Generally, you might think that a hunt that did not get the big buck might be a bit of a disappointment, but this weekend was actually very exciting. Saturday morning, I had a small doe walk in under the stand. For about 15 minutes she browsed all around me at a distance of 6 or 7 yards. She looked up at me numerous times and never made me out. I sat STILL. I held back on the shot, thinking that with the rut on, the big buck would surely come along. He did, too! He came into the edge of my kill zone but did not quite give me the angle I needed. When he did turn the way I wanted him, there was a small shrub in the way, so I did not chance a shot.
He was pretty nice. He had 8 points with good height and spread. Mass was good but not really great. However, he would certainly have merited taxidermy. It would have been nice to get him. Nonetheless, it was exciting to see a good buck close in.
A little later another buck came close. This one was smaller than the first but still a nice deer. He became distracted by a sound over in the woods close by and veered off course. Had he continued straight, he would have come right by me. Boy, three deer close by in the span of less than an hour, when previously, I had difficulty seeing that many over an entire weekend.
No hunt on Saturday afternoon due to other obligations, but I was back out there Sunday. That morning started out sort of bad. As I turned in off the highway onto the property, I saw a buck in the headlights but he immediately ran away. Also, I forgot my flashlight, and my patch of woods was really, really dark. I waited till a trace of light was breaking through and was then able to locate my stand. I saw 4 deer (this was the same stand I hunted the day before), but none came close enough to consider a shot. Still, it was nice to be be seeing numerous animals.
Sunday afternoon was as busy as Saturday morning. I got into a different stand and was putting on my camo hood and gloves. Before I got both gloves on, I heard something coming my way and was certain it was a deer. Fortunately, I got that second glove on and was ready literally seconds when the deer showed up. It was a whitetail parade. Three does in a line came by at about 6 yards. Keep in mind my ladder stand is only about 7 feet high, so these girls were close. They never busted me. I just knew this many does would be followed by a buck, and sure enough, here he came. His massive rack consisted of spikes about 3 inches long. I can only guess what that young buck was thinking while following all those does... Delusions of grandeur, no doubt. He also passed at close range and stopped in front of me as if posing for the shot. I held off, though, still hoping for a mature buck. This time, however, the big boy did not come.
So with all that action, I never dropped the string, but it was still a really great weekend to be in the woods. Just think, with a rifle, all of these deer would have been gimme shots, but then, would the level of pleasure have been the same? No, it would have been just another easy kill, just a Ho Hum sort of outing lacking in challenge. I guess all this is why I love the bow so much.
Topic: What a weekend! (Read 419 times)
