Back from Chincoteague. My 7th time there, but my first bowhunt. Really truly enjoyed it.
We were there to hunt Sika. The Sika is a small member of the deer family that is a very close cousin of the elk. The subspecies here is from Japan. A boy scout troop originally brought seven of them to the eastern shore to use as a fundraiser by charging people to view them. Whitetails would also be legal.
A mature Sika bull (sometimes called a Stag) weighs about as much as a year and a half old whitetail buck. A mature Sika cow (sometimes called a hind) is a little smaller than a year and a half old whitetail doe by around 20% or so.
The Sika's rut hits in October. They act not unlike elk at this time. They whistle/bugle and there is an increase in cowtalk.
As some of you know, Wednesday morning I asked for words of encouragement as I had just had a bad morning. The members of TG came through and brought me out of a very low point in my year.
All my hunting was done from the ground. Most of the setups were in travel areas or feeding areas. We also called a bit trying to sound like rival bulls or talky cows.
Monday morning we hit an area that was back up off the marsh quite a bit. It was near the Refuge's residential area and butted up against the residential area buffer zone.
At 0915 I had a spike Sika bull come in just to the left of the tree near that fence (center left of photo).
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/2AStand_zpsc72f6cfd.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/2AStand_zpsc72f6cfd.jpg.html)
Other side of the fence is a safe zone. He crossed the fence and stood broadside at 21 yards. As I hit anchor he caught movement, he ducked my arrow and ran just a few steps and started giving their alarm bark. Our hunt that AM was over after that. I also had another one sneak in from behind me on this stand, but only caught a flash of it through the briar tunnels.
Monday evening we went to another zone that was more marshy. It had both freshwater ponds and saltwater marsh. Set up off the freshwater marsh beside a feeding area and next to a wallow that looked really fresh. you can just make it out in the photo under the taller tree.
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/BugleStand_zps7672a654.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/BugleStand_zps7672a654.jpg.html)
We heard 3 different bulls whistling (bugling) here. One circled us and tried to get our wind, but he never showed. We had positioned ourselves so that our scent blew out across open marsh into the channel. Apparently, that was not to his liking. LOL.
I've always wanted to hunt elk. I love turkey hunting and know that elk would be addictive. This is as close as I get for now. BTW. It's also very addictive (I won't be going back for any other hunts there except the bowhunts). I don't believe they are as responsive as it sounds like elk are, but they are very vocal this time of year. Really made our hunt interesting
We had decided that Monday would be our easy hunt day and day to get acquainted with the sign we weren't able to see on scout day Sunday.
We intended for Tuesday to be the time to hit a sweet spot.
Tuesday morning we hit the beach...LOL...figured we'd hunt off the beach in an area with marsh, sand dunes, and myrtle thickets.
My partner saw 3 Sika cows on the way in. No opportunities
We had found an unbelievable amount of sign in an area Monday afternoon. Both whitetails and sika were traveling through this area from bedding to food. Here are a couple of photos of the sand in the area. We knew we were on to something after we realized the tracks in the sand didn't last long at all. This was it!
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Sandtracks_zpsfa9574fc.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Sandtracks_zpsfa9574fc.jpg.html)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Sandtracks2_zpsdab25cc8.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Sandtracks2_zpsdab25cc8.jpg.html)
Found what I thought was a good location for Tuesday morning. About 80 yards off the myrtle thicket. Probably 150 yards off the ocean on the last dune closest to the myrtle. Game time!
View from that morning's stand was awesome!
MOAB, AD Trad-Lites, and VPA's were ready to go.
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/MOABonstand_zps6d32621d.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/MOABonstand_zps6d32621d.jpg.html)
Me on the walk-in for the afternoon hunt.
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Keninsand_zpsc301464f.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Keninsand_zpsc301464f.jpg.html)
Consider yourself lucky to even get a shot at a Sika.
From this area, wind was SSW. Blowing from about 10 o'clock as this photo is taken.
At about 11 am, I caught 2 whitetail does sneaking from the thicket. They would pass to my right, but definitely out of range. I knew they would catch my wind and stand and blow and blow and blow. After confirming they were on a trail that would not offer me a shot, I stood up and just walked toward them a bit.
They exited without making a sound. Really hated to do it that way, but the lesser of 2 evils was the one I chose.
At 12:48, I watched a Sika cow walk the edge of the myrtle thicket from right to left.
That's when I started thinking I may not be in such a good location.
Now, my buddy was off to my left about 150 yards in a position similar to mine. He wasn't hunting with trad gear, so that's about all I will mention about him other than to say...
At 2:30, I heard a whistle/bugle. It was close. Grant shot me a text and asked if I just called, told him no. At that point, I knew the bull was close.
Grant got an arrow in him about 3 minutes later. He then got a second shot, but unsure about the hit on the second shot.
The bull made its way down to me and walked the edge of the myrtle all the way down from left to right. His head was was low, but he was just walking. I knew at that point, it would not turn out well. He walked for about 150 yards down the edge.
