Lets see here. Where was I ?
Right.....just to recap. 31 Dec. I settled into my stand around 3 ish and waited for the feeder to go off at 4 pm. As you can see from the pics, the view is fairly obscured. I sat quietly, patiently, and most importantly motionless for the next hour. I daydreamed of big bucks, shooting straight and my family. When the feeder went off I was deep in thought and about jumped off the stand. After my heart slowed down I intensified my concentration. Anticipating the deer to arrive. The feeders act like dinner bells in some locations and I was expecting lots of guests.
Well, the dinner guests were late. I sat for about 30 more minutes and there was nothing. Then suddenly I saw movement in the trees to my right where I could see some of the open field. It was two does coming into the feeder. They feed for a couple of minutes and I kept noticing them looking over their shoulder. It ended up being a little fork horn that hung back from the feeder until he felt comfortable. Shortly after the fork horn arrived three more does came in.
I sat and watch those guys eat for about 30 minutes and a little devil appeared on my shoulder. Like I mentioned in the last post, we all agreed, in the truck before Robert dropped us off, that we were hunting bucks. But for some reason I kept wanting to shoot another doe. I thought " we are allowed two does on this license, I should just shoot another and get it off my mind. What’s the harm in that, right? Why not, I am here to have fun. But wait.... I said I was after a good buck. If I shoot a doe, I might ruin my chances at a buck".
Man, this little battle started in my mind. For 10 minutes I fought with myself. Shoot the doe! Don't shoot the Doe! Back and forth. While all of this was going on the temperature started dropping and I was getting chilly. Ok, down right cold. I knew I should have put on my jacket. Now I am covered up with eyes. There was one doe that was probably 12 or 13 yards at all times.
So, I am shivering and having a mental battle with myself when I see some movement near the feeder. It is annotated by the green dot.
It’s a buck. I see antlers. At first the antlers look kind of big, sorta long. But the branches of the old oak tree are deceiving my depth perception.
Then the buck steps totally out from behind the tree. He looks distorted, his rack is towering above his body! His body looks so little! It’s like someone strapped a caribou rack on his head. Yeah yeah, I know. I am loosing it. He feeds closer to the right side of the feeder. I look away, first into the trees to see if there is anything else hiding. Then at the does that are in the area. I move my eyes back to the buck. Yep, he's still there and he still looks big. My heart starts thumping more now. I have had a minute to allow my rational judgment to take over and he still looks big. I try to make sense of how big he is. I start doing math. So, a mature whitetails ears are approx 6 inches in length. Right....OK, and the spread from ear tip to ear tip of a buck, when alert, is 14 to 15 inches. Check !
Good Lord, I am shivering and I think I am going to have a heart attack. My heart is really pumping. Heck, I even feel for my cell phone to see if I can get to it if I have a problem.
The buck feeds in a zigzag pattern in front of the feeder. Yep, in front of the feeder, on my side. I never have this kinda luck. Back and forth. First to my left, he is constantly broadside headed left, then back to the right. Broadside. He is probably 18 or 19 yards. My heart is out of control. So I try to do some logical thinking. Don't look at his rack, pick a spot on the ground that you will be comfortable with. A spot that will be the one that’s says shoot. While doing all of that I decide to make a practice draw on him. Oh yeah, I know what your thinking. The last time I practice drew on that doe I shot her. But not this time. He is a little bit too far. I am not comfortable.
He is feeding back towards my right, I wait till his head is down and slightly turned away and I draw. Slow and easy I have worked my bow into position. When I get to full draw, 54 pounds at 26 inches, something causes all of the deer to alert. All of their heads snap up and he just happens to be looking in my direction. I even feel like he is looking directly at me.
@#$%& %$&#@ !!!! Yep, you heard me !
I am holding full draw and I am shivering. I seem to have plenty of strength but the shivering is giving me a fit.
The buck, after what seems to have been an eternity, resumes eating. I let down the bow and come to rest it on my lap. "Goodness, I almost blew it!".
Most of the other deer have feed out of the way. They are out about equal with the feeder on both sides.
The buck has been feeding to the right and when he turns to feed back to the left, he takes a few steps closer to my stand. I can’t believe my luck. He is now going to feed right into the spot I have decided I am comfortable with. My concentration is on his front left leg now. He is broadside and I am waiting for him to take a step forward with that left front leg. He turns slightly quartering away. All the while I have brought my bow into a shooting position and have a little tension on the string. I find a little calm in my concentration and my heart has settled down a bit.
And it happens!
He takes that last step forward !
Topic: Solana Ranch -What a ride into the New Year (Read 60472 times)
