Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

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Sam Ubl
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Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:32 am

I love hunting, and there is nothing that makes me feel more involved than getting a bead on a buck and trying different methods of getting the edge on him. Well, I have on such "for instance" that is a bit of a head scratcher when it comes to how to set up on him tonight with a westerly wind. I could opt out and wait until my next opportunity, but the winds will predominantly be out of the west in the days/months ahead and time is of the essence.

Two weeks ago, and again this past Sunday, I bumped a buck from the edge of a corn field while walking out. I was 12-rows deep with a good cross wind to get out and walking slow. I heard the deer ahead of me crash into the dogwood/tag alder brush that rims the east end of the field. He was close, maybe 20yrds before he slipped into cover. He blew a couple of times and I heard his antlers ticking on the branches. I stood there for a while, just listening, and soon he re-emerged into the edge of the corn field just 10yrds from me with only the corn stalks separating us. One thing to consider is this edge of the field is lower so it tends to saturate heavily when it rains, thus the corn stalks are shorter and even remind me of stadium seating; the closer you get to the edge, the shorter the stalks. Under the moon I could see his rack was thick, wide and he had many points, but the details I couldn't be sure of. We stood there, staring at each other, but I could tell he was unable to make me out with the wind in my favor and the darkness upon us. He again began to feed, just 10yrds from me - it was unreal. I lifted my bow before me with the white crests of my arrows in the air, and bobbed it subtly to resemble a rack as I "deer stepped" on my way - he walked with me, it was incredible. After 20ft of slow walking, he stopped and began to feed again - I continued on.

This last Sunday I returned to that set, but saw no deer. Again, on my way out with the same wind, I bumped a deer in the exact same spot. Something told me I would, and I guessed it to be the same buck as the last time. He blew several times in the thicket, and again, I listened to his antlers ticking off the branches as he moved around. I half hoped he would emerge again like the last time, but the other half of me preferred otherwise. At this point, neither of us knew each other and I wanted to keep it that way for now. See (Image 1) - this is when I bumped him twice. Bear in mind when viewing my exit, I follow the 12th corn row because it's wide and quite. There is no 13th corn row that will take me to me truck, so I'd have to cut through the rows otherwise to exit, and then I'd sound like a train.

(IMAGE 1)
Image

Fast forward a few days to my sit last night. I picked a tree I have killed a few bucks out of coming from the same general bedding area. Only one buck gets to rule that roost, and the last two of three years it was a shooter; I found out because when they both emerged on the same day back-to-back years, my first glimpse of them ended with kills - they're both on my wall now. This particular stand is across a vast field of switch grass, cattails and a couple of bus-sized thickets of tangled dogwood and tag alders. A buck beds in either one of those thickets every single year, but never both, it's one or the other. I killed one such buck 5-years ago that was using that bedroom when he came off the corn field in the morning on his way back to bed. He was 20-steps from his actual bed when I shot him, and he died about 20-steps further. I called that buck the Candlestick Buck and I remember his story every day when I look at him on my wall, too - I missed him on Halloween, shot over his back.

Last night, with the full moon in effect, I figured the deer would move late - I was wrong. At 5:40 I looked behind me and saw a large bodied buck emerge from the smaller of the two bus-sized thickets of dogwood and tags. See (Image 2). I video taped him for 5-minutes to get a better look. He's a 5x7, with five scoreables on his left and 7 scoreables on his right. He's roughly 18" wide, and doesn't have the longest tines or main beams, but was he lacks in length he makes up for in mass. Check out his right side main beam (Image 3 & 4).

(IMAGE 2)
Image


(IMAGE 3 & 4)
Image
Image

Since I was hunting east of where I had bumped the same deer from twice now in recent weeks, and based on his route of travel, this deer is THE deer I had the two dark encounters with - he has to be. He made several scrapes on the east side of the dogwood/tag thicket before walking westward, right through the tags to the corn field to browse in the exact spot I bumped him from those other two times. This is his turf. He's got it made. There are old ditches mazed throughout the piece to help drain the fields from the rain back when it was heavily farmed. Now it's overgrown lowland and the dogwood and tags follow the banks of those ditches across much of the maze they draw on the map. It's the ultimate safe haven. The deer can walk in the cover of the dogwood/tags and if they see danger on one side they can escape to the other side. Similarly, if they smell danger from one direction, they make their escape out the other side. His bed is an island of dense tags and dogwood surrounded by switch grass, but in close proximity to more cover if he needs to make a break for it. Food isn't far away either...

