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Deer Season Highlights Week 2: More Big Bucks, EHD Impacts, and Close Encounters

Deer Season Highlights Week 2: More Big Bucks, EHD Impacts, and Close Encounters

Week two was almost as eventful as week one. There were ups. There were downs. A lot of in-betweens. All said, here’s a look at what happened recently. And don’t forget to watch the entire episode to catch the full encounters.

A Huge Velvet Buck

In my last blog post, I introduced the buck my friend and filming partner John Kirby killed. It was a fine deer. And one I was happy to see him tag. He had a great story to tell, and I hope you’ll watch it on today’s episode.

“I just center-punched him,” Kirby said. “Oh my goodness. He came out exactly where he came out last night. The bugs were eating me alive. I’ve never itched so bad in my entire life. I just kept saying, ‘It’s going to be worth it. It’s going to be worth it.’”

Worth it … it was.

Big Returning Bucks

Jared Mills also had a couple great buck show back up. He’s been waiting for their return. I’m sure he’s glad they’re back and in the mix. One is a complete stud.

“Oh my gosh,” Mills said. “I’ve been waiting for that deer to show up. I still think he’s a 3-year-old, maybe 4. But he’s back. Gotta keep him alive for another year.”

EHD Kills

The man himself, Bill Winke, tells what he’s been doing the past week. Unfortunately, he found a big 3-year-old buck dead that had incredible potential. That’s what you don’t want to find. But it happens. Nature takes its course. And EHD impacts deer.

“You don’t want to find any of them dead,” Winke said. “He doesn’t have that look of an older deer. But look at all the stuff he had going.”

Crops Coming Out

Personally, I haven’t hunted much the past seven days. Wind directions have been bad for most of the stands I want to be in. On top of that, bucks have been swiftly changing their patterns the past week to 10 days. Because of that, I’ve been investing more time in scouting and less hours in the tree. I personally believe you do more harm than good when you hunt without a purpose, so to speak.

I’m working to relearn a few target bucks. And maybe I’ll be back in a tree soon. I just don’t want to pressure spots for the sake of pressuring them.

Another high note, though? Crops are starting to come out. And that means I might be able to move back in and hunt the area that I pursued Tanker, Shorts and B.O.G. the first week or so of the season.

The corn is still standing where I’ve been pursuing Toots and Acorn Top, though. And that’s where I think I’ll focus efforts until I have a solid daylight pattern on a target buck. EHD impacts are starting to be of concern here, too. Hopefully it isn’t as widespread as we fear.

So Close

All said, I did have an encounter with a big 8-pointer again last week. It passed through just after legal light ended. It was just dark enough I couldn’t get footage, either.

I’ve checked cameras, put out a few scrape tree posts (inspired by Owen Reigler) and hung a few horizontal rubs in that area, though. Hopefully I can dive back in there soon and capitalize on a nice buck.

Don’t Miss: Rapid Decay of a White-Tailed Deer

The post Deer Season Highlights Week 2: More Big Bucks, EHD Impacts, and Close Encounters appeared first on Midwest Whitetail.

Josh Honeycutt
Midwest Whitetail