Still riding on the high of my success from the day before see
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=080319 I find myself sitting in the predawn darkness at a local urban park. I and a few other Trad Gang members were lucky enough to be drawn to hunt Tiffany Springs Park in the northern part of Kansas City, Missouri’s city limits.
I am up early and gunning the Ford Ranger south to my intended destination. Upon arrival, the first order of business, text Chris to see if he has started his voyage “Right behind you” he replies. At 05:45 I was in my stand and the wait was on.
This park is an 800 acre multi use park. Lots of overgrown fields, creek bottoms, junk timber, hardwood timber and a few old quarry pits. Of course being a multi use park there are also soccer and baseball fields within the boundaries along with hiking, biking and horseback riding trails. Prior to the hunt we, the hunters, learn that there are approximately 80 deer per square mile and our job, the 35 hunters drawn for the hunt, is to thin the deer out.
The spot I pick is a SE facing oak laden ridge with multiple, multi trunk trees growing in the area. The tree I picked is a four trunk oak at the bottom of the ridge. There is a shallow draw that runs N/S in front of my stand and a nice rub line to the south of my tree. Further down from my stand to the south is an old field with a lot of small closely spaces saplings growing in it. Ron Brown, another Trag Gang member in this hunt told me that he hunted this same ridge two years ago and the does will file one by one off the ridge and down the draw to the saplings trying to escape from the advancing bucks.
At 6:15 the first deer arrives. Like Ron claimed, a buck came off the north ridge and followed the draw down where he stopped near my tree and then proceeded east. Perfect, I went undetected! But, I would soon find out that this would not last. The day continued with several sightings but no close (within shooting range) encounters. Around, 09:00 a poor excuse for a forky appeared at the top of the ridge to my NE with a north wind, he had no idea that I was around. He moseyed around on the ridge for a while and then decided to bed down and take a nap. Ha how cool! I got to watch him for 1.5 hours as he slept.
The hours ticked away and deer came and went but again no shot opportunities were made available. From my 16’ high seat I had a great view of my surroundings. I could see deer filtering through the lower scrub brush and deer appearing and disappearing occasionally on the north ridge. On a few occasions there were deer that came down into the draw but every time (usually from a doe) I was busted. The doe would get close to shooting distance, stop and look right at me and then slip back into the surrounding cover. Quote from Brian “these deer look up” he’s right they do.
2:45 a single fawn moves through the scrub brush to my east. I watch her for 30 minutes as she meanders about foraging. To her south is another doe that’s been bedded down for two hours. The fawn begins to work her way in my direction and her path will put her to the NE and up wind of me. "My wife is not going to like this" I think to myself. 3:15 the fawn has finally arrived but she, like every other doe, looked right at me as she made her approach in but her inexperience will prove to be her demise.
Slowly and cautiously she commits herself to one of my shooting lanes. I draw my bow and realize that my bow limb might smack the tree to my left during the release. Poor time to figure this out. I let down, reposition and draw again but the fawn has continued moving to the NW and now there is a bigger chance of smacking the tree with a bow limb…nope I’m not going to chance it. Determined to make this shot I repositioned once more and lean out on the opposite side of the problem trunk draw the bow to confirmed my clearance, let down, looked at the fawn and drew again. Staring at her chest I hit anchor and release. Smack down she falls. Another deer for the freezer and one less at Tiffany Springs.
Topic: The Continuation of Jackpot Week (Read 1626 times)
