Thinning the herd. . part DUH A wingnut, trashwood and Jason adventure. . we'r back

[trashwood]

A Central Texas  4 to 5 yrear old whitetail doe (we were on a doe only hunt) in very good shape weighs about 90 pounds not feild dressed.  They are beautiful. good mothers, and faster than an arrow.  

rusty

[wingnut]

Well that's a good start.  Jason and I arrived at Gil's place at noon on Friday.  The weather was great and we decided to set and move some stands before we set camp.  It took longer then we expected as the patterns on the ranch had changed and we spent a bunch of time finding where the deer and hogs were moving.

Finally we had a new stand set with great tracks moving between a bedding area and some big oaks that were dropping acorns like rain.

Back and set up the wall tent.  I know the little tent would have been fine for the weekend but the big tent is so comfy it's worth the extra hour to set it up.

Once we got that done and dinner on the stove we suited up and headed out.  I was hunting one of my old favorites on an oak flat and Jason decided to go for the new stand.  Boy was his choice the right one.

Mike

[wingnut]

Mine on the other hand was one of those where you get time for reflection.  Saw a couple of squirrels and that was it til my phone vibrated with about 1/2 hour of light left.  Jason said he'd just got a shot at a spike (only bucks we can shoot at this time) and thought he had a good hit.

I climbed out of the ladder stand and headed his way.  It took me a while to cover the distance.  I'd slipped in the bathroom in the morning and stubbed the 3 outside toes on my left foot into the door jam.  They now looked like purple sausages and were a bit sore.  So anyway I limpped my way out to the farm road and headed to Jason's stand.

We placed this stand on a crossing that was loaded with both deer and hog tracks that were smoking fresh.

When I got there Jason unfolded the story of his evening.  While I was sitting in solitude, he had company all evening.  The first hour was quiet but then when he was seated he caught movement to his right (offside for a right handed shooter that's seated).  A big 9 point walks out and stands about 12 yds from the stand.  He got a good look at the buck and thinks he's a 4 yr old and is about 2 inches outside his ears for width.  He'll be a dandy in a couple of years.

Well that got Jason jazzed so he stood up and watched for awhile.  Sure enough here come two does on the same trail. They stop in an openning at 18 yds and start eating acorns. Jason moves around into position to shoot while facing the tree.  Unfortunately he didn't test this position earlier when we set the stand and when he released the arrow the upper limb hit the tree limb above and the arrow floated harmlessly to where the deer used to be.

Well it was action anyway.  Back to waiting and watching.  Deer were moving across the farm road 100 yds below the stand and he could here them in the brush behind it. After another hour a spike comes out on the trail that the big buck had used earlier and stops at the 12 yds tree.  This time Jason was ready and drew to anchor while burning a hole in the spot in the pocket.  The arrow was away and the buck spun and was gone.  As it left he saw the arrow out both sides and was confident the shot had found it's mark.  Although it looked very low.

Need coffee!!

Mike

[wingnut]

Well a short trail later we found the arrow.  No blood and just a little hair and meat on the BH.  It was low, brisket low and the little buck learned a lesson.  We'll watch for him as the year unfolds and see if he's smarter.

We returned to camp too find Rusty had joined us during the evening and had a story of his own.

I'll let him unfold his tales.

We added the noodles to the turkey legs that we had been braising with carrots, onions and celery all afternoon.  It was a good hot meal too end a great first day in deer camp at Gils.

Mike

[trashwood]

I got there a little too late Friday.  I just had enough time to take a hunter stool and tuck into a ceader tree.  there is a strip of wood along a drainge draw that runs kinda east and west and almost upto the camp.  there is deer there funneling up to the paustures without fail morning and night.  

the winds are north and south.  since deer use both sides of finger you are just throwing the dice.  I was lucky I had the wind in my face and a group of doe coming up my side.  they always get to the head of the draw nearest camp with little hunting light left.  Unknown to me there was a group of doe coming up the down wind side just a littel behind my group.  the finger is very thick but very narrow.  jsut as my doe got to shooting range with just barely enought light left the downwind group got me.  stop my doe dead in her tracks just outside of my shot range.  she look the site over for a few minutes.  moved her head from one side to the other.  that is a perfect signal to not shoot.  she is keyed up and going to move at the little sign, noise, or movement.

she decided to back off the area and turn back down the draw.  about that time mike and jason were driving into the camp.

I was hungry/

rusty

[wingnut]

Saturday morning was more of the same with few deer seen but no shot ops.  The patterns we have seen in the past are not working this year yet so we have to get out and find the trails.  We don't hunt feeders and there are oaks dropping acorns everywhere.  It's just a matter of finding the trees they are feeding on and moving a stand into the travel route.

