Well I know my other thread is only a couple days old but wanted to give a recap of the this past weekends hunt when it is so fresh on my mind.
I guess you could say it started last year at my FIL place which ive dubbed the honey hole. Last October i killed my biggest deer to date a 151" buck. So coming into this year I was very omptimistic about what I might see. I decided to put out a trail cam on a trail leading up to my stand in July and wouldnt you know it, it crapped the bed when I checked it a couple weeks later. I then decided might as well just glass the field on the weekends when I could go down there, which is about 45 minutes from where I live. In early august I went out and wouldnt you know I see 4 bachelor bucks coming out of the pinch point where my stand is. A nice wide racked buck followed by three smaller bucks, another one maybe a shooter. Only one other time do I see the wide racked buck about 2 weeks later, then gone.
The season kicks off and its painfully slow with no bucks for the first 3 weeks, but the doe activity is good so im hopefull. Fastforward to the 1st of November and the honeyhole is picking up with does on the move and smaller bucks en chase. I still hadnt seen any shooters and definetely no wide guy. Well last friday the 14th I do an afternoon hunt and same thing 2 small sixes chasing and dogging does all over the place.
Which brings us to saturday the 15th. Since I hunted the previous night, I wasnt about to ask the wife to hunt, I knew what the answer would be, LOL. She had a wonderful day planned for us out in Amish country eating and shopping, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. Well we dropped our daughter off at her mom and dads(the honeyhole) and we were off. Since I have the sickness, all day I just kept thinking maybe if we get back in time I can sneak out and hunt a lil. Luck was on my side, we pulled in the driveway at 4:10 pm and the first thng she says to me is, "You want to go hunting dont you?" haha. Being the loving wife she is, she could tell I was itching to get out there and relented.
So I throw my camo on, grab the xbow, and now I have a decision to make, take climber out which weighs about 25 pounds or just hoof it back there and sit. I decide its not worth the weight and beeline it into the woods. On my way to the spot I have to walk through small patch of woods and then into a field to my spot down the hill another 300yds. I make my way to the edge of the field and lady luck was smiling, no deer that I could see that would bust me, and I make my way to the funnel where I usually have my stand. I get down there and find a nice tree with some brush behind me looking into woods. THis spot is good because it feeds off a flat shelf where they bed and a dry creekbed that parallels it on one side and a steep ravine on the other. The clock now reads 4:35 pm and I have about 40 minutes of good daylight left. The first thing did when I sat down was hit the grunt tube softly, because sitting in the leaves made a hell of a lot of noise.
I had been sitting on the ground not 2 MINUTES when I hear what I think is leaves rustling coming from the shelf. I look up and standing there about 60 yds is a deer, and............ hes old wide rack himself from this summer coming down the trail. Of course buck fever sets in and thoughts of why is this the only time ive decided to sit on the ground and not be in a tree stand! He is definetely looking for does thrashing branches and scraping the ground. He makes his way towards me and at 25 yds veers to my right and goes behind some briars. I now have a decision to make, how close do I let him get since I have no cover in front of me and I now have to strain to my right to get a shot off. Well he comes out from behind the brush and is standing at 20 yds slightly quarter to me when I let off the shot. He kicks and and bolts back toward the shelf, mule kicking with an arrow sticking out of him. He runs to about 60 yds and stops and then walks out of sight. For the next 5 minutes I listen, and I THINK I hear him thrashing around. After sitting there for what seemed like an eternitey, prob 5 minutes, I get up and walk to where I shot him and theres blood, not a lot but a good sign.
I now back out and call my dad who is about 10 minutes away. Excited I tell what just happened and he says let him die ill be up, DONT PUSH THAT DEER! are the last words of the convo. He shows up about an hour and half later and we make the trek back to the spot. Now Im 29 years old and almost everything Ive learned about hunting has come from the old man. So we start tracking the blood and its not a lot but consistent every 7-10 yds or so. My dad says, You hit him in the leg, thats leg blood. My heart sinks and im pissed! Now as many on here know you never stop looking for a deer and my dad and I are no different, so we continue on. At this point we track another 60 yds and we come to a spot with a small pool of blood and my dad says, looks like he fell here. Not 10 seconds later we here leaves rustling, flashlights shoot up and........
There he lays!!!! My dad and I look at each other and are both thinking now what. Well he comes up the plan to use the rope we have to lasso the antlers and wrap it around the tree. I know not the greatest idea but its all we could come up with. Well we slowly walk up behind the deer and go to implement the plan and, its not needed, he had expired! So now I go to look at where I hit him, sure enough my rage 2 blade had hit where the front right leg connects with the body almost severing it and continued up under the armpit just nicking the heart on the way in.
I know this has been a long write up but like so many on here have said, your luck can change in an instant!! Having a wonderful wife, no treestand, 40 minutes of daylight, and old wide rack come together for a most memorable hunt.