It was a very long antlered bull. Appeared to be a 2x2 or 3x3. He had the longest antlers I've ever seen on a Sika.
We waited an hour and hit the trail. Blood was dropped straight down along the trail. There was not a single area where it brushed up against anything. All the blood was fairly bright red, no bubbles. Started a moderate amount and gradually faded over about 250 yards...I figured a muscle hit. We lost the trail about an hour before dark, made circles as best we could in the myrtle thicket on our hands and knees. Finally gave up and could only hope such a magnificient animal would survive.
Great Photos! I would love a hunt there!
That left us with day 3 of our hunt...Wednesday...the final day.
Time to go for broke. The one thing that would hurt us was an easterly or partially easterly wind.
Charlie,
I would recommend it for anyone. It is a lottery process. They take 125 hunters for each hunt. Hunts are Mon, Tues, Wed. You have to be there for an orientation meeting Sunday.
There are 2 bowhunts each year. Rarely does everyone show up for either of the hunts. All standby hunters got to hunt during our week.
Thanks for posting...even those in the frozen north know about Chincoteague from the book "Misty of Chincoteague"...are there still horses there?
DDave
Yes Dave, I'll put some horse pics up toward the end.
Beautifully strange hunting scenery. :thumbsup:
I'll go ahead an put some of the horse photos up. One of the things about hunting Chincoteague is the horses. Got some very nice photos of them this year.
I'll get back to our hunt in a bit, but, until then, enjoy the horses of Chincoteague...
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/landandseeponies_zps57216df7.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/landandseeponies_zps57216df7.jpg.html)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/ChincoPony1_zps0c0df872.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/ChincoPony1_zps0c0df872.jpg.html)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Ponyreflections_zpsf29e760c.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Ponyreflections_zpsf29e760c.jpg.html)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/WaterCrossing_zpsb61480c2.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/WaterCrossing_zpsb61480c2.jpg.html)
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Waterponies_zpsa0602a14.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Waterponies_zpsa0602a14.jpg.html)
Will be back tomorrow to finish this one up.
Great thread Ken!! Love all the pics including and especially the horses.
WOW a "97" Pinto don't see many of those these days :D Remins me of all those weekends on Assateaque Island which sisters up to you guys in Virginia...I started hunting down there with a group of about 6 others in 1980 and we camped,hunted,fished off the beach,ate like kings and hunted some more...This was a good week to hunt those siks'a cause they usally start thier rut mid October...The whistle is something you never forget once you hear one...I used to have bad leg cramps everytime from all the push's we done and walking towards the bay areas near the marsh's...If you are like me and like to ground hunt we used to set up near the tunnels coming out of the Laurel that were traveled heavy and wait till nearly dark when the deer would just appear...If you ever tracked one in the Laurel the siksa tend to stay on the trail and if you found a old crab apple tree you best believe you better hunt that area...Thanks for sharing the pics..
Very neat. Great story so far...
So the horses are wild I take it?
Looking forward to the rest of the story...and thanks for posting the horse pictures...nice to see they are still there
DDave
:campfire:
The horses are "wild". The local fire company takes care of them and does a yearly roundup (mostly of the year's young) and auctions them off.
They roam free on most of the refuge. I think that's about 8,000 acres or so. They add so much to the feel of the place. Just wouldn't be the same without them.
Well Wednesday was an early morning. Up early to pack the truck for the 12 hr drive home. Then on to Refuge for sign in and the drive up.
We were both filled with anticipation as we walked our way across the soft white sand. Fresh tracks from the night's creatures were everywhere. Maybe we hadn't screwed it up too badly looking for the bull from yesterday. The wind was out of the NNW. Game on!
As I mentioned before, I was beginning to realize that I had not chosen a great stand location. I needed to be closer to the Myrtle thicket. It was then that I saw a block of Myrtle off to itself sitting right in front of an extra large Myrtle bush that stuck out from the edge considerably.
That was it! The ultimate pinch point in a field.
I sat my Waldrop Pacseat back into the lone clump and looked to my right (I'm a southpaw). A perfect shooting lane Max distance of 18 yards.
Here's a pic of my set up. You can see the edge of the thicket and the bush that stuck way out in the background.
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/LastStand_zpsd6b32d47.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/LastStand_zpsd6b32d47.jpg.html)
I sat back and waited for it to get full light.
I figured anything traveling through would come from right to left heading to the thickest part of the area.
At 0750, I determined I was wrong. A lone whitetail doe was working her way from left to right. I was ready.
As she came through, just 14 yards away, I picked a spot, hit anchor and the arrow was on its way.
She ducked hard! I heard the arrow hit her, but saw it glance off at an upward angle and she was off like scared cat.
Waited 15 min and went to the impact sight. I found shaved dark hair...no blood or any other sign. I couldn't find my arrow, so went back to my seat and tried to replay it in my head.
This is where the doe was standing when I shot.
