Well I've had a very difference experience from last year, my first year bow hunting/hunting ever.. Last year I killed a doe opening day, and 4 days later I killed my first ever buck, nice 7 pointer which is a wall hanger in my room now (so stoked every time i see it!!). However, this year I have yet to let an arrow fly. Although I had the most action around me last night than I have seen all year, and I missed sitting the cold front we had come through NJ last sunday. So here it is...
Got into my stand about 2pm, as I was setting up screw-ins for my platform 2 does were walking by so I had to take my time and slip up on to my platform and reel up my bow. Finally settled into my saddle, arrow nocked and more doe start filtering in, no clear shots since the woods I hunt are very brushy but I had my lanes cleared out and ready to go. Out of the corner of my eye I see a big bodied deer raking some tree limbs, but I couldn't see his head gear. Finally he was walking away from me and saw the antlers, but he was still 60-70 yards out. And of course right after that a nice mature doe gave me a broadside shot at about 18-20 yards that I passed on b/c i wanted to wait it out for the buck. Sure enough around 4:30 a mature doe and two fawns come strolling in, with the buck in tow. The two fawns scurry around and then away and out of sight and the doe gives me the exact same shot as the one I had before, but the buck emerges and walks directly under my tree. Tall narrow rack, big G1s, with a kind of flatten/split G1 on the right side, really gnarly looking. Well a spike buck comes out and he trots on over, the two spar, rub a bit, 7 pointer works a scrape and then walks into a clearing. He stares right at the doe and he TOOK OFF.. chased her around for about 20 minutes until everything was scattered and scared away and those two ran off into the woods. No shot. Nothing.
I did take the opportunity to look at the scrape and select a tree about 15 yards off it to hunt in the next week or two. But i think the rut is well on its way, pre-rut atlas starting now. Hope everyone is having better success than I am at the moment.
Got into my stand about 2pm, as I was setting up screw-ins for my platform 2 does were walking by so I had to take my time and slip up on to my platform and reel up my bow. Finally settled into my saddle, arrow nocked and more doe start filtering in, no clear shots since the woods I hunt are very brushy but I had my lanes cleared out and ready to go. Out of the corner of my eye I see a big bodied deer raking some tree limbs, but I couldn't see his head gear. Finally he was walking away from me and saw the antlers, but he was still 60-70 yards out. And of course right after that a nice mature doe gave me a broadside shot at about 18-20 yards that I passed on b/c i wanted to wait it out for the buck. Sure enough around 4:30 a mature doe and two fawns come strolling in, with the buck in tow. The two fawns scurry around and then away and out of sight and the doe gives me the exact same shot as the one I had before, but the buck emerges and walks directly under my tree. Tall narrow rack, big G1s, with a kind of flatten/split G1 on the right side, really gnarly looking. Well a spike buck comes out and he trots on over, the two spar, rub a bit, 7 pointer works a scrape and then walks into a clearing. He stares right at the doe and he TOOK OFF.. chased her around for about 20 minutes until everything was scattered and scared away and those two ran off into the woods. No shot. Nothing.
I did take the opportunity to look at the scrape and select a tree about 15 yards off it to hunt in the next week or two. But i think the rut is well on its way, pre-rut atlas starting now. Hope everyone is having better success than I am at the moment.
