My 2007 Archery Season...

[Purgatory_Predator_Calls]

It's been a great season that all to quickly came to an end with the tagging of my buct on 11/12/2007.  Although not nearly long enough it's been a great season and one that I'll remember for a lifetime!  Here's how it went....


So anyhow, there I was sitting in one of my three stands over looking the Purgatorie river bottom at around 5:00 PM on September 24th.  Haden't been hearing any bugels but from previous years knew the rut was very close if not already in full swing.  Anyhow with the wind slightly gusting I waited about 30 minutes and started cow calling between wind gusts to see if I could hear a response.  Just a few seconds after the first few cow chirps came out of my Arky KatCaller, I was getting a cow response back from behind me.  Now the river sits back probably 80 yards and runs west to east behind my treestand.  At first I thought I might be hearing the call of a wood duck or widgen floating the river.  At first it made me say "WAIT.....was that an elk "  So the next break between wind gusts I cow called again only to get the same several chirps back in reply.  Then the thought that there might be a tresspasser coming to my call.  But shortly there after blew it off as a loud mouth mud eatin duck floating the river.  So now I've been cow calling for about 5 minutes and the wind dies down enough for me the hear the same chirping sound.  Only this time it's west of me and a lot closer.  So after hearing the chirps again with a lot less distence between us I knew it wasen't a duck but had my doubts if it was a poacher or not.  So I stood up and turned around facing the tree my treestand was hung on.  Placed my release and stood at the ready.  Not 30 seconds later out pops this spike.  And all be darned if he wasent doing his best "cow in heat" impersonation.  This dude was flat out chirping every few seconds.  He worked his way behind my tree and stood there for a good 3-4 minutes the whole time just chiping up a storm.  After a few minutes of him standing there and he wheeled around to return to the thick cover from which he came.  He started walking right to left (west to east) and came to a clearing that was nearly straight down from me in my treestand at 11 yards.  When he passed behind my tree I came to full draw and waited.  The predator hunter in me lip squeeked.    he stopping in his tracks having never probably heard a rodent in distress.  I line my pin up and let the arrow fly.  I was probably shooting at a 60 degree angle.  I saw the arrow impact with an erruption of blood boiling up around the arrow.  The arrow penetrated almost to the fletching so I knew it was an in one side out the other shot.  So there I am all shakin and heart pownding as I listen to him absolutly crashing through the timber.  I hear what sounds like him splashing through the river and then nothing but a lot of wet coughing.  I could hear his coughs at first extremly wet and loud.  Within a minute or so they were a lot quieter untill they stopped.  I called Dave on the radio and told him of the story that had just unfolded.  I asked him to meet me at my treestand and we would collectivly track him.  So he shows up and se set off.  The blood trail wasn't as easy to follow as was the trail of broken ground, grass, and tamirack limbs.  We tracked him for probably 30 yards to find my arrow bloody to the fletching.  We continuted the trail to the rivers edge.  As we contimplated finding a place to cross I looked across the river to see him lying dead in the willowss just feet from the river.  It sure would of been easier had he decided to stop before he crossed the river but we quartered him out and in the truck by 10PM or so.  Further investigation revealed a doublelung shot. Somewhere in the process of packing him out I got a splinter in my eye.    I have no idea how and spent the next week bouncing between the ER and the optomitrist trying to figure what the heck was going on.  LOL but it's out and all better. Now I know he ain't the biggest but couldn't be happier with my first bow kill.



But it wasen't over yet.  November 12th 3:05pm found me settling in to the same tree stand from which I killed my elk for the first evening hunt of my first day of vacation.  I had seen two fawns and a cottentail rabbit that morning but no bucks.  Knowing the rut was close I knew it was just a matter of time before the bucks would be following the does around.  So I said to myself,

"Self, let things settle down for 20 or so minutes and try some grunting and maybe a little rattling."

