Post by whitetail1 on Oct 22, 2009 19:16:57 GMT -5
My kids are on Fall Break today and Friday, so we decided to hit the woods this morning. Man, what a GREAT hunt. My hunting partner highcottonguide and whitetailchaser22 headed off to a couple of newer stands that we set up this summer. My youngest son Landon and I set up in a stand that is quite a bit closer to where we enter the property. Landon has been with me on gun hunts before, but today was his first bow hunt. On the drive in, I talked to him about how important it is to be still and not move if we have a deer come in within range. He said he was ready and promised me he could handle that.
Shortly after daylight, we heard deer running across a ravine behind us. I watched closely for a minute or two without seeing anything. Then I caught a glimpse of a deer as it was disappearing behind a knoll. I whispered to Landon “there’s a deer, can you see it?” and he nodded that he could. Then I saw another deer walking on the same trail about to disappear behind the same knoll. I reached over and grabbed my rattle bag and gave a real light rattle, then grabbed my grunt tube and grunted a couple of times. The second deer turned and started walking to us like he was on a rope! I could see it was a small basket rack buck.
I whispered to Landon again “here comes a buck….be really still and we’ll see how close he gets”. He nodded real gently. I had no intention of shooting this deer, but really wanted him to get as close as possible. He stopped about 35 yards out and knocked the heck out of a little sapling. I was really excited that Landon was getting to see all of this. All of a sudden, I look beyond the buck and see a second deer coming. The second deer was a VERY nice 10 pointer and he was walking straight to the small basket rack.
I whispered to Landon “do you see the second deer? He’s a really nice buck…if he gets within range, I’m gonna shoot him”. Landon’s eyes got about as big as baseballs and I really didn’t know if he was going to be able to sit still. Heck, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to sit still, this was a Pope & Young class deer walking straight to us! Anyway, the 10 pointer stops broadside at 42 yards looking right at the smaller buck. The shot wasn’t clear and I thought he was going to come in closer. He starts acting aggressive and lays his ears back as he inches closer to the small buck. The small buck lays his ears back and walks a semi circle around the bigger deer. The 10 pointer was a lot bigger, but I thought that we may see them sparring some. I took my eyes off of the deer for a second to glance at Landon to see how he was doing, and he was sitting dead still like a fine bird dog on point.
As I look back up, the smaller buck is now on the other side of the 10 pointer and both still have their ears laid back. The 10 pointer starts walking towards the small buck again and the small buck snort-wheezes. Man, I kept thinking how awesome it is that Landon gets to experience this. The 10 pointer was now at 35 yards, but facing us on a trail that leads directly behind our stand at 15 yards. I really thought he would move in closer, but as he stood there staring at the smaller buck, the smaller buck turned and started trotting away from us. The bigger 10 pointer immediately turned and followed like he was chasing him away and they were out of sight pretty quickly.
I again look over at Landon, and he still hasn’t moved a muscle. This encounter didn’t end with me killing a deer, but I can’t tell you how excited I am that Landon got to experience this and see a buck of this caliber up close. I’m also very proud that he did what he was supposed to do and stayed calm the entire time. When they were gone, the excitement in his voice and the look in his eyes were priceless. When highcottonguide and whitetailchaser22 came to get us around 11:00, he was acting ho-hum about the entire ordeal like he had seen this 100 times! Anyway, once we got back home this afternoon, that is all that he has talked about.
He got to see the small buck rub the sapling, both bucks acting aggressive with ears laid back, the snort-wheeze, and a beautiful 10 pointer within 40 yards of our stand. Not many things better in life than sharing experiences like this with family and friends.
Shortly after daylight, we heard deer running across a ravine behind us. I watched closely for a minute or two without seeing anything. Then I caught a glimpse of a deer as it was disappearing behind a knoll. I whispered to Landon “there’s a deer, can you see it?” and he nodded that he could. Then I saw another deer walking on the same trail about to disappear behind the same knoll. I reached over and grabbed my rattle bag and gave a real light rattle, then grabbed my grunt tube and grunted a couple of times. The second deer turned and started walking to us like he was on a rope! I could see it was a small basket rack buck.
I whispered to Landon again “here comes a buck….be really still and we’ll see how close he gets”. He nodded real gently. I had no intention of shooting this deer, but really wanted him to get as close as possible. He stopped about 35 yards out and knocked the heck out of a little sapling. I was really excited that Landon was getting to see all of this. All of a sudden, I look beyond the buck and see a second deer coming. The second deer was a VERY nice 10 pointer and he was walking straight to the small basket rack.
I whispered to Landon “do you see the second deer? He’s a really nice buck…if he gets within range, I’m gonna shoot him”. Landon’s eyes got about as big as baseballs and I really didn’t know if he was going to be able to sit still. Heck, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to sit still, this was a Pope & Young class deer walking straight to us! Anyway, the 10 pointer stops broadside at 42 yards looking right at the smaller buck. The shot wasn’t clear and I thought he was going to come in closer. He starts acting aggressive and lays his ears back as he inches closer to the small buck. The small buck lays his ears back and walks a semi circle around the bigger deer. The 10 pointer was a lot bigger, but I thought that we may see them sparring some. I took my eyes off of the deer for a second to glance at Landon to see how he was doing, and he was sitting dead still like a fine bird dog on point.
As I look back up, the smaller buck is now on the other side of the 10 pointer and both still have their ears laid back. The 10 pointer starts walking towards the small buck again and the small buck snort-wheezes. Man, I kept thinking how awesome it is that Landon gets to experience this. The 10 pointer was now at 35 yards, but facing us on a trail that leads directly behind our stand at 15 yards. I really thought he would move in closer, but as he stood there staring at the smaller buck, the smaller buck turned and started trotting away from us. The bigger 10 pointer immediately turned and followed like he was chasing him away and they were out of sight pretty quickly.
I again look over at Landon, and he still hasn’t moved a muscle. This encounter didn’t end with me killing a deer, but I can’t tell you how excited I am that Landon got to experience this and see a buck of this caliber up close. I’m also very proud that he did what he was supposed to do and stayed calm the entire time. When they were gone, the excitement in his voice and the look in his eyes were priceless. When highcottonguide and whitetailchaser22 came to get us around 11:00, he was acting ho-hum about the entire ordeal like he had seen this 100 times! Anyway, once we got back home this afternoon, that is all that he has talked about.
He got to see the small buck rub the sapling, both bucks acting aggressive with ears laid back, the snort-wheeze, and a beautiful 10 pointer within 40 yards of our stand. Not many things better in life than sharing experiences like this with family and friends.
