Today's hunt really began back on 10/27 when I went to Iowa and met up with Shaun Web from Iowa City Iowa and Bob Ferri From Cody Wyoming. Shaun's hunt ended on day 6 ( see his thread called Selfbows and whitetails) Bob's hunted ended on day 12 ( see that thread Bob's 11th hour whitetail) My hunt ended today after returning to Iowa 2 days ago.
Friday am was a cold 9 degrees above. Fortunately there was no wind. I rose early, packed a lunch and headed down the dirt road . I was going to sit in a ladder stand on the edge of bedding area where I had rattled in the largest living whitetail I have ever seen a short two weeks ago. It was one of those mornings so quiet that you are afraid to move a muscle on stand for fear you will be busted. I saw several does, and a couple of small bucks right away. About 9 am I see the large grey body of a deer working his way up the ridge towards my stand. He was walking very slowly and grunting softly as he came. He ended up right behind me and what a old warrior he was. His left antler was broken off just at the ear and his right was broken off just next to his brow. So all he had was his brows and what looked like broken baseball bats. I decided he would pass unharmed as he has all ready been through enough. I wondered half aloud, " man what does the other guy you fought look like? " The next 3 hours were filled with a few doe sightings including one doe and fawn that fed and bedded within 15 yards of my hiding spot. Finally by noon i was frozen and elected to scare away the 2 bedded animals rather than risk frostbite
I returned to my truck , had a sandwich and some cookies and drove around to the south side of the farm. i wanted to hang a stand in the spot where I muffed a 22 yard shot on a monster 12 point 2 short weeks ago. I no more than had the stand hung when the forester who manages the farm arrived with a truck load of helpers and they began using their chain saws. Crap all that work for nothing i thought. Rather than pull the stand back down, I decided to leave it in the hopes that if they returned in am they wouldn't arrive until well after first light, possibly giving me another opportunity to hunt this great bottle neck, a little grass ridge in between two timbered ravines .
i went back around to the north side of the farm but the wind just wasn't right. i ended up sitting beneath a red cedar only to get busted by the first and only 2 does of the evening.
Today was 20 degrees warmer then yesterday but had a stiff wind blowing out the south. I put on an extra layer of wool to deal with the wind. I got to my spot with lots of time. Climbed up, layered on three face masks since I would have to face the wind and began my vigil.
At 7.30 it started to sleet and then slow and then sleet. MY binocs were useless as the uncovered eye pieces filled with ice and my face and arms were soon covered with ice bits. Every once in a while i'd pull the bottom of the outer face mask up over my eyes just to give them a break from the wind and ice.
I started seeing does on the other side of the ridge around 8;30. First one , then two then one more. I looked back to the grass ridge that I sit on the edge of and a doe flies across the opening. Has to be a buck chasing i thought. I grabbed my bow and waited. Now it was really snowing and blowing hard too. Nothing. My un gloved hand soon was freezing and I rehung the bow. I turned my back to the wind and seconds later heard that unmistakable grunting of a love sick buck. I grabbed the bow and turned and here was this tiny ( and I mean tiny!) buck acting like he was king tut! He crosses and passes thru my 10 yard shooting lane perfectly. I do a couple of soft mouth grunts and the look on his face was quite funny. But he paused for just a second and was off down the ridge, looking for the doe he was after. Not two minutes later I hear grunting again and look to my right and coming head on is a shooter. His right eye is closed and clearly its injured. At first I thought it was a buck we call the pirate, but then i realize its not, as the pirate's bad eye is on the other side and that buck is a true monster. This buck looks good enough to me and is heading right under me. At a mere three yards from the base of my tree, I draw, anchor and hammer him. The arrows sinks up to the yellow fetch and looks to be in the perfect spot. But now its snowing even harder, i mean its really snowing and since the buck made it down the ridge and over the top i am immediately concerned. i call Bwana on my cell in the hopes that he will pick up in his tree and come track. He is on the other end of the farm and picks up. Bwana , I just shot a good one but we are going to need to track him now I say. ! He is on his way and and i climb down the tree. I look down and beneath 1/2 inch of fresh snow, the snow beneath is red turning to pink which i so urgently wanted to see. Its clear my steel force 2 blade is sticking out the buck's bottom side and I follow the blood in the snow and his tracks down the ridge.
Bwana is now by my side and asks me if he topped the ridge or angled to the side. I say that I am not sure because when the deer got to this point on the ridge there were several other deer there and they ran in all four directions , so I not sure which one was him. We circle and i find the tiniest fleck of blood. And thats what we follow for 300 yards, flecks of red in a raging snow storm. But every once in a while when Bwana lifted his foot with me trailing , the snow would be red! Finally we found my arrow lying in the snow and confirmed it was NOT a stomach hit. I was still quite concerned as earlier this season I shot and recovered 2 liver hit deer and those tracking jobs were all day affairs. Suddenly Bwana turned and smiled and i knew our tracking job was over. The Buck lay in the snow where he died on his feet. My redemption buck was at my feet.
My heart felt thanks to Bwana a constant source of encouragement and enthusiasm for the hunt
Topic: Redemption buck (Read 3064 times)
