bueller
Moderator
I apologize in advance for the long winded story but it feels good to just decompress and type away right now. It's been quite an up and down 2019 for me. Free time has been and continues to be very limited and that's why I haven't been on the forum much at all. Deer hunting this fall seemed like more of dream than a reality. I told myself if an October cold front pushes through on one of my off days I'm going hunting. All last week the highs were in the upper 60's to low 70's. Friday the bottom fell out and by Saturday afternoon it was in the mid 30's with strong gusty winds and snow showers. First sit of the year was Saturday afternoon out of a box blind overlooking a food plot. Didn't see a single deer. Pulled cards from cameras and found limited overall daytime activity and no bucks showing up anywhere near hunting hours. Fast forward to Sunday afternoon. Really wanted to hunt a stand in the oaks since the plot activity wasn't looking great combined with the fact that I must have crushed a thousand acorns walking to and from the plot on Saturday. Only one problem. I pulled something in my back on Saturday morning and there was no way I could sit in a ladder stand without being in constant pain. The only real option to be somewhat comfortable and able to move around a bit was to go back to the food plot box blind with an office chair so that's where I went. The gusty winds finally went flat late afternoon. Sunset was approaching and I was still yet to see a deer.
Every once in a while in the woods behind me I would hear a small twig snap or an acorn being cracked open but I pretty much wrote it off as squirrels or blue jays as time went on with nothing else showing. This went on for an hour or so. With about 15 minutes of hunting time left I decided to turn and prepare for a shot behind me so that I wouldn't be left scrambling if a deer were to step out there. It couldn't have been more than 3 minutes later when I hear another small twig snap, this time right at the edge of the plot/woods. Still nothing showing.
A few seconds later I see antlers beginning to inch out of the woods and into the plot. Thankfully I had repositioned and was prepared for this as the buck was about 10 yards from my stand working over some low hanging branches along the edge of the woods. I waited for him to step out into the plot for a clean shot and to get somewhat past me so I could get the crosshairs (yes I hunt with a crossbow) on him without him seeing my movements. Nailed him at about 15 yards. He ran off into the woods in the direction he was headed. In my experience this is usually a good sign vs turning and running back where he came from. I did not hear him crash. Got down just before dark and found the arrow. Seemed to be good blood on the arrow and a couple small spots on the ground at the point of impact.
I opted to back out instead of looking any further. I gave him 4 hours all the while reliving and having deja vu feelings of the buck of my lifetime that I hit and lost a year ago. When I went out to look for him I chose not to start at the point of impact because if he was still alive tracking him from this location could have easily pushed him off my property. I circled around instead and walked an access trail that I figured he either died within sight of or would've had to cross if he continued in the direction he was running. Conveniently he was found right next to this trail. He only made it 30 or 40 yards from the point of impact. Turns out the arrow went through one lung and the liver. I assume he was probably dead within seconds of the shot but who knows. Didn't appear to be much of a blood trail at all but I never walked all the way back to the point of impact. This buck is no monster by any means but in the high pressure sandy forest I hunt he with his funky looking left side is a pretty good one. Live weight was 185 lbs. I have multiple cameras on this plot and other areas of the property but never had this buck in any photos. Thanks for reading, hope it was at least somewhat entertaining.
Every once in a while in the woods behind me I would hear a small twig snap or an acorn being cracked open but I pretty much wrote it off as squirrels or blue jays as time went on with nothing else showing. This went on for an hour or so. With about 15 minutes of hunting time left I decided to turn and prepare for a shot behind me so that I wouldn't be left scrambling if a deer were to step out there. It couldn't have been more than 3 minutes later when I hear another small twig snap, this time right at the edge of the plot/woods. Still nothing showing.
A few seconds later I see antlers beginning to inch out of the woods and into the plot. Thankfully I had repositioned and was prepared for this as the buck was about 10 yards from my stand working over some low hanging branches along the edge of the woods. I waited for him to step out into the plot for a clean shot and to get somewhat past me so I could get the crosshairs (yes I hunt with a crossbow) on him without him seeing my movements. Nailed him at about 15 yards. He ran off into the woods in the direction he was headed. In my experience this is usually a good sign vs turning and running back where he came from. I did not hear him crash. Got down just before dark and found the arrow. Seemed to be good blood on the arrow and a couple small spots on the ground at the point of impact.
I opted to back out instead of looking any further. I gave him 4 hours all the while reliving and having deja vu feelings of the buck of my lifetime that I hit and lost a year ago. When I went out to look for him I chose not to start at the point of impact because if he was still alive tracking him from this location could have easily pushed him off my property. I circled around instead and walked an access trail that I figured he either died within sight of or would've had to cross if he continued in the direction he was running. Conveniently he was found right next to this trail. He only made it 30 or 40 yards from the point of impact. Turns out the arrow went through one lung and the liver. I assume he was probably dead within seconds of the shot but who knows. Didn't appear to be much of a blood trail at all but I never walked all the way back to the point of impact. This buck is no monster by any means but in the high pressure sandy forest I hunt he with his funky looking left side is a pretty good one. Live weight was 185 lbs. I have multiple cameras on this plot and other areas of the property but never had this buck in any photos. Thanks for reading, hope it was at least somewhat entertaining.
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