10 days on the road
- Boogieman1
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10 days on the road
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share this tale or not. In the end I decided to share cause I did nothing wrong. Sometimes craziness just happens out there. As you are about to find out I had a pretty tough week that is still fresh on my mind.
I started a 10 day whitetail trip last Friday. I planned to start at a decent public wma 4 hours from home. Then travel to another public (my favorite one) another 3 hours farther, and finally stop at some cush private that is halfway home. I scheduled it this way to break up the long drive. I had 6 tags so I could either shoot 3 bucks & 3 doe or 2bucks and 4doe. But I was going to save 1 buck tag for the rut at home. So 2 buck 2 doe would be the absolute most I would try for.
Stop 1 was tough! It was opening weekend here and the woods were packed. Deer were not moving much at all. They were holed up in these persimmon bush thickets that were loaded with fruit. You just couldn’t push them out of the stuff. I also didn’t want a doe this early in the trip cause it was a long way to town to keep getting ice everyday. I saw a couple 1.5 year old bucks following the doe around but nothing decent. When Monday morning came I was ready to go and get to stop 2.
Did see this along the perimeter fence. Not positive but guessing that hurt!
Stop2 is by far my favorite public. The mountain country is just completely different than what I am used to around home. Couple that with high deer numbers it is very fun to hunt. This is my 3rd year in a row hunting the place and believed I had gained enough information to lay a buck down early this year. At the end of last years trip I discovered the majority of the deer were bedding in the box canyons. They would follow the contours of the ravine drainage to/from the box canyon. There is lots of box canyons.
So my plan of attack this year was to take 2 hang on stands. I would sit the same ravine both morning/evening. Then move to another one. Midday I would take the other stand and set it up for the next days hunt. Was a good strategy as I had deer within close range every sit.
These pics just don’t do this country justice. Sunrise/sunset are beautiful.
So Tuesday morning finally comes with me eagerly waiting for first light with bow in hand. I saw 20 something deer that morning. 7 or 8 being antlered bucks. I knew then it’s just a matter of time. After the morning hunt I went to set up a stand in the next box canyon for Wednesdays hunt. I immediately knew this one is gonna be good! It was loaded with buck sign. I set up my stand about 50 yards b4 this.
So sticking to my plan I hunted that same stand from the morning for the evening. Action was not as good. I believe I saw 3 doe. But just b4 closing time I spot slow walking antlers headed my way. Wasn’t a giant by no means but after all the effort I put into figuring this place out and yet to kill one. I sure would be proud to take him. Right b4 dark he ends up in my sweet spot and I let him have it. Was a slightly quartering away shot but he mule kicked and I felt pretty confident I ate his lunch. Due to how steep and thick the area was I elected to wait until after Wednesday morning hunt b4 I start my recovery.
So here is when things start to fall apart on a brotha!
Wednesday morning at daylight I spot a monster walking right to me. I didn’t count points or none of that. I knew holy s*** shooter the first second I seen him. He’s at 10 yards with his head turned looking behind him. I took my time, picked my spot and drilled him right in the pocket. When he turned to head back downhill I could already see his armpit was completely blood soaked. It was 7:03 on the dot. I elected to finish my morning hunt til 9:30. My plan was to hope a doe came along and shoot her to. Then gather my 3 deer and off to the next.
Well 9:30 came and never saw a doe. So I climb down pick up my arrow and just took 3 or 4 steps looking at the blood when I jumped him. So I figure no biggie I will go find the other buck then come back and he will be right there.
So off I went to the other box canyon I hunted the day before. Got on good blood fairly quick. Followed blood for a 100 yards to a bloody bed 10 yards from the edge of a cliff. I looked down the cliff to see my buck at the very bottom. Not only that but the yotes had ate his entire back half and now the buzzards were trying to move in. So it took me about a hour of crawling around brush and rock to try and find a way to the bottom of the ravine. Finally made it and got my hands on him. Then I noticed in the fall he broke the tips off of 2 tines. I looked around for em but with no luck. So now I figure I will take a pic of my first mountain buck. Reach in my pocket and my phone is gone! This is a bit of a scary situation. The biggest being if my wife don’t hear from me again after I told her I just shot another one for a day. She’s gonna get some authorities looking for me. Plus I’m not sure I could find my way home without it. So I cut off the bucks head and now went on a search for my phone. I had spent 2 hours looking for it and all but given up when by the grace of god I stumbled onto it where I slid down in the ravine. You talk about a relief!
