Too Close to Trail and Why I Love Ground Hunting!

[John146]

One of the great pleasures of bowhunting for me is the process of determining the spot to hunt. Reading sign and then setting up on that spot, allowing for wind direction, approach to the stand, etc.... this whole process is so much a part of the enjoyment of hunting. Add to that the challenge of ground hunting and it gets for me very intense in a great way.
I posted a thread on kayak hunting a while back and I would utilize the kayak again on this hunt. My brother has a lease in MS and a river borders the east side. This weekend there was a NW wind so it was time to use the kayak and that river to access some places I had only scouted before. The lease is down river from our camps so I slipped the kayak in at the camp and headed out with the sun just rising. I had to walk the kayak in a couple spots but once I got to a little deeper water it was so quiet. I felt kinda sneaky! I was thinking I would probably see some game sooner or later just drifting down this river. That would actually happen later this day.
About a half mile later I arrived to the area I wanted to hunt. Kayaks are noisy if you hit them with ANYTHING so you have to be very careful unloading your stuff and also dragging the kayak up on the sand. I learned it is better to get out as soon as you touch bottom, pull forward till you touch bottom again, unload your stuff and then pull up for the last time. Each time you take out weight it drafts less and makes less noise rubbing the sandy bottom.
I have committed to taking pictures this year of my hunts for the first time. I have alot to learn about what makes a good picture so excuse the rookie-ness. Here is a pic of kayak at the spot I parked to hunt.
 

[bigb3303]

That Is awsome Man! Keep up the good work! I love hunting from the ground myself, though I have never taken a big game animal with my recurve, Its the only way I will hunt. Keep up the photos, and the post!

[John146]

From my kayak I walked down river about 40 yards and found a good place to climb the bank. Once on top the bank there is about 10 yards of flat ground and then a small ditch and then the land comes back up to a pine forest flat. There is a small piece of private land about 1/4 mile to the north of this flat that is predominatly oaks and my thinking was to hopefully catch a deer coming back to bed from munching acorns during this full moon.
I look to my north and there is a privett bush hanging over this ditch and decided I would set up there. There were no tracks in the ditch where I came up the bank so I figured a shot may come on the pine flat.
What would have taken a 3/4 mile walk from any other access to this place has become a 60 yard walk from the kayak now. In fact the kayak is about 30 yards from where I am sitting as the crow flys.
Once I am set up and sitting down I look to the north and notice a little muddy water about 12 yards away in this ditch. Turns out there were deer tracks that made that water dirty and I am wondering if I need to move even closer to the bank of the river. If a deer comes on that trail it will be pretty much head on. I look behind me and decide against a move because I would have no background cover.
Here's a pic of the tracks and water from my seat.
 

[John146]

About 30 minutes later, straight out in front I catch a flash of white on the other side of a fallen tree. Never saw another thing but in my mind it just seemed like a deer tail. Maybe a deer bedded in that tree? Hmmm. I look to my right up the ditch and I see legs! All I can do is freeze and squint my eyes as this 120 lb. doe is suddenly 15 yards. She stops and looks right at me.
Now begins the rush that I love so much! Everything in me is trying to be calm but nothing I do remotely works. My heart rate is zooming and my breathing is labored.
I notice a small fawn with her so I won't be shooting at her even if she gives me a shot. Then I notice more legs coming! A darker bodied deer but I can't tell what it is through my squinted eyes. Now I have this sudden urge to swallow. It must have something to do with this adrenaline rush.
She knows something is out of place but she is not alarmed at all. Camo, cover and no movement is working - well almost no movement because I can't stop shaking. She starts to walk to her right and I am thinking she is going to walk around me but she makes a small circle to go back in the direction that she came. When she was turning there was a moment that the shot was present as she walked straight away for about 5 steps and then quatered back to her right. I believe if she were alone I could have swiveled in my seat and taken her.
This pic is her view.
 

This pic shows my view. She came from my right and then circled between that short stump on the left and the pine tree behind it.
 

[John146]

The other deer turns out to be a spike and he doesn't want to go back where they came from so he comes to 8 yards before he looks back at mom and then decides to follow. They go up the bank and head back north and I believe they bedded down.
I hunted for about 2 more hours and the wind started acting squirrley so I decided to call it a hunt. I did not want to mess this spot up. I am packing up and the wind comes out of the east for a short time and I am thinking I need to get out of there when the slience is broken by a very loud deer snort or blow or whatever you want to call it. All I know is it took a very calm, serene atmosphere and absolutley disrupted it! Turns out that was a deer that bedded in that tree cause when I looked around I saw that white tail going the opposite direction right on the side of that tree.
I packed up and made the short walk back to the kayak, loaded up and headed down river to my pick up spot. Very little paddling was necessary on this stretch. The current just carries you along. I was reflecting on my experience with the doe, fawn and spike and gave thanks to the Lord for one more awesome morning in the woods. I thought how I set up too close to the trail and how I might do it different next time. I also thought about all the things that went right on this hunt. Mostly I thought about how much I love hunting on the ground - so simple and easy in some respects and yet so challenging in other aspects.
 My thoughts were interrupted by movement ahead. A Kingfish flew off a tree hanging over the water making his own unique noise. That's when I noticed movement on the big sand point. A group of 7 hen turkeys were mulling around in the open. They obviously don't like red cause as soon as they saw my kayak they flew out of there. Yep, this is sneaky... and I like being sneaky. I think I'll do this again some day... Lord willing.
Here's what that point looks like near where I parked to hunt.
 

[dirtguy]

Great story!

[shirikahn]

Kayak and bow?  That sounds like an excellent strategy!

Sounds like a great day in the woods to me!

Bisch

[VictoryHunter]

Cool story!

[Frank V]

Thanks for sharing your hunt with us. Sounds like you had a great time in the outdoors.

[T-Bowhunter]

Thanks for sharing you story!

[Boomerang]

Nice! Thanks for sharing.  

[Wannabe1]

Great story! Here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, a lot of hunters go by boat and hunt the islands on the river. Good strategy as there have been some pretty big bucks come out this way.

[Duncan]

Todd,

I enjoy following your hunting and kayaking posts. You have a beautiful area to hunt. I have done a lot of float trips and hunted along the way but not with a kayak. I've also gained remote access to public lands by going to it by jonboat. Its a great strategy you have there and I'm looking forward to more posts and pics.

Duncan

[John146]

Thanks for the kind words guys. What a privilege to be a hunter!

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Pretty Neat stuff!

[Altiman94]

Thanks for taking us along on your hunt.  I really like the idea of the kayak, I'm sure very few other hunters are doing this.  Good luck rest of the season!