Late November Hunting

Late November Hunting


With another deer hunting season over, it’s been a strange season this year.  Many folks I’ve talked to about their deer hunting adventures seem to indicate similar success, or rather, the lack of it.  With this month being warmer than previous years, and the weather being relatively pleasant for November, deer hunting success is down this year comparatively to other years. Some hunters even noticed the lack of deer hunters this year in regular hunting places where they tended to be in past years.  It appears the economy is taking it’s tool on outdoor recreation too. I know I saw deer over the course of my deer camp experience, but there were not that were target-able for me.

Squirrel Chase

The Thanksgiving Holiday was filled with good food and good family.  It was great to visit with folks and enjoy the kids and even celebrate Merrick’s birthday.  A great Thanksgiving! I was lucky enough to have some time to get out and take Marius for a walk in the woods.  I found a local place where we were lucky enough to chase two squirrels through the tall timbers.  The first one that I saw was a Fox Squirrel that was high in a cottonwood tree.  At about 40 ft up in the tree, he scampered across a few branches.  Tahoe didn’t see it because she was only perched about 15 ft up in a small tree.  I tried to get it to move down, but it found a home somewhere in the treetop, and we didn’t see that one again.

A few moments later, a Grey Squirrel popped out from a tree trunk and dashed along some big branches high up. Again, Tahoe was only perched about 12 ft up in a tree, but she was at least looking up this time. It took a few minutes, but the squirrel came down the tree trunk and took a few hops along the ground.  Tahoe simply watched until she was ready.  When the squirrel attempted to climb another tree, that’s when Tahoe launched herself from her perch and took a swipe at the squirrel as it tried to climb up the tree.

Rabbit Sign

Sunday was another good afternoon to get out while the weather cooperated. Marius, Tahoe and I went out in the afternoon right after lunch to fit in a short hunt while it was still dry.  I missed the forecast for rain, but it wasn’t a steady rain. It was like a water spigot; on and then off.  It did that for a little while until it got more steady and we had to call it an afternoon. In the meantime, we were able to get a bunny going with Tahoe taking a good flight from a high tree perch after the flushed bunny.  The rabbit dashed through some thick briars, but Tahoe was very interested in where that rabbit went.  I called Marius over to take a position on the trail, and then I moved in to flush again.  The rabbit took off to the south, and Tahoe was after it again.  With all the good hiding places, it was no surprise that the rabbit disappeared again.  I rewarded Tahoe’s pursuit, and put her back up in the tree in a higher perch.  She was in a great position for the next flush, which I anticipated pretty well, considering the brush piles and briar patches in sight.  The bunny flushed out and away from me and Tahoe, she saw it quickly, and took a dive after it, missing it just by a hare.  I beat brush for another 10 minutes without success. By this time, the rain has developed into a steady shower, and it was time to call it an afternoon.

Lessons Learned:

  • Keep Flushing! – If the bunny doesn’t find a hole, you have a good chance of getting it out into the open again.
  • Hawk Eyes have it – Tahoe can see quite a distance and pick up on things even when you think she can’t. I was pleasantly surprised that she saw the bunny the first time it flushed, as it was quite a distance from her perch.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *