As you continue to read this thread it will become painfully clear to you why I paint pictures with my words. The photos incorporated in this post will leave little doubt. Sure the camera sucks. But the one holding it sucks even more. My six year old granddaughters take better photographs then I do. I am not worthy to carry R.J.'s camera bag! Now on to the hunt.
I hunted the edge of the bean field that borders the neighborhood. It is a wonderful place to hunt. The owner runs beans for two years in a row then a year of corn. This is the second year of beans. The field is heavily wooded on the western edge and has several peninsulas extending out into the crops. Here is an overview from Google earth showing these peninsulas. The yellow dot shows where I set up Monday evening inside one of the penninsulas.
Here is a view of the exact area I took Tuesday morning when I went to look for the buck.
This is the tree I was in. I was hunting out of the Equalizer climber that evening.
I saw the first buck at six o'clock. Four more bucks followed during the next fifteen minutes. All came out from the peninsula to the south of me. I hunt that peninsula often but the wind was from the southwest so I took the peninsula to the north that evening. Several does entered the bean field during the next half hour as well. I was watching a jousting contest between a high racked eight and a basket six taking place in the beans when I caught movement to my right. I put down the Leica's and turned to see old grey face coming out of the woods. I have seen this deer often in the neighborhood over the years, but always at night when in the car or truck. He seldom ventured out in daylight and spent most all his time bedded on the gun club property that adjoins the neighborhood. Over the course of the last four years I saw gray face only three times during daylight and each time it was just a fleeting glance. And here he was now in daylight and walking toward me! I was stunned. I picked up the Phoenix slowly and raised the stock to my shoulder. I would wait for gray face to walk into the crosshairs. He came to within thirty yards of my tree and suddenly turned to his right. He was adding distance! Snap decision time. I pushed the safety off with my thumb and squeezed the trigger. I heard the arrow hit him and he bolted into the wooded peninsula on his right. I saw the bright orange vane sticking out his left side behind his ribs. It appeared too high. As it was a quartering away shot I knew the arrow trajectory was taking the broad head up towards his boiler room. But I was very concerned about how high the placement appeared to be. I waited thirty minutes and climbed down the tree. I went to the spot where he bolted into the woods from the field. Ten yards in I find blood. There is a lot of it and it is bright red. I feel relived thinking I at least got the 2219 into one lung. I follow a blood trail Mr. Magoo could follow for seventy-five yards. There I find a pool of blood. No deer. And worse yet, the blood trail seems to end at the pool. I know what this means. He had been down. I pressured him back up following the trail. He was not hit as good as I had hoped. I backed out slowly and went back to the tree, gathered my gear and started walking home. I would pursue him in the morning.
If you read the other thread you know I had a restless night. I was up by five-thirty Tuesday morning raring to go and waiting for the sun to make an appearance. At first light I was on his trail. Like I said, Magoo could follow it.
At the blood pool location I looked at the terrain carefully and knew right away he was headed down the hollow, he was seeking the sanctuary of the thick stuff along the creek bottom. I started heading that way and thirty yards later picked up his trail again with this first indicator.
I followed the blood trail down the hill towards the creek bed. It was steep and I was having trouble loosing my footing on the wet leaves. I had almost reached the bottom when I looked ahead and saw this.
I was ecstatic. My heart leapt. And reality hit me with a hammer. How in the world was I ever going to get him out of this bottom! I had no idea at the time it was going to take me seven hours to retrieve the gray face. And at times, I thought he was going to take me with him. Even in death he remained tenacious.
I tried everything. My Honda foreman could not pull him up. It just reared on its back tires and pointed its nose to the sky each time I tried. I went over to Doc's to grab his Kawasaki Prairie. It has a winch. I turned the key. Dead as a doorknob. I went home and called the Ohio DNR, had them give my local officer a call on his cell and ask that he call me right away. Ten minutes later I got the call. I know this officer. "Terry, I have a problem," I said as I answered. We talked for about ten minutes. He was reluctant to grant what I was asking. I told him the only way this buck was coming out of that hollow in one piece is if a helicopter takes him. "Do what you have to do," he relented. And I did. I took a saw down that hollow and I cut grey face in half.
I had no choices. He was just too damned big to get out. It still took hours and hours to get the two halves out. In Ohio you must submit the entire deer at the check station, it is the law. Taking in two pieces does not "cut it" if you will forgive the pun. Thank goodness Ohio has wildlife officers who enforce the law but do so with a heaping helping of common sense. My local officer even called the check station near me, described the circumstances and told them I was coming in with the deer in two parts. He had granted me a dispensation. The fish and game guys here in Ohio are top drawer.
Got back from the check station and had the Swede click off one picture of me and gray face. I am the taller one. As you can see, he has a brown body and a completely gray face, hence the name we have called him for years.
My season is done. We are a one buck state. I usually drag this thing into late January. But I have a plan. I have been working on my little Viking. We are getting her license today! I am going after another buck. I just won't be doing the shooting. In addition Doc does not have his buck yet so I will help him. Shrader doesn't need any help. And Becker, well, he is just Becker.
I will have my Sony SLR soon.
As you can see from the pictures I submitted, it is not a moment to soon!
