Hello Everyone, I am excited to tell you about my story of the warm weather surprise. I hope you enjoy the story.
With forecasted temperatures in the high 70’s for Saturday I had little hope of success. I knew that while the deer would still be moving, the high temperatures would not be on my side. I debated between going hunting and taking a trip down to a large track of public land for some roving/exploring. When I awoke Saturday morning I was still undecided on what to do. The wind direction was not good for any of my regular hunting spots and I once again debated going to the public land. Finally I decided instead of going to public land or my usual spots that I would change things up this morning. I choose to hunt on our family farm of which I had not been to once yet this season. The area was un-scouted and I expected to be greeted to a fine morning sunrise and nothing more, but that was ok with me. With that I headed out to the farm.
I arrived to the farm an hour before sunrise. I took my time gathering my gear, stringing my bow, and finally smoking myself in wood smoke from a bee smoker. It was then time for the walk in. I had about a ¼ mile hike in to the spot I wanted to hunt. I would be hunting the inside corner of a cornfield where it met a ridge overlooking a shallow depression with a swamp at the far end of the property. I was hoping that I would be able to use this morning more as a scouting trip to watch over the depression and swamp edge; allowing me to find future hunting spots.
After a mildly laborious hike along the cornfield I finally made it to my spot. All was going as planned until I spooked a deer out that was right where I had intended to hunt. “Oh well” I thought, nothing I can do about that now. So I went forward with picking my tree to hunt from. The tree I chose was in a pretty ideal spot. It allowed me to watch the corner of the cornfield, but also allowed a good view of the depression below me. The only downfall was this tree was quite large and it split into a Y about 12 feet off the ground. I figured I could manage and began hanging the lone wolf sticks.
I was attaching my 3rd climbing stick when things started to get difficult. The tree was so large that the straps were maxed out, but with careful adjustments I was able to get my sticks attached. But then came the strand, which I had to hold outright while I attempted to reach all the way around the tree to reach the straps. It took several attempts of blind tosses, but I was able to get ahold of the straps and attach the stand. It was not something I would care to do often! After climbing into the stand I realized the I would not be able to shoot the direction I expected the deer to come, as the tree was so large that my arm hit the tree before I could reach full draw. So I climbed out of the stand and moved it further down and over on the tree. After the adjustment I was able to draw my bow, but I was now only 8ft off the ground. Sunrise was fast approaching and I needed to stop sweating and moving! So with that I decided it was good enough and settled in.
As dawn broke over the horizon I was gifted with a very enjoyable sight. I watched as large flocks of cardinals, morning doves, and song sparrows gathered in the corn to feed. Hearing their delighted chirps and songs absolutely overflowed my soul with joy. I felt honored to witness such a sight of joy and blessing in the wildlife kingdom.
As I sat there taking everything in, I looked down into the ravine behind me and caught sight of a deer rump as it disappeared behind a downed log 75 yards away. I stood up while reaching into my pack and grabbing my Leopold binoculars to get a closer look. Instantly I caught sight of a large mature doe meandering down through the depression. Then at once she looked up with an alarmed face and looked back towards my direction. I scanned the area around her and picked out a large yearling that was close by. Perhaps they may of caught my wind and knew something was out of the ordinary. I watched as they monitored the situation for several minutes before starting to slowly walk directing away from me down deeper into the ravine. I took this opportunity to sit down and get in a more comfortable position as I continued to watch where they went; all the while keeping tabs for future hunting spots. I watched them for another 10 minutes or so before a second yearling showed up that I had not previously seen. As I sat there watching the 3 does I heard something on the edge of the cornfield…
I turned to see what the noise was, and was immediately confused to see a small tree on the edge of the field shaking like crazy. I thought it was a squirrel making the ruckus, until I caught sight of antlers shaking the tree branch and large dark legs pawing the ground! I about fell out of the stand when I realized there was a buck, and a GOOD buck at that, standing not 15 yards away from me. I didn’t even have my bow in my hands! In one smooth motion I stood up and grabbed my bow as the buck was distracted working the scrape. As I stood there at the ready, I made notice of his beautiful wide heart shaped antlers and large mature body. He was the first buck I had seen all season and he was a beauty.
