medicsnoke
11-26-2006, 09:19 AM
Well, I guess it all started on this day 26 years ago, November 24th 1980. I was born, the last of three. Some say being the youngest is the easiest. I’ll agree, my life is pretty easy. But that’s neither here nor there, on to good stuff………..
I got off work this morning at 7 am. Left the firehouse thinking that the morning was perfect for deer movement. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw a nice two year old chasing a doe ˝ mile before I pulled in my driveway. I skipped logging onto the computer and doing my usual check of weather.com, kisky.com and Iowawhitetail.com. Instead I jumped into the shower and scrubbed down with HS sent away. I slipped on some nice fresh camos, pair of tennis shoes and grabbed the lonewolf hand climber and headed fore the woods. I didn’t see any more deer enroute to the farm I hunt and I was kind of disappointed that the corn hadn’t been taken off. Dang farmer still has 300 acres of corn and prob 100 acres of beans still up, and that corn is holding a lot of bucks hostage. The wind wasn’t perfect but a crosswind beats dead down wind any day. I put on a pair of old faded coveralls, binoculars, knee-highs and grabbed a set of horns for rattling. I started the short walk to a small flat woodlot between the standing cornfield and non-hunted woodlot. I have a fixed stand about 100 yards past this area. I’ve hunted it all year without much success. I have this problem, were I don’t think big deer will live or move close to the road. Sometimes I think I hunt were deer should be, not where the sign is. Not on this morning though, I planed on sitting on the trail I pass everytime I hunt this farm. Today was a freebee hunt, might has well take a chance I told myself. I walked about 50 yards and seen a spike buck cruising the edge right where I wanted to be. I stopped and glassed him for a bit, he moved on into the timber and I moved cautiously to where he was standing. I was trying to find him in the woods in front of me with the binoculars when I started hearing antlers being tickled together. I found the spike and 2 other small bucks sparing and the end of the wood lot I wasn’t quite to the trail I wanted to sit on, but with bucks sparing 70yrds away, figured it was close enough. I eased to the nearest climbing tree. Strapped on the lonewolf and climbed to about 30 feet. I pulled all my gear up, got my arrow knocked and tied the rattling antlers to my pull up rope and lowered them to the ground. The bucks that wear sparing were gone now, must have slipped away while I was climbing up. I sat down for a bit, thinking wouldn’t it be crazy if It happened today, after work hunt, my birthday. Also wondering why Ide never hunted this spot before, It was amazing, I could see the entire farm from this one spot…………..the corn field, the bean field, the timbered wood lot, the two deep ravines and that big buck walking through the cattle pasture! I knew instantly he was a shooter, though it was the big 8 I found sheds to last year, figured he was a 160 class buck. I didn’t do anything at first, just watched him to see what he was going to do. He walked to the edge, jumped the fence, dropped into the ravine, and popped up about 70 yards away. I was hoping he took the trail that brought him to the base of my tree but instead he took the trail that went 40 yards past my downwind side. At 40 wide-open yards, and dead down wind I grunted, he stopped and I let her eat. The arrow dropped like a rock and went right threw his upper leg. I missed! He ran 30 yards, stopped. Looked around and let out a big grunt. I franticly knocked another arrow. He then starting grunting and walking straight towards me. He stopped 20 yards broadside and I pounded him. He crashed a mere 50 yards away. I climbed down and ran to him. I was so happy running to him, thought a 160 is a hell of a deer…………..then came the infamous ground shrinkage. Im not saying he small, but he’s definitely not the size of deer I thought he was. I would shoot him again, don’t think I can pass a deer this size yet, im not to that level of hunting whitetails. I happy with him. Im thinking he is a 140-145 gross 11 pointer, probably a 3.5 or 4.5 yr old. Not sure if im getting him mounted or not, Ive decided to not butcher him yet, I wana get some night time photos, so I will post better photos tonight and sleep on the mounting issue for tonight. Thanks for reading and good luck to those of you with tags left. If you look at his leg, you can see the first shot.
