Crosshairy
Well-Known Member
This morning I shot my first coyote, killed my coolest buck yet (most points, most unique rack), and tied my biggest buck in terms of body size. To top it all off, this is the second season that I've had no private property access to speak of, so it's another season of hard (but worthwhile) hunting on public land. Pics to come. If you like to read, here's the whole story...
I invited my dad along, and he was hunting about 300 yards from me. I set up on a small rise of cypress trees between 2 thickets, in an area that has several deer trails running past it. You may not be able to see far, but the thick stuff is where it's at! Good visibility on public land is very over-rated.
I walked up to my spot a bit late from waiting on dad to arrive, but it worked out - as soon as I got to the tree I was going to sit beside, I heard something running up. A large coyote (we estimated it at 30-35 lbs) gave me a brief broadside shot, and I shot him through both shoulders. He dropped within 5 feet of where he stood. I walked over and took a few pictures, then got ready for the rest of my hunt. The whole time I kept thinking "I hope I didn't ruin my hunt by shooting a coyote at first light!" I have seen 'yotes running deer there before, so I've always told myself that I need to shoot them if possible, but I never had the chance until today.
Around 6:45, a small doe came through the closest thicket, and offered me several marginal shots. Since I still have zero deer in the freezer, I almost shot her, but passed due to the poor angle and openings. She continued on clueless of my presence.
Around 7:40, I started hearing noise in the same thicket. I stood up, extended my shooting monopod, and got ready for an approach from somewhere out of the closest thicket. After waiting 37 eternities (that's about 4 minutes for non-hunting folks, FYI), another small doe stepped out, following the same path as the first. She kept walking behind several trees, and I never got a clear shot through the edge of the thicket. Fortunately for me, she stepped back in and removed temptation. I kept hearing stuff back in the thicket, so I knew there was at least one more deer and hoped it was bigger.
All of a sudden, off to my right I heard several heavy, crunching footsteps. The thicket there was so dense I was sure that nothing would come through it, but I saw an antler sticking out of a piece of honeysuckle...I was wrong. I spun slowly, THUMPING my shooting stick on my seat (a very luxurious milk crate). We both froze, but since the deer's head was behind a tree, I decided to get set up for a shot. He used his psychic powers to realize that I wanted him to step into the open, so he opted to hide behind a thick bunch of briars instead, exposing none of his body and only poking out his head. Unfortunately for him, I was only 35-40 yards away, and his throat patch made a big target in my scope.
He dropped where he stood. As I walked over, I realized that he was a big-bodied deer, and his antlers were very unique, with a G2 that turned outward instead of up. He has 8 points, including one broken off halfway up (possibly during velvet, due to the odd shape at the break), and a darker antler color than most bucks have. There are several knobs/swells along the beams, including one that's just shy of making him a 9-point.
To make matters more exciting, my dad jumped up another deer towards me while coming to help me get him out. It stopped in a clearing just long enough for me to get a look at him - a 3-point buck. Those antlers saved his life, because my freezer has room!
From an excitement standpoint, this was easily one of the best hunts I've ever had. Being the culmination of a LOT of boot-work in scouting on public land makes the victory great, and having my dad there to share it with was icing on the cake.
I'll try to load up pics when I get home.
I invited my dad along, and he was hunting about 300 yards from me. I set up on a small rise of cypress trees between 2 thickets, in an area that has several deer trails running past it. You may not be able to see far, but the thick stuff is where it's at! Good visibility on public land is very over-rated.
I walked up to my spot a bit late from waiting on dad to arrive, but it worked out - as soon as I got to the tree I was going to sit beside, I heard something running up. A large coyote (we estimated it at 30-35 lbs) gave me a brief broadside shot, and I shot him through both shoulders. He dropped within 5 feet of where he stood. I walked over and took a few pictures, then got ready for the rest of my hunt. The whole time I kept thinking "I hope I didn't ruin my hunt by shooting a coyote at first light!" I have seen 'yotes running deer there before, so I've always told myself that I need to shoot them if possible, but I never had the chance until today.
Around 6:45, a small doe came through the closest thicket, and offered me several marginal shots. Since I still have zero deer in the freezer, I almost shot her, but passed due to the poor angle and openings. She continued on clueless of my presence.
Around 7:40, I started hearing noise in the same thicket. I stood up, extended my shooting monopod, and got ready for an approach from somewhere out of the closest thicket. After waiting 37 eternities (that's about 4 minutes for non-hunting folks, FYI), another small doe stepped out, following the same path as the first. She kept walking behind several trees, and I never got a clear shot through the edge of the thicket. Fortunately for me, she stepped back in and removed temptation. I kept hearing stuff back in the thicket, so I knew there was at least one more deer and hoped it was bigger.
All of a sudden, off to my right I heard several heavy, crunching footsteps. The thicket there was so dense I was sure that nothing would come through it, but I saw an antler sticking out of a piece of honeysuckle...I was wrong. I spun slowly, THUMPING my shooting stick on my seat (a very luxurious milk crate). We both froze, but since the deer's head was behind a tree, I decided to get set up for a shot. He used his psychic powers to realize that I wanted him to step into the open, so he opted to hide behind a thick bunch of briars instead, exposing none of his body and only poking out his head. Unfortunately for him, I was only 35-40 yards away, and his throat patch made a big target in my scope.
He dropped where he stood. As I walked over, I realized that he was a big-bodied deer, and his antlers were very unique, with a G2 that turned outward instead of up. He has 8 points, including one broken off halfway up (possibly during velvet, due to the odd shape at the break), and a darker antler color than most bucks have. There are several knobs/swells along the beams, including one that's just shy of making him a 9-point.
To make matters more exciting, my dad jumped up another deer towards me while coming to help me get him out. It stopped in a clearing just long enough for me to get a look at him - a 3-point buck. Those antlers saved his life, because my freezer has room!
From an excitement standpoint, this was easily one of the best hunts I've ever had. Being the culmination of a LOT of boot-work in scouting on public land makes the victory great, and having my dad there to share it with was icing on the cake.
I'll try to load up pics when I get home.
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