Florida Bow Hunting Report #5
Monday, Oct. 3, 2011
I hunted the pond stand this morning but it was a bust. The trail cam had pitiful few pictures on it. The deer activity has really gotten slow there.
I am expecting big things this week as the moon is coming around to putting the feed times at dawn and dusk. I have always found the best hunting to be on the quarter moon phase.
I headed for Cabbage Creek this afternoon to hunt my Kill zone stand. As usual, work made my arrival later than I wanted. The conditions were right but There was no deer activity for my effort.
Tuesday, Oct. 4
Lacy, my bluetick and I had cold camped so we could make the hunt this morning before heading for work. Again we saw no deer activity.
The deer activity on the trail cam at the Kill Zone stand has been good so that was the plan for the afternoons hunt. If I could keep hunting this spot undetected It would be just a matter of time before I crossed up one of the bucks using here.
Little did I know today would be the day. However, the outcome was not to be the one I was wishing for.
I had arrived late due to having to stop for gas, ice, food, corn, etc. all at different locations. I parked the truck, told the dog to stay, grabbed my gear and took off. I must have looked like a guy that just crawled out of another mans wife’s window. I was hustling down the road trying to don all my cloths.
When I got to the stand I tied off my bow and climbed into the stand. As I was pulling my bow up I started to hear a deer pushing thru the thick palmetto flat behind me. I hurried and knocked an arrow. The deer was making so much noise I knew it had to be a buck. I’ve noticed bucks seem to make a lot more noise than does and yearlings.
Well, after 6-8 minutes the buck finally hopped over some high palmettos with a crash into the back of an old cutover about 75 yds to the west of me. It was the little 5 pt I had missed the first weekend.
He walked over to a clump of small bay trees and started whooping up on them. He had them swaying back and fourth with a fever. It looked a little funny as there was no wind and at that distance, without the binoculars you could not see the deer, only the bushes moving. He would stop periodically and smell the limbs, even nip a bite or two off some edible plant besides. Finally, he started heading my way. He turned to start down a trail and I decided I would try to let him stop on his own if possible but he walked thru the first two spots without a pause. When he reached the exact spot I had missed him before I made a low bleat that got his attention and he stopped. I was at full draw, put the 30 yd pin on him and loosed an arrow.
When the arrow arrived and the deer bolted I heard a small ping and remember thinking I did not like the sound of that. The second bad sign was the way the deer was pitching high and slow through the thick. A fatally hit deer plows, he don’t pitch or high hop. When he reached the back of the chop he stopped and looked around, twitched his tail and slowly walked back into the thick palmetto flat. I had just missed the same buck for the second time, standing in the same exact spot! What the heck is going on here!! I can’t remember the last time I clean missed two deer in one season.
I later ranged the spot again and realized it was further than I had thought. It ranged 41yds and I thought it was 39. I figured the deer was a couple yards closer than the 39 as that was to the far side. I deducted 4 yds for the 20’ stand hgt. And put the 30yd pin mid hgt…..shot right under him and apparently the ping was his foot or knee hitting the shaft when he ran. Damn the luck!
Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011
I saw zero deer in the morning and the afternoon would prove to be only slightly more eventful.
The highlight for the afternoon was a rat in the palmettos below my stand. I was pretty convinced there for a minute that it might be an approaching deer. Being straight below the stand I could not course where the sound was coming from. Finally, I figured it out….just a rat.
Well, There was one other pretty interesting event. I had let Lacy out of the truck to smell around and relieve herself. I have to keep a close eye on her as you can imagine. I was getting my cloths on when I started missing her. I called…no Lacy, I called her again….no Lacy….crap! Now I’m yelling for her….no Lacy. I ran down the road towards the stand to track a sandy spot but could not make anything out. Back at the truck I cranked up and ran down the road to the high fence to glass down the straight a way…no Lacy.
I was already late before all this started and I could not waste any more time. I would have to catch the dog later. I parked the truck again and jumped out to grab my gear to leave. To my surprise, here comes Lacy down the road from the direction of my stand! My first thought was, she just tracked me to my stand looking for a blood trail. She has learned when I let her out that she can back track me to the stand and the head of a bloody deer trail. I have seen her do this countless times. Without a word said, she will pull me right to the stand without missing a step.
Lacy's butt on my trail cam!
The smaller 7pt I've been hunting showed up about an hour after both Lacy and I had been there and it did not seem to bother him. He picked up corn for about 20 minutes before leaving. He didn't seem to be bothered by our stink. I've probably hunted it so much he thinks I belong there.
Wednesday’s hunt was not a great deal better. I saw half a deer in the morning cross the fire break up ahead of me 75 yds or so and in the afternoon I saw zip.
Thursday morning was a bust also and I did not hunt the afternoon hunt.
The season is about to slip away without me taking a deer. I did not think it was possible.
Larry
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