Ken and I have been in the bush or on the river nearly every day for the last month or so.And we've been having some great fun,while working away at placing stands and tending baits.We had a very good shoot during our opener for ducks.The boys managed to get a mixed bag of ducks,as well as three geese.We had one new shooter,a young lad from Fredericton,and he said he's hooked.He had a great time watching Jamie's Golden Retriever,Whisky,working the wind while picking up the birds he got.That Whisky dog is really starting to come on strong.He's really got the hunt in him and sometimes that can be hit or miss with Goldens,but Whisky's got it.We haven't bothered much with partridge yet,their numbers are down a bit,but after the leaves drop,they will be easier to see and we'll start seeing a few more when we are out.The photos in this post were taken at one of our sites in the Gaspereau River country.Ken and I were in to take some bait and we were quite surprised to see some scrape activity taking place already.This is rather early for the bucks to be opening scrapes,but Ken said he had seen some rubs on some alders at another site,so I guess they are starting early this year,by about two weeks.We were expecting to see some heavy rutting activity in this area,because last year it was tore all to pieces,but this is definitly early rutting sign,even though it's just been opened up.As soon as Ken spotted that print in the middle of the scrape,he immediately said that this was the"Snow-peaks Buck".I asked him how he knew it was that buck and he proceeded to explain the convoluted network of trails that brought him to this spot,from the place where Ken had seen him last year,about a quarter mile away.Ken could tell by my expression that I wasn't totally convinced of his conclusions,especially since I feel there are at least three good bucks in this area.So Kenny was adament that I set up a scoutguard trail cam to see if we could get a photo to prove or disprove Ken's theory.I really have reservations about mucking around in some spots and this is one of those spots.But I gave in and we mounted it,so we'll see what happens.Some of our sites are set up with salt and bait,while others are not. It just depends on the stand location and usually if its a spot where the deer are passing through a relatively open area and kind of wandering across a wider area,we don't bother with bait,because there is plenty of time to get set up for the shot.In areas that are more closed in,we like the bait because it stops them up and provides a good shot.Ken and I like to have two sites for every hunter.This is almost a must because sometimes things can happen to cause a stand to go dead,so our hunters can just move on to the next one.All of our stands are placed on known crossings that have at least one trophy size buck frequenting the area.We are using a variety of stands,but one thing we try to do is make sure our sports are comfortable and safe.Being comfortable and set up properly is the key to being able to make the shot when it presents itself.Getting back to that "Snow-peaks Buck",Ken says he is quite grey in the face and has at least ten ivory-tipped points on a nice dark chocolate rack.One of our lucky hunters is going to take this deer,but I don't know if it will be at this location,but hopefully the trail cam will get us some more info.on this great trophy,as well as some of the other great bucks we are setting up for,including one that has some real potential on the Boone and Crockett scale.One of the seasoned DNR officers,a guy with twenty-five years experience,says this buck has the biggest rack he has seen in his life!If this early rut activity continues,our group from NY State is in for the hunt of a life time,as their hunt will fall right in the thick of things.So get geared up and ready for the Big Woods and all the trophy animals that our area of New Brunswick has to offer.
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