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Florida Bow Hunting Report #9- 2011The Last Day!
Saturday, Oct. 16, 2011
For the last morning of bow season I decided to put my money on the Kill Zone stand again. There has just been to many bucks using here and I want to put my hands on one of them.
I was in the stand early and eagerly awaiting daylight. However, no deer made an appearance and it was pretty slow going this morning.
Then came the last hunt of the last day of the 2011 Florida Bow season. Do I really need to tell you where I hunted? Yes, I went back to the Kill Zone. I know what everybody’s thinking…..I’m over huntin’ that spot. Well, some stands can take more pressure than others and this is one of them. Besides that, this particular spot is just a natural area that bucks like to pass thru. I get a lot of bucks I’ve never seen before on the trail cam here. I think it is partially due to the lay of the land but also due to the way 4-5 different edges conditions all come together right at the stand. There is a fire break, planted pine plantation, old cut over bay, mature volunteer timber stand and a mowed area all converging at one spot. I have killed at least a couple bucks here every year.
I climbed to my hide up in the little pine about 6:00 PM for my last opportunity to take a buck here with my bow.
Time ticked by slowly and it was getting pretty late. I was really getting worried that a buck was not going to show. Actually, I think I had already surcomed to the reality that I was not going to take a buck this year. To tell you the truth I was just thankful that I had at least finally taken a deer at this point.
The sticker 7 Buck Makes A Fatal Mistake!
The next thing I saw was a deer step from the palmettos and I could see it was a racked buck. He moved slow and cautious down the mow. When he came into the shooting lane I bleated at him softly but he didn’t hear it. I bleated a little louder and it got his attention, stopping with his head behind some bay saplings. I put the pin at the back edge of the shoulder and launched. The shot was 39yds and the shaft caught him just a few inches behind the near shoulder, passed thru the center of the heart and out the opposite shoulder. He charged off into the chest high palmettos like he was on fire. There was a constant clattering, crashing sound of bushes until he reached the back of the old chop where the timber started. There was a slight pause then a final crash and thrashing. I have seen this play out many times in the past and it has always meant a dead deer.
I could hardly believe I had just killed the 7pt with the sticker off the bottom tip of his beam. He was the first racked buck to show up on the trail camera there and I had actually seen him once but he did not get close enough for a shot. As much as he was showing up on the camera I was confident I would eventually get a shot at him.
In 2 days I had completely turned around a season that was looking like a total wash. Funny how things work out. Just goes to show you need to stick with it right to the last minute.
This deer was shot with a Muzzy 4 blade, 100 gr. Broadhead and left as good a blood trail as you will ever see. Have a look at some of the pictures I took of the trail.
There's my broadhead and 4" of shaft near the center of the picture!
Now that's a heart shot!
Looks I finally got things going my way.
Larry S.
