Did my annual (unless I'm out of the country) trip to Indiana for muzzleloader last week. ALL PUBLIC LAND.
I got two button bucks....one I thought was a decent sized doe, the other I knew was a button buck but it was small and we had a small deer contest going on and well, I won. It was very, very tiny. I've shot small deer but this one was smaller than any legal Florida deer I've ever seen. And NO it did not have spots. I checked. Closely. We had one of the backstraps in camp with some spaghetti. TENDER.
Anyhow, one kid in camp got a very nice 8 point that probably scored over 120 or possibly even close to 130. It was his first deer and he had never hunted so he actually did not understand what the big deal was. It was a damn fine deer.
My buddy I drove up with saw a HUGE 160+ class deer. I was with him but was on the other side of the tree so I heard that D9 dozer coming up the ridge but didn't see it. He did but my buddy was turned just enough to not be able to shoot. He had a 6+ inch diameter Cedar tree shredded and came out right at it and he hit our scent from when we walked in and found it. Turned around slowly and went back down. The wind picked up every day after that and we never could find the bottom he was running.
Ton's and ton's of big impressive rubs that were being worked as always and no other hunters. I love Indiana muzzleloader season.
It was a good trip. ALL PUBLIC LAND.
Adam
That sounds like a good time.
Glad you had a good hunt. Back straps and spaghetti is one combo I haven’t tried, yet, however I am quite familiar with spaghetti sauce made with venison! Did you take any pictures. You know we like pictures.
Treefarmer
What's the temps when you're hunting? I know you don't feel it when you start seeing deer, but I'd guess those other times just sitting there gets kinda cold!
I have pictures but I got rid of all my social media accounts except for a few forums like this so uploading them from my phone is a royal pain.
It was in the high teens to low 20's every day at daybreak and got up to the low to mid 30's. Snow on the ground the first few days.
For staying warm I use the Redhead Silent Stalker Coveralls from bass pro and cabelas.It is a one of the single best items I've ever purchased for hunting. You will work up a sweat if you try walking in with it for more than a few hundred yards, even in those temps. I usually just pack it in and dress at the tree and I'm nice and toasty. Just be sure you get the one with the hood not the other coveralls they have without it, they are different and one is not as good in the cold as the other. I have both. Sportsmans Guide sells a pair that appears to be the same thing but I cannot say for sure if it is or not.
