Bambi Whacking 2022-2023

[308Scout]

We’re just over two weeks out from the 2022-2023 Bambi (th)wacking season.

I'm getting a late start again this year. Most of the summer free time has been spent focusing on getting ready for carry. Going to be a flurry of catch up activity over the next few weeks. Blind is ready for go for deployment in about a week. I still need to get the cameras out and positioned in a few spots. With the well worn game trails around, it's same as it ever was, though. Crossbow is out, maintained, and ready for a practice session or two. I’m switching up the broadheads to G5 Megameats this year, so have to get out and verify sight in.

The deer on the property have become used to the dog wanting to play with them. They now hang out on the other side of the fence and just look at her if she ventures within 5 yards of them. This summer, I’ve seen a fair number of bucks hanging out. The normal complement of large does as well.

Anyone else planning on getting out in the early season?

 

[Afrikeber]

Yup l, Muzzleloader and then gun season with my 350 legend area “B” both buck and doe,

 

[lazarus]

We’re just over two weeks out from the 2022-2023 Bambi (th)wacking season.

I'm getting a late start again this year. Most of the summer free time has been spent focusing on getting ready for carry. Going to be a flurry of catch up activity over the next few weeks. Blind is ready for go for deployment in about a week. I still need to get the cameras out and positioned in a few spots. With the well worn game trails around, it's same as it ever was, though. Crossbow is out, maintained, and ready for a practice session or two. I’m switching up the broadheads to G5 Megameats this year, so have to get out and verify sight in.

The deer on the property have become used to the dog wanting to play with them. They now hang out on the other side of the fence and just look at her if she ventures within 5 yards of them. This summer, I’ve seen a fair number of bucks hanging out. The normal complement of large does as well.

Anyone else planning on getting out in the early season?

I don't even know when I am going to start. I am hoping this weekend to get my ladder stand up finally as well as my game cameras. I've been keeping an eye on the deer some, but that is about it. I cleared an area near the stand and put in subterranean clover, but it turns out its pitch-black back in the woods and it isn't growing much since late spring. I'll try reseeding mid fall as the leaves are coming off the trees as it should grow fine then into I think mid to late December.

I normally try to take one opening day or the next. I've got so much venison in my freezer still I'll probably wait till later in bow season. Maybe late September or early October. I do really want to try to hunt the rut hard this year (at least last year my game cameras was seeing some NICE bucks around my stand between the 2nd week of early ML and mid-November. Just not the two days in early November I was in my stand last year). I still care the most about eating them, but I sure wouldn't mind a nice 8pt.

 

[Afrikeber]

Looks like hemorrhagic with the deer population will be a problem this year!

Va. wildlife officials warn of viral disease in deer

Va. wildlife officials warn of viral disease in deer - WTOP News

Wildlife officials in Virginia have seen several recent reports of sick or dead deer, and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources is attributing it to a viral disease called hemorrhagic disease.

wtop.com

 

[308Scout]

Looks like hemorrhagic with the deer population will be a problem this year!

Va. wildlife officials warn of viral disease in deer

Va. wildlife officials warn of viral disease in deer - WTOP News

Wildlife officials in Virginia have seen several recent reports of sick or dead deer, and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources is attributing it to a viral disease called hemorrhagic disease.

wtop.com

Certainly hope that outbreak doesn't spread beyond the VA piedmont. CWD is enough to worry about in these parts.

ETA - HD is only transmitted by midge bites and deer don't spread it amongst themselves. First hard freeze should keep it fairly localized to where it's most common, i.e. areas with lots of midges.

 

[Harrys]

Been in the woods looking at sign, looks promising for gun season. First time I have been the woods so early retirement has it's perks.

 

[Afrikeber]

Same assessment only a lot more buggy out, I dread the ticks!

 

[6-Pack]

My son's hunter safety field day is tomorrow. I'm feeling old because I remember when my dad took me for my hunter's safety, but I'm absolutely looking forward to taking that young man out in the woods with me. He doesn't know it yet, but there's a 243 waiting for him for deer season this year.

 

[308Scout]

Been in the woods looking at sign, looks promising for gun season. First time I have been the woods so early retirement has it's perks.

Very nice! I have a feeling the season would be different with time to do everything with fewer time constraints. I always feel like I'm rushing around the two weeks before to have everything covered for early archery.

Same assessment only a lot more buggy out, I dread the ticks!

