I took a nice whitetail this year for our area and I thought I would include some history and some lessons learned along the way.
I got pics of him in 2010 walking by my camera I had placed at an opening in the fence. Needless to say I was fired up.
Didn't have any luck finding him that year but I did shoot a beauty after busting my butt every oppertunity I had.
The following year (last year) I didn't see him but I also shot another nice buck.
Fast forward to this year...
In doing some trimming around my ladder stand I wanted to take some brances down that were a little high for my saw so I tried with my cousin and we couldn't get them.Screw it I said.
The night before the opening of rifle season, my brother and I get this amazing idea to go for a duck hunt because we were bored. We hmmd and hawwd and said F it lets go. 60 yrds from the camp as we came over a small hill, there he was, standing broadside, big rack clear as day. He takes one look at us and runs off. Needless to say I was choked. This deer was right in fron of my stand, the night before rifle season, and it was the first time I had laid eyes on him. Bummed out does not even describe my twisted gut.
Opening day was slow, opening night a 4pt walked out perfectly, broadside at 25yrds. (since we were lucky enough this year to go 0 for 6 on doe tags, first buck coming out was going down for meat). I line him up with my mod70 3006, POW he jumps his rear end and runs into the bush. Buck down Im thinking no way to miss. I wait 40min, get down, all I find is a handfull of whitehair. Im thinking, how could that even happen I had him dead to rights, practised all year blah blah. No blood. Dammit. Back in my stand only to notice one of those branches I intended to cut is now hanging with sap dripping out of it. Dammit. Wounded him/skinned him and I was not happy. Opening week ended with tag soup.
Fast forward to 2nd wk of rifle season...
I get a shot of the deer I wounded on camera with a small wound skinning his belly. This makes me feel good knowing hes still alive and didnt get eaten by the yotes.
Then I get a pic of my white whale....
I wasn;t able to get away from work until the weekend.
Hunted that saturday and sunday, nothing.
Fast forward to last weekend. Now its bow season only.
Sunday night I decided to hunt in a spot in the timber where I have a ladder stand, only not in the ladder, on the ground behind it. There I am sitting thinking about the whole years hunts and not happy with myself when I hear some deer coming, and not quietly either. I see a doe come within 20yrds of me, jump the fence and start eating some grass. Behind here I see a big bodied deer and some horns but hes not coming close enough and disappears. Dammit. So I keep my eyes on the doe. 5 long minutes later, he appears and looks like hes following her and about to jump the fence. I put my only shooting lane between 2 trees and wait what seemed like forever for him to step in front. WHACK I smoked him and down he goes. I wait 20min, but hes still moving, so I reload my crossbow and walk over to him to find hes spined and I have to put another one into the heart. Game Over. Shot him at 330pm.
So here are my lessons learned this year:
1. If you think for one second you should cut a branch or a tree, do it. They never come where you plan or where you want them to, nor do they stop there unless you get lucky. Put the odds in your favour and get rid of the crap you may have to shoot through, rifle or bow.
2. Even when your frustrated, keep going out. If you wanna feel sorry for yourself for not having much action, do it in the treestand. You won't kill anything at home.
3. Alot of people saw the buck and said, Lucky Man!. I just smile and say thank you knowing luck had almost nothing to do with it. I have hunted every single weekend since October, 1st wk of rifle, and kept going back for more. You need to be in a good location that holds bucks and does, you need to be a good shot (practise yr round) to make the shot when needed, but most importantly, you need to have your @$$ in the woods as much as possible from the nicest days to the worst. Eventually it will pay off for you and you can earn the title of being "lucky".
Hope some of this helps the guys who havn't been successful yet or someone just getting into hunting. I am no master. But I have shot a nice buck (they're all nice) every year since starting hunting (5yrs) and am planning on it every year going forward. Enjoy your time out there because you never know when it will end or you wont be able to hunt anymore.
Dan
I got pics of him in 2010 walking by my camera I had placed at an opening in the fence. Needless to say I was fired up.
Didn't have any luck finding him that year but I did shoot a beauty after busting my butt every oppertunity I had.
The following year (last year) I didn't see him but I also shot another nice buck.
Fast forward to this year...
In doing some trimming around my ladder stand I wanted to take some brances down that were a little high for my saw so I tried with my cousin and we couldn't get them.Screw it I said.
The night before the opening of rifle season, my brother and I get this amazing idea to go for a duck hunt because we were bored. We hmmd and hawwd and said F it lets go. 60 yrds from the camp as we came over a small hill, there he was, standing broadside, big rack clear as day. He takes one look at us and runs off. Needless to say I was choked. This deer was right in fron of my stand, the night before rifle season, and it was the first time I had laid eyes on him. Bummed out does not even describe my twisted gut.
Opening day was slow, opening night a 4pt walked out perfectly, broadside at 25yrds. (since we were lucky enough this year to go 0 for 6 on doe tags, first buck coming out was going down for meat). I line him up with my mod70 3006, POW he jumps his rear end and runs into the bush. Buck down Im thinking no way to miss. I wait 40min, get down, all I find is a handfull of whitehair. Im thinking, how could that even happen I had him dead to rights, practised all year blah blah. No blood. Dammit. Back in my stand only to notice one of those branches I intended to cut is now hanging with sap dripping out of it. Dammit. Wounded him/skinned him and I was not happy. Opening week ended with tag soup.
Fast forward to 2nd wk of rifle season...
I get a shot of the deer I wounded on camera with a small wound skinning his belly. This makes me feel good knowing hes still alive and didnt get eaten by the yotes.
Then I get a pic of my white whale....
I wasn;t able to get away from work until the weekend.
Hunted that saturday and sunday, nothing.
Fast forward to last weekend. Now its bow season only.
Sunday night I decided to hunt in a spot in the timber where I have a ladder stand, only not in the ladder, on the ground behind it. There I am sitting thinking about the whole years hunts and not happy with myself when I hear some deer coming, and not quietly either. I see a doe come within 20yrds of me, jump the fence and start eating some grass. Behind here I see a big bodied deer and some horns but hes not coming close enough and disappears. Dammit. So I keep my eyes on the doe. 5 long minutes later, he appears and looks like hes following her and about to jump the fence. I put my only shooting lane between 2 trees and wait what seemed like forever for him to step in front. WHACK I smoked him and down he goes. I wait 20min, but hes still moving, so I reload my crossbow and walk over to him to find hes spined and I have to put another one into the heart. Game Over. Shot him at 330pm.
So here are my lessons learned this year:
1. If you think for one second you should cut a branch or a tree, do it. They never come where you plan or where you want them to, nor do they stop there unless you get lucky. Put the odds in your favour and get rid of the crap you may have to shoot through, rifle or bow.
2. Even when your frustrated, keep going out. If you wanna feel sorry for yourself for not having much action, do it in the treestand. You won't kill anything at home.
3. Alot of people saw the buck and said, Lucky Man!. I just smile and say thank you knowing luck had almost nothing to do with it. I have hunted every single weekend since October, 1st wk of rifle, and kept going back for more. You need to be in a good location that holds bucks and does, you need to be a good shot (practise yr round) to make the shot when needed, but most importantly, you need to have your @$$ in the woods as much as possible from the nicest days to the worst. Eventually it will pay off for you and you can earn the title of being "lucky".
Hope some of this helps the guys who havn't been successful yet or someone just getting into hunting. I am no master. But I have shot a nice buck (they're all nice) every year since starting hunting (5yrs) and am planning on it every year going forward. Enjoy your time out there because you never know when it will end or you wont be able to hunt anymore.
Dan
