- Banned
- #1
kscreekguy
FNG
We were right into a time where I felt that the rut had to be on. I have been hunting the same areas at the local reservoir for the last three to four years. I do not use a stand, I still hunt a network of game trails and small drainages that lead down to the reservoir. We had a real sloppy snow the night before and in the morning the temp was coming up and the wind was blowing. I have had deer tags the last five years, but due to lack of experience I have not connected with a rifle or a bow.
I set off with my bow and the wind in my favor and in just a few minutes I was into a group of three to four does. I used this time to practice drawing my bow up on these animals. This was an awesome encounter. I had the wind and was fairly well camouflaged. The wind blowing the loose snow made moving easier. I worked on my fundamentals for about 20 minutes until the does finally bounded off, having never figured out what I was. I had a great amount of confidence after this and took off down the trail they had come from, wind in my face. Another half mile and a small buck went by me perpendicular at about 70 yards, nose deep in the trail he was on. Being well out of range for me, I threw my binoculars up and watched him go, thrilled about another nice encounter.
The sun had come out making everything around me shine and reflect and glisten with the heavy wet snow. The wind was blowing and I was moving slowly downhill. From my right side I see something moving. I look over and a doe is running right at me! I took a step backwards to avoid being plowed into. I was pretty shocked. She was moving really fast and I had felt like she had not seen me at all. As I am processing this, I hear movement again to that side and here comes a buck. He’s plowing through the snow without any clue I’m standing there. He went by so close that I’m thinking holy shit, look at this MONSTER!
At this moment everything slowed way down. I made a loud and ridiculous grunt. The buck stopped about 10 feet from me at a diagonal to my left side. His head was up listening. There was a small amount of brush between us. I drew my bow back without any movement from the buck. I went through my mental checklist of loosing an arrow, stopping to ask myself if this was a “good” shot. I answered myself in my head this it was a GREAT shot and loosed my arrow. I watched it slam into buck who jumped a little and took off over a small rock ledge. I threw my binos up and watched him hit the deck. He was on his feet for probably 30 seconds after i hit him. I am in total shock at this point.
Again to my right I hear movement and here is another doe is ploughing through the timber. Im crazy wide eyed behind my leafy mask at this point. The doe stops right infant f me at about 5 feet. She is confused and looking around, turning circles trying to figure out where everyone went. The snow is blowing hard and she finally trots off a couple of minutes later and I collapse on my back, with a huge smile.
I wait a bit and go find my buck. It is not nearly as big as I thought it was when it went by me, but I am super excited. There is so much blood and after getting him opened up i see that my broad head destroyed both lungs and slammed into the inside of the opposite shoulder. I could not have made a better shot.
I am really pleased with the hard work that came together for a really successful season. I love hunting from the ground, still hunting and ambushing. It is tough, but the preparation means spending a ton of time in the woods which is always fruitful. Hopefully some camera placement and and more scouting deeper into the area will yield bigger bucks, but they will surely be more savvy than the small guy I shot. I am a little disappointed that I took a younger animal than I would have liked, but it all happened really fast. Would have let him live a few years longer I think.
I had a pretty awesome, but unsuccessful elk hunt in Colorado last year and this hunt has really got me jacked to get back out there. I grew up fishing and camping and shooting, hunting some small game. But, my big game education has been nearly all self taught. It has been a challenging five years and I have learned a ton.
A couple of hunts I am thinking of tackling in the next coupe of years are:
Colorado Archery Mule Deer, Arkansas Archery Black Bear, Idaho Rifle Wolf
Spike/Fork
Dead head from earlier in the season
I set off with my bow and the wind in my favor and in just a few minutes I was into a group of three to four does. I used this time to practice drawing my bow up on these animals. This was an awesome encounter. I had the wind and was fairly well camouflaged. The wind blowing the loose snow made moving easier. I worked on my fundamentals for about 20 minutes until the does finally bounded off, having never figured out what I was. I had a great amount of confidence after this and took off down the trail they had come from, wind in my face. Another half mile and a small buck went by me perpendicular at about 70 yards, nose deep in the trail he was on. Being well out of range for me, I threw my binoculars up and watched him go, thrilled about another nice encounter.
The sun had come out making everything around me shine and reflect and glisten with the heavy wet snow. The wind was blowing and I was moving slowly downhill. From my right side I see something moving. I look over and a doe is running right at me! I took a step backwards to avoid being plowed into. I was pretty shocked. She was moving really fast and I had felt like she had not seen me at all. As I am processing this, I hear movement again to that side and here comes a buck. He’s plowing through the snow without any clue I’m standing there. He went by so close that I’m thinking holy shit, look at this MONSTER!
At this moment everything slowed way down. I made a loud and ridiculous grunt. The buck stopped about 10 feet from me at a diagonal to my left side. His head was up listening. There was a small amount of brush between us. I drew my bow back without any movement from the buck. I went through my mental checklist of loosing an arrow, stopping to ask myself if this was a “good” shot. I answered myself in my head this it was a GREAT shot and loosed my arrow. I watched it slam into buck who jumped a little and took off over a small rock ledge. I threw my binos up and watched him hit the deck. He was on his feet for probably 30 seconds after i hit him. I am in total shock at this point.
Again to my right I hear movement and here is another doe is ploughing through the timber. Im crazy wide eyed behind my leafy mask at this point. The doe stops right infant f me at about 5 feet. She is confused and looking around, turning circles trying to figure out where everyone went. The snow is blowing hard and she finally trots off a couple of minutes later and I collapse on my back, with a huge smile.
I wait a bit and go find my buck. It is not nearly as big as I thought it was when it went by me, but I am super excited. There is so much blood and after getting him opened up i see that my broad head destroyed both lungs and slammed into the inside of the opposite shoulder. I could not have made a better shot.
I am really pleased with the hard work that came together for a really successful season. I love hunting from the ground, still hunting and ambushing. It is tough, but the preparation means spending a ton of time in the woods which is always fruitful. Hopefully some camera placement and and more scouting deeper into the area will yield bigger bucks, but they will surely be more savvy than the small guy I shot. I am a little disappointed that I took a younger animal than I would have liked, but it all happened really fast. Would have let him live a few years longer I think.
I had a pretty awesome, but unsuccessful elk hunt in Colorado last year and this hunt has really got me jacked to get back out there. I grew up fishing and camping and shooting, hunting some small game. But, my big game education has been nearly all self taught. It has been a challenging five years and I have learned a ton.
A couple of hunts I am thinking of tackling in the next coupe of years are:
Colorado Archery Mule Deer, Arkansas Archery Black Bear, Idaho Rifle Wolf
Spike/Fork
Dead head from earlier in the season