That sounds like a plan anyway.  Rusty and I walked back to camp and Jason brought the truck.  We found a couple of heavy travel routes and planned to go back with a couple of ladderstands in a couple of hours.

When we returned to camp, Daniel (Gil's son) was there and had a story that made me smile.  Daniel has gone over to the darkside this year and has a bow with everything on it.  He had a shot that morning at a doe and his new drop away rest  .. didn't and sheared off on impact.  It was quite a sight and a good laugh.  He did see a big 11 point buck with a forked brow tine.  Biggest buck we've seen since starting the QDM program 3 years ago.

Mike

[trashwood]

I know it is an untraditional thing to say but deer meat is not my favorite.  I much rather eat a pig.  that thought is always in the back of my mind when I select my stand   .  Last year I had an exciting encoutner with a bigger boar down by the loading pens.  Saturday evening I planned to go back to an osage tree stand or the one right down from it to increase my chances of seeing pigs or deer.  AS I was going back to the stand that even, things started off with a good sign.  A single big boar ran a across the culvert in front of my on the way down.  he was in high gear but I got out and poked around a bit.  there was no roots but some pig scat and tracks.  I sure didn't look used much so he might have been passing thru.  there was a heavy deer trail just to the side of the culvert.  It is going to be another situation like the one by the camp.  deer a travling east and west on a narrow funnel wind is north or south.  You will be throwing the dice to hunt it.

I saw 4 deer from the stand all well out of range.  On the wayh back to the truck I had an interesting encounter.  I pretty drak with no moon but the walk is down a two track road.  I did not have my light on.  there is seep hole to on the north side of the lane just before where I park.  there was a single young pig rolling in the seep hole.  it was too drak to shoot and I did have a bow I could use the hawglit on.  I walked up to about 10 feet of him before he realized I was not a cow.

After deer season I think we should go back with some corn and hawglites.

rusty

[trashwood]

I have been having a shoulder problem from a motorcycle incident.  It is not hurint any more but makes a lot of poppping and snapping when I draw a bow.  Mike built me some glass longbow limbs for a orion riser I had. I can draw it with out joint noise.  I am shooting the bow from a string walking crawl.  the litel bow is point on from the crawl at 22 yds.  I gap the arrow point from there.  too shoot the riser straight up and down I had to move my anchor point to my eye tooth and put the string blur in line with the point.  The 600 predators and 125gr strings were right at the eedge of stiff.  I would have been better off with 150gs up front.  as long as I hit my draw and didn't creep, I was shooting an honest sub 6" group at 22 yds. Mike and Jason built the riser of the heaviest wood the had an put extra glass in the riser for me.  Releasing the arrow from 1" under the nocking point can put a lot of strain on the riser right at the pivot. A good stout riser is a good thing for a string walker.

the longbow limbs string walk remarkable well.  when string walking longbow limbs (especially light draw ones) you have to have your grip very consistant.  A high wrist and a finger sling will let you shoot the longbow limbs very accurately from a crawl.  I think ya need a little higher anchor point than you do with split finger or two under

rusty

[Tom Leemans]

It godd to see Ritsy potsing stroies aggan.

[wingnut]

Saturday night after putting dinner on to cook, we headed out to our stands.  Rusty headed for the Osage Tree stand and beyond, while Jason and I headed to the other end of the ranch.  Jason wanted another crack at the stand he'd been in the night before and I went to a new stand we'd set on a two track along a fence line.  There were a bunch of tracks both deer and hog on this lane as they moved from bedding to some huge oaks on the ajoining property.  It is a well camo'd stand in a birch tree with a Yaupon tree in front of it.  With my Ghillie on you can stand 5 ft away and still not see me or the stand.  If you get a shot from that stand it's 8 yds.

The mosquitos were bad and I was wishing I'd brought my thermacell.  As the sun slowly crept towards the horizon, I saw a doe headed my way from the left.  The wind was perfect and she was about 50 yds out.  As she approached she was feeding on acorns that had fallen on the track.

At about 35 yds she turned around and fed back the other way.  Oh well, she's headed right for Jason.  Only 150 yds to go.  LOL

After the one doe, it got real quiet and I didn't see another deer that night until we drove into camp.  A group of deer were just outside of the lights of camp feeding.

Mike

[wingnut]

For Vance,

We made a moose stew for dinner with fresh baked rolls and a blueberry dump cake.

Well we still didn't have a deer on the ground and the last morning was approaching fast.  Rusty was focused on the pigs and trying to find the sounder from last night, so Jason and I hit the woods.  He went to the same stand and I decided to hunt the other new one we put in the day before.

