Last Friday,
Maybe I got caught up in the hunt, caught up in the way my heart was pounding through my chest but non the less, my tag is now burned and a another whitetail fell to another arrow from my BowTech. This time, my new Black Op Destroyer 350.
This hunt actually started the night before. My buddy Kurt, (Q2INWHITETAILS) was coming into town to spend some time in the woods with me. His arrival, early Thursday wouldn't allow me to join him as I was scheduled to work til 6:00pm. I placed a stand, pull rope and safety harness on the porch so he could hang a stand in my Pin Oak, a stand sight many of you are familiar with from the "legendary" footage of Mr 7 vs Preach Tony.
Texts from Kurt confirmed he was in town, hung the stand and was comfortably waiting his first whitetail sighting in his first sit. At work, I went off duty, stopped by the grocery store for some ice cream and as I walked out, a text from Kurt, 3 bucks just walked by him without a shot and one, he thought was worthy. They skirted him wide and entered a cornfield only to have them reappear into my food plot and browse for quite a while. Damn the luck as work interferes with my hunting LOL.
Fast forward to the next morning. Up early and into the trees well before light anticipating the first sighting of the morning and more anticipations of the possibilities of those bucks retracing their steps from the night before.
First to show was a doe with her fawn. They browsed through the plot heading toward Kurt as they usually do. The food plot is there to add subsistence to their diet, hold them to get a good look at them etc as the plot is in a funnel that I've been hunting most of my adult life. The stand was there before the plot as nearly 30 years of bowhunting placed that stand there. This year, Ben / PA did all my hard work, he made the plans and I paid the bills, together we plowed, planted, fertilized and prayed for the success. Thank you Ben.
As the doe feed through, her fawn decided it was time for some exercise and proceeded to race, run, frolic through the CRP field as if his tail was on fire. It's always so enjoyable to watch whitetails and this was no different. Suddenly the unmistakable noise of a whitetail walking through the woods, the deliberate gate of a buck. Antlers through the vegetation confirmed said noise. A quick look through the binos showed me a high, small tined 6 point. He'll get a pass. Maybe this was one of the bucks from the night before and I listened for another. Yes, a second buck was coming and a quick glass made my heart flutter. He entered the plot behind his compadre. He hung just at the woods edge line offering me no shot with the over hanging branches. I patiently waited as my heart raised and lowered the coat I was wearing. I glassed him again. Yeah, if he offers me a shot, I'll tag this buck. Bow ready, release, arrow, broadhead ready...was the archer?
He slowly fed his way clear of the branches and just as I was about to draw I said to myself, no...correct your form. I drew straight out, bent at the waist as it was only going to be a 16 yard shot from 24' up and I've missed this one before back in 06, the first Rob buck. This time the arrow found it's mark as I sent an Snyper tipped ACC into the buck. Kurt immediately texted me as he was watching the whole encounter happen through his binoculars. As much as I LOVE to bowhunt alone, I'd never trade a day in the woods that I could take a friend along to share it all with.
Without further ado, my 2010 PA Whitetail.
After this buck fell to my Destroyer, his partner just did not want to leave him.
That night we hung a partner stand so I could film Kurt and hopefully double up. We had a lone doe at the far end near the Pin Oak and then a doe with her 2 button buck fawns then a third button buck but no antlers sighted. As darkness creeped in, we called the day very successful.
