D Day
Member
For the 2012/2013 hunting season I joined a lease in NW Florida as my boys (then ages 10 and 13) showed an interest in deer hunting.
Last year started great. On Thanksgiving Day (opening day in Zone D) my oldest son got his first deer, a 4 point buck. We hadn’t been on stand more than 45 minutes when that buck walked out and my oldest son dropped him. It was an exciting moment, but I knew that the pressure would be on to get a buck for my youngest son (who has a healthy sibling rivalry with his older brother).
Unfortunately for my youngest son, last year was spent learning lessons the hard way. The only shot he got at a buck was at a cow-horn spike. First lesson learned the hard way…” watch the buck fall thru the scope.” He lifted his head as he pulled the trigger and the result was a clean miss (and heart break for him). The second lesson learned the hard way…yes, the does will walk out in the middle of the food plot, but don’t lock your vision on the food plot. The bucks frequently will be on the edges of the woods and cover around the food plot and might never step in the plot. Twice, as we were sitting in the 2-man ladder stand, he had bucks come from his side of the stand (off to his right and slightly behind him). Both times the bucks got within 40 yards but he didn’t see them until it was too late. More heart break.
The season ended with nothing on the score board for him. He endured an off season knowing that his brother got one and he didn’t. He was probably reminded of this every time we grilled the venison from his brother’s buck ! To his credit, he spent a lot of time at the range with me getting ready for 2013/2014 season. He probably fired 200 rounds thru the .22 (practicing good shooting form) and another 30 rounds thru the 7MM-08.
So, he was enthusiastic to start this season. Unfortunately thru the middle of January he seemed to be the bad luck kid. We would sit at a stand in the morning, see nothing, and another member would sit there in the afternoon and kill one. Or, we would sit at stand in the afternoon, see nothing, and have the trail cam reveal if we had been there in the morning we would have seen a buck. During doe week he went twice, and we failed to see a doe. To make matters worse for him, his older brother was on the scoreboard again.
So, by the middle of January he was pretty discouraged and perhaps a little reluctant to continue to hunt hard, even though the rut was in full swing.
This Saturday, February 1, we decided to go in the afternoon to our lease and give it another try. We were hoping that the second rut might be kicking in and the bucks would be moving despite the warm weather.
Here was our view:
At the end of the food plot is an old logging road. On the other side of the road the land gradually drops down to a thick, swampy area. On either side of the tower blind, and behind the blind, is a large area of mature, plantation cut pines, and broom straw. At this stand the deer can come from any direction, and may not be coming to the food plot.
Around 5pm we see a spike walking thru the pines parallel to the food plot. He is within 40 yards and my son has him in the scope. Unfortunately, I didn’t think he is Florida legal (at least one spike has to be 5 inches long). I whisper this to my son, and tell him we need to let him walk. To his credit he was ok with that. I was probably more deflated than he was, thinking that of all the bucks on the lease we had to have an illegal one set up camp in front of us !
Around 6pm I am looking out of the left window, and my son is looking out of the right window (toward the trail the small spike had used). I turn my attention to the center window (the one looking over the food plot) and see a big body moving from right to left, cutting across the logging road on the back side of the food plot (about the 11pm position as you look at the picture). I whisper “deer”, and motion in the direction of the deer. Then I see horns and whisper “buck”. The buck is walking with a purpose, so I reach for the grunt tube in my lap. I’m nervous and can’t seem to pick it up and find the right end of the tube to blow thru ! Fortunately the buck stopped for a moment. Where he stopped was in between 2 pines, and fortunately the broom straw was low enough that my son could get a good look at his target. Without waiting for coaching from me, he took the safety off and took the 100 yard shot. The buck collapsed on the spot !!
After high fives and hugs and a 5 minute wait we got down to go find his prize:
We had trail cam pics of this guy over the summer. Thanks to a split G-2 he was an 11 point, but lost a point somewhere along the way.
There are many, many amazing things about this hunt. But I keep coming back to this…from the time I whispered “deer” to the time my son shot was about 5 seconds. It is amazing that in the span of those 5 seconds, nearly 2 full seasons of his disappointment were washed away, and replaced by pure joy, and the confidence that putting in the work at the range and in the woods will at some point be rewarded. Probably a life lesson there too.
