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

2014 Bear Season

   The 2014 bear season started on August 25 and runs about 4 weeks. The bear were very active at most of our sites throughout the baiting month. With many trail camera pictures coming in each time we would bait, expectations for the upcoming season were high. Each bait site had multiple bears hitting at different times of the daylight hours. The pictures ranged from early morning hours to the late evening minutes just before legal time ended.
   Congratulations to Tom from Virginia on tagging out on his first night on stand with a beautiful 280 lb bear. Although he put his time in last year (2013) and never shot a bear. Just goes to show that time on the stand is about the only thing that puts the odds in the hunters favor. But bears will be bears. Our second hunter here, also from Virginia, only got to see an outline of a bear in the late evening hours, although it was still "legal" time, we thank him for making a great decision and not taking a less than perfect shot. Tracking a wounded bear at night is not fun or recommended.

Congratulations Tom

130 lbs  

Pheasant chicks...A New Adventure!!

New addition to the farm, 50 pheasant chicks. This venture is a new one for us.  They were shipped from Wisconsin on the 24th of June and the chicks arrived here at moose mountain guide service on June 25. They should be full grown around Thanksgiving time, as it takes about 22 weeks for a pheasant to reach maturity.

Day old chicks

10 days old

Finished product (hopefully)

Maine Grand Slam......almost

    The Maine Grand slam! Deer, Moose, Bear, and Turkey, all shot in the same calender year.  The fall of 2013 proved to be the best hunting season on the books so far for me. In June I was one of the lucky ones to be drawn for a Maine moose permit. I had applied almost every year since I was 10 years old, FINALLY in 2013 I received a permit. The summer went fast as I scouted many new areas. My wife and I hunted mostly around our home, hoping to get a bull on our own property. As the September season closed in, we had a chance encounter with a magnificent bull. After seeing this bull I knew he was the one to hunt for on opening day.
    On opening morning we hunted the area we had seen the bull. We found several of his wallows, but never met up with him. As Monday came to a close we had seen several smaller bulls and cows, but we were holding out for the BIG GUY. Tuesday morning found us sitting in the truck waiting for the rain to stop, for I had chose to hunt with my smoke-pole. The rain never did let up, so we decided to go for a short drive. Then my wife seen a small bull heading out across an over grown field. We got out and followed the young bull. We could tell he had something on his mind as he headed out across the field. By the time we trudged across the rain soaked field, the small bull was no where in sight. My wife suggested we should walk in and check one of the wallows we were close to, so we did. (THANK YOU Roberta!). That is where we found the BIG GUY with his sweetheart. One shot from the smoke-pole and the big bull was down. NICE!! (luckily it only took one shot, my reloading kit was in the pick-up a half mile back)
      The bull weighed 956 lbs. with a 52 inch spread.

    Deer season in 2013 was an aggravating season, to say the least. I had several opportunities, but did not close the deal on a buck until late November. The buck was a nice 8 point,   162 lbs.









   Black bear hunting, Frustrating but Fun. 2013 was a somewhat difficult bear season, due to the readily available natural food sources. Yes, most bears prefer natural food sources to a bucket of doughnuts. I was able to harvest 2 bear in the fall of 2013 by way of hunting and trapping. The bear I shot was 125 lbs, great for eating. Then I trapped one that was 350 lbs. They were both on our property destroying the apple trees we prune and maintain.

350 lbs

   Lastly,In the spring of 2014 (a season to late) I was able to shoot a nice long beard. (thanks to Mr. Huston). I had to travel to southern Maine for the last leg, or thigh, of the grand slam. The season in northern Maine was cancelled due to the severe winter and very late spring(severe even for northern Maine). Chris and I had talked about going after some long beards, but never finalized plans until a week before the season opened. We had seen several nice toms and decided to set up in a field we had seen two toms, two jakes, and one hen. On Monday we were in our blind well before sun rise. We had a lone hen come in and check us out, but then she left. Shortly after that she returned followed by a big tom. The tom came right in to the decoys. Several hours later we returned to the same blind and Chris was able to shoot his very first turkey.

19 lb 6 oz 9 inch beard  1 inch spurs

Chris Huston