The Magic of Misty Weather
Misty days in November hold a special allure for hunters. From Halloween through mid-November, when the weather turns light and misty, it's prime time to grab the grunt call and rattling antlers and head out to the woods. There's something about misty rain that makes bucks more aggressive and more susceptible to calling.
A Promise to a Friend
I had promised my good buddy Paul that if we got a misty day in November, I'd take him out and call in a buck for him. So, when I woke up to drizzle one morning, I knew it was time. I grabbed my rattling antlers and headed over to Paul's camp, eager to start the hunt.
However, after knocking on the door for quite a while, Paul finally answered, looking worse for wear and too hung over to join me. Despite my pleas, he headed back to bed, convinced that hunting was not in the cards for him that day.
Setting Out Alone
Determined not to waste the perfect hunting conditions, I drove a short distance to a favorite spot in the state forest. This area had several bedding spots and bordered a farm that wasn’t heavily hunted. Walking through some open hardwoods until the brush got thicker, I made my first setup.
I used my grunt call and rubbed my antlers on a small sapling. After about ten minutes with no response, I moved down the ridge. I had only gone a short distance when I bumped a deer that had been coming toward me. Disappointed but not deterred, I continued down to an old fence line.
The Thrill of the Hunt
Setting up behind a big white oak tree, I started another calling sequence. After two grunts and some antler rubbing, I heard something walking. Peering around the tree, I saw a deer’s legs coming down the fence line toward me. With my bow in hand and an arrow knocked, I watched as a six-point buck took a trail that put him quartering away from me at a steep angle.
Drawing my Mathew's MQ32 with my Easton 2117 arrow, I aimed at the back of his rib cage and let it fly. The buck fell forward, pushing itself along the trail for about fifteen yards before lying still. The entire encounter happened quickly, and as the light rain continued to fall, I tagged and field-dressed my buck, regretting that Paul had missed out on this exciting hunt.
Returning to Camp
I wasn’t gone long, maybe two hours. When I returned to camp, I could tell they had been joking about me while I was gone. One of them cracked, "Well, how many deer did you call in?" With a couple of other jabs, I replied, "Two. I’m not sure what the first one was because I bumped it. But the second was a nice six-point." Then, I showed them the blood on my hands.
A Lesson Learned
After that day, Paul was always ready to go hunting whenever the weather was light rain. He realized what he had missed and didn't want to make the same mistake again. Misty days in November had proven their worth, and the promise of a successful hunt was too good to pass up.
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Embrace the misty days of November and make the most of your hunting season!
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