A couple years ago Micky did a counting cou thread talking about the ones he let walk. Tonight...ohhh what a night! Sat in stand from about 4:00 on. The wind died off around 5:30 and the woods just came alive. First a fat little doe came to the base of my tree and licks the bottom of my rapid rail. Not really sure what I stepped in but she seemed to like it. As she walked quarting away I brought my osage stick to full draw and counted "one" when I knew the picture looked right. I eased the string back down and she walked away. Shortly there after I heard a grunt. Now we may be talking. Out of nowhere a basket racked 7 point walks right under me and follows the doe's trail. I come to full draw again and gave a bit of a whistle. He stopped and I counted "two". He looked around a bit and off he went. 10 minutes later a small heard of does filed by from a different direction and I was able to count 3,4, and 5. Some of you are wondering why? Well I have 4 kids 3 hunt and those deer all belonged on the recieving end of there shafts. My reward is the quiet of the woods, the solitude of no office and no phones and the knowledge that the big boys will be prowling soon as the young bucks are starting to show me the rut is coming. In the mean time counting cou is damn good practice for when the moment of truth arrives.
Great night to be in the woods with a stick and string!
Sooo 5 and counting...
Anyone else trying Ferret's cou counting training technique?
Brian
That's pretty cool. I think it's really neat that you are saving them for your kids.
Hey Brian, powerful feeling when you know that all you had to do was drop the string and get out your gutting blade isn't it? I think my record is 22 times in a season I was at full draw on a deer and let them walk.
Sounds like you had an awesome night!
Ferret
i do that everytime i get in the woods...Curtis
wish I could afford to do that...up here in MA, if I let one walk, sure enough that'll be the one deer I see all season.
Well I am a bit more of a figetty kinda guy and if I only saw 1 deer a season I would have to switch quarry.
Brian
Done it six times this year so far.The next time I am going to have to use a tag. Ben
It's good you can do that. In NH, I saw 2 deer all season in 3 months of hunting. Jawge
I'm up to 3. Had a spike at 25 yrds and Doe and fawn at 15 feet.
Five for me.. well actually four.. guess it doesn't count if you shot over her back.. the other four I let walk for real at around 15-20yds.....really
For the last few years I've made the mistake of letting the first deer I see walk (drew back on the last one doing the counting coup thing) cause it's early in the season, it's small, no doe tag, etc. Only to either not see another or not get much opportunity to go hunting the rest of the season. This year I decided to take the first legal deer that presents itself. Well, you can probably guess the rest. :knothead:
I used to do that. Got a little bit of target panic and sometimes shoot before I am ready. Bad idea right now.
I love that (countin' coup) and did it a lot the last two years. This year - it's a different kind of animal! Only five sightings since early Sept.(all in one week), and only one shot op - which I promptly placed just under her heart. It was kind of funny as the feathers hit her underside and she exploded upward, danced around and broke my beautiful Cane arrow (that part wasn't funny - but it's repaired now). If I don't start seeing some soon I'm gonna switch to drinking (just kidding).
I can tell you from the way things are going here in Wisconsin there won't be any countin coup going on. Now I know how you fellas from NH feel ha ha 2 deer in 4 days, man this is rough.
I'm thinking, "me2," Dianne - :archer:
Counting coup here in this warm weather is adding up anything seen. 12 rabbits and 3 kangaroo rats today. Seen some deer but I don't think it counts seeing them driving to hunt area in the dark. May have to start, dunno.