Textbook hunt with a rocky start comes through!
Nov 19, 2019 11:03:51 GMT -5
Woody Williams, 36fan, and 20 more like this
Post by baldguy637 on Nov 19, 2019 11:03:51 GMT -5
2019 has been a weird year for me, i lost the main property I've hunted for the past decade due to the owners passing. Luckily, my family owns a small tract of timber that I have permission to hunt. It has always been mature hardwoods with a creek running through it, but never had any cover to hold deer so i always had to try to catch them going from bedding on the neighbor's property to a food source.
This property was logged two years ago, and what I'd managed to learn over years of hunting that property was now useless. Gone were the giant oaks dropping a ton of acorns, and the walking trails we'd managed to keep clean over the years were littered with tree tops every few yards. Between work and family obligations, i haven't had much time to mess with cleaning the woods up.
Normally an avid bow hunter, I'm in the woods early and usually have my buck long before rifle season comes in. This year though, i didn't have that first stand hung until November 10th. I managed to go out twice during archery season, but saw no deer at all. The normal trails that the deer have used over my lifetime were bare, and the underbrush was taller than my head in spots. Now we have cover, a ton of it, but the big oaks that produced the food were gone.
I got off work Saturday morning of opening weekend and decided to move a couple of stands from what i didn't see the weekend prior, one in the back of the property and one in the front. The back stand looked very promising with the front one just an easy walk if i didn't have the time. I saw a few spikes, forks and doe from the back stand Sunday morning and was optimistic about what I'd see Monday as we had a Thanksgiving dinner Sunday evening and wouldn't be able to go.
Monday morning rolled around and i woke up 45 minutes late. I layed in bed aggravated, knowing there was no way i could make it to the back stand before 30 minutes after legal light. I almost stayed in bed but decided I'd bust butt and try to get to the front stand before legal light. I managed to get in the stand about 10 minutes late, but had 2 spikes come through right after.
I'd planned on sitting until 11 or so, and had deer around me all morning. Spikes, forks, button bucks and a few doe all came through bedding down all around me. Around 9:30, i heard a commotion and looked to the west to see a doe busting through the thicket straight to me. She had a buck right on her and they were coming in fast! I pulled up the .308 and as soon as it was shouldered they were at 20yds. The doe busted me when i pulled the gun up and took off to the north. The buck payed no attention to me, and kept on her trail. I tried to get him to stop, but there would be none of that. He was on a jog from left to right at 15yds when i squeezed the shot off. He didn't even act like he'd been hit, jogged 30yds and dropped in his tracks. He may not be my largest buck to date, but he's my first with a rifle. He'll eat good!
This property was logged two years ago, and what I'd managed to learn over years of hunting that property was now useless. Gone were the giant oaks dropping a ton of acorns, and the walking trails we'd managed to keep clean over the years were littered with tree tops every few yards. Between work and family obligations, i haven't had much time to mess with cleaning the woods up.
Normally an avid bow hunter, I'm in the woods early and usually have my buck long before rifle season comes in. This year though, i didn't have that first stand hung until November 10th. I managed to go out twice during archery season, but saw no deer at all. The normal trails that the deer have used over my lifetime were bare, and the underbrush was taller than my head in spots. Now we have cover, a ton of it, but the big oaks that produced the food were gone.
I got off work Saturday morning of opening weekend and decided to move a couple of stands from what i didn't see the weekend prior, one in the back of the property and one in the front. The back stand looked very promising with the front one just an easy walk if i didn't have the time. I saw a few spikes, forks and doe from the back stand Sunday morning and was optimistic about what I'd see Monday as we had a Thanksgiving dinner Sunday evening and wouldn't be able to go.
Monday morning rolled around and i woke up 45 minutes late. I layed in bed aggravated, knowing there was no way i could make it to the back stand before 30 minutes after legal light. I almost stayed in bed but decided I'd bust butt and try to get to the front stand before legal light. I managed to get in the stand about 10 minutes late, but had 2 spikes come through right after.
I'd planned on sitting until 11 or so, and had deer around me all morning. Spikes, forks, button bucks and a few doe all came through bedding down all around me. Around 9:30, i heard a commotion and looked to the west to see a doe busting through the thicket straight to me. She had a buck right on her and they were coming in fast! I pulled up the .308 and as soon as it was shouldered they were at 20yds. The doe busted me when i pulled the gun up and took off to the north. The buck payed no attention to me, and kept on her trail. I tried to get him to stop, but there would be none of that. He was on a jog from left to right at 15yds when i squeezed the shot off. He didn't even act like he'd been hit, jogged 30yds and dropped in his tracks. He may not be my largest buck to date, but he's my first with a rifle. He'll eat good!
