Results:

Soggy day!  I entered the stand under the cover of darkness with a modest rain falling.  The rain continued to come down steadily from 6 AM to 9:30 AM when I finally decided that enough is enough and packed it in.   Even with my Hawk Wingspan umbrella, I ended up getting wet during this hunt.  I did have one small one and a half-year-old buck cruise through at first light but that was all I saw.  My hope that the rain might prompt bucks to move did not materialize.

I chose to sleep in on Sunday and the rainfall kept me out of the woods Sunday evening.

Monday plans:

Early AM hunt in the new stand.  I have the perfect wind for the AM.  My thought is that with November right around the corner, I may be able to catch one of the big deer on their feet a little later in the morning.  Thursday, I only needed 15 minutes and I would have had a shot.  We should be at the beginning of the seeking phase and I hope that the mature deer are looking for love a little longer in the morning.  My target is Mr. Crabs or Monarch Jr.  Both have been frequent visitors to this location over the past few weeks.  I have trail camera photos of each of them just before and just after daylight.

Two key factors I am looking at on Monday:

1. The moon is setting very late (12:35 PM) and my hope is that keeps them on their feet just a little longer
2. Rain slows/ends just prior to daylight

This location is also a known bedding area for the doe.  If the bucks are seeking that first estrous doe, I should be in the ballgame Monday in this stand.

For the afternoon, I plan on visiting my new location for the first hunt of the year there.  This property sets up well for the wind Monday afternoon.  I will use a run and gun setup and look for the freshest sign and trails to hunt over.  The warm weather forecast for the middle of this week (highs near 60) is driving me to crash in Monday ahead of that warming trend.

I am looking forward to the morning sit.

More to come…