So here’s the first buck.
So now got my my phone and a big buck I need to get my hands on. So I’m excited! Start back where the shot happened and was on heavy blood immediately. Found where he was bedded down when I jumped him. Which was only 30 yards from the shot. Pick up on great blood again. I mean walk fast see it way a head of you blood. At a 100 yards I’m expecting to see the deer any second. Then another 100 yards of good blood. At this point I’m like what the heck. Then I come to a fork in the trail. One drops down in drainage the other continuous to follow the bench. The buck stood here for some time. Was lots of blood from wound as well as mouth. But it just stopped right there. I mean not a pin drop anywhere else. He pulled a Houdini! I spent all day grid searching. Finally decided to go back to camp and call someone with a dog. Dog man was honest. Said he’s coming but it’s a 50/50 with as dry as it is. It hasn’t rained in over a year. Man and dog did all they could but got to the exact same place I did where the blood stopped. Couldn’t figure out if the deer dropped in the drainage, followed the bench, or double backed. As crazy as it sounds I wasn’t worried. I thought it’s only Wednesday and I got til Saturday so I will find him.
Well I looked and looked every day with no luck. While writing this I still cannot fathom how I lost that buck. I have never lost any deer when I had good blood from point of impact. And I’m baffled how that buck made it that far with the amount of blood he lost. I still find myself day dreaming about what he did or what I could have done different. On one of the grid searches I did find this arrowhead.
So when Friday rolls around I decide I better get some meat. I had shot 2 bucks and have absolutely nothing in the cooler. Friday morning I pick out the biggest doe in the group and took out some frustration. Of course she doesn’t run 25 yards b4 crappie floppin right in front of me.
At this point I elected to call my buddy with the private lease and tell him I can’t make it. I was still going to try and find my buck. Well it never happened. Midday Saturday was time to pack up and head home. Let me tell ya a 8 hour drive gives a man plenty of time to think about such a debacle. Sorry for the lengthy ramble but I told it as it happened. Plenty of time on the clock for redemption on a hometown buck.
Good luck & Whitetail Wishes everyone…..
I started a 10 day whitetail trip last Friday. I planned to start at a decent public wma 4 hours from home. Then travel to another public (my favorite one) another 3 hours farther, and finally stop at some cush private that is halfway home. I scheduled it this way to break up the long drive. I had 6 tags so I could either shoot 3 bucks & 3 doe or 2bucks and 4doe. But I was going to save 1 buck tag for the rut at home. So 2 buck 2 doe would be the absolute most I would try for.
Stop 1 was tough! It was opening weekend here and the woods were packed. Deer were not moving much at all. They were holed up in these persimmon bush thickets that were loaded with fruit. You just couldn’t push them out of the stuff. I also didn’t want a doe this early in the trip cause it was a long way to town to keep getting ice everyday. I saw a couple 1.5 year old bucks following the doe around but nothing decent. When Monday morning came I was ready to go and get to stop 2.
Did see this along the perimeter fence. Not positive but guessing that hurt!
Stop2 is by far my favorite public. The mountain country is just completely different than what I am used to around home. Couple that with high deer numbers it is very fun to hunt. This is my 3rd year in a row hunting the place and believed I had gained enough information to lay a buck down early this year. At the end of last years trip I discovered the majority of the deer were bedding in the box canyons. They would follow the contours of the ravine drainage to/from the box canyon. There is lots of box canyons.
So my plan of attack this year was to take 2 hang on stands. I would sit the same ravine both morning/evening. Then move to another one. Midday I would take the other stand and set it up for the next days hunt. Was a good strategy as I had deer within close range every sit.