Thanks for reading.
Last year started great. On Thanksgiving Day (opening day in Zone D) my oldest son got his first deer, a 4 point buck. We hadn’t been on stand more than 45 minutes when that buck walked out and my oldest son dropped him. It was an exciting moment, but I knew that the pressure would be on to get a buck for my youngest son (who has a healthy sibling rivalry with his older brother).
Unfortunately for my youngest son, last year was spent learning lessons the hard way. The only shot he got at a buck was at a cow-horn spike. First lesson learned the hard way…” watch the buck fall thru the scope.” He lifted his head as he pulled the trigger and the result was a clean miss (and heart break for him). The second lesson learned the hard way…yes, the does will walk out in the middle of the food plot, but don’t lock your vision on the food plot. The bucks frequently will be on the edges of the woods and cover around the food plot and might never step in the plot. Twice, as we were sitting in the 2-man ladder stand, he had bucks come from his side of the stand (off to his right and slightly behind him). Both times the bucks got within 40 yards but he didn’t see them until it was too late. More heart break.
The season ended with nothing on the score board for him. He endured an off season knowing that his brother got one and he didn’t. He was probably reminded of this every time we grilled the venison from his brother’s buck ! To his credit, he spent a lot of time at the range with me getting ready for 2013/2014 season. He probably fired 200 rounds thru the .22 (practicing good shooting form) and another 30 rounds thru the 7MM-08.
So, he was enthusiastic to start this season. Unfortunately thru the middle of January he seemed to be the bad luck kid. We would sit at a stand in the morning, see nothing, and another member would sit there in the afternoon and kill one. Or, we would sit at stand in the afternoon, see nothing, and have the trail cam reveal if we had been there in the morning we would have seen a buck. During doe week he went twice, and we failed to see a doe. To make matters worse for him, his older brother was on the scoreboard again.
So, by the middle of January he was pretty discouraged and perhaps a little reluctant to continue to hunt hard, even though the rut was in full swing.
This Saturday, February 1, we decided to go in the afternoon to our lease and give it another try. We were hoping that the second rut might be kicking in and the bucks would be moving despite the warm weather.
Here was our view:
At the end of the food plot is an old logging road. On the other side of the road the land gradually drops down to a thick, swampy area. On either side of the tower blind, and behind the blind, is a large area of mature, plantation cut pines, and broom straw. At this stand the deer can come from any direction, and may not be coming to the food plot.
Around 5pm we see a spike walking thru the pines parallel to the food plot. He is within 40 yards and my son has him in the scope. Unfortunately, I didn’t think he is Florida legal (at least one spike has to be 5 inches long). I whisper this to my son, and tell him we need to let him walk. To his credit he was ok with that. I was probably more deflated than he was, thinking that of all the bucks on the lease we had to have an illegal one set up camp in front of us !
Around 6pm I am looking out of the left window, and my son is looking out of the right window (toward the trail the small spike had used). I turn my attention to the center window (the one looking over the food plot) and see a big body moving from right to left, cutting across the logging road on the back side of the food plot (about the 11pm position as you look at the picture). I whisper “deer”, and motion in the direction of the deer. Then I see horns and whisper “buck”. The buck is walking with a purpose, so I reach for the grunt tube in my lap. I’m nervous and can’t seem to pick it up and find the right end of the tube to blow thru ! Fortunately the buck stopped for a moment. Where he stopped was in between 2 pines, and fortunately the broom straw was low enough that my son could get a good look at his target. Without waiting for coaching from me, he took the safety off and took the 100 yard shot. The buck collapsed on the spot !!
After high fives and hugs and a 5 minute wait we got down to go find his prize:
We had trail cam pics of this guy over the summer. Thanks to a split G-2 he was an 11 point, but lost a point somewhere along the way.
There are many, many amazing things about this hunt. But I keep coming back to this…from the time I whispered “deer” to the time my son shot was about 5 seconds. It is amazing that in the span of those 5 seconds, nearly 2 full seasons of his disappointment were washed away, and replaced by pure joy, and the confidence that putting in the work at the range and in the woods will at some point be rewarded. Probably a life lesson there too.
Thanks for reading.
