My story begins in mid August when I placed a trail camera in a funnel between bedding area and an alfalfa field. I very quickly got pictures of a bachelor group of three bucks. Morning and night like clockwork they would move in front of my camera coming and going.
About a week past of regularity when I decided to hang a lock-on stand in a tree on the North side of the funnel next to an overgrown field. 25 yards to my South was a steep banked creek that paralleled and made up the opposite side of the funnel.
I've been bow hunting for 19 years and things were looking good for my first velvet buck. August 31st the night before our Kentucky season opened I went out to the site grabbed my trail camera off the tree and went to the house to find three more mornings and evenings of the three bachelors. The only problem was that sometime between August 29 and 30 the best buck of the group and my targeted deer had shed the velvet I was so looking forward to running my hands over.
Opening morning found me slipping down the overgrown field toward my stand site. Once settled I watched as the morning came to life. At 7:15 I noticed movement at the opposite end of the field, a nice buck, and then another, and another. The item I had forgotten this morning were my binoculars so I couldn't be sure if it was the group I had come to know through my computer screen or not. They fed around for a while and then slipped back into the thicket they had come from.
At this point I thought my day had come to an end. But 10 minutes later I noticed one of the deer had returned. Then finally the other two came back in the field as well. At this point they fed around a little while longer and then slipped into the upper end of my funnel. My hopes were back up. With the thickness of the cover and not wanting to be spotted at the last minute I stood and began scanning for any sign of movement.
I stood for as long as my feet could stand it and then sat back down wondering if they had bedded or slipped away undetected. Finally at 8:25 I saw movement. It was the nice 8 point I've seen many times that was hanging with the 9 and a smaller 10. At that point I was sure these were the boys I was hunting. Then behind the 8 came the 9. They were angling over toward the creek and coming my way at around 35 yards. The 8 got to the creek and turned coming my direction. The 9 right behind came on the same trail. Unlike at the beginning of the morning the wind was blowing from me to the creek at this point in the day, and I just knew any moment the 8 was going to bust up the party. As soon as the 9 got broadside I grunted. He stopped and snapped his head my way as I was slowly pulling back the string. I got to my ancor and let the 2016 go. My 5 inch white fletchings were a beautiful site as they flew perfectly toward their target. The arrow hit a little high of mid-ship but perfect left and right. As the deer busted out of there I noticed the blood gushing out where the Muzzy Phantom had hit its mark.
I got down in the opposite direction and went to the truck and waited very impatiently until 10 a.m. to go get my buddy. We returned to my stand and walked the 23 steps over to the creek bank to the site of the impact. Immediately we found allot of blood to follow. After a short trial we found him expired in the edge of the field in the high weeds. Man I hope I never lose that feeling.
Hope you all have a wonderful season and are blessed as much as I have been.
T.J.
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Topic: Opening Day Success in KY. (Read 965 times)
