A fine evening of hunting.....

[studabaka]

..... but nothing to show for it 

After almost two weeks of only seeing does and spring fawns I was a little perplex, but the thought of not going out never crossed my mind. I decided to do evening watch atop a brush pile between a bean field on the east and a pumpkin patch on the west. Along the other side of the bean field was a river, but being as dry as it has been it was pretty shallow. Wind gusting 5-10 from the north east and 100 yards to my north was a line of hardwoods.

Walking in I spotted a couple laying along side the bean field directly under one of those plastic hunting blinds  :roflmao: I got to within 50 yards before they got up and started to move off, but not in a real panick. Was a big doe with two spring fawns that I had seen there before. They headed up along the field to the hardwoods and I followed until I reached my brush pile. I've got a nice little spot arranged atop this pile and it's a great gun stand, but have yet to have a nice deer close enough to it for a bow shot.

30 min after getting set, two more does graze up through the pumpkin patch. Right across my down wind and 100 yards out, but they didn't seem to wind me. Into the hardwoods they went. After about another 30 minutes I look over my shoulder and see a spring fawn stand up 20 yards away in the pumpkin patch and watch it dilly dally it's way over to the hardwoods. About an hour or so before dark the doe with the two fawns reamerge from the hardwoods and graze their way up the edge of the pumpkin patch and over the ridge. I'm watching them through my glasses and am enjoying it, but thinking, dang where the heck are all the boys? As they disappear I turn back around and glass up the bean field. 300+ yards up I spot one.... and it is big.... and it has a nice rack still in velvet.... and it looks like maybe...ah, dang, it's grazing off in the other direction..... I light drizzle starts to fall..... it's about 45 min before sunset..... movement closer in on the river side of the bean field...... Turkeys.... I count four about a 100 yards out and struting slowly into the hedge row..... More deer in the bean field, but 300+ yards up.... swing around to check the hardwoods and my down wind across the pumpkin patch... nothing.... swing back to the bean field.... a lone deer 150-200 yards out and ....and....and yes grazing my way...raises it's head.... a buck... not the big one I had seen earlier, but a nice 6 or 8 point I recon. He's coming up the river side of the bean field which is about 100+ yards wide at my end, but he vears out and meanders through the middle my way.  His closes point to me was what I figured to be about 50 yards... A bit longer than I wanted, but after all the drama I had to let one go in his direction..... I can't see the arrow, but no 'thunk' and he takes only a bound or two and then turns and looks at a few does trailing him bound a few and then go back to grazing. I swear it looked like he then took a step back like he was looking for the 'what the heck was that'.... then he turned and moved slowly off into the hardwoods. I held stand for the last 15 min of light, but all I could see was maybe 8-10 grazing 200+ yards back up the bean field.

I'll go back in th morning and double check and try to find my arrow. Walking out I got a steady stream of snorts for almost a half mile. .... I'm lookin forward to tomorrow 

[bushmaster]

Darn Ginger Snaps!!!

[FinsnFur]

Sounds like you enjoyed every second of it though Stu. 
Nice lil write up 

[bowjunkie]

  good read on your hunt makes a feller feel like he was sittin there with ya