Moose's 2021 Hunting Season

Moose

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Just got back from my first weekend at the Halifax club. Hunted Friday till this morning. Good to see some folks from the club..... the deer were moving..... Friday afternoon I watched a 6pt chasing does all around a bean field and it never gets old.

Saturday I had a little button buck in my lap as soon as it got light enough to see. He was tearing up the beans but I wasn't going to stop him. After he left I looked down the gas line and I saw what at first looked like a bear but when I put my binos up I saw it was a coyote and another one stepped out with it. The black one was trotting around checking things out but the red colored one just sat there in the sun. It was a poke but I took the shot the black one was back in the brush in a jiffy but the one I shot did a couple of spins and then followed the other yote into the brush. Looking through binnos I watched the black yote step back out but I banged my gun on the stand as I tried to get it back up and it was gone like smoke.

Never found it

One of the other guys in the club took a nice 7 pt

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Saturday evening was pretty warm and we didn't see anything.

Sunday afternoon I killed a doe she ran about 100 yards and died at the edge of the water in the swamp.

Overall a pretty fun weekend. Got a little meat and some blood on my hands .
 

Moose

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Well I just got back from a week of muzzleloader hunting in the mountains of VA. Did draw some blood but unfortunately no recovery but ill put up a separate thread with more details on that story.

This button buck has a death wish as he popped out on me a number of times throughout the week. Everything else pretty much stayed outside of range of my muzzleloader until Friday morning when I pulled the trigger on a doe at 60 yards.

Temps were nice with most mornings in the mid 20's with daytime temps remaining cool. Lots of deer movement. Thursday I went back to my stand a bit early to only realize I was late as I saw a big buck in the back of the field. I tried to slip up on him by using the wood line but when I got a bit closer he was gone. I don't think he busted me but he just walked out of the field.
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I haven't seen many turkeys on the property but this encounter was encouraging when I had about a dozen of them wandering by. Fall turkey season will be open in a few weeks.

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Moose

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Deja vu only yards from where the doe was standing that I lost last week. This one came in this morning and was with 3 other does. I slipped up on her to with in 50 yards. Smoked rolled and so did she..... shot her back at the edge of the pines. She flopped into the pines under some blackberries but never went any further. 125lbs. ...... first deer I've killed on my VA property. Very rewarding feeling to do this on my own land.
 

Moose

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Scrapes are hot just waiting for Mr big to stop by. Yesterday was the first time I've seen lone does that's a good sign..... Yesterday morning was cool 24' but that dang wind was brutal.
 

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Moose

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Turkeys are hanging around hopefully they'll be here next week when it opens for two days .....

In town picking up a few things but heading back . No cell / internet service once I get back to the cabin. Loving the cool weather.
 

Moose

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Full moon is killing me. This is 20 minutes after the end of shooting time and it's still bright. This week I only saw small bucks and the last two days nothing at all.

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Scrapes are hot but nothing has hit them when I've been sitting there the last few days.

Heard a shot on neighbors land yesterday afternoon. Today I found a dead doe that had been pretty much consumed by yotes and vultures. Bullet hole through hide ..... gut shot..... I suspect it was what they must of shot at. 200 yards from my stand I must of walked right by her last night on my way out.

Back home for a few days and then I'll head back to VA. Even my game cameras aren't showing much activity the last week or so....
 

Moose

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Well firearm season in VA wrapped up. Learning a new property is always fun..... I never crossed paths with one of the big bucks but it was fun. A two week season is very fast and leaves little room for errors. I will have one more opportunity this year up there with the late muzzleloader.
I have identified some new potential stand locations for next year.
I have a better idea how the deer move on the property.
The nice cool weather was a blessing I much rather hunt in 20' weather then 70' weather.

Had a campfire Friday at lunch time and roasted some hot dogs.

Now to focus on some NC deer.
 

pcbuckhunter

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Well firearm season in VA wrapped up. Learning a new property is always fun..... I never crossed paths with one of the big bucks but it was fun. A two week season is very fast and leaves little room for errors. I will have one more opportunity this year up there with the late muzzleloader.
I have identified some new potential stand locations for next year.
I have a better idea how the deer move on the property.
The nice cool weather was a blessing I much rather hunt in 20' weather then 70' weather.

Had a campfire Friday at lunch time and roasted some hot dogs.

Now to focus on some NC deer.
What county are you hunting in in Va?
 

Moose

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Bears are on property and I've seen some tracks however I have yet to get one on the half a dozen game cams I have out nor have I seen one . So at this point I'll focus on deer here in NC
 

Moose

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Afternoon sit on bean field in Halifax County. Saw lots of deer just not many carrying antlers. Then as the sun set the yotes got pretty vocal. Fun Afternoon just no shooter bucks. Maybe tomorrow.
 

Moose

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Sitting on a stump this morning with the muzzleloader. Hunting VA this week.... so far seen one but couldn't tell what it was and it busted me. That was on the hike in.

Typically I had no cell service but I found this stump at the top of.my property and it has 4g. So that was worth the climb :D
 

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Moose

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Ended the deer season in VA hunting in short sleeves..... the temps were in the 70s. Deer movement was not happening during the day. So I ended up with just 3 skinheads for the season. 2 in NC and 1 in Va.....
Hard to believe that just a few days after the season we get a nice snowstorm. I stayed in VA and enjoyed the snow ...... 3 1/2 hours of heavy snow ended up with about 7 inches.

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Well it's on to swans and then snow geese.
 

Mack in N.C.

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Ended the deer season in VA hunting in short sleeves..... the temps were in the 70s. Deer movement was not happening during the day. So I ended up with just 3 skinheads for the season. 2 in NC and 1 in Va.....
Hard to believe that just a few days after the season we get a nice snowstorm. I stayed in VA and enjoyed the snow ...... 3 1/2 hours of heavy snow ended up with about 7 inches.

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Well it's on to swans and then snow geese.
When i lived a little further west than I do now I loved a new snow over night. I usually went out as early as I could and when I found fresh rabbit tracks I followed them until I got the critter. If you wait until the next day there would me to many tracks to follow. I miss those days.
 

Moose

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Well i guess this is the official end of the season. The swan tag was the last thing i had from 21 hunting season. The original plan was to head down over MLK weekend go to the oyster roast and then hunt some swans. The weather messed those plans up so tuesday this week was the make up swan hunt.

Late in the season, some crazy weather, and the refuge bushhogging large cornfields and then flooding them added up to one tough hunt. We ended up sitting in a muddy ditch all day with thousand and thousand of birds flying but few even checking out our decoy spread. Around 5pm a lone bird came in and Wood Moose knocked the snot out of him with some tss shell. That was it 4 of us hunting and only one bird to show

The longest time ive ever been out in the field hunting for swan and the first time i had to eat a swan tag. We still had a blast and it was fun just catching up with friends while we waited on birds.

I guess this was a fitting end to the 21 season.... i had some luck but also missed a filling a number of my tags.....

Maine..... No Bear...... No Spring or Fall Turkey
VA..... 3 Deer tags..... No Spring or Fall Turkey 3tags
NC .. ... 4 deer tags.... no swan

Well here is to the 22 season which for me will start in a few weeks with snow geese in Ark.... i can return to putting in for the moose lottery this year.... ive learned a few things about my property in Va that will hopefully help me be more succesful up there.

Same with Maine..... i hope this is the year i finally punch a turkey tag up there.


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