My first hunt is coming. Join me. (pics included)

[David Dumke]

Now I've been hunting with my grandfather before but I never held interest in it until I started shooting bows.

My grandfather used to hunt, until an accident caused him his sight in one of his eyes, with rifles. My brother still hunts with rifles but is fully supportive in my quest to down a deer, any deer willing to give me the chance (lest it be below moral standards of what should be harvested). I thought I'd give you a little walk through of the area I'll be hunting.

I arrive a little after 10:30 am and I meet up with my casual friend
   
Get's a little heart pumping later and it didn't sink in to my head to take a picture, some of you may laugh when I recap but we'll save the cows for later.          

A family friend and myself were caught examining where the camera would be pointing, and looking in the wrong direction. Then, I got excited (sarcasm) .
   

IT'S A DEER! (bottom right corner) And the reason I head back yet again to readjust the confangled technology. I love the idea of trail cameras, not to make the hunt easier, but to just see what's coming in on the days I'm not there. I knew there would be activity well before I placed my camera because I did the old fashioned scouting procedure. Found a bedding area some ways off near an area I REALLY wanted to put a stand, alas, it was taken. But I found a few trails the crossed paths and I set up camp near them. I was rewarded with the old fashioned procedure with a picture of what I was hoping for but not expecting.

Picture to follow.

[Bjorn]

Good start stick with it!          

[David Dumke]

Continuing on a bit, this is what I saw nights before.

 


Anywho, I got off track a bit with deer and would like to make light of this story in the current day.


After driving back with a quest to readjust my camera to the tree you see in the picture of the elusive deer ear. It's posted up higher but angled down using a stick I found near the tree. I checked the angle ten times over to make sure it was looking down to see anything that crosses by.

Now I reached my entry point after doing a quick scan of the corn field and picking some apples from a near by tree (with permission of course). I drove by my old friend and all of his friends and all was well. After circling back, and not passing by them a second time because it was unnecessary I left my jeep and started walking to my stand.

About half way through the stony field I hear a familiar, non threatening sound I'm used to hearing around these parts and at fairs. MOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!....

Now when I say I'm used to hearing them, I mean I'm used to them being penned up, in their feeding area, not 50 yards down range of me in a mass of 15 staring at me wondering what I am doing in their grazing area!

I'm sorry if it sounds silly to you but the last thing I want is to spook all of these cows in to running at a threatening object. But then I thought to myself, and talked to my brother while panting behind a near by tree trying to steady my nerves. I wasn't THAT scared but it got the adrenaline pumping. He reassured me that the cows go down there all the time. I knew this, I'd seen the cow pies... But I still wasn't happy to be sharing this moment with them. Well after talking to him for a bit I realized some thing. I'm in camouflage, 50 yards away from a cow, with a line of trees behind me. They are just wondering what is making the weird stomps in the distance. I laugh at myself and finish my walk to my camera.

On the way out I look to see if they are still where I last left them. The answer is no, they've moved and again I'm alert. I start walking lightly and scanning the pasture for any sign of movement and my wish is granted. A cow, singular, 50 yards out moving in the direction I need to go to get out. I look around for a big stick. What am I going to do with a big stick? Swing it if a cow decides to get feisty. Again, foolish sounding, but I'm not one to go down without making a stand.

In hind sight it was foolish. The cows were all grouped up and after seeing me the first time they didn't even care what I was doing anymore. I dropped the branch and hopped over the wire fence to my jeep and double checked with the property owner that they hadn't made an escape.


Well isn't that a thrilling day in the woods.      

I feel a bit foolish to be honest, being frightened of those cows. But I'm not a farm boy and I wasn't raised around any large animals. All I know is I always tread lightly, speak softly, and carry a big stick. In this case, literally.

Thanks for reading. Have a good season everyone. And if you aren't hunting this year, enjoy the stories. I'll be following up on this thread as a diary of sorts when the season starts.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

pretty funny.

My little brother used to run (sprint) in the other direction when cows presented themselves.

They wont hurt you, even when they run right at you, they will stop, just curious that's all.

all this from a guy who was trampled by a cow and scarred for life on my face.    

they wont hurt you.

[Bernie B.]

You had me riveted to the screen...Thanks for sharing your story.  An old time hunter told me about forty years ago that big bucks liked to hang out in areas where there are cattle.  I thought he was pulling my leg, but within a week I had shot a 203# 10 pt. buck from a cattle pasture.  Go figure!

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

[David Dumke]

Originally posted by Bernie B.:
You had me riveted to the screen...Thanks for sharing your story.  An old time hunter told me about forty years ago that big bucks liked to hang out in areas where there are cattle.  I thought he was pulling my leg, but within a week I had shot a 203# 10 pt. buck from a cattle pasture.  Go figure!

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

Thank YOU, and the others for reading and enjoying. Im about as stumped as anyone as to why the deer hang around cattle but I do know they love those corn fields I pass through.

But, yet again the good spots are taken.    at least that's what the others think. But we know where the buck is don't we?

I think ill enjoy this small secluded area over the open field to be honest. It'll make the hunt some thing more than just for a deer. Im thinking ill have the perfect opportunity to reflect as well.

[Butts2]

Cow laying down means its going to rain I was told....hmm. You'll have more stories and we'll read em. thx michigander

[David Dumke]

Today I went out to check my camera again. I made a blog post afterward; "31 pictures on my game cam, sure hope 28 are white tail."

