Ben's 2019 Semi-live hunt log

[TheBenHoyle]

Well I got out on Saturday morning to do some scouting/squirrel hunting. It was in a new area so the whole driving there and timing my arrival for just before sunrise was a bit of an experiment for me. I did it pretty well. There was a great view of the sunrise over the valley, but I didn't feel like I had the time to pull over and get a photo of it.

This is a relatively large area (300+ acres) all wooded and hilly. I was hoping to hear turkeys waking up as I am planning on going out in late October for them, but I think I would have needed to get there earlier so I could be deep into the corner of the property away from the road noise. I thought I heard some clucks at one point but when I stopped moving and tried to focus on them I never heard that noise again.

Sadly, I didn't get a chance to cover much more than 1/3 of the area and in all of that moving and the relatively small amount of time I had to be out I couldn't be still long enough to coax the squirrels out. I saw three, but none were visible in a shooting lane long enough for me to try.



I really like this picture as it has this car-sized limestone outcropping. Kinda reminds me that this hillside doesn't have much dirt on top of the rocks that make the topography.



I found a patch of blueberries growing in the understory. This is the first time I've ever encountered wild blueberries. I guess I didn't think they grew wild in Northern Illinois. I'm kinda surprised that a raccoon or something hadn't already eaten them.



The whole property is a series of ravines like this and they get steep enough that you almost have to get to the top of them in order to cross them unless you want to run out of gas early. As it was I went in one direction in the morning without looking at topo lines and then had to back track quite a ways to get around this ravine.

All in all it was a nice morning and I have an idea of where I will go in October, but I think if I am honest, I will have to hunt this place a few years before I know it's secrets. But barring unforeseen events I'll get back out there and have some pics/stories to share.

On the plus side, I was able to get to a Farm and Fleet store (there are none close to my home in the suburbs of Chicago) to pick up an electric fence unit to protect the grapevines I've got growing in my backyard. I could have ordered one on the internet, but I like to buy things from stores if at all possible.

As a side note, an electric fence will keep raccoons, skunks and possums out of your grapes very effectively. I have used one for the last 2 years and it has been very successful. This year I put it up around my popcorn and that has helped, but now I needed to get another one since the popcorn will be in the garden as long as the grapes will.

 

[BRoth82]

So those blueberries you found are not blueberries, they are actually
Bluebead lily (Clintonia borealis (Ait.) Raf.)
Bluebead lily or yellow clintonia as it is sometimes known is a perennial member of the lily family. Residing in the cool acidic forests of northeastern and north central North America it ranges as far south as the mountains of North Carolina. Closely related species also occupy the southern Appalachians, western North America and parts of Asia. Sometimes considered a northern hardwood or boreal species it occurs commonly with Indian cucumber root, red trillium, hobblebush, and striped maple. The common name is a reference to the porcelain blue berries produced in mid to late summer.
The plants are colonial in nature; often found in great colonies of medium green, glossy basal leaves. The leaves can reach 12 inches in length, but are more commonly six to eight inches long and are sometimes confused with wild leeks (Allium tricoccum) and several orchid species including pink lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium acaule) and showy orchis (Orchis spectabilis). A close look at the leaves shows the parallel veins typical of all monocots, the group to which lilies belong. Further inspection of the flower reveals a miniaturized version of a Canada lily flower: six yellow petals with flaring petals hanging in clusters of three to eight from atop the flower stalk.
Transitioning from green to white, and ultimately to a deep porcelain blue, the berries of blue-bead lily are perhaps its most striking feature. Standing on stalks ranging from 4 to sometimes 16 inches in height, they stand out in sharp contrast to greens and browns of the forest floor. These blue berries may look appetizing, but they are not blueberries. Although they are not poisonous, they are quite foul tasting and should be avoided. The appreciation of this plant should be in its viewing, not its flavor

 

[TheBenHoyle]

So those blueberries you found are not blueberries, they are actually
Bluebead lily (Clintonia borealis (Ait.) Raf.)
Bluebead lily or yellow clintonia as it is sometimes known is a perennial member of the lily family. Residing in the cool acidic forests of northeastern and north central North America it ranges as far south as the mountains of North Carolina. Closely related species also occupy the southern Appalachians, western North America and parts of Asia. Sometimes considered a northern hardwood or boreal species it occurs commonly with Indian cucumber root, red trillium, hobblebush, and striped maple. The common name is a reference to the porcelain blue berries produced in mid to late summer.
The plants are colonial in nature; often found in great colonies of medium green, glossy basal leaves. The leaves can reach 12 inches in length, but are more commonly six to eight inches long and are sometimes confused with wild leeks (Allium tricoccum) and several orchid species including pink lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium acaule) and showy orchis (Orchis spectabilis). A close look at the leaves shows the parallel veins typical of all monocots, the group to which lilies belong. Further inspection of the flower reveals a miniaturized version of a Canada lily flower: six yellow petals with flaring petals hanging in clusters of three to eight from atop the flower stalk.
Transitioning from green to white, and ultimately to a deep porcelain blue, the berries of blue-bead lily are perhaps its most striking feature. Standing on stalks ranging from 4 to sometimes 16 inches in height, they stand out in sharp contrast to greens and browns of the forest floor. These blue berries may look appetizing, but they are not blueberries. Although they are not poisonous, they are quite foul tasting and should be avoided. The appreciation of this plant should be in its viewing, not its flavor