It was then that the buck he looked directly at me and several times at that, even taking a moment to scent-check the air. I was waiting for him to bolt at any second, but he didn’t. The buck was downwind of me, but never picked up that I was dangerous. I think the large tree trunk that had given me so much trouble came to my saving as it completely engulfed my human outline. The buck cut into the woods as he made his way down towards the ravine. He was walking at a good stride, and I knew I had to do something quick. I saw one opening in the brush up ahead; I drew back and locked in my anchor. The buck walked into the opening only 12 yards away and I stopped him with a grunt.
It seemed like eternity, but in reality the time was only about a second or two as I took time making sure my aim was true before the string slipped from my fingers. The orange fletched arrow spun beautifully through the air before disappearing behind the shoulder of the big buck. That’s when the slow motion ended and chaos started as the buck erupted through the heavy brush and disappeared over the hill and out of sight. Everything in the forest went quiet.
I was confident of my shot, but I decided to wait an hour or so just to be sure as I did not hear the buck crash. I took the moment to say a prayer, thanking the Lord for the opportunity at such a beautiful animal, while also praying for a clean and quick kill. I then took a few moments to txt some friends before I sat back and continued to enjoy the morning.
Only 20 minutes into my wait I started to get anxious. I really wanted to get down and see what it looked like at the area of the hit. About that time I watched as a lone buzzard circled over the ravine and landed in a tree. Within 10 minutes the buzzard was joined by over half a dozen of its comrades. Their slow drifting circles became smaller and smaller as they headed into the ravine. I had as much as I could handle; I quickly climbed down and started to track.
At the area of the initial hit I found hair and a few drops of blood, but not much more. 15 yards down the hill I found my arrow, its orange fletchings now a dark blood saturated red. As I picked up the arrow I looked into the ravine to see a large brown log in the middle of an opening. A quick check through the binos showed that brown log was actually the body of my buck. I smiled and thanked the lord for the deer. I made my way over to the buck as slowly as possible, wanting to hold onto the feeling for as long as possible.
When I made it up to the buck I was truly overtaken with gratitude. He was a beautiful animal, of prime condition in his life. His body was large and bulky, his neck swollen and ready for the rut. His face was scared from previous battles and his antlers were rich in color and mass. I admired the heart shaped curves of his main beams that I had noted earlier when I first saw him. I again said a prayer, thanking the Lord for such a blessing, not only this buck that will feed my family and for the quick humane kill; but for the ability for us to find such unexplainable joy while in the outdoors.
After a few moments alone with the buck, it was time to get to work. I walked the ¼ mile back to my car, this time with a higher spring in my step. I met my wife with her camera and we drove the UTV back to the ravine. After taking some pictures with the buck at his final resting place, we loaded him onto the buggy and drove back to the farm.
On the way out all I could think about was the blessing that had occurred on this beautiful morning. How did that buck not smell me or see me as I stood only 8ft off the ground only 15 yards away? How then of all choices did the buck choose to walk right past me and give me the opportunity to put a killing shot through him? These things I can not answer, but I believe they did not happen by coincidence. I am forever thankful of all that the Lord has and will provide. We are so remarkably blessed!
As a side note, I used my timberhawk strike recurve, 51@30”, with an Easton axis shaft and 150 grain simmons interceptor glued a 75 grain steel insert for a total arrow weight of 580 grains.
So there you have it, that is the story of my warm weather surprise. I hope you enjoyed and I pray a safe and successful season to everyone. Thanks for taking the time to join my adventure with me. Cheers, SS.
Topic: Warm Weather Suprise!!!! (Read 1678 times)
