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Post by mbogo on Sept 6, 2005 7:10:12 GMT -5
The situation:
It is approximately 10 minutes before legal shooting time on opening morning of firearms season. Faintly at first but then louder as it approaches you here the unmistakable but very heavy footfalls of a deer approaching your stand. Straining your ears for a tell-tale clue you hear the whisper of antler against the brush. Instinct, tells you that it is the bruiser you have been hunting for the past two years. Experience tells you that he will likely turn and head for the fortress like, brush choked draw below. Moments later your ears confirm your suspicions as the sounds of his passing turn onto the side trail.
The Options:
1. Shortly after he passes but before he gets out of earshot use a doe bleat to get his attention in an attempt to keep him nearby until legal shooting time.
2. Wait for legal shooting time, then call aggressively in the hopes of calling him from his bed.
3. Wait till it is daylight enough to see well then begin a stalk of his known bedding area.
4. Wait it out in the hope that he will get up to seek a doe or be pushed by another hunter back toward your stand.
What would you do?
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Post by DEERTRACKS on Sept 6, 2005 9:30:26 GMT -5
I have a very productive opening day ridge for nice bucks that I have hunted for years that has this very situation.
Typically I use a combination of #1, #2, & #4 and spend the whole opening day on stand.
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Post by jajwrigh on Sept 6, 2005 17:36:54 GMT -5
4. for me...
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on Sept 6, 2005 18:10:17 GMT -5
4 for me as well.
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Post by kevin1 on Sept 6, 2005 18:52:09 GMT -5
I'll take #4 also , wouldn't be the first time .
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Post by bbarth on Sept 6, 2005 19:28:26 GMT -5
#4 for me too, had this happen to me last year during muzzleloader season, the buck past me 15-20 mins. before shooting time, all I could see was his rack against the purple morning sky. He came back an hour later on his way back through.....needless to say that was his last trip.
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Post by steiny on Sept 6, 2005 21:06:52 GMT -5
5. Pop the Claymore's and pick up the pieces at first light.
Actually, the only intelligent option IMO is #4, stay quiet and calm, and hope he comes back in shooting light. Have had this happen many times. Grunting and such tends to run the big boys off around here. They've seen and heard all those tricks. A silent ambush is much more productive.
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Post by hoosier on Sept 6, 2005 21:26:11 GMT -5
#1..........doe bleats have worked for me in the past. I'd wait as long as possible and call to him while looking at the time............Hoosier.
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Post by mbogo on Sept 7, 2005 6:29:26 GMT -5
This exact situation happened to me last year, here is my take on these options and how the applied to my situation.
#4. This option sounds good, but even factoring out hunting pressure and this buck's reclusive nature, the odds of him chasing a doe or wandering past the relatively small area that I covered were not much better than winning the lottery.
#3. The cut-over timber and mult-flora rose choked sanctuary that this buck was headed for made this option foolish at best. Being the opening day of firearms season made it potentially dangerous as well.
#2. This option has some merit given the apparent dominance of the buck I dealt with and the advantage of daylight but the likelihood of calling him back once he had bedded was slim at best.
#1 This is the option I chose and it worked............ only too well. I waited until he was about 75 yards out then made two attention getting bleats. I barely had time to put the call down before he came charging back to within 25 yards. Then our standoff began, him listening and watching for the doe to appear in the thicket, me waiting for legal time and enough light to see. Eventually he began circling then stopping every few yards to scent check for the doe. After the third such stop he caught my scent and was gone. Despite legal shooting time passing during the standoff, I never got enough light to see the buck. In hindsight I should have waited longer to call, but I anticipated needing to slowly coax him in, not an immediate response.
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Post by duff on Sept 7, 2005 11:25:35 GMT -5
I had this happen 3 yrs ago while bow hunting. Pulling up the bow the arrows were ticking off of the tree and I thought it sounded like anlter rattling. About the time I got the bow to me I hear a deer coming down the trail. I couldn't see the rack but the dang thing went right under my stand. Looked like a bull dog, cause his body was so big made his legs look extreemly short. About 45min after daylight he cruises back, bigest buck I have ever seen, rubs a dual trunk maple tree with each anlter wrapped around the opposite trunk. Walks 8 yrds broadside from my tree, I let an arrow fly easily 2 ft over his back. Figures 2nd year of traditional bowhunting and I get the buck of a lifetime. I probably would have missed with compound gear too, he gave me way too much time to think. or should I say shake.
