IA_shooter
New Member
I decided to get a doe tag for the late muzzy season and hunt with my S&W 460 XVR handgun again.
I got out to the area by my stand and found a place to sit on the ground but I didn't like the way the wind direction was for that area so after a short time I decided to walk out of that area to the South along a fence line towards a hillside that faces south down to a picked corn field. Once I made the long walk down to the spot I wanted to sit, in a corner of a fence line, I noticed 2 does feeding out in the cornfield to the SW of me about 400-500 yards away. They were very, very slowly feeding and walking to the East towards me but they were spooked by something when they got to around 300 yards of me. What spooked them was a small herd of deer that came from the NW of me down into that field. They never really stopped to feed, they just made a bee line out across that field to the South and across the creek over into another area with a picked corn field with a timber next to it. There were 14-15 deer in that group and after waiting a while I figured they would probably never work back my way so I decided to head back to the area around my stand for the last hour.
I got back into about the same spot I started and saw movement over on the far West side of the old quarry pond timber and started slowly moving that way but I couldn't see any movement over there again and just sat there against a tree for a while and then noticed a couple deer running to the East just North of me into another small patch of timber. A couple more ran through and by then I saw several deer moving in/around that small piece of timber.
I crept up against the fence line that separates my area and the area North of me and that's when a doe comes busting out of that timber, runs around in a big wide circle and back into the timber. Then she does it again............and again. She was just out there playing I guess. I kept hoping she would come within 100 yards or so of me but she never really got closer than about 125-130 yards of me while she was doing her little playful run around in a big wide circle.
The next time she does it I grunted loudly and got her attention. She stops and just starts a very slow walk while looking over in my direction. I knew she was close to 150 yards away or better but I had a real steady rest in my shooting sticks up against the fence. I put the crosshairs in the Leupold 4x28 right on her midsection a pull off a good shot. I see her flinch. She runs a short distance and then just stands there. I wondered if I missed? Nope..........she starts wobbling and falls over.
So I wait several minutes and start walking over to her and when I got within about 20-25 yards of her, a coyote comes bounding around the corner of that timber! It ends up less than 50 yards from me and stops to look at me. I slowly pull the handgun out and try to slowly raise it up to try an off hand shot. I just get it in the crosshairs when it decides it wants no part of whatever I am. I did get a shot off and heard a short sharp high pitched yelp but the coyote was on a dead run down onto the pond that sits in that section and he ran across the frozen pond over to the far side, slowed for a few seconds and jumped up off of the pond into the evergreens that surround the far side of that pond. Never saw it again. I walked over to where it was standing and I followed the tracks down onto the pond and I found a couple very small blood spots, but they were barely noticeable. I think I just grazed it as I didn't see any more blood out across the pond where it ran and I wasn't about to go out on the ice, I HATE ice!
So it was a very fun and successful afternoon hunt!
My wife was so thrilled to have to come out and take another picture of me and another dead deer in the back of my truck.
I got out to the area by my stand and found a place to sit on the ground but I didn't like the way the wind direction was for that area so after a short time I decided to walk out of that area to the South along a fence line towards a hillside that faces south down to a picked corn field. Once I made the long walk down to the spot I wanted to sit, in a corner of a fence line, I noticed 2 does feeding out in the cornfield to the SW of me about 400-500 yards away. They were very, very slowly feeding and walking to the East towards me but they were spooked by something when they got to around 300 yards of me. What spooked them was a small herd of deer that came from the NW of me down into that field. They never really stopped to feed, they just made a bee line out across that field to the South and across the creek over into another area with a picked corn field with a timber next to it. There were 14-15 deer in that group and after waiting a while I figured they would probably never work back my way so I decided to head back to the area around my stand for the last hour.
I got back into about the same spot I started and saw movement over on the far West side of the old quarry pond timber and started slowly moving that way but I couldn't see any movement over there again and just sat there against a tree for a while and then noticed a couple deer running to the East just North of me into another small patch of timber. A couple more ran through and by then I saw several deer moving in/around that small piece of timber.
I crept up against the fence line that separates my area and the area North of me and that's when a doe comes busting out of that timber, runs around in a big wide circle and back into the timber. Then she does it again............and again. She was just out there playing I guess. I kept hoping she would come within 100 yards or so of me but she never really got closer than about 125-130 yards of me while she was doing her little playful run around in a big wide circle.
The next time she does it I grunted loudly and got her attention. She stops and just starts a very slow walk while looking over in my direction. I knew she was close to 150 yards away or better but I had a real steady rest in my shooting sticks up against the fence. I put the crosshairs in the Leupold 4x28 right on her midsection a pull off a good shot. I see her flinch. She runs a short distance and then just stands there. I wondered if I missed? Nope..........she starts wobbling and falls over.
So I wait several minutes and start walking over to her and when I got within about 20-25 yards of her, a coyote comes bounding around the corner of that timber! It ends up less than 50 yards from me and stops to look at me. I slowly pull the handgun out and try to slowly raise it up to try an off hand shot. I just get it in the crosshairs when it decides it wants no part of whatever I am. I did get a shot off and heard a short sharp high pitched yelp but the coyote was on a dead run down onto the pond that sits in that section and he ran across the frozen pond over to the far side, slowed for a few seconds and jumped up off of the pond into the evergreens that surround the far side of that pond. Never saw it again. I walked over to where it was standing and I followed the tracks down onto the pond and I found a couple very small blood spots, but they were barely noticeable. I think I just grazed it as I didn't see any more blood out across the pond where it ran and I wasn't about to go out on the ice, I HATE ice!
So it was a very fun and successful afternoon hunt!
My wife was so thrilled to have to come out and take another picture of me and another dead deer in the back of my truck.
