JasonakaDoug
Member
I'm going to preface all of this by saying I am a long time observer of this forum but am looking to become a little more active and being that we are only 2 months from the start of deer season, I'd love to share a little bit about our season last year and one of the best 3 week stretches that I've ever had hunting whitetail deer with my brothers.
A little background since I'm relatively new around here. I hunt some public land around my home town but I am fortunate enough to have access to hunt land in Jefferson county that has been in our family for several generations. Over the last 20+ years, we've always had a small club of guys. Some relatives, some family friends, and some that we didn't know until they paid their dues and started showing up. Great memories were made, countless steaks and handles of Jim Beam fell victim to the deer camp. Unfortunately, the group slowly dwindled as life got in the way for most. Now the only ones left hunting the property are myself and my brother with the occasional hunt from a friend or family member. The upside is this finally gave us the opportunity to focus on deer management. About 5 years ago, my brother and I decided that we would ease back on the brown is down philosophy of old and start following the herd, understanding their ins and outs, and start trying to get some actual quality deer on our property. Fast forward to fall 2016.
On a cool October morning, my Older brother and I decided after hunting at the Fort for the first couple weeks of bow season, we would make our first appearance down at the family farm. The day before, he convinced me to hang a climber on a whiteoak covered hillside that has always yielded good results while he would sit in his climber on the other side of the property. As we split up to make the long walk to our sets, we gave a customary fist bump and good luck as we turned the lights on low and started trekking.
After climbing up and settling down, it was about 40 minutes before daylight. After double checking that my phone was on silent, I Stowed it away to enjoy the waking of the woods. 7:30 rolls around and I see a set of legs slowly coming through the thick brush to my left about 40 yards out. As it comes into the old road bed that used to be drivable when my dad was a kid, I see that it is a nice buck. Another aside, I am right handed and started shooting a hand-me-down right handed bow I got from my brother about 7 years ago. Then just before the 2014 season, I found out I had a detached retina in my right eye. I had surgery but to no avail, they were unable to restore my vision to a point of independent functionality. Undeterred, I went on ebay as soon as my healing restrictions were up and bought a left handed bow to start training myself up. All that being said, I still feel a little awkward maneuvering the bow and trying to stay quiet when getting set up for a shot. All that being said, this deer was coming in on a string and I had no time to worry about whether or not I was comfortable. He just kept coming and coming and finally stopped behind a tree about 10 yards away where I could get a draw without being spotted. Slowly but surely I shifted on my narrow climber platform to get a good angle for my shot and eased the bow back. Once drawn, he hid being a young white oak for what seemed like 5 minutes before presenting me a perfect broadside shot at about 8 yards. He was a little close but when I let the arrow fly, It sliced down right where I had the pin and lodged in. I was worried to see the arrow as he was running but I was confident that the shot was true. As he was storming through brush I thought I heard him crash as everything fell silent. I sat down because the fever had hit me and I was worried I was going to be testing my harness if I didn't calm down and collect myself. I was in shock of how quickly it had happened. Like a ghost he had showed up. Like an M1 Abrams he left crashing and bulldozing trees on his exit. Once I got my wits about me, I Grabbed my phone and low and behold I had a text from my brother saying he had shot a doe during all of my excitement. I gave him the good news and he said he would be over once everything cooled down. After what seemed like the longest 45 minutes of my life, I saw his truck in the distance and started the climb down. Going to the scene of the shot I had zero blood. Following his presumed path, I explaining to my brother the story and what had all went down. We walked about 30 yards down the old road bed where he was crashing through less than an hour earlier and STILL no blood. I'm saying to my self how is this possible. The shot was laced. I just knew it but still the possibility is always there that something wacky happens. After looking for about 15 minutes without even a speck of blood, I see my brother pulling his phone out of pocket and in my head I'm thinking, "you can text later I need to find this deer." Then he points it at me and give the old, "What's that laying right there?" Turns out we had walked by him and the buck had only run approximately 25 yards from the shot. I would post the video of the recovery but there were a few joyous curse words as the emotions poured after killing my first buck with the left handed bow. He is no giant but a solid 8 that I could not be more proud of. Every day when I see the homemade euro mount I can't help but be grateful for the experience.
