So Saturday and Sunday were my 2 days to git'r done before the gun season. Im not in any of the 3 gun hunt weeks this year so I'm counting the days I have left to hunt between work etc.. I am running out and had hoped to fill at least one tag this weekend.
Anyway day 1 public land its a 100 acre piece I'm pretty familiar with but can't make hide nor hair of where to set up. Its literally a square virtually no elevation change. I've shot a buck here before but failed to recover it. And I only have two spots that I can figure out on the whole 100 acres and both are merely lucky guesses. I get there get headed in and bump a deer before first light close to the road. Move to another spot and as I start setting up the is sunrising. I'm late. Also this is more overgrown than I recalled. I have no shots. So tear down and move. Sun still rising... Come to a spot looking for a good tree hoping to intercept a deer heading to or from a nearby corn field. I hear what sounds like a buck rubbing a tree. So I rattle. I have great fields of fire from the ground in the direction of sound. Not 5 minutes later I hear one behind me. ****! I look, yep there he is 40 yards sniffing the ground close to where I walked in... I can't get a shot for the underbrush. So frustrating. He turns around slowly. I move to stand but he's still too far and he walks away a grunt doesn't affect him. I set up nearby. Its a fat pine tree and lone wolf's sticks 2 and 3 kick out and once I'm up my tether slides down.. WTH is going on. Then rain and a tiny bit of wet snow. Its noon haven't heard or seen anything else its so wet tracking won't be easy. I leave. Scout a few more pieces of public. They all have pressure on them now. One I see is another flat square but this one has a cut about 20ft across running through it from the NW corner to the SE. I like it and note it for future use. The other one from the map looked good but what I thought was open around this creek is thick and overgrown. Crappy.
I decide to head to new farm where I figure the corn will bring the deer out. The wind is from the NW so I go the SE corner to set up. I haven't been here before just shot yotes from the nearby pasture. Nothing I can hunt from really its all scrub brush and tight to the corn. So I push on. This whole 14 acre piece of bush is here because its a small valley with a creek at the bottom. It drops maybe 50ft total. I follow it around and set up in a tree where I can shoot to the creek and to the corn. I see a coyote slinking along the far side. He's out of range and I don't call hoping to see deer yet. A minute later a hear a deer bust from behind me. He probably got my wind or the yotes. I wait a bit and rattle. A squirrel climbs a nieghbouring tree barking at me like it wants to pick a fight.. So I draw and shoot. He jumps the arrow! Never seen that before.... Crazy. So I shoot a second time a temporarily staple him to the tree he falls and the woods go quiet. End of day 1. 1 seen 2 busted 0 down.
Day 2 East wind
I start heading out. Somehow I'm late again despite living less than 10 minutes away. I am half way back when its legal light and I see a buck coming out of the valley and circling to the corn. His path would likely take past where I was last night. Dam! I move to the fat west of the property through a cut bean field where all but a 15ft swath has been worked again. My goal is the West edge or back of the property and I stay wide North for some reason ad I turn South to head to the tree line I see a doe, nope 2. Then 2 fawns. They are slowly feeding along the remaining swath of cut beans. They see me and can't figure me out I'm standing stock still. I slowly begin shifting my feet to move closer to trees hoping I can get my release on and range them. As it stands they are obviously well beyond my range likely 100 yards or more away. The pick along with at least one always watching me. They can't wind me. Then the does hurry a bit and a buck comes out on the same path. He quickly pushes the fawns aside and begins approaching the does. He never really sees me. The does run North and he follows I can hear him grunt and see the steam when he does so. That was a first for me. They run at least another 400m North. Right toward a blind I have overlooking an alfalfa patch. Dam! I head to the tree and start setting up. I lost my gear hanger and a screw in bow holder. How does that disappear I had it yesrerday? While I jerry rigging a new gear hanger my range finder falls. Down I go then back up. Then I drop my release. Down I go and back up. Then bow pull up rope tangled and will not lift my bow.... How does that happen? Down I go and back up.... and sit the rest of the day with out seeing or hearing anything else but a few squirrels and a bunch of turkeys.
Day 2 done 6 deer seen 0 deer down.
