A great morning and an 8pt. (pics edited)
11-13-2004, 03:21 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Brookport IL now in Colorado
Posts: 174
A great morning and an 8pt. (pics edited)
I have not got to hunt a lot this year due to a job change from swing shift to straight day shift and I also used most of my vacation on a Colorado Elk hunt. Although I loved CO, I sure have missed being in the deer stand. To be honest I have been in a lousy mood for the last couple weeks.
Well this morning things took a turn for the better. I did not have a stand hanging in the location I wanted to hunt so I carried a stand in to hang. After hanging the stand and before I could climb down to hook my bow up and retrieve the rest of my gear, I had what looked like a good buck in the very low light walk by me while a hugged the tree 18 feet up. Once everything was clear I got everything in the stand and I waited for shooting light. After shooting light I noticed a small buck on the far edge of the adjacent timber making scrapes. My location was on the edge of a slew runing east to west which runs from maybe 1/2 mile west of my location to intercept a large block of timber about 100 yards east of my stand, forming an inside corner. I could see into the field and this is where I saw the small buck. A half hour had passed when I spotted a good buck coming along the slew edge in the field from the corner. I tried to grunt him in so he wouldn't get down wind of me but after making a scrape at about 40yards he winded me and ran back into the timber. He turned out to not be as good of a buck as I had originally thought so it was probably a good thing he didn't come straight in before I had time to check him out.
By 7:30 I had saw another small buck down the slew from me and had seen a dozen or so turkeys in the field. One of the turkeys was a good long beard and I was hoping they would come in the slew where I was. It had been about 15 minutes since I saw the turkeys when I noticed 5 or 6 deer approaching from the west, behind me, in the slew. It was a group of does and I was more than willing to put one in the freezer. They had almost got on my downwind side and I had commited to facing the wrong side of my tree. I managed to finally get turned around and could tell they were not going to hang around long. When the biggest doe walked behind a tree I drew on her but was having trouble getting my bow clear of a step I had hung on that side of the tree to hang my rattling horns from. I managed to make some noise by hitting my bow on the step and they were really getting jumpy. I had a good 20 yard quartering away shot and once my bow was clear of the step I zipped one through both lungs. Deer exploded everywhere and as she ran across the slew, where I thought I heard her crash, I could see a red spt growing larger on her ribs as she ran . It sure felt good to make a good shot.
Well I would have been happy with things if they hadn't gotten any better. But instead things got even better in a matter of minutes. I had decided to stay until 10 or 11 o'clock and figured I would find the doe on my way out. It had been about 15 minutes when I noticed the turkeys back in the field in the corner. I was so busy watching them that I almost didn't notice the buck coming from the corner but inside the edge of the slew. I decided he was a shooter and drew on him almost immediately after spotting him. When I drew he stopped at about 25 yards behind some brush. This slew is full of Tupelo Gum trees and along the edge some of them are small and the weeds and brush can be anywhere from waist deep to head high. He stopped behind a complete screen of brush and only had his head sticking out with me at full draw. The standoff only lasted 15 or 20 seconds and he started to walk again. I knew if he walked another 25 or so yards parallel to me he would wind me so I intended to shoot at the first chance. When he came out from behind the brush he turned quartering too and continued on a path towards me while I tracked him with my bow. He turned broadside to pass by at about 10 yards max. Once broadside I zipped one through his vitals. I later found that I had centered the right lung, cut the tip of the heart open and punched through the very bottom edge of the left lung. The exit hole was actually in the white hair on his underside. He only ran about 50 yards behind me and stopped. He couldn't hold on for long and collapsed withough knowing what had happend. Its amazing how lethal a well placed broadhead is.
I didnt' stay in the stand for long because I knew I had a big job ahead of me. I climbed down and found both arrows soaked in the good stuff. I followed the does trail which went right by where the buck had fallen. I admired him for a minute or so and continued on her trail. I found her where she had piled up about 150 yards from the shot. She was double lunged but under the circumstances of her being on full alert she had ran wide open until she collapsed.
I got help to get the deer out and took some pictures. I ended up not getting pictures of the doe. Not because she wasn't worthy, but because my help really was on a tight schedule to make it to Chucky Cheese Pizza with his wife and kids and it was going to take some time to clean her up and make her picture quality. She was a mess, as you can imagine, from the double lung piercing. I may take her down and get some pictures tomorrow before I process her. She is the biggest doe I have ever taken and more than likely ever will. She was a hoss. I may mount the two together since I have my own taxidermy shop.
Sorry about the length of this post, but it was a great morning.