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Post by bigugly on Sept 7, 2005 14:37:38 GMT -5
I've had this happen but in the evening. I bleated at the buck but he kept going! I did a soft grunt, he stopped dead about 70 yrds away, spun and came charging up to 20yrds. This waas with 5 minutes of light left. He never gave me a clear shot and had to sit in the stand an extra 30 minutes till he left the area.
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Post by cday on Sept 11, 2005 20:13:41 GMT -5
First of all from my experiences I should be able to see this deer pretty easy with in 10 minutes of legal shooting time. So if I can see him and it is a safe shot and I can pick up the vitals in the scope the safety goes off and squeeze the trigger with only on shot.
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danb
New Member
Posts: 19
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Post by danb on Sept 11, 2005 21:57:21 GMT -5
First of all from my experiences I should be able to see this deer pretty easy with in 10 minutes of legal shooting time. So if I can see him and it is a safe shot and I can pick up the vitals in the scope the safety goes off and squeeze the trigger with only on shot. Even if it's before legal shooting time?? |
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Post by cday on Sept 11, 2005 23:56:30 GMT -5
Yeap! I start hunting once it is light enough to properly identify my target and the back ground behind it. Just the same I hunt until it is too dark to identify a target and the back ground behind it, just like 90% of the rest of the deer hunters.
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danb
New Member
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Post by danb on Sept 12, 2005 6:08:19 GMT -5
I will just say that I disagree with shooting before legal shooting time....no matter how big the buck.
The logic behind the statement "just like 90% of the rest of the deer hunters" tells me where your head is at.
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Post by mbogo on Sept 12, 2005 8:15:50 GMT -5
Every year on opening day of firearms season I hear shots so early that the person doing the shooting had to either be shooting in the general direction of a noise or using a light. Most of the areas I hunt are too dark too positively identify a deer let alone make a good shot until several minutes after legal shooting time has passed.
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Post by cday on Sept 12, 2005 19:01:05 GMT -5
I will just say that I disagree with shooting before legal shooting time....no matter how big the buck. The logic behind the statement "just like 90% of the rest of the deer hunters" tells me where your head is at. So danb I take it that you do not load your weapon until after the legal shooting time, which is 30 minutes before sunrise, and at the end of the day you unload your weapon 30 minutes after sunset. Because if not by defination you are actually hunting before and/or after legal time. I just love that "Holier Than Thou" attitude when in most all cases every hunter has bent the rules a time or two and most likely yourself included. |
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danb
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Post by danb on Sept 12, 2005 20:35:32 GMT -5
You are correct. I probably have placed an arrow on my string before legal time at one time or another. When I used to gun hunt I would wait to load up until it was shooting time though. When I was young I did a lot of stupid things, but that doesn't make it right, and I'm by no means defending my actions. The holier than thou attitude you speak of was not an attitude, because I know I'm not perfect. It was just a heads up for people reading this thread that they may in fact get a ticket (at best) or (at worst) think they are shooting at a deer when in fact it is another hunter in the woods. Killing a deer isn't that important to me that I can't wait ten minutes even if it costs me a deer. I will certainly wait for legal time to nock an arrow from now on. Thanks for pointing out my violation.  Will you do the same? |
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Post by cday on Sept 12, 2005 21:05:04 GMT -5
Danb the majority of the time anymore I do not even get out into my hunting areas until after legal shooting time. I do not hunt many late evenings as well. Down this way I mainly hunt large public land areas I wait till everybody else gets into the woods and where they want to see up before entering. This gives me alot of advantages one is several deer will flank these early hunters put them out where I enter, also it lets me see where everyone is set up so I can change my hunting plans.
Yes I agree I have way too many times heard shots when it was so dark I could not see below my stand much less determine a object. I did point out in my response that only if I can determine my target and its background before I would ever consider a shot not what I think is a deer. I have been out many times and could easily see everything 15 minutes before legal shooting times and then have been out when it was so foggy that I could even think of shooting until a couple of hours after legal light. But you are so correct that it still does not make it right.
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