Bowtech84
Well-Known Member
Was kind of down when I seen the predicted north winds for my week of vacation beings the main farm I hunt sets up best for winds out of the south. After messing around on less productive farms most of the week I decided to risk it last Thursday with light variable winds predicted and hoped the thermals would be enough to keep me undetected
I got in early and was welcomed by the sound of a deer blowing as soon as I got settled in. I thought I screwed up at that point but with more north winds predicted the following days I decided to stay put and see what happened. When I had enough light to see I went to put on the hbs but when I went to grab it from the hook it fell out of the tree. Great start.
The morning started out slow with no deer sightings and I was really second guessing myself on the thermal idea. I made the decision that if I hadn’t seen a deer by 8 I was going to climb down and retrieve the hbs so at least I was comfortable. 8 came and I did a quick scan and spotted a lone fawn through the trees in the creek in front of me. I let it go by then gave it another 15 minutes and was ready to be warm so climbed down and got it. When I got back up to the stand and sat down the plastic clip on the hbs clanked the stand and the hillside beside me came alive. I watched deer run out of the top side of the pocket and I could tell it was a doe with two bucks in tow but couldn’t get a good enough look, they were gone.
Shortly after 2 fawns came down the creek and bedded in front of me. They would alert me to any deer by their body language long before I could hear or see them. A few lone does/fawns trickled through then Something caught their attention out in front of me and shortly after a doe came over the hill with a decent buck and a dink behind her. They chased her around on the neighboring property for a bit then she jumped the fence and headed right for my stand. When she got to about 20 yards she stopped and got nervous. She knew something wasn’t right but just wasn’t quite sure.
Both bucks stayed at the fenceline (50 yards - I have permission to hunt both sides) and watched her reaction. She started stomping and walking away. This made the bucks and fawns nervous and they all bolted at once. So much for hunting thermals I thought. After they cleared out I checked the wind but it was still non existent. I was debating getting down but instead chose to climb in the hbs and warm up eat my king size peanut butter Twix and then decide. I was halfway through my 3rd stick when another doe came running from the same spot as the last but this time with two fawns following. I knew something was up so I stood and grabbed the bow. All 3 of them jumped the fence and turned to look back when I noticed a rack coming down the trail. I instantly knew what buck it was and if presented a shot was going to take it.
The buck wasted no time jumping the fence and was running the doe and fawns around in front of me. One of the fawns stopped by a small bush that I had already ranged at 40 yards and when he headed over to check her I drew my bow preparing to take the shot. Before I squeezed the doe ran to 20 yards and I knew it was just a matter of time before he did the same so I chose to wait. He made that fateful mistake I thought he would and I whacked em at 22 yards. As soon as I released I knew the shot was perfect. He made it about 40 yards and tipped. Another great memory!
Congrats to all that have tagged and good luck to those still trying!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I got in early and was welcomed by the sound of a deer blowing as soon as I got settled in. I thought I screwed up at that point but with more north winds predicted the following days I decided to stay put and see what happened. When I had enough light to see I went to put on the hbs but when I went to grab it from the hook it fell out of the tree. Great start.
The morning started out slow with no deer sightings and I was really second guessing myself on the thermal idea. I made the decision that if I hadn’t seen a deer by 8 I was going to climb down and retrieve the hbs so at least I was comfortable. 8 came and I did a quick scan and spotted a lone fawn through the trees in the creek in front of me. I let it go by then gave it another 15 minutes and was ready to be warm so climbed down and got it. When I got back up to the stand and sat down the plastic clip on the hbs clanked the stand and the hillside beside me came alive. I watched deer run out of the top side of the pocket and I could tell it was a doe with two bucks in tow but couldn’t get a good enough look, they were gone.
Shortly after 2 fawns came down the creek and bedded in front of me. They would alert me to any deer by their body language long before I could hear or see them. A few lone does/fawns trickled through then Something caught their attention out in front of me and shortly after a doe came over the hill with a decent buck and a dink behind her. They chased her around on the neighboring property for a bit then she jumped the fence and headed right for my stand. When she got to about 20 yards she stopped and got nervous. She knew something wasn’t right but just wasn’t quite sure.
Both bucks stayed at the fenceline (50 yards - I have permission to hunt both sides) and watched her reaction. She started stomping and walking away. This made the bucks and fawns nervous and they all bolted at once. So much for hunting thermals I thought. After they cleared out I checked the wind but it was still non existent. I was debating getting down but instead chose to climb in the hbs and warm up eat my king size peanut butter Twix and then decide. I was halfway through my 3rd stick when another doe came running from the same spot as the last but this time with two fawns following. I knew something was up so I stood and grabbed the bow. All 3 of them jumped the fence and turned to look back when I noticed a rack coming down the trail. I instantly knew what buck it was and if presented a shot was going to take it.
The buck wasted no time jumping the fence and was running the doe and fawns around in front of me. One of the fawns stopped by a small bush that I had already ranged at 40 yards and when he headed over to check her I drew my bow preparing to take the shot. Before I squeezed the doe ran to 20 yards and I knew it was just a matter of time before he did the same so I chose to wait. He made that fateful mistake I thought he would and I whacked em at 22 yards. As soon as I released I knew the shot was perfect. He made it about 40 yards and tipped. Another great memory!
Congrats to all that have tagged and good luck to those still trying!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