These pics just don’t do this country justice. Sunrise/sunset are beautiful.
So Tuesday morning finally comes with me eagerly waiting for first light with bow in hand. I saw 20 something deer that morning. 7 or 8 being antlered bucks. I knew then it’s just a matter of time. After the morning hunt I went to set up a stand in the next box canyon for Wednesdays hunt. I immediately knew this one is gonna be good! It was loaded with buck sign. I set up my stand about 50 yards b4 this.
So sticking to my plan I hunted that same stand from the morning for the evening. Action was not as good. I believe I saw 3 doe. But just b4 closing time I spot slow walking antlers headed my way. Wasn’t a giant by no means but after all the effort I put into figuring this place out and yet to kill one. I sure would be proud to take him. Right b4 dark he ends up in my sweet spot and I let him have it. Was a slightly quartering away shot but he mule kicked and I felt pretty confident I ate his lunch. Due to how steep and thick the area was I elected to wait until after Wednesday morning hunt b4 I start my recovery.
So here is when things start to fall apart on a brotha!
Wednesday morning at daylight I spot a monster walking right to me. I didn’t count points or none of that. I knew holy s*** shooter the first second I seen him. He’s at 10 yards with his head turned looking behind him. I took my time, picked my spot and drilled him right in the pocket. When he turned to head back downhill I could already see his armpit was completely blood soaked. It was 7:03 on the dot. I elected to finish my morning hunt til 9:30. My plan was to hope a doe came along and shoot her to. Then gather my 3 deer and off to the next.
Well 9:30 came and never saw a doe. So I climb down pick up my arrow and just took 3 or 4 steps looking at the blood when I jumped him. So I figure no biggie I will go find the other buck then come back and he will be right there.
So off I went to the other box canyon I hunted the day before. Got on good blood fairly quick. Followed blood for a 100 yards to a bloody bed 10 yards from the edge of a cliff. I looked down the cliff to see my buck at the very bottom. Not only that but the yotes had ate his entire back half and now the buzzards were trying to move in. So it took me about a hour of crawling around brush and rock to try and find a way to the bottom of the ravine. Finally made it and got my hands on him. Then I noticed in the fall he broke the tips off of 2 tines. I looked around for em but with no luck. So now I figure I will take a pic of my first mountain buck. Reach in my pocket and my phone is gone! This is a bit of a scary situation. The biggest being if my wife don’t hear from me again after I told her I just shot another one for a day. She’s gonna get some authorities looking for me. Plus I’m not sure I could find my way home without it. So I cut off the bucks head and now went on a search for my phone. I had spent 2 hours looking for it and all but given up when by the grace of god I stumbled onto it where I slid down in the ravine. You talk about a relief!
So here’s the first buck.
So now got my my phone and a big buck I need to get my hands on. So I’m excited! Start back where the shot happened and was on heavy blood immediately. Found where he was bedded down when I jumped him. Which was only 30 yards from the shot. Pick up on great blood again. I mean walk fast see it way a head of you blood. At a 100 yards I’m expecting to see the deer any second. Then another 100 yards of good blood. At this point I’m like what the heck. Then I come to a fork in the trail. One drops down in drainage the other continuous to follow the bench. The buck stood here for some time. Was lots of blood from wound as well as mouth. But it just stopped right there. I mean not a pin drop anywhere else. He pulled a Houdini! I spent all day grid searching. Finally decided to go back to camp and call someone with a dog. Dog man was honest. Said he’s coming but it’s a 50/50 with as dry as it is. It hasn’t rained in over a year. Man and dog did all they could but got to the exact same place I did where the blood stopped. Couldn’t figure out if the deer dropped in the drainage, followed the bench, or double backed. As crazy as it sounds I wasn’t worried. I thought it’s only Wednesday and I got til Saturday so I will find him.
Well I looked and looked every day with no luck. While writing this I still cannot fathom how I lost that buck. I have never lost any deer when I had good blood from point of impact. And I’m baffled how that buck made it that far with the amount of blood he lost. I still find myself day dreaming about what he did or what I could have done different. On one of the grid searches I did find this arrowhead.
