VA Bow Opener!!!!
Opening day...
Well I can say it was a day you earned your keep out there lol....was in a tree just after day break and stayed there until approx noon with one doe sighted. She fed in some laurels about 80 yards away from me and the fed back out of sight.
At lunch we did some some quick scouting and moved my buddies blind, my brother's ladder stand and found a spot for my climber.
My brother and I were set up on the same field directly across from each other at about 250 yards. My buddy in the ground blind was in another bean field across the gravel driveway in his ground blind.
The afternoon was harsh as the weather man was wrong about the wind and rain dying off, in fact I think it rained harder between 3 and 4 then it did all day long.
He one forkhorn come out about 70 yards from me and fed out into the field a little ways and then fed back into the woods. About 15 minutes later a nice shooter(we have a mgmt prgram in effect on this tract of land.. 17 inches or a pre dertimed cull buck only... plus does) 8 point came out in the same area. He was a 18 to 20 inch deer. Nice mass and a decent way past his ears. he fed around and went back into the woods after a few minutes.
About 30 minutes or so after that this nice wide six pointer came out of the same general area, he was a shooter as well. He started feeding out into the field and within a minute the previous 8 pointer fell in behind him, then the forkhorn.
They fed along in the field for a good ways, probably about 100 yards before the forkhorn decided he wasnt happy and went back into the woods. The six hung around for awhile but fed his way over to the woodline close to him and into that. The eight stayed out for another 10 minutes before doing the same.
Not too long after that two nice sized does came out of the area where the bucks had gone in. They were feeding along steady heading straight toward my brothers side of the field. I was hoping for the best. They fed toward him but cut at a angle to the middle of the field staying half way between him and I. They eventually fed up the field out of sight. Well I was talking to my buddy on the other field via the radio to see what he was seeing when two more does came out right beside my brothers stand. I watched as they fed out and in front of him. Next thing I hear is that wonderful sound...whack... I see the bigger doe jump up and they run toward my side of the field off to my left. She falls in the beans and the other doe stops. At this point there is a smaller basket racked deer standing on my side about 50 yards from me. He is not a shooter, she started feeding around and then would bounce around the field for a minute then feed more.
Well I happened to be talking to my brother on the radio telling him that his deer was down b/c he couldnt see them due to the way the field layed. I looked behind me and there is a doe feeding on acorns past my stand in the woods. I could not move to get my bow b/c she was nervous to begin with.
I watched her for a second and looked back toward my brother when I saw a buck come out beside him. Same scenerio as before he came out and fed across in front of him....whack... well he took off straight for me... as he got closer I tried to get him to stop or turn because behind me was a small shelf and then it was a 90 foot ravine that was almost straight down... I did not want to have to climb down to get him... as he drew closer I saw he was not going to stop... so I did the only thing I could do... as he approaced me head on at about 8 yards on a run I spine shot him between his shoulders... he slid to a stop 6 feet from the bottom of my stand...
While assuring my brother his buck was dead another doe came out beside him and fed along the field.. all he could do was watch since he was tagged out for the day.
The buck my brother shot was a small 3 point cull deer.. but its more meat for his freezer. I was estatic for him.. those are only his number 2 and 3 bow kills. It is also his first opening day deer of any season and the first time he has doubled up in a day in his 18 or so years of hunting.....
Our buddy on the other field watched 10 deer including two mountable bucks that he said were 20" + deer.. and for him to say they were mountable is saying something since he is a taxidermist lol... then on his way out he bumped another group of 7 does lol...
All told between 3 of us we saw 37 or 38 deer on this nasty openign day.. which made us feel even better because this is a brand new lease foe us, there is queston if one of them we saw twice or not... but none the less it was a great opening day by anyones standards and to see that kind of deer movement with the weather we had was twice as better.
I will say that my brothered earned his two, at one point even as die hard as I am I was getting cold and growing tired of the white oak I was hanging in swinging back and forth two feet at a time... I will try to get some pics on here as soon as my brother down loads them.
After talking with my brother and my buddy hunting with us and a few other friends we decided the wind had the deer spooked.. all of them we saw were not relaxed. They wanted to be in the field eating but were not happy about being there and were constantly looking around and acting nervous. This 1400 acres we leased is right along the Rappahannock River in the Northern Neck so the wind was kicking twice as hard down there it seemed like.
I can not wait to see what monday brings.. Only good thing about this time of year.. if its too wet for me to work I can hunt!!!!