For the better part of this fall, between college classes, I sat perched in a Buffalo County tree awaiting my fortune. I believe I tallied at least a few hundred hours in the tree stand since October and that isn’t even counting the thousands of hours dedicated to planning, preparing and pre-visualizing the kill! It is the brief moment of hunter’s success that we all strive for; I finally experienced it last Sunday morning.
I was lucky enough to make a clean kill on a very respectable Wisconsin whitetail with my bow, at 8am, Sunday the 8th. It was, oddly enough, one year to the day I tagged out last year! In my opinion, there isn’t a better time to be in the woods buck hunting than November the 7th to the 14th in Wisconsin.
I believe this weekend was by far the best few days in the woods Wisconsin and the Midwest has seen all season. The complex variables of weather, deer activity, rut phase and moon finally came together to work as one. The buck count has surely escalated in the past weeks across the Midwest thanks to cold weather! There are thousands of happy hunters sporting reluctant grins and grasping bone for picture-perfect trophy photos.
The Midwest has just escaped a major rut melt-down due to last week’s 70-degree miserable temperatures. Deer activity was sparse, and much of the buck activity was during the night when temperatures were cooler. The entire past week, I’ve been frequently watching the weather channel and awaiting our cold front savior. Friday, the warm system pushed eastward and we got blasted with a high-pressure system that brought snow with it. Not only did it bring frigid temperatures, but also brought back the rut.
Sunday morning, I woke extra early to get ready. I had to finish washing my clothes and taking a scent-free shower. It almost seems ritualistic after the millionth time throughout the entire season. Sometimes I just don’t feel right if I don’t get up early and splash in odor neutralizer soap, even when I’m not hunting!
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I walked out the door and could almost sense the rut. Brisk weather with an overcast sky seems to really do the trick. It was just one of those special feelings that hunters happen to get every now and then.
In the cloak of darkness, I crept my way through the woods. Watching each and every step, I managed to dodge every crunchy twig en route to my tree stand. I decided to use a young buck decoy, anticipating I’d stir a mature buck’s feelings. After placing the decoy, I scaled my tree and prepared for first light.
I sat cold and shivering the entire morning without much deer activity. I spotted my first deer at 9 o’clock in the morning. It was a buck busting through brush chasing a doe. All I could see were antlers and a blob of brown. He never came within a hundred yards of the tree stand.
An hour had passed since I saw the buck, so I decided to fumble around in my bag for my Extinguisher grunt tube made by Illusions Systems. I barked out a cadence of tending grunts and combined a few estrous bleats to compliment the act.
I swiveled my head for a glance behind me and caught movement. As I turned around, there he stood! The buck had my decoy pinned. I instinctively reached for my bow and waited for a broadside shot. I aimed down my Eliminator Pro bow sight and gently put pressure on the trigger. At a mere 20 yards, my arrow found its mark.
This fall has been one of my most memorable hunting experiences yet. An unbelievable encounter with a 160’ 10-point at thirty yards and a handful of 140’s out of distance and camera light. So many obstacles must be overcome when trying to kill a nice buck, as many hunters understand. This fall in Wisconsin was no different than any other season for me in that it took time, patience and a little luck. I wish everyone the best of luck within the next couple weeks as we break out the guns and store the bows for a few weekends.
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