redthorn
11-13-2011, 09:50 AM
This story started out like almost evey other one on this forum. I had theurge to go hunting. So On Friday just past 2 pm, I grabbed my bow and headedout to my local hill...
It was a good day to be out hunting Blacktails, pissy rain, sleet, wind, andright in the middle of the Rut. Within 10 minutes of walking in, I had seen a 2point across a ravine among the trees, but had no shot. He was unaware of me,so I tried to get in closer. It was a nasty little ravine filled with Vinemaple, thimble berries, and cedars, and it had a stream at the bottom, and soby the time I had crossed stealthiliy, he was gone. I never did see him again,but the buck sign was everywhere. Rubs and crap all among the trees.
I hiked ravines and ridges the rest of the day, moving slowly along the deertrails a few steps at a time and then pausing and listening. But although thesign was there, the deer stayed ghostlike among the trees. I heard 2 that I couldn'tsee. Just at Dusk, I dropped off a ridge and was going down this gully, whenall of a sudden this head pops out of the bracken Ferns on the side of thetrail. And I can see the gleam of antlers up top, but have no time to dwell onthe size, I just draw up. I can't see the body, but I figure he's at 30yds, soI go for the neck. At the release, I hear a slapping sound, and he jumps offinto the bush.
I go to where he was standing, hoping for Blood. Nothing. A bit of finewhite fur that looks like it might be from a rabbit is lying on the ground. And my arrow was in the ground and had noblood on it. I thought about the fur fora while, and remembered how his ear had gone right back at the shot. Crap! Musthave been high and passed through the ear. It was definetly the fine fur frominside the ear. I had misjudged the distance based on body size, and it wasonly 15 yds. I spent until dark looking all around for blood just in case butcouldn't find any. So I wrote it off to an ear piercing and said I'd come backin the daylight to look for him again.
Saturday morning I headed back out. Iwent back to where I had shot at the deer. About 100m off in between the old cedars, I cut a blood trail. WooHoo. It’s pretty spotty, tracking, but I’m thinking I maybe hit him good. Eventually the trail ends in a small pool ofblood where he must have bedded, and then there is nothing past that. So I’m looking around thinking that whereverhe’s cut must have scabbed over during the night. Then I catch a flicker of movement throughthe brush ahead, and I see a deer. And thereare antler tips showing over its back as it feeds away from me. This must be him. I can’t see the head, but I sneak in as closeas the thick brush and wind will allow me. He’s quartering away harsh from me, but Ifigure I can thread one through the remaining brush into him.
I draw up again, and then let her fly. Whether it was my aim, a bit of brush, or he moved, I cant say, but Ihit him a little far back. The right rearham to be exact, and it went through into the body cavity. He took off running, and so I shot one morearrow Tim Wells’ style at him as he fled. But I am no Tim Wells, and I missed and lost the arrow in the brush.
I settled in to wait for him to stiffen up, as he was bleeding prettygood. But after about 15 min, it startedto rain heavy, so I got on the trail before all the fresh blood could washaway. What followed was an epic journeyover several ridges, down ravines, through a swamp, across clearings, and throughthe nastiest pieces of terrain he could find. I saw him several times, but never had a clear shot. I finally caught up to him as he was headeduphill through the maples, and since I could only see his head above the brush,I spined him at the base of the skull. BUCK DOWN!!!
Now that I finally had him on the ground I could examine him. He was a niceand wide 4x3, with short brow tines. Heshowed no sign of being hit the night before, so it must not have beenhim. Good thing we’ve got a 2 deer limithere in region 2, as I’ll be going back to find the bleeder.
I called up my brother, “RJBrowning” and told him to get out here and bringhis bow. I met him down by the vehicle,and we went back and gutted and dragged out the deer. Then we figured we’d head back in to find theother deer, and if it was still moving around, RJ would take him down.
