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No matter how long you have been doing something, especially in relation to hunting or fishing, there is always a first time you accomplish a feat which is rarely accomplished. I had one of those accomplishments this past bow season here in Missouri. In my 30 years of bow hunting public land I felt I did something you don't see much of, I was blessed with the opportunity to take 2 deer with a bow with a few minutes of each other. I had some guys ask me if it was a doe that still had a fawn with her, no that wasn't the scenario. These were two year-and-a-half old deer from two separate groups.
Columbus Day 2016 is a day of hunting in which I'll never forget.
It was certainly a good day to be in the wood yesterday. My buddy Tommy and I went back to one of our old deer hunting places we've hunted over the last 20 years and without fail the area keeps producing for me. We left his house yesterday morning a little late yesterday morning and we didn't arrive to our destination until about 7 am. We both hurried up and get our gear gathered up set off through the woods. I got set up around 7:30 AM and not 5 minutes after getting settled in I had 2 does come through and they were acting a bit nervous and kept looking behind them, I knew immediately something had spooked them or they were being chased by a buck. Turns out it was the latter and not long after the does walked off a small 4 point buck came though the same area sniffed the spot the where the does were standing and he trotted off trailing them. My buddy Tommy was hunting a couple ridges over so before we split up we decided to hunt till about 10 AM and do a little looking around before heading back to town for lunch. 10 o'clock rolled around and we meet up to do a little scouting, we found some early signs of rutting with 2 fresh scrapes and some rubs.
Fast-forward to the evening hunt: After dropping Tommy off on the other side of the conservation area (Indian Trails is a very large area with nearly 14,000 acres to hunt) I came back to the same spot I hunted earlier that morning. I get settled in around 2 PM and after having lunch I was beginning to nod off so I decided to drift off for a little bit, the sun was at my back and the breeze felt very nice. Around 5 PM I began to hear some movement in the distance and I noticed a group of 4 does slowly making their way toward my setup. They took their sweet time about it of course and there for a little while they started heading away from me and I was beginning to think I wasn't going to get a shot at one of them. The good lord definitely had his hand in this, the does turned and began making their way back toward my setup once again. The one doe (the one I took) she was working her way directly behind me and she was slowly weaving her way through the white oak timber getting closer with each step. At first I thought she was going to change direction on me so I slowly began turning around in my stand so I could face the right side of the tree I was in, once I got twisted around she decided to go the opposite direction and I had to slowly twist back around to the other side of the tree still facing it cause she was still directly behind me. Once she fully committed I come to full draw I picked out a small opening where I thought she was going to step into and once she had her left side clear of a tree I squeezed the trigger on the release and sent to Montec tipped arrow through her side. The hit looked a little high on her back so I decided to sit down and give her some time to expire.
The bonus deer: Not long after I pulled the trigger on that doe I noticed 2 more deer working their way through the white oak timber slowly working in my direction. At first I was thinking did the deer that just ran off moments before circle around and were coming back? No, this was 2 different deer making their way toward me. So I decided to load up the Z28 with another arrow and got positioned to take another shot if the opportunity presented itself. The button buck, (actually about an inch of antler was sticking through the top of his head) but was legal to check in as a doe per our state laws. He begins making his way toward my location from directly behind me, same as the doe I had just shot moments earlier. The little fella actually sniffed the arrow that was sticking in the ground that just went through that doe. Once he was done sniffing the arrow I came to full draw and once his body was clear of a tree which was covering his vitals I squeezed the trigger on the release, releasing the montec tipped arrow through him. This time the the arrow hit a little high catching him right in the spine and dropped him right where he stood. With his front legs he was trying to do his best to get away, but he was laying behind some brush and I didn't have a clear shot to his vitals to finish him off. A few seconds later he made a couple attempts to move again which gave me a clear shot to place another arrow in him to finish him off. I drew back, anchored in, and sent another arrow into his vitals ending his suffering within a few seconds.
Now the work begins: Once I knew the buck was fully dispatched I gather up my stuff and climb down my tree. This was the first I've ever harvested 2 deer within minutes of each other and I knew I had my work cut out for me and it was going to be a long night. I took up the blood trail the doe left behind and I found her about a 100 yards from where I shot her. I quickly grabbed her by the hind legs and dragged her back to the spot where I shot her along with the buck. Luckily where I was hunting I wasn't too far from my truck. I field dress both of them and take my stand and the rest of my gear back to the truck and I drove over to get Tommy. I told him the good news and he was just excited as I was about taking out 2 deer in one evening. We made our way back to where I was hunting got out our flashlights and took off through the woods to retrieve my bounty. Dragging out 2 deer is a lot of work and we finally got them both back to the truck around 8 PM. Needless to say we were both whipped by the time we got back to the truck and the long drive home seemed to take forever (1.5hr drive) but it was all worth it in the end and now I have fresh venison in the freezer.