Jet over to the following weekend and I am right back in the woods. This time my soon to be brother in law and I are hunting over at the fort. This is opening weekend of ML season so the sign in boards are full of hunters just getting in the woods and excited for the new year and what it may hold for them. We go to sign in only to see that the 5 areas that we had scouted and planned on hunting were already slap full of folks. To try to avoid the hustle and bustle, we sign in for an area that neither of us had ever even seen that is on the opposite side of the base and had no one signed for. As we rode in to the training area and parked the truck, We hopped out and got the bows and climbers together. He points and says, "I'll walk in a little bit here if you want to go the other way." I complied and commenced to walking about a quarter of a mile down into some young pines near a thicket. Once finding a good enough tree, I made my climb, secured my bow hanger and got ready for the action. After all of this fun it had already begun to break daylight and I could start to see the area around my stand. About 10 minutes later I remember that I had not made my customary volume check on my cell phone. As I pull it out of my cargo pocket I realize it had already been put on vibrate but I had missed 2 texts already. Sure enough they were from my BIL. You can imagine my face as I read the words, "I JUST SMOKED A GIANT!" I'm sure it was something like
. He said he could see the deer down about 30 yards from him so after giving him about 20, I worked my way back up to the truck to drop my climber off and met him there. He had waited to go look at the deer up close until I got there but he knew it was a good one. Sure enough as we make our way over to his location he explains that he got turned around walking in and circled back and climbed up in a similar set to mine. As he scanned his surroundings he realized he was only about 100 yards from the truck. Right as he was contemplating climbing down and moving, the big boy walked in from the thick stuff to 12 yards where he met his fate to a G5 havoc. Unreal but a testament to the unpredictability when the wind is in your favor 
.
And last but certainly not least, the next available weekend me and my brother made our way back to the family farm. My brother was starting to get frustrated that everyone seemed to have had their opportunity at at nice deer except him. I'm back on the hillside where I took my buck earlier in the season and he is across the bottom from me about 500 yards hunting a road bed with his rifle. About 10:00 I have a doe come running by me headed my brothers direction, being tailed by a young 4 point that I had been seeing all season. Approximately 10 minutes later, BOOOOOM. His 7mag rings out a shot that seemed to shake the woods around me. Shortly there after he informs me that he had finally had his shot at a fine buck and he had capitalized. Once I make my way over to check it out he gives me the story. The same doe and small 4 point had run right under the old set he was in that we call Fawn Lake. As they ran by, He hears more rustling coming from the same trail that they were just on. Out steps a good buck, then another, then another. Walking in a row down the road were several good looking bucks. He takes his pick and drops him in his tracks.
Although these experiences were the product of some great luck, I'd like to think that at least a small amount was pay back for all of those days spent scouting, cutting food plots, supplemental feeding, checking trail cameras, etc in the hot summer heat very similar to what we're having this year.
Although the hunt is awesome, I think it's easy to get too caught up in the size of the game and forget about every aspect that gets you to that point with the arrow nocked and ready to fly. For me, the most enjoyment is brought by having people to share these experiences with and early in the morning on 9th of september, you better believe me and my brother will share a fist bump and a good luck. Split up, turn our lights down, and head on our way to create a few more memories for this season.
A little background since I'm relatively new around here. I hunt some public land around my home town but I am fortunate enough to have access to hunt land in Jefferson county that has been in our family for several generations. Over the last 20+ years, we've always had a small club of guys. Some relatives, some family friends, and some that we didn't know until they paid their dues and started showing up. Great memories were made, countless steaks and handles of Jim Beam fell victim to the deer camp. Unfortunately, the group slowly dwindled as life got in the way for most. Now the only ones left hunting the property are myself and my brother with the occasional hunt from a friend or family member. The upside is this finally gave us the opportunity to focus on deer management. About 5 years ago, my brother and I decided that we would ease back on the brown is down philosophy of old and start following the herd, understanding their ins and outs, and start trying to get some actual quality deer on our property. Fast forward to fall 2016.
On a cool October morning, my Older brother and I decided after hunting at the Fort for the first couple weeks of bow season, we would make our first appearance down at the family farm. The day before, he convinced me to hang a climber on a whiteoak covered hillside that has always yielded good results while he would sit in his climber on the other side of the property. As we split up to make the long walk to our sets, we gave a customary fist bump and good luck as we turned the lights on low and started trekking.
