I went on a last minute whitetail deer hunting trip to Maine and didn’t see any deer! At least in the woods while I was hunting…….More details to follow!
But that didn’t stop at least one person in our hunting party! Of the eight of us at camp during the week, one deer was seen, total, and one deer was taken.
Dennis, pictured above with his deer, persisted in his tree stand until last legal light. He had placed a combination of scents around and near his spot and waited. Just before dark, this prize appeared with nose to the ground, determined in his quest to find the source of the compelling odors.
He was a 10-point, weighing in at 193 pounds.
So where were all the deer? Good question. We know that last winter’s deep snows created a “blood bath” in some locals, as was described to me by one game warden who flew over the region last winter where we hunt. Ironically, the same warden believes there are still ample deer although not like the past couple seasons.
As for me being sick most of the week, I managed only to see a gathering of wild turkeys one day and a ruffed grouse on another. Ironically as it may seem, our trip north and the return trip south provided moments of great entertainment spotting deer.
The most deer that we saw in broad daylight was about a 30-minute drive from downtown New York City. The second most deer we see were in Pennsylvania, where all I have heard for the past couple of years is that Pennsylvania’s deer have all been killed as the result of poor management by the PA. Game Commission.
To spend six days in the woods of Maine hunting for deer and seeing nothing and to spot perhaps hundreds of deer from a car in broad daylight in Pennsylvania, doesn’t conjure up a whole lot of sympathy to those Pennsylvania hunters who say it isn’t worth hunting anymore. Try spending $105.00 for a non-resident Maine big game hunting permit and seeing nothing.
I’m back and am sorting through my 60,000 plus emails. Depressed as I am over the results of the election, I’m putting my nose to the grindstone and will be back to posting information, stories and entertainment again.
Thanks for keeping the site active with your comments!
Tom Remington
