. With 4 pts on one side and 5 pts on the other. His left side had 2 main beams and one sticker type point.













  He was a very impressive buck that had taken up a permanent residence on our farm.

    The fall of 2015 came very quickly. I had purchased a bow earlier in the year and was very excited, to say the least, for the opening of bow season. I hunted every chance I could, even if it was only an hour sit after work. Finally I was in the right food plot when he showed up. I managed to stalk within 35 yards of him, but a doe that was feeding there also busted me. As soon as she blew he was on FULL alert. Four seconds later he was gone. I knew he did not know I was there and he only ran because of the doe, so I was not worried that he would be gone forever.
    I decided to setup a ground blind near the food plot he was using on a regular basis. I had it setup and brushed it in pretty good, or so I thought. The next afternoon I was very anxious to sit in the new blind. After about 30 minutes of sitting Ole Gnarly walked up the path and into the food plot. Just like he was supposed to do. As soon as the ground blind came into his view he stopped on a dime and starred at it. He was starting to show he was getting very nervous about the whole situation that he had walked into. As he turned 180 degrees, I thought this is my chance. I picked up my bow and drew back as quickly and quietly as I could because he was less than 30 yards from me. In the process of drawing back, one of the limbs on my bow hit something in the blind. THWANG!!!!!! and with one very loud blow and one enormous jump he was history. Never to be seen in that food plot during daylight hours again. The trail cam caught him only one other time passing through at 2:30 A.M.
   

young buck enjoying an apple

     Rifle season began and I had not seen Ole Gnarly since that dreadful bow hunting experience. I knew he was still in and around our farm checking "his" does. After seeing a few smaller bucks, and even passing on a respectable 8 point, I was not sure if I would ever see Ole Gnarly again. Which brings us to the morning of November 7. My wife and I had dropped the kids at Gram and Gramps and were going to hunt our lower farm. We walked in the half mile and came to the "secret" field, where we would split up and head each to our own stand locations. As we started to walk away from each other I turned back and asked my wife one last time if she wanted to go to my stand instead. She said " no, that she would prefer to watch the lower end of the field".
    Within 25 feet of my stand I turned to my right to check the field edge one last time before climbing into the stand. I noticed there was a deer under the apple tree. I picked up my bino's and saw that it had a very respectable rack. I thought back on all the trail cam pictures we had under those apple trees and most of them where of Ole Gnarly very early in the morning or very late in the evening. He would never hang-out very long after daylight. I pulled up my muzzle loader and put the crosshairs on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger. Yes, I hunt mainly with a Thompson Center muzzle loader, and really like how it preforms. After the smoke cleared all was silent. After reloading I walked down to get my wife to help track the buck, and give him some time to expire. About 30 minutes later we started in after him. At first there was no blood at all, just tracks that told the story of how much that buck wanted OUT of that area. Finally one small spot of blood, then another and another. We found him about 40 yards inside the tree line. It was Ole Gnarly!!! My wife thought she may have to call 911 because I was so excited I may have a heart attack. Finally I was able to put my hands around, well on his antlers because they had so much mass my hands would not reach around them.

         
      Ole Gnarly  
7 point 245 lbs. dressed

#9 heaviest deer shot in the state of Maine

He broke two points off fighting for the right to breed and pass on his genes.

 

weighing at Ben's Trading Post

The Haley family

525 lb black bear

Today we received the mount back for the 525 pound bear that I trapped in the fall of 2012. The bear was trapped here on our property in Perham. The mount is very impressive, GREAT job Steve Jandreau at Wildlife Artistry in Portage Maine.

Northstar Variety tagging station

 