I don't think that is quite right. The foliage doesn't match the pictures of the lily I'm seeing on the internet.

 

[BRoth82]

Sorry about that I found it now, it's poisonous also, so hope you didn't eat it.
Caulophyllum thalictroides (Blue Cohosh)
Leaves and stem:

Leaves are 3 or 4 times compound in groups of 3, each leaflet to 2½ inches long and wide, toothless and hairless, with 2 to 5 pointed lobes and a short stalk. The base of the leaflet is rounded and often asymmetrical, especially on the lateral leaflets. Non-flowering plants have a single compound leaf, flowering plants have 2.
Leaf and flowering stems are in a whorl at the top of the stem. Stems are erect, multiple from the base, hairless and light green but may be tinged purple or blue and often have a waxy bloom.
Fruit:

Fruit is a green, berry-like seed, about 1/3 inch across, that ripens to a deep blue. The fruit is poisonous.
Notes:
Blue Cohosh leaves look similar to some other plants, in particular the Meadow Rues (Thalictrum species) but Blue Cohosh has much larger leaflets and the Meadow Rues lack the whorl of leaf and flower stalks at the top of the stem.

 

[vanish]

Sorry about that I found it now, it's poisonous also, so hope you didn't eat it.
Caulophyllum thalictroides (Blue Cohosh)
Leaves and stem:

Leaves are 3 or 4 times compound in groups of 3, each leaflet to 2½ inches long and wide, toothless and hairless, with 2 to 5 pointed lobes and a short stalk. The base of the leaflet is rounded and often asymmetrical, especially on the lateral leaflets. Non-flowering plants have a single compound leaf, flowering plants have 2.

I would say this leaf is a match!

 

[TheBenHoyle]

Sorry about that I found it now, it's poisonous also, so hope you didn't eat it.
Caulophyllum thalictroides (Blue Cohosh)
Leaves and stem:

Leaves are 3 or 4 times compound in groups of 3, each leaflet to 2½ inches long and wide, toothless and hairless, with 2 to 5 pointed lobes and a short stalk. The base of the leaflet is rounded and often asymmetrical, especially on the lateral leaflets. Non-flowering plants have a single compound leaf, flowering plants have 2.
Leaf and flowering stems are in a whorl at the top of the stem. Stems are erect, multiple from the base, hairless and light green but may be tinged purple or blue and often have a waxy bloom.
Fruit:

Fruit is a green, berry-like seed, about 1/3 inch across, that ripens to a deep blue. The fruit is poisonous.
Notes:
Blue Cohosh leaves look similar to some other plants, in particular the Meadow Rues (Thalictrum species) but Blue Cohosh has much larger leaflets and the Meadow Rues lack the whorl of leaf and flower stalks at the top of the stem.

That's the one. I was tempted to eat one, but the leaves didn't look like the leaves on my blueberry bushes at home. Always better to be safe than sorry. Either way, it was a new plant for me and neat to find it. Thanks for the help with the ID.

 

[TheBenHoyle]

Well this is not an exciting update with actual hunting action as my archery deer season doesn't open for another 11 days and it will be 12 days before I actually can hunt. But the excitement is building on my end. I've been reading all the threads on the forum with everyone else's hunts and that just feeds my restlessness to get out and go hunting.

I had done some very preliminary scouting at a limited access unit of public hunting ground that I can hunt the first 2 weeks of the season. The trails were really overgrown and my time was spent mainly struggling to even get to the edge of my unit. Well I found out that they have "supposedly" gone in and re-established the trails, so my plan is to get out on Saturday to see the rest of the unit. Even though I have 14 days of access, I really only have 5 hunts I can do, so I want to have a better idea of what I'm working with in advance. It will be a busy weekend with soccer games and family obligations, but I really do need to see what's what so I don't waste precious hunting time figuring it all out.

Like I said, nothing exciting, but maybe I'll have an update next week with some pictures. Hope everyone who can hunt this weekend gets out and has fun.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Looking forward to your update on your jungle adventure.