We started moving away from the last area I had seen blood, but the rain hadwashed everything very well by now. Thenoff to my left, I see gray in between the maples. We get closer, and see he’sdead. The arrow had actually clipped thebottom of his jaw and cut the side of the neck. A Spike, that I would have beenecstatic with yesterday,that now looks pretty much like a dink. I am limited out!! But he’s meat, and hopefully hasn’t spoiledafter lying out a day, so I start gutting him. 2 BUCKS DOWN!!!
As I’m working, RJ suddenly hisses at me “Deer!” We see a big body at the bottom of the gully,but can’t see antlers. So I tell RJ tohead down the ravine to our right to check it out, while I stay on theridge. I start doe calling at the deer,and then he starts raking brush. Buck. I call a little louder, and he starts my way,then turns and heads into the ravine RJ is in. I can’t see a thing, then I hear the shot, thwack, and scuffling soundsin the maple leaves. RJ calls me down towhere he was and puts my fingers on his neck. That pulse felt like a washboardroad at 60k/hr. He whispers that he hit him, possibly in the neck, although hewas going for the pocket. The buck had justabout walked into him in the vine maples, RJ had drawn, and then waited for thedeer to move away from the screening brush. After that he’d let that widowmaker fly. We quickly found the blood trail as it was now getting dark, and thenfound the arrow. It had a rich, thick coatingof dark blood.
We had gone no more than 50yds, when we spooked him up from where he’dhidden in a streambed, and we watched him wobble up the hill towards a patch ofcedars. He stood there for a second,then wobbled for a minute and went down. So RJ ran up and finished him. 3 BUCKS DOWN!!!
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv278/redthornboards/2011blacktails-004_01.jpg
This guy was Huge, a massive 4x3 with only one brow. And he stank. We gutted him, and then dragged both deer back out to the truck.
Yes, for those of you who will keep pestering us for location, this was inthe lower mainland. NO, we won’t tell you where, but if you were lucky enoughto see a silver Tacoma in your area, you are getting close. Yes, the land is public, though we access through Private land
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv278/redthornboards/2011blacktails-008.jpg
RJ's Spread
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv278/redthornboards/2011blacktails-017.jpg
My Spread
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv278/redthornboards/2011blacktails-018.jpg
Happy Hunters
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv278/redthornboards/2011blacktails-027.jpg
It was a good day to be out hunting Blacktails, pissy rain, sleet, wind, andright in the middle of the Rut. Within 10 minutes of walking in, I had seen a 2point across a ravine among the trees, but had no shot. He was unaware of me,so I tried to get in closer. It was a nasty little ravine filled with Vinemaple, thimble berries, and cedars, and it had a stream at the bottom, and soby the time I had crossed stealthiliy, he was gone. I never did see him again,but the buck sign was everywhere. Rubs and crap all among the trees.
I hiked ravines and ridges the rest of the day, moving slowly along the deertrails a few steps at a time and then pausing and listening. But although thesign was there, the deer stayed ghostlike among the trees. I heard 2 that I couldn'tsee. Just at Dusk, I dropped off a ridge and was going down this gully, whenall of a sudden this head pops out of the bracken Ferns on the side of thetrail. And I can see the gleam of antlers up top, but have no time to dwell onthe size, I just draw up. I can't see the body, but I figure he's at 30yds, soI go for the neck. At the release, I hear a slapping sound, and he jumps offinto the bush.
I go to where he was standing, hoping for Blood. Nothing. A bit of finewhite fur that looks like it might be from a rabbit is lying on the ground. And my arrow was in the ground and had noblood on it. I thought about the fur fora while, and remembered how his ear had gone right back at the shot. Crap! Musthave been high and passed through the ear. It was definetly the fine fur frominside the ear. I had misjudged the distance based on body size, and it wasonly 15 yds. I spent until dark looking all around for blood just in case butcouldn't find any. So I wrote it off to an ear piercing and said I'd come backin the daylight to look for him again.
