So me and my dad like to do some trapping every year after all the harvesting is done. Today we were out looking for some of the critter runs to put traps out tomorrow. We drove around for about 2 hours, finding some good spots here and there; the whole time not seeing a SINGLE DEER. I've been out in my stand just about every night this week, and can tell you that here in North Central Iowa, the rut is extremely slow. I've rattled in a few fork bucks, but haven't gotten to see anything worth even knocking an arrow for. UNTIL TODAY. As we were driving along, my dad looks up a fenceline of ours and sees two deer bedded down. I could see one of the deer's racks plain as day from 300 yards off. Like a couple of fat kids in a candy store, we both looked at eachother smiling ear to ear and without even saying anything, he turned the pickup around and heading back to pick up my bow. We get back to the spot and he drops me off in a field drive behind them. I have never been good at slow stalks. Even when I'm shotgun hunting, I seem to fail more often than not. Having only bow hunted a couple years now, I am fricken determined to take something "wall worthy." The wind wasn't completely ideal, but it was good enough I figured. It wasn't going to be a far walk, but the field that I was in (behind them) was higher than the bean field and the way they were hunkered down, it was almost impossible to know exactly where to walk. I crept up there with 10 yards of the fencline and knew they were still bedding. How close I had gotten was still a mystery. I sat there for about 5 minutes just gathering myself and trying to calm myself down. I was shaking llike crazy and hadn't even gotten a look at the big guy yet. I stood up and took two more steps and saw the doe standing looking in the opposite direction. She stood for about 3 minutes and laid back down. From where she was standing, I knew I had to be within 8 yards of the buck. I slowly stood up and saw the big boy's rack turning. Keeping myself from filling my pants up. I stood there for a good 30 minutes waiting for him to stand. All I could see was his head and rack. They were both still focused on my dads pickup on the road infront of them as he slowly drove down the road hoping to get them to stand. I stood there hopeless. I was within cow fricken roping distance, but didn't have a ethical shot at this buck. Worst feeling in the world. I don't know if I had focused to much on the buck and the doe spotted me or what, but within the blink of an eye, the white flags went up. He was a 10 pointer which would have scored in the 160's-170. Man I wish I could have done something differently, but I honestly don't know what I could have done to get him to stand without scaring him. I'm still not sure if he winded me, or if the pickup on the road scared him. I have a problem shooting a bedded dear, and about a spine shot was all I would have gotten a crack at anyway. I'm done venting now. I thank the lord for giving me such a cool oppurtunity. 
Just wish I could have capitalized.
Just wish I could have capitalized.
