Warm temps greet deer hunters

By Bill Bartusek

The 2010 Deer Hunt in Minnesota sure didn't seem right. It was way too warm. The temperatures rose into the 60s everyday this past weekend. It did make it nice for deer hunters because they could stay out in the woods longer without getting cold. I'm sure the deer didn't like it because they are in their winter coats. The south wind was blowing Saturday morning and that slowed some deer movement. However, the rut is getting close and the bucks were chasing does. That kept a lot of deer on their feet.

I wasn't hunting but my boys were. Joe was hunting with friends in southeast Minnesota. They were seeing a lot of deer and had pretty good success. Joe did get a deer - it was a doe. Their group also had other deer, including a nice eight-pointer.

Billy was hunting east of New Prague at the farm. The rest of his group was hunting nearby. The boys didn't get any deer in the morning, but luck changed in the afternoon. The first to score was Dennis Palma. He harvested a dandy eight-point buck that chased a doe right by his stand at 2 p.m.

We got his deer to the farm and the phone rang. We had heard shots and knew it was Billy. He called to come and get him and his eight-point buck. The deer had come across an open bean field and ran a bit too close to Billy, who was hiding in brush on the ground. Brandon Palma and Duane Shambour also did some shooting but weren't lucky enough to connect. As of Sunday night they still had two deer.

The season here will continue for the rest of the week until Sunday. Other areas in the state have two weeks left in the season. My season will begin in about 10 days. I'm excited already!