Recently my mule deer story poped back to the top of the board. A few people mentioned doing it the hard way, and things like that. I do consider that my high point, but I got to thinking about other times when I felt like exhibited some skill and times when I didn't.
I once got an invite to a friends lease in Del Rio. I gave him a grunt call as a gift for having me out. He put me in his stand, he told me which way the deer would come from, how many there would probably be, and when they would get there. He went and hit in some bushes. When the deer showed up, I was having a hard time drawing with out getting busted, and then he blew his new grunt call. The deer turned to look and I shot a doe. She ran right to where he was hiding and fell over. He came running up excited and exclaimed what a great hunter I was. I told him I had done nothing but shoot. He had done all the hunting getting the spot ready and even distracting the deer.
Anyway here is a story of one of my fonder memories, where I had to demonstrate a little more skill and just shooting. Perhaps you would like to add a story of your own.
Still Hunting Doe
For many years my friends and I hunted a weekend fall deer hunt at the Baker Ranch in Rocksprings. We had a great group and those are some of my best memories. We had many successes there, but a couple of mine stand out in my memory.
One year the weather was really terrible. A cold front had blown through and the temperature was in the forties and the north wind was strong and gusty. I had given my better spots to a couple of new bowhunters. We often did this, as it was a great way to get a new bowhunter their first deer. The secondary spots I had chosen were either not producing or bad for the north wind.
On Sunday morning it was my last chance to get an animal. Normally getting an animal is not that big a deal and hunting is more about getting out and being with friends, but I was on a streak of about twelve or thirteen years in a row of getting a deer, turkey, or both on this weekend hunt. I knew I was being greedy, but I wanted to keep my streak in tack.
I had no good plan for the last hunt. I decided that I would go in the East Pasture, and just go down the fence until I either saw some sign or found a place it looks like the deer were crossing. I walked along in the dark and when I got to the top of a plateau, I found what I was looking for, a spot that had all the ear marks of a deer travel route. I sat up a stool in some brush, cut out a shooting lane and waited for daylight.
When it got light enough to see, I saw one deer pass about fifty yards away. In an hour, I was cold and doubting my spot on the top of the hill. I got to thinking how miserable I was and that the deer were probably the same. I thought to myself, if I were a deer, where would I be? I remembered a huge depression at the end of the pasture. It was a kind of canyon or bowl that would be protected by the wind.
I made decision that I would give up my spot and head over there. I know that when you decide to go to the game instead of waiting on the game to come to you, your chances go way, way down. Still, my hope was that I could find either deer bedded to stalk, or find where they might be moving in the protected area and sit up again. In any case, I would warm up some from moving.
As I got close to the edge of the drop off I got low, so as not to be silhouetted on the skyline. I eased forward and started to scan the canyon below me for any deer. In just a minute or two I spotted two does moving at the bottom of the valley from my left to right. I watched them walking along in trail. I thought they might bed down and give me a stalking chance. I then noticed that they were slowly angling up the side of the hill toward my level. I could see they were on a faint trail and I followed the trail with my eyes until I saw where I thought it would come out on my level. This was about a hundred and fifty yards down from my location. I stepped back from the edge out of possible sight and speed walked to where I thought they might pop out if they continued down their current path.
I went as fast as I could, without exerting myself enough to be winded. I was glad for the wind which covered my sound as I moved quickly.
I arrived at what I believed to be the spot and got down on both knees. Because of the way the cover was, thick in the canyon but none on top, I chose a thick bush that was right by the trail and got beside it. I was probably less than three feet from where I hoped they would appear. I knew this was not optimal, but I also knew that I didn’t have a choice and that I might have only seconds to get ready. I was in the open and I knew it this happened, things would happen fast and I needed to be ready.
I figured that I would wait for about ten minutes and if they did not show up I would stand and see if I could find out where they went. I also realized that I was so close that I would not be able to move with the deer in sight. I kept my eyes as looking through the bushes down the trail. Ready to draw.
Then it happened. I saw a little flash of deer color moving through the brush about ten yards down. I drew my longbow and pointed it at the spot the shot would come.
The doe stepped forward exposing her chest and in that instant I shot and she saw me. I don’t know if my arrow was completely clear of the riser when it hit the deer she was so close. I knew that the shot was good and that I had taken a deer on the last hunt.
It took me a bit to realize how special this was for me. It is not that easy to kill a deer with traditional equipment without benefit of a stand, blind, feeder, or the normal things that tip the odds a little more in our favor. In addition I made a good decision when I evaluated the situation and then changed my plan. I know that I also had a bit of good fortune that day, as the timing was pure luck. The animal was only an average size doe, so a person might not understand the satisfaction from the method of taking the doe, but for me this is one of my fondest hunting memories.