Columbus Day 2016 is a day of hunting in which I'll never forget.
It was certainly a good day to be in the wood yesterday. My buddy Tommy and I went back to one of our old deer hunting places we've hunted over the last 20 years and without fail the area keeps producing for me. We left his house yesterday morning a little late yesterday morning and we didn't arrive to our destination until about 7 am. We both hurried up and get our gear gathered up set off through the woods. I got set up around 7:30 AM and not 5 minutes after getting settled in I had 2 does come through and they were acting a bit nervous and kept looking behind them, I knew immediately something had spooked them or they were being chased by a buck. Turns out it was the latter and not long after the does walked off a small 4 point buck came though the same area sniffed the spot the where the does were standing and he trotted off trailing them. My buddy Tommy was hunting a couple ridges over so before we split up we decided to hunt till about 10 AM and do a little looking around before heading back to town for lunch. 10 o'clock rolled around and we meet up to do a little scouting, we found some early signs of rutting with 2 fresh scrapes and some rubs.
Fast-forward to the evening hunt: After dropping Tommy off on the other side of the conservation area (Indian Trails is a very large area with nearly 14,000 acres to hunt) I came back to the same spot I hunted earlier that morning. I get settled in around 2 PM and after having lunch I was beginning to nod off so I decided to drift off for a little bit, the sun was at my back and the breeze felt very nice. Around 5 PM I began to hear some movement in the distance and I noticed a group of 4 does slowly making their way toward my setup. They took their sweet time about it of course and there for a little while they started heading away from me and I was beginning to think I wasn't going to get a shot at one of them. The good lord definitely had his hand in this, the does turned and began making their way back toward my setup once again. The one doe (the one I took) she was working her way directly behind me and she was slowly weaving her way through the white oak timber getting closer with each step. At first I thought she was going to change direction on me so I slowly began turning around in my stand so I could face the right side of the tree I was in, once I got twisted around she decided to go the opposite direction and I had to slowly twist back around to the other side of the tree still facing it cause she was still directly behind me. Once she fully committed I come to full draw I picked out a small opening where I thought she was going to step into and once she had her left side clear of a tree I squeezed the trigger on the release and sent to Montec tipped arrow through her side. The hit looked a little high on her back so I decided to sit down and give her some time to expire.
The bonus deer: Not long after I pulled the trigger on that doe I noticed 2 more deer working their way through the white oak timber slowly working in my direction. At first I was thinking did the deer that just ran off moments before circle around and were coming back? No, this was 2 different deer making their way toward me. So I decided to load up the Z28 with another arrow and got positioned to take another shot if the opportunity presented itself. The button buck, (actually about an inch of antler was sticking through the top of his head) but was legal to check in as a doe per our state laws. He begins making his way toward my location from directly behind me, same as the doe I had just shot moments earlier. The little fella actually sniffed the arrow that was sticking in the ground that just went through that doe. Once he was done sniffing the arrow I came to full draw and once his body was clear of a tree which was covering his vitals I squeezed the trigger on the release, releasing the montec tipped arrow through him. This time the the arrow hit a little high catching him right in the spine and dropped him right where he stood. With his front legs he was trying to do his best to get away, but he was laying behind some brush and I didn't have a clear shot to his vitals to finish him off. A few seconds later he made a couple attempts to move again which gave me a clear shot to place another arrow in him to finish him off. I drew back, anchored in, and sent another arrow into his vitals ending his suffering within a few seconds.
Now the work begins: Once I knew the buck was fully dispatched I gather up my stuff and climb down my tree. This was the first I've ever harvested 2 deer within minutes of each other and I knew I had my work cut out for me and it was going to be a long night. I took up the blood trail the doe left behind and I found her about a 100 yards from where I shot her. I quickly grabbed her by the hind legs and dragged her back to the spot where I shot her along with the buck. Luckily where I was hunting I wasn't too far from my truck. I field dress both of them and take my stand and the rest of my gear back to the truck and I drove over to get Tommy. I told him the good news and he was just excited as I was about taking out 2 deer in one evening. We made our way back to where I was hunting got out our flashlights and took off through the woods to retrieve my bounty. Dragging out 2 deer is a lot of work and we finally got them both back to the truck around 8 PM. Needless to say we were both whipped by the time we got back to the truck and the long drive home seemed to take forever (1.5hr drive) but it was all worth it in the end and now I have fresh venison in the freezer.