After climbing up and settling down, it was about 40 minutes before daylight. After double checking that my phone was on silent, I Stowed it away to enjoy the waking of the woods. 7:30 rolls around and I see a set of legs slowly coming through the thick brush to my left about 40 yards out. As it comes into the old road bed that used to be drivable when my dad was a kid, I see that it is a nice buck. Another aside, I am right handed and started shooting a hand-me-down right handed bow I got from my brother about 7 years ago. Then just before the 2014 season, I found out I had a detached retina in my right eye. I had surgery but to no avail, they were unable to restore my vision to a point of independent functionality. Undeterred, I went on ebay as soon as my healing restrictions were up and bought a left handed bow to start training myself up. All that being said, I still feel a little awkward maneuvering the bow and trying to stay quiet when getting set up for a shot. All that being said, this deer was coming in on a string and I had no time to worry about whether or not I was comfortable. He just kept coming and coming and finally stopped behind a tree about 10 yards away where I could get a draw without being spotted. Slowly but surely I shifted on my narrow climber platform to get a good angle for my shot and eased the bow back. Once drawn, he hid being a young white oak for what seemed like 5 minutes before presenting me a perfect broadside shot at about 8 yards. He was a little close but when I let the arrow fly, It sliced down right where I had the pin and lodged in. I was worried to see the arrow as he was running but I was confident that the shot was true. As he was storming through brush I thought I heard him crash as everything fell silent. I sat down because the fever had hit me and I was worried I was going to be testing my harness if I didn't calm down and collect myself. I was in shock of how quickly it had happened. Like a ghost he had showed up. Like an M1 Abrams he left crashing and bulldozing trees on his exit. Once I got my wits about me, I Grabbed my phone and low and behold I had a text from my brother saying he had shot a doe during all of my excitement. I gave him the good news and he said he would be over once everything cooled down. After what seemed like the longest 45 minutes of my life, I saw his truck in the distance and started the climb down. Going to the scene of the shot I had zero blood. Following his presumed path, I explaining to my brother the story and what had all went down. We walked about 30 yards down the old road bed where he was crashing through less than an hour earlier and STILL no blood. I'm saying to my self how is this possible. The shot was laced. I just knew it but still the possibility is always there that something wacky happens. After looking for about 15 minutes without even a speck of blood, I see my brother pulling his phone out of pocket and in my head I'm thinking, "you can text later I need to find this deer." Then he points it at me and give the old, "What's that laying right there?" Turns out we had walked by him and the buck had only run approximately 25 yards from the shot. I would post the video of the recovery but there were a few joyous curse words as the emotions poured after killing my first buck with the left handed bow. He is no giant but a solid 8 that I could not be more proud of. Every day when I see the homemade euro mount I can't help but be grateful for the experience.
Jet over to the following weekend and I am right back in the woods. This time my soon to be brother in law and I are hunting over at the fort. This is opening weekend of ML season so the sign in boards are full of hunters just getting in the woods and excited for the new year and what it may hold for them. We go to sign in only to see that the 5 areas that we had scouted and planned on hunting were already slap full of folks. To try to avoid the hustle and bustle, we sign in for an area that neither of us had ever even seen that is on the opposite side of the base and had no one signed for. As we rode in to the training area and parked the truck, We hopped out and got the bows and climbers together. He points and says, "I'll walk in a little bit here if you want to go the other way." I complied and commenced to walking about a quarter of a mile down into some young pines near a thicket. Once finding a good enough tree, I made my climb, secured my bow hanger and got ready for the action. After all of this fun it had already begun to break daylight and I could start to see the area around my stand. About 10 minutes later I remember that I had not made my customary volume check on my cell phone. As I pull it out of my cargo pocket I realize it had already been put on vibrate but I had missed 2 texts already. Sure enough they were from my BIL. You can imagine my face as I read the words, "I JUST SMOKED A GIANT!" I'm sure it was something like
. He said he could see the deer down about 30 yards from him so after giving him about 20, I worked my way back up to the truck to drop my climber off and met him there. He had waited to go look at the deer up close until I got there but he knew it was a good one. Sure enough as we make our way over to his location he explains that he got turned around walking in and circled back and climbed up in a similar set to mine. As he scanned his surroundings he realized he was only about 100 yards from the truck. Right as he was contemplating climbing down and moving, the big boy walked in from the thick stuff to 12 yards where he met his fate to a G5 havoc. Unreal but a testament to the unpredictability when the wind is in your favor And last but certainly not least, the next available weekend me and my brother made our way back to the family farm. My brother was starting to get frustrated that everyone seemed to have had their opportunity at at nice deer except him.
Although these experiences were the product of some great luck, I'd like to think that at least a small amount was pay back for all of those days spent scouting, cutting food plots, supplemental feeding, checking trail cameras, etc in the hot summer heat very similar to what we're having this year.
Although the hunt is awesome, I think it's easy to get too caught up in the size of the game and forget about every aspect that gets you to that point with the arrow nocked and ready to fly. For me, the most enjoyment is brought by having people to share these experiences with and early in the morning on 9th of september, you better believe me and my brother will share a fist bump and a good luck. Split up, turn our lights down, and head on our way to create a few more memories for this season.
