Deer season snuck up on me this year, and I ended up setting up a treestand this past Saturday in a spot where I’ve had success in the past. The area is more overgrown than ever, and I made quite the ruckus getting in and setting my stand up. I decided since I was already in the area I would hunt until dark. The afternoon proved to be quite windy, with gusts making it hard to hear. I figured the deer movement would be minimal but sat it out, and at 4:30 I heard footsteps behind me to my left.
A doe had slipped in directly downwind of me, and had caught my scent. She snorted, stomped her feet, and even ran in a circle, but continued to stare at the base of my tree for around 15 mins. At that time I heard steps in the thick brush slightly above where the doe came from. A buck worked his way out, completely calm, unphased by the doe. He slowly worked out in front of my stand and stopped behind a tree to feed. I noticed right away how large the body of this buck was, and decided I would take the shot if given the opportunity. A few minutes later he took a few steps, and stopped to continue feeding with his onside leg forward and slightly quartered away. He was about 8 yards, and I took a moment to draw back and pick a spot. I released and the arrow hit right where I was looking, coming out his offside leg. He crashed within 75 yards, and I knew he was done. He is the biggest bodied whitetail I’ve harvested to date, weighing in at 205 pounds field dressed!
-Jake