Late season hunting, on public ground, is a time when I like to try some different tactics instead of the usual tree stand sitting. In this particular case it paid off! I hunt all season overlooking an awesome doe bedding area and usually see 2-3 mature bucks every season. They know how to maneuver through and stay out of range of most bow hunters using the predictable tactics. Sometimes it pays to try something out of the ordinary!
Yesterday, Friday the 14th, started with a perfect wind direction, out of the N-NE. Winds were very calm so every noise was magnified and seemed to echo through the bedding area I was attempting to skirt the downwind side. The only option on this day was to outfit with a pair of hip boots, they leak, and still-hunt up the river that formed the far boundary of the bedding area. I entered the river at 1:00 and had water in my boots by 1:30. Discomfort is something I can tolerate for a chance at a mature buck! Believe me, 32 degrees and soaking wet is not comfortable!
I had been seeing this buck for 3 weeks now and had gotten within 50 yards but never could quite close the deal. I figured something unorthodox would possibly throw him off guard. Nobody still hunts up the river on the back side of the bedding area! I"™ve used this tactic in the past but never had any luck. I usually stay out of the bedding area until late season when every option is on the table.
As I"™m moving quietly up the river, at about 3:00 I see him about 200 yards ahead and he seems to be occupied with a doe. After watching him through binoculars to make sure he hadn"™t seen me, I wait until he disappears into the thick stuff, and continue moving forward. The wind is still in my favor, but not by much! At about 3:45, probably about 100 yards from where he should be, I"™m standing in the only area with clear shooting lanes. Close to 4:15, I see some movement. It"™s a small buck heading toward my position. Out of the weeds charges the big buck in an effort to run the little buck off. Grunting, snort-wheezing, brush breaking, everything is going crazy. The excitement helps to stop the continuous shaking from being cold and wet. Thinking back I don"™t recall being cold at all when he got close. After the shot the cold returned with a vengeance!
The sound of grunting and sticks cracking is echoing throughout the bedding area! I can"™t see him out there, but I can follow his whereabouts by the sound. At around 4:30, the brush breaking and grunting is getting closer. Finally, the doe steps out of the brush at 30 yards and I get ready for the shot. The buck, resembling a cow herding pony, in trying to prevent her from getting away, runs on the far side of her and tries to push her back toward me. She finally gives in and starts my way. She passes within 25 yards but the buck stays out at about 40 yards and continues "ścorralling"ť her into the point of the bedding area. As she passes through the clearing I get ready for the shot at the buck. He finally steps into the shooting lane, and I release the arrow. By this time it"™s dark enough that I can"™t follow the flight of the arrow and am not sure if it was a hit. He jumps into the thick stuff and I set my bow down and grab my binoculars. I can see his rack and he seems to act differently somehow. Then he starts coughing and I know the hit was good! After waiting until past dark, I hike out to my truck and drive home to change into dry clothes, get warm, get something to eat, and haul the canoe back to pick him up. It"™s a long way back there to haul out on a cart and he was only 50 yards from the river. So late last night, we were paddling up the river with a beautiful buck in the canoe. A perfect ending to an awesome experience!
__________________
PRIORITIES: "A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove .....but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."
That's what I call going above and beyond! Good for you! Congrats on a terrrific deer, and what an awesome story! Thanks for sharing!
__________________
____________________________________________
There are people who will always come up with reasons why you can't legally do what you want to do. Ignore them.
My stillhunt success (long, sorry!)
