Thought I'd share the positive outcome of my Ontario whitetail deer hunting season on public land this fall. While there is plenty of Crown land in Eastern/ Central Ontario, it typically sees high hunter pressure during the two week rifle season in early November. This is "big woods" country - beaver ponds, conifer swamps, thick hardwoods. In most places you can't see further than 75 to 100 meters.
I had identified a small drainage as a likely buck travel corridor during the rut through prior scouting. I had trail cams set up in the vicinity and had captured several bucks using the drainage as a travel corridor in the early days of the rut (including as it turned out the buck I eventually shot).
November 10 was a bitterly cold morning, -10 C and windy. I had still hunted back into the drainage and was slowly working my way into the wind. The drainage was about 75 meters wide - tangled conifer growth. On the south side a ridge rose quickly into a old logging clear cut. At 8:45 AM I had dropped down into the drainage itself (the stream is literally a meter wide) when I suddenly heard leaves rustling and twigs breaking. I quickly looked up to my left (south) on the side of the ridge to see flashes of a big grey body and large antlers flashing through the brush. What happened next was "auto pilot". As the buck entered a shooting lane at 30 meters my rifle was on my way to my shoulder and I was grunting to stop the buck. He came to an immediate stop and looked down in my direction just as I touched off my 308 BLR. He took off at lightning speed, turning down into the drainage and tearing past me at literally 10 meters. I fired as he passed me and then got a rapid third after him as he disappeared north across the drainage at full speed.
My hunting partner joined me and we found blood at the initial shot site. Soon the blood trail was very apparent and we found him piled up about 100 meters away. Turns out I had hit him lethally with 2 of the 3 shots fired.
It was a classic Eastern "big woods" hunt. Hours/days of minimal action and then mere seconds of wild "up close and personal" action. Here in Eastern Ontario the peak chasing phase of the rut always seems to hit November 8 - 10. Those three days can be absolute magic with the big boys on their feet and moving hard.
He's at the taxidermist as we speak. Could have as many as 13 points (depending on what the official scorer sees) and he dressed out at 195 lbs - my best buck to date.
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