2019 Hagerman Segment C

[Avid Hunter]

Thats a bad feeling for sure, hopefully yall can do some more searching tomorrow.

Though I did not kill today I had an awesome hunt . Saw 5 bucks and 5 does that i could positively Identify, and a couple of not sures. I had a beautiful wide 10 pt behind me at 33 yds in a thicket, never presented a shot opportunity. I did draw on an old gnarly looking buck with 4 on one side and what I thought was an unbranched on the other. At 23 yds i could see the "unbranched" side actually had a small sticker on it.

fyi- 2 of the bucks I saw today came crashing through chasing does. Once at noon and another around 4:30. It surprised me to see this cause i was almost positive they were done chasing right now. Good luck tomorrow to thise of you hunting, time to lay my head down and let the stars align for my hunt tomorrow.

[GarGuy]

So sorry Woodsman - we would have had Max on his blood trail scent if they allowed a dog to search.

Great of y'all to offer to help him. That deer had a broad head stuck in some solid bone up front or the arrow would have fell out. A good dog would bay that deer or find him dead tomorrow. I had dogs for years. I always knew I was gonna get a deer in this situation and have fun working the dog on a hot one too.

[Grayson]

Please do everything you can to get a catch dog on that deer. Very high odds you will get him.

Brilliant plan, catch dog on 5-100 acre properties.

[bossbowman]

Please do everything you can to get a catch dog on that deer. Very high odds you will get him.

SMH. Any word on # of bucks and golden tickets brought in total so far?

[ElfEyes]

SMH. Any word on # of bucks and golden tickets brought in total so far?

I'm unsure why you would be shaking your head? Looks like Steve is just offering his help from experience.

[woodsman]

I’d bet he looks tomorrow after his hunt. You might still get a call.



Highest of highs, to the lowest of lows. We all know them.

Thats a bad feeling for sure, hopefully yall can do some more searching tomorrow.

The landowner is hunting tomorrow, and did not want any further traipsing through his property after we finished the little sachet we did tonight. Nonetheless, he was a very friendly guy, and gracious for letting me take a peek around. The USFWS Officer talked him into driving over to us to talk about everything, as he was initially reluctant to entertain anyone on the property. He was adamant with me that if the deer is dead, he’ll find it tomorrow and he was even more adamant that the deer is mine to keep. He says they’ve lost several deer out there and the buzzards have found several VERY quickly. My thought is since there’s very little evergreens out there, and most of his trees weren’t really tall, it’s easy pickings from above.

So if the deer is dead, the best thing that could happen, happened (short of putting a dog on the trail). Otherwise any unclaimed deer on the refuge by EOD Monday become refuge property.

So sorry Woodsman - we would have had Max on his blood trail scent if they allowed a dog to search.

Thank you so much ma’am! I mentioned to him that you had offered to put your dog on the trail, and kindly suggested that doing so would be the quickest, least intrusive means of finding the deer—but I think he just didn’t want anyone additional walking around, and had mentioned liability concerns early on in the discussion. But again, your kindness is much appreciated. I would have loved to see Max get to work and do his thing.

[Chad C]

I hope you get him, Woody.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[woodsman]

Talk about an emotional roller coaster today. I had the opportunity that we all dream of and prepare for. Like many others, I was sitting there thinking about moving over a few trees to better position myself for a shot at deer that had been coming in behind me, or possibly moving 150 yards across the creek. And at 11:45 when everything around seems so sleepy and still, here he came through the bottom, galloping with his nose low to the ground.

The first thing I noticed was that his body was fully mature. The second was that this was as a different deer than I videod earlier this morning. It looked like he was going to skirt me, and he turned 90*—THAT is when I just about fell out of my tree stand. He wasn’t as wide as Don Bell’s from yesterday, but I would put him around 20” inside and he had a little mass to him. Decent tine length. I’ll say 10-11 points. Now watch me eat crow if the deer gets recovered

He came straight to the red oak I posted up next to, and picked up an acorn. But then he threw his nose up (came in downwind of course) and I decided that hoping he would turn broadside at that point was risky. So I put the pin at the base of his neck and the arrow found its mark. Upon impact he grunted, then ran 70-80 yards and stopped. By this time I could see blood pouring from the wound and he was breathing heavy. He then trotted away sort of awkwardly and disappeared from sight. I looked for the arrow but nothing. Knowing that penetration is key and to maximum damage by the broad head, I began tracking and jumped him @ ~150 yds away (This took most of the rest of the afternoon. Hands & knees and toilet paper squares to establish a general direction of travel. Took over 30 minutes between some drops of blood. I was sick to my stomach much of the time, but soared with hope when I’d find another drop of blood. I just knew I was about to find him.

Today will probably haunt me as long as I live. But this is just part of bow hunting especially. I’ve replayed the shot over and over asked myself coulda woulda shoulda. Yes a frontal shot is lower fatality, but I went with my instincts. Maybe it was impatience. But sometimes the deer wins.

