Back from Chincoteague...pics and story of the bull with 9 lives. I'm getting there!

[threeunder]

Back from Chincoteague.  My 7th time there, but my first bowhunt.  Really truly enjoyed it.

We were there to hunt Sika.  The Sika is a small member of the deer family that is a very close cousin of the elk.  The subspecies here is from Japan.  A boy scout troop originally brought seven of them to the eastern shore to use as a fundraiser by charging people to view them.  Whitetails would also be legal.

A mature Sika bull (sometimes called a Stag) weighs about as much as a year and a half old whitetail buck.  A mature Sika cow (sometimes called a hind) is a little smaller than a year and a half old whitetail doe by around 20% or so.

The Sika's rut hits in October.  They act not unlike elk at this time.  They whistle/bugle and there is an increase in cowtalk.

As some of you know, Wednesday morning I asked for words of encouragement as I had just had a bad morning.  The members of TG came through and brought me out of a very low point in my year.

All my hunting was done from the ground.  Most of the setups were in travel areas or feeding areas.  We also called a bit trying to sound like rival bulls or talky cows.

Monday morning we hit an area that was back up off the marsh quite a bit.  It was near the Refuge's residential area and butted up against the residential area buffer zone.

At 0915 I had a spike Sika bull come in just to the left of the tree near that fence (center left of photo).  

         

Other side of the fence is a safe zone.  He crossed the fence and stood broadside at 21 yards.  As I hit anchor he caught movement, he ducked my arrow and ran just a few steps and started giving their alarm bark.  Our hunt that AM was over after that.  I also had another one sneak in from behind me on this stand, but only caught a flash of it through the briar tunnels.

Monday evening we went to another zone that was more marshy.  It had both freshwater ponds and saltwater marsh.  Set up off the freshwater marsh beside a feeding area and next to a wallow that looked really fresh.  you can just make it out in the photo under the taller tree.

         

[threeunder]

We heard 3 different bulls whistling (bugling) here.  One circled us and tried to get our wind, but he never showed.  We had positioned ourselves so that our scent blew out across open marsh into the channel.  Apparently, that was not to his liking.  LOL.

I've always wanted to hunt elk.  I love turkey hunting and know that elk would be addictive.  This is as close as I get for now.  BTW.  It's also very addictive (I won't be going back for any other hunts there except the bowhunts).  I don't believe they are as responsive as it sounds like elk are, but they are very vocal this time of year.  Really made our hunt interesting

We had decided that Monday would be our easy hunt day and day to get acquainted with the sign we weren't able to see on scout day Sunday.

We intended for Tuesday to be the time to hit a sweet spot.

[threeunder]

Tuesday morning we hit the beach...LOL...figured we'd hunt off the beach in an area with marsh, sand dunes, and myrtle thickets.

My partner saw 3 Sika cows on the way in.  No opportunities

We had found an unbelievable amount of sign in an area Monday afternoon.  Both whitetails and sika were traveling through this area from bedding to food.  Here are a couple of photos of the sand in the area.  We knew we were on to something after we realized the tracks in the sand didn't last long at all.  This was it!

   

   

[threeunder]

Found what I thought was a good location for Tuesday morning.  About 80 yards off the myrtle thicket.  Probably 150 yards off the ocean on the last dune closest to the myrtle.  Game time!

View from that morning's stand was awesome!

MOAB, AD Trad-Lites, and VPA's were ready to go.

   


Me on the walk-in for the afternoon hunt.

 

[reddogge]

Consider yourself lucky to even get a shot at a Sika.

[threeunder]

From this area, wind was SSW.  Blowing from about 10 o'clock as this photo is taken.

At about 11 am, I caught 2 whitetail does sneaking from the thicket.  They would pass to my right, but definitely out of range.  I knew they would catch my wind and stand and blow and blow and blow.  After confirming they were on a trail that would not offer me a shot, I stood up and just walked toward them a bit.