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Doemiss_zps71b57618.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Doemiss_zps71b57618.jpg.html)
The more I replayed it, the more I put together the evidence, I knew it had skipped across her back.
But I aimed so low. How could that...what was that!!!
A strange noise brought me back reality. Was that antlers hitting tree limbs? I couldn't tell. Whatever it was...it was close!
I slowly, but deliberately picked up my MOAB.
Turned hard right to look at the Myrtle thicket and there he was. I mean THERE HE WAS!!!
The biggest Sika bull I've ever seen was walking right to left along the edge. Obviously very healthy. He was tossing his head at overhanging bushes, looking for a fight!
I melted like butter in a pan!
I hadn't been too bad with the spike bull or the whitetail doe, but this guy was HUGE! But the sight of this magnficient creature who's ancestors came from Japan was too much. The person that coined the phrase "King of the Marsh" definitely had it right.
He held to the bush that stuck out from the thicket and stopped at 18 yards. Some how, by that point, I was standing (I don't remember doing it). I know I shouldn't have stood. I've practiced the last 2 months shooting from a seated position in both my Waldrop and my Millennium Tree seat.
I had already picked a spot low behind his shoulder. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked straight at me. I was already locked into my anchor and let go the string.
Here is where he was standing...
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Stagmiss_zps20ed4c40.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/Chincoteague%202013%20Bowhunt/Stagmiss_zps20ed4c40.jpg.html)
Upon release of my arrow, all hell broke loose. I couldn't see if it had impacted or missed or ???.
He ran headlong into the Myrtle bush on the edge and got tangled in there for a couple of seconds. He then made it out and was off!
I was a mess! I've never had a whitetail buck, a turkey, a hog, anything put me in that shape!
Waited a few minutes and called my buddy. He came over and we started looking.
Blood!
Not much, just a couple of drops.
This bull was a twin to the one from yesterday. Just a brute, with long, long main beams.
We backed off to regroup. At that point, we needed to find my arrow.
After 20 minutes of looking, we found, not one, but both arrows.
Unfortunately, both were completely clean.
I was devastated. I was heartbroken. Relieved for a clean miss, but devastated. But then, where'd the blood come from? We still had blood on the ground, but two clean arrows.
We started trailing. There was no more blood. Only the 2 small drops directly under where he had been as he made his way into the thicket.
Commonsense tells me it was the same bull from the day before. That's the only explanation. He reopened his wound a bit during the commotion. We tracked along the trail into the thicket for a good ways. Nothing.
That's the only plausible explanation.
It was then that I posted this post in the Powwow forum that day...
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=132770;p=1#000000
"Totally dejected. Sitting on the edge of a myrtle thicket at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. I've just missed my second shot of the morning, 3rd shot of the trip, 4th shot of the season.
The last was a huge Sika Bull at 18 yards.
Thinking i am not going to get it done with a longbow.
Help!"
And you guys came through with words of encouragement and dissection of the situation. Thanks to everyone, I was able to finish out the hunt without losing too much focus.
No, I'm not proud that I missed 3 opportunities. I learned from each and everyone one of them. They have made me better as an archer, just as last year's poor stand choices made me better as a hunter.
I feel like I did well with stand location on this hunt, and have been doing much better at choosing locations that will get the animals within longbow range.
This bull shows how these animals have grown in the area from an initial number of only 7 animals to herds in Maryland and, to a lesser extent, here in Virginia. They are survivors.
I'll share one last Chincoteague photo with my friends here at Tradgang....
(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/ken613/2011%20Chincoteague%20Photos/2011chincosunset1.jpg) (http://s108.photobucket.com/user/ken613/media/2011%20Chincoteague%20Photos/2011chincosunset1.jpg.html)
Thanks everyone! I am getting there!!!!
:scared: :scared: :scared:
I HAAATTEEE CLIFF HANGERS.
One day I will hunt sika... Top of my list!!!!
Matty,
Go for it! It is my understanding that this area is the onlu place in the world you can hunt this particular subspecies of Sika because Japan does not allow hunting of them in their home range.
threeunder,
Dorchester co.in Maryland has the Blackwater wildlife refuge "Loaded" with them little suckers! So does Assateque Island as well...Just do a search on Blackwater wildlife refuge and Sika deer..Maryland does have one good thing about it but it's on the Eastern Shore... :rolleyes:
Yeah, we've talked about getting into the Blackwater hunt. We are blessed to have the opportunity to hunt these animals in Virginia and Maryland.
I'm not sure it is the only place in the world you can hunt them, but it has to be the most beautiful area they can be hunted.
Great adventure, Ken! Would love the opportunity to hunt with you sometime!
Bob
Sounds like a great hunting trip! You will remember it for a long time!!
Awesome story! From a guy out west, Thank You!! Keep at it!! Misses are part of the game. It'll happen for you :thumbsup:
Misses are part of it, but look at that beautiful place you were in----priceless!
:campfire:
Really cool adventure.