LET'S GO deer slayers. Cold and wet but the Rut is starting to roll. Up and after em!
Might be ground blind for the morning sit.
Might be ground blind for the morning sit.
Good work man. What bow is that, a triax?Congratulations to everyone that notched a tag today! Had zero service in the stand couldn't follow along but tonight... FINALLY the Namrock has returned to LFTS! Was out of the stand for less than a week. But this hell week has felt like a month to me. Work is stupid busy, & I had two 8 hour classes Tues and Wed 2 hours from home for work. ANNND I was trying to get a new bow & get it set up after mine got ripped off last weekend (still beyond pissed about that) has been beyond hectic. But tonight, tonight it was soooo nice to be back out there. Saw 4 different bucks, 2 little guy's grunting & chasing does all over the woods. And What I believe we're a 3yr old 8 & an at least 4 yr old big boy both cruising around hitting scrapes & making rubs. 1st sit with the new bow & I just couldn't help myself, yeah she's a keeper & helped me vent some of my frustration tonight! Wish I could have done this live & in color, but you guy's get the idea right?
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Seriously lost count of does & fawns, I'ma guess 15-18ish. 1 less to count next time. Never thought I'd shoot a slickhead this close to Halloween, but I couldn't help myself!
CongratsHere's the scoop.
Set up my Summit Viper 25' up in a tree I've used for several years now. This off-season, we added two new food plots to this area and have worked to thicken the woods along the east property border. Lots of trail cam pics, and freshly picked corn, so I figured I'd see something and possibly get a shot (or two).
First deer out was a little buck. At the same time, from the opposite direction, another little buck appeared. The western buck moved towards the eastern buck and stopped to work a field-edge scrape before continuing on. About that time, I noticed some action in the woods north of me. A doe and a button buck were milling around. Then they scattered -- somewhat towards me. It was at that time I noticed a third deer. It was the wary buck I posted the video capture of earlier. I was hoping he would push the doe towards my location and give me a shot opportunity. Nope. The doe and beau split off and disappeared. The buck came right in. For whatever reason, when he got to my foot path, he immediately reacted. It could be the double-tarsal drag I used. It could be that I was lazy and didn't clean my boots off before the morning hunt (nor did I ozone or dust them). Whatever it was, he did the heavy thud bounds for about 15 yards and stopped and turned around. He looked and looked. Then he raised his head and looked right up at me. I shut my eyes. He stomped around for a bit. 30 yards away, then 20 yards away. Then he stood still, just looking.
I decided to look back towards Food Plot 3. I noticed one of the little bucks had arrived and was downwind at about 50 yards. He was looking at the bigger buck. The bigger buck was acting squirrely. That bigger buck was starting to frustrate me because it was just pacing around and stomping. It started to move away and was now maybe 40 yards out and kind of behind a few trees. I had to pee and wasn't going to let this nonsense stop me. So I did. The buck did not care for that. Once it heard, it took off running to the north. 100 yards away in the woods. Now it was snorting. Over and over. Dummy.
Anyway, the spike that had been in Food Plot 3 also spooked out to the east and I was left wondering if my night was cooked. About 6pm, I heard foot steps coming from the north. I looked and there was a doe and two fawns headed my way. I grabbed the bow and hooked on. They angled away from me a bit and never presented anything closer than 30 yards. And no clear shot. Put the bow back on the hook. I saw another deer moving out towards the picked corn, past Food Plot 4. Our improvements are making a difference in this part of the property. Oh, and Luke was hunting west of me and had apparently spooked a doe or two, because now there were more deer in the picked beans snorting. We really lit it up tonight! :lol:
Maybe 15 minutes later, I heard some fawn bleats coming from the north. I turned and saw deer headed my way, pretty much on the same trail the previous doe group took. Ah, but this time they didn't split off to the west. They continued more towards the base of my tree. Hooked on. Big one in the lead. Got drawn. She's not stopping. She's not stopping. Twigs and trees. Ok, clear lane. Stop her! Meh. Line up the bubble. Put it on the far shoulder. Center it up. Squeeze.
I saw the arrow land right behind the pin, so immediately felt good about the shot. But, when the deer took off, I saw the arrow dangling out of it's side. On the entry side! Uh oh. Not good. It ran away from me for about 10 yards, then turned a sharp 90* to it's right and headed north on a decent move. I could still see that arrow bouncing around. Then it vanished from sight. No crash. Hmmmm.
I waited until legal hour was up, then climbed down. The two little bucks were showing off for a doe, with a sparring session, in front of the Shootin Shack as dark arrived. I found blood right away on the ground. Then on a tree. Easy to see. I marked the spot along my foot path and hauled my stand to the pick up spot. I was thinking that perhaps the best move would be to just come back in the morning, so as not to push the deer off property. I was afraid that maybe I shot too far back on the entry. With the hard quartering away stance, it would have been in the ham, most likely. But, when Jeff heard that I had blood, he said "let's go get it." Then we got to first blood and Luke started down the path. It was easy to follow. Heavy trail of bright red (maybe a bit bubbly) blood.
Found it a few minutes later exactly as it looked in the pic I posted. Never had one like that before. The arrow entered right where I wanted it to, passed through the ribs, center-punched the heart and sliced the leg on the exit side. Apparently the arrow came back through the cavity when the deer started running. Weird. Thankful it didn't snap in half.
I'll clean it up, put a new Muzzy on, and see if I can notch another with it tomorrow morning.
90#
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Sorry to hear that Big T. But that’s the attitude we all must take in that situation. I’ve been there myself and it sucks. You’ll get yours the next time around. It happens.It is with a heavy heart that I didn't get him. Hired a guy with a amazing dog . Tracked it over a half mile. This guy tracks 150 deer a season and said it hàd to be a meat hit . He believes the buck will survive.
I shoot hundreds and hundreds of arrows knowing I will only get maybe one crack at one of the big boys. It is days like these that humbles me knowing I blew it because I usually rise to the occasion in the clutch. But this time I didn't.
I will beat myself up for a day or so , get up and ride that horse again. I learned along time ago , not fulfilling your dream is also part of the sport.
That’s a beautiful buck! Congratulations!So this is a late post for last nights hunt but it was late and I was dismayed at the situation so I wanted to see how things played out. Needless to say I FOUND HIM!!!! YEAH BABY YEAH! View attachment 596059
Was a single lung hit. Yes I am officially color blind! But my son and friend are not. Was not an easy trail and he went about 250-300yrds
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