How did you do during Opening Muzzleloader?

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  • marko

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Jan 28, 2009
    7,048
    It was always our favorite time - had a great farm near St. Michael's
    we hunted it for 20 years - alas the farm was sold.

    How'd you guys do?
     

    jtb81100

    Ultimate Member
    May 28, 2012
    2,234
    Western HoCo
    The wildlife were all mocking me Friday and Saturday (full story in the deer hunting thread). Really don't mind much because I've never had good luck this early. The deer by me are all still hitting the local grain fields. Have some decent rubs on a few trees so some big boys are around.
     

    Abuck

    Ultimate Member
    Got a 6 pt in Green Ridge SF on Friday, mid day. Pic isn’t great, just had started field dressing when I thought to snap it. .54 Caliber 348 Grain PowerBelt through both lungs and it still ran 100 yards. That still always amazes me. Just glad it saved me that much of the drag, as he went in the right direction.

    Saw several doe early morning but didn’t shoot. Heard of a 10 pt taken nearby, but mostly a quiet 3 days.
     

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    remrug

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 13, 2009
    1,762
    manchester md
    I used to hunt WV and it seems those bucks run farther with a good lung hit than the bucks around here.My theory has always been then mountain deer are in better shape from running the hills all their lives.
     

    rgramjet

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 25, 2009
    2,962
    Howard County
    I used to hunt WV and it seems those bucks run farther with a good lung hit than the bucks around here.My theory has always been then mountain deer are in better shape from running the hills all their lives.

    Agreed.

    I killed a deer in the mountains of VA and I killed a Loudoun county deer several years back.

    Was very interesting to see how much bigger the mountain deer's heart was.

    They regularly sprint up 45°+ grades. Awesome endurance.
     

    cww

    Active Member
    Jan 28, 2010
    539
    Only got out on Saturday. Saw 11. Let one 4 and two basket 8s walk. May regret it later but also let a cool third beamed 9 walk. Also let a few does walk hoping a better buck would make an appearance so didn’t want to muff up the woods this close to the rut.
     

    SavageShooter

    Active Member
    Jan 10, 2014
    644
    Arbutus, MD
    I did not go up in the mountains of Garrett Co. where I go. They had good weather I thought it was going to be warm like it was in 2017 when I got an eight pointer. I'm going up Garrett next week for a full week of crossbow and maybe some coyotes. My 16 yr. old nephew and I will hunt the late muzzleloader up there. Mountains and rolling hills are the only way to go for me. I do not like the flat lands of eastern shore.
     

    delaware_export

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 10, 2018
    3,142
    Jealous of you guys! Stuck waiting for shotgun back home. Locally, everything except yotes and maybe quail requires a lottery win.

    Did get some pics of the boys on the Georgia farm. Modern weapons deer just opened there and they got 2 pigs, 120 and 170, on opening deer weekend.

    Good luck to you muzzleloading folks.
     

    GSuders

    Active Member
    Dec 13, 2017
    148
    Keymar
    I snuck out Thursday evening in the wind and saw 2 yearlings. Got back out Friday evening and saw a decent 7 pt, was the only deer I seen.
     

    Derwood

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 2, 2011
    1,075
    DC area
    I shot a doe on Thursday. I figured I'd sat through five hours of cold wind, so when she emerged with 10 minutes of light left, I went ahead and shot. Heart/double lung with Hawken .50 cal. She only ran 30 yards. I was optimistic for Saturday and ended up seeing 10+ does and two young bucks but passed on them all, hoping the big boy would show up. He never arrived.
     

    bikerbankr

    Active Member
    Mar 1, 2010
    393
    Upperco, MD
    Spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday out in Green Ridge. The only action we saw were the two small doe that jumped across the road as we were driving in and the three larger ones that jumped the road as we left....
     

    Veblen

    Member
    Feb 16, 2018
    40
    MoCo
    I hunted public land and saw no deer, on Saturday. Neither did other hunters, judging from the lack of distant shots.

    I was a little surprised, as I have seen deer throughout early archery season. I do not believe in the October Lull, but...
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    I did not get out this past weekend due to a bad knee. Hoping to spend some time in the blind in the next few days. Checked my camera this morning and MAN has activity dropped in front of the feeder during ANY kind of daylight. I am guessing acorns are dropping in the woods more? or maybe the moon is letting them feed too much at night. With the new moon coming, I'm hoping they will be hungry during the daylight hours. Doe activity was crazy this spring and summer. My area needs to be thinned out.

