The blurry photo I took with my phone after the fall from my deer stand.
It was a season of misses and near misses. But, looking back on the 2022 Fall hunting seasons, I am one lucky son-of-a-bitch. The grouse and woodcock seasons started in September. I was out with my Brittanies, Hera and Stella, right away. The weather was warm at the start of the season, and the woodcock covers were dry. Of course, I had to bring water for the girls. We hit our usual haunts, the farm near Spencerville and three patches of cover in the Marlborough Forest. Grouse were scarce, and a trickle of woodcock passed through during the migration. I racked up some spectacular misses on shots at wild flushing grouse and bumped woodcock. Stella is three years old and still working out finding and pointing birds. By the end of October, just ahead of the rifle season for deer, Stella was pointing and honouring Hera’s points.
Like a pair of bookends, my Tikka T3, left-hand, bolt-action in .243 Win. rests next to my Dad’s old Remington Model 725 in 30-06.
I had a great day at the Cornwall Handgun Club with my friend and hunting buddy James Burnside. I met him there so we could finally zero my Tikka T3 left-hand bolt-action rifle in .243 Win. James has a membership in the club and had me as his guest to use the rifle range. James brought the Remington Model 721 in 30-06 that belonged to my father; I gave the rifle to James as he is right-handed, and I knew he would use it in the field and take good care of it. Like my father, James is right-handed. Fortune favoured us for our trip to the rifle range. The weather was unseasonably cool for the third week of June; it was not unlike the November weather we typically experience during the rifle season for white-tailed deer in Wildlife Management Unit 66A. I arrived at the range shortly after 11:00 am, and we got to work.
Posing with the eight-point buck I took in the 2020 rifle season.
I tagged out for the 2020 rifle season in Wildlife Management Unit 66A on the second last day, bagging an eight-point buck. In all, I sat for five afternoons in two of the four deer stands my hunting buddies and I have on the property we hunt. Unseasonably warm weather kept me out of the stand for several days through the middle of the two week season. It is unusual to be walking outside in the second week of November in shirtsleeves. By the latter days of the rifle season, there were more seasonable temperatures. My enthusiasm for deer hunting waned as I heard reports from hunters around the Ottawa Valley that the bucks were not moving, at least not during legal shooting hours. I saw three does one afternoon during the first week of the season. There are deer on the property, and I held hope that a buck might wander into view before the rifle season ended. Continue reading →
My new Winchester Wildcat .22 and Bushnell Elite scope rests on my dining room table.
I acquired a firearm with a semi-automatic action this morning for the first time in my life. The new gun is a Winchester Wildcat .22 with an 18-inch barrel. I bought it in a private sale from my friend and hunting buddy Jason. The rifle is virtually new and topped with a Bushnell Elite 4×12 scope. The gun is a right-hand model, but that is fine. I adapted to life as a southpaw long ago in a right-handed world. I bought the new .22 from Jason for an express purpose. In short, I need practice in aiming a rifle through a scope, steadying the rifle and squeezing the trigger. As some of you may surmise in reading my posts, I am a bird hunting enthusiast. Most of my shooting is with shotguns in pursuit of upland birds and waterfowl. I am a good wing shot; I mount, point, shoot and follow-through on birds. Some of the time I do, I always know what I did wrong when I miss. The fact is, shotgunning is a world apart from rifle shooting.
Stella pauses on a morning hunt in the Marlborough Forest.
I woke up yesterday morning shortly before 7:00 am when I get up to run the girls when I am not due at the office. My plan for the morning was to take the girls hunting in the Marlborough Forest. I remember better days when there was no holding me back from a morning hunt with my dogs. I was so comfortable in my bed, and the girls were still asleep that I nodded off for another thirty minutes. The girls woke up and indicated that they were ready for their morning run. I got up, and when they saw me gather my camera bag, they realized we were going hunting. We were on the road shortly after 8:00 am en route to the Marlborough Forest. I intended to hunt Schäfer‘s Wood and Lester’s Square this morning. My enthusiasm for the morning hunt stirred to life as I drove up and parked at Schäfer‘s Wood.
Schäfer’s Wood was the first patch of cover we hunted.