 

[TheBenHoyle]

Well I did get out to do my scouting this weekend. We had a lot of rain on Saturday and Sunday and I didn't think I was going to fit it in, but somehow it happened and I was able to spend as much time as I needed, which is kind of surprising. I had to put off a couple of other projects until next weekend, but Hey this was much more important, right?

Luckily, they really did clear the trail. It is wide open now.



A few weeks ago that was waste high vegetation and lots of downed branches. This property was a non-reclaimed gravel strip mine, which mean that it consists of parallel strips of high ground that is about 15 yards wide separated by ponds that are about 20 yards wide. The water is of unknown and variable depth. meaning you can't just wade across.



There are some spots where the low spots are high enough that you can cross and that is basically what they cleared for the trail. But that also mean that the entire place is pinch points and travel corridors. The same travel corridors that the deer use. Not having the vegetation means you can get in without leaving a super strong scent trail. I did find a backdoor trail that leads out of the property towards the hosing development to the east/more travel corridors to the south. I explored it a little ways, and I found a lot of tracks. But this isn't huntable directly. There's not a great place to hang a stand or get a good hide.



However, not far away from here I can hang a stand and I should be able to reach any deer that would be coming in from that direction. I'll need to work on my effective range a little, but I am hoping that they will come in from that direction and turn to head north up the trail past my stand.
The other thing I like about my stand site is that there is a trail that leads back to a bedding area to the east. It isn't a deer superhighway, but you can tell it gets some travel. So I'll have a couple different things to be watching from my stand.
I didn't see and rubs or scrapes, but the majority of the ground I covered was massively disturbed by the machinery they sent through.
It was raining when I was out scouting so hopefully my scent will be washed away quickly and the deer will forget about the recent disturbance of the machinery and by Oct. 5th they will be at ease wandering around the property in the daylight. A boy can dream...
I think I will have the ability to get out a couple days before that hunt to hang my stand, I am allowed to put it up and leave it up. I'll probably go in about 4 and hang the stand and then stick around until it's dark, I doubt I'll see anything that night, but at least I'll be hunting.
The last thing I did was a little bushwhacking to find my own back door into the unit. I feel bad that in order to access my unit I have to walk through another unit. Considering the lack of hunting opportunities that aren't right on the trail I was hoping to find a way out and in that would keep me from having to impact the other unit. It's not an easy way through but I can probably fix that with a hand pruner.
All in all it was a good scout and I have pretty high hopes for my ability to take a deer during my limited amount of hunting days there. I'm not looking for a gigantic buck (although that is always nice), I just want to get some venison for the freezer.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Sounds like a good plan,Getr' done!

 

[Pucky Freak]

Deer may favor that freshly cleared path for travel and browsing. Also- I bet you can coax some in closer to your stand with some deer urine wicks and or doe and fawn bleats rather than having to poke them further with a bow

 

[TheBenHoyle]

Deer may favor that freshly cleared path for travel and browsing. Also- I bet you can coax some in closer to your stand with some deer urine wicks and or doe and fawn bleats rather than having to poke them further with a bow

Yeah my hope is I can coax them in like you said but if I can't they may be out about 30 yards. I haven't been practicing that far out so far this year. I've been staying at about 20. I was good out to 30-35 last year on a target, so I think I can get there. I just need to get some practice in. But I will hold out for a 15-20 yard shot.

 

[TheBenHoyle]

Well it is less than 5 days until my season opens for archery deer and turkey in Illinois. I won't be able to get out until the next day though, but it is getting super close. I will spend some time this weekend going through all my equipment and checking, double-checking and triple-checking the advanced weather forecasts for the next two weeks.

I got a call from the hunter who will have the unit adjacent to mine in the special access hunt I have in the first two weeks of the season. That was a good talk. He has hunted the area before and he said he has seen plenty of deer out there. It is nice to have that contact so that I can coordinate with him. I think there is enough room for both of us, but I really don't want to inadvertently ruin a set up for him or vice versa.

I did get around to shooting my bow out to 30 yards. I had been concentrating on 20 yards because I have been consistently shooting low and left at 20 yards. I figured I should figure that out before I move back.



Well I discovered at 30 yards I am pretty much dead on. Still struggling with 20 yards though... Low and to the left by about an inch. I'll shoot a bunch over the next few weeks so hopefully I can figure out what my problem is.

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

Looks pretty spot on to me. Are those broadheads or field points?

Unrelatedly, do you find that the lighted nocks mess with your POI versus unlit? I'm considering putting lights on mine but don't want to be messing with my arrows mid-season.

 

[TheBenHoyle]

Looks pretty spot on to me. Are those broadheads or field points?

Unrelatedly, do you find that the lighted nocks mess with your POI versus unlit? I'm considering putting lights on mine but don't want to be messing with my arrows mid-season.

