- Joined
- Nov 2, 2006
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- 429
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- 18
Boooom!!!! I was less than 100 yards away, but due to the lay of the land I couldn?t see what Liz, my girlfiriend, had shot at or what transpired after the shot. However the 5 deer that were 90 ? 100 yards(via range finder) away from me determined that the sound couldn?t be good . So they bolted an additional 40 yards away from me... and then decided it would be a good idea keep on eating. ?..............
It was a fairly mild day compared to much of the weather that I had been hunting in recently. Temps were in the upper teens at 3:30 that afternoon when we had headed out and only dropped a couple of degrees since then. We were set up just off the road on the edge of a hayfield. The hayfield was bordered by a brushy hillside opposite of the road. This particular hillside collected deer during hard (actually all) Iowa winters due to its high concentration of cedar trees, thick cover and rough terrain.. The deer had really been hitting this particular alfalfa field hard lately. And so with a northwest wind, I figured the timing couldn?t be any better. Please see below.
Liz was set up behind a round bale that I knew was great place to be. On the north side of the bale was a CRP field and on the south side was the alfalfa field. I was set up further south, behind a long row of round bales. The deer would hopefully emerge from their day time bedding grounds and head towards the east where we would be waiting.
About 4:30 I noticed a nice sized doe had emerged from the timber and was heading towards Liz. Yes!!!! Over the course of the next 30 minutes the doe worked her way closer to Liz. The distance was only 50 yards away when a pickup drove by, saw the deer and slowed down. Immediately the doe bolted and took off below the crest of the hill where I couldn?t see here anymore?. Ughhh!!!!.............................................
It was only 20 minutes later that I heard the afor mentioned Booom! What the h___? No way Liz shot at the deer that I could see! Even if she did, they didn?t go that far?and I only had 3-4 minutes left of legal shooting time. I wish the closest one would just turn broadside?. but to no avail. The distance was 140 yards according to the rangefinder and up against the round bale I never had a better rest. Booom! Again the sound echoed within the valley. Instantly the deer dropped. Yes! But how about Liz?
I ran over to Liz to see what had transpired below the crest of the hill. Liz said she shot and felt confident about it. I figured it to be about a 70 yard shot and so I had little doubt that the aim was true. We walked down and found lots of blood 20 yards from the east edge of the timber. YES! We walked another 5 steps and there she was? only her head was up! The doe was laying down only 10 yards away from the edge of the field ,but upon seeing us she had enough ?gumption? to keep going. After seeing the blood and knowing she bedded down so close to the field we backed out and decided to go pick up my deer and then come back. This would have been a much easier decision if the coyotes would have quit howling!
Fast forward two hours. We had gone back to the house and gotten our coon hunting headlamps and were back on the trail. I knew roughly where the doe initially bedded down and so that is where we headed. We found the pool of blood where she initially bedded down. Standing there, I gazed into the dark, brush laden hillside. Using the powerful headlamp I thought I saw something ??Hey! I think I see her,?? less than 30 yards away there she was! She went up through the ditch and laid no more than 50 yards from the edge of the hayfield. YES!!!! I have never been so happy to recover a deer? but glad we initially backed out and gave her some time.
Liz?s doe (bottom) weighed 120# and was probably from last year. My spike buck (top) ended up weighing 85#. This hunt will be remembered for a long time. Here is the picture after all was said and done.
Grouse the gun on the left might look familiar. :wink:
It was a fairly mild day compared to much of the weather that I had been hunting in recently. Temps were in the upper teens at 3:30 that afternoon when we had headed out and only dropped a couple of degrees since then. We were set up just off the road on the edge of a hayfield. The hayfield was bordered by a brushy hillside opposite of the road. This particular hillside collected deer during hard (actually all) Iowa winters due to its high concentration of cedar trees, thick cover and rough terrain.. The deer had really been hitting this particular alfalfa field hard lately. And so with a northwest wind, I figured the timing couldn?t be any better. Please see below.
Liz was set up behind a round bale that I knew was great place to be. On the north side of the bale was a CRP field and on the south side was the alfalfa field. I was set up further south, behind a long row of round bales. The deer would hopefully emerge from their day time bedding grounds and head towards the east where we would be waiting.
About 4:30 I noticed a nice sized doe had emerged from the timber and was heading towards Liz. Yes!!!! Over the course of the next 30 minutes the doe worked her way closer to Liz. The distance was only 50 yards away when a pickup drove by, saw the deer and slowed down. Immediately the doe bolted and took off below the crest of the hill where I couldn?t see here anymore?. Ughhh!!!!.............................................
It was only 20 minutes later that I heard the afor mentioned Booom! What the h___? No way Liz shot at the deer that I could see! Even if she did, they didn?t go that far?and I only had 3-4 minutes left of legal shooting time. I wish the closest one would just turn broadside?. but to no avail. The distance was 140 yards according to the rangefinder and up against the round bale I never had a better rest. Booom! Again the sound echoed within the valley. Instantly the deer dropped. Yes! But how about Liz?
I ran over to Liz to see what had transpired below the crest of the hill. Liz said she shot and felt confident about it. I figured it to be about a 70 yard shot and so I had little doubt that the aim was true. We walked down and found lots of blood 20 yards from the east edge of the timber. YES! We walked another 5 steps and there she was? only her head was up! The doe was laying down only 10 yards away from the edge of the field ,but upon seeing us she had enough ?gumption? to keep going. After seeing the blood and knowing she bedded down so close to the field we backed out and decided to go pick up my deer and then come back. This would have been a much easier decision if the coyotes would have quit howling!
Fast forward two hours. We had gone back to the house and gotten our coon hunting headlamps and were back on the trail. I knew roughly where the doe initially bedded down and so that is where we headed. We found the pool of blood where she initially bedded down. Standing there, I gazed into the dark, brush laden hillside. Using the powerful headlamp I thought I saw something ??Hey! I think I see her,?? less than 30 yards away there she was! She went up through the ditch and laid no more than 50 yards from the edge of the hayfield. YES!!!! I have never been so happy to recover a deer? but glad we initially backed out and gave her some time.
Liz?s doe (bottom) weighed 120# and was probably from last year. My spike buck (top) ended up weighing 85#. This hunt will be remembered for a long time. Here is the picture after all was said and done.
Grouse the gun on the left might look familiar. :wink:
