there was a good south wind this afternoon and the high was in the low 20's. Perfect for this spot. When I got there the decoy I had left disassembled but leaning against the big oak was covered in snow. I brushed the snow off it and thought what if?
Removing the antlers I set it on the stake out in the middle of the plot and climbed the 20 foot ladder. My wind was blowing directly towards it. But my thinking was it would pull a deer from the right and left and I would shoot well before they got in my scent stream.
Early in the afternoon a doe and two fawns were suddenly standing thirty yards from me eyeing the decoy. They had come up the East Bluff. Deer when approaching from that direction suddenly just pop out into the field. Because the way the hill falls off you just can't see them as they come up.
They spooked. hmm I thought, but I left it out there. At sun set I looked down the field to the West and on that end in front of that stand was a doe feeding. It threw up its head every once in awhile and stared in my direction at the decoy. Then it did the same thing to the north. Suddenly there were more deer coming into that end of the food plot. I looked to my right to the East and a doe was standing there staring at the decoy. I slowly removed the bow from its hanger.
Then I heard snow crunching directly behind and below me. 5 deer were on the steep trail that comes up directly behind the stand and goes in to the field just to the right of the stand. Perfect!
Fawn #1 goes thru the shooting lane followed by fawns #2 and #3. But both does lock up and are staring at the decoy.ARG!!!! They are both standing in a spot where I can't shoot. The fawns are out in the food plot mere feet away from the decoy and could care less. They are digging for food, kicking snow in all directions. Both does turn to their right and loop around my shooting lane and out in to food plot. Their focus is on the decoy!!, The more dominant doe starts to trot to towards it and goes behind it and you guessed it caught my wind! She snorts ,whirls and every deer near me and on the other end of the field exit. So even though the decoy did its job of distracting the deer, had I not set it out, I would have most likely had a 10 yard quartering away shot on an alarmed deer! Darn!!!!
I was shivering now and got down a little early. So it was a littler lighter than normal by the time I am down far enough on the buff to be able to see the lower food plot. I think I am pulling every deer for a mile into the farm. I counted 18 in the plot and another 8 making their way towards it in the empty corn field in front of the yurt. So that makes for a total 37 deer I saw this afternoon!! My food plots will certainly be exhausted long before I had hoped. I had hoped for enough food to last thru the antler shedding season. I doubt there will be anything left by mid next month.
Tomorrow is the final day. With over thirty deer out back we will certainly try a push in the am.
Topic: 5 pines farm 2012 semi live (Read 10790 times)
