WVHunter129

The anticipation is over...October 13, 2007 has finally come and gone. This day hold two special places...it is my oldest son's birthday...Brandon is now 27 years old and I took a spike buck.

Jerod...my youngest son (22) and my brother in law (Alvin) and I were in the woods and in our stands by 6 AM Saturday morning. Having a 4 wheeler gets you to your stand in a hurry.

After getting everything setup...me strap to the tree, bow hung with care, backpack setting beside me in the buddy stand I was ready to hunt. I turned off my light and sat there in the pitch blackness. The only sign of light was the glistening of the stars and the glow in the dark ring on my Tru-Glow sites.

In the mist of the darkness I heard a deer blow off in the distance toward where I knew Alvin's stand was. A few minutes later I heard another deer blow behind me on another ridge. I guess these deer were maybe being jumped by other hunters coming in to their stands.

As the darkness started to dissipate and the woods became alive with birds signing and squirrels jumping from tree to tree my awareness of things around me became exciting. Up on a knob above the ridge I was hunting I heard what sounded like a smack...then I saw three deer running down the holler behind me and up on a finger ridge. I knew that a young man had a stand up on that knob so I was sure that he had connected with a deer.

Around 8:19 to 8:20, I heard the same sound again but out the ridge from where I was hunting. This is where Jerod was hunting, well he called me on the radio and told me that he shot a doe and to keep my eyes open. The shot wasn't a good one...he had missed his mark and hit the deer in the back leg and the arrow was in her. I watched and listened to see if she was coming my way. Jerod told me that she jumped and then started walking and it appeared she was coming my way. I never saw or heard her, but at about 8:40 I saw two deer coming down the hill towards me.

As they were coming down I stood up and watched them. As they got closer I pulled my bow back and waited. I was able to determine the first one was a spike, then I checked the second one out...it was a spike also.

This was the two spikes that I have on film. They are always together in every picture I have. The second spike was smaller so I took aim on the first one. He was only 15 yards from my stand.

I released and the arrow hit the deer behind the ribs but high in the back. The spike jumped and kicked and looked like he was going to go down but he just hunkered up and took off. I could tell that it wasn't a good shot cause I could see the arrow. Thank goodness for the white fletch wrap. I watched the deer go out the ridge a little and down the hill to the holler to my right.

I radioed Jerod and told him that I had got one, but the shot wasn't a good one and that I would wait for maybe and hour before trying to track. Jerod told me that he was going to start tracking his.

I walked up to the 4 wheeler and put my pack in the box and locked it up. I helped Jerod track his. We tracked for 4 hours and never jumped the deer but once and that was about 3 hours later. She never bedded down and when we jumped her she crossed the road and we followed. Finally we lost the blood trail. We searched for another hour but never found her. I told him that I don't think he had a killing shot and that the deer would live. We did recover his arrow.

I went back and started tracking my deer. He went about 80 yards and bedded down under a hemlock.
It was a good day except for Jerod not being able to get his deer. I told him not to feel bad, that in all the years I had been hunting there were many times that I lost a deer. We all hate when that happens, but we do and we did all we could to try and recover game we shoot. Again I feel his deer wasn't mortally wounded. We will probably see her again.

WVHunter129

Here is the picture....I HOPE!

royak

Way to go a big congrats I scored on a big doe on Monday

WVHunter129

Congrats royak!! Meat is meat...you can't eat the antlers. Now I will concentrate on a big buck (I hope)...just need to get some rut activity going.

DougMD

WV,

Thanks for sharing your story. You're getting my blood flowing man! I'm so ready for the woods, I'm about to thrust my fist through the drywall in my office just to temporarily release the tension!!!!

WVHunter129

DougMD I know what you mean. I was itching like crazy to get out and hunt the whole month of Sept and the first half of October. I couldn't wait. Good luck on your season.

hillbillyhunter1

Way to go Juddie!!!

WVHunter129

Thanks hillbillyhunter1! Just hope big boy will show up. We know there is a nice 8 walking around...he just hasn't come around and got on my camera. He has shown up on my brother in laws camera though. We also have a basket rack buck (maybe a 6 or 7) that is wearing a fluresant (spelling) orange dog color. He has been on my brother in laws camera like 4 different times.

coryray1481

Congrats on the deer. I live in Florida but my uncle lives in Mingo County, WV and I will be up there Oct. 31st and I can't wait. Is most of the state experiencing EHD (blue tongue)? My uncle said he has smelled a couple dead ones around the house but I was wondering to what extent the disease has spread?

WVHunter129

I know here in my county of Fayette I haven't seen or smelled any evidence of it. The last map I saw on the news showed a lot of it in the northern part of the state and along the western and southern part of the state. I know Raleigh County was even listed as having the EHD problem. But I know here in Fayette County so far we haven't experienced it...YET.

As of today, October 23, we are getting some good rain and the temperatures are getting to more seasonable limits. NO frost yet around here, flys, mesquitoesand nats are BAD! Hopefully by the time you get here to hunt we may have a frost. Later in the week around here we are suppose to see some upper 30's at night, but the daytime highs in the low to mid 60's. Sure doesn't seem like October.