So when Friday rolls around I decide I better get some meat. I had shot 2 bucks and have absolutely nothing in the cooler. Friday morning I pick out the biggest doe in the group and took out some frustration. Of course she doesn’t run 25 yards b4 crappie floppin right in front of me.
At this point I elected to call my buddy with the private lease and tell him I can’t make it. I was still going to try and find my buck. Well it never happened. Midday Saturday was time to pack up and head home. Let me tell ya a 8 hour drive gives a man plenty of time to think about such a debacle. Sorry for the lengthy ramble but I told it as it happened. Plenty of time on the clock for redemption on a hometown buck.
Good luck & Whitetail Wishes everyone…..
Life is hard; It’s even harder if you are stupid.
-John Wayne-
-John Wayne-
- Bonecrusher101
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Re: 10 days on the road
Great write up boogie, hate you lost your monster buck. You’d have to think he toted it and he’s still alive.
Be original and Enjoy every step along the adventure.
- Edcyclopedia
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- Wihunter95
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Re: 10 days on the road
Great write up. Real bummer you lost him. Hopefully he lived and be around for next time you head out there.
- Ghost Hunter
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Re: 10 days on the road
Good read Boogie. Some day a freight train could not stop success. Then some seems it runs slap over you.
I'm reason they call it hunting and not shooting.
- Grizzlyadam
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Re: 10 days on the road
Thanks for sharing that. Even though things didn't go perfectly it sounds like you had quite an adventure and that in the end is really what it's all about.
- 218er
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Re: 10 days on the road
Bummer about the bucks but that’s hunting. Sounds like a real adventure.
Persistence is undefeated.
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Re: 10 days on the road
Great story boogie!! Real bummer about the bucks, but sounds like it was quite the adventure hunting trip!
- Jackson Marsh
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Re: 10 days on the road
I predict your season will improve.
- oldrank
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Re: 10 days on the road
You can only go so low before you go high.... big bucks are in your future.
- Lockdown
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Re: 10 days on the road
Ok. Time to get out the chicken suit.
- Dewey
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Re: 10 days on the road
Lockdown wrote:Ok. Time to get out the chicken suit.
Good luck Boogie. Things will get better. Hope you put a big one down during the rut.
- Lockdown
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Re: 10 days on the road
Dewey wrote:Lockdown wrote:Ok. Time to get out the chicken suit.
Good luck Boogie. Things will get better. Hope you put a big one down during the rut.
Well now I feel like a jerk. I’ll be honest I assumed the post was positive regarding the doe kill and I figured I’d read it all after work. (I’m still at work and STILL haven’t read it)
My apologies boogie… I stuck my foot in my mouth there. I figured you were on a killing spree (like normal) and were about ready to up the ante and go for the chicken suit like we talked about a few years back!
- Dewey
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Re: 10 days on the road
Lockdown wrote:Dewey wrote:Lockdown wrote:Ok. Time to get out the chicken suit.
Good luck Boogie. Things will get better. Hope you put a big one down during the rut.
Well now I feel like a jerk. I’ll be honest I assumed the post was positive regarding the doe kill and I figured I’d read it all after work. (I’m still at work and STILL haven’t read it)
My apologies boogie… I stuck my foot in my mouth there. I figured you were on a killing spree (like normal) and were about ready to up the ante and go for the chicken suit like we talked about a few years back!
I still think he should break out the chicken suit. Laughter is the best medicine to get out of a funk.
- PK_
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Re: 10 days on the road
Dang Boog, tough break on those bucks, but overall that is an incredible hunt. Sounds like a great trip and hopefully you get to do it again in years to come and get some redemption.
No Shortcuts. No Excuses. No Regrets.
Everybody's selling dreams. I'm too cheap to buy one.
Everybody's selling dreams. I'm too cheap to buy one.
Rich M wrote:Typically, hunting FL has been like getting a root canal
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