I found I have listened and read so much I can't think straight when looking where to setup. I can't get up in time either somehow. Will they be in the creek bed would they bed here or over there? Pitching a shutout and not happy about it.
Anyway day 1 public land its a 100 acre piece I'm pretty familiar with but can't make hide nor hair of where to set up. Its literally a square virtually no elevation change. I've shot a buck here before but failed to recover it. And I only have two spots that I can figure out on the whole 100 acres and both are merely lucky guesses. I get there get headed in and bump a deer before first light close to the road. Move to another spot and as I start setting up the is sunrising. I'm late. Also this is more overgrown than I recalled. I have no shots. So tear down and move. Sun still rising... Come to a spot looking for a good tree hoping to intercept a deer heading to or from a nearby corn field. I hear what sounds like a buck rubbing a tree. So I rattle. I have great fields of fire from the ground in the direction of sound. Not 5 minutes later I hear one behind me. ****! I look, yep there he is 40 yards sniffing the ground close to where I walked in... I can't get a shot for the underbrush. So frustrating. He turns around slowly. I move to stand but he's still too far and he walks away a grunt doesn't affect him. I set up nearby. Its a fat pine tree and lone wolf's sticks 2 and 3 kick out and once I'm up my tether slides down.. WTH is going on. Then rain and a tiny bit of wet snow. Its noon haven't heard or seen anything else its so wet tracking won't be easy. I leave. Scout a few more pieces of public. They all have pressure on them now. One I see is another flat square but this one has a cut about 20ft across running through it from the NW corner to the SE. I like it and note it for future use. The other one from the map looked good but what I thought was open around this creek is thick and overgrown. Crappy.
I decide to head to new farm where I figure the corn will bring the deer out. The wind is from the NW so I go the SE corner to set up. I haven't been here before just shot yotes from the nearby pasture. Nothing I can hunt from really its all scrub brush and tight to the corn. So I push on. This whole 14 acre piece of bush is here because its a small valley with a creek at the bottom. It drops maybe 50ft total. I follow it around and set up in a tree where I can shoot to the creek and to the corn. I see a coyote slinking along the far side. He's out of range and I don't call hoping to see deer yet. A minute later a hear a deer bust from behind me. He probably got my wind or the yotes. I wait a bit and rattle. A squirrel climbs a nieghbouring tree barking at me like it wants to pick a fight.. So I draw and shoot. He jumps the arrow! Never seen that before.... Crazy. So I shoot a second time a temporarily staple him to the tree he falls and the woods go quiet. End of day 1. 1 seen 2 busted 0 down.
Day 2 East wind
I start heading out. Somehow I'm late again despite living less than 10 minutes away. I am half way back when its legal light and I see a buck coming out of the valley and circling to the corn. His path would likely take past where I was last night. Dam! I move to the fat west of the property through a cut bean field where all but a 15ft swath has been worked again. My goal is the West edge or back of the property and I stay wide North for some reason ad I turn South to head to the tree line I see a doe, nope 2. Then 2 fawns. They are slowly feeding along the remaining swath of cut beans. They see me and can't figure me out I'm standing stock still. I slowly begin shifting my feet to move closer to trees hoping I can get my release on and range them. As it stands they are obviously well beyond my range likely 100 yards or more away. The pick along with at least one always watching me. They can't wind me. Then the does hurry a bit and a buck comes out on the same path. He quickly pushes the fawns aside and begins approaching the does. He never really sees me. The does run North and he follows I can hear him grunt and see the steam when he does so. That was a first for me. They run at least another 400m North. Right toward a blind I have overlooking an alfalfa patch. Dam! I head to the tree and start setting up. I lost my gear hanger and a screw in bow holder. How does that disappear I had it yesrerday? While I jerry rigging a new gear hanger my range finder falls. Down I go then back up. Then I drop my release. Down I go and back up. Then bow pull up rope tangled and will not lift my bow.... How does that happen? Down I go and back up.... and sit the rest of the day with out seeing or hearing anything else but a few squirrels and a bunch of turkeys.
Day 2 done 6 deer seen 0 deer down.
I found I have listened and read so much I can't think straight when looking where to setup. I can't get up in time either somehow. Will they be in the creek bed would they bed here or over there? Pitching a shutout and not happy about it.
