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Black Friday, November 25, 2016:
Return again to Randolph County, Alabama

     No luck getting anything...
...except a North American opossum!

 The Virginia opossum ... (Didelphis virginiana) 
At the request of Tim, I took this varmint out.
It made so much noise coming out of the brush way after the sun had set.
After nothing all day long, I had hoped it was a deer – what a LET-DOWN!

Morning Hunt: 
I spotted both birds and squirrels, but no deer.
Evening Hunt:
I did spot many cardinals, a chipmunk, and the same opossum AGAIN (which I took out, this time).
 


PANORAMIC VIEW FROM MY STAND IN THE LATE AFTERNOON

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Saturday, November 26, 2016: Return once again to Washington County, Georgia	Sunday, December 4, 2016: Return again to Randolph County, Alabama
– CANCELLED – I decided to spend time with my family	– CANCELLED – 100% rain event in Alabama

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Sunday, December 11, 2016:
Return again to Randolph County, Alabama

No luck getting anything!
(Almost didn't happen at all – I got sick the day before)

This 6-pointer came close, though:
     
The Turkey Trail camera caught him while I was in the tree stand.

It was very COLD this morning,

but it did warm up in the afternoon.

The afternoon is when I set up two new projects:
A new trailcam and my first ever mock scrape.

This is my fourth simultaneous operational trailcam on the property! It is purposefully near the blind and for easy photo retrievals.	First ever mock scrape!       Notice the twine suspending the doe pee wick over the scrapes in the dirt (made with a stick).
	These are close-ups of the areas containing Wildlife Research Center estrus doe pee.
Here is the view from my trailcam.  We can now monitor how often the deer exit the pine grove onto the meadow.	I was not able to have this in place long enough for any big bucks to come along in time.

January 15, 2017 update: 
Unfortunately, neither of these (trailcam and scrape) was a success.
The trailcam was moved to the new Chestnut Hill site on January 14.

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Saturday, December 17, 2016:
Return once againtoWashington County, Georgia
(after 34 days!)

No luck getting anything!
Both Robert and I were trying for a buck, but to no avail.

The weather prediction was cool and cloudy overcast with little rain.
Actually it was very cold in the morning and got warm very quickly in the afternoon.
   
 
My trailcam had been near DB's stand all this time.  I needed to check it.
It had so many animals:  crows, rabbits, foxes, coyotes, armadillos, raccoons, and deer.

Most bucks were seen at night near DB's stand on video include: 
the spike I missed, an 8-pointer, and even an injured TEN-Pointer.

2:07 a.m. EDT  Thursday, November 17, 2016 This 8-point guy was chasing one of the ladies!	11:03 p.m. EDT  Monday, November 27, 2016 This 10-point bruiser apparently got himself bruised.

I knew about these bucks before the afternoon hunt,
and was hoping so much that they would breach the daylight.

I also got daytime shots of 3-pointer and a button:
  

Additionally, the trailcam got THE WHOLE CREW!

DB DB was putting out corn	Edgar Edgar was checking the block	Mark I am putting out Deer Cane	Robert Robert has my computer bag

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Monday, December 26, 2016:
Return to Randolph County, Alabama

Light rain was expected and I did bring my FrogToggs ––
luckily, because it did rain a little.
As one can see below, it was WARM in the morning;
I had on short-sleeves!
   
This morning, I...
GOT A BUCK!


Alabama DCNR harvest record#  165L33112G26
harvested 6:34 a.m. CST, December 26, 2016


Yeah, I know... it's a spike (2 points)
...but it's a buck, nonetheless!

 

	I set up my Canon digital camera on a small tripod and set the timer. Because I was alone, I had to jury-rig my own method of taking photos. This buck came along at 6:30 a.m. CST and I took the shot at 6:34. At first, I thought it was a doe until he looked my way and I saw spikes. Sunrise was at 6:43 a.m. CST and I had only been in the stand since 6:10. This was the first time I got settled in the stand (while still dark). What a productive morning!
Finally got to use!		Very close to stand!

 


This buck came early... at 6:30 a.m. Central Standard Time.

He stopped next to tree with the hanging twine and
looked around listening to all the wind sounds.
I found it difficult holding my rifle for about 3 minutes
without the ability to look through the scope.

Also, he looked my direction, but he never saw me!
If I were to move too suddenly, I risk spooking
him and that would have been a waste!

    
My shot-placement wasn't the best, but I dropped him quickly, just the same.

     
My truck was positioned so that dragging the sled into the bed would be easier.
This turned out better, because no blood spilled into my truck bed, only in the sled.
This makes clean up much easier.


I made it to the East Alabama Deer Processing place right after 8 a.m. local time.
The cooler is open 24 hours and self-made tags are available.
My spike buck has Tag #353.


I delayed getting taxidermy work done on this buck's head until September 2017.
Meanwhile, it was kept in Tim's deep freezer.

It was ready by early October. This took only a month!	I picked him up on October 14. I drove from Sandersville to Palmetto.	Spaghetti with venison meat sauce from this buck. Tim and I dined on this November 3 in Roanoke.	Tastes good!

  


As the day (December 26, 2016) moved on,
Tim joined me later for an afternoon hunt.
  
Aside from occasional goofing off, neither one of us was productive that evening.
Anyway, Tim was encouraged by me getting something on his property.

As pictured above, a decoy was employed this evening,
but it didn't improve the odds.
I took the usual stand and Tim this time used the unfinished
permanent blind after tearing down the front cover.

The ghillie head cover really seems to work well.

Tim and I scoped out a new site that I much later dubbed "Hickory Hill."
It is located about 50 yards above the Frog Pond.

