I guess I should say that I did technically hunt once on public land but that was merely an excuse to do some beaver scouting on a place I had planned to trap on but there was some deer drives going on that I bailed a half hour in when guys started just randomly shooting to try to jump up deer...
The spot on Wayne National Forest I chose to hunt wasnt a very big parcel, about 140 acres surrounded by farms. Never hunted this place, never scouted it, never set foot on it until yesterday. I trapped some muskrat on an adjacent parcel is about all the knowledge of the place I had. I was only 300 yards off the road but walked about 3x the distance to get to the spot. It was raining for two hours. Radar looked like it would be done in 30 minutes. Got onto one trail that had a few mini scrapes and bumped a deer just as I was coming over the top of a hill. all I saw was its back and flag. Couldnt tell it if was a buck or doe. So continued down the trail till I found an open area with decent trees and set up. Still the rain came down, heavy at times. Rain finally quit about 2:30. 4:20 a buck shows up. He's coming on fast to my right up the hill. Its so thick on that trail he got hung up a few times but was still moving pretty quickly. I'm hoping he starts to move toward me but hes still moving away so I did my doe bleat imitation and he stops about 30 yards away. Crossbow does its job and I can tell he's mine as soon as he bolts. Double lung, double shoulder and snapped my arrow(all pieces exited).
Got him dressed and got the tenderloins out. Tried to drag him out with all my gear but that wasnt going to work out too well so I went back to the truck to deposit everything unnecessary for the rest of the day and grab my big sled. Proceeeded to take the wrong trail and ended walking about a 1.5 miles back to the deer. Needless to say I was wore out by the time I got back to the deer as its very thick in wayne. Got the deer loaded in the sled. First pull was enough to make me loose my lunch and all the coffee I drunk in the stand. The sled was a bad idea as I probably could of dragged the deer with a rope much easier. It was 7:30 by the time I got it back to the road and in the truck. Called my brother to help me cut it up as it was too warm to let it sit in the garage too long. By 10pm we had everything deboned an in the fridge.
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The spot on Wayne National Forest I chose to hunt wasnt a very big parcel, about 140 acres surrounded by farms. Never hunted this place, never scouted it, never set foot on it until yesterday. I trapped some muskrat on an adjacent parcel is about all the knowledge of the place I had. I was only 300 yards off the road but walked about 3x the distance to get to the spot. It was raining for two hours. Radar looked like it would be done in 30 minutes. Got onto one trail that had a few mini scrapes and bumped a deer just as I was coming over the top of a hill. all I saw was its back and flag. Couldnt tell it if was a buck or doe. So continued down the trail till I found an open area with decent trees and set up. Still the rain came down, heavy at times. Rain finally quit about 2:30. 4:20 a buck shows up. He's coming on fast to my right up the hill. Its so thick on that trail he got hung up a few times but was still moving pretty quickly. I'm hoping he starts to move toward me but hes still moving away so I did my doe bleat imitation and he stops about 30 yards away. Crossbow does its job and I can tell he's mine as soon as he bolts. Double lung, double shoulder and snapped my arrow(all pieces exited).
Got him dressed and got the tenderloins out. Tried to drag him out with all my gear but that wasnt going to work out too well so I went back to the truck to deposit everything unnecessary for the rest of the day and grab my big sled. Proceeeded to take the wrong trail and ended walking about a 1.5 miles back to the deer. Needless to say I was wore out by the time I got back to the deer as its very thick in wayne. Got the deer loaded in the sled. First pull was enough to make me loose my lunch and all the coffee I drunk in the stand. The sled was a bad idea as I probably could of dragged the deer with a rope much easier. It was 7:30 by the time I got it back to the road and in the truck. Called my brother to help me cut it up as it was too warm to let it sit in the garage too long. By 10pm we had everything deboned an in the fridge.
First public land hunt and buck
Decided to do a cold roll hunt in Wayne Nation Forest. Sat through a 2 hour rainstorms to get this guy.
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