nacho2770
New Member
This story starts out a few years ago when my good friend Scotty and I started to bow hunt together. His family about 25 miles from my hometown and my family has land about 90 miles away. We would swap weekends and alternate hunting each others land. It always seems like the other guy has more luck on your land then you do, but we will get to that.
There was this draw that ran up from the river on his land that we have always wanted to hunt for years, but we could never come up with a plan on how to hunt it so we always forgot about it. This year we really wanted to figure out something so we took a look at maybe a ground blind. Problem was there isn't much brush and there just wasn't a very good place for a blind. So we see this scrubby looking little tree and we think...hey...we could get a stand in that. We both kind of laughed about it, but decided to throw it up and see how it looked. The stand is only 4 ft off the ground, but it looked good and I had confidence that it would work. Scotty was sceptical but hopeful, so we got everything trimmed out and ready to hunt.
A little over a week passed and we decided to jet out of work early to do our first sit on his property. We had seen a really nice buck at another spot so he decided to go sit there and I decided to sit in the "sky-scraper" as we so clevery named it. Scotty had put his camera out there not long before I sat in the stand so we had no idea if there were any shooter bucks in there or not, but I had a feeling there was so I was ready to hunt.
I was still kind of sick from the flu and there was a really big cold front moving through. We got our first hard frost that night....it got cold. After sitting in the stand for what seemed like an eternity, I had a few nice mature does show up. They were nice and I thought about shooting one, but I was so cold I just let them walk by.
About 30 minutes later I look way down the draw and see a big deer walk out of the bottom. I got my binos on him and saw that it was a really nice buck and it was an hour before dark. I was excited, but it didn't look like he was going to come my way so I didn't get too worked up. Slowly he made his way up the draw taking his sweet time closing the distance to me. He got to about 100 yards to the point he dropped out of my view and I wasn't sure if he would go behind me or come right towards me. I took my bow off the hanger and prayed for the best. I was amazed when he walked over the hill right next to me. Remember I am in a 4ft stand!!! He walked almost right under me at about 4 yards and continued to go past right in front of me. I was able to draw when he got behind a little dead brush and I took an 8 yard quartering away shot. My rage broadhead entered about the second to last rib and came out perfect. He ran out of that draw like he was on fire and flew over the hill.
I was pumped!!! After 20 minutes, I gathered my things and pulled the camera card and grabbed my arrow. Everything looked good so I started to follow the blood. About half way up the hill I left the blood figuring he was just over the hill. I got up there and he was no where to be found. So I waited for scotty to come with flashlights....we decided to run to town and eat supper and come back in a few hours. We came back out and the frost had already set in and made it impossible to follow the blood. After trying for about 20 minutes I made the call to back out and wait till morning.
After a sleepless night we went back out and picked up the blood. The blood trail was consistent, but not what you would expect from a 2 in hole. I figured that something was blocking the exit hole and that is why it didn't look like a firehose. We trailed the blood across the CRP field for an hour and I couldn't believe how far he went. At the end of the field was a fence and a standing wheat field. I was not liking the idea of that buck being able to jump that fence after traveling all that distance. As we got closer my friend Scotty said it looked like the deer fell over after jumping the fence because a bunch of the wheat was knocked down. I looked closer.......and sure enough there he was laying. He must have jumped the fence and hit the ground and that is were he died. That buck made it 250 yards after what I thought was a really good shot....they really can surprise a guy sometimes. I was elated to find him.....only bad thing is the coyotes found him first. Dang Coyotes!!!!!! At least they didn't hurt the cape and head so I could take him to the taxidermist.
After checking the trail camera pictures we discovered that we got a pic of him seconds before I shot him and you can see me in the stand getting ready to draw on him. It sure is a cool picture.
Here it is.
And here is what the coyotes did to him before we found him.
I am so happy to get this buck. This is the earliest I have ever tagged out in my hunting career. I am going to be lost until the gun season.
Here is my 2010 Archery Buck
It sure was a great hunt..........and now it is Scottys turn.:grin:
There was this draw that ran up from the river on his land that we have always wanted to hunt for years, but we could never come up with a plan on how to hunt it so we always forgot about it. This year we really wanted to figure out something so we took a look at maybe a ground blind. Problem was there isn't much brush and there just wasn't a very good place for a blind. So we see this scrubby looking little tree and we think...hey...we could get a stand in that. We both kind of laughed about it, but decided to throw it up and see how it looked. The stand is only 4 ft off the ground, but it looked good and I had confidence that it would work. Scotty was sceptical but hopeful, so we got everything trimmed out and ready to hunt.
A little over a week passed and we decided to jet out of work early to do our first sit on his property. We had seen a really nice buck at another spot so he decided to go sit there and I decided to sit in the "sky-scraper" as we so clevery named it. Scotty had put his camera out there not long before I sat in the stand so we had no idea if there were any shooter bucks in there or not, but I had a feeling there was so I was ready to hunt.
I was still kind of sick from the flu and there was a really big cold front moving through. We got our first hard frost that night....it got cold. After sitting in the stand for what seemed like an eternity, I had a few nice mature does show up. They were nice and I thought about shooting one, but I was so cold I just let them walk by.
About 30 minutes later I look way down the draw and see a big deer walk out of the bottom. I got my binos on him and saw that it was a really nice buck and it was an hour before dark. I was excited, but it didn't look like he was going to come my way so I didn't get too worked up. Slowly he made his way up the draw taking his sweet time closing the distance to me. He got to about 100 yards to the point he dropped out of my view and I wasn't sure if he would go behind me or come right towards me. I took my bow off the hanger and prayed for the best. I was amazed when he walked over the hill right next to me. Remember I am in a 4ft stand!!! He walked almost right under me at about 4 yards and continued to go past right in front of me. I was able to draw when he got behind a little dead brush and I took an 8 yard quartering away shot. My rage broadhead entered about the second to last rib and came out perfect. He ran out of that draw like he was on fire and flew over the hill.
I was pumped!!! After 20 minutes, I gathered my things and pulled the camera card and grabbed my arrow. Everything looked good so I started to follow the blood. About half way up the hill I left the blood figuring he was just over the hill. I got up there and he was no where to be found. So I waited for scotty to come with flashlights....we decided to run to town and eat supper and come back in a few hours. We came back out and the frost had already set in and made it impossible to follow the blood. After trying for about 20 minutes I made the call to back out and wait till morning.
After a sleepless night we went back out and picked up the blood. The blood trail was consistent, but not what you would expect from a 2 in hole. I figured that something was blocking the exit hole and that is why it didn't look like a firehose. We trailed the blood across the CRP field for an hour and I couldn't believe how far he went. At the end of the field was a fence and a standing wheat field. I was not liking the idea of that buck being able to jump that fence after traveling all that distance. As we got closer my friend Scotty said it looked like the deer fell over after jumping the fence because a bunch of the wheat was knocked down. I looked closer.......and sure enough there he was laying. He must have jumped the fence and hit the ground and that is were he died. That buck made it 250 yards after what I thought was a really good shot....they really can surprise a guy sometimes. I was elated to find him.....only bad thing is the coyotes found him first. Dang Coyotes!!!!!! At least they didn't hurt the cape and head so I could take him to the taxidermist.
After checking the trail camera pictures we discovered that we got a pic of him seconds before I shot him and you can see me in the stand getting ready to draw on him. It sure is a cool picture.
Here it is.
And here is what the coyotes did to him before we found him.
I am so happy to get this buck. This is the earliest I have ever tagged out in my hunting career. I am going to be lost until the gun season.
Here is my 2010 Archery Buck
It sure was a great hunt..........and now it is Scottys turn.:grin:
