infoman jr.
Well-Known Member
I'd been getting pictures of two really nice bucks at a local farm in the last week. I hunted there Thursday and Friday evening only seeing does. Normally, I wouldn't hunt a place so many times in a row, but the wind was solid, the entry and exit to the stand is bulletproof, and I knew the cold front would have deer on their feet. This is a stand I call a "top pin stand" - any shot you have will be with the top pin. It's thick. I climbed in my stand at 4:30 Saturday evening expecting these two deer. I would shoot either one, but the bigger 9 out of velvet would be my first choice.
I had seen 6 does by 7:00 and was feeling good about the rest of the evening. At 7:20, I heard movement at the creek 20 yards behind me. I looked back and saw a hard-horned deer and one with velvet. Automatically, my mind tells me it's them, but I had left my binos at the truck, so I wasn't exactly sure. As soon as I determined it was them, my next priority was finding a shot.
They had made it past me before I saw them, but it looked like they were coming up the hill under my stand. I stood there motionless waiting for a deer to appear under me, but it never happened. I slowly turned my head to the right where they had been previously and only saw one deer. I looked to the left side of the tree, and the velvet deer was going back from where they came. I turned around and drew, but as soon as I got to full draw, he stepped behind a tree. I stayed at full draw for a while waiting on the other deer to appear. I took a sight picture and noticed that my peep was twisted. I lowered my draw and took that opportunity to peek around the tree to see if that other buck was still there. No deer. Peek back to the right side. Crap, there he is! I quickly drew my bow. He was walking slowly and with it being so quiet, I was hesitant to stop him. I found his body in my sight housing and was getting ready to find his shoulder.
Before I could do that, I shot. I have no idea how or why, but I shot. I think I said a dozen choice words before my arrow got to him. I knew where it was going. I saw the nockturnal nock disappear about 4" in front of his ham. He bounded off through the thicket. Dang. What a sinking feeling.
I quietly climbed down and went home for a bite of dinner (that I would only stomach half of) as I knew it would be a long night. I would have left him overnight, but an approaching rain had a neighbor and me out there two hours later checking the arrow. Blood was sparse to non-existent. We were lucky to find blood where we did, but the terrain of the place only left a few obvious places for the deer to go. 4 hours and 550 yards of tracking later, we were going to make one small loop around some tall grass and leave til morning.
We jumped him. My partner darn near stepped on him. I hear him run about 40 yards where we had just come from and nothing more. Since the buck was now on our exit route, I decided that we would cut into the corn field about 30 rows and walk out that way.
I returned the next morning after choking down some breakfast at 9:00 to pick up the blood in the bed we jumped him out of. I didn't have a good feeling about it. I followed a trail through the finger of woods until I could no longer find blood. I decided to walk through some tall grass to the edge of the corn field. There he was, only 6 feet away. He hadn't moved since we heard him stop hours before.
I was relieved. There he was, the first buck I've taken off of this awesome property after 4 years of hunting it. I looked for his rack, but it was tangled up in the tall grass surrounding him.
Wait. He's still breathing.
I quickly nocked an arrow and put it in his lungs, and he was dead not 30 seconds later. I felt bad for making such a bad shot. He deserved better.
Now, to look at my deer! I pulled his head out of the grass waiting to gaze upon that big 9 poi... 1, 2, 3, 4...he's an 8 point. :?
I had shot a deer that I have had pictures of all summer, a decent 8 that I'd decided to pass on if given the opportunity. Oh well. Them's the breaks. He's still my second biggest deer to date, and I'm happy to have recovered this deer and for the opportunity to hunt such a fine place.
That'll do it for me. Up here in 1-buck land, we don't get oopsie bucks.
I get to take my dog dove hunting, shoot some traditional 3D with my father in law, kill a few does when it gets cooler, and maybe make another trip to LBL in November.
I had seen 6 does by 7:00 and was feeling good about the rest of the evening. At 7:20, I heard movement at the creek 20 yards behind me. I looked back and saw a hard-horned deer and one with velvet. Automatically, my mind tells me it's them, but I had left my binos at the truck, so I wasn't exactly sure. As soon as I determined it was them, my next priority was finding a shot.
They had made it past me before I saw them, but it looked like they were coming up the hill under my stand. I stood there motionless waiting for a deer to appear under me, but it never happened. I slowly turned my head to the right where they had been previously and only saw one deer. I looked to the left side of the tree, and the velvet deer was going back from where they came. I turned around and drew, but as soon as I got to full draw, he stepped behind a tree. I stayed at full draw for a while waiting on the other deer to appear. I took a sight picture and noticed that my peep was twisted. I lowered my draw and took that opportunity to peek around the tree to see if that other buck was still there. No deer. Peek back to the right side. Crap, there he is! I quickly drew my bow. He was walking slowly and with it being so quiet, I was hesitant to stop him. I found his body in my sight housing and was getting ready to find his shoulder.
Before I could do that, I shot. I have no idea how or why, but I shot. I think I said a dozen choice words before my arrow got to him. I knew where it was going. I saw the nockturnal nock disappear about 4" in front of his ham. He bounded off through the thicket. Dang. What a sinking feeling.
I quietly climbed down and went home for a bite of dinner (that I would only stomach half of) as I knew it would be a long night. I would have left him overnight, but an approaching rain had a neighbor and me out there two hours later checking the arrow. Blood was sparse to non-existent. We were lucky to find blood where we did, but the terrain of the place only left a few obvious places for the deer to go. 4 hours and 550 yards of tracking later, we were going to make one small loop around some tall grass and leave til morning.
We jumped him. My partner darn near stepped on him. I hear him run about 40 yards where we had just come from and nothing more. Since the buck was now on our exit route, I decided that we would cut into the corn field about 30 rows and walk out that way.
I returned the next morning after choking down some breakfast at 9:00 to pick up the blood in the bed we jumped him out of. I didn't have a good feeling about it. I followed a trail through the finger of woods until I could no longer find blood. I decided to walk through some tall grass to the edge of the corn field. There he was, only 6 feet away. He hadn't moved since we heard him stop hours before.
I was relieved. There he was, the first buck I've taken off of this awesome property after 4 years of hunting it. I looked for his rack, but it was tangled up in the tall grass surrounding him.
Wait. He's still breathing.
I quickly nocked an arrow and put it in his lungs, and he was dead not 30 seconds later. I felt bad for making such a bad shot. He deserved better.
Now, to look at my deer! I pulled his head out of the grass waiting to gaze upon that big 9 poi... 1, 2, 3, 4...he's an 8 point. :?
I had shot a deer that I have had pictures of all summer, a decent 8 that I'd decided to pass on if given the opportunity. Oh well. Them's the breaks. He's still my second biggest deer to date, and I'm happy to have recovered this deer and for the opportunity to hunt such a fine place.
That'll do it for me. Up here in 1-buck land, we don't get oopsie bucks.
I get to take my dog dove hunting, shoot some traditional 3D with my father in law, kill a few does when it gets cooler, and maybe make another trip to LBL in November.
I know you had an anxious night wondering if you'd lost him and that had to feel good to find him the next morning!