I haven't seen many ticks this year compared to last, but the various wasps and yellow jackets seem to be absolutely everywhere in abundance this year. Spotted lantern flies seem to be covering everything as well.

 

[jef955]

Mr efficient here hasn't even bought a damn license yet. Am I the only one in that boat ?

 

[Doco Overboard]

Mr efficient here hasn't even bought a damn license yet. Am I the only one in that boat ?

No. I haven't bought mine or my wife's yet.
I just blew all my pocket money on a couple crab cake dinners and a Martini.......carbine.
Theirs a big one here on the farm though, maybe I'll get a shot at him with it.

 

[newmuzzleloader]

I'm going to try to get out early season. Corn is planted in the fields so it's hard to look out to the back wood line now, and I've not taken the time to walk around much. We've been seeing a young buck with funky looking antlers bedded down in the front yard several evenings, Tuesday night a little doe was feeding along the cornfield with him.

I've been reworking my food plot this year. I sprayed it 3 times with glyphosate to kill everything in the spring, then broadcast buckwheat seed. It did "ok" but not thick like I hoped. Crabgrass and foxtail started to grow so I sprayed it all again a few weeks ago and made sure everything was dead. Last weekend I broadcast 12 lbs of Ladino and 5 lbs of Medium red clover seed then used 6 bales of straw to lightly cover the whole area. The amount of seed was overkill but I wanted to make sure it takes off well this year. I'm hoping the 4" of rain we got this week didn't wash too much of it away. If it did I'll put in winter rye in a few weeks then kill it next spring, replant buckwheat then clover next fall. Maybe overseed a bunch of radish this fall, that grows quick.

 

[Yellowdog]

Going to Vt for opening weekend and the following week am going to my brother's in New York State for opening weekend there. Always special when doing stuff with my older brother.

 

[jef955]

No. I haven't bought mine or my wife's yet.
I just blew all my pocket money on a couple crab cake dinners and a Martini.......carbine.
Theirs a big one here on the farm though, maybe I'll get a shot at him with it.

Well, I've blown plenty on a lot worse. Good luck this year !

 

[Ecestu]

Just put a new scope on the crossbow. Should significantly increase the 4 deer/yr I've gotten since I starting killing them.

 

[lazarus]

Mr efficient here hasn't even bought a damn license yet. Am I the only one in that boat ?

Oh yeah. I should do that too sometime soon. Early season I am hunting my own property so I don’t need it yet. But I don’t want to forget that before I go hunt public lands.

 

[Huuman]

Will be out on Liberty Reservoirs opening day and the day afterward if all goes according to plan. But this is my first time being out this early, are the bugs really that bad in the wood around central maryland?

 

[Archeryrob]

The gnats are fricking awful out here in Washington county. It has since stopped the raining every other day. Wet years always makes lots of gnats. Maybe that will help some, but I don't like hunting early September. I like it to get a slight cooler and let the fawns get a bit older.

 

[Kelson1066]

I've seen tracks though the woods on my property and the does like to eat at the food plot I have in my front yard so I think I'll hit one with a crossbow opening weekend.

Note: I only hunt doe's so high doe pressure on my land is a great thing.

 

[lazarus]

Will be out on Liberty Reservoirs opening day and the day afterward if all goes according to plan. But this is my first time being out this early, are the bugs really that bad in the wood around central maryland?

I haven't been to Liberty right around then, but I love not far away.

The short answer is, yes.

The longer answer is, I'd consider a thermacell. I'll personally be using one until they die down sometime in October, unless it is cool enough for long sleeves.

Every early season I've sat in a blind or a stand around here for an hour or two I'll end up with scores of mosquito bites. When I used a thermacell opening day last season in my blind I think I ended up with about 3 or 4 bites over 3hrs, well less than a tenth of what I would have had. The mosquitos were thick, they mostly just stayed 10-12ft away.

For me, from around mid July until around the end of September is the time period I HATE being outside anywhere within about 2hrs of dawn or dusk unless it's a fairly open area In or near woods, sucks. It doesn't have to get below freezing, once the temps start hitting upper 40s occasionally at night and reliably in the 50s overnight and really slows down the mosquito breeding cycle and the numbers start dropping off a lot. Swamp areas with standing water not so much, but some of the species around here breed literally in the moisture on grass and even though there tends to be more, the temperatures are lower enough to cause problems with that. The ones that breed in standing water if they have ponds and stuff available don't really die off until you start getting frosts.