A SUCCESSFUL SEASON ON THE GROUND
12/30/20252 min read
A Successful Season on the Ground
This year turned out to be a very successful Maine deer season. As the weeks went on, my excitement kept building—it seemed like new bucks kept showing up on my trail camera. I started hunting in October, and while I didn’t have much success early on when it came to bucks, I stayed optimistic. A consistent herd of does was moving through the area, and that kept my hopes up. Just wait till the rut, if there are does, the bucks will follow. I used a small amount of estrus here and there, and bucks continued to show up on camera—often when I wasn’t there, of course.
The week before Thanksgiving would prove to be one of the shortest hunts of my life.
I had a late start that morning, and the pond I usually canoe across was frozen solid, forcing me to walk all the way around. I reached my spot right at legal shooting light. As I got settled in, I heard some movement nearby and put out a bit of estrus. I sat down, and almost immediately noticed movement—but it was still too dark to make out what it was. It didn’t sound large and was moving quickly, so at first I honestly thought it might be a coyote.
As it passed me, it turned and crossed the brook I was sitting near, making its way to the backside of a downed tree close by. It stopped. I waited. Then the buck stepped out—probably only 7 to 10 yards away—looking directly at me.
On this hunt, I wasn’t wearing any scent-blocking clothing, and I hadn’t showered or washed my hunting clothes beforehand. He didn’t bust me.
This year, I tried something different. In the past, I was very consistent with scent control—washing clothes, showering before each hunt, using special soaps, deodorants, and sprays. This season, I wanted to focus more on playing the wind and rely less on scent-control products. That tactic proved to work, although I came close to getting busted a few times.
In this particular spot, I chose to ground hunt. That decision led to two back-to-back hunts where multiple does came in close, trying to figure me out. Sitting incredibly still, losing circulation in my foot, and enduring that 30 or so minute encounter was definitely memorable. Being that close—around 10 yards—for that long while deer watched for movement, stomped, and wheezed was an intense experience.
This is just a quick plug for ground hunting. Don’t get me wrong—I enjoy sitting in a tree or even in a blind—but simply blending into your surroundings and being that close to deer is an experience in itself.
As for why that buck didn’t bust me or react like the does had, I honestly believe it was the estrus. I was using Code Red Doe Estrus (product link below). He stopped—and the rest is history. That 8-pointer only made it about 50 yards. The hunt lasted only about 4 or 5 minutes
What made the hunt even more special was being able to bring the deer back across the pond in a canoe. I had to break some ice, but it saved me from dragging the deer through some fairly thick cover. It was a unique and memorable way to cap off an already exciting hunt.
Code Red Doe Estrus:
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