I have been hunting pretty hard this week without seeing any shooters except for a couple of hogs Monday evening.
So, today I decided to hit one of the USFS WMAs since I had a doe permit, and the chance to see a decent buck.
I got to my parking spot and walked in the 3/4s of a mile and climbed my deer with my Summit.
By breaking of day I was settled in. Wasn't long and say a deer slipping past. I'm sure it was doe, but it disappeared. About 30 minutes later I had a 2 does and a fawn cruising past. None game me a good shot opportunity and I really wanted a buck, and I have a couple of other spots that are closer to the truck for getting doe. A little while later I had the same or a different set of deer milling around again.
In these big woods you can see a good ways, and sometimes you just get glimpses as they drift in and out. About 8:30 I saw anther doe about 80 yards in front of me and then heard something below me and had a doe and fawn right under me. Don't know how they got that close without me seeing them. They eased off and about 9 I again saw some does moving around. Never did figure out how many I was seeing or if it was some of the same ones just circling around.
About 11am and I had not seen anything for over an hour, and I glance over my shoulder to see a buck moving by in the switch cane about 60 yards behind me but again too thick to shoot. I think it was an 8 point and looked to meet the 13" minimum spread requirement.
By 3:00 pm, I was getting tired and thinking I am bound to see something before long. My phone goes off (on vibrate) and I let it go to voice mail and then check it. It was the kid's school calling a I decided I needed to call them since it was Friday and they would be out until Monday. I tried calling a dozen times trying to get them before 3:30 and they were gone for the day.
Just my luck to sit all day and probably spook a buck off trying to make a call. It was busy again so I stuck the phone in my pocket and glance to my right to see a doe walking by about 40 yards off. I said "heck with it, I'll shoot a doe and get out of here." A neck shot with the .270 and she was DRT. I bolted another round thought "well, that's that".
Then I saw a buck coming in on the same path she was. He stopped about 60 yards out, and about 20 yards from where she lay, and I dropped him.
So, I climbed down, made the call I needed to make, and looked at my watch - 3:30pm. I had been in the stand 9 1/2 hours.
Now the work was going to begin. First I snapped a few pics on my phone and called a friend to see if he was available to help. Nope, he was on call and just called out.
So, I packed my stand back to the truck, left my rifle, took off my jacket, got some rubber gloves for gutting, a bottle of water, and my 2 wheel cart for hauling them back out. The worst part of hauling them out was going to be 400 yards of woods before I could get to the woods road, and the first 600 was going to be up hill.
I'm not sure if I will be able to get out of the bed in the morning or not after that haul. I came across another hunter who helped me the last 300 yards, but was totally exhausted by that point and it was right at 5:45 and nearly dark.
Now all I had left was to drive back, home, take pictures, skin 2 deer and get them ice.
The buck was a 12 point (if one of them will make an inch) and I roughed him about 134 B&C (edit: I "roughed" a little to generous, the gross was 130 5/8"). Not back for a public land buck, but I have seen bigger from the forest already this year.
So, today I decided to hit one of the USFS WMAs since I had a doe permit, and the chance to see a decent buck.
I got to my parking spot and walked in the 3/4s of a mile and climbed my deer with my Summit.
By breaking of day I was settled in. Wasn't long and say a deer slipping past. I'm sure it was doe, but it disappeared. About 30 minutes later I had a 2 does and a fawn cruising past. None game me a good shot opportunity and I really wanted a buck, and I have a couple of other spots that are closer to the truck for getting doe. A little while later I had the same or a different set of deer milling around again.
In these big woods you can see a good ways, and sometimes you just get glimpses as they drift in and out. About 8:30 I saw anther doe about 80 yards in front of me and then heard something below me and had a doe and fawn right under me. Don't know how they got that close without me seeing them. They eased off and about 9 I again saw some does moving around. Never did figure out how many I was seeing or if it was some of the same ones just circling around.
About 11am and I had not seen anything for over an hour, and I glance over my shoulder to see a buck moving by in the switch cane about 60 yards behind me but again too thick to shoot. I think it was an 8 point and looked to meet the 13" minimum spread requirement.
By 3:00 pm, I was getting tired and thinking I am bound to see something before long. My phone goes off (on vibrate) and I let it go to voice mail and then check it. It was the kid's school calling a I decided I needed to call them since it was Friday and they would be out until Monday. I tried calling a dozen times trying to get them before 3:30 and they were gone for the day.
Just my luck to sit all day and probably spook a buck off trying to make a call. It was busy again so I stuck the phone in my pocket and glance to my right to see a doe walking by about 40 yards off. I said "heck with it, I'll shoot a doe and get out of here." A neck shot with the .270 and she was DRT. I bolted another round thought "well, that's that".
Then I saw a buck coming in on the same path she was. He stopped about 60 yards out, and about 20 yards from where she lay, and I dropped him.
So, I climbed down, made the call I needed to make, and looked at my watch - 3:30pm. I had been in the stand 9 1/2 hours.
Now the work was going to begin. First I snapped a few pics on my phone and called a friend to see if he was available to help. Nope, he was on call and just called out.
So, I packed my stand back to the truck, left my rifle, took off my jacket, got some rubber gloves for gutting, a bottle of water, and my 2 wheel cart for hauling them back out. The worst part of hauling them out was going to be 400 yards of woods before I could get to the woods road, and the first 600 was going to be up hill.
I'm not sure if I will be able to get out of the bed in the morning or not after that haul. I came across another hunter who helped me the last 300 yards, but was totally exhausted by that point and it was right at 5:45 and nearly dark.
Now all I had left was to drive back, home, take pictures, skin 2 deer and get them ice.
The buck was a 12 point (if one of them will make an inch) and I roughed him about 134 B&C (edit: I "roughed" a little to generous, the gross was 130 5/8"). Not back for a public land buck, but I have seen bigger from the forest already this year.
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