This Morning's Hunt

[HT]

Sorry this is a little long..

Last night a buddy of mine called and asked if i wanted to go hunting with him this morning. We both work the same shift together, and he said its easier for him to get up and go if he's got someone going with him. I told him that i wasn't planning on going any this week since I'm leaving Sunday to go to KY for a week of bow hunting. You know staying around the house helping wife get kids ready for school and such, since i'll be gone all next week. Well anyway, I thought it over for about a half second and I told him i would bring my climber and bow and go with him and help him with his doe problem, i always appreciate an invite to go with him as his family has a superb place to hunt around these parts.

So, we get to their club house about 6:20 and it took us about 15 minutes to actually figure out where I was going to sit. Well we came up with a plan for me to hunt one of there rifle stands but slip off in an oak pond that is in front of the stand about 75 yards or so off the corn pile. Well i've only seen this stand once that was riding by it in a truck. So i didn't know squat about the area. And i hate walking into an area blind especially on a morning hunt. Well i go walking towards the big oak pond and run a couple deer off the corn pile. I get to the corn pile and hook a left into the oak pond. Time as i walk into the pond I walk with in 30 yards of a deer before it runs off. So now its about 6:45 or so and I'm walking around (in what i thought was circles) trying to find a spot and a tree to climb. I ended up setting on the edge of the oaks and were the pines meet almost on the backside of the oak pond. I get up in the tree and once i started to see good, i knew i was in a wrong spot. I only had a 15 yard shot in front and 20 yard to my left. Wind was blowing left to right in my face, but my right side i could shoot to 30 maybe, but all area's was real thick. Its getting about 7 or after so i hit the grunt call with 3 tending grunts and 3 doe bleats with the ole can. After about 5 maybe 10 minutes.. I hear something coming up from my left about my 8o'clock. Its on a steady but slow pace maybe 60 yards out. Well i got a small window that i'm looking between 2 limbs into an opening that looks to be about 50 or so yards out. Well the foot steps is getting closer to this opening and what walks out. A very nice tall high racked buck. and he's coming straight to me. Now i'm going to tell ya, i can see a good buck with a rifle or shotgun in my hand and i hardly feel a thing. I'm usually good until after i pull the trigger (rechon kill mode takes place) after i shoot, my knees might get a little weak, and that's getting to where it doesn't happen that often anymore. But having a stick and string in my hand and a buck that i heard coming a good ways before i saw him and the first thing i see is its a damn nice buck at 50 yards and on a straight line for me. I couldn't take it, i thought i was going to fall outta that stand..lol. Heart thumping outta my chest, Can't hardly stay standing. Anyway, the buck gets to 30 yards walking directly behind some trash. He's got what i thought 2 ways to go to my left around the trash or to the right which would put him in front. Or 5 yards in any of those directions and i got a shot. Well what does he do. Takes a hard right 45 degree angle and walks right up under some oak limbs that i can't shoot through and walks out in to a big opening that i didn't know was there at my 11 oclock. And kept on walking outta my life as much as i tried to grunt him back in.. He was gone.

Well, its about 7:30 (about 15 min later) and i hear some thing walking in the leaves straight in front about 60 yards or so. I catch a glimpse or a deer walking/ trotting with his head down can't tell what it is. I hit the grunt call, buck turns and is coming my way. ended up being a cow horn with about 6 - 7 in tines that comes from infront to my right side and gets with in 13 yards before he walks behind me and caught my smell.

Well 15 to 20 minutes pass and the only action i'm getting is some wood ducks that flew over a day break, some quail and turkeys that are letting the world know they are up and at it. I'm just taking it all in. Enjoying the morning since to me my hunt is through that was good enough for me.

Well after a few minutes about 8 am or so i decide to hit the grunt call and doe can one more time. After i do that and a few minutes pass i hear something walking in leaves of the oak pond in the same spot as the big buck from first thing. Well at first i thought it was a doe, but it ended up being a spike with about 1-2 in tines. That walked the same path the big buck did, but took a left at the trash and walked right up under my climber. He then ended up walking back into that clear opening (same opening from first buck) and got up with another smaller buck that i did see or hear coming from infront of me (never could tell how big this one was) and they set there and sparred for a few minutes. before the spike had enough and trotted off. All this was taking place at about 40 yards. While the other new buck went a took out his frustrations on an small oak tree/sapling. He never came any closer as i tried to grunt him in closer a few times.

A few minutes after that my buddy sent me a txt saying he was getting down that he had to be somewhere at 10am. It wasn't until i look at the clock, that it was almost 9am. Seemed as though those couple of hours in the stand flew by. My buddy ended up seeing a nice young 6 point at 20 yards and 2 does.

but even though no blood was shed, this to me was the best hunt so far for me this season. Last year i went to Indy and shot at (had good blood for 200 yards but no recovery) of a nice 130 in buck and i didn't get no where near as shook up on that buck and i did on this one this morning. And this buck was a solid high teens or low 120's buck. Might have been on how drawn out the hunt was from the time i heard him till seeing him and how long it took him to get from 50 yards to 30 yards. As with the indy buck it was grunt and doe bleat and he came running in to 15 or so yards all that happened in a matter of 30 seconds i think or it felt like anyway.

Sorry for the length of this post, maybe some of ya'll will enjoy reading it. I can't wait to leave sunday for KY and I hope to have a few hunts like this one out in KY.

[HT]

oh yea meant to add. After i got down. i walked over to that opening i was seeing. and that was the spot i needed to be at as there were 3 different good trees to climb and you could see almost the whole oak pond and into the thinned mature pines from any one of those trees. This spot was full of rubs all along the edge of opening and had some of this year scrapes up under about every branch. And this opening is only like 20 yards by 40 yards wide I showed my buddy this spot and told him that all the deer i saw this morning went through this big opening at some point and also that the next time i come back that's the spot i wanted to hunt.

[Hoggin]

Is that all?