Edge
AH elite
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2016
- Messages
- 1,058
- Reaction score
- 1,947
- Location
- Between dreams and reality
- Media
- 548
- Hunted
- PA, OH, NM, ND, AL, FL, MD; Spain, EC/KZN/MP South Africa, Zimbabwe x 2, Mozambique, Cameroon
A cold misting rain continued to fall as I climbed up onto the platform of the tree stand, water dripping down my neck from the leafless branches. It’s 9 November, the second day of the North Dakota rifle season. I clutch the cold wet riser of my bow and nock an arrow, it’s 2:50pm as I mentally prepare myself for a long cold wait until the magical evening hours.
Another year without a non-resident gun tag but the rut is kicking in, if I can only get a big whitetail buck to stop long enough to put in a killing shot. I see some movement down the ravine from the stand, a doe running through the woods. Ahh, there he is, a good buck with bone white antlers giving chase as they disappear around the curve of the hill. That didn’t take long as it’s only 3:30, the leaden skies may be aiding the early deer movement as well as the cycle of life.
I text my hunting buddy, “good buck chasing a doe below me”. He’s in a ground blind 500 yards south of me with a rifle tag in his pocket. The woods are subdued as the rain has soaked everything and it’s eerily quiet. A few wet snowflakes are mixed in with the rain as I snuggle myself into my warm coat, so much better than sitting in an office! I can see a couple of does move out of the woods north of me and begin feeding out into the cornfield. The wind is in my face, no fear of them catching my scent.
A doe materializes 30 yards from me, coming from the west ravine I’m watching. I ask myself, “how did I not see her earlier and where’s the big buck chasing her”? I’ve automatically pulled my hand out of my pocket and snapped my release on the D loop. She moves into the cornfield but her boyfriend is absent.
Perhaps 30 minutes pass and I see a doe heading up the bottom of the ravine from below and can see a white nose bobbing 50 yards behind her. I get myself ready as the 2nd deer has a good sized body but I don’t see any horns yet. She passes 30 yards from me as I stare at the buck coming up the hill, he has horns but they are hard to see staring down into the dark wet ravine. It’s only the 2nd day and I have eight more to go, he’s probably a three year old and I let him pass as he’s certainly not the buck I saw earlier.
Deer are moving into the cornfield north of me, I can see a few small bucks pestering the does as they try to fatten up for the winter. A couple of does move along the edge of the west ravine before popping out into the field, using the same exit point as the other deer I’ve seen. I pull out the range finder and verify the yardage, about 33 yards to the big tree next to the trail.
Big flakes begin to fall from the quickly darkening skies as the temperature must have dropped enough to allow them to form. I check my sight pins and they are still glowing brightly. A see a doe quickly picking her way along the north edge of the ravine, it’s so hard to see her wet hide against the dark hillside.
There he is, a big bodied buck not far behind. I lean forward off the tree and slowly shift my boots on the metal grate of the tree stand to position myself for a possible shot. I can see a big white nose and a flash of antler. I let out a “baaaa” and he stops behind a tree as I come to full draw, he moves out exposing the kill zone and I put my 30 yard pin on him and trip the release, watching the arrow arc and hit him mid way up and hear a load whack from the expandable broad head. He spins uphill and runs away stopping at the top of the ridge, pauses and takes a few steps downhill and away from my location as I lose sight of him.
I feel good about the shot and can feel the adrenaline rush through my body. I text my buddy and Wife “whacked one”, I check the time and it’s 5:03pm. I stay up in the tree for 15 minutes, letting myself calm down before descending 20 feet down the slippery tree pegs. I head over to the impact location and quickly find a good amount of hair and blood, looks like a complete pass through. My arrow is a yard beyond, with sign you want to see.
My buddy joins me after dark and we discuss the shot and sign we have, it’s been an hour so we take up the trail. I tell him I don’t know how big the rack is but the body was huge. We follow the sign and see where the buck stopped at the top of the hill along the edge of the cornfield. The sign becomes difficult to follow in the tall wet grass. A dense fog is beginning to swirl around us as the air temperature drops below freezing while the ground is still warm.
I shine my light down the steep hill and see my buck 30 yards below with his legs in the air, white belly showing and his head upside down with the antlers planted into the deep grass. I’m thankful we found him, he didn’t go more than 75 yards.