When we started the hunt at Schäfer‘s Wood, I was surprised to see an encampment in the distance. I saw an individual in the company of two dogs at the campsite and a campfire burning. I wondered if they were deer hunters out for the October archery season. I led the girls in the opposite direction to sweep familiar alder runs for woodcock and grouse. Despite the weather forecast calling for higher winds and gusts than I would like for upland hunting, the breeze was light. I heard ATVs roar past on the forest road as we swept the coverts. Schäfer‘s Wood is deeper into the forest, and I hoped the ATV traffic would be lighter. As we worked our way into the alders, I got turned around briefly; it is all too easy to lose your way in the forest. I know the woods in Schäfer‘s Wood well-enough that I got back on course. I found a landmark–a pair of berrying shrubs unique to the cover–and new we were back on track.
Eventually, we walked up to the campsite; I unloaded my shotgun as I approached. One of the dogs, a Husky named Thor, came to greet us. He and the girls greeted one another. His owner, a woman tending the campsite with two children, came up, and I asked if her party was deer hunting. She told me that the menfolk were out road hunting on ATVs for grouse. She called Thor back, and I went on my way with the girls. In short order, we met the menfolk, a man and a boy riding ATVs. I led the girls away from the ATVs. The man and the boy looked as though they enjoyed themselves on their camping and hunting expedition. We completed our sweep of Schäfer‘s Wood without turning up any birds.
Hera is a seasoned gundog.
I put the girls onboard, and we drove to Lester’s Square. I thought I would try a route into the cover I used for many years. The route’s problem is that it has become overgrown; it is too easy to stray from the path only to wander deeper into the forest. I tried it anyway, only to stray off course. Fortunately, I retraced my steps and made it back to our starting point. Hera pointed a woodcock in a dense clump of cedars. I was distracted, so I did notice. As Stella and I looked for Hera in the cedars, the bird flushed wildly. I caught a glimpse of it as it disappeared into the brush. I will abandon this path into the cover for future hunts.
The sandy meadow at Lester’s Square typically holds woodcock.
I led the girls into a sandy meadow that has stands of cedar and shrubs. When the ground is wet, the cover holds woodcock. Regrettably, the sandy soil is dry as a bone this season. We took our time working through the meadow, and I paused to take photos of the girls. The dry earth does not attract migrating woodcock as the woodcock feeds on earthworms. When the ground is dry, they cannot quickly probe to find the worms they eat. We turned up no birds in our sortie, so we walked along the forest road a short distance to the next stand of cover. There is a woodland edge I like to sweep as it often holds grouse. It proved barren also.
The old apple tree still produces fruit.Stella pointed her first woodcock on this spot at Lester’s Square.
From the woodland edge, we made our way to a couple of aspen runs that typically hold woodcock, even in the driest seasons. We passed by a familiar landmark–an ancient apple tree that still bears fruit. We found the ground as dry as the meadow we left. It did not bode well for our woodcock hunt. Though things looked bleak, I saw Stella locked up on point at the edge of one of my favourite alder runs. As I walked up her point, the bird flushed wildly, and Stella gave chase. Still, she pointed a woodcock for me! I praised her and Hera profusely. That was the second and final woodcock we found all morning.
This is a well-constructed deer stand.Good hunting to the builders of the deer stand at Lester’s Square.
I gave the girls the full tour of Lester’s Square, despite the dry conditions. We worked our way through a cedar bog; it was a dry a bone. By chance, we came across a well-constructed deer stand. The builders made a skilled effort and showed an artistic taste in its construction. I took a few photos of the deer stand, and we moved on. By then, it was nearly 1:00 pm, and I had enough. The girls were panting, and there was no water for them in which they could refresh themselves. I noticed lots of old deer droppings in the cedars in front of the deer stand. I wish the hunters who built the stand good hunting.
The woodcock season is not shaping up as I hoped, but Stella is getting the experience she needs as a gundog in getting out. Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. I hope the rain moistens the coverts for our next expedition. As for tomorrow, I will take a day of rest; I am on holiday for the rest of the week. I will take the girls out hunting at the farm on Wednesday. Conditions on the farm are better, and we are getting into birds. I hope Stella will point more woodcock for me before the season is out.
Sighting in my new Remington Model 700 left-hand bolt action rifle in .270 Winchester.