Well, my wish was granted, but it was all of some pretty small youngins browsing the area. Once in a while the mother would come by with them, she looked healthy but her coat was real dark and had some spotting of brown. Not sure what's up with that but she was healthy looking enough. She wandered a couple times out of view so I'm thinking they might be coming in from that area and may be missing some shots. Gonna have to leave the area alone for a few more days after I re insert my SD card. Too much activity might be scaring off that buck. My patience has gotten the best of me but maybe fate will bring me what I'm looking for throughout the season.

Some pictures later.

[rxhntr]

I like the old road sign in the pic - is that telling the deer which way to go for perfect allignment? hahahah. good luck

[David Dumke]

Originally posted by rxhntr:
I like the old road sign in the pic - is that telling the deer which way to go for perfect allignment? hahahah. good luck

       

[Looper]

I just have to ask, how's your shooting going? Have you determined your maximum effective range? It seems like it hasn't been a month since you picked up a bow. That's an awfully short amount of time to become proficient enough to hunt.

I certainly don't want to discourage you, but you do need to make sure you have the shooting skills needed to make a clean kill. You'll regret it the rest of your life if you rush the process and end up wounding a deer and not recovering it.

If you are up to speed, shooting wise, it sounds like you've picked a good spot.

[Huntschool]

I liked the road sign also...  I kept looking for a STOP sign in front of the stand... Thought the new-bee city kid had a plan....  LOL

Also have to second looper's comments regarding your shooting skills..... not to discourage but you have done this quickly....

[David Dumke]

I agree with you all the I've come quick but I've been shooting quite a bit and my groups at 15 yards (which is what I'm comfortable at as of right now) are pretty solid. I was going to keep the stand disassembled if my confidence wasn't up to par and I stand with that statement. If I don't feel confident when I see a deer, it walks.

I'm not bragging by any means but I'm impressed with myself at how quickly I progressed. I'm pie plating from my effective range and was complimented by a compound shooter on how quickly I picked up on it.

but again, I assure you. If I don't feel comfortable with the shot or I am too shaky, I'll let my nerves settle and practice a bit more when I leave the stand.

[David Dumke]

As promised here are a few pictures from earlier.

May have scared the buck out with my scent but I'm going to let it get comfortable until opening day.

Here are a couple does, one well after dark and one with a few youngins.
 
^ If anyone can explain the discoloring of the does coat?
 

thats whats left of her summer coat

[Shawn Leonard]

She is gettin her winter coat!! Shawn

[kennyb]

David-I agree, the doe is getting her winter coat and that's why they can look a little ragged this time of year! I hunt in the UP too, not far from Escanaba. Where in the UP are you?
Thanks

Kenny  

[David Dumke]

Originally posted by kennyb:
David-I agree, the doe is getting her winter coat and that's why they can look a little ragged this time of year! I hunt in the UP too, not far from Escanaba. Where in the UP are you?
Thanks

Kenny      

Im hunting private land in Norway. About 30-40 minutes from escanaba.

[Looper]

Well, shooting a pie plate is a lot different than shooting a deer. More often than not, you'll be shooting from a position other than the one you use when standing in front of your target bag.

To get a better picture of your skills, I'd suggest doing some extensive stump shooting trips. Not one, but several. Don't pace anything off and use one arrow. Pick some small targets, leaves, clumps of grass, mushrooms, etc. Your arrow should be within a feather length of your intended target.

You should practice all sorts of different positions, kneeling, crouching, canting your bow, shooting twisted around backwards, etc. Shooting out of a stand introduces another set of challenges. If you're going to use a stand exclusively, practice shooting at spots on all sides of you, both near and far. You also need to know what your effective range actually looks like from up in your stand. Things look a lot different from 15 feet up. Make sure you practice while wearing all of your gear, too.

You really need to be honest with yourself. The first arrow is the one that counts. It doesn't matter if you can nail the target every time with your second, third, or fourth arrow. If you can't put that first arrow within 4 inches of your spot 9 times out of 10 at whatever distance from whatever position, you're not ready.

I've personally seen some very experienced compound bowhunters take a couple of months to get proficient enough to be able to use a bare bow well enough to hunt deer. And both of them were excellent athletes with above average hand eye coordination.

To be honest, I think you've started too late in the year to even consider deer hunting for this year. Most of us who have been shooting most of our lives, wouldn't consider changing our setups the month before the season starts. And we already have ingrained shooting forms. What you're attempting would be similar to one of us learning to shoot opposite handed, and less than a month later, going to the woods. And that, my friend, is not going to happen.

Sorry to be so blunt, but you've chosen a hunting method that is difficult. It is going to take discipline, and time to acquire the necessary skills. Having a good instructor can help you progress much more rapidly than without, but it still is going to take time. If you had started this in March or April, I'd say yeah, it's possible you'd be ready. You'd have time to get some basic instruction, ingrain those motions, get your setup tuned, get your mind accustomed to seeing the trajectory, practice different positions, etc. But there is no way all of that is happening in less than a month, not for anyone.

[Looper]

If you do want to hunt anyway, I'd suggest going after squirrels or rabbits, instead of deer. A miss is a miss, and a hit will usually dispatch one quickly. You'll also discover if you're ready for deer or not. You'll see how your nerves hold up and you'll have affirmation of your range. A good sized rabbit is about the size of a deer's vitals. A squirrel a little less than half.