My dilemma - finally, I know...

Tonight is a west wind. I plan to hunt from the ground. My thought is to set up in the corn and wait, my camera on a tripod beside me and my bow at the ready. I have a route to get there without my crosswind tipping him off, but how in the heck can I set up upwind of him? If you look at (Image 2), he circled north before pulling a U-turn and heading south along the dogwood, staging before heading into the corn to feed. Last night was a west wind. I only assume his route last night was a sanity check to make sure no foreign odors were coming from where he was headed. Once he gets to the field, he follows the rim of it south and eventually crosses a thin tree line and feeds into a bean field to the southwest. If I get in the corn and establish myself south of his bedroom, maybe if it's not swirling too bad I could have a chance.

Thoughts? How would you approach it? There are NO trees to get into - none - at least not where he would make it in time for a shot before dark.


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Jackson Marsh
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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:40 am

Can you set - up where he made his turn? Any land marks to hit the correct spot?

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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby MOBIGBUCKS » Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:41 am

Is that corn in those pictures? Is that an irrigation ditch in the field I'm seeing? The small transition line where you have him coming out of the bed and turning south.

West wind, no trees, I think you have your answer. Setup on the ground and go for it. I'd probably ditch the camera though..
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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Fri Oct 10, 2014 7:56 am

The turn I was referring to was North to SW.

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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:01 am

The first turn is an irrigation ditch. Where the buck walked before turning is purely switch grass, about waist high. I think if he takes the same steps tonight, Jackson Marsh, it would be more probable than hunting a risky wind in the corn - think I'm on your page so far.

He walked 60yrds north of his bed to the ditch, got a drink, then followed it west to the edge ofthe brush before heading south again.

Blood is pumping!

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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby MOBIGBUCKS » Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:14 am

Sam Ubl wrote:The first turn is an irrigation ditch. Where the buck walked before turning is purely switch grass, about waist high. I think if he takes the same steps tonight, Jackson Marsh, it would be more probable than hunting a risky wind in the corn - think I'm on your page so far.

He walked 60yrds north of his bed to the ditch, got a drink, then followed it west to the edge ofthe brush before heading south again.

Blood is pumping!

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If that's an irrigation ditch, that is where I'd be setting up...
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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:16 am

It's a plan. I'll set camera on tripod just above the grass and leave it recording the entire hunt - maybe 2hrs. Camera will be situated 20yrds behind me so it would catch me rise slowly at full draw with the buck walking past. A dream - maybe - but that's what makes this fun.

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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:20 am

Sounds pretty darn exciting to me!

Go get him!

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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:33 am

Here's some more insight to what his bed looks like and the land layout...

(Image 1)
This is a view from a stand I gun hunted in last year. His bed is shown. This stand is facing north. I drew the route he walked last night coming out of that bed. Excuse the winter photo...
Image

(Image 2)
This is a view from the bow stand I was in last night. I marked a blue "X" where the gun stand in (Image 1) was, and another blue "X" where his bed is.
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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Fri Oct 10, 2014 10:33 am

Super long stalk in, the marsh is loud, hardly a breeze to muffle movement. Ended up slipping into the ditch and wading much of the way to avoid the noise of the switch grass. My camera is rolling on a tripod 15yrds away, we'll see if the battery and memory last. He came out at 5:40ish last night, that's 8-min away. I got in here quiet, he should be laying there. Arrow is knocked, boots are wet, knees are wet from kneeling and I'm awaitin'. Pictures and video of this hunt to come if he shows. Pictures at least.

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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Fri Oct 10, 2014 10:56 am

Awesome! Good luck :clap:

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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby Bigburner » Fri Oct 10, 2014 11:00 am

Dude! I'm stoked for you. The suspense is killing me :shock:
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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby Buckfever » Fri Oct 10, 2014 11:06 am

Holy *&$# this is awesome!!!
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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby nater » Fri Oct 10, 2014 11:15 am

Sounds like you have this spot mostly figured out...that's gotta be a great feeling. Now it's just a waiting game.
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Re: Need to Act Fast - Your Take?

Unread postby cdeam » Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:12 pm

I can't wait to find out. I feel like I'm hunting this deer!

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