They exited without making a sound.  Really hated to do it that way, but the lesser of 2 evils was the one I chose.

At 12:48, I watched a Sika cow walk the edge of the myrtle thicket from right to left.

That's when I started thinking I may not be in such a good location.

Now, my buddy was off to my left about 150 yards in a position similar to mine.  He wasn't hunting with trad gear, so that's about all I will mention about him other than to say...

At 2:30, I heard a whistle/bugle.  It was close.  Grant shot me a text and asked if I just called, told him no.  At that point, I knew the bull was close.

Grant got an arrow in him about 3 minutes later.  He then got a second shot, but unsure about the hit on the second shot.

The bull made its way down to me and walked the edge of the myrtle all the way down from left to right.  His head was was low, but he was just walking.  I knew at that point, it would not turn out well.  He walked for about 150 yards down the edge.

It was a very long antlered  bull.  Appeared to be a 2x2 or 3x3.  He had the longest antlers I've ever seen on a Sika.

We waited an hour and hit the trail.  Blood was dropped straight down along the trail.  There was not a single area where it brushed up against anything.  All the blood was fairly bright red, no bubbles.  Started a moderate amount and gradually faded over about 250 yards...I figured a muscle hit.  We lost the trail about an hour before dark, made circles as best we could in the myrtle thicket on our hands and knees.  Finally gave up and could only hope such a magnificient animal would survive.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Great Photos!  I would love a hunt there!

[threeunder]

That left us with day 3 of our hunt...Wednesday...the final day.

Time to go for broke.  The one thing that would hurt us was an easterly or partially easterly wind.

[threeunder]

Charlie,
I would recommend it for anyone.  It is a lottery process.  They take 125 hunters for each hunt.  Hunts are Mon, Tues, Wed.  You have to be there for an orientation meeting Sunday.
There are 2 bowhunts each year.  Rarely does everyone show up for either of the hunts.  All standby hunters got to hunt during our week.

[damascusdave]

Thanks for posting...even those in the frozen north know about Chincoteague from the book "Misty of Chincoteague"...are there still horses there?

DDave

[threeunder]

Yes Dave,  I'll put some horse pics up toward the end.

[LimBender]

Beautifully strange hunting scenery.    

[threeunder]

I'll go ahead an put some of the horse photos up.  One of the things about hunting Chincoteague is the horses.  Got some very nice photos of them this year.

I'll get back to our hunt in a bit, but, until then, enjoy the horses of Chincoteague...

 

 

 

 

 

[threeunder]

Will be back tomorrow to finish this one up.

[Bud B.]

Great thread Ken!! Love all the pics including and especially the horses.

[Keefer]

WOW a "97" Pinto don't see many of those these days   :D   Remins me of all those weekends on Assateaque Island which sisters up to you guys in Virginia...I started hunting down there with a group of about 6 others in 1980  and we camped,hunted,fished off the beach,ate like kings and hunted some more...This was a good week to hunt those siks'a cause they usally start thier rut mid October...The whistle is something you never forget once you hear one...I used to have bad leg cramps everytime from all the push's we done and walking towards the bay areas near the marsh's...If you are like me and like to ground hunt we used to set up near the tunnels coming out of the Laurel that were traveled heavy and wait till nearly dark when the deer would just appear...If you ever tracked one in the Laurel the siksa tend to stay on the trail and if you found a old crab apple tree you best believe you better hunt that area...Thanks for sharing the pics..

[lt-m-grow]

Very neat.  Great story so far...

So the horses are wild I take it?

[damascusdave]

Looking forward to the rest of the story...and thanks for posting the horse pictures...nice to see they are still there

DDave

[VictoryHunter]

[threeunder]

The horses are "wild".  The local fire company takes care of them and does a yearly roundup (mostly of the year's young) and auctions them off.
They roam free on most of the refuge.  I think that's about 8,000 acres or so.  They add so much to the feel of the place.  Just wouldn't be the same without them.