Follow a couple weeks of close calls but no shots then yesterday morning I slipped into the ladder stand on the old pond. Just after daylight a couple does and their fawns came in but I hadn't realized there was still a decent puddle of water at the far side of the pond. Naturally they went to it instead of the much bigger pool under my stand. At nearly 30 yards I decided to let them walk and was still kind of holding out for a buck since Montana hadn't offered any bonus doe permits this year.
A couple hours passed and out of a nearby draw several more does came trotting in right to the same hole of water. Following up the rear was a nice buck that I'd seen a few times. He shoved the girls out of the way and went right to watering. He was sidewize to me and perfectly still so I decided to try him. Turns out 29 steps was too far, once again I stuck a shaft into the dirt under his his chest. After an initial start they settled down and went right back to the water again but I just sat and watched thinking I would moved the stand after they left. An hour later that task completed I headed back to the house for lunch and to get a little work accomplished...
Before I realized it was nearly 5:00 in the afternoon and I knew I didn't have time to sneak into the tripod so decided to make a short trip down to a ladder stand in a small alder bush I'd put up a couple days before. I watched a few antelope going under the fence and watering in the river and the alder was the only thing close enough. These are typically kind of wobbly but work for me. I just gather up a bunch of the small branches, wad them together, throw a ratchet strap around the whole mess then tie back to whatever is handy to help stabilize things. I'd also cleared a shooting lane thru the thick willows and alders to where the tracks were the thickest on the river bank.
The stand is only 300 yards up the river from the house so it was a short run on the ATV but on the way I spotted a buck and doe heading toward the river. I knew it was going to be a close call getting to the stand before they were within eyesight of me so I just ran the ATV into the brush bailed off and made for the stand. They got in sight before I could get in so I was moving like molasses in January but finally made it into the stand. A few minutes later the doe slid right under the fence, bailed into the river and swam to the other side leaving a frantic buck on the wrong side of the fence. The silly buck spent nearly 30 minutes deciding he could get under the fence he'd probably been under a dozen times. I nearly tried him thru the fence a couple times but was just too worried about getting tween the wires cleanly.
Finally he ducked under and trotted by not 4' from my ladder but going too quickly for a shot. Then to top it off instead of going to the cleared shooting lane he went up the river ten yards further the drove his nose into the water. This left me with a 20 yard shot but it would be thru the brush. By leaning far to the right I could see his shoulder clearly with his head behind a clump of grass and a hard quartering away angle. I drew back concentrated on the little bare patch of hide behind his shoulder and let fly. He tried to spin away at the sound of the shot but spun right into the arrow taking it just below the ear at the base of the skull. Dropping in his tracks his head went into the river and he was drowned by the time I got down to him. While not intentional it just don't get no cleaner than that, a really short blood trail for a cripple and not one bit of blood shot meat...
Thanks
Topic: 2013 Antelope Season (Read 1137 times)
