Deer Hunting #2 2006

Well, I have unfortunately done what I have told myself that would not do again. That was "put off" writing about my outdoor experiences. It is currently March, and I am writing about a hunting trip I took in November. Fortunately for me this trip was VERY uneventful, and so it will be easy to write about, and not be a very long post.

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As I spoke about in an earlier post, this year I was able to partake in two hunts. My first trip was with Ed to his cabin (which I had not visited in many years) and a second with Joe (my father in law). Joe and I have been hunting at my Uncle Greg's cabin for a few years now, but this year we decided to return to the family farm in Fairmont, Minnesota.

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(MAP LINK)

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In years past, we have rented a hotel and spent the night in Fairmont. This year, we decided to just make it "day trips" between Jordan and Fairmont (about 90 minutes). We got an early start. Joe picked me up at home, and we headed out from my house.

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We arrived (at about sunrise) - a few minutes after legal shooting hours. I set myself up at the far north end of the farm (Right side of the picture at the green arrow) and Joe drove to the far south end of the farm (Left side of the picture). We decided to sit tight until lunch time and then we would quietly "push" towards each other, meeting in the middle of the farm.

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I set up at the top of a pretty big hill, where I could get a good view of the creek bed (looking south), in front of me (looking west).

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As I sat, watched the sun rise, I started hearing rustling down in the fields in and around the creek. The sounds I was hearing was not loud enough to be deer, so I sat and watched the grass rustle, until I could make out what it was that was causing all the movement. Pheasants! Lots, and lots of Pheasant. If memory serves me correctly, I saw close to fourteen Pheasants that morning, and three or four roosters!! This would have been an OUTSTANDING morning for Pheasant hunting, but - as it was I was deer hunting - So I kept to what I was there for, and enjoyed watching the pheasants running around. Honestly, a few times they "startled" me as they flushed from the brush! I made a game of identifying (as fast as I could) hen or rooster. The first couple took me a little longer, but it was just a few minutes, and I was right back to being able to pick out the roosters!
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As morning turned to afternoon, I moved a little more "up" the hillside to where the "farm" met the "field". There is a little barbwire fence there, and I set up along one of the fence posts.

Within an hour or so, I noticed (way off on the opposite end of the farm) Joe had started pushing along the fence, towards me. It would easily be another 30 minutes before he would reach me, so I sat at closely watched the creek bed. (My eight point buck jumped out of this same creek bed within about seventy-five yards from me back in 1998 - So I was ready to expect anything (or... Nothing)).
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As it turned out, I was ready to expect - nothing... Joe arrived, and we decided to head back to the car. It was around noon, and Joe needed to eat lunch. This time, on our trip back to the far end of the farm (where Joe parked his car) - we walked the creek bed. We were way down in the valley, and walked through all the tall grass.
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As expected, I kicked up a few more pheasants, and not a single deer.

We walked across the farm to the car. We packed up the guns, and as we headed out to lunch, Joe asked how I felt about "calling it a season".
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After my experience at Ed's cabin, and such a still and quiet morning, I was ready.

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I agreed, thus ending my 2006 hunting season.