Holiday Time in the Woods

[Interseptor]

I have always loved the time spent in the woods during the holidays.  Time away from work to spend with family and friends is a treat!  And to top it off, being able to slip into the trees is an extra bonus. Morning hunts always work best for me during this time because my folks sleep late every chance they get. Most times when I make it back home around 12:30, the wife and kids are just getting up.  Though my wife does complain that my son is an early riser and wakes everybody up.  I just smile because he is my little hunting budy and this year we have spent more time hunting together.  Well my holiday started off on Monday morning in this tree.  
Its getting cold here in the upstate of SC and I had every stitch of cold weather gear on that I own. 75% of the leaves have fallen off the trees but there is still enough left to break up your outline. Squirrels must have been cold because they didn't move till almost 8:30. Boy I love watching the woods wake up during this time of year!  The turkeys were even cutting off the roost.  I listen to them fly down off the property that I was hunting to the other side of the neighbors next door.  While taking all of this in, I was also planning the rest of my day.  I would get out of the tree at 11:00 and head to the house.  We were going to mom's house to help prepare Thanksgiving dinner and just have some family time together. Thursday morning, the plan was for the family to go and chear my wife on as she ran in her second 10K event.  I often find myself planning and just sorting over my thoughts from a tree stand.  And the cold air seams to help the process. The sun rose around 7:00 and around 7:30 and the first deer showed up on the ridge that I was hunting. The sight of that deer made me forget about the cold.  The path she was on would bring her just past my tree on the upper side at 10 yards.  I stood up to ready for the shot.  And just as quickly as she appeared, she disappeared. The doe stepped down into a dip and followed it north which took her up and away from my position. Strike one.  Is was good to see her though.  So I sat back down to enjoy the view.  The turkeys were giving a calling leason on the other side of the bottom and I was learning.  Then at 9:00,  I picked up movement on the other side of the hollow.  Because some of the leaves were still on the trees, I could only see shadows.  Soon I could see a spike slipping down the opposite side of the bottom.  He hit a low area and crossed over to my side on a trail that would bring him just below me.  Another opportunity to sling an arrow.  The spike was moving as if he were on a mission to find a little company.  Well if he gave me the chance to shoot, I would not let it pass.  So as he made his way up the ridge, I readied for the shot. At 15 yards, the perfect shot fell apart. The spike was traveling up hill which ment he eventually was looking directly at me. I stood motionless but he picked me up anyway and blew out.  Strike two.  You can't complain as long as you are seeing deer.  10:45 and I'm counting down the time till I get down.  Over on the neighbor's property, a dog begins to bark.  We have had problems in the past with some folks who live in the area trustpassing and turning dogs out to run deer.  As I listen to the dog run, I hear the crunch of leaves from behind me. I turn just in time to catch a doe on a trail that will bring her close to my stand.  At fifteen yards, she hangs up.  By this time Im trying to turn so I'll be on the right side when she passes. For a moment, she hesitates not sure of what side she wants to cross on. And then as she makes her mind up to pass on the left side and I get ready for the shot, you guessed it, the dog next door barks and she spooks.  Strike three.  Im not to upset (but my budy who owns the property and actually had this dog mess his hunt up was). Oh well I'll come back Friday morning.  Thats what I like about holidays. You can plan multiple hunts.

[maineac]

Glad you were able to get out.  Sounds like a great hunt.  Thanks for sharing.

[MCNSC]

Doug,
 Sounds like a great day. Like I tell Wayne "shooting a deer can sure mess up a perfectly good hunt".
   There is more to this story. Isn't there?    :D  
 We need to plan a hog hunt after the first of the year.

[Interseptor]

Well fast forward to Friday morning. We cooked the turkey, my wife ran her 10K, and we just hung out as a family. So on Friday morning, I slipped back into the same stand and watched the sun come up.  This morning not quite as cold as the first hunt of the week, but that could have been because I had an extra layer on and heavy boots too.  The plan today was the same as earlier in the week.  Hunt till 11:00 and hang out at with the family for the rest of the day.
The hunt started out just as it had before minus the turkeys.  They must have found a different spot to roost this particular morning.  But the song birds and the squirrels were there to pick up the slack.  I was awfully cozy sitting in the stand with wooly booger mits, heavy stocking cap, and ice king boots.  I'm telling you I don't like being cold. And as the sun began to rise, for some reason I kept my eyes on the field which was located on the opposite ridge.
   