Saturday morning I headed back out. Iwent back to where I had shot at the deer. About 100m off in between the old cedars, I cut a blood trail. WooHoo. It’s pretty spotty, tracking, but I’m thinking I maybe hit him good. Eventually the trail ends in a small pool ofblood where he must have bedded, and then there is nothing past that. So I’m looking around thinking that whereverhe’s cut must have scabbed over during the night. Then I catch a flicker of movement throughthe brush ahead, and I see a deer. And thereare antler tips showing over its back as it feeds away from me. This must be him. I can’t see the head, but I sneak in as closeas the thick brush and wind will allow me. He’s quartering away harsh from me, but Ifigure I can thread one through the remaining brush into him.
I draw up again, and then let her fly. Whether it was my aim, a bit of brush, or he moved, I cant say, but Ihit him a little far back. The right rearham to be exact, and it went through into the body cavity. He took off running, and so I shot one morearrow Tim Wells’ style at him as he fled. But I am no Tim Wells, and I missed and lost the arrow in the brush.
I settled in to wait for him to stiffen up, as he was bleeding prettygood. But after about 15 min, it startedto rain heavy, so I got on the trail before all the fresh blood could washaway. What followed was an epic journeyover several ridges, down ravines, through a swamp, across clearings, and throughthe nastiest pieces of terrain he could find. I saw him several times, but never had a clear shot. I finally caught up to him as he was headeduphill through the maples, and since I could only see his head above the brush,I spined him at the base of the skull. BUCK DOWN!!!
Now that I finally had him on the ground I could examine him. He was a niceand wide 4x3, with short brow tines. Heshowed no sign of being hit the night before, so it must not have beenhim. Good thing we’ve got a 2 deer limithere in region 2, as I’ll be going back to find the bleeder.
I called up my brother, “RJBrowning” and told him to get out here and bringhis bow. I met him down by the vehicle,and we went back and gutted and dragged out the deer. Then we figured we’d head back in to find theother deer, and if it was still moving around, RJ would take him down.
We started moving away from the last area I had seen blood, but the rain hadwashed everything very well by now. Thenoff to my left, I see gray in between the maples. We get closer, and see he’sdead. The arrow had actually clipped thebottom of his jaw and cut the side of the neck. A Spike, that I would have beenecstatic with yesterday,that now looks pretty much like a dink. I am limited out!! But he’s meat, and hopefully hasn’t spoiledafter lying out a day, so I start gutting him. 2 BUCKS DOWN!!!
As I’m working, RJ suddenly hisses at me “Deer!” We see a big body at the bottom of the gully,but can’t see antlers. So I tell RJ tohead down the ravine to our right to check it out, while I stay on theridge. I start doe calling at the deer,and then he starts raking brush. Buck. I call a little louder, and he starts my way,then turns and heads into the ravine RJ is in. I can’t see a thing, then I hear the shot, thwack, and scuffling soundsin the maple leaves. RJ calls me down towhere he was and puts my fingers on his neck. That pulse felt like a washboardroad at 60k/hr. He whispers that he hit him, possibly in the neck, although hewas going for the pocket. The buck had justabout walked into him in the vine maples, RJ had drawn, and then waited for thedeer to move away from the screening brush. After that he’d let that widowmaker fly. We quickly found the blood trail as it was now getting dark, and thenfound the arrow. It had a rich, thick coatingof dark blood.
We had gone no more than 50yds, when we spooked him up from where he’dhidden in a streambed, and we watched him wobble up the hill towards a patch ofcedars. He stood there for a second,then wobbled for a minute and went down. So RJ ran up and finished him. 3 BUCKS DOWN!!!
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv278/redthornboards/2011blacktails-004_01.jpg
This guy was Huge, a massive 4x3 with only one brow. And he stank. We gutted him, and then dragged both deer back out to the truck.
Yes, for those of you who will keep pestering us for location, this was inthe lower mainland. NO, we won’t tell you where, but if you were lucky enoughto see a silver Tacoma in your area, you are getting close. Yes, the land is public, though we access through Private land
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv278/redthornboards/2011blacktails-008.jpg
RJ's Spread
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv278/redthornboards/2011blacktails-017.jpg
My Spread
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv278/redthornboards/2011blacktails-018.jpg
Happy Hunters
http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv278/redthornboards/2011blacktails-027.jpg