I call my good friend over from where he was diligently searching for sign in the wet grass, he takes a look and exclaims “you shot a horse”! We flip him over and finally see what he is carrying.
Cheers to my hunting friends Lynn, Terry and Mark, until next year fellas!
Another year without a non-resident gun tag but the rut is kicking in, if I can only get a big whitetail buck to stop long enough to put in a killing shot. I see some movement down the ravine from the stand, a doe running through the woods. Ahh, there he is, a good buck with bone white antlers giving chase as they disappear around the curve of the hill. That didn’t take long as it’s only 3:30, the leaden skies may be aiding the early deer movement as well as the cycle of life.
I text my hunting buddy, “good buck chasing a doe below me”. He’s in a ground blind 500 yards south of me with a rifle tag in his pocket. The woods are subdued as the rain has soaked everything and it’s eerily quiet. A few wet snowflakes are mixed in with the rain as I snuggle myself into my warm coat, so much better than sitting in an office! I can see a couple of does move out of the woods north of me and begin feeding out into the cornfield. The wind is in my face, no fear of them catching my scent.
A doe materializes 30 yards from me, coming from the west ravine I’m watching. I ask myself, “how did I not see her earlier and where’s the big buck chasing her”? I’ve automatically pulled my hand out of my pocket and snapped my release on the D loop. She moves into the cornfield but her boyfriend is absent.
Perhaps 30 minutes pass and I see a doe heading up the bottom of the ravine from below and can see a white nose bobbing 50 yards behind her. I get myself ready as the 2nd deer has a good sized body but I don’t see any horns yet. She passes 30 yards from me as I stare at the buck coming up the hill, he has horns but they are hard to see staring down into the dark wet ravine. It’s only the 2nd day and I have eight more to go, he’s probably a three year old and I let him pass as he’s certainly not the buck I saw earlier.
Deer are moving into the cornfield north of me, I can see a few small bucks pestering the does as they try to fatten up for the winter. A couple of does move along the edge of the west ravine before popping out into the field, using the same exit point as the other deer I’ve seen. I pull out the range finder and verify the yardage, about 33 yards to the big tree next to the trail.
Big flakes begin to fall from the quickly darkening skies as the temperature must have dropped enough to allow them to form. I check my sight pins and they are still glowing brightly. A see a doe quickly picking her way along the north edge of the ravine, it’s so hard to see her wet hide against the dark hillside.
There he is, a big bodied buck not far behind. I lean forward off the tree and slowly shift my boots on the metal grate of the tree stand to position myself for a possible shot. I can see a big white nose and a flash of antler. I let out a “baaaa” and he stops behind a tree as I come to full draw, he moves out exposing the kill zone and I put my 30 yard pin on him and trip the release, watching the arrow arc and hit him mid way up and hear a load whack from the expandable broad head. He spins uphill and runs away stopping at the top of the ridge, pauses and takes a few steps downhill and away from my location as I lose sight of him.
I feel good about the shot and can feel the adrenaline rush through my body. I text my buddy and Wife “whacked one”, I check the time and it’s 5:03pm. I stay up in the tree for 15 minutes, letting myself calm down before descending 20 feet down the slippery tree pegs. I head over to the impact location and quickly find a good amount of hair and blood, looks like a complete pass through. My arrow is a yard beyond, with sign you want to see.
My buddy joins me after dark and we discuss the shot and sign we have, it’s been an hour so we take up the trail. I tell him I don’t know how big the rack is but the body was huge. We follow the sign and see where the buck stopped at the top of the hill along the edge of the cornfield. The sign becomes difficult to follow in the tall wet grass. A dense fog is beginning to swirl around us as the air temperature drops below freezing while the ground is still warm.
I shine my light down the steep hill and see my buck 30 yards below with his legs in the air, white belly showing and his head upside down with the antlers planted into the deep grass. I’m thankful we found him, he didn’t go more than 75 yards.
I call my good friend over from where he was diligently searching for sign in the wet grass, he takes a look and exclaims “you shot a horse”! We flip him over and finally see what he is carrying.
Cheers to my hunting friends Lynn, Terry and Mark, until next year fellas!