I guess you could say it started last year at my FIL place which ive dubbed the honey hole. Last October i killed my biggest deer to date a 151" buck. So coming into this year I was very omptimistic about what I might see. I decided to put out a trail cam on a trail leading up to my stand in July and wouldnt you know it, it crapped the bed when I checked it a couple weeks later. I then decided might as well just glass the field on the weekends when I could go down there, which is about 45 minutes from where I live. In early august I went out and wouldnt you know I see 4 bachelor bucks coming out of the pinch point where my stand is. A nice wide racked buck followed by three smaller bucks, another one maybe a shooter. Only one other time do I see the wide racked buck about 2 weeks later, then gone.
The season kicks off and its painfully slow with no bucks for the first 3 weeks, but the doe activity is good so im hopefull. Fastforward to the 1st of November and the honeyhole is picking up with does on the move and smaller bucks en chase. I still hadnt seen any shooters and definetely no wide guy. Well last friday the 14th I do an afternoon hunt and same thing 2 small sixes chasing and dogging does all over the place.
Which brings us to saturday the 15th. Since I hunted the previous night, I wasnt about to ask the wife to hunt, I knew what the answer would be, LOL. She had a wonderful day planned for us out in Amish country eating and shopping, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. Well we dropped our daughter off at her mom and dads(the honeyhole) and we were off. Since I have the sickness, all day I just kept thinking maybe if we get back in time I can sneak out and hunt a lil. Luck was on my side, we pulled in the driveway at 4:10 pm and the first thng she says to me is, "You want to go hunting dont you?" haha. Being the loving wife she is, she could tell I was itching to get out there and relented.
So I throw my camo on, grab the xbow, and now I have a decision to make, take climber out which weighs about 25 pounds or just hoof it back there and sit. I decide its not worth the weight and beeline it into the woods. On my way to the spot I have to walk through small patch of woods and then into a field to my spot down the hill another 300yds. I make my way to the edge of the field and lady luck was smiling, no deer that I could see that would bust me, and I make my way to the funnel where I usually have my stand. I get down there and find a nice tree with some brush behind me looking into woods. THis spot is good because it feeds off a flat shelf where they bed and a dry creekbed that parallels it on one side and a steep ravine on the other. The clock now reads 4:35 pm and I have about 40 minutes of good daylight left. The first thing did when I sat down was hit the grunt tube softly, because sitting in the leaves made a hell of a lot of noise.
I had been sitting on the ground not 2 MINUTES when I hear what I think is leaves rustling coming from the shelf. I look up and standing there about 60 yds is a deer, and............ hes old wide rack himself from this summer coming down the trail. Of course buck fever sets in and thoughts of why is this the only time ive decided to sit on the ground and not be in a tree stand! He is definetely looking for does thrashing branches and scraping the ground. He makes his way towards me and at 25 yds veers to my right and goes behind some briars. I now have a decision to make, how close do I let him get since I have no cover in front of me and I now have to strain to my right to get a shot off. Well he comes out from behind the brush and is standing at 20 yds slightly quarter to me when I let off the shot. He kicks and and bolts back toward the shelf, mule kicking with an arrow sticking out of him. He runs to about 60 yds and stops and then walks out of sight. For the next 5 minutes I listen, and I THINK I hear him thrashing around. After sitting there for what seemed like an eternitey, prob 5 minutes, I get up and walk to where I shot him and theres blood, not a lot but a good sign.
I now back out and call my dad who is about 10 minutes away. Excited I tell what just happened and he says let him die ill be up, DONT PUSH THAT DEER! are the last words of the convo. He shows up about an hour and half later and we make the trek back to the spot. Now Im 29 years old and almost everything Ive learned about hunting has come from the old man. So we start tracking the blood and its not a lot but consistent every 7-10 yds or so. My dad says, You hit him in the leg, thats leg blood. My heart sinks and im pissed! Now as many on here know you never stop looking for a deer and my dad and I are no different, so we continue on. At this point we track another 60 yds and we come to a spot with a small pool of blood and my dad says, looks like he fell here. Not 10 seconds later we here leaves rustling, flashlights shoot up and........
There he lays!!!! My dad and I look at each other and are both thinking now what. Well he comes up the plan to use the rope we have to lasso the antlers and wrap it around the tree. I know not the greatest idea but its all we could come up with. Well we slowly walk up behind the deer and go to implement the plan and, its not needed, he had expired! So now I go to look at where I hit him, sure enough my rage 2 blade had hit where the front right leg connects with the body almost severing it and continued up under the armpit just nicking the heart on the way in.
I know this has been a long write up but like so many on here have said, your luck can change in an instant!! Having a wonderful wife, no treestand, 40 minutes of daylight, and old wide rack come together for a most memorable hunt.