Hickory Hill

So-named due to the prevalence of a hard mast of hickory nuts.
I realized an error I made years later, which I confused these with chestnuts.
Apparently, the American Chestnut went extinct in the early 1900s.
Up until 2023, I had called this site "Chestnut Hill."

OLD COMMENT:
The 2017-2018 season just may see a tree stand on a hardwood nearby!

[Actually a quad pod with a revolving seat was installed 4 years later.]

I placed a fifth camera on a hardwood facing south.

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Saturday, December 31, 2016:
Return again to Washington County, Georgia

No luck getting anything!
I was dead-set on getting that injured 10-pointer previously seen on video
or any buck that was 8 points or more, but absolutely no deer showed!

Robert's honey hole stand @ 11:46 a.m. This is right before we went to lunch.	DB's stand with umbrella @ 3:28 p.m. Not camo, but definitely shields the rain.

Robert and I endured cold in the morning and rain in the evening.


This is it for Georgia...
I do not plan to return (for deer) until next season.

Robert and I will still try some hog hunting
after he gets a path cleared to the creek.
   
We went down to the creek, right before lunch,
looking for hogs to shoot, but these hogs were hiding from us. 
The recent drought took its toll on the creek.

Robert sez:  " If you see a Hawg,         SHOOT it! "

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Monday, January 2, 2017:   Return again to Randolph County, Alabama	Saturday, January 7, 2017:  Return again to Randolph County, Alabama
– CANCELLED – 100% rain event in Alabama; I ultimately relaxed during New Year.	– CANCELLED – MORNING ONLY HUNT –– * * * Snow & Ice! * * * As always, the entire Atlanta area shut down.

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Sunday, January 8, 2017:
Return again to Randolph County, Alabama

No luck getting anything!
MORNING ONLY HUNT (6:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. CST)

Of all my 3 seasons of hunting, this was my coldest excursion yet!
Before daybreak (6:45 a.m. CST), the temperature was 16ºF.
(The windchill was 9ºF.)
Tim decided to skip this particular one, altogether.

Darn cold!	Bundled up.	Whither deer?

However, this day wasn't a total loss:


The picture above doesn't show everything;
there was a lot more meat (e.g. cubed steaks in another cooler)!
I was able to pay for and retrieve the meat from my first buck.
East Alabama Deer Processing called me 8:35 p.m. January 3 saying it was ready–just $98.

Upon analysis of the land looking northward near my tree stand,
I was able to surmise an otherwise hidden natural deer path:


I realized that the buck I got 2 weeks ago
HAD to come down this path before I saw him.

This is one of a few places where I will clean up for the 2017-2018 season.
In warmer months, it is difficult to navigate here due to briar undergrowth.

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Friday and Saturday, January 13 & 14, 2017:
Return again to Randolph County, Alabama

No luck getting anything!
 
THIS WILL BE MY SECOND-TO-LAST FULL REGULAR SEASON HUNT.
Tim did join me, but he only hunted on Saturday morning in the unfinished blind.

WE DID EVERY KIND OF PREP WORK WE POSSIBLY COULD,
BUT STILL NO DEER SHOWED WHEN WERE PRESENT.

4:52 a.m. CST  Saturday, January 14, 2017 This spike showed up minutes before my wake-up alarm sounded. Tim could have HAD  this one!  Right in the lower meadow.

[Photos of Saturday morning in stand coming soon!]

Because of a wealth of activity on Chestnut Hill,
I went ahead and swapped out the old trailcam with the better-quality one
from the meadow to this particular spot to capture higher resolution images.

The jury is out on where I will set the next tree stand.

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Saturday, January 21, 2017:
half-day ONLY (evening)
Randolph County, Alabama

No luck getting anything!


Rain was definitely expected in the weather forecast, but it cleared this evening!

I brought my daughter, Olivia, to experience hunting
for the FIRST TIME.
She wants to get a deer SO bad.
She still has to learn how to safely use a gun.

	Olivia was ready for deer! The rifle she had was only for the photo. Here's my .30-06, ready for action.
Olivia assessing the feel of the blind.	It was a challenge, getting her to be still.

We were bothered by noisy barking dogs from next door.
Olivia was so easily distracted by them and other noises.

Below is a panoramic evening view from the blind:



Olivia took this photograph with my new iPhone.
It wasn't as cold this evening (hence, the short-sleeves).

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Slated half-day (evening):
Saturday, January 28, 2017:
Randolph County, Alabama

The weather, as forecast, was colder, dry, and just slightly breezy.
I had long sleeves this time, and Olivia bundled up more.

No luck getting anything!

Olivia and I on our way to Alabama – this is her way of catching a nap to cut the boredom.

At least the dogs next door didn't bother us as much as they did the last week.
We did see a hawk attempt to nail a dove, but it was unsuccessful.

I also determined this weekend that an alternative site
for the next tree stand may be on the turkey trail.

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Friday & Saturday, February 3 and 4, 2017:
Randolph County, Alabama
 
MY LAST HUNT OF THE SEASON.
No luck getting anything!
This is it–no more for the season after this weekend.

effort made on Friday:

Truck packed up and ready to go!	Me in the stand (morning)	Real Tree camouflage perspective	Tim in permanent blind (afternoon)

Friday morning panoramic view from tree stand in pine grove:



Our effort made on Saturday:

The roadside pond in the late morning	Tim took this of me sitting in the gully	Tim looking for any deer tracks	My last view hunting at roadside pond

The one that (shouldn't have) got away:

8:23 a.m. CST  Saturday, February 4, 2017 This 8-pointer came while Tim and I were on the east side of the property. Of course, it would avoid us on our last day hunting! Notice the buck's scrape and urination; I believe that was a first on camera.

Saturday evening panoramic view from ground-level near road-side pond:


THE END OF SEASON 3

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ALABAMA and GEORGIA specifics: