I had flexed time during the week to get done early from work to get a jump start on my Friday night hunt.
I have not missed a Friday night in 7 weeks.
I had thought to go out Saturday morning to my Radix Blind, so I didn’t want to over hunt that area tonight, so I thought we should go back to where Marcus had hunted the night before.
I had hoped that the buck Marcus had seen the night before might make a special appearance.
We got a later start than I would have liked.
This was the 1st night that Marcus and I would hunt together this bow season.
We Mud Ducked(4 wheeler) down the road and up to the hill.
Oh, the walk….I repeat that again…….. oh, the walk
Thru that long long green hay field.
I am not a fan of long walks to a blind. Or long walks in general.
I always seem to become a sweaty hot mess by the time I get to the area I want to sit.
Plus, to top it off I am carrying my crossbow on my back and a heavy hunting chair all the way across the field.
Marcus had to carry his hunting chair and the Ghost Blind.
By the time I got to our location my back was on fire from pain, but I consider myself a STRONG WOMAN.
Anyways, we both get settled in, I sat behind the Ghost Blind and Marcus nestled in way behind me in the bush.
Marcus choose to not hunt tonight, and just hang out with me; we do that sometimes. Or rather he does that sometimes as he works very hard to set me up for success.
He was going to do a little calling for me here and there.
I am hunting in the Ghost Blind and I am still trying to adapt to the blind, trying to learn the techniques of hunting behind it. I have only used it 4 times so far.
There were a few blind spots I was not too happy about.
But you know how that goes once your set up, your set up.
I would have to adapt.
I will save the Ghost Blind story for another post
At 431 pm there was a doe up on the hill in the bean field
I figured she had come from the top of the hill, where Sam, Marcus’s cousin was sitting in the woods
In a tree stand up in the valley hundreds of yards away.
I figured he kicked her up.
For the next hour it was quiet.
In the distance the combine was cutting beans towards our house
There was little to no wind, so still. The weather was enjoyable.
The corn stalks did not move and I could hear the wings from the birds over head
As they flew into the bush all around us.
A blue jay here and a cardinal there.
A few morning doves flew up from the corn field in front of me
I though that might be a sign of movement in the corn field, nothing though
It had to be about 5:30 pm and Marcus had said my name from behind me
I looked back at him to see what he wanted; his eyes pointed to me in the direction of the corn field.
I can read them there eyes to mean deer over there.
The blind is blocking my front view (still trying to adapt to the blind)to the corn field so I had no clue what he was seeing
However, as I looked to my right thru the shooting hole in the blind there is a BUCK, a nice buck about 20 yards out
It was a nice rack to my standards and so I pondered the theory could this be MY RIGHT PLACE RIGHT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Closest buck I have had in the last 8 weeks
In all the years of hunting this was the 1st time I had consciously made the decision
That I was going to shoot this buck, LORD willing!
I have passed Bucks up before; you know how that goes
It wasn’t the right BUCK for me.
So, this here buck is to my right. 20 yards out.
I had actually used the range finder on this exact old wooden post in the ground earlier.
All I can see out of the shooting hole was a head, ears, and antlers
I knew I had to be stealthy to get my bow up and in position without him seeing me.
He never did turn his back at me.
I always thought if I had to raise my bow to a deer that I would see him coming and long have my bow ready to go. I could prepare, plan it out ahead of time.
Guess it doesn’t always go the way it plays out in my head a dozen times.
I could not see his body at this time, I am pretty sure he wasn’t concerned about me and more about the beautiful hot doe he was following around. Hmmm wonder where she went.
I thought the buck was gonna go straight to my right up the hill and outta sight. At this point Marcus doesn’t not know why I am raising my bow for, he figures maybe I will shoot the doe or maybe he thought there was a buck with that doe, come to find out that he had no idea a buck had walked out from the corn
All he saw was a doe that stepped out of the corn, looked in our direction and turned right back around. He had no clue that I never seen the doe he had saw.
Well that Buck did a 180 and walked right to the front of my blind.
The way this played out in the next minute was crazy, I got this buck right in front of my blind, 10 yards
And I can’t see him, blocked by the blind. I mean the blind did its job, perhaps poor placement on my part.
At this point Marcus gives out MEHHHH, mind you I cannot see the buck in front of me.
I am unable to get him in the opening in front of me
So, all I had was “HOPE”, hope he took 3 steps further to the opening I had my bow pointed out
Then it happened, he took those 3 steps, he should have been long gone, but he took those 3 steps.
I have no idea when I took the safety off, no idea that there was lines in the scope I was suppose to line up, no time to breath, BAM
Made contact, just a hair high would be my guess, he was a lot closer than I thought
But who thinks at this time. Marcus always told me to watch where the deer goes, its important.
I felt confident the arrow went in. No doubt in my mind.
I watched him run down the hay field into the corn, jump up and down the length of the field an as he exited the field I see his one last jump and he was gone, disappeared.
He should have kept running straight ahead up the hill thru the beans to the other side, but I never saw him again.
I continued to watch for movement but none, I was excited.
I felt as though MY BUCK had taken his last breath in that vey place. I am a good Christian girl and prayed for a quick and painless death and a joyous transition the to BUCK HEAVEN!
I started packing up, but Marcus told me just to chill, that I had to give him time……I ain’t got no time…..I just shot a buck.
I packed everything up and Sam stopped his hunt to come down to help.
Marcus began looking for blood as did I, but we didn’t find any! Was there supposed to be blood????
He also looked by the corn field, no blood! Oh great….no blood!
The hay is green and short, now I started to doubt myself. Marcus of course jokes, hope the RAGE opened up, you know you hear those stories. Really guy!
I decided to send the guys on their merry way to search for my buck.
I walked back thru that long long field to get the Mud Duck and pack everything up. Yes, it was a long walk as I prayed we would find my buck.
As I walked back, I walked next to the corn field, just to look for blood. I thought he went in further down the field and he did.
I found blood, lots and lots of blood, sprayed all over the corn stalks.
I tried calling Marcus on my walk back, 3 or 4 times, I figured he had his phone on silent.
He finally picked up and I told him that I had found blood.
What a relief.
He said to bring the Mud Duck and then walk up by them.
They were standing about right where I had last saw “MY GUY”.
Yup that is his name “MY GUY”
So, I figured they were waiting for me to confirm exactly where I had last saw him.
Well, I get there and they tell me that they found blood and the trail that he came out of from the corn field.
Sam said he was going to go look down by the corn for blood
Marcus and I walked the bank trying to look for any signs
I didn’t take but 3 steps and there he was down the slope
At the edge of the corn field, he looked so peaceful.
Here was right where I last saw him
He tried to jump the little hill and ran out of blood.
Them guys…..they had already found him prior to me getting there, but they wanted me to be able to find MY GUY on my own.
He is a beautiful buck. The 1st thing I did was say a prayer and thanked MY GUY for his sacrifice.
I feel very blessed, blessed beyond words. I finally did it. The right place and the right time finally happened. Do you know how hard it has been for me to find the right place and the right time and to not give up HOPE??????
I take no pleasure in the kill itself.
I am extremely thankful to be given the experience and be able to provide food for my family.
I pay no attention to the stats; all I know is he had 9 points, a 13 inch spread and weighed roughly 135.
He has a sparkling light coat, a nice white patch, and cute little white patches on his feet.
4 years bow hunting and this is my 1st harvest. I hit it hard this year because I had switched jobs and didn’t have the time off like I am used too.
This was my 8th day in a row sitting out.
My heart is happy and my soul content.
When I hunt I take pleasure in being out in nature spending time with GOD and his beautiful creatures.
Its nice to get the monkey off my back so to speak and to put some food in the freezer.
Getting to experience this hunt with my love, Marcus by my side means the world to me as he has been by my side for the last 4 years cheering me on, keeping up my hope, providing his expertise and working the calls.
Thank you Sam and Marcus for getting him home for me.
I have officially joined the tagged out club and I could not be more proud.
The top 3 pictures are of the deer I walked in on while I was walking to my stand. The 4th picture is of 2 one years old, the doe on the right is in heat right now. The 5th picture, not that you can see it but one of them is the little buck walking up to the HOT doe.
10 Sit
Saturday October 25, 2020
Didn’t accomplish much for a Saturday
I guess you have those days every once in a while.
Boy did the day off go fast because before I knew it, it was late afternoon already.
I don’t normally hunt 2 nights in a row
Much less in the same place
But the wind just wasn’t right for anywhere else
And there was a call for rain/snow on Sunday
So I had made the decision to not hunt Sunday, but Saturday
Marcus finally came out hunting tonight
The Ghost Blind had arrived and he was goanna try that.
Marcus has not been too thrilled with the current situation
With the river flooding and flooding our land
As this limits access to out hunting land, hunting options, and wildlife movement
So, Marcus has been a little down on his luck
It didn’t take much arm twisting to get him to go
I helped him get set up a little and then he told me to go to my blind, as we were a little late getting to the woods.
I like to get in a certain time.
The water puddles have went down a little from yesterday and the walk in was silent
I think of Marcus sitting back there as I walk in, hoping he is able to distract his running mind for awhile and hope he enjoy the hunt, the quiet and peace being outdoors offer his busy mind.