I once got an invite to a friends lease in Del Rio. I gave him a grunt call as a gift for having me out. He put me in his stand, he told me which way the deer would come from, how many there would probably be, and when they would get there. He went and hit in some bushes. When the deer showed up, I was having a hard time drawing with out getting busted, and then he blew his new grunt call. The deer turned to look and I shot a doe. She ran right to where he was hiding and fell over. He came running up excited and exclaimed what a great hunter I was. I told him I had done nothing but shoot. He had done all the hunting getting the spot ready and even distracting the deer.
Anyway here is a story of one of my fonder memories, where I had to demonstrate a little more skill and just shooting. Perhaps you would like to add a story of your own.
Still Hunting Doe
For many years my friends and I hunted a weekend fall deer hunt at the Baker Ranch in Rocksprings. We had a great group and those are some of my best memories. We had many successes there, but a couple of mine stand out in my memory.
One year the weather was really terrible. A cold front had blown through and the temperature was in the forties and the north wind was strong and gusty. I had given my better spots to a couple of new bowhunters. We often did this, as it was a great way to get a new bowhunter their first deer. The secondary spots I had chosen were either not producing or bad for the north wind.
On Sunday morning it was my last chance to get an animal. Normally getting an animal is not that big a deal and hunting is more about getting out and being with friends, but I was on a streak of about twelve or thirteen years in a row of getting a deer, turkey, or both on this weekend hunt. I knew I was being greedy, but I wanted to keep my streak in tack.
I had no good plan for the last hunt. I decided that I would go in the East Pasture, and just go down the fence until I either saw some sign or found a place it looks like the deer were crossing. I walked along in the dark and when I got to the top of a plateau, I found what I was looking for, a spot that had all the ear marks of a deer travel route. I sat up a stool in some brush, cut out a shooting lane and waited for daylight.
When it got light enough to see, I saw one deer pass about fifty yards away. In an hour, I was cold and doubting my spot on the top of the hill. I got to thinking how miserable I was and that the deer were probably the same. I thought to myself, if I were a deer, where would I be? I remembered a huge depression at the end of the pasture. It was a kind of canyon or bowl that would be protected by the wind.
I made decision that I would give up my spot and head over there. I know that when you decide to go to the game instead of waiting on the game to come to you, your chances go way, way down. Still, my hope was that I could find either deer bedded to stalk, or find where they might be moving in the protected area and sit up again. In any case, I would warm up some from moving.
As I got close to the edge of the drop off I got low, so as not to be silhouetted on the skyline. I eased forward and started to scan the canyon below me for any deer. In just a minute or two I spotted two does moving at the bottom of the valley from my left to right. I watched them walking along in trail. I thought they might bed down and give me a stalking chance. I then noticed that they were slowly angling up the side of the hill toward my level. I could see they were on a faint trail and I followed the trail with my eyes until I saw where I thought it would come out on my level. This was about a hundred and fifty yards down from my location. I stepped back from the edge out of possible sight and speed walked to where I thought they might pop out if they continued down their current path.
I went as fast as I could, without exerting myself enough to be winded. I was glad for the wind which covered my sound as I moved quickly.
I arrived at what I believed to be the spot and got down on both knees. Because of the way the cover was, thick in the canyon but none on top, I chose a thick bush that was right by the trail and got beside it. I was probably less than three feet from where I hoped they would appear. I knew this was not optimal, but I also knew that I didn’t have a choice and that I might have only seconds to get ready. I was in the open and I knew it this happened, things would happen fast and I needed to be ready.
I figured that I would wait for about ten minutes and if they did not show up I would stand and see if I could find out where they went. I also realized that I was so close that I would not be able to move with the deer in sight. I kept my eyes as looking through the bushes down the trail. Ready to draw.
Then it happened. I saw a little flash of deer color moving through the brush about ten yards down. I drew my longbow and pointed it at the spot the shot would come.
The doe stepped forward exposing her chest and in that instant I shot and she saw me. I don’t know if my arrow was completely clear of the riser when it hit the deer she was so close. I knew that the shot was good and that I had taken a deer on the last hunt.
It took me a bit to realize how special this was for me. It is not that easy to kill a deer with traditional equipment without benefit of a stand, blind, feeder, or the normal things that tip the odds a little more in our favor. In addition I made a good decision when I evaluated the situation and then changed my plan. I know that I also had a bit of good fortune that day, as the timing was pure luck. The animal was only an average size doe, so a person might not understand the satisfaction from the method of taking the doe, but for me this is one of my fondest hunting memories.
Comment