I have hunted deer since about 15, but initially was never really very serious. I went with friends and shot a lot of does, fawns and a couple of small bucks with a shotgun. I eventually got into archery and have shot a few antlerless deer. Over the last 10 years or so I have several heartbreaker stories about missed opportunities on bucks with a gun, but never had come close archery hunting. For the last couple of years I have tried to get things lined up for my first bow killed buck, but this resulted in little more than a few out of range sightings and not really and good opportunities. Last year was my first drawback, shot and heartbreak with a bow. I had done a lot of planning and hung a stand on a property I had hunted quite a bit, and had a buck do it just perfect on November 5, 2014. In the midst of buck fever I elected not to stop a walking deer and tried to lead him overestimating how much I would need, and the encounter ended with a tallow covered arrow and no blood from a very forward brisket shot. I ended up killing a modest buck with the shotgun a couple days later.
With the advent of 2015 I was determined to fill my archery tag and for the first time ever not have to walk in and buy a firearms tag in early November. This season has been amazing for scouting and big buck pictures. We have had more mature deer with incredible antler growth this year than I could have imagined. By early September I had 8 mature bucks on four properties with half of them being upwards of 140" and two real giants. I had hunted some in September and seen only 1.5 year old bucks and does/fawns. Knowing I missed my chance at summer pattern bucks I feared the October lull that would bring me dangerously close to another firearms season with a buck tag still in hand.
One property that has a very small huntable area held one of the smallest shooters I had on camera. It was a 9pt with a slender body and little mass that would possibly score in the 120s, probably a 3.5 year old, possibly 2.5. I had very regular pictures of him throughout the summer and he was the only legal buck in the woods. The stand is a great stand to see deer in bow range and I had decided that I could not be picky for my first bow buck and that any mature legal buck would be a trophy.
On October 10 I planned to hunt that stand with a perfect wind in my face walking in blowing my scent out into the standing core behind me with a well worn trail that my camera monitored laid 17 yds in front. As I sat in the stand I looked through pictures on my phone of the buck I had gotten pictures of there, and other properties. I also thought about when I checked the card a couple weeks before revealing no mature buck pictures, including the 9 point. They were putting up a power line along the north edge of this small woods and I wondered if the activity had cleared the deer out. I then wondered why I was even there. No pictures, warm weather, October lull, no sleep from working a second job overnight the night prior. I had grabbed the camera card before climbing up and figured it would hold the same.
The time in stand passed slowly, I saw one hen turkey before sunset and the woods began to be flooded by songbirds from the surrounding farms coming in to roost for the night as it always does just before dark. Shooting time ended at 7:05 and I was not optimistic about the last 15 minutes, though when warm is when I see deer here. Around 6:55 I heard crashing in the corn behind me. The stand is set on the east edge of the woods about 10-15 yards in, facing west. The deer bed in the southern 1/4 of the approximately 6 acre woods and move north to feed in the fields to the north, west and east. This spring when I set the camera I thought about deer walking up the east seam between the corn and the woods and how I should cut a shooting lane from my stand to one spot on the seam that there was often a scrape. In April I cut such a lane.
At 7:00 I hear corn smashing and then woods crackling about 20 yards northeast of me, directly down wind. I figured it was a large coon that saw me in the tree but as I turned around I saw a large bodied deer in the woods to my northeast going back to the corn. It didn't appear alarmed but was moving quickly. It was getting very dark at this point and as I looked through the binoculars I could see that it was a legal buck with white G2s and G3s. I put a stop to the horn viewing at that point and decided I would prepare for a shot if I were to be presented one. I began to shake as the buck hit the seam between the corn and woods directly down wind of me. He stopped and began walking south toward my shooting lane to the seam.
He stopped short and began raking a tree vigorously with his rack. I could then hear him tearing out a new scrape. I walk in on this seam with this wind and there was no rubs or scrapes there on the walk in. I used this time to ready my bow, flip up the seat on my stand and turn around fully expecting him to bust as soon as he came back to his senses after making the scrape given the wind. He continued slowly toward the lane and all I could see was his body and neck looked like a full rut buck, big, thick and heavy like a Hereford steer. Recalling the events of last year I drew back and anticipated when to stop him. As I looked through my peep I could see him slowly walking but boy was it dark. As his body entered my tiny shooting lane I bleated. He stopped and looked into the woods but not toward me. It was very dark and I took my time orienting my pin, hoping he would not start moving again. I made sure to see the top of his back, neck, and legs and centered my pin on his huge body silhouetted by the dry standing corn. He was slightly quartering away at about 17 yards and I was only about 12' up in a huge hardwood. I began to squeeze the release and the arrow departed, green lighted nock glowing like a bright star in the early evening darkness. It was on target and it disappeared into his massive body and it looked as though it had been turned off. He mule kicked, then jumped and the lighted nock spilled out the other side about 6' from where he stood initially. He ran along the seam then took an abrupt right turn and crashed into the woods running west parallel to me. He slowed to a trot on a trail to my left (south) and stopped in almost the exact spot I shot my buck last year with a shotgun. I looked at him through the binos as he paused there briefly. I couldn't see anything helpful as it was now 7:03pm. He began to walk off taking short steps headed south into the thick part of the woods that goes for another 80 yards or so before meeting corn on the other side. I could hear him walking then thought I heard grass rustle with the help of an 18 mph wind blowing directly from him to me.
I took a deep breath knowing I had just taken a shot on a large bodied buck, what buck though, I had no idea. He didn't really look like the small 9, but I truthfully had no idea. I packed up my gear and lowered it down quietly. I could see my green nock glowing as it leaned up against a cornstalk. I quietly made my way from the base of the tree to the arrow. It was covered from tip to tip in liquid bright red blood, very different from last year. There was blood thigh high on the corn on the off side where the arrow lay and for about 5' past. Beyond that I saw NO BLOOD, my heart sank but I tried to calm myself and not make quick judgments as the shot site looked encouraging. I knew I wanted to give him at least 30 minutes, maybe more, but it was going to be in the 60s that night and 80s the next day. Unseasonably warm for this time of year. I would walk the half mile back to the truck and unload gear, make a couple calls and decide what to do.
I made a couple calls to my hunting buddies who have taken more archery deer than I and was encouraged by their comments after telling them the story and seeing the picture of the arrow and corn near the shot. My wife and kids were waiting at a friends house for a ride home (dropped them off before heading out), so I decided to tend to that and come back possibly with a friend to take up the trail.
I arrived at our friends house and remembered I had the camera card (sleep deprived mind was a little slow) which may indicate what buck I may have arrowed. I plugged it in to their computed and was shocked at what I saw.
With the advent of 2015 I was determined to fill my archery tag and for the first time ever not have to walk in and buy a firearms tag in early November. This season has been amazing for scouting and big buck pictures. We have had more mature deer with incredible antler growth this year than I could have imagined. By early September I had 8 mature bucks on four properties with half of them being upwards of 140" and two real giants. I had hunted some in September and seen only 1.5 year old bucks and does/fawns. Knowing I missed my chance at summer pattern bucks I feared the October lull that would bring me dangerously close to another firearms season with a buck tag still in hand.
One property that has a very small huntable area held one of the smallest shooters I had on camera. It was a 9pt with a slender body and little mass that would possibly score in the 120s, probably a 3.5 year old, possibly 2.5. I had very regular pictures of him throughout the summer and he was the only legal buck in the woods. The stand is a great stand to see deer in bow range and I had decided that I could not be picky for my first bow buck and that any mature legal buck would be a trophy.
On October 10 I planned to hunt that stand with a perfect wind in my face walking in blowing my scent out into the standing core behind me with a well worn trail that my camera monitored laid 17 yds in front. As I sat in the stand I looked through pictures on my phone of the buck I had gotten pictures of there, and other properties. I also thought about when I checked the card a couple weeks before revealing no mature buck pictures, including the 9 point. They were putting up a power line along the north edge of this small woods and I wondered if the activity had cleared the deer out. I then wondered why I was even there. No pictures, warm weather, October lull, no sleep from working a second job overnight the night prior. I had grabbed the camera card before climbing up and figured it would hold the same.