As I curved the small filed I walked up on a doe as I was walking in
I immediately stopped for at least 5 minutes, thinking at some point she would trot off
Nope, she didn’t move, basically went about her business while keeping and eye in my direction.
I was able to get picture and a video before
I made the decision to move and allow to her to be scared off
She made her snort wheeze and away she trotted.
Had I been in my blind already she would have come into the field by my blind
As I approached my blind, I hated the thought that there would be deer in the food plot on the other side of my blind and of course there was.
4 deer, doe and fawns
We had a stare off for the next 5 minutes
I knew I had to eventually get in my blind
So, I moved slowly, closer to the steps and took one step at time very slowly
They just kept watching as I was there but not really
Once I got to the platform to enter my blind and started unzipping the door they disappeared
Once I got all settled I figured my chances of seeing deer the rest of the night
Was ruined by the deer I scared away on my way in
There was little wind and the air around me seemed still and at peace.
I kept thinking and hoping that Marcus might be seeing some action
As it was his 1st time out, reluctantly.
Eventually the group of 4 I kicked up returned to the field
They would go out of sight and come back a few times in the next hour
I basically had deer to watch all night
About 5:55 I had a little doe to my right
I have not had much movement on this little food plot
However, this is my best shooting option
The doe was at least 50 plus yards away, it was small and payed no attention to me as she walked away
The group of 4 eventually shifted out of sight
Within minutes they were back and this time much closer, maybe 50 yards
Closest they have ever been in all my hunts
I notice a larger bodied deer in the middle of the field
Well wouldn’t ya know it, we got ourselves a little buck, he would munch a little on the field
But he was most interested in the HOT young doe near by
I always find it quite intriguing
Watching buck behavior during the rut
The buck wasn’t very big as I had a hard time trying to make out at first he was a buck, the darkness didn’t help.
A little 4 pointer
I think it mysterious the way bucks look when they are walking towards you,
And even more so when a buck is walking straight towards you on a mission, but really walking straight towards a HOT doe.
I am pretty sure she had no interest as she ran away every time.
It occurred to me that Mr. Little Buck might actually walk over by me.
But who was I fooling he was chasing a girl.
Closing time had arrived.
Them deer were still in the field as I packed up.
I packed up slowly to not scare them
They were gone by the time I left
Walked back to help Marcus pack up and he was out waiting for me.
He didn’t see anything and I told him all about my hunt on the way back to the Mud Duck
Of course, this time Marcus drove so we didn’t get stuck on the hill on the way out
We put the finishing touches on our supper of Beer Cheese Soup and Bacon, Cheddar, and Beer sloppy Joes.
Mighty tasty for sure
I was glad Marcus finally got out there. I felt it was a pretty good hunt.
We did discuss changing up some trail cameras tomorrow as we didn’t have any camera on the food plot exclusively.
Until next time….shoot straight…… its almost ruttin time.
Marcus came home from work and asked if I was hunting
I said probably not
He spoke those encouraging words like, the deer might move in the wind a little more and last night the wind did eventually die down, might not be a bad night
Okay fine, you don’t really have to twist my arm
Plus, I thought it might give him the chance to get his schoolwork done
2. 5 hours without me distracting him, perfect to finish his schoolwork
The wind was good for the farm, my spirit to sit there was not so good
This is really an isolated spot, a hit or miss, and rather little movement per trail camera activity.
But hey you never know
I am not a fan of this walk on the farm, as it is almost 10 minute walk in ankle high grass
That’s fine for most but an out of shape middle aged women it’s a chore
Plus, I have had 2 surgeries on my left food/ankle in the last year
I got all settled in
……….and saw nothing
Nothing for 2.5 hrs.
At times the wind howled so strongly, I thought the blind might tear in half
I said a little prayer a few times that a tree above me would not fall over on top of me.
The pack up was uneventful.
I didn’t do much thinking this sit
As the wind was blowing, so I tried to drink in as much warm air as I could
I occasionally tired to make out what species of birds that would fly by
I decided to walk back through the cut bean field
Which would cut my path in half, thinking it might be easier
It wasn’t
I had to walk over row after row of cut soybean
So, it was no easier than walking in ankle high grass
I crested a hill in the bean field and 4 rows over I met that white stripe
He did not see or hear me coming
As he just continued to walk towards me
So, I thought to not let our paths cross
Of course, I know nothing about skunks except they stink and they can spray you with the stink
So, I was concerned what way the tail was pointing
Embarrassingly I was yelling and screaming at the skunk
In the middle of the bean field, in the middle of the dark
Can you imagine that sight????
I am driving out of the farm thru the fields, in between fields, and around fields
As I come out between to corn fields headed up a hill to the farm a small buck runs in front
Of me, flying thru the air
Once he got to the other side he got a little distracted as he had to maneuver thru the rows of round hail bails.
