I have been blessed with a great friendship, that allows me to be able to hunt some pretty prime areas. I was hunting one of them yesterday morning as the following developed.
We have been waiting not only for the wind to be right, but for the water to receed down in some of the areas along the river on this particular property. Even though the water withdraws, anyone familiar with river flooding knows that the silt and mud stays slimey for weeks afterwards. Well this weekend we made it into a couple of areas that we haven't been into this season. The area I was going is usually hunted by my grandson and me or simply by me when I head in after the hogs. They seem to really like the thick stuff and usually there are plenty of shot oppurtunities.
I didn't head to the stand we had set up because it is a double man blind and I didn't want to be obstructed by the rail and tree it is mounted on. The particular spot I stopped at was at an intersecction of the road and an abandoned pipeline crossing where the hogs and deer pass through seemingly in every direction. For this hunt I took my bow and my short .308 since I was mainly after the hogs. I was hoping to get one with the bow then follow up on some more with the rifle. Least that was the plan anyhow. I was set up with shots ranged out to 40yds across the pipeline, but everything else was ranged at around 30 or less. This is somwhat how the rest of the hunt went.
6:45 I got in and got set up beside a nice pecan tree, which had a couple of limbs laying around it which proivided some cover. Granted for the most part I was simply standing beside a tree in the woods.
6:46 a multitude of wood ducks, unknown to be there by me, decided I was too close to the water hole they were sitting on, only 10yds behind me, and all left at the same time giving me a cariac test.
7:00 along comes a nice sized yearling 4 point at 15yds, with almost an inch wide fork at the end of each of his 8" beams. I am sure glad he gave me a profile as I had almost made up my mind to take him as a spike.
7:30'ish see movement on the pipeline and realize it is not one but two coyotes coming almost straight to me. I waited until they passed behind some thick brush and drew, standing there waiting for one of them to pop out at full draw was pretty easy, until I realized they had turned into the woods on the off side of the pipeline, then I began trying to do the hand sqeek and bring one in. That was when it got to be a hoot. They stopped, looked, walked a step or two, looked, and so on until they had enough and eased on out of sight. I must have held that thing for an hour, well at least longer than I ever have before.
7:45 close to a dozen or more cat squirrels are chasing females around in hopes of being the lucky chosen one to breed them. They are worse than deer. I had them run as close as meer inches, and even jump right past me to get to the tree I was standing by and even had one jump on my leg thinnking it was part of the tree. Scared the bajeebers out of me. Somewhere in this same time frame two more yotes come cruising through the woods behind me. I get drawn but they aren't slowing down for anything, and they move on out of range and disappear into the thicket.
8:00 a huge redtail hawk flies within three feet of me on a straffing run for a squirrel. Really awesome sight with talons sticking out in front like landing gear and really bent on getting one of those tree rats. He landed in a tree not 20 feet from me and was looking the situation over pretty good, when the crows started in on him. He didn't stick around for the suprise party though, and they all flew off to another location.
8:05'ish five does come runing in from the direction the last two yotes headed off in. I figured that since two of them were yearlings that just possibly the yotes might be working them, and started to really look the area they came from over. I would have loved to have taken one with my bow. What I saw instead was a set of horns comeing through the woods on top of a pretty decent sized buck. At this point I wasn't considering shooting him as there are a LOT of nice young bucks there this year, and with the brush being so thick I couldn't tell yet how big he really was. The does were milling around in the road about 25yds from me and started to head around to my right when I guess they either caught wind of the yotes or me. Could have been either as they were right on top of where both could have easily been picked up. Well two of them blow and head up the road towards me to within about 10yds directly in front of me. The buck which I am trying to keep up with disappeard into the ditch along side the road so now I don't know where he is. With the does on high alert, and me standing there wondering the size of the buck and where he went, he steps up onto the road at 25yds looking right at me.
Now I am juicing, he is WAY better than he first appeared especially nice to get with a bow. I get my bow off the hanger, and start to work it around the tree, to the side the buck is on, when one of the does which are still standing in front of me blows and they all head off in high gear. The buck stands there watching me, as I slowly get my bow up ready to draw. He is looking around and stiff leg walking ever closer as I am about to go into an epeliptic fit. Finally he looks back up the road away from me and I start to draw, as soon as I did he turns a looks right at me at 19yds. Well I knew if I let it down at this point it was all over so I kept right on drawing. He stood there staring trying to figure out what the deal with this tree was, and finally again looks back up the road and gives me a slightly quartering towards shot. I aimed and squeezed the trigger sending my Razortrick tipped 470gr FMJ on a collision course with his onside shoulder. Knowing the penetration of these heads from shooting hogs, I had no doubts that it would easily get through and into the vitals.
At the shot, he spun and headed down into the ditch heading back towards where the does had gone. I watched him close as he got out to around 60yds and stopped. I was looking for a tail wiggle, a sway, or anything that would give me an idea of a hit. He was behind some really thick stuff and now way to see the shoulder I shot at, or the area I figured would be the exit. As he moved forward through the this underbrush, I saw that he was heading right for the road on the opposite side of the pipeline, so I grabbed up the rifle and when he stepped out I centered it on his shoulder and fired.
The terrain along the river, and the accompanying underbrush are not what you want to track a deer in. Been there done that. I also had the thought of my friends huge buck that got away in a similar situation, and did not want to risk it. Too many variables were involved and running through my mind not to check him on the ground.
After the shot, I waited for what had to have been 2 hours,(2 minutes tops) before heading to look for my arrow. As I walked towards the spot he was standing, I was thinking to myself, where did all of these little limbs come from. Then as I topped the road and looked over into the ditch I saw my arrow sticking out of the tree which was behind, and directly to the right of the deer. I examined it for any signs, and nothing other than the tree bark was found. This was sort of a mixed emotion time for me, as if I had known I hadn't hit him with the arrow, I probably would have let him walk, but at the same time, I was elated that I had at least made the right decision, and he wasn't out there somewhere with my arrow stuck in him.
So, I quietly walked down the road to where he was when I shot the rifle, and didn't see any sign, so I backed out and figured I would go get my bud and at least give him more time just in case. Besides I was still shaking enough that I spilled water out of the bottle while trying to get a drink. LOL As I crossed the pipeline back towards where I was standing, I see my bud walking slowly towards me. He had been stalking a pack of hogs and figured I got one of them as they came my way. Never saw the hogs, but that could have easily been what the deer were initially concerned with. We walked back over to where I had shot the deer and started looking for sign. After a quick look over and finding nothing into the surround brush the direction he went, we started back tracking and my buds say's there he is, then he say's a few other things, and we both see no ground shrinkage on this one. He had only gone about 30yds from whee he was standing on the road, but instead oif heading straight into the brush as it appeared to me, he had gone along side it, more or less straight away from me.
As is generally the case with the deer we take off this particular place, he will make a nice addition to our house. Just got to figure out where, and how to cover the cost now. LOL He isn't as wide at just over 19" inside, as the last one I got from here which was 21" inside, but he has way more mass which easily makes up for it. Either way he is a buck I am proud to have had the chance to not only get with a bow, but a rifle as well. The picture isn't all that good as all we had available were phones, so we got what we got. It really doesn't do him the justice he deserves. I have more on my friends phone and might toss another one up when we get together next week.