So 20 minutes later I found myself playing the sweetest grunts that I could play out of my Bill Grove Grunter affectianatly knows from know on as the "Grove Grunter".  Anyhow I let out 5-6 grunts over the course of about a minute, sat down with my bow in hand and my realease attached. The treestand faces to the north northeast and the sun was an hour or so away from setting to my west.  Not 5 minutes later I hear a dry leaf from the cottonwood tree my treestand I was in crack to my left (west)  Moving only my eyes in that direction I could see the shadow produced from the soon to be setting sun of a buck.  A closer look revealed a 4x4 less than 15 yards walking west to east on the trail my treestand was hung over.  Now directly infront of me and a few feet to the right was a full juniper tree that had split into two seperate bushy masses with about a 2 foot gap between the two.  When the buck went behind the first bush I stood up and came to full draw.  As his head and front shoulder passed into the opening I grunted with my mouth and he stopped with his head behind the second bush and vitals square in the opening.  I lined the pin up and let the arrow fly.  The arrow impacted with the deer letting out the most grousom groan/grunt I've ever heard.  He crashed through a patch of tamiracks directly north infront me to emerge out the otherside with the arrow missing.  I watched him running and jumping flat out in a straight line directly away from me.  I thought to myself'

"Self he's sure jumping and running good to be hit very good..."

The best I can describe my emotions while he was running...... ...... 

Anyhow he jumps over a small bush and never emerges from the other side.     So I sat there with the bush and everything around it in plain sight franticly replaying the past minute in my head over and over wondering if he did fall or I just missed him and he's still going?????  While waiting I ranged the bush twice, once at 99 yards and the other at 101 yards. 

Like with the elk I call Dave and tell him the story.  I tell him that I thought it was a good hit but wasn't sure.  Told him I'd continue to watch for 20 minutes and call him back.  Let me tell you what, that 20 minutes might as well been 2 hours.....
So I call dave and ask him to meet me at the coralls and we'll see if we can see him laying on the otherside of that bush from a rise about 200 yards to the north of my treestand.  Figured if he did fall right there he'd be in plain sight.  So we get there and can't see a hair.  Not even a hint of a dead buck.  I knock another arrow and we walk directly to the bush that I saw him disapear behind.....  I'll be honest I was worried.  Anyhow we get to the bush only to find nada  Then I look in the direction of my treestand and realize that we're behind the wrong bush..   The correct bush was another 20 yards infront of us.   As we slowly approached the correct bush I see antlers and a white belly emerge.  While gutting the buck his right lung had two large lacerations in it and the left lung had two BIG holes in it.  The 10 yard shot was so steep that I almost went in the top of the lung and out the bottom just grazing the inside lung upon entry. 

"There he is Dave!"

And the rest as they say "Is History" My treestand is hung in the small tree between the two big trees directly over my left shoulder.



All in all it was a great season I'll NEVER forget. 

Thanks for looking. 

Joey Gacnik

[studabaka]

Wow..... Now that's a great story, a great result, and a heck of a season.  You got ya some absolute beauties there....congratulations!!!!

[possumal]

Great story and great pictures!  Either animal would complete a successful season for any bowhunter. Congrats!

[Nelson]

Congratulations,

Nice hunts and good reading.

Nelson

[wv_yoter]

Congratulations Joey, that is a great season.

[Hawks Feather]

Yoey,

Congratulations on both kills.  You will be set to eat for the rest of the winter.  Nice writeup on the hunts.  It also sounds like you have a well placed tree stand.

Yerry

[Bills Custom Calls]

Very nice buck ya got there  should make some fine eating.Glad to hear the Grove Grunter done its part

Some day I will get me one of those Grove Grunters

[Troy Walter]

Nice,good job and a great story.

[Todd Rahm]

Dang Joey, ya write like ya spin calls. I was reading it so slow I was picturing the whole thing go down. Nice job and congrats on your two bow kills. 

[Lonehowl]

Awsome story . Congrats!

[cb223]

Sounds like a good season to me. Nice job!

[packsaddle]

way to go, joey!

i lost your address.

send me a private message.

greg from texas

[coyotehunter_1]

  Way to go, Joey !!! Plenty of good eating, right there. 



Posted by: packsaddle,

i lost your address.

Greg,
I sent Joey a pm for you (just in case your post gets missed)