    I shot a doe on Thursday. I figured I'd sat through five hours of cold wind, so when she emerged with 10 minutes of light left, I went ahead and shot. Heart/double lung with Hawken .50 cal. She only ran 30 yards. I was optimistic for Saturday and ended up seeing 10+ does and two young bucks but passed on them all, hoping the big boy would show up. He never arrived.

    And congrats! I still have not taken a deer with my Hawken. I don't do much muzzle loader and have the Maxum right now to keep it quiet in the neighborhood. I do have the itch to maybe take it out during firearms season.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I did not get out this past weekend due to a bad knee. Hoping to spend some time in the blind in the next few days. Checked my camera this morning and MAN has activity dropped in front of the feeder during ANY kind of daylight. I am guessing acorns are dropping in the woods more? or maybe the moon is letting them feed too much at night. With the new moon coming, I'm hoping they will be hungry during the daylight hours. Doe activity was crazy this spring and summer. My area needs to be thinned out.



    And congrats! I still have not taken a deer with my Hawken. I don't do much muzzle loader and have the Maxum right now to keep it quiet in the neighborhood. I do have the itch to maybe take it out during firearms season.

    Thursday morning there were 11 deer in my side yard. My local herd was down to 5 and I was feelingly a little guilty about maybe whacking another one. Monday driving through my neighborhood over the 1.5 miles to the river my son and I counted >50 deer out feeding on neighbor’s yards and farms.

    I am feeling less bad about putting up another one soon. Planning to be in my stand veteran’s day and if anything other than a button buck comes by I am dropping it. Though if the weather permits I am going to let it lie till last light. Still hoping a big buck comes through the woods (I’ve got pictures of some nice ones, I just haven’t seen them since the day before archery opener). I am hoping the rut gets one chasing a doe through my woods.

    That said, I saw nothing ML opener all day. That’s never happened at patuxent for me during early ML. I’ve always at least bumped a deer or two. Nada. Might’ve just been the high winds, but 2 years ago the conditions were pretty similar and I bumped one deer and out another on in the freezer.

    My property activity had dropped to almost nothing. I was only seeing 2-4 deer coming by rather than the usual 5-6. Also it was more sporadic rather than 2-3 times a day, I might see them once.

    Last couple days it still sporadic, but I am seeing a lot more. No bucks with the herd now. The spike has disappeared that was with them and the fawns look like they are does, not button bucks from what I can see with my nice binocs. There had been two buttons with the ladies as of a week ago.
     

    Archeryrob

    Undecided on a great many things
    Mar 7, 2013
    3,064
    Washington Co. - Fairplay
    Hunting pressure will do that. If the deer move through the woods and you can hunt the edge so they do not smell you always there you can increase your chances. Your scent lingers for a while.

    I used to hunt my neighbors and hunted a pile of sticks on a rock break in the bottom of the field for a blind. We never crossed the deer trail and wind always came across the deer trail to us and leaving us downwind of the trail. They got greedy saying bucks were near the top more and started hunting the top while crossing the trail. The deer except a few buttons and such all went around the property and harvests all went way down.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Hunting pressure will do that. If the deer move through the woods and you can hunt the edge so they do not smell you always there you can increase your chances. Your scent lingers for a while.

    I used to hunt my neighbors and hunted a pile of sticks on a rock break in the bottom of the field for a blind. We never crossed the deer trail and wind always came across the deer trail to us and leaving us downwind of the trail. They got greedy saying bucks were near the top more and started hunting the top while crossing the trail. The deer except a few buttons and such all went around the property and harvests all went way down.

    Could be. This is in a neighborhood though. There is human scent all around and it’s strength is constantly moving around. Deer aren’t bothered by it where they are used to it it seems. They are out there eating 5 minutes after I scatter corn by hand or mowing plenty of times.

    My kids are running around back in those woods often enough crossing the trails and an hour or two later I can see deer crossing the trails. I have no doubt scent affects deer behavior. I’ve seen it, but I think they do also become habituated to it. Perhaps not deer out in the middle of nowhere. But deer that live in more human dense areas I think do.

    That said I had does blowing at me the other night when I was in a stand. Didn’t stop them from eating around the corn and coming back in to the woods 20yds from my stand. Granted we aren’t talking an old buck...which is what I am looking for.

    But I am NOT telling my wife to keep the kids out of the back woods.
     

    1time

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 26, 2009
    2,258
    Baltimore, Md
    My 9yo tagged a small doe on Friday. My nephew tagged a button buck (his first deer) on Saturday. Was a pretty good beginning to hunting season. It didn't carry over to bear season.
     

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