(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b161/DWB123/4a8d80f5-86bb-4c00-bfbd-edd855fc760a_zpsa3c0aad3.jpg) (http://s19.photobucket.com/user/DWB123/media/4a8d80f5-86bb-4c00-bfbd-edd855fc760a_zpsa3c0aad3.jpg.html)
I've always been one who would rise early with the chickens. It has always been like second nature. I grew up with a father who learned to rise early for work as a youth with his own father and grandfather. And after college, the military required that dad be an early riser. So when I came along, the habit of getting up early was imprinted in dad for life. So when it came to hunting and fishing, that's how we went about getting it done, early! We'll fast forward to today, I'm still an early riser, work or play. I love to see the sun rise while on the water or in the trees. Its just that lately life's fast pace has me a little fatigued. Work, family, church, basketball practice (son), and dance practice (daughter) has everybody around the house jumping. So I'm often relieved to hunt afternoons where I can in order to get some extra sleep on Saturday mornings. And the last couple of years it has worked out well. So lately it has been afternoons.
Three weeks ago, Rich, my hunting buddy, and I slipped into one of our hunting spots for an afternoon hunt. The idea was to get on some acorn flats that the deer had been feeding on heavily. I sent Rich to the spot on the far side of the property where several deer had been shot while gorging themselves on white oaks. (http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b161/DWB123/fd4bd01b-57b9-440f-9657-5bc1e57be10c_zps8af99590.jpg) (http://s19.photobucket.com/user/DWB123/media/fd4bd01b-57b9-440f-9657-5bc1e57be10c_zps8af99590.jpg.html)
I took a chance and went to a section of the property that I had not hunted in two seasons. An acorn flat like the one Rich was on. I slapped my climber on the same tree I normally hunt out of in that spot and climbed on up. An hour before sunset I had movement out in front of me. A doe appeared just 75 yards in front of me on the upper end of the flat. She had traveled up a bench which brought her out of the river bottom. And I made a boo-boo. In my excitement, I stood up too quickly and because of her position on the flat, she caught my movement. She looked me over real good and kept her eye on me as she continued to feed up the flat. And it was not long before she was joined by three other does. They continued to enjoy their dining experience and the lead lady lead the group around me a just out of range. They climbed to the next flat and were gone. An opportunity to score had been blown but it sure was good to see deer! I always get excited when I see deer and I've got the bow in my hand. On the ride home, Rich and I talked about what movement we had seen and I told him about the does and how they just appeared on the flat. We mapped out our schedules for the following week to determine if we had any time to hunt in the afternoon. Thursday was the only day that would work for either one of us. So the next afternoon, Sunday, after church and Sunday dinner, I was watching football and thinking about how the deer appeared on the flat. I wanted to take a look at that area and see if there was a spot for a stand. Since everybody was just lounging around the house, I put my portable hang-on stand in the truck and slipped off back to the river. I got to the river with enough time to look the upper end of the flat over. The deer had traveled up a bench that lead from the river bottom to the flat. And at the bottom of the bench was a cluster of trees that had trails running past it on both sides coming up the hill. The cluster of trees also had a swampy thicket right behind. I wasted no time in attaching my climbing sticks and lock-on to one of the outer tree in the cluster. I removed a few limbs that might bother my shot and then got out of the area. We would be back Thursday afternoon.
:campfire:
hope it turn out well for you
So on Thursday afternoon, Rich and I slipped back into the spot on the river. Through the gate, park the truck, change clothes, gear up, and down the dirt road we go. Once we reach that certain point in the road, we wished each other well and took different paths. Rich stayed on the dirt road headed for the far end flat and I took the trail leading to the oak flat overlooking the river bottom. The four wheeler trail carried me through section of pines and scrub trees before bringing me out at the top of the oak flat. Crossing the oak flat, I headed towards the bench which leads to the river bottom where my loc-on is located. Walking down the bench, I notice there were several trees that were dead. They were propped up against other trees. If they didn't fall on there own, we would have work to do in January. It was really turning into a beautiful afternoon. Birds and squirrels were up and chasing on another and the air was nice and cool. Fall was setting in and this was much nicer than the hot weather of early bow season that we experience in the south. The leaves in the Carolinas are beautiful during this time. So I made my way to the loc-on. It's a North Star loc-on stand/ladder combo. I bought it a year before the company went out of business. I hate that. Probably one of the lightest combos I have ever seen. So up the ladder I go. I secure myself in the stand with my harness then I pull up my bow. Bow and bow hanger in place, pack secured on equipment hanger, deer calls in place, and I am ready for the sit. Seeing that the spot on the river is on the outskirts of town, you get a combination of sounds to entertain you while hunting. The sounds of wild life like squirrels chasing each other, hen turkeys scratching and clucking, are combined with sirens from the local fire department, the local high school band practicing, or the start of the JV football game. While in the stand, I'm taking all of this in while thinking about activities that I have for work. The tree stand is a perfect place for organizing and clearing your head. Well about 30 minutes before sun down, my planning session was interrupted by walking to my right coming up the river bottom. The sound was very different from that of squirrels running through the woods. The sound was more like people walking in a line. A constant gate and stride could be distinguished. I stood up and took the bow off its hanger. Just minutes later, I identify the first deer moving through the bottom. A doe followed by three others and they were headed for the bench that I was on. I was certain that they would make there way to the trail that past my position on the right and walk the bench from that point giving me a ten yard or closer shot. But the deer had other plans. As they approached the bench they elected to veer to their own right, staying in edge cover instead of moving into the open. They would skated my position by walking the edge and using the rougher terrain next to the smooth bench. Once above me they then moved onto the bench. At first I thought the game was over until the lead doe continued to lead the group across the bench instead of going on up. At the rate she was moving she would hit a clearing on the bench twenty yards in front of me going up the hill. This would almost put the deer at my level because they were higher up on the bench now. So when she hit that open, she looked to her right. This gave me an opportunity to shoot and I went into auto pilot. Full draw, pick a spot, and the arrow was gone. Thump! The group exploded back down the hill and the lead doe took off up the hill doing a Rudolf the red nose rain deer impersonation. Only the red dot was not on her nose, but on the crease of her side just behind the elbow.
