Had an interesting day today. The spot I chose to hide in this morning seemed pretty cold in spite of decent sign both north and south of it. I did have a couple of raccoons in close but they aren't in season for a few more days (what the heck would I do with a perforated raccoon anyway?). Early on, I decided to get up (while the footing was still quiet) and still hunt to the north.
Almost immediately (as I was getting my pack on), I was busted by a doe. She just ran off though - she seemed not to be too freaked out. I moved slowly and quietly up the trail until I got close to the next major patch of deer sign (several nice trail systems). Off to the east – on posted land, of course – I could see a decent buck working over a scrape and a tree. He seemed to be moving toward the public land but I wasn't certain if he would cross close to where I was (a nice wide open trail for him) or a bit further north where I had observed some nice rubs the day before.
My guess was that he was going north, so I moved that way as calmly as I could to try to intercept. A couple of hundred yards up the trail, I was as close as I though I ought to get and I could see no sign of the buck. I decided to sit a bit by an oak tree and see if he turned up. After fifteen minutes or so, I decided to call a bit. A few grunts and a spirited rattling session later and here came my buck (within about thirty seconds of the end of the rattling sequence).
I was sitting cross-legged on the ground and flirted briefly with the notion of standing for a better shot (while his head was behind a tree about thirty yards away) but chickened out. He hopped the fence into public land and gave me a decent shot opportunity (broadside) now at about 20 yards. Canting my bow steeply, I took the shot.
This is a shot I've practiced quite a bit in my backyard (longbow from the ground – that calls for plenty of practice) and I was prepared to shoot a bit low – like I typically do from the ground. I adjusted for it but what I didn't adjust for was my lower limb bonking into my rattle bag which was sitting on my backpack, which (like a moron) I had placed on the ground to my left. That's a mistake I won't be repeating.
The arrow flew on a perfect line and missed the deer (low, of course) by an inch or two right under his heart. I waited a bit – just in case I had hit him after all – to get the arrow (no blood / fat / hair etc.). Oh well – I'd much rather get a clean miss than a messy hit.
Returning to my spot (this time with my backpack and calls well out of the way), I waited about thirty more minutes before a pair of does showed up close to where the buck had crossed. They knew something was up right away (never did cross the fence) – I'm guessing there was enough of my scent over in that area from when I retrieved my arrow – anyway, I had no shot opportunities at them.
This isn't easy, but it sure is fun.
Topic: This morning's learning experience (Read 295 times)