Well this morning things took a turn for the better. I did not have a stand hanging in the location I wanted to hunt so I carried a stand in to hang. After hanging the stand and before I could climb down to hook my bow up and retrieve the rest of my gear, I had what looked like a good buck in the very low light walk by me while a hugged the tree 18 feet up. Once everything was clear I got everything in the stand and I waited for shooting light. After shooting light I noticed a small buck on the far edge of the adjacent timber making scrapes. My location was on the edge of a slew runing east to west which runs from maybe 1/2 mile west of my location to intercept a large block of timber about 100 yards east of my stand, forming an inside corner. I could see into the field and this is where I saw the small buck. A half hour had passed when I spotted a good buck coming along the slew edge in the field from the corner. I tried to grunt him in so he wouldn't get down wind of me but after making a scrape at about 40yards he winded me and ran back into the timber. He turned out to not be as good of a buck as I had originally thought so it was probably a good thing he didn't come straight in before I had time to check him out.
By 7:30 I had saw another small buck down the slew from me and had seen a dozen or so turkeys in the field. One of the turkeys was a good long beard and I was hoping they would come in the slew where I was. It had been about 15 minutes since I saw the turkeys when I noticed 5 or 6 deer approaching from the west, behind me, in the slew. It was a group of does and I was more than willing to put one in the freezer. They had almost got on my downwind side and I had commited to facing the wrong side of my tree. I managed to finally get turned around and could tell they were not going to hang around long. When the biggest doe walked behind a tree I drew on her but was having trouble getting my bow clear of a step I had hung on that side of the tree to hang my rattling horns from. I managed to make some noise by hitting my bow on the step and they were really getting jumpy. I had a good 20 yard quartering away shot and once my bow was clear of the step I zipped one through both lungs. Deer exploded everywhere and as she ran across the slew, where I thought I heard her crash, I could see a red spt growing larger on her ribs as she ran . It sure felt good to make a good shot.
Well I would have been happy with things if they hadn't gotten any better. But instead things got even better in a matter of minutes. I had decided to stay until 10 or 11 o'clock and figured I would find the doe on my way out. It had been about 15 minutes when I noticed the turkeys back in the field in the corner. I was so busy watching them that I almost didn't notice the buck coming from the corner but inside the edge of the slew. I decided he was a shooter and drew on him almost immediately after spotting him. When I drew he stopped at about 25 yards behind some brush. This slew is full of Tupelo Gum trees and along the edge some of them are small and the weeds and brush can be anywhere from waist deep to head high. He stopped behind a complete screen of brush and only had his head sticking out with me at full draw. The standoff only lasted 15 or 20 seconds and he started to walk again. I knew if he walked another 25 or so yards parallel to me he would wind me so I intended to shoot at the first chance. When he came out from behind the brush he turned quartering too and continued on a path towards me while I tracked him with my bow. He turned broadside to pass by at about 10 yards max. Once broadside I zipped one through his vitals. I later found that I had centered the right lung, cut the tip of the heart open and punched through the very bottom edge of the left lung. The exit hole was actually in the white hair on his underside. He only ran about 50 yards behind me and stopped. He couldn't hold on for long and collapsed withough knowing what had happend. Its amazing how lethal a well placed broadhead is.
I didnt' stay in the stand for long because I knew I had a big job ahead of me. I climbed down and found both arrows soaked in the good stuff. I followed the does trail which went right by where the buck had fallen. I admired him for a minute or so and continued on her trail. I found her where she had piled up about 150 yards from the shot. She was double lunged but under the circumstances of her being on full alert she had ran wide open until she collapsed.
I got help to get the deer out and took some pictures. I ended up not getting pictures of the doe. Not because she wasn't worthy, but because my help really was on a tight schedule to make it to Chucky Cheese Pizza with his wife and kids and it was going to take some time to clean her up and make her picture quality. She was a mess, as you can imagine, from the double lung piercing. I may take her down and get some pictures tomorrow before I process her. She is the biggest doe I have ever taken and more than likely ever will. She was a hoss. I may mount the two together since I have my own taxidermy shop.
Sorry about the length of this post, but it was a great morning.
11-13-2004, 04:43 PM
#5
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: creemore Ontario Canada
Posts: 5,525
RE: A great morning and an 8pt. (pics edited)
Sound's to me like everyone has been having a real good morning except me ,I had a buck grunt at me but for some reason he didn't want to come in ,so I'll have to wait till tommorrow evening before I can't get out again. He's a very good looking buck and your doe to boot ,it sure was a great day for you ,congrat's to you Hobbes. And to have your own Taxidermy shop just top's it all off . I really enjoyed reading your story ,I read it after I posted and I'm glad I did. Congrat's again to you.
nubo
nubo
11-13-2004, 05:17 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Bremen, GA.
Posts: 2,091
RE: A great morning and an 8pt. (pics edited)
Man some people have all the luck!
Congrats on a great hunt! Hobbes. Thats really a nice buck. Looking forwards to seeing the other pics as well! Very good story.
Congrats on a great hunt! Hobbes. Thats really a nice buck. Looking forwards to seeing the other pics as well! Very good story.
