I won't soon forget this hunt.
Well, Mama called me today at work and said she was taking our daughter to get her hair done. Ahhhhh ok honey, I'll go hunting then! Haha.
I went straight out to the truck to see if I had all my stuff. I had about everything in the truck except for a pair of clean hunting pants. Oh well I am sure the deer wouldn't mind my jeans.
3:30 came and I turned the light off in the office and hit the road. I arrived at the farm, gathered my stuff and headed to a stand I have had up for about three weeks. The South wind today was perfect for it as it was in the North fence and it was facing South in a corner of the corn field and a wood lot that had a well used trail from a thick over grown bedding area.
As I sat waiting for deer thirty I was texting Lowebow and some movement caught my eye. It was a coyote trotting in fast. I stuck my phone in my pocket and went to grab my bow off the hanger. Well the broadhead hung on a small stick and the arrow fell off my string. It hit my stand and made a very loud metal clanging noise and fell to the ground. The coyote high tailed it out of there. Now as it was dead still and with the deer I was expecting being bedded no more than 100 yards away I knew it would be highly unlikely if I saw any deer this evening from this site.
So I quickly got down and headed off to the spot I shot the doe the other night. But with the south wind I knew I couldn't get up in my stand as the wind would be blowing right across the trail up the ridge that the deer use. So I got on the opposite side of my stand and found a good spot to stand in the cedars. At this point it was just before 6 so I knew I didn't have long before something may be coming. I snipped out about 4 or 5 branches and put my bow on my boot and waiting.
It wasn't long and I noticed a deer coming up the trail through the weeds and right in front of my tree stand on the opposite side of the tree line I was hiding in. It was a young 8 point buck. I reached for my phone and snapped a few picts of him.
It wasn't long after he walked off I noticed more movement. It was the yearling I took the photo of the other night that walked out under my stand. The other night just behind this yearling came her mama. At this point I had no intention of shooting another doe. But when I caught more movement coming I thought "What the heck I am on the ground and if she presents an opportunity it would make for a pretty cool hunt." At this point she was maybe 20 yards away and through a bunch of leaves and small trees. She suddenly snapped her head around and took off. I readied myself as I figured it was a rutting buck aggravating her and he may come my way. I never saw any buck but maybe 3 minutes later I noticed her coming back.
This time she didn't hesitate and walked right in front of me. She paused about 12 yards out and broadside and looked as if she was looking for her youngun. Her mistake. The Grizzly head was on its way. It hit her perfect and she bolted off. What happened next I have never seen in all my deer harvests. She went wide open for 10 yards and hit the ground like a pallet of bricks. I peeked out of my hide and saw her over the small hill floundering and seconds later no movement. She was dead in maybe 6 seconds. I have never seen one fall in 10 yards like that when speeding off. I stepped out of my hiding spot and walked right to her. My hiding spot was in the cedars in the background of this photo.
I immediately took all my gear up about 100 yards and rushed back to drag her out of there as this is a great spot and I didn't want to spook any others in this area.
Thank goodness a buddy texted just about this time to see how my hunt was going and he happened to be passing the exit I was at off the highway on his way home from work. I asked him if he could pull off and give me a hand and he did. Thank goodness for friends as it has been raining here and was very muddy. With the conditions I wouldn't have been able to get my truck close and it was going to be a long slick, sloppy drag and this doe was a very healthy specimen. Needless to say it was going to be very hard on an old man and I was very thankful for him.
Sorry for the long winded story but I really enjoyed the mis-happenings of this hunt and the way it all played out.
Topic: Great hunt story! (Read 2566 times)