This was the same field that the spike had skated earlier in the week before crossing the bottom to get to my side. Well at 9:00, I caught movement along the fields edge.  A doe was slipping up the side of the field looking for danger. One doe turned into two, and two turned into three, and three turned into four, and four turned into five.  Five does moved up the side of that field.  They stepped into the woods at the elbow of the field and stopped to survey their next move.  I stood up and pulled out the can call and turned it upside down. I have had success with call does in to close range with the can, its not just for bucks.  The lead doe picked up on the bleat and lead the group down the into the bottom headed my way.

[Interseptor]

One by one in a straight line, the does made their way up the ridge.  It was obvious that the lead doe was looking for the source of the bleating.  As they got closer, I looked for the place to take the shot.  I wanted to shoot the lead doe. She worked her way into range and stopped behind a clump of small trees. She scent checked the air and looked around.  When she stepped out, I would have my shot. The doe stood behind the for what felt like forever.  As she finaly took those last steps, I came to full draw. "Pick A Spot!" I kept telling my self.  My concentration was on that spot right behind her front leg.  The string slipped from my fingers and the arrow had perfect flight.  The Tiger Shark tipped CXE arrow was lined up perfectly with the doe. The only problem was that it was a little to high and flew over her back.  Rats!  She jumped and ran 20 yards and froze.  The other deer were on high alert!  I quickly scanded the area for another target.  The number two doe was just 10 yards behind the first. That deer's head and neck were shielded by a large pine but it's front legs and ribs were exposed. I thought to myself, "You better take the shot!  It's the only one you have."  The deer was in range and I came to full draw, picked a spot on the ribs and dropped the string.  The arrow looked perfect. But as the arrow dropped, the doe the doe spent around and all five busted out of the bottom. "Drats!  I misted again!"  Oh well, it had been a good morning and it was only 9:00.  My first arrow was sticking out of the ground and I figured that my second had slid up under the leaves.  "Get down and get those arrows before another deer comes along."

[Interseptor]

So I lower my bow and get down to retrieve my arrows.  The first arrow was stick up out of the ground so it was easy to locate.  I was worried about the second.  I thought I heard it slide under the leaves.  I walk down to where the second deer was standing and began kick the leaves aside trying to find my arrow.  After five minutes in one spot, I began to get nervous.  I only had three Tiger Shark heads left.  I didn't need to loose any. Where could the arrow be?  I began to move to the left just up the hill a couple of steps from where the deer had been standing kicking through the leaves.  I moved just five feet and then
 .  Surprise, surprise, surprise.

[Interseptor]

Blood!  I hit him!  I ran back to my tree and grabbed my pack and bow.  When I got back to the place where the blood was found, I walked a couple more feet and found this.
 

[Interseptor]

The trail was glowing in the sun. Every so many feet I found something new. I followed to trail into a little dip and found this.
 

[Interseptor]

Now I'm really getting excited!  It seems that when I shot the deer, everything happend so fast that I didn't realize that I had hit the doe pretty good. The blood trail was awesome!
 

[Interseptor]

Just past the blood tree,I found the doe pyled up just 20 yards up the trai!  It was such a blessing!  I gave thanks to the Lord for granting me such an opportunity!  Its not the biggest deer, but when you shoot them with a stick bow they are all trophies.  I am having a ball this season with the Hoots recurve and the Tiger Sharks. When I got her to the deer processor, the guys could not believe the design of the head or the damage it did.  I really feel blessed!

[MCNSC]

 
That looks like quite a hole!!

[ti-guy]

Nice story!Congrats!  

[Richie]

Good job, thanks for sharing.  

[Keefer]

Congratulations and I thought by the looks of your bow profile that was a Hoots recurve...Better contact Lee so he can add your pic. to the 2012 year dear count taken with a Hoots !    Maybe just maybe he will post our pics on his website if he's nice enougth  :D

[LV2HUNT]

Congrats, nice blood trail.

[joe ashton]

fall colors...

[wooddamon1]

   

[goldflinger]

Very nice! Congrats and a good story.

[HawkeyeArcher]

great job!

[drewsbow]

congrats