Success Times Two

It happens. Each year sportsmen sacrifice precious field time in exchange for other priorities. This year is the first year I’ve let life get in the way of hunting.  I shot my hunting season in the foot when I was blessed with the opportunity to purchase a fixer-upper house. So began my painful repression of outdoor passions in exchange for that dreaded responsibility.  Here is my tale of precious few hunts, a nearly disastrous day a-field followed by success times two.

My 2012 Archery Buck

Let’s start with the backstory because I know you were dying to know the useless details. The house I purchased literally consumed all of my free-time ordinarily reserved for pursuit of outdoor passions. I still wasn't quite aware of how bad it was until October 1^strolled around and it became glaringly obvious my archery season was in serious peril. Apparently, this is called “Life” which I find ironic because all this responsibility seems to stand directly in the way of “living.”

I love hunting around Halloween.

I scavenged a few spare moments to hunt here and there but, I desperately needed things to go right when I had time to go. Halloween week’s cool weather and rutting full moon waning had me really excited to see some solid activity and I decided to hunt Halloween afternoon and sit all day Thursday November 3rd...

Well, Heather and I got tricked on our Halloween hunt. We set up a blind in a cornfield and within an hour we got cowed. Apparently, the herd thought we were dropping off an ugly lookin' hay bale and they actually fed off the blind eating a few of the fabric leaves. We stuck it out and they stuck around until sunset. Despite sporting the best cover scent ever (smelly cow) all we ended up seeing was a nice tall buck on a distant ridge, a few small bucks running some does on another distant ridge and a coyote at 60 yards. I thought about beef for dinner, but settled for tag soup at least for Halloween.

Heather's Face is Priceless!

Three major east-west trails converge within 50 yards of this tree.

Thursday rolled around and the weather was incredible but my luck was not. The morning wind was light and variable allowing a wary doe to wind me. She stayed just outside my effective bow range for the better part of an hour loudly declaring my presence. With the morning spot blown, I decided to set up a new hang-on in a travel corridor on top of a hill. While setting up the tree stand, the hinged flip-up seat flopped down on my hand smashing and shearing off the end of my finger. Had I instinctively let go of the tree to address my injury the 20 foot fall would have been devastating. With half the day remaining on my only all-day opportunity at a rutting buck I bandaged my finger in a napkin I found in my truck and went back out to sit. 

The first hour went fine until I noticed two trucks in field on the neighboring property and saw hunters getting out and walking right into the neck of timber I expected deer to come from. Stubbornly, I sat it out -finger throbbing.

Those "Turkeys" on the ridge are trespassing teens.

At 5:30 my bad luck continued when three trespassing kids (approximately 12 to 16 years old) walked toward me toting what appeared to be a matt-black 12 ga. shotgun and a .22 caliber rifle. I had been hearing shots in the valley below for about 1/2 hour and optimistically I passed it off as target practice, but when these kids walked by in black hooded sweatshirts and sunglasses at just 60 yards I knew they were looking for their "targets". They never saw me, walked away and I decided to sit quietly in the tree and take this picture. I could only hope the deer were used to this type of thing.

Surprisingly just 20 minutes after all that ruckus, 12 deer (8 does and 4 bucks) began crossing into the property I was on. One of the bucks was this old looking deer with a weird curly 'q' antler tip and trotting mouth agape from doe-to-doe. The good times came to an end when I missed a doe at 30 yards right at last light. Thursday was just not my day.

Old rutting buck gets the pass.

Friday I worked on the house all day and had a very productive day painting and recoating drywall mud. At 4pm I got to a good stopping point and decided to reward myself with a last minute hunt. By 5pm I was in my stand near a creek intersection in what I would consider both a travel corridor and a transition area. Deer once again waited until sunset before they started popping up in the field in front of me.  A moment later I heard some commotion off to my right. 80 yards away a doe jumped into the field with her tail sideways. 

My only east-wind stand in a travel corridor/transition area.

She looked spooky and trotted out in front of me about a hundred yards away. With bedding behind me and food out in front, I felt there was no reason this deer had to walk by me, so I decided to make a reason. Hoping for a buck behind her, I grabbed the grunt tube and let out one soft “gggrrrrrruuuunt.” The doe stopped and stared in my direction and then began steadily walking straight to my tree. She stopped at 15 yards, looked around, turned broadside and took a few steps along a trail right in front of me. I thanked God for the opportunity, drew and shot. Thwack. She ran 25 yards, stopped and fell over.

My 2012 Archery Doe

I couldn’t believe how fast and well that all happened! But before I could celebrate I looked back into the field where she came and a nice nine point was walking, nose down in her exact tracks. His rack stood proud and symmetrical and his neck was huge so I decided I’d take a shot if I had the opportunity. He stopped at 100 yards right where she did and began looking around. I grabbed the grunt tube and let out another soft “gggrrrruuunt.” He immediately jerked in my direction. I froze and we stared at each other for perhaps 30 seconds until he decided to walk straight in.

I quickly put away the grunt tube, knocked another arrow and repositioned my feet. At 15 yards he stopped and looked around. I could tell he was not as big as others I have seen in the area, but he was still outside the ears and a magnificent animal to watch. He was also in bow range. He turned broadside and took a few steps down the trail the doe had taken less than a minute earlier. I came to full draw, but he stopped with his vitals behind a very poorly placed, trimmed branch sticking out from the tree. He put his nose down to the tracks and I became concerned as he began quartering away. He was moving off of her trail and starting to head down the trail I used to come in. So I took a step to my right, leaned right, stood as tall as I could and placed the shot. Thwack. I was aghast at how much arrow was sticking out as he ran for a few seconds. He stopped and turned as they often do right before they disappear into the woods forever. But instead of running, he just fell over. Two deer in about two minutes less than 40 yards from my stand-I have never had hunting work out quite so well!

My buck, a nice typical 9-point.

Although field dressing was a bit of a chore with only one good hand, I was truly thankful for the challenge. Hauling the deer was also not much fun as the truck was parked 400 yards uphill from the stand. I believe a game-hauler may be on the Christmas list alongside line-man’s harness.

Almost... There..... One... More.... Step....

I am blessed to have had such a successful season and such wonderful people to share it with! Although, now I have no excuses not to work on the house ;-) Good luck this season and thanks for reading!

-Chris

Success Times Two