lunker99
Active Member
Finally started my season Saturday night. Set up a ground blind in some remaining standing corn in a chopped corn field where I had seen some decent deer when scouting last week. Had a decent 8 come by at 20 yards and a big 10 entered from the other side of the field. They 8 went over and started bullying the 10 around even though he was smaller. I grunted at them and got their attention but they soon went back to nosing does around. Tickled the antlers together and immediately they were on their way. Unfortunately, instead of coming down the edge of standing corn to me the big 10 cut into the corn to get downwind of the buck he couldn't see. Since they seemed callable, broke out the decoy for last night's hunt. Not much was going on with just a few small deer in the field but at last light this 10 (different deer from the night before) came into the field following a doe 70 yds away. He immediately locked onto the decoy in a staredown. Gave him a snort wheeze and he broke coming in all puffed up. Gave me a nice slightly quartering away 20 yd shot. Shot looked like it should have been a good double lung, but was surprised by the thin blood trail. Looked for a little while last night after giving it a while but gave up after loosing blood not far into the trail. Went back out this morning and couldn't manage any blood beyond what I had last night so began working the ditches in the area. Got lucky and was able to find him a couple hundred yards from where I lost blood. Autopsy revealed that I was too close to the front leg on the quartering away which led to me hitting the near lung and putting just a slice in the front of the off side lung.
Bonus was early in the search that I found a nice big shed that had been chewed on some. It had a tell tale sticker off the G2 that gave it away as and old shed from the deer my son got last year. Few bonus hen of the woods mushrooms found during the search as well made it a great morning.
One last fun note was after I found the deer went back and got my dad to help retrieve. When we got back to the deer we were standing there talking when we heard a couple of branches crack on the opposite hillside. Here came a little doe running right at us panting and worn out with a young buck on her tail grunting up a storm. She ran to within 10 yds of us and quickly bedded down near us under a honeysuckle bush. Buck followed to 10 yds buck locked up when he spotted us. He turned and went back the hill then stood watching us from the opposite hillside. While pointing out to dad the the doe was still right next to us under a bush she finally made us and took of back towards the buck which resumed the chase like nothing happened.
Bonus was early in the search that I found a nice big shed that had been chewed on some. It had a tell tale sticker off the G2 that gave it away as and old shed from the deer my son got last year. Few bonus hen of the woods mushrooms found during the search as well made it a great morning.
One last fun note was after I found the deer went back and got my dad to help retrieve. When we got back to the deer we were standing there talking when we heard a couple of branches crack on the opposite hillside. Here came a little doe running right at us panting and worn out with a young buck on her tail grunting up a storm. She ran to within 10 yds of us and quickly bedded down near us under a honeysuckle bush. Buck followed to 10 yds buck locked up when he spotted us. He turned and went back the hill then stood watching us from the opposite hillside. While pointing out to dad the the doe was still right next to us under a bush she finally made us and took of back towards the buck which resumed the chase like nothing happened.
