First, congrats to all the successful hunters so far this season and I look forward to the stories yet to be posted and shared. I really look forward to this time of year and love pouring a hot coffee and putting my feet up to get caught up on the forum~!
Almost like clockwork October 1st arrives and I haven't used many of my holidays so I take the 3 weeks leading up to the November shotgun hunt. Last year I just couldn't seal the deal after passing on a few small bucks and didn't fill any of my tags - But that's why it's called hunting and not killing right.
I started my three weeks spending some time at two of the properties I have permission on. I carved a new tree overlooking a bean field with 2 natural funnels on either side of me;
There was no deer activity that night but the turkeys kept me entertained;
The following night I set up my blind to play the wind, tried rattling, and contact grunting. With about 20 minutes of good light left I could see a nice high mainframe buck coming directly to my location. The wind was in my favour and I thought here we go. As the buck came over the knoll and into full view, I could see that he was a beauty. He stopped at about 70 yards out and stood staring at my blind for a good 10 minutes. He obviously didn't like what he saw as he turned back the way he came and disappeared.
This is the first season I could hunt with my son since his return from school in the spring. I was with him when he got his first Tom this year and was anxious to get out with him to work on his first deer. He had the day off work yesterday and asked if we could go out for an afternoon hunt. I jumped at the chance. We jumped into the truck at about 930 and headed out to set up for the afternoon. Kevin picked his own location and set the blind up ....
I took the opportunity to put my climber into the area I had seen the big buck.
We then headed back home for a late lunch and headed back out. We were into our watches nice and early to allow the woods to settle from our intrusion.
I loved my new set up as there was plenty of cover in the trees overlooking a natural funnel area with fresh scraps and rubs.
Like clockwork the turkey flock popped out into the field for some last minute feeding before heading to roost.
I have a small set of moose antlers from the last moose my dad shot before his untimely departure from us. I swear by these antlers as they have a great tone and pitch to them. Some may remember a couple years back I took two bucks about 45 minutes apart rattling these antlers;
I ran a succession of rattling and grunt calls about 30 minutes apart. Shortly after the 3rd sequence I didn't even have time to put the antlers away and I could hear the crunch of leaves coming up behind me. I glanced over to see a good sized small antlered buck making his way to me. The buck came right up the funnel out of the woods made a scrape and rubbed his antlers on the overhanging branches. I made the decision to take this buck to put some meat in the freezer. I waited for him to step into a 1/4ing away position and stopped him with a "baaaa". I launched the bolt out of my 405 (first for it) and man even with a Lumenok I had trouble seeing it go. I heard the thwack and a mule kick and he was gone.
I quickly sent my son a text saying that I had hit a buck but there was lots of hunting left so stay put. He replied that there was a buck coming up the field. I looked over and could see another bigger buck coming straight to my location with my son right in the middle. As the buck passed the blind at about 35 yards out I heard a "baaa" and the ExoMax go off (man that bow has put a lot of deer down over the years - I took her off the wall for this hunt) and a good thwack. I could see the Lumenok from Big John's bolt lying on the ground. The buck kicked and took off across the field. I kept saying to myself "go down - go down". The buck covered about 120 yards and entered the bush right in front of me.
Both shots looked good but I waited for approx 30 minutes before making my way down the tree. I went to my bolt first and liked what I seen;
By now Kevin was with me and we started the track on my buck. There wasn't a lot of blood but as it turns out he went about 35 yards and piled up at the bottom of a gully. We dragged him up to the top field dressed him and took a couple of pictures;
We then turned our attention to Kevin's bigger buck. It was dark by now and man that Lumenok was like a beacon in the field. I got my first look at the bolt and it looked good~!
We started the track and after about 170 yards the blood had become very sparse. Kevin started to get bummed out and if it wasnt for the evidence on the bolt I would have been worried too. I told Kevin the best thing we can do is back out and I would come back first light and search. Kevin had to work at 6 am and really wanted to call in sick so he could help me but I told him that I had called in the cavalry to help me ...
I met RJ for a quick breakfast at the Drumbo Truck Stop and we headed to the area. We located a good smear;
After some coordinated grid patterns we found the buck not far from where we left off last night;
A big high 5 to RJ for the assistance~! We all have busy lives but RJ always seems to be available when needed.
We did a quick field dressing and packed it up for an easy drag (we tagged it at the truck due to the terrain we had to drag over);
Kevin had sent me about 30 texts from work looking for progress reports. I know he was relieved when I let him know it was mission accomplished.
This hunt is a memory that is at the top of my list. It seems like yesterday he was standing over my big buck and sharpening his skills on his Vixen;
To now be a grown man with his first deer. Where does the time go?
The cherry on the top was being able to take a buck during the same hunt. Which, he has reminded me several times this evening that it was smaller than his.
Cheers all,
