Ryo
11-27-2015, 11:08 AM
A friend and I were out hunting around Remembrance day, and on our first evening we rattled in a 4-pointer. However he snuck in right behind us and was gone before we realized what was going on. We spent the next couple days after that deer, and seemed to figure out his territory pretty well - however with no more sightings. We went back on the 22nd, but got a late start, and saw only a doe, wandering out of the cut and into the dark timber (about 10am). I figured if I got back to the feeding ground early I'd come across a harem of does and hopefully the buck nearby.
So yesterday I was up and at em early, and had hiked into the area by 8am, this time on my own. Just as I started to look out over the cut, the hillside right beneath me exploded with activity, with movement in all directions. There seemed to be at least 5 deer quickly shuffling away, but who could tell... A spike buck emerged right in front of me, at 75 yards, looked back up the hill trying to spot what what the spook was, and after half a minute or so, gave me a perfect broadside opportunity, which I took. He took about 6 steps and fell over. I spent the next 5 hours skinning, field-dressing, and hiking out the meat. This was my first deer, and I couldn't have been happier with how everything went. Tenderloins on the bbq tonight!
However, I am wondering why, if this area clearly has a much larger buck within earshot, would a spike buck be 'allowed' to feed with a group of does? Is this normal? My only guess is that the dominant buck may have been cruising one of the other doe herds that I assume live nearby. Or??? I don't think the 4-pointer was shot in the last 2 weeks, because my boot tracks were the only ones on the road... ???
So yesterday I was up and at em early, and had hiked into the area by 8am, this time on my own. Just as I started to look out over the cut, the hillside right beneath me exploded with activity, with movement in all directions. There seemed to be at least 5 deer quickly shuffling away, but who could tell... A spike buck emerged right in front of me, at 75 yards, looked back up the hill trying to spot what what the spook was, and after half a minute or so, gave me a perfect broadside opportunity, which I took. He took about 6 steps and fell over. I spent the next 5 hours skinning, field-dressing, and hiking out the meat. This was my first deer, and I couldn't have been happier with how everything went. Tenderloins on the bbq tonight!
However, I am wondering why, if this area clearly has a much larger buck within earshot, would a spike buck be 'allowed' to feed with a group of does? Is this normal? My only guess is that the dominant buck may have been cruising one of the other doe herds that I assume live nearby. Or??? I don't think the 4-pointer was shot in the last 2 weeks, because my boot tracks were the only ones on the road... ???