Mathews LX, Muzzy 4 blade 90 gr., Carbon Express 4560.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/medicsnoke/06harvest021.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/medicsnoke/06harvest044.jpg
I got off work this morning at 7 am. Left the firehouse thinking that the morning was perfect for deer movement. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw a nice two year old chasing a doe ˝ mile before I pulled in my driveway. I skipped logging onto the computer and doing my usual check of weather.com, kisky.com and Iowawhitetail.com. Instead I jumped into the shower and scrubbed down with HS sent away. I slipped on some nice fresh camos, pair of tennis shoes and grabbed the lonewolf hand climber and headed fore the woods. I didn’t see any more deer enroute to the farm I hunt and I was kind of disappointed that the corn hadn’t been taken off. Dang farmer still has 300 acres of corn and prob 100 acres of beans still up, and that corn is holding a lot of bucks hostage. The wind wasn’t perfect but a crosswind beats dead down wind any day. I put on a pair of old faded coveralls, binoculars, knee-highs and grabbed a set of horns for rattling. I started the short walk to a small flat woodlot between the standing cornfield and non-hunted woodlot. I have a fixed stand about 100 yards past this area. I’ve hunted it all year without much success. I have this problem, were I don’t think big deer will live or move close to the road. Sometimes I think I hunt were deer should be, not where the sign is. Not on this morning though, I planed on sitting on the trail I pass everytime I hunt this farm. Today was a freebee hunt, might has well take a chance I told myself. I walked about 50 yards and seen a spike buck cruising the edge right where I wanted to be. I stopped and glassed him for a bit, he moved on into the timber and I moved cautiously to where he was standing. I was trying to find him in the woods in front of me with the binoculars when I started hearing antlers being tickled together. I found the spike and 2 other small bucks sparing and the end of the wood lot I wasn’t quite to the trail I wanted to sit on, but with bucks sparing 70yrds away, figured it was close enough. I eased to the nearest climbing tree. Strapped on the lonewolf and climbed to about 30 feet. I pulled all my gear up, got my arrow knocked and tied the rattling antlers to my pull up rope and lowered them to the ground. The bucks that wear sparing were gone now, must have slipped away while I was climbing up. I sat down for a bit, thinking wouldn’t it be crazy if It happened today, after work hunt, my birthday. Also wondering why Ide never hunted this spot before, It was amazing, I could see the entire farm from this one spot…………..the corn field, the bean field, the timbered wood lot, the two deep ravines and that big buck walking through the cattle pasture! I knew instantly he was a shooter, though it was the big 8 I found sheds to last year, figured he was a 160 class buck. I didn’t do anything at first, just watched him to see what he was going to do. He walked to the edge, jumped the fence, dropped into the ravine, and popped up about 70 yards away. I was hoping he took the trail that brought him to the base of my tree but instead he took the trail that went 40 yards past my downwind side. At 40 wide-open yards, and dead down wind I grunted, he stopped and I let her eat. The arrow dropped like a rock and went right threw his upper leg. I missed! He ran 30 yards, stopped. Looked around and let out a big grunt. I franticly knocked another arrow. He then starting grunting and walking straight towards me. He stopped 20 yards broadside and I pounded him. He crashed a mere 50 yards away. I climbed down and ran to him. I was so happy running to him, thought a 160 is a hell of a deer…………..then came the infamous ground shrinkage. Im not saying he small, but he’s definitely not the size of deer I thought he was. I would shoot him again, don’t think I can pass a deer this size yet, im not to that level of hunting whitetails. I happy with him. Im thinking he is a 140-145 gross 11 pointer, probably a 3.5 or 4.5 yr old. Not sure if im getting him mounted or not, Ive decided to not butcher him yet, I wana get some night time photos, so I will post better photos tonight and sleep on the mounting issue for tonight. Thanks for reading and good luck to those of you with tags left. If you look at his leg, you can see the first shot.
Mathews LX, Muzzy 4 blade 90 gr., Carbon Express 4560.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/medicsnoke/06harvest021.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/medicsnoke/06harvest044.jpg