I’ve seen 12 deer in my first 1.5 days of hunting here, including 2 P&Ys and one possible yesterday morning early that I didn’t get a good look at. Guys have hunted here for a couple decades and haven't pulled back on a good Hag buck. I was given an opportunity. Hopefully it won’t be the last, but as disappointing as today was, I’m trying to keep it all in perspective. But I’m afraid to sleep now because I know what I’ll be dreaming of.

Special thanks to Officer Owens for connecting me with and convincing the land owner to let me look around, Bama for lending me his super flashlight tonight, and all you here for the encouragement.

[bossbowman]

Talk about an emotional roller coaster today. I had the opportunity that we all dream of and prepare for. Like many others, I was sitting there thinking about moving over a few trees to better position myself for a shot at deer that had been coming in behind me, or possibly moving 150 yards across the creek. And at 11:45 when everything around seems so sleepy and still, here he came through the bottom, galloping with his nose low to the ground.

The first thing I noticed was that his body was fully mature. The second was that this was as a different deer than I videod earlier this morning. It looked like he was going to skirt me, and he turned 90*—THAT is when I just about fell out of my tree stand. He wasn’t as wide as Don Bell’s from yesterday, but I would put him around 20” inside and he had a little mass to him. Decent tine length. I’ll say 10-11 points. Now watch me eat crow if the deer gets recovered

He came straight to the red oak I posted up next to, and picked up an acorn. But then he threw his nose up (came in downwind of course) and I decided that hoping he would turn broadside at that point was risky. So I put the pin at the base of his neck and the arrow found its mark. Upon impact he grunted, then ran 70-80 yards and stopped. By this time I could see blood pouring from the wound and he was breathing heavy. He then trotted away sort of awkwardly and disappeared from sight. I looked for the arrow but nothing. Knowing that penetration is key and to maximum damage by the broad head, I began tracking and jumped him @ ~150 yds away (This took most of the rest of the afternoon. Hands & knees and toilet paper squares to establish a general direction of travel. Took over 30 minutes between some drops of blood. I was sick to my stomach much of the time, but soared with hope when I’d find another drop of blood. I just knew I was about to find him.

Today will probably haunt me as long as I live. But this is just part of bow hunting especially. I’ve replayed the shot over and over asked myself coulda woulda shoulda. Yes a frontal shot is lower fatality, but I went with my instincts. Maybe it was impatience. But sometimes the deer wins.

I’ve seen 12 deer in my first 1.5 days of hunting here, including 2 P&Ys and one possible yesterday morning early that I didn’t get a good look at. Guys have hunted here for a couple decades and haven't pulled back on a good Hag buck. I was given an opportunity. Hopefully it won’t be the last, but as disappointing as today was, I’m trying to keep it all in perspective. But I’m afraid to sleep now because I know what I’ll be dreaming of.

Special thanks to Officer Owens for connecting me with and convincing the land owner to let me look around, Bama for lending me his super flashlight tonight, and all you here for the encouragement.

you didn't take a full on frontal shot?!

[woodsman]

you didn't take a full on frontal shot?!

um yeah... unsure if serious or rhetorical...

It was a quartering-to frontal shot, 15 yards, no pass-thru. However, I hit him dead at the base of his neck. Followed blood for 100 yards or so, seems to have quit.

[woodsman]

***Day 3!!!***

Rise & Shine, these deer won’t kill themselves

[32drawlength]

Good luck today
Stay with it, don’t cave in early

[Razorback01]

Seg C

um yeah... unsure if serious or rhetorical...

It's a serious question.

Good luck today, 15-20mph S wind all day.

[bowhuntntxn]

Well, this is it. The 2019 Hagerman hunting segments will conclude today. You guys and gals know what to do when the time comes, so good luck in making it all happen.

[DonBell1144]

Woodsman,
I hope you are able to recover that deer. I thought I might mention that many buzzards were already circling low right over my deer’s gut pile by the time I got back to retrieve it with my bike (about an hours time)

Thank you so much for all the kind words on the forum about the deer I harvested. I was deep in BM. I had to cross many major trails to get to my stand that morning so I thought it would be a good idea to use a drag line on my way in. I soaked it with golden estrus.

I actually had a bit of a tough time locating my tree in the dark. My pin took me about 40 yards off course. I walked around a bit more than intended but eventually found my spot as the light was just bright enough to make things out without my light.

I got up in my set and as I was pulling my bow up a shooter spooked from about 35 yards. Taller than the buck I shot but likely not as wide.

I finished getting my bow and accessories out. I was hunting out of a Tetherd saddle with two mini platforms so I could move around the tree. It wasn’t ten mins after that I heard a deer approaching from the trail I just walked in on. I had my back to the trail. When I first saw him he was casually walking right to my tree at 30 yards. I knew instantly he was a shooter. He came straight to the base of my tree then put his head down and started circling my tree. I stopped him at 17 yards and shot. He ran about 70 yards and fell over.

This was my first time to hunt Hagerman. I have put in many times and never been drawn. So nice to meet so many of you over the weekend. I hope today turns out to produce the kind of deer you all hope for. Good luck!!