I watched the doe and the red Nocturnal nock take off up the bench through the woods. At this point, I'm excited! I stand still and listen to her run through the woods and then I hear a commotion that sounds as if someone is tearing down a tree. Then silence. I lowered the bow and climbed down. It didn't take long to pick up the blood trail once I got to the spot where the deer was standing. The first spot was the at the spot of impact, a blotch the size of a quarter. After that , the spots got bigger and bigger. The Tiger Shark was rough on her! Thirty yards into the blood trail I find her up on the hill, down for the count. (http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b161/DWB123/dee31257-22df-4e54-a8e5-1af1f784a725_zpsbd9609e4.jpg) (http://s19.photobucket.com/user/DWB123/media/dee31257-22df-4e54-a8e5-1af1f784a725_zpsbd9609e4.jpg.html)
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
So fast forward to this past Saturday. I've got a doe down, meat in the box, and the rut is on. For the past two Fridays and the previous Saturday, I hunt what I like to call my rut stand. Its a pinch area that separates a thick cutover and a pine thicket. On these three different days, I sat either most of or all day long. Deer movement was not as good as I would have liked for it to have been but I did have a few individual does come through with that wild eyed look on their faces as if they were searching for a friend. And on that first Friday I actually had an encounter with an eight point who instead of traveling through the pinch decided to veer off through a ditch witch lead to the river where he crossed to the other side (this is a different spot from where I killed the doe). Then the next Friday, I had another buck come through cruising for a doe and he pasted just behind my stand out of range in the thick stuff. I tried the grunt call and the doe bleat and he was just not interested. These were both morning hunts and when Friday afternoon came around, I was pretty tired. On the way home, I got a call from one of my bow hunting buddies in the Anderson area who had been on deer in one of the bow hunting only public land areas. He invited Rich and I to come down and hunt with him seeing that we were trying to get Rich on a deer. We just had to figure out the schedule. So by the time I made it home, I had called Rich on the cell to let him know about the invite. Since Rich had some work to complete, being self employed, the afternoon looked better for him. And my wife having a running event that she wanted to attend in the morning, some one had to be at home with our daughter, seeing junior was spending the night at a friend's house. So afternoons were looking better for me too. Plus, I get to get some rest! So afternoon hunt it was.
Looking forward to more of this! :coffee:
Bernie
Great story Doug. At least someone isl seeing some deer! Looking forward to the rest of the story.
