What a day! I'll try to keep this short. Almost had a heart attack this morning walking into my stand. I spooked a turkey out of a tree, a dripping wet tree.
Daylight arrives and I'm in my tree and have turkeys all around me. They eventually fly away. I "can" call and grunt every now and then hoping for a buck. Nothing happens all morning and I'm out of the tree at 12:30 to eat some lunch at the truck. I get up to the top of the ridge and take a break and glass the field. Nothing. I get up and hear a snort. I look and its a buck about 25-30 yards. He's trying to figure out what I am. He takes off and I follow hoping to put a stalk on him. I actually end of stalking 3 does I saw bedded down about 50 yards away. I get to 20 yards of them; no intentions to shoot though.
Fast forward to this evening. >>>>>>>
I'm in my evening stand watching a 3 pointer (2nd one of the day) eat some acorns. Look to my left in the field and see a buck, 8 pointer about 150 yards away. I grunt with the MAD growl three times and he doesn't hear. I grunt 3 more times louder and he pauses. He then continues on and I grunt again. Well, I grunt about 20 times total and he's finally heading my way. He gets 30 yards out and spooks. I grunt
3 more times and he comes back directly under my tree. He then smells my scent on some leaves where I had scraped "cakes" of mud off my boots and runs 20 yards out. I put my 20 yard pin right on his heart and release. He takes off. Great hit...I thought.[&:]
I get down and the arrow is clean. Just a few white hairs on the nock. I think I didn't aim for the exit hole and went right under him. My form had to be bad too. The grunt call was almost in the line of fire of the string. Bad shot all the way around. Free lesson for him. Funny thing is that I was going to let him walk at first but changed my mind.
Needless to say, its discouraging missing such a simple shot like that. At least he lives to see another day and I'll definitely pass him next time, if presented. There are bigger ones on that property I'm after anyway. He would probably go around 100"...he'll be nice next year.
Heres that 3 pointer I got video of a couple weeks ago. This was during lunch. Notice I'm ground level and 20 yards out....again. I had fun taking different pics. BTW...I wouldn't attempt this shot...just like the pic.
This should have been a success story (kinda long)
