buckeye

Its slow around here this time of year so, lets do a little story telling. Post some of your most memorable hunts. Here is one of my most memorable hunts. Mine from this fall.

Friday evening Oct. 12th around 6:00 I had a doe trot past my stand, right after she got past me I could hear a grunt and then another and another. A nice buck was grunting with every step while following her. He looked like a nice 8 point but, no shot opportunity, he was about 30 yards out in some pretty thick underbrush. This stand is about 50 yards off some real thick bedding areas. So I decided to go back to that lock on the next morning and hope to catch him on his way back through.

I didn' t see anything until around a 8:15 a doe and a fawn walk past my stand. I was hoping for a repeat of the night before with a nice buck in hot pursuit but no luck this time, or so I thought. A couple minutes later my buck came in at 8:20 AM and milled around about 60 yards out from my stand. He then started to work away from me out to about 80 yards and held up there under a couple white oak trees for a good while.

My heart sunk as he started off walking away from me again, but as soon as I started feeling bad for myself he looped around another oak and started heading right back in my direction. He came all the way back to a heavy trail 21 yards away from my stand. He stepped behind a cluster of trees, I drew he then took a few steps, stopped and offered a perfect broadside shot at 9:22AM and I released. I got a complete passthrew and the arrow stuck 5 or so inches in the ground. I then sat there collected my thoughts and gear then climbed down.

I walked over to my arrow to check it then gathered up all my equipment and carried it all back to the truck. I then called my brother to help track and the long drag out. We waited an hour and a half to get on the trail. He only went about 60 yards. He was estimated at check in to be 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years old. I set a goal to take a early season mature whitetail buck and succeded. This was my 8th hunt of the year, on the 13th day of the season. My 31st hour on stand produced my shot oppertunity.


Now share your stories!!

bobcat 10

well i will never forget my first bowkill this year...

i went with one of my hunting pals...i got setup in my summit climber.....i was sitting there thinking well nothing is going to come thru....well i closed my eyes for a few minutes,,there stood a doe at 60 yards ....she just fed around and left......well 20 min later here comes two does....i said ther is my chance to get my first bowkill.....even tho it is a doe....both of them fed in...i draw release ...shot over her back.....they jumped ...got me another arrow.....stuck it in the boiler room....that time...she went down in 40 yards....muzzy broke both sholders.......

she is small,but i took her anyway....i did not won't to....but i said well i'm going to get this doe under my belt...

silentassassin

Well this is actually a cut n paste (with a few more details added) from another one of my posts in the tech forum. But, it also qualifies as one of my more memorable hunts.

It was about 10:15 I passed a doe because she was running and looking back. It was Dec. 1 so I was sceptical that she was being chased by a buck but I waited anyway. No buck came! Then about 10:30 and I looked up and there was another doe running straight at me. I was hunting about 250 yards from a group of duck hunters (I was hunting flooded timber). I could hear the duck hunters getting ready to leave so I didn't think anything about the doe running. I thought she was getting away from them. I started to stand up and I let out a loud grunt as I was standing. The doe had already come to a stop, as I stood the rest of the way up. I grabbed my bow, hooked my release and shot in a matter of about 1.5 - 2 seconds from the time I saw the doe until the time I shot. The doe ran off and I hung my bow up to watch her and mark trees (not much of a blood trail in the water). As I was watching I heard something behind me that sounded like a buck grunt. I continued to watch the doe and heard it again. Then it dawned on me that it was a buck grunting. I turned around and there was a pretty nice 8 about 40 yards out trotting straight for my tree. I looked down and grabbed my bow from the EZ hanger and then grabbed an arrow out of my qwiver that was also hanging on the hanger. I looked down and the buck was about 25 yards. I then knocked an arrow and hooked my loop and by then he was about 18 yards. I grunted as I was drawing and he stopped. I put the pin behind his shoulder and realeased and he didn't even make it as far as the doe did. There roughly 5 seconds from the time I saw the buck until the time I shot him and I killed two deer in less than 30 seconds. We check in on the radio hourly and I had talked to my buddy at 10:00, he called at 11:00 and asked me if I had seen anything. I was proud to report that I had killed 2.

