Crane Naval Area Deer Hunt 2010

Adventure Information

Species: Deer
Type of Hunting: Firearms
Location of Adventure: Indiana, USA
Guide/Outfitter:
Lodging:
Would you recommend it?

I would recommend this experience

Adventure Review

This was my 2nd annual firearms deer hunt at Crane Naval Area in southern Indiana.  My hunting buddy Tim and I were drawn to hunt on December 12th.  Our assigned  check in time was 12:30 am!  Ouch.  That is early.  Even though we had a mega early check in time, we were Xcited regardless.  We were drawn again this year for Area 2 which is in the Northwest area of the base.

There are many reasons that I was Xcited and like this hunt.

1. This hunt offers an opportunity to take either one buck or one doe per day.
2. The base is known for having plenty of deer and they have pictures of some large bucks that have been taken on these hunts.
3. You can purchase a Military Firearms Deer Permit that allows you the opportunity to harvest a deer for that license and won’t count against your regular deer tags.
4. The base has over 58,000 acres of huntable land.  For me that means lots of elbow room for all the hunters to enjoy.

My Xperience in 2010 with this hunt was good.  We were released early enough from the parking area to get to our parking area while it was still dark.  It takes about 20 minutes to get from the check in desk to area 2.  Make sure you don’t speed on their roads and follow all of the hunting rules that they have.  This ensures that we all have the opportunity to continue to hunt at Crane.

The weather for this hunt was snowy, windy, and cold.  I still hunted most of the day.  The deer were moving quite a bit in spite of the weather.  I was able to find a nice rub line that went up a hill and had more that 10 different trees that were visible marked by a rutting buck.  In that same area I was able to see 10 deer.  Nine of the deer were does and one was a buck.  I also saw one coyote and three raccoons.

Shot opportunities for me were limited on these deer.  Both times that I thought I would have a shot the deer were just outside of my range.

Overall, I enjoyed the solitude, scenery, and wildlife viewing.  I had high hopes of a big buck or at least a shot opportunity.  But this is hunting…  I will apply for this hunt next year and hope that the 3rd time is a charm.

For more information on this hunt and how to apply see the link below which will take you to the specific place on the Indiana DNR site.

http://www.in.gov.dnr/fishwild/5834.htm