Well, today I went out to the farm to try to fill my late antlerless only LOT. I rolled out of bed at 5am, was out the door at 5:45. I wanted to sit on the north end of the wetlands trying to cut deer off heading back to the timber across the road. As I approached where I was going to park, deer were already at the fence trying to cross at 6:10am. I didn't know what to do, no plan B so I drove on over to the farm driveway. I pulled in and got all dressed, gun loaded, etc. With the weather kind of stormy, it was pitch black. I really wanted to walk down to the wetlands, but thought it would be best to watch the corn stubble to the east and hope that I might be able to shoot something headed for the timber across it. I sat down with my back to a cedar tree and waited for sunrise.
Sitting there, I kept thinking that I was in a good place, as essentially I was watching two trails to the timber. One trail goes under a huge locust tree on a hilltop about 200 yards to the west of where I was sitting. The other trail comes out of where we cut the fence to let the earth moving equipment into the field to make the wetlands. I used to have a ladder stand leaning on the locusts on the hilltop but moved it during early muzzleloader season so that it is watching the cut spot in the fence the heavy equipment used (see http://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/phpBB ... php?t=4866).
I hear the 7 am whistle from a nearby town. This tells me it is legal shooting time. I decide to walk down to the wetlands. I get to the opening in the fence and decide to relieve myself. I lean the ML on the fence, turn my back and hear a deer blow. Dang, I forget about relieving myself and grab the gun. I turn towards the direction I heard the deer and see one deer running away over the hill, headed for the road and the timber on the other side. I decide I'll walk over there, as there is some tall grass that a deer might be bedded in. I get clear over there and happen to glance back to the south. I see something out in the bean field. I crank the scope to 7X, as I have it on 2X for snap shots while I walk. I look at what I thought at first was a coyote, but the scope tells me deer. Maybe 600 yards from me and headed for the locust trees on the hilltop. Dang, should have went there and stayed! So I center the cross hairs on the deers chest and start raising the gun, stopping with about 20 feet of hold over.....NOT! :grin:
I was able to drop back into a valley and circle around to the back side of the locust trees. I crept up behind them using them as a shield. I'm not sure if this locust is one tree with a split trunk or two growing extremely close togethor, but it doesn't really matter. I was able to peer between them and see the deer feeding out in the soybean field. I was a little worried about the sex of the deer as it appeared to be alone. I did see another deer about 75 yards further down the fence line. I studied the deer through the scope and felt confident that it wasn't a shed or button buck. With the scope on 7X and using the right tree as a rest, I put the crosshair behind her shoulder and squeezed the trigger. I saw a cloud of hair fly off the deer at the shot. The deer took off to the west, quickly going out of sight over a ridge into a valley. As I watched the far side of the valley, I was surprised to see three deer running away. How did my lone deer turn into three? Was one of those the one I thought I shot? They run out of sight.
The deer that was 75 yards further down the fence decided to run at me when I shot. It is a doe with two yearlings. They mill around where the deer I shot at was. I reload, wondering if I should try a shot on this doe. I've only got one license and I'm confident I hit the first one because I saw fur fly. It doesn't take me long to come to my senses and figure that I have another week of hunting if I did miss or only wounded the deer I shot at earlier. I wait for these three deer to move off. No sense spooking them if I need to hunt out here again.
I cross the fence and start walking to the west so that I can see over the hilltop. I figure if I killed the deer I shot at, it should be pretty easy to see in a harvested soybean field. Again, being color blind, I didn't even bother going over to try to blood trail. I figured I could always resort to that if I didn't find the deer easily. She wasn't laying in the bean field, so I walked down to the draw in the bottom of the valley. I started walking it south and in about 50 yards I came across the doe piled up in the draw. Perfect double lung shot, no shoulder damage, nothing but ribs. I tag her and head back to the barn for the tractor. As I walked back up to the house, I could see the footprints of the doe made as she ran. I found where she was standing when I shot and stepped off the distance back to the locust trees. It was 152 paces (I've got a 36 inch inseam).
So was this the last deer of this season or the first deer of this year? :grin: Yeah, maybe both.
I have her boned out in the frig and have a big batch of jerky curing. I am experiencing a lot of crop damage from deer and noticed that this doe was carrying twins, thus the reason why I'm hunting this antlerless season. Why was she alone? Most likely lost her fawns to hunters earlier this year. I did shoot two fawn twins early muzzleloader, could have been hers.