jetblast

My most memorable hunt is back in 1996. I started my 1st year of bowhunting in NC during 1992. Killed 3 deer and got hooked on bowhunting BAD! Right before the 93 season started, I got orders and left to England for 4 years where bowhunting is illegal. I had missed 3 full bow seasons in 93, 94, & 95. I met my good friend while over there and we planned a bowhunting trip. The year was 1996. We caught a military flight to Atlanta, GA. Rented a car to Tennessee where he was from. Got an aerial photo, scouted a 250 acre farm on Sunday we've never seen before, and I nailed a doe on Monday morning about the same time he shot his 1st bowkill across the holler. We then drove his dads truck to my Dad's farm in WV and killed a couple more does. 2 weeks of deer, beer, and the good ole USA! Then we flew back home to our wife and kids. You'll understand how important this trip was if you've ever lost something you love and have it returned.

hatchet jack

Hey Bobcat 10, Thats ok if there small. Any deer with a Bow is a job well done Dude. Congrats!!!!!!!

Ate-Up

It was September 2001.Me and my brother in law decided to go squirrel hunting and do a bit of scouting for the upcoming archery season. 9:30 rolled around and i had already bagged 4 tree rats and was looking for number 5 so i decided to work my way towards a Hickory grove. As i entered the the woods i jumped 2 deer. I froze in place hoping to see how they would react.The bigger of 2 bucks bolted,but the other one decided to see what i was.The Deer walked closer and closer. Once it got within 20 yards i started to get worried. I was begining to wonder if i was going to be a victim to a deer gone wild episode.Thats when i decided to start talking to it.I figured it would bolt as soon as i did. Well it didnt. So there i was standing in the woods smoking a cig and talking to a deer thinking to myself that everyone would think i was on crack when i told them what happened. Well i i figured it was about time to go find my bro-n-law so i started out of the woods across a clover field. About half way across i see him and he just freezes. I turn around and see the deer is now following me. He ran into town and picked up a throw away camera while i walked around in circles in the clover field with the deer.After our photo shoot with Deathwish we headed back to the truck with him on our heels. We both had to sit on the ground so he would bed down.

We figure someone must have dropped him off,but i will never forget good ol' Deathwish.

buckeye

Good stories everyone. Any others?

ahunter55

After 47 years of Bowhunting I have many but it was our last day of Caribou hunting in Quebec & we had not seen but a handful of animals to far away to shoot at in the week. We were headed toward shore our last morning when we spotted some Bulls crossing a rise. We beached the boat & headed up the ridge. This was my sons Christmas gift & he was 16. We watched Bulls crossing everywhere but out of range. We finally set up an ambush on a trail & waited-after about an hour a Bull came trotting by-I kept saying-wait, wait, he is going to stop. About that time he stopped & turned broadside. My son shot & it was perfect-he traveled another 80 yards & went down. B/4 the day was out he took his 2nd Bull-a fine 48" double shovel & I managed to drop a 50" bull with my bow.
What makes it real great is that I filmed everything & we have it captured to view forever. So, my greatest times are when I see my son hunting along side me.

Bill L

Great stories, particulary the one posted by Ate-up. I live in a small neighborhood and my house is on the edge of it. My west border is timber and a creek. On the other side of the timber is farm land. A couple of springs ago, I decided to start walking in the morning before work. Well, not many days after I started, I got a visitor. It was a small deer who was content to follow me around the neighborhood. His spots were still barely visable. That deer got to where he would follow me every morning. If I did not see him right off the bat, I just bleeted a couple of times and he would come running. He got to where he would let me pet him some, and I have pictures of the kids doing the same. By mid spring, I could see a couple of bumps beginning to show on his head. This deer followed me around like a puppy. He would stop to feed (usually on a neighbor's landscaping) and when he realized I was getting pretty far ahead, he would run to catch up. My wife had great fun with this, as she is always messing with me about being the great hunter. No shot after an entire weekend in the woods, but I have one following me around the neighborhood. Lots of my neighbors would stop and look, or honk as they went to work in the morning. Sometime in early summer, DNR came and trapped the deer and took him away to be released. I really missed my walking partner. Ate-up, where are you located? Maybe you have found my exercise partner?