Put in three days on a public land bow only hunt this week. Been bow only for as long as I can remember and the season is only abound ten days long.
Needless that is a prime recipe for big deer, but have never had anything except close encounters over the years.

First two days saw only one medium sized buck where I was hunting, so I scouted a new place and found several fresh scrapes and rubs. Hung my stand and left it alone for one day.
Here is one of the scrapes.


 

Hmmm. I'll be back.  

Nice looking "tease".    

Oh well I'm back. Guess I'm not a very good tease.

The first two days there it was in the mid 20's in the mornings, but warmed quickly into the 60's.
After getting a days rest I made the drive back to the park. the forecast was for upper 70's. My truck's therm. flashed 36 degrees when I parked. I started my hike at a quarter after four. It's about a 45 min walk, but that's what I had to do to escape pressured deer here.

Along the way thoughts of just one deer sighting and the warm temps plagued me.

I hate to say it but my confidence in my shooting was not as good as it should be this year either. I had a 130in eight point   earlier in the year that I just couldn't "pull the trigger" on. I shoulda killed that deer. I'm spot on , but sometimes some doubt creeps in my head lately. I really needed a good hunt to "fix" me.  

All this was really getting to me after two days daylight to dark in the stand.

I finally find the tree with my steps in place,  climb up and get settled in my new Guidos Web that I bought from longbowally. Pull up my new to me Silvertip I got from Tukudu and wait for light.

It's deathly still and quiet this morning.

Hmmmmm this could get good. TM

Hey tuk!

I was hoping you would see this.

he'll be back.

It's so still this morning. I watch my breath hang in the air. Not even a thermal current, much less wind. The leaves are dry, so I relax, close my eyes and just listen.

Behind me is a laurel thicket. I assume he will be comong or going from there as the many wrist sized rubs say.

Below me is a very large scrape and  in front of me is a small, what I call basketball scrape. A steep hill to my right and a medium sized stream off my left about 60yds away. My tree is just in the edge of a Hemlock stand with it opening up into a flood plain of mature whiteoaks with a slightly brown grassy floor in front of me.

As I wait dangling from the side of a tree, my confidence is just not there. I think to myself.. I will stay till eleven today instead of all day.
After that I pack up and hunt my home grounds with higher deer numbers.

Turkeys are yelping in the trees far in front of me as the sun rises. They should fly down soon.

I shift my wieght to look towards the stream when I hear an unidentifiable comotion about a hundred yards in front of me. I strain to see through the tangle of limbs where the Hemlocks give way to the open oak flood plain.

The sun is hitting the ground there and I see it....Antlers! The curve of main beams thrashing a bush!  He lifts his head and starts walking towards the scrape in front of me.  I guessed right, he is heading for the thicket behind me, he has to come  thru me to get there.

He crosses a large downed tree and is now in the open at 40yds. At twenty he stops cleans out the scrape...violently. What an impressive beast.  His body is behind a tree blocking a shot. He rears on his back legs and works the branch. I draw. When he comes down he should be in the open from his current position. He twists as he comes back to all fours and walks in the direction he came from.  ugh! No!

I swear...I prayed right there to the good Lord to bring this deer back to me. He was about out of sight when I hear a grunt and chasing sounds behind me. I turn to see a doe with a spike hot on her trail. As they angle up the hill on my right, my buck just watches as they run out of sight. I know he is about to leave after them when the doe turns and  runs back down the hill and passes under me.

The spike stops at my buck and dare not pursue any further. To my surprise the buck doesn't run after her, but calmly walks on a path that will bring him about twenty yds to my right. he's taking the short line to her, not her route.He's at a brisk, determined walk. I swing in my web to position and come to full draw. As my bow hand moves from his rib cage to in front of his chest, in a smooth swing as if leading a quail on the rise, I release.

Good story...lets hear more!

If you will notice int he pic of the scrape, there is a log in the background.

That is the downed tree he crossed on his way to me.

Ok... The shot amazed me. I mean I've killed deer before and made some great shots even on moving deer, but this was awesome! I climb down and go to the spot where I hit him. The pic above shows what I found.  I want to go after him immediatly, but I go ahead and gather all my stuff and just relax for a bit.

THAT AINT GOONA HAPPEN! I know he's dead. I heard the death crash. I take up the trail.


I notice a bunch of chunks in the blood. I'm thinkin liver. I better wait an hour, so I sit down on a log and enjoy the vision of him running off with my fletching showing in his side.

As I sit and ponder I spot my deer lying about forty yards away.    

As I walk up to him.

     Awesome deer and story sir!

Thanks  to tukudu   for a super bow and to longbowally for a treestand that enabled me to get away from the crowds.

Great story and super deer!  I love seeing those blood trails that end in success!

Good story, thanks for sharing!

Great story Robert and beautiful deer.  How did you pack him out since it sounds like you were back aways?

Nice job!

You brought a smile to my face this morning. Wonderful buck, glad to be there with you. TM