great tale- i love reading these well written hunting accounts :)
So Saturday morning rolls around. I get a good nights sleep, didn't roll out of bead at the crack of dawn, and I eat breakfast and watch cartoons with my baby. She loves outside so we get cleaned up and go outside when it warms up. Rich gets all of his runs picked up and to my surprise is headed to my house by 11:30. While the baby plays on her swing set, we load the truck, sharpen a few broadheads, and take a few practice shots. Once momma rolls in from her running event, Rich and I take off for the hunt. The instructions were to meet our buddy in the parking lot of a grocery store which is located no far from the wma. We got there earlier than our bud was expecting and he was running behind because he had to make a deposit at the local deer processor. So we sat and waited for him to arrive. While waiting, we ran into an old co-worker of mine that I use to work with at the community college. Good conversation was had and after and hour or so, we got the call from our buddy telling us to leave the parking lot and meet him at the gate. It's now about 3:30 and our buddy informs us that he is going to walk us into the area that we are going to hunt but will not be hunting with us this afternoon. The big doe he shot that morning wore him out trying to get him out of the woods and he needed a nap. So we geared up and headed into the wma. The report was that he had been seeing bucks chasing does and we would be hunting a hard wood flat that is split by a drainage ditch. The flat has a creek bottom that runs through it. We were on the right hand side of the flat. The deer bead up on the hill in a big 5 year old pine grove. Behind the pine grove is the highway and houses are located along the highway next to the pine grove. The deer bead in the pines and walk down the top of the ridge just behind the houses. The yards have fences and the dogs bark at the deer as they come down the fence line. The deer then turn and come down the hill into the flat and cross the creek feeding on acorns. Our position would allow us to catch the deer coming out of the flat headed up hill to another pine beading area. When we got to the spot, I asked our buddy to put Rich in the better spot and point me where to go. So they went right and I took the area to the left. The deer had been moving through Rich's side. It was an edge that had pines and oaks along with tangle vines. The area I took was more open. We were about 80 yards apart and separated by a small ditch that ran between us coming out of the creek on our side. As I moved across my area, I couldn't find a tree that I could put my climber on. These trees were huge. I kept trying to find a tree a little closer to a crossing on the creek. So as I looked around, the Good Lord showed me a tree witch was back up on the hill about forty yard from where I was standing. So as I walked up to the tree to check it out, two things jumped out at me. One, a smaller tree with just enough leaves to cover me but not enough to keep me from shooting was positioned to the right. I also would not have to get that high up in the tree because of the cover. And second, out in front and to the left of the tree were two rubs on two different trees. So I strap the climber on the tree and up I go. Another great Carolina afternoon of sites and sounds. We have hunted in this area before and it always amazes me that the deer don't seemed to be phased by the close proximity of the wma to town and the highway. So we are enjoying the sit and as the sun gets lower, I can feel the temp starting to drop. Thirty minutes till sun down and I'm ready to put my pull over on. So before I can stand up to put on a jacket, I hear that unmistakable gate coming through the woods behind me to my left. I look over my shoulder to see a deer coming through the woods moving in my direction. At that distance, I could only tell it was a deer. It was moving extremely slow with its head down. At fifty yards it hit an opening and lifted is head. A buck! And I was certain that it was legal. In this area, they have to have at least four points on one side. I stood up and took the bow off the hanger. At the rate he was going, he would pass behind me at twenty yards or less. Closer and closer he got and I got ready for the shot. I had already picked out a shooting lane that was twenty yards and when he finally stepped into it, I dropped the string. The arrow flight was perfect and the nocturnal lit up allowing me to follow its flight. I just knew I was looking at a heart shot as the arrow dropped just an inch under his chest behind his front leg! I misted! The buck kicked his back legs and stop and looked around in the opposite direction. The shot nicked him but he couldn't figure out the direction. Calmly I removed another arrow from the quiver as he settle down and continued on the trail that would bring him even closer to my stand. The buck was moving extremely slow with his head down as if he were still looking for does. The next opening was just sixteen yards away and as he stepped into it, I dropped the string. Thump! Down he went! I shot him as he walked and the shot was little higher than I expected, catching him in the spine. The tiger shark severed his spine and he was down. A second arrow through the shoulder confirmed that he was down for good!
I scrabbled down the tree! I was pumped! It was good to know that I had one down with some horns on his head! (http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b161/DWB123/Mobile%20Uploads/Bow%20Shots/acccf7c2-fdae-443c-bc77-d0b0378583df_zpsb1828650.jpg) (http://s19.photobucket.com/user/DWB123/media/Mobile%20Uploads/Bow%20Shots/acccf7c2-fdae-443c-bc77-d0b0378583df_zpsb1828650.jpg.html)
You know these afternoons haven't been to bad.
Nice one! Thanks for the stories, too.
I really enjoyed following the story.
Great deer and hunt! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Great job brother...congrats!!
We'll done sir! I am growing to like an afternoon sit as we'll. I have traditionally always preferred mornings.
Nice read and nice deer. congrats
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :archer:
Great. Job! It pays to have more arrows readily availible! You made the second shot count!
Congrats on your deer.... The buck looks great!
A well told story and congrats on the deer !!
Congrats! I'm a fan of afternoon sits as well, though you seem to be much better at it!
:thumbsup: Love that South Carolina hunting!!!! Great story.
Awesome story!
Congrats on the doe and the nice buck!
Did y'all ever get Rich on a deer? I hope so!
Congrats again,
Bisch
Great Job and great story!
Well done! Enjoyed the story.
Great story! Congrats on a nice buck!
Enjoyed following your story :thumbsup:
Good story! Did you mention what make/model bow that is?
Doug if I could shoot like you I could kill 10 a year. Good going ! Beautiful buck.
congrats well done
Congrats Doug!
Good shootin, nice looking buck, too! :thumbsup:
Way to go Doug! Congrats on your buck & doe! Your story is well told.
Kenny :thumbsup: :clapper:
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Congrats Doug!! Good looking deer
Nice buck Doug :thumbsup:
Great job Doug!!
Thanks fellas! Tedd, my setup is a 56 inch Hoots recurve, CX Heritage 250s with a 50 grain brass insert, and 175 grain Simmons Tiger Sharks.
Very nice !!!!!
You da Man!
Nice buck man ! :clapper:
Great story!
Great work. Congrats!
Good story and fun read.
Congratulations !
Congrats on a couple of fine deer! :thumbsup: