Longbow extravaganza week (updated with buck pics)

[two4hooking]

A few ASL aficionados, including a well known ASL bowyer, got tired of non-resident cap western hunting and decided to convene on a large public hunting area with n Western Md to chase whitetail.

Day one had us setting up in light rain. Hunters bedded in early after a long journey. After a dinner of hot pheasant noodle soup and venison strap steaks the wall tent woodstove sent hunters to bed early. One bunk stands empty awaiting a fellow longbowman the next day.

Tomorrow I will wake before the sunrise. The rain should clear out.  And the rut should have animals moving.

But for now rain pelts the wall tent fly in a rhythmic patter. The temperature drop hangs breath in a frosty suspension.  Inside the stove is warm and dry. Sleep will come quickly, tomorrow brings new adventures. Longbow and waldrop seat will ambush a trail scouted the previous year and chance will determine destiny. 

I’ll update as the hunt progresses. We have a week. 

[Michael Guran]

Looks like a great trip so far.  I just made the long drive from E TN to coastal NC for a work trip, and the only dead deer I saw on the road were bucks, so I think they are starting to chase.  Good luck and keep us posted!

[two4hooking]

A bit of sprinkles still Tuesday morning, but that tapered off by the time I arrived at my ambush spot.

Was a beautiful morning but nothing came around until I was leaving and a deer on the opposite ridge blew at me and bounded over. 

That afternoon camp got one bigger when Dan showed up.

We shot stumps around camp and I buried a dutch oven full of pheasants and taters. 

We drove to a clearcut to hunt in the evening and spit up on a still hunting drive.

As Steve and I walked the road two deer bounded across ahead of us. They were moving early. The following deer looked like a buck but I couldn’t tell how big.

Steve went up the creek and I topped the ridge sneaking up high. Looked great and saw good sign of deer and bear.  Near dark I spotted movement 60 or so yards ahead and raised my glass. The doe following saw my movement and two deer moved over and out. Darn.

Shortly after I spotted Steve in the creek bottom and he had found a decent 8 point dead head.

We went back to camp and enjoyed a fine meal. At least we were seeing deer.

[BAK]

Looks about as good as it can get, enjoy.

[evgb127]

Awesome. Following this one. 

[GCook]

It's a good looking camp.  Good hunting to y'all.

[Ben Maher]

Camp looks great …. Bet it’s wall to wall scent locker and string walking heaven 😂😂😂

[two4hooking]

Don’t know how to keep my pictures from going sideways from phone. Wednesday was a foggy start. Steve and I hunted down the road from camp. There is a big clearcut there that ends at a steep ravine.   I was a pulling out to head back to camp and stumbled on a stick. There leaving the ravine was the biggest buck I’ve ever seen on this hit hard part public area.  I’ll be back to try for him later!

Back at camp we had the first annual “dong shoot”. A dropped hot dog made for good spot at 30 yards.  Mike was the big winner.

Good times.

[Roy from Pa]

Greg, I fixed your pictures.

Cell phone pictures are a challenge at times.

If you have a photo editor on your phone, open one picture at a time, reduce it's size to the lowest setting,  and then rotate it 4 times at 90 degrees back to normal then save that.

[Tim Reese]

Sounds like a great time!

[two4hooking]

Thursday morning we drove 45 minutes away from camp to hunt a nearby management area that we knew held more animals than the big mountain woods where we camped. It was also a long wooded ridge line that the deer held up on.

Arriving just at dawn’s early light, Chris and Walt dropped off lower on the slope and the two Steve’s and I spread out along the ridge with me anchoring the farthest position.

I found a seat on a deadfall overlooking a trail crossing sidehill and an open bench to the front. About an hour in I see 3 does about 70 yards away.

I watched them feed for about an hour, bedding, moving, feeding, but bot getting closer.

Finally about 1030 I decided to try a stalk. It was crunchy fresh leaves covering loose rocks on a steep side.  I wasn’t optimistic but went for it.

It took me about an hour to get up to the thickly brushed are they were working into. I never saw more than one deer at any given time, so I expected to be busted at any point. They all fed off into this thicket and I crept up close thinking they must have already fed out the other side, or ran off without me knowing.

Then. i looked over and there was a deer feeding with head down only 20 yards away and there was an opening in the brush that just covered the vitals. Maybe a  10 inch hole at most, but I felt I could make that shot. I loosed and immediately regretted it as the arrow deflected and I heard the thump of the arrow hitting a log beyond.

They all rushed to the far end of the thicket and out of sight. Bummed, I got myself together and went to collect my arrow, sure of a miss.

I gawked in horror though as my arrow was barely in the log and covered in stomachy digestive slime! No, a gut shot!

Looking uphill I see the 3 deer run uphill. The last deer having a bright red blood spot near the back leg. I froze watching with my binos as 2 deer finally trotted to the right into a fold in the mountain. The 3rd didn’t join.

I backed out and went towards the truck. At the trail, I bumped into a flock of 7 turkey all with beards. 60 yards...no way for that shot to be successful. Besides I had a doe injured.

We all decided it was best to leave and come back in the evening.  So we drove back to camp and had a long lunch break.

I drove solo back that evening not very hopeful.  The others could hunt unless I needed help.

As I eased up onto the area I had a big doe broadside at 40 yards feeding.  I didn’t want to risk that shot, no way.

I took great time and care examining the area for blood but nothing. There were 2 exit trails out of the thicket and I only saw some chopped up leaves on one so I chose that. No blood still.

Sneaking up into the blowdown area I saw her last, I glanced right and dead in a blowdown root ball depression was my deer. God bless!

The ace standard head tore a big hole and  a softball sized ball of guts blocked the blood. She was still warm and not stiff. Glad I didn’t push her.

[Michael Guran]

Congrats on another fine animal.  That’s a great accomplishment stalking in the crunchy leaves and shooting one from the ground.

[charlie chocks]

Way to go Greg! Nice finally meeting you too! And these guys are gonna go bonkers when you post about the remainder of your foray into "my little part of the world!"

Matt

[two4hooking]

Glad you could stop by at least for a little while anyway. I’ll definitely keep in touch when we “head west” again.

[rastaman]

Way to go sir! Awesome looking camp and countryside!👍👍

[Tim Reese]

I love these kind of story threads. Makes me feel like I’m on the trip too. Lol. Congrats.

[two4hooking]

That night I worked hard cutting up meat and getting it on ice. It was warm, in the 70s during the day. I cleaned up the ribs and stuck them on the fire iron to roast. That young doe was good. Staps, ribs, and a good snort of bourbon had me feeling fine.  Still, I was looking forward to my cot and stumbled toward the hiss of the coleman. Ready to hunt around the camp for that big buck while the others went back to the better area.  I can only get one of each sex in this area, so I was chasing antlers from now on.

There was at least one big one there, but I was not optimistic as I blew him out a day ago.  I had hunted this area for close to 30 years and the doe today was only the second deer I had ever shot there. Regardless, if I didn’t see another animal the rest of the week it would still be an epic hunt.  I was the host on this one, and I hoped the others could get into some action too!

[two4hooking]

That morning I was up early despite knowing I was not hunting far from camp.  I made coffee and egg sandwiches and saw off the others that were making a 45-minute drive to another area.  Steve S. from NC was leaving that morning for his hunting lease in Ohio, and I had a long conversation with him, thanking him for coming, and wished him well.  I left him after sunup and walked down to the drainage I kicked out the large buck two days before.  I was set up a little farther South from where I busted that buck at a place where another valley entered.  I set up my Waldrop packseat against a large tree on one side of the steep hill that was in bow range of a place on the other steep side where a deadfall fell toward the drainage causing a choke point.  The wind was a little variable but blowing steady uphill away from the far slope.  Here is a picture of the scene.

It was a rare chilly morning that week, and I was enjoying watching the sun creep slowly down the opposing slope for about an hour when the silence was broken by a deer crashing over the steep ridge to my front at full speed. I expected to see a buck chasing a doe, but quickly realized the front animal was an antlered buck…a large one.  The animal that appeared chasing him at full speed was a coyote! 

I watched them both streaking across the opposite slope, then they turned and came back midway down the slope.  After they passed even with me, another coyote appeared over the crest and joined in the chase.  The buck soon had enough of the sprinting and stopped turning to face his attackers.  I watched him turn and chase a yote 50 yards, then rear around and go after the other.  I was in shock watching this scene out of Marty Stauffer’s Wild America. 

The thought of pulling out my phone and videoing the scene crossed by mind, but I pushed that aside and told myself this may be my chance to get close enough for a shot while the buck was “distracted”.  I made up my mind to go for it and take a chance. I didn’t think they would come closer for me.

I stood up, folded my packseat and back quiver, and slung it over my back.  At a trot I moved across the ravine and up the opposing slope as quietly as quick movement allowed.  Climbing steeply, I slowed as I came to where I had last seen them.  Glancing at the floss on the end of my limb I realized the wind was blowing slightly uphill from the thermals.  Thinking that the wind gave me away, I listened and looked for a sign.  Finally, after several seconds that seemed like minutes, I saw a white tail above the brush.  Stalking toward him, I was able to move about 10 yards closer when he turned and faced my direction.  I froze and watched as he moved side to side facing his dispersed attackers.  He was now in bow range, quartering slightly toward I saw a massive animal, sun glinting off his rippling angry coat.  He took a skip forward and cut loose with a bellowing snort and saw snot spray shooting out several feet from each opposing nostril.  He was royally pissed! 

He continued to move back and forth putting me at half draw several times.  Through all of this I could not see the yotes and they could not see me.  Only the chest of the buck was visible. Finally, one of them put the buck around 25 yards and broadside.  His shoulder rippled in anger as I picked out a tuft of fur behind it to focus on. 

[Tim Reese]

Cmon we need the end to this story!! Lol. Killing me!!!

[two4hooking]

Sorry Tim, I'm still writing it up....  I'll post a little more since your "antsy".

I don’t remember anything of the shot.  The arrow impacted somewhere back from my aim point.  He immediately reared and started towards me at a full run!  I noticed the look on his face had turned from “Anger” to “Panic”.  I fumbled to reach back for a follow-on arrow as he jumped passed me at barely three feet and I noticed my arrow with poor penetration appearing to be low in the back quarter of the animal.  I reached anchor again as he was around 30-40 yards away and at the same time, changed course slightly downhill and my arrow missed by several feet.  I am very familiar with busted elk sounds, and he was crashing through deadfall and brush similarly, as he passed over a rise continuing to bowl over fallen wood.  He seemed to travel far by the sounds, then all was silent and I was left shaking in the low angled sunrise.  My mind struggled with what to do.  It seemed like a gut shot and common advice would be to pull out and wait many hours.  I could find no easy sign near where he ran by, there was no obvious trail of exit, and the rocky terrain was not easy to see prints.  If I let him lay the yotes would likely find him quickly if he was down, they were already on his trail.   He was obviously exhausted and the yotes were on him because he likely had an injury or was weak.  I was going to gamble and go hard for him.

I pulled back to camp, got my binoculars which I had forgotten, and stripped off many layers of clothes.  The terrain was mostly open and good glass would help me greatly.  Most of the other guys were a few hours away, and Dan would not respond to my texts, so I left camp on my own to beat the yotes and hoping for the best.

Dropping back into that ravine, I quietly started creeping along and glassing the opposing hillside. I gambled he continued to run downhill to the drainage.  I worked along both hillsides alternating and glassing the opposing sides.  Whenever I crossed the drainage or a good trail I scrutinized the litter for sign but found nothing.  Taking my time and being careful I might kick him up without being ready, and constantly peering way ahead though the thick river bottom brush.  I was about 45 minutes into the trail and 150 yards away from the shot now and getting worried.