Well, my Mo tag is punched ladies and gents. Cold front was supposed to be moving in for Friday thru Sunday. I normally only hunt thru the week so my my fatherly and hubandly duties are full filled (girls in club soccer and volleyball) but..... After a week long trip to Colorado chasing ghost elk, I had to get out to see some animals.
We got up to the farm around 2 on Friday and did a quick run to pull cards. We actually ran out of time to look at said cards before having to shower and put on the plaid. My good friend Buddy told me to go to a stand right behind the cabin called "Denny's stand" on the edge of a big bean field. Now I have wanted to hunt this stand since I have gotten on the lease 4 years ago but the one time I went to sit it, it was stolen. I put a new hang-on and sticks up and still never sat it. I guess it was always suspect to me because you can see the cabin from there. Oh, and the thievery.
I head down at 5:00 and get strapped in. Beautiful night. 66°, sunny and enough breeze to give you a fighting chance against the mosquitoes. Almost an hour in, a forkie heads to the beans and then back behind me. Then another smaller 6 point. They are back and forth and really close. Most times within 10yds. Then does show up in the food plot just to the South of me. Deer are flat on their feet. I hear some chewing behind me. I'm thinking to myself, "this 6pnt needs to go before he busts me". I don't even turn around because he is been all over me. Finally, for some reason, I turn around and just see "heavy" antlers. "Oh Sh*#" and grabbed my Schafer hanging on the hook. Split brow buck (I had no clue what deer it was at the time, too nervous) was within 5yds. He walked right underneath me. I had to wait for him to walk a little further out because he was too close. He got to 10yds and headed to the beans. I couldn't stop him because I thought he would spooked. He hesitated and I didn't.
Full metal jacket and VPA head was on it's way. Clean pass thru, mule kick and off he flew across the bean field (that's 3ft tall and becomes significant later). They shot was perfect up and down BUT... It was back a bit. Oh no, here we go. I thought liver at first and MAYBE one lung because he was quartering away a bit. The buck headed to an island of trees about 250-300yds away.
After the buck ran off, deer started moving everywhere. Smaller 8's, does behind me, east of me... Everywhere. I sat until they all moved off, texted Buddy and headed down to get out of there. My arrow was buried 6 inches into the dirt and covered with good blood and splatter on the grass around. Buddy and I decided to wait till 9:30 to take up the chase. I learned very important leassons on this buck
1. I have shot recollection amnesia. Where I thought he ran was not what he actually did.
2. Tracking blood in said beanfield is TOUGH
3. New LED flashlights and healamps suck for tracking. They wash the color out of everything.
We tracked blood till 12:30 and finally had to give up for the night. We made almost to the end of the beanfield and lost blood. We would find blood on the underside of the leaves of the bean plant because they were so tall. Our eyes were exhausted and had to quit for the night. The temperature was 48° and he should be ok. Every deer we have ever let lay overnight on this farm has been gotten to by coyotes before morning.
I didn't sleep a wink that night begging for sunlight. I just knew we weren't going to find him (I am a glass half empty guy, sadly. I like to think of myself as a realist). The light hit the beanfield that morning and off we went. It's amazing how things look different in the sunlight. Our marking tape showed the path and honestly, he was only 20yds into a DIFFERENT set of trees than I thought he ran. (There's my shot amnesia I have). I was SOOO relieved and happy we found him. A better buck than I realized AND the coyotes hadn't touched him at all. I am blessed my wife and girls put up with my hunting antics. I'll post pictures after this call I'm heading on
Topic: MO bow season (Read 47312 times)
