19th and 20th (tonight) --
So I'm supposed to be the sneaky one right? Ain't that right?
Ok, so I set up in the same ground blind I hunted before (could have cleaned it a bit better) and waited for the parade. I was fretting about smelling like grandma's coat closet still, but decided to go for it anyway... the spot is great windwise, maybe it won't matter.
Sure enough, here come the does and babies. All 6 this time. 1 no fawn, 1 with 1 fawn, 1 with 2 fawns. I don't know that fawn is the correct word anymore, the youngins' are big enough they're hard to tell from the moms at this point. They head right as I expected them to, which leads them a bit out of range from my spot. When they wander back downhill, however, they normally path along the berries right past me at 10 yards or less.
They begin wandering back and the light's getting thinner and thinner. One doe (the biggest, and without kids) wanders by and stands around 25 yards away. Almost a shot opportunity, but no go.
So I'm standing now, very well camoflauged (sp?) as the camo I chose is for dark forest and looks dandy here... face paint and all. Anyway, I'm watching upwind where some of the does are messing around, and I hear something behind me. I forget my book learnin' and jerk my head around reactively, instead of sloooooowly.
There's the buck.
Dam him, he let the women and children come in as shock troops (as I knew he would) and then comes in at a totally different angle! He's 12' behind me, downwind, and frozen staring right at me. He has a big body for a forkie, which doesn't surprise me on this side of the mountains in Oregon. Might be a 3 year old with little points I can't see or something... he seems quite hefty compared to the ladies.
He's staring at me, I'm frozen... little breeze comes along, he gets skittish, finally decides to stomp a few times and book.
Exciting, he was DAM close and that gave me info for the next day's scouting/tracking. This morning, I use this info and head over to that area of the property. I find a whole new network of trails. I also decide to give the buck a nickname... he has attitude, and I settle on Little Mister (god knows why).
Today, I figured since I've been busted up by the apples, I'll pick another trail that shows tracks leading upslope (so deer moving in the afternoon, as opposed to moving back down hill to bed after dark) but downhills quite a ways from my former blind. I make a little clearing among some small alders and grass mid-day , swing around a bow-length stick to make sure it'll work, and get out of there to let things calm down before I return this afternoon. The spot has a very brushy draw behind it, and there are some trails but I'm pretty confident that they're late-night bed trails.
I bring a stump to sit on when I return, thinking I'm smart. I found out after 3 hours that I need some more paddin' on my tush... I was agonizing just as the light was getting right.
So I'm setting in this little blind, which is REAL close to the trail, and kind of exposed, but I thought I'd try it. Great quartering away shot opportunities if they should come this way.
I hear some deer up and south of me, and it sounds like the parade has chosen a different entrance to the property because the wind has changed. I'm starting to think about still-hunting upwind a ways when I hear a LOUD "WHUFF -- WHUFF!" right behind me, like -- not 10' behind me. 'Bout scares the crud out of me too.
BUSTED!
Yet again Little Mister has snuck up on ME! And downwind, and opposite of the direction I was facing in my blind.
About now I start having some fantasties about calling a time-out to all this hunting stuff and pulling Little Mister aside for a chat.
"Look, you're the deer, I'M the hunter. You're supposed to be walking along, oblivious to my brilliantly placed blind, up-wind, and broadside at about... oh say 15 yards. You're the one who'se supposed to be 'Doe-Eyed' -- NOT ME. Get it? Me Hunter, You Prey -- Capiche? Now let's try this again next weekend and this time try cooperating with the plan." I smack his haunch, sending him back into the woods like a bad horse and return to reality.
Dam buck is schooling me good.
I still-hunt back up the road to the farmstead and the does and yearlings are everywhere. I get spotted a couple times and wait out the stare, pace, stare... wander off scenario a few times. Eventually I wait for the deer to be out of sight and I change walk to "I'm just Farmer Bill headed out to the garden... nothing to see here, nothing to see." The deer stand around and stare at what formerly they thought was deadly, I go over to the fence on the garden and open and close it for an added dash of realism.
Hell, who am I fooling --
I'll be back next week Little Mister... and this time, you better be acting like Prey instead of such a Sneaky Bas&%@!.
ps: Had a freaking great time, taking my lumps but in the deer every night, I can't complain. Hell, it's my first season ever and I'm trying to hunt with a selfbow, on the ground for crissakes.
I can see why folks like rifles (could have downed a dozen deer by now -- total carnage), and compounds (probably an honest 4 deer dead by now), and tree stands (at least 3, even with my selfbow).
So far, only the treestand is really tempting me. I'm going to try more with ground blinds and may cave in to that idea if I'm still failing a month from now.
B
Topic: ******Daily Hunt Report 2004****** (Read 15557 times)