Same thing I've used all season: Savage ML10II, Nikon Monarch UCC 2X7, 40 grains of IMR 4227, HPH12 sabot, 250 grain Hornady XTP with a Federal 209A. Maybe I'll work up a new load during the off season with the 5744 or N120 I have on hand. But then again, how do you argue with success?
Sitting there, I kept thinking that I was in a good place, as essentially I was watching two trails to the timber. One trail goes under a huge locust tree on a hilltop about 200 yards to the west of where I was sitting. The other trail comes out of where we cut the fence to let the earth moving equipment into the field to make the wetlands. I used to have a ladder stand leaning on the locusts on the hilltop but moved it during early muzzleloader season so that it is watching the cut spot in the fence the heavy equipment used (see http://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/phpBB ... php?t=4866).
I hear the 7 am whistle from a nearby town. This tells me it is legal shooting time. I decide to walk down to the wetlands. I get to the opening in the fence and decide to relieve myself. I lean the ML on the fence, turn my back and hear a deer blow. Dang, I forget about relieving myself and grab the gun. I turn towards the direction I heard the deer and see one deer running away over the hill, headed for the road and the timber on the other side. I decide I'll walk over there, as there is some tall grass that a deer might be bedded in. I get clear over there and happen to glance back to the south. I see something out in the bean field. I crank the scope to 7X, as I have it on 2X for snap shots while I walk. I look at what I thought at first was a coyote, but the scope tells me deer. Maybe 600 yards from me and headed for the locust trees on the hilltop. Dang, should have went there and stayed! So I center the cross hairs on the deers chest and start raising the gun, stopping with about 20 feet of hold over.....NOT! :grin:
I was able to drop back into a valley and circle around to the back side of the locust trees. I crept up behind them using them as a shield. I'm not sure if this locust is one tree with a split trunk or two growing extremely close togethor, but it doesn't really matter. I was able to peer between them and see the deer feeding out in the soybean field. I was a little worried about the sex of the deer as it appeared to be alone. I did see another deer about 75 yards further down the fence line. I studied the deer through the scope and felt confident that it wasn't a shed or button buck. With the scope on 7X and using the right tree as a rest, I put the crosshair behind her shoulder and squeezed the trigger. I saw a cloud of hair fly off the deer at the shot. The deer took off to the west, quickly going out of sight over a ridge into a valley. As I watched the far side of the valley, I was surprised to see three deer running away. How did my lone deer turn into three? Was one of those the one I thought I shot? They run out of sight.
The deer that was 75 yards further down the fence decided to run at me when I shot. It is a doe with two yearlings. They mill around where the deer I shot at was. I reload, wondering if I should try a shot on this doe. I've only got one license and I'm confident I hit the first one because I saw fur fly. It doesn't take me long to come to my senses and figure that I have another week of hunting if I did miss or only wounded the deer I shot at earlier. I wait for these three deer to move off. No sense spooking them if I need to hunt out here again.
I cross the fence and start walking to the west so that I can see over the hilltop. I figure if I killed the deer I shot at, it should be pretty easy to see in a harvested soybean field. Again, being color blind, I didn't even bother going over to try to blood trail. I figured I could always resort to that if I didn't find the deer easily. She wasn't laying in the bean field, so I walked down to the draw in the bottom of the valley. I started walking it south and in about 50 yards I came across the doe piled up in the draw. Perfect double lung shot, no shoulder damage, nothing but ribs. I tag her and head back to the barn for the tractor. As I walked back up to the house, I could see the footprints of the doe made as she ran. I found where she was standing when I shot and stepped off the distance back to the locust trees. It was 152 paces (I've got a 36 inch inseam).
So was this the last deer of this season or the first deer of this year? :grin: Yeah, maybe both.
I have her boned out in the frig and have a big batch of jerky curing. I am experiencing a lot of crop damage from deer and noticed that this doe was carrying twins, thus the reason why I'm hunting this antlerless season. Why was she alone? Most likely lost her fawns to hunters earlier this year. I did shoot two fawn twins early muzzleloader, could have been hers.
Same thing I've used all season: Savage ML10II, Nikon Monarch UCC 2X7, 40 grains of IMR 4227, HPH12 sabot, 250 grain Hornady XTP with a Federal 209A. Maybe I'll work up a new load during the off season with the 5744 or N120 I have on hand. But then again, how do you argue with success?
