I made fun of Ferret and his quickstik falling off the tree trunk with a dandy buck within range the other day. Well I went out this morning to a spot I know is not known by gun hunters. It's a tiny finger of state land with only a foot path wide entry near a fishing access site. I didn't check if it's legal to bow hunt during gun season I just bought a gun license and took my longbow.I hope that is legal(I think it is).(Please don't think too ill of me for this)
Anyway I'm wearing a blaze orange vest that I doused with UV killer, over bdu khaki pants and a plaid cotton shirt and just walking as slowly and queitly as I can and I hear a couple of shotguns' reports from the larger piece of land about a quarter mile away. I take out my 10 X 50 binos and scan all around for blaze orange. All of a sudden I see not one but 5 sets of antlers in a wad of blackberry briars 50 yards away.
It takes me an hour or better to go 20 yards, I'm trying so hard to move quietly and use available cover to block me from their view. I kneel down and glass them again. and they are still bedded right were they were before. They are watching in the direction of the gunfire. I take my shoes off and put on another pair of wool socks on just as quietly as I can. I check them again and they are undisturbed. I stand up, nock an arrow and take my first slow step toward them and pause, check them and take another even slower. I take 20 minutes to go 5 feet and still they have not moved or noticed me.My heart is about to burst and I have to kneel, look at the ground and get control. I slowly look up and they are still watching the direction of the gunfire. Another 20 minutes for 7 feet. I stand perfectly still because I am now completely inside their Red Zone. I wait and take one more slow determined step. I wait and and take one more step. I pick the one i'm going to try for, he is the one off by himself and closest to me, a very wide 5X4. I look for a hole to put an arrow through and see that if I just move 3 feet to my right there will be a window of opportunity. I take a side step as slowly as I can force myself to move. I bring my other foot over and freeze. I check them all and none have noticed. I count my blessings and wait just a few minutes and take another side step right onto the leg of a doe bedded just under the bush I am trying to use as cover. She jumps up, I fall backward, bump the back of my head on a tree and lay there trying not to cuss. I look over and all the bucks are standing now but not running. the doe is standing a few yards from where she was bedded and looking in my direction; but now I am completely behind the bush and not visible to her. I can just see her feet and ears. I lay there trying to figure out if there is a recovery when the does turns to walk away and all the bucks follow her with their heads forward and ears down. From my supine position I watch two nice 6 pointers spar a bit and the other bucks kick and push at each other to be the first one behind the doe. They move off and I guess they never knew I was there. So I try to get up as quietly as I can. I finally manage to get up and there in the briars looking at me is one of the bucks. I didn't count them, I just figured they all left. It's the 8 point I saw on this finger of land last year and he is even more massive. He does something I find unnerving he takes 5 quick steps right at me. Then he stomps the ground and snort-wheezes. I think, "How the heck do I look like a rival to him?" I don't know what to do....so like my Dad always said, "When in doubt, nock an arrow." the arrow I had on the string is still on the ground so I take another out of my bow quiver and nock it. He is 10 yards away with his ears back doing a lip curl sort of thing, just then the wind changed and he got a great big nose full of big ol' me and I've never seen a faster change in attitude nor a faster sprint out of the area. I am certain he went every bit of 50mph. He looked like he was flying and only setting one foot down every 20 yards or so to steer. That is when my knees went to jelly. Hard to be mad at yourself when your laughing your butt off at yourself. But the good news.... I stalked up on bedded bucks during the firearms season to within their Red Zone, undetected. That is until I stepped on a doe that was asleep(probably shagged out)until my foot met her leg. Well laugh away. Ferret get your digs in.
Topic: Well karma bit me on the butt, Ferret (Read 1164 times)