The time in stand passed slowly, I saw one hen turkey before sunset and the woods began to be flooded by songbirds from the surrounding farms coming in to roost for the night as it always does just before dark. Shooting time ended at 7:05 and I was not optimistic about the last 15 minutes, though when warm is when I see deer here. Around 6:55 I heard crashing in the corn behind me. The stand is set on the east edge of the woods about 10-15 yards in, facing west. The deer bed in the southern 1/4 of the approximately 6 acre woods and move north to feed in the fields to the north, west and east. This spring when I set the camera I thought about deer walking up the east seam between the corn and the woods and how I should cut a shooting lane from my stand to one spot on the seam that there was often a scrape. In April I cut such a lane.
At 7:00 I hear corn smashing and then woods crackling about 20 yards northeast of me, directly down wind. I figured it was a large coon that saw me in the tree but as I turned around I saw a large bodied deer in the woods to my northeast going back to the corn. It didn't appear alarmed but was moving quickly. It was getting very dark at this point and as I looked through the binoculars I could see that it was a legal buck with white G2s and G3s. I put a stop to the horn viewing at that point and decided I would prepare for a shot if I were to be presented one. I began to shake as the buck hit the seam between the corn and woods directly down wind of me. He stopped and began walking south toward my shooting lane to the seam.
He stopped short and began raking a tree vigorously with his rack. I could then hear him tearing out a new scrape. I walk in on this seam with this wind and there was no rubs or scrapes there on the walk in. I used this time to ready my bow, flip up the seat on my stand and turn around fully expecting him to bust as soon as he came back to his senses after making the scrape given the wind. He continued slowly toward the lane and all I could see was his body and neck looked like a full rut buck, big, thick and heavy like a Hereford steer. Recalling the events of last year I drew back and anticipated when to stop him. As I looked through my peep I could see him slowly walking but boy was it dark. As his body entered my tiny shooting lane I bleated. He stopped and looked into the woods but not toward me. It was very dark and I took my time orienting my pin, hoping he would not start moving again. I made sure to see the top of his back, neck, and legs and centered my pin on his huge body silhouetted by the dry standing corn. He was slightly quartering away at about 17 yards and I was only about 12' up in a huge hardwood. I began to squeeze the release and the arrow departed, green lighted nock glowing like a bright star in the early evening darkness. It was on target and it disappeared into his massive body and it looked as though it had been turned off. He mule kicked, then jumped and the lighted nock spilled out the other side about 6' from where he stood initially. He ran along the seam then took an abrupt right turn and crashed into the woods running west parallel to me. He slowed to a trot on a trail to my left (south) and stopped in almost the exact spot I shot my buck last year with a shotgun. I looked at him through the binos as he paused there briefly. I couldn't see anything helpful as it was now 7:03pm. He began to walk off taking short steps headed south into the thick part of the woods that goes for another 80 yards or so before meeting corn on the other side. I could hear him walking then thought I heard grass rustle with the help of an 18 mph wind blowing directly from him to me.
I took a deep breath knowing I had just taken a shot on a large bodied buck, what buck though, I had no idea. He didn't really look like the small 9, but I truthfully had no idea. I packed up my gear and lowered it down quietly. I could see my green nock glowing as it leaned up against a cornstalk. I quietly made my way from the base of the tree to the arrow. It was covered from tip to tip in liquid bright red blood, very different from last year. There was blood thigh high on the corn on the off side where the arrow lay and for about 5' past. Beyond that I saw NO BLOOD, my heart sank but I tried to calm myself and not make quick judgments as the shot site looked encouraging. I knew I wanted to give him at least 30 minutes, maybe more, but it was going to be in the 60s that night and 80s the next day. Unseasonably warm for this time of year. I would walk the half mile back to the truck and unload gear, make a couple calls and decide what to do.
I made a couple calls to my hunting buddies who have taken more archery deer than I and was encouraged by their comments after telling them the story and seeing the picture of the arrow and corn near the shot. My wife and kids were waiting at a friends house for a ride home (dropped them off before heading out), so I decided to tend to that and come back possibly with a friend to take up the trail.
I arrived at our friends house and remembered I had the camera card (sleep deprived mind was a little slow) which may indicate what buck I may have arrowed. I plugged it in to their computed and was shocked at what I saw.
