I'll tell you what works!
11-05-2004, 11:53 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: the Great Plains
Posts: 351
I'll tell you what works!
Hello everyone. A happy hunter here. During muzzleloader last week, I shot my buck and it was in great part due to my using a fawn bleat. Man, I tell you, it saved my hunt. I drove out on a stormy evening, hoping to catch the backside of the storm and hunt some. Well, as I was walking out, ground blind on my back (they say you can't set one up and hunt it in one evening, but that's a lie) it started to rain on me pretty good. I turned back to the truck to keep my muzzloader from getting wet. I sat in my truck for until almost 6 o' clock. With only about an hour of light left, the rain stopped and gave me a small window to go hunt. I decided not to take the ground blind but instead to sit on a bluff overlooking a creek bottome meadow about 80 yards wide by at least tripple that long. Within about 10 minutes I could hear deer blowing down in the bottom, and before too long, two does came into the meadow from the hardwoods bottom. They were about 200 yards out and were going to walk straight across the meadow and up a hill into the native grass fields up on the hill. I had a doe tag, so I decided to blow the fawn bleat, because I knew they'd likely respond. They did...they stopped and then came my way a little and then went to grazing, as if they forgot all about leaving. Then the buck caught up to them. He wasn't the biggest buck, but he would turn out to my 3rd buck and my best buck as of yet. Well, again they all tried to leave, so I blew the fawn bleat. They came back and this time showed some more curiousity. They would head my way, then turn around and try and leave again, all the while causing the buck to go wherever they went. I had to keep the does' attention to keep the buck in the meadow and hopefully draw them my way. At one time, the buck was about 100 yards, maybe (but no shot presentable), and then he would go all the way back and start to leave with the does. I'd blow my fawn bleat again to keep their attention. Finally, they started my way to investigate, but after a few minutes, the does turned and left just like they had always intended. The buck was leading them, so I assume he didn't notice them leaving at first, so he kept coming, but he really didn't seem to care about the fawn bleat. At any rate, he came in to about 30 yards when I pulled off my shot. He went another 35 yards and went down in site. The fawn bleat saved the hunt becuase I was able to use it to keep the attention of the does, and therefore the presence of the buck until a shot was open. I don't know the brand or anything of my fawn bleat, just a run-of-the-mill call with buck, doe, and fawn settings. Here is a pic...once again, I know some of you guys get bigger bucks, but this is my 3rd buck and my 4th deer, and weighing in at around 128 pounds, I was happy with my buck and the story makes for the most intense hunt I've ever had and probably my best "trophy" yet. Hopefully I can get a deer with my bow this year, too, but it's about time to start hunting the hair off of my squirrel dog. Here's his pic, thanks for reading. -MIKE
11-05-2004, 06:02 PM
#7
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: the Great Plains
Posts: 351
RE: I'll tell you what works!
NY Bowhunter, he was already a little stiff when the photo was taken. We couldn't really do much with him except hose him off and set him up where he could be seen. I know it kind of doesn't look 3 dimensional, but I'm not resting my chin on the deer like it looks, haha
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11-06-2004, 02:16 AM
#8
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Northern WisCONsin
Posts: 187
RE: I'll tell you what works!
Nice deer and story. You don't have to defend yourself because people shot bigger deer. As long as you shot the deer for the right reasons, any size is good. I would take that deer any day of the week!
