One of those day you just knew you should have been in a Tree Stand??
I have a little buck hole that I love to hunt but I restrain myself every year and wait and wait and wait till the time is right. Sunday I put the kayak in the truck since someone stole my Jon Boat(.....Ba$tard!!) and felt like with the wind being right it was time to take a paddle up the creek to a that quiet out of the way ridge I found a few years ago. I slowly and quietly made my way to the ridge and eased up my tree stand. After a hour or so, the woods came alive with the sound of ten hen Turkey's vacuuming up everything in sight as they started making their way to roost. As they filtered by in front of me I caught a glimpse of some legs of a deer feeding back along the edge of the cypress and bay bush bottom. Slowly but surely a four point a three point and a doe fed there way past the stand and pulling up the rear was a nice Eight point. I hesitated to shoot and that split second of decisiveness cost me the shot as he turned away from me at 20yds and looked up the ridge. Low and behold another nice buck hooked up with the Eight and the chase was on. The two bolted all over the ridge chasing and trying to wear each other out. As the light faded they ran out of sight and after dark I eased back to the kayak thinking about what went on that afternoon.
Well off to work I went this Monday morning knowing I should be in the woods. So I gave my hunting partner a call and met him at the house around 1:30 to give the ridge another try. Once again everything was perfect and to that ridge we went. My friend on one side of the ridge and I on the other in wait to see if the bucks would show again.Sure enough at 4:30 the two nice bucks started feeding toward my friend but never getting into his bow range before they started sparing with each other. This went on for a good hour with the woods alive with the sound of antlers crashing together. I never saw them sparing but my friend said they put on quite a show and one ended up chasing the other back down to the bottom.
Shortly after the scuffle I had a doe and a spike come trotting out of the swamp behind me up the a old dim road we walked up from the creek to get to our stands. As fate would have it they were down wind of my stand and very cautious but not of me as I thought they would be. They kept looking back and shortly a nice Eight worked his way to 25yds directly behind my stand. As I started to grab my bow and stand up in one motion I noticed a four point heading toward me at a fast clip from another direction. I froze halfway standing up then slowly eased up to a standing position then turned toward the tree. By now the eight was standing facing my tree watching the four point. In the mean time while focusing on the 8pt the spike and doe which were down wind started stiff legging it though the oaks. The eight knowing something was not right was frozen in his tracks 25yds away facing my tree and I had no shot. Finally after a fifteen minute standoff the buck did a u-turn and started to walk dead away from from my stand. As he did I drew back the bow waiting for him turn just enough to give me a 20 degree quartering away shot. At thirty yards now the buck turned to go around a small tree and gave me just enough of a shooting window. I aimed behind the last rib visualizing where the arrow would exit. I knew the shot had to be good for it to exit right below the brisket between his front legs. I watched as the arrow hit the mark and the buck jumped into the air only to run 50yds or so and pile up on the other side of the dead fall....................Time to be in the woods.................
You Ever Have.......
Linear Mode