I climbed up about 30 minutes before it started lightening up.  And as soon as I sat down a deer blew right behind me.  The wind was good but was blowing right at where that deer was bedded.  Sorry about that.  LOL

As the sun started to peak over the horizon, I could here deer moving in the brush behind me and accross the opening from me.  But nothing came down the trails that intersected in front of me.

At about 9, I was tempted to climb down and do some still hunting in the hardwood flat that was about 400 yds in front of me.  But I decided to sit another hour.

Good thing I did.  At 9:09 a doe came down the trail across the openning from my stand feeding on acorns and moving towards on of my shot lanes.

She kept coming and just two steps from the shot, laid down facing away from me.  I'm going great!  Now I have a bedded deer in front of me and can't shoot and can't get out of the stand.

After 5 minutes or so, I see another doe coming down the same trail.  She's more aggressive with her feeding and keeps right on coming.  As she goes behind a cedar, I shift my position slightly and raise my bow.  All I need is two more steps and a slight turn to the left.

She takes her time and I managed to stay somewhat calm.  Didn't figure I was going to get the shot, so why get nervous.  LOL

Then just like the script, she takes the two steps and shifts slightly to her left and bends down for an acorn.  It's time.  I hit draw, look low behind the shoulder (low being about hair line) and the arrow is on the way.  It flashes in the sunlight and makes the 18 yd journey very fast.

As it approaches the deer explodes forward and left.

two jumps and all is quiet.  Both deer are gone and all I can see is a very red arrow sticking in the ground on the otherside of where she was.

I checked my clock and it was 9:10.  At 9:12 the other doe comes back and slowly walks toward where the one I shot went.  I hear her cross the creek and sounds like she had trouble getting up the other side.  Another minute and she starts blowing on the other side.  Hmmm, that's interesting.  I will sit for 30 minutes then check the arrow and go find Jason.  He has better eyes then I do at following blood trails.

Well 4 hours later it's 9:40 and I get down out of the tree.  Yep the arrow looks like a heart or major artery hit.  Totally dipped in red paint for sure.  I stick it back in the ground and head uphill to find Jason.  As I get to the intersection of tracks I see Jason in full stock mode in his ghillie.  After 15 minutes he comes back as the deer had crossed into the neighbors property.

I told the story and we walked back down to the shot site.  The arrow was still red and there was a spray of blood leading back to where the deer had stood.  We looked for 15 minute before finding another drop of blood and it was 25 yds away.  I started following deer tracks and found 10 spots about the size of a dime and nothing again.  We followed the track again and also found where a second deer joined it.  Hmmm was this the other doe I saw?

After crossing he creek, the two tracks seperated going up the hill.  Jason took the left track and I took the right.  20 yds up the hill I looked to my left to check his progress and saw the white belly under a tree about 5 yds from Jason.  I said " check that dead deer to your left and see if it's mine".  I looked up and saw the deer then poked it and said "nope, not yours" LOL

We pulled it out from the tree and up the hill to where we could get the truck too it.

Then made the long walk back to where we'd parked.  Heck we were closer to camp then the truck.

I'll post a couple pics tonight.  Gotta run to Ft. Worth now.

Mike

[Altiman94]

I'm glad I could hear this story.  I can't wai to see pics!!

[wingnut]

Well we were bad about pics but here's one of the doe after we got her back too camp

 

Upon further review the shot caught the doe in full spin mode and entered in front of the right ham and exited at the last rib on the left side.  The entry was mid body and the exit was real high.

The Woodsman had severed the major artery down the back between the tenderloins and both holes plugged.  

Mike

[zipper bowss]

It sounds like a tough hunt but a good one.Im no Texas doe expert,but that looks like a good one.Congrats Mike!
Bill

[daveycrockett]

Pics of the ghillie please. I've often thought about using one.Congrats on the doe!

[wingnut]

We'll try and take some Ghillie pics today.  Like I said we were real bad with the cameras this weekend.  Trying to shoot deer is hard work.  LOL

Mike

[Sharpster]

Well done Mike    Everyone tells me those Texas whitetails are a hypersonic sub-species... sounds like this one wasn't quite fast enough.  

Ron

[Bill Turner]

Congrats "Wingnut". Sounds like a great time was had by all. Thanks for sharing.

 

[wingnut]

Yep the dang Texas deer are quick and nervous.  These are calm compared to watching them on a feeder.

I don't think I've ever shot at one that didn't duck one way or another.  This the first I've had jump forward though.

I was lucky the arrow found the artery.  It could have been a long day.

Mike

[tmccall]

Good story!  Thanks for sharing.