Some of you have read my post about the area I have scouted intensively and the poachers setting up bait and treestands. I got some good advice that nicely told me to quit whining like a mosquito in heat and move on. Thank you.
I did. Yesterday morning I was up long before the sun and off to the woods. I passed thru the poacher's bait stations and paused to take a leak on all three. Good strong coffee is inspirational! I continued on at least another half mile west along the ridgeline and found a great saddle I had not seen before. The draws that the saddle connected along this ridgeline were very heavily forested and after opening weekend, likely holding deer hiding out from the Orange Brigade. I moved from tree to tree looking for the best coverage/field of fire and kicked up a flock of sharptailed grouse. Sharpies are common in western South Dakota, but as a prairie bird! Fortunately, I had done more than relieve the bladder when I passed those baited treestands, or I'da had to jettison my shorts!
There was no movement on the saddle for two hours and the wind was up and blowing good. I moved off the ridgeline and down into the trees where the wind would disguise my movements. I worked down the ridgeline, stopping to rattle a smallish pair of whitetail antlers at every likely spot. Sure enough, the second set up gave an opportunity. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a bit of greyish brown ghosting thru the doghair pines. I was too busy counting tines and the opportunity passed without me taking up the slack. Spent the rest of the day alternating between "You idiot!" and "Too early in the season to not be picky."
Anywhich....I kept moving, eventually dropping into the valley and going up the next ridgeline where I found a large meadow at the top. Radiating out from this meadow is one finger ridge after another, between finger ridges are draws and shallow bowls of varying densities of pines and quakies. I worked a lot of them before the day was over and probably covered a good 9 miles of back and forth wandering. I kicked up plenty of does and fawns, but not a lot of bucks.
In a few areas I saw scrapes. Sometimes just one in a random place, others spaced out along a trail - one after another. However, none of the scrapes were much larger than a dinner plate, except one. And at no time did I find a rub tree from this year. What few rubs I found (three total all day) were last years or older.
Are these just younger deer or less dominant bucks making such small, weak scrapes? Or is this early in the season where they have not really worked long on the projects?
