Larry A. Smail's Blog

I began my travel across  the creek and up the hill after seven o’clock. I wasn’t in any hurry. I was going to still hunt as I moved towards the area I planned to stay most of the day.

Cherry Run

A dreamy gloom encompassed the woodlands as I slowly eased through the pines. The warm and rainy weather certainly didn’t have my thoughts in a hunting mode. I am just following my family traditions and heritage at this time. I had made a decision to not take any legal buck thinking of hunting with flintlocks once the antlerless season came in. A style of hunting I much prefer! However, I have been at this place before and sometimes the hunter instincts takeover as I thought of last year during the early flintlock season. I passed up shots trying to get a deer close to my step-father Bob when suddenly that instinct came over and I harvested a deer.

I love old logs…is that weird?

Very quickly after I sat down a deer materialized. It was a buck. The deer continued toward me. He ended up being a four pointer. I saw him twice during the morning. My camera was in my shoulder bag due to dark and damp conditions so taking photos was always a choice once eyes are gazing upon you.                                                      Squirrels didn’t appear until after nine. They must have slept in as well. I heard and saw a flock of geese too. I heard a few turkey yelps behind me. By ten the temperatures were, obviously, falling. Rain picked up again and turning to sleet. The next stage was the big snowflakes. Bob saw sixteen deer including a nice buck. He couldn’t count the points. I saw fourteen deer all day. Some were does and others I couldn’t identify. I don’t see well in darkened conditions.

I apologize for the poor photo.

A highlight of the day was when I turned to see something white. It was a pie-bald deer with most of the body being white. I hustled to retrieve my camera. The deer allowed only one quick shot and I was greatly disappointed when the photo was blurred, but I expected that since the darkened woods and me hurrying and hand holding the camera was almost certain to be blurred. The deer allowed one chance and off it went.

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The first day of the Pennsylvania 2013 buck season . I exited the car as the hands of the clock approached the seven o’clock time. I started hunting as I walked up the hill. Eventually, I settled in to sit and watch for animal activity.

I saw my first buck around 7:30. The rack wasn’t all that big so I didn’t even attempt to count the points. A short time later I saw another small buck.  I still hunted up a slope and witnessed a half rack moving fast. Something scared him! In a few moments I could see a nice-sized rack moving in the brush. I tried to count the points, but wasn’t sure enough to shoot. I back-racked an circled in hopes of seeing him in better conditions. I didn’t. Later in the day I would see another small buck at this area.

  Later, I visited Bob, my step-father, to see if he was seeing anything. he hadn’t seen any deer at this time. I went back to the original area and began seeing does. Two does came through with a nice-racked buck on their tails. remember it is the rutting season. (Mating season.) he came close to me, but try as I did I couldn’t see the legal amount of points needed to make a shot. I did get a few photos of him. They went down the hollow and a half hour I heard a shot. Did someone shoot this deer?   

I was sneaking along and spotted two deer coming through the brush. Does! I then saw a third trailing behind. It was a buck and, although, I couldn’t count points I could see a decent-sized set of antlers. I saw these same three  again at the same place going in reverse about a half an hour later.

All in all, I saw seven buck this day and twenty four deer in total. I saw a grouse and plenty of squirrels too.

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Brown Creeper

The annual Pennsylvania Buck Season began today. I wasn’t feeling all that excited about hunting this morning. I was more thrilled with the prospect of getting some decent wildlife photos. There are a number of reasons of my lack of enthusiasm. One reason is the fact my freezer is full of red stag meat! Regardless, I arrived in the area where I traditionally hunt deer later than normal for me. I had walked about 500 feet when the 2012 season opener legal time arrived. I watched a turkey explode from a tree and fly across Cherry Run onto the opposite hillside.

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

I reached  the next level of the hill and crept slowly until I situated myself at the point where two logs crossed each other. I was watching a couple of squirrels when I saw a glint of lighter color among the gray and dark colors of the young tree growth. Soon a buck appeared. I saw 4 points and, possibly another along the main beam. The point was either broken off or just hadn’t grown out very long. I reached for my camera  as the buck closed in to about 18 feet. He became suspicious as I held the camera low not being able to bring it to my eye. I was had! The buck exited the scene!

Half-Rack Buck

Inactivity brought about some shivers and I decided to sneak around a bit and settle in at some sunny area. The bird life was everywhere! I was watching red-breasted nuthatches; both the Downy and Hairy woodpeckers; chickadees; golden-crowned kinglets and a couple of brown creepers. Believe me trying to get great photos of darting birds is difficult. Most failed!

  I heard some leaf rustling across the little hollow and soon four deer began sneaking through the pines. They were all doe. I managed a few photos, but there was nothing outstanding with the shots. I heard leaf rustling behind me and as I slowly turned there were three does in a sunny area and closing in. I couldn’t move the camera into position for fear of scaring them. Another doe was following them and soon two half-rack bucks appeared.

