I should have been home by Thursday from Florida but spent some extra time with my Son after my Georgia hunt with Mr. Gregg Dudley , Deerslayer extrodinaire . I can't say enough about these St. Jude's Hunts . I have been fortunate to go on a few of these and they have all been great , this was no exception . I have met the best people from all walks of life that share common bonds not only , but obviously , traditional archery but also basic life philosophies , common sense , and manners and with most a sound Spiritual core .
The hunt started out as Gregg said with plans for me to call him when about 30 minutes from the streaming metropilos of Edison . About and hour and a half out I lost cell service but had no doubt it was just temperary but to my surprise someone in Edison must have turned off the power in town , wouldn't have been too hard to figure out who it was as we only saw about 3 people in front of the only building in town . I grew up in a small town in Jersey but there are none left now . There seems to be no shortage of them down south though . Glad Gregg was looking out for us . Accomadations were excellant and the food was great . I think we had more food than 6 men could have eaten .
First morning out we set my Granson Jay in a good stand and I went along a gas line to a where a creek crossed it . As the sun came up a turkey lit out of a tree about 25 yards away and landed running along the creek into the woods . Now we have a few turkeys around home here but i have never seen more than 4 or 5 together so I was excited to see this one . I thought it would have been cool to see him perched in the tree so looked around for another . I scanned those trees with all power I could muster aquired over 40+ years of hunting but I couldn't see anything in the trees even though within the next 15 minutes or so about 20 more turkeys materilized out of thin air and landed . Good thing we weren't turkey hunting . I did manage to see a couple does cross over the gas line but out about 50 yards . I was hoping all trip that Jay would get something but this morning he didn't see a thing but stayed focused and optimistic even when Gregg woke him up by tossing an acorn at him around 10:30 . Gregg put a good shot on a fat doe so we helped track and drag . That evening we saw nothing again but hopes were high for the next few days . Next morning we set Jay at the pesimmon stand and I went down along a creek which kind of made a funnel at a crossing where there were a lot of small pools tore up by pigs . Now the grapevine story , I am in a ldder stand about 16" up facing roughly south , there's a thick grapevine hanging down against the ladder stand on the left side . 9:30 3 does come running past me on my left and I try to shoot around the vine and somehow spooked the last deer in line and they turned and ran the way they came . I pulled the grapevine to the right side of the stand and 10 minutes later a fat doe comes walking along the right side of my stand . I was sitting down and could have spooked the deer when I stood up but didn't , I could have spooked the deer when I turned 90 degrees in the stand but didn't , I could have gotten tangled in the vine and missed but I didn't . That is I never touched the vine but I did miss clean . Those who know me won't be surprised . She was probably way out there about 12 yards and when I shot she jumped and ran another 5 - 10 yards and by the time she stopped I already had another arrow nocked and figured I couldn't miss any worse but she had other ideas and run off before I could draw .Boy was she lucky . I guess I was too as 2 misses under 20 yards at the same deer wouldn't have done much for my ego . The day before I spent some time scouting with Jay when Gregg took his deer into town . I found a rub line with 2 half hearted scrapes that were in an wooded draw leading from a thick overgrown area to a pine woods . The draw was fairly open and i didn't think a deer would use it during daylight . After the morning hunt the 3 of us back trailed the deer along a small creek . We found a smoking trail with several clusters of fresh rubbed trees about broomstick size .It seemed like a perfect staging area where a buck was hanging out before dark when he would cross over into the pines . It wwas very thick with only a few trees big enough for a stand . The 2 best trees would have puit me about 5 yards from the trail with a head on or straight down shot . Downwind and across the creek was a couple of small openings about 12 - 15yards away where we could try a blind . I have hunted blinds when in Africa with good success within a few hours of putting them out but you know whitetails . We brushed it in real good and cut 2 shooting lanes and snook out of the area .Thhat evening Jay sat a stand that had hogs sign all over the place and I went into the blind . I got there about 3 hours before dark and took a seat . Very comfortable but the first glimpse I would get of an approaching deer would be about 15 yards and then I would have act fast to get a shot before he crossed my lanes . That meant holding my bow at the ready and sitting on the edge of my seat . The soft mud would mean he would come in silently . Very exciting but very stressful at the same time . Just as it got too dark to shoot a small buck came into the first lane and stared at the blind and obviously didn't like something as he just turned and walked away . 5 minutes sooner and I could have gotten a shot off except for the fact that he was facing me . Hindsite I probably shouldn't have cut that lane as there was only about 12' between shooting lanes but he was kind of facing me in the first lane and would have been broadside in the second but that would have left me with no options . Live and learn .
Last day found me back in the creek funnel where I seen 5 deer off in the distance going behind me about 100 yards . That afternoon had Jay decided to go back on the pig sign and even though I was torn about going to the creek stand as no one had hunted it in the sfternoon I opted to stick it out in the blind . A half an hour before magic time an owl flew into the blind and got hung up on the shoot through fabric that was hanging down across the opening . One minute I was sitting there all attention on the trail and the next I was gasping for breath as I was swinging my bow at the intruder which I have to admit was one of the smallest owls I've ever seen even though at the time I thought it was Rodan . After regaining my composure I focused again on the trail when a deer came down a trail about 50 yuards downwind of me and blew for about 5 minutes while running up and down the field edge . Needless to say nothing came in after that . Next time I will stick to a stand as I have more confidence in them even though it would have required extensive pruning . Poor Jay had no better luck as the pigs came back and cicled downwind and caught his scent , he did however get to see a small 4 pointer chasing a doe around him for a few minutes . The doe stopped about 18n yards out and he thought about shooting her when he decided the buck would continue to follow her into the opening but as things usually turn out the doe went into the woods and the buck tryed to cut her off without coming into range . Important lessons for him to learn .
I find that the only thing harder than starting one of these posts is ending one . Congrats to anyone reading this far . I can't say enough about Gregg , a true gentlemen with a great sense of humor .As always the only bad thing about these hunts is that they end too soon . Anyone still sitting on the fence about bidding on a St. Jude's hunt after reading the stories posted on here about them must have too much room in their attic . Got to take a break this hunt and peck typing takes a lot out of me . Thanks again Gregg !
Topic: Dudley Did Right ! (Read 566 times)
