mplane72
PMA Member
I'm sure this will end up being a long post. My apologies. Pics down the page.
I was really excited for this weekend and upcoming vacation. I have been seeing more deer and more bucks in daylight this year then anytime before. Really have been loving the cooler weather.
I started off Friday night hunting the management hunt in Davenport. I have a buck tag for this hunt and still needed 2 more does to earn my buck tag for nest year as well. I was really happy for the East wind as it is best for the stand I wanted to be in. With about 40 minutes of legal time yet I turned to see a doe sneaking by. they usually don't go around the way she went and she was already through the gap I had to shoot that way. Fortunately, I was ready when the second one came through and I put a good shot on her. She ran up into an opening about 60 yards away and just as I go my binos on her she gave a shudder and jump. The sun was just right to see a large red mist cloud spray from her side and I knew she was down right there.
I knocked another arrow and settled in hoping for a buck worthy of my city tag. As I was waiting I started having a mental debate about staying or getting down to get started on that doe. I was going to have to decent drag and the extra time to check her in down town was going to get me home later then I wanted to be. My wife was gone and I had back straps thawed out in the fridge. I knew if I got down that would be when the big one showed. I hung in until the last 10 minutes of legal time and did have several more deer pass but nothing tag worthy. I then discovered my head lamp batteries were low and I had no spares so I decided to get down and start taking care of my doe. She was down just over the hill from where I last saw her. I dropped my gear, took of my release and dug out my tag and knife.
Just as I knelt down to go to work I looked up and 50 yards away I saw the tallest rack I have ever seen on a buck! Holy Shite! I said to myself. It was staring at me and I could see the tips above the standing corn. I will admit I got my release back on and knocked an arrow. I was trying to check the time as we were staring each other down. I knew it was close. As all this was going on I had a feeling that something wasn't right. I mean this thing was huge! I put my binos on him and of course it was big. Looking at the rack I said to myself that sure looks like a bull elk. I shifted my focus to the body. Dark head, no throat patch. By now I know time is up. this animal was in a dark corner just coming around a patch of tall willow. When it finally turned I went up to where it was standing hoping to find tracks. When I got there he was 50 to 60 yards going away. A quick look in the binos showed an unmistakable elk rump and then it ran an I knew it was a bull.
I went back to my doe and got to work, still questioning myself and wondering if i was going crazy and who would believe me. Side note my doe was wearing a bracelet.
Dragging the doe out I was still questioning myself and wondering what I was going to do. I knew I couldn't shoot the bull. I also knew it shouldn't be there and the DNR would want to know about it. IF they would believe me. As I was dragging and staring at the ground I cut a track on the edge of the field and had no doubt that I DID see an elk and I was calling the DNR as soon as I got in the truck. I was relieved when the CO confirmed what I had saw and asked for a detailed report. He said he had been looking for it for the last 2 days. I was happy to get confirmation I was not losing my mind. I could hardly buy an elk encounter this year in CO and found one right in my home town!
I'll keep this short. Saturday morning my oldest son and I headed up to a farm we have permission on in Clinton county. This is his first year bow hunting and at 17 he wasn't very excited about the early hour our the rainy weather. I knew it would be hard to keep him in the stand for long as deer numbers aren't very high in this area and the deer usually don't show until an hour or 2 after sunrise. I had just received a text from him when I noticed movement in the thicket to my right. Out came a good buck. I saw he was a 10 pointer and his main beams came out well over his nose and decided right then that if he came up into my shooting lane I was going to take him. He did what I wanted but on the shot he took a step and I watched my arrow sale into his guts. He was quartering away and I was holding for that shot. He ran up around the knob of the hill and stopped then went out of sight. I had a sick feeling that it was going to be a long day.
I sent a text to my son telling him what had happened and to hold tight for an hour. He was seeing deer know and was fine with that. I then texted a buddy that was hunting not to far away and asked him to call me when he got out of the stand. I figured we'd leave after a while and get breakfast and a nap before carefully taking up the trail later in the afternoon. I was not happy with myself as I have not killed a buck in 4 years. In that time I had put 2 none lethal arrows into 2 deer. Saturday was also my anniversary and my wife and I had plans for the evening.
I waited in the stand for an hour before getting down to check the arrow. I was encouraged to find good blood on the arrow and only a slight gut smell. I decided with the damp conditions to ease up the trail a bit just to try to get an idea what I was looking at. I was just going to stay in the CRP and NOT enter the woods. I had pretty good blood in the grass so I knocked an arrow and crawled up over the crest of the hill. Seeing nothing I rose up to my knees and spied tines in the grass! The relieve I felt was indescribable!
Here he is. I knew he wasn't huge when i decided to shoot him. He might have fooled me a bit age wise but I'm happy. I'll spend the rest of the month hunting a city buck and getting my son out whenever he has the time.
