I headed to Iowa with memories of my last trip when bad luck and missed opertunities plagued me. I was hoping we could beat the Iowa spell that was still haunting me. We arrived and I imeadiatly got into deer. I had a 125+ 8 point go by the 1st evening along with a bunch of smaller bucks. That sure was pleasant next to seeing next to nothing in Wisconsin all season. Barry South came along to be my camera man and his help was much appreiciated. After giveing the 1st spot another try we headed to a huge cornfeild with a big block of timber behind it. It was full of huge tracks but it was hard to determine just where exactly the bucks were comeing from. I was going to set up conservitively on the down wind side but I got a call on the radio from Jarrod (One of my hunting partners) who told me that he just ran into a hunter heading back by me who said him and a freind and two other hunters from another state were hunting the area hard all week. So I decided to go for broke and make one good hunt of it and move on to one of the other farms we had premission on. I found where the majority of trails that had big tracks and sign came out and followed them into the timber about 40 yards till I hit the cross trail you always find parralelling the feild where bucks check all the doe trails heading into the feild for the ones entering estrous. My set up covered the situation quite well and we were rewarded for it. Right at sunset a couple does came out and imeadiatly busted us. I have to wonder if they were bedded near by and watched us set up. Barry and I, stood motionless waiting for them to give up on the stairdown. Barry was filming there reaction, when a branch braking up the parralleling trail caught my attention. I turned and saw a nice racked buck out about 60 yards heading right for us. I tapped Barry on the shoulder and pointed. He zoomed in with the camera and wispered its a good one. As it closed the distance to within shooting range I just waited for him to turn and offer me a shot as he kept getting closer. He got directly downwind of the does and I thought, this is it he will turn. Nope. Just kept coming. He got out to about 3 or 4 yards from the base of the tree and started gettin nervous, he was definately picking up some of Barrys funk ( I don't stink) :rollinlaff: He was standing quartering towards me and i thought, I can make this shot if he lets me pull back. The buck had about 14 points and looked to be about a 160 class. He looked back and I got the bow back. I settled the pin and.... shot right over his back. I just can't seem to beat this Iowa bad luck spell. That was a gimmie shot. Barry was even more upset than me.
At that point I tried to get past it. Am I really cursed in Iowa? It did not help that the butt heads I chose for hunting partners got all over my case about missing the shot on film, and would not let me get past it the whole time I was hunting.
Me and Barry decided to go shineing and find another one to go after the next morning.
We drove the 15 mile trip to the area we were hunting and as soon as I lit up the spot light the trucks electical power died.... On a dirt road in the middle of no where. Barry tried calling the guys at the cabin, but apparently they were mad at me for missing a shot on film and would not anser the phones. So we ended up walking to a house and paying some old guy to drive us back to camp. Is this curse ever going to end? Next moring I dropped Lee off at his spot and headed to another farm with his truck to hunt for a couple hours before heading to town to see a machanic. We went to a different farm that we seen alot of bucks on last time we hunted the area. There was an awesome funnal where the timber a river with vertical cliff like edges and an open pasture met. The bucks that were out cruising for does would have to go though that funnal to get to another doe bedding area. And... The day before we saw a 160 class buck cruise through that funnal from the road. A real nice one with great mass and his left antler had about 7 points.
We kicked a few deer out going in, got set up in the blackness of pre-morning and just waited. Deer started filtering in from everywhere. 1st the does came in and filled the bedding areas. Then the small 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old bucks came thru cruising. Then, a couple hours after daylight a 1 1/2 year old comes walking down the "cruise trail" looking for girllys with his buddie a 3 1/2 year old mid 130's class 8 point. They came out and stood ten yards out from the tree and Barry gave me the old "thumb's up" I waited about 3 or 4 minutes while they began to get nevous from sniffing Barry's funk. I talked my self into it. It was a Pope and Young and the camera was locked on him. WHACK right through the boiler room. We got real good footage of the buck crashing down the bank into the river just making it up the other bank out of the rivene and sliding to a halt right where we could back up to him with the truck. Maybe, just maybe, I have beaten the curse of Iowa.
Here he comes, just take another step...
Thats right, look the other way while Dan draws his bow
As the arrow slides through his lungs.
Dan gets the buck crashing on the bow cam, as Barry lost veiw. We both were filming so we should have awesome footage from two different angles.
One down
Looking back over the draw at my set up.
Back from Iowa..Got me another buck.