Well that was my excitement for the night
Fresh air is always good for the soul
The men of the house had instant pot mashed potatoes, zucchini casserole, and beef roast ready for supper
Boy was I hungry, as I had not pre planned to hunt, so I didn’t eat lunch.
Well, like I have said before….any day in the woods is a good day
Until next time….shoot straight….it’s almost ruttin time
The skies turning dark! These clouds produced strong winds and light rain!
Friday, October 16, 2020
When a woman makes her mind up
Its set
I had planned on hunting after work
Luckily for me COVID had allowed me to work from home
Plus, it sure does help that our hunting land is right out the back door
Got a late start but was eager to go
Of course, the cat ran out in the garage and out the door to freedom as I was getting ready
One of the big bucks I am after was down below the house gain last night again.
So, I kept a positive thought that tonight was going to be a good good night
Pulled the Mud Duck out of the garage along with the retractable electric cord
Good thing the cord decided it wanted to be retracted
Oh, that is how this night is gonna start off?
Decided to walk in the back way again
Which entails driving the Mud Duck through an intrakit weave of fields
To get to where I am going
The walk in wasn’t any easier than the last time
Plus, I was in a hurry
This time trying to remind myself where the holes and divits are
I mean what’s the point of being in a hurry if I am going to fall on my ass
Well probably on my face more like it
As I walked in, I snacked on one of the 100 calorie walnut/almond packs
I normally get hungry at this time, as it is right around when we would eat
But no, I got to go hunting
So, I have to wait until after 7 pm until I eat supper
Ahhh my pretty enclosed blind, you look so nice
Since the last time I seen you
I am proud of my blind, I have not given her a name yet
And I will, but I have always wanted a blind like this and will appreciate the blessing of having one
The weather looked nice on my drive out
The sun was out with a slight wind
But my dad had to jinx it earlier
And say something to the effect that hopes I got some hunting in before the extreme wind and rain.
Whatcha talking about dad, looks nice
At 447 pm 10 minutes after I get in the blind
There are 2 deer in the big food plot to my left
I kept this window zippered up a little as I feel it helps the deer
As I think it provides them security as they eat
Plus, I have been told I move around a lot
Whatcha talking about????
Yes, I am not quite sure how I will handle the situation when there is a buck there and I am not ready
Game time decision I guess
Is its meant to be its meant to be
40 minutes later around 528 pm I now have total of 7 deer in the food plot
Just does and several fawn, maybe one or two teens as well
Well the doom and gloom arrived
The sky turned grey and then dark
The wind picked up to almost Gail force winds
A few times I actually grabbed on to the blind
Preparing to be blown over
Oh, lookey there a tree had fallen in the woods
The deer didn’t seem to be awfully concerned
As they remained in the field
It sprinkled, rained, stopped, rained again,
Stopped, some more heavy rain and then stopped
I stuck it out
The whole time worrying about taking a shoot and losing the blood trail due to wet ground or rain
The wind/rain kept my mind busy so it wasn’t as peaceful of a sit as usual
I decided to sit out the rest of the hunt
The wind calmed down a bit the last 30 minutes or so
I tried to picture in my mind a big buck stepping out from the willows or walking straight at me down the path.
But it didn’t happened, however I sure do want to be ready when it does
Well, its closing time.
As I stepped out from the blind there were still deer to the left of me in the big food plot
One was fairly large bodied.
It was to dark to make anything out
I was a tad bit concerned walking back to the Mud Duck
Earlier in the week we had a Germain shepherd running deer below the house in the
Middle of the night.
I thought he was located by his owners as Facebook had reported
But as I was leaving the house Marcus was on the phone with someone who had seen
A Germain Shepard spotted down the road from us.
My intention was to make sure a knife accessible
You know one of those things you keep saying in your mind as your packing up to leave
Knife, remember the knife, knife, get the knife, remember the knife
And then I walked away and forgot it THE KNIFE.
So, I armed myself with the crossbow bolt( its an arrow with a special end that I use to dry release by bow)
Not sure what that would have done
But I was going to give it my best shot if I ran into that loose Germain Shepard
The closer I got back to the Mud Duck I noticed this white stuff in the air
Yup them would be snowflakes, the 1st of the year
It snow flaked on my ride back home
Brats, potato salad, and chips for supper
Sure, was yummy
Another successful hunt
I saw deer, got some peace and quiet, cleared my mind, enjoyed the simpler things in life, bonded with mother earth and sat in silence and basked in the blessing I have been given in this life, did I mention the deer.
Until next time shoot straight! Its RUTTIN time soon!