I was really excited for this weekend and upcoming vacation. I have been seeing more deer and more bucks in daylight this year then anytime before. Really have been loving the cooler weather.
I started off Friday night hunting the management hunt in Davenport. I have a buck tag for this hunt and still needed 2 more does to earn my buck tag for nest year as well. I was really happy for the East wind as it is best for the stand I wanted to be in. With about 40 minutes of legal time yet I turned to see a doe sneaking by. they usually don't go around the way she went and she was already through the gap I had to shoot that way. Fortunately, I was ready when the second one came through and I put a good shot on her. She ran up into an opening about 60 yards away and just as I go my binos on her she gave a shudder and jump. The sun was just right to see a large red mist cloud spray from her side and I knew she was down right there.
I knocked another arrow and settled in hoping for a buck worthy of my city tag. As I was waiting I started having a mental debate about staying or getting down to get started on that doe. I was going to have to decent drag and the extra time to check her in down town was going to get me home later then I wanted to be. My wife was gone and I had back straps thawed out in the fridge. I knew if I got down that would be when the big one showed. I hung in until the last 10 minutes of legal time and did have several more deer pass but nothing tag worthy. I then discovered my head lamp batteries were low and I had no spares so I decided to get down and start taking care of my doe. She was down just over the hill from where I last saw her. I dropped my gear, took of my release and dug out my tag and knife.
Just as I knelt down to go to work I looked up and 50 yards away I saw the tallest rack I have ever seen on a buck! Holy Shite! I said to myself. It was staring at me and I could see the tips above the standing corn. I will admit I got my release back on and knocked an arrow. I was trying to check the time as we were staring each other down. I knew it was close. As all this was going on I had a feeling that something wasn't right. I mean this thing was huge! I put my binos on him and of course it was big. Looking at the rack I said to myself that sure looks like a bull elk. I shifted my focus to the body. Dark head, no throat patch. By now I know time is up. this animal was in a dark corner just coming around a patch of tall willow. When it finally turned I went up to where it was standing hoping to find tracks. When I got there he was 50 to 60 yards going away. A quick look in the binos showed an unmistakable elk rump and then it ran an I knew it was a bull.
I went back to my doe and got to work, still questioning myself and wondering if i was going crazy and who would believe me. Side note my doe was wearing a bracelet.
Dragging the doe out I was still questioning myself and wondering what I was going to do. I knew I couldn't shoot the bull. I also knew it shouldn't be there and the DNR would want to know about it. IF they would believe me. As I was dragging and staring at the ground I cut a track on the edge of the field and had no doubt that I DID see an elk and I was calling the DNR as soon as I got in the truck. I was relieved when the CO confirmed what I had saw and asked for a detailed report. He said he had been looking for it for the last 2 days. I was happy to get confirmation I was not losing my mind. I could hardly buy an elk encounter this year in CO and found one right in my home town!
I'll keep this short. Saturday morning my oldest son and I headed up to a farm we have permission on in Clinton county. This is his first year bow hunting and at 17 he wasn't very excited about the early hour our the rainy weather. I knew it would be hard to keep him in the stand for long as deer numbers aren't very high in this area and the deer usually don't show until an hour or 2 after sunrise. I had just received a text from him when I noticed movement in the thicket to my right. Out came a good buck. I saw he was a 10 pointer and his main beams came out well over his nose and decided right then that if he came up into my shooting lane I was going to take him. He did what I wanted but on the shot he took a step and I watched my arrow sale into his guts. He was quartering away and I was holding for that shot. He ran up around the knob of the hill and stopped then went out of sight. I had a sick feeling that it was going to be a long day.
I sent a text to my son telling him what had happened and to hold tight for an hour. He was seeing deer know and was fine with that. I then texted a buddy that was hunting not to far away and asked him to call me when he got out of the stand. I figured we'd leave after a while and get breakfast and a nap before carefully taking up the trail later in the afternoon. I was not happy with myself as I have not killed a buck in 4 years. In that time I had put 2 none lethal arrows into 2 deer. Saturday was also my anniversary and my wife and I had plans for the evening.
I waited in the stand for an hour before getting down to check the arrow. I was encouraged to find good blood on the arrow and only a slight gut smell. I decided with the damp conditions to ease up the trail a bit just to try to get an idea what I was looking at. I was just going to stay in the CRP and NOT enter the woods. I had pretty good blood in the grass so I knocked an arrow and crawled up over the crest of the hill. Seeing nothing I rose up to my knees and spied tines in the grass! The relieve I felt was indescribable!
Here he is. I knew he wasn't huge when i decided to shoot him. He might have fooled me a bit age wise but I'm happy. I'll spend the rest of the month hunting a city buck and getting my son out whenever he has the time.