2014 Deer season

     Deer season in Northern Maine runs from the last Saturday in October through the last Saturday in November. The first week of December is muzzleloader season. The five week period can be a very aggravating time. Here on our farm we put in countless hours in the off season planting food plots, mowing clover fields, pruning apple trees, trimming trails, and hanging stands. In the past five years we have seen an improvement in our little deer herd here on our farm. We have about 700 acres to work. Needless to say we spend a lot of time getting ready for 5 weeks of the year. Although with the improved habitat we have seen an increase in many other critters on the farm including, Partridge (Ruffed Grouse) snowshoe hare, black bear, moose, red fox, turkey and of course the Wiley coyote.
     As I sat in the stand on the last evening of rifle season I began to think about all the work we put into the property. Up to this point in the season I had many hours in the field and had only seen a small spike horn buck and numerous does. Is the time, money and effort really worth it? With light fading fast and rifle season coming to an end, one last look over the far food plot revealed the answers to all my questions. There he stood, like he owned the whole farm(little did he know I had the smokepole crosshairs square on his chest and he was about to "Buy the farm"). When the smoke cleared all was silent. Then the questions again. Did I hit 'em? Was it a good shot? Where did he go? I quickly reloaded and climbed down from the stand. As I waited on the ground my dad came around the corner of the field. As we met I asked if it was him that shot. He looked at me like, What? He then said,"If you didn't shoot, who is down in the food plot?" With a smile on my face he knew, and I had to let go of his leg. We approached the seen with high hopes. We found the tracks and started to follow, but not a sign of blood. We continued on the track and still no blood. About 30 yards in we found the deer all piled up, he had "bought the farm". The shot had been 170 yards and had taken out the top of his heart. The smokepole had come through for another season!!
     During deer season our road here in Northern Maine turns into a major highway for the great "Heater Hunter". Many trucks pass through our area,, but never a boot touches the ground. Very few people actually get out and hunt. They hope to see that wary old buck from the seat of their pick-up. I admit a few "hunters" are lucky enough to see deer and may actually get a shot off. I am very reluctant to post very many pictures of the deer we do have on the farm, for if the "wrong" eyes , or the "right" eyes see them the truck traffic on our little dead end dirt road may increase next season. Now I know that we do not "own" the deer that live on and around our farm, but it is frustrating that people just want the reward of a "legal buck" (antlers that are at least 3 inches long) not letting the juveniles grow into their full potential, and not doing any leg work (so to speak) in the off season. There is much more to deer season than just the 5 week "open season".  Even if you do not have farm equipment for putting in food plots, a pair of pruning shears at the local Walmart would do wonders to the many old overgrown apple trees that surround many of the field edges. A little leg work in the off season does pay off in the open season.

Dad and I pre-season scouting

190 lbs. 8 pt.

      

Fall Pheasants in the County

Yes, we do have pheasants in the county. Well at least the ones we raised from chicks. It was exciting watching the little chicks grow over the summer months. Now as we head into fall the anticipation of releasing them grows more and more every time I have to buy a bag of feed. They all have their adult feathers, and are a very beautiful bird (hope they taste as good as they look).

release day #1 pheasants approx. 14 weeks old

In total, we released 43 pheasants. About half were hens and half were roosters. With luck, we will see them around the farm for the remainder of the fall and early winter. That is if they stay away from the road where we live. In hunting season it becomes I-95, and I know every truck passing by would not hesitate to put a few in the game bag.

release day #2 pheasants approx. 16 weeks old

Natures Bounty

The 2014 summer season draws to an end here in far Northern Maine. But with the end of summer begins the best season, Fall/Hunting season. With many varieties of fruit bearing trees becoming ripe, the animals will begin to feed on them storing fat reserves for the upcoming winter months. Berry season this year was one of the best I have seen in years in the County. Many of the berries becoming ripe a couple weeks "early".

High bush cranberry

The food plots are doing well. The moose have started feeding on the cabbage and brassica leaves and will pick up with intensity as the colder nights approach. The deer have found our corn stalks and are lightly feeding on the small tender ears of corn. As we receive more freezing temps in mid to late November the winter bulbs will be pawed up and fed on for that little extra fat reserve for the harsh winter ahead. 

"Nova-Joe" corn

Winter bulb mix

The clover fields are doing very well. With lots of lime being applied throughout the growing season it should be "sweet" for the deer. We also like to plant Dixie Crimson clover in our plots. It has to be replanted each season because of the severity of our winter. The Dixie crimson clover has a very sweet fragrance when being mowed and is a great attractant for the whitetail deer in our area. The soybean plants also grew very well this year. But I have yet to see any soybeans on the plants. The soybean plants were browsed upon throughout the summer growing season by many a deer getting the "taste" for soybeans. We find here in Northern Maine that it most often takes a season or two for the deer to realize that some of the plants in the food plots are "food". Most of what we plant is not natural to them as a food source. We most likely are the only food plots in the area that these deer will ever see.

Dixie Crimson clover

soybeans