Nine the hard way(more pics pg. 4&5)

[ksbowman]

Sat my old dependable stand Yesterday morning.Climbed in at 5:30, the moon was so bright when the clouds had occasional breaks it was almost like daylight. The wind was out of the southwest at around twenty miles an hour and it was 60 degrees.This stand is basicaly a north to north easterly wind stand ,but I sat another stand Sunday and watched two bucks(one a nice 8pt) walk under old dependable. Not very good deer hunting weather, but the rut was winding down some and you can't kill a deer from your bed.It was my 37th time out this year.This has been a strange year. Usually there is alot of activity during the prerut in October, but this year it just didn't happen here. It finally kicked in on November 13th, but it wasn't the prerut it was the real thing. Being retired has it's benifits, but also your just getting older.Just before daylight I closed my eyes for a minute and when I opened them back up there was a new grey blob about 50 yards out. I raised my binoculars to gather more light and it was a buck.

[rastaman]

[bretto]

C'mon tight-lips quit teasing.

[BMN]

37th time out!! Ben, you're killing me. Looking forward to the rest of the story.

[Bonebuster]

Patience is a bowhunters most deadly weapon...BUT I HAVE NONE!!!!

From your description, I can see the area around your stand, illuminated by the moon. I can see the clouds moving swiftly, allowing the moon to shine through. I can see the "blob" through the binoculars, I can feel the unseasonably warm wind, I can hear it`s effect on the grass, I can feel the humidity...and then suddenly NOTHING!  

[K.S.TRAPPER]

 

Tracy

[ksbowman]

On the morning of October 30 I was sitting this same stand and a buck came in before daylight and legal shooting time. He was inside 20 yards and I could see the glow of antlers, but without binoculars there wasn't enough light to tell much else. When I slowly got the bio's up I could see he only had one side to his rack. The first buck I shot with a bow 34 years ago had only one good side.Character some people call it when things are alittle different, but interesting. I thought to my self this guy has character. Before good light came he wandered off. Then never saw him again, old bucks are like that. They never fall into predictablity if they can prevent it. After standing for about five minutes he was looking my way then towards a cut to the south of my stand.As he turned his head I saw only one side to his rack. I decided then if he came in I would take a shot, but I needed more light.

[Friend]

My DVD player will only stay in the pause mode for so long.

[Bonebuster]

   :D

[ksbowman]

He then started down the gentle hill coming right towards my stand. I call this stand old dependable as I see more deer close out of it than any of my other stands. It is on an opening thru a pasture that has an old lane going thru. Twenty yards to the north is an oak tree thats has an annual scrape under it right on the opposite side of the opening. The opening is a natural funnel. At thirty five yards he stopped again and looked right at me. My stand is on a small elm tree nestled between two large cedars and it is not real stable especially in wind like we were having.Even though it was not quite light I adverted my eyes away from him as I feel deer can sense you looking at them. He continued to look at me and then the draw behind me. There was a doe in the draw he was dogging, great that will help keep his mind off the glob in the trees! He stood for about 5-10 minutes just looking the situation over. The longer the better as it was getting increasingly light. Then proceeding forward ever so slowly he stopped in my opening broadside.

[Bonebuster]

OMG....

[ksbowman]

I had good, legal light now and he stopped at 17 yards to check location on his doe. It was so windy I decided to make the shot seated as the tree was swaying and seated would lessen the movement of my bow. I drew and released in one easy movement and the wind noise covered any sound I'd make. The quiet thump of the bow was followed by the thud of the arrow striking home. He spun and made that mule kick a heart shot deer makes and took off to the north going under the little oak and out of sight 35 yards to the north. The 2215 Easton with a Zwickey four blade Eskimo was sticking in the ground after passing thru with a big patch of hair laying beside it.                Fifteen feet to the north this started    

[Kip l Hoffman]

A truely beautiful sight to a bow hunter.  Way to go my fellow Kansan.

[justin ammons]

lovin it!!!

[ksbowman]

I sat and waited for 30 minutes after I heard the last crashing of brush just a few seconds after the shot. The bow I was using this season was my 40 year old Pearson Mercury Marauder TD 64# at my 29" draw. From the time I got into archery in 1972 I'd always wanted one and I finally got one this last winter setting aside my Palmer to second seat. Earlier this season out of the same stand I shot a yote at 33 yards and needless to say I have alot of confidence in this bow. Well lets see if we can find this old warrior! I climbed down from the from the stand and went to the arrow. The amount of hair really concerned me, because I normally associate this much hair with a lower hit. As I followed the trail even a blind old fart like me could find steady blood without his glasses on. Fifty seven yards later and where I'd heard the last sound of breaking brush there he was under a cedar.                                             Before he was field dressed I took him to the barn and weighed him. He weighed 190# live weight. Nice size Kansas deer. I've only shot one with a larger body weight and ironicly my first 34 years ago with the character rack was it at 208#.My title "Nine the had way" describes his rack, early during velvet he had broke his main beam and still formed four small points on his bad side making him a 9 pt. the hard way!

[Huck]

Great read, Great story!

Congrats!

Huck

[Jerry Jeffer]

Nice story and nice buck. Congrats!

[Bowwild]

Good story, great shot, neat old bow, and great pictures!

[LV2HUNT]

Good stuff, congrats!

[K.S.TRAPPER]

Fantastic Ben!!    I knew the deer were in trouble the way you were shooting that cool bow this summer. And it sounds like the coyotes better watch out too!!

Congrats my friend    

Tracy