“Be careful what you wish for, lest it comes true,” goes the adage. In deer season last year, I saw my hunting buddy Jason bag a six-point buck with his 1974 vintage Marlin 336 in 35 Rem lever-action rifle. It was an exciting hunt, and I was so impressed with how Jason handled his Marlin rifle, I decided I wanted the same rifle for myself for the next deer season. Jason agreed to search for a Marlin rifle for me, and he came through. He found me a 1960 Marlin 336 lever action in 30:30 in short order. Not long after, Jason found the right scope for my Marlin rifle: a Bausch and Lomb Elite 3000. Jason installed the scope on the rifle for me; he has the skill and experience for such delicate work. With the new rifle and scope assembled, I looked forward to getting it out to the range to try it out.
My Marlin 336 lever action rifle in .30-30 rests on the bench at the rifle range.
Hunting from my deer stand in the 2018 rifle season with my 30:06.
“Remember, it’s a repeater,” my hunting buddy Jason reminded me after an afternoon deer hunt. Jason, his wife Fran and myself were seated in our deer stands on the farm near Spencerville where we have permission to hunt deer. It was Saturday, November 10th, and I remember it was a blustery afternoon. The tree to which my ladder stand is attached rocked in the high winds as I sat and watched for a deer. At approximately 4:30 pm my chance came when a deer bounded into view directly in front of me. The deer stopped, partially hidden in the brush. I raised my rifle (a Browning X-bolt Medallion in 30:06, loaded with a 150-grain bullet), and found the deer in the crosshairs. The deer stepped forward, offering me a view of its vital areas. I tried to steady the rifle, then squeezed the trigger. After the shot, I watched to see if I found the mark. The deer sauntered back in the direction it came, offering a clear broadside view as it made its way back into the brush. I sat in my stand–like a deer caught in the headlights–watching as the deer went on its way. Continue reading →
Hera and me after a morning hunt on the Ides of October.
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, I got home from a disappointing morning hunting Hera and felt my enthusiasm for going out the next day evaporate. She pointed woodcock and jumped the gun yet again. I planned on going duck hunting with my hunting buddy Omer, but the threat of inclement weather made him lose interest and he cancelled. My hunting buddy Jason wanted to go out to the farm near Spencerville the next day to add more corn to the bait piles in anticipation of deer season next month and I agreed to accompany him. I suggested we bring our dogs and take them upland gunning before we tended to the bait piles. I wanted to see if there was any change in Hera, whether she would remain staunch on point this time. Jason accepted my suggestion even though the weather forecast called for high winds and light rain. Jason is off to moose camp next weekend and this is our last chance to tend the bait piles before the opening of deer season. I met Jason at his house at 8:00 AM on the Ides of October and off we went to see what fortune would bring.
Set out this morning the day after Friday the 13th with Hera for a solo grouse and woodcock hunt. The farm near Spencerville where my hunting buddies and I also deer hunt was the destination. I noted in previous hunts this season the conditions in the uplands are very good for woodcock. That and we got into birds, both grouse and woodcock on prior hunts. The weather was better than forecast: 15 C, very light rain, more drizzle, and no wind. These are good, not great conditions for upland gunning. We arrived shortly after 8:00 am and set out. Go off to a rocky start when Hera bumped a woodcock early on. Somehow she failed to scent it and stumbled over it. It flushed wildly a short distance ahead. I was hopeful that Hera was back in form. She made a staunch point on a woodcock the weekend before for Mike, one of my hunting buddies, in the Marlborough Forest. Given what we found this morning, I think I should have taken her out for Friday the 13th.
This morning I set out with my friend and hunting buddy Jason Quinn to the farm outside Spencerville where we hunt deer. Our original plan was to bring our dogs and take them into the field after grouse and woodcock, then set about moving one of the deer stands, make adjustments to another and put more corn out as bait. We changed our plan because rain was forecast and decided to call off the upland hunt. We left the dogs at home and made our way to the farm, leaving Ottawa at 8:00 AM. We arranged to meet with one of our hunting buddies, Omer, and his friend Ehtisham at the farm as it was Omer’s stand that needed adjustment. Jason and I arrived before them as they stopped en route to pick up additional sacks of corn. Jason and I set out on Jason’s ATV with its trailer in tow laden with sacks of corn and the tools Jason needed for stand maintenance and relocation. We stopped by the new location for the stand slated for relocation and set out one of the sacks of corn. Then we moved on to my stand and when we arrived we were in for an unpleasant shock. Continue reading →
Geoffrey's Hunting Diary 