Those are field points. But in my testing, the broadheads I use fly the same as my field points. I will shoot them with broadheads a few times this weekend, but in the past I've not noticed any changes. I shoot Muzzy fixed blade 100 grain, same weight as my field points.
As for the lighted nocks, I really like them. I have trouble seeing where I hit if I am out beyond 10 yards. Again, I never noticed a difference between regular nocks and the lighted nocks. This could mean I am just not precise enough of an archer to know that things are flying a little differently... For what it's worth, I use Nockturnal and really like them. I tried Lumenock and hated them. I would suggest getting the little tool for the nocks. It has a thing on it that helps you put the nocks on the arrow (I ruined a nock trying to use a Pliers to push it in) and it has a little flipper you can put into the nock to shut off the light (I ruined a couple of nocks trying to shut them off using a nail and a paper clip).

 

[TheBenHoyle]

OK well it starts today for me. Technically my season started yesterday but today is the first time I can go out. Right after work I am getting in the car to head out to hang a stand and do an evening sit. I don't have much hope of seeing anything tonight but I want to get my stand up now so I don't have to mess around with it on Saturday. Might be a little rainy this evening, for that matter it might be rainy on Saturday. I tell you, Northern Illinois might just float away folks. But at least the temps have dropped into the 60s.

 

[Crossbowguy]

Good Luck!

 

[MN_Bowhunter4]

I hear you on the rain, it's been exceptionally wet!

Good luck tonight. Nothing wrong with a little work/life balance!

 

[Pucky Freak]

Low and left 1" is a dead deer every time. Good luck on your hunt

 

[TheBenHoyle]

I had wanted to be all ready to go right at 3:30, but it was rainy and so I decided to be a nice guy and go pick up my daughters from school so they didn't have to walk in the rain. And of course, when I try to close the garage door it won't go down. Flash back to the morning when a chunk of drywall fell off the ceiling in the garage (it had been damaged by the previous owners and they had done a hinky job of fixing it and I have been meaning to fix it "right" for nearly 9 years now). Anyway, it turns out that when it fell the wires for the door bottom laser eyes were damaged meaning that it won't go down until I fix that. No time for that right now, got to get the girls and get home so I can run out to hang my stand.

When it was all said and done I got to my parking spot about 4:45 and soon after I was walking in. The same spot that I walk in was covered with fresh tracks.



That pictures doesn't do justice to how many tracks there were. Definitely made me feel good about the idea that there are deer in the unit I am hunting.

It was almost a kilometer hike back to my spot with my heavy stand and ladder on my back. Unfortunately I didn't spring for an ultralight, mobile treestand 3 years ago when I was just getting in to deer hunting. So my stand is not light and it makes a lot of noise as I walk with it on my back.

But I managed to get back to my spot and hang my stand with out too much trouble. I have three decent shooting lanes. Here is the view to my left (south).



Around the end of that path to the left is a deer trail that does deeper in to the unit and it isn't really cleared for humans, I am hoping that deer will be coming up through that way, part of the reason that I hung my stand with that on my left (I shoot right-handed). The farthest range I got in the view is right around 29-30 yards.

Here is the view right in front of me.



On the other side of the path in the right third of the pic, there is a branch hanging down, so I cleared away some vegetation to make a mock scrape. I've never really tried that before but it is situated in a good spot for me to have a 10-15 yard shot if a deer should come along and check it out. I did hang a game camera too so Saturday morning I should be able to see if any deer have walked along the path right there.

Over my right shoulder is an uncleared area that has tree cover and some deer tracks leading back to a bedding area. I feel like there might be deer moving around back there, but I really only have one shooting lane for that area. Its about 10-15 yards.



I got up the tree and got situated and felt good about my chances, but I didn't stay in the stand until full dark. I needed to get back to the house and figure out my garage door problem and man I was wiped out from the hike in, so I go down about sunset and hiked back to the truck. I was walking slow and trying to keep my eyes open for anything as I came around bends and corners in the path. But I didn't see the doe on the side of the path until she had already seen my and went running. She started about 15 yards from me and ran to about 30-40 yards and stopped to look at me. I stayed frozen and waited. She didn't have my scent and I wasn't moving so she did lose interest and move on down the trail. I took a few more step down the trail, straining to see if she was still in front of me and the SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH something big went running across the pond to my left. I never saw what it was since I was so focused on down the trail and not paying any attention to the sides of the trail. But I am thinking it was another deer. Which is an education for me since I didn't think the ponds were shallow enough for deer to spend much time in the water. But I guess they probably all know where it is deep and where it is shallow.

Anyway, I am hoping my disturbance is not a big deal and that Saturday morning Mr. Big Antlers comes down the path in front of my stand to let me admire him. I'm sure I'll have more updates on the weekend.