I began hearing some turkeys across the hollow and soon saw another four deer through the brush. I couldn’t identify any.

    The ten o’clock hour was closing in and I was having a blast seeing all these deer and birds and squirrels. I heard some activity across the hollow again and soon saw another buck, followed by a second, followed by a nice buck, followed by another nice buck. Four bucks! They were about 100 yards away but moving slightly diagonally towards me.  The dense pine limbs made for difficulty counting points. Eventually the one big  buck allowed his front shoulder to be exposed in an opening in the woods. The 80 yard shot hit true!  I was up and was almost run over by two of the other bucks! The one I shot cut diagonally in front of me again but in the other direction. I watched the big deer crash. He went about 35 yards before collapsing. The time was 10:05. The widest measurement on the antlers is 21 3/4 inches. There are 10 points.                   

I called my step father, at home, and later my cousin, Donnie to help load the deer.  I had the buck skinned and quartered by 1:30.

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Bob and I walked along. I decided to carry the little .410 shotgun and, possibly, get a couple of squirrels. Bob was hunting deer with his flintlock. I saw a squirrel in the gray, dismal morning light, but elected not to  take it for we were walking in a deer bedding hotspot.

      Bob went to a favorite place to watch as I walked around forgetting to watch for squirrels. I peered over an embankment only to watch a red fox easing through the brush. Later, I walked onto four gobblers. I was wondering why we hasn’t seen any turkey or turkey sign just prior to seeing them.  Later I would see more turkeys.

I moved out one deer and apparently many more for Bob saw at least nine. He managed one shot but missed. I trailed the deer for a long way with no sign of a hit. Bob was having a tough time. he broke his short starter and the 50 caliber ball lodged tight about 7 inches from the muzzle. We couldn’t budge the ball so the hunt was over and it wasn’t even nine o’clock. We would be heading home

We removed the barrel and touch hole in order to dump the powder. The only way we could do this ball removal was to drill it out. I  cleaned the barrel and did some experimenting. I told Bob to avoid the lead balls with a spue or file them off. I believed the spue twisted upon loading thus wedging the ball tight in the rifle’s barrel. (The spue is a small amount of lead material left upon the casting of lead balls. The lead is melted and poured into a bullet mold.)

      We saw three more deer while leaving. The deer were at an exact same place where I managed a photo last week.  Something there attracts them , but they are easy to spot.

After repairs and corrections were made the two of us enjoyed mom’s home cooking!

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This was a potato field of the Smail family many moons ago.

   Bob and I began our hunt walking up a gradual slope from the township road. The one and a half inches of snow would help seeing deer as well as tracking if the need be. The 25-30 MPH winds were present all morning too. Small snowy tornadoes could be viewed from time to time. The zero degree wind chill was hardly noticed as I trekked around the woodlands.                                        

Deer bed

One of many bird boxes I erected in the woods

  We hadn’t gone 300 yards when I noticed a deer’s body among the six feet high briars. Although, the deer was only about 40 yards as I pointed Bob couldn’t see it until the deer turned to flee.

The morning hours were exciting as I walked about known deer bedding areas. I was hoping to move deer past Bob. Three deer removed themselves from a multiflora rose growth. The deer, although spooked, failed to identify me and they stopped within sight and milled around. I failed to move them in the proper direction for they went 180 degrees opposite from where I wished them to go. Deer are funny like that!                                

Last year's hawk nest

As I approached the gas line where Bob was posted, I could see two deer laying among some tree top and briars. They were only about 100 yards at the most from Bob. Shortly, three more appeared and ran the opposite way again.

The remainder of the morning had me seeing more deer. Only three actually went past Bob, however, they were in high gear. We began our exit by 11:00 to head home and torment my mother and eat.

I saw 17 deer in those morning hours and another 7 while in transit back home. I only saw one squirrel, although plenty of tracks could be found. Lots of fox tracks encompassed the woodlands this morning. I placed some deer parts and fat in some trees for the little birds to chew on. Hopefully, the extra calories will help them survive the cold.

Steep hillsides

  What a great morning to be in the woods. Oh how I wished I would have saved my early muzzleloader tag!!

Last Thursday, Bob and Cousin Donnie spent some time hunting deer. We all saw deer but no shots were fired. However, I chased one past a hunter and he got it. Later in the day I was walking a gas line when I saw the hunter tieing the deer onto his vehicle’s rack. Forgetting just how quiet I walk at times I watched the man grab his chest in fear when I was only about five feet from him. I apologized for he said he thought I was a bear almost at his kill and him. Kinda funny now!

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