A story of my crazy morning in a clear cut

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BorealBushMN
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A story of my crazy morning in a clear cut

Unread postby BorealBushMN » Tue Oct 15, 2019 2:25 am

This season I drew permit to hunt a city bow hunt. So, being how little time I have this season to hunt, my goal is to simply get a doe on the ground and to scour the land available to get to know it and try and find buck sign to hunt as the rut approaches. So I spent this weekend mostly scout-hunting from the ground.

Sunday morning I wasn't sure what to do.... I'm in a full transition/reboot of my hunting style and strategies. My portable stands consist of a Summit climber and a small 12' ladder stand called "the pack and stack". Money's tight so I can't just go buy a stand and sticks (or a saddle, which I really want). I'm at the point where I cringe when I think about packing those things in, especially blind, and especially blind in the dark. So, I threw on the leafy suit and set in to find a log to sit on and slowly still-hunt through the area with the hopes of catching some does moving through coming into bed. The area I was going to is a patch of timber that's between the highway to the south and a large clear-cut to the north. It's pretty hilly country in there and the woods are on a south facing slope. Winds were breezy and out of the NW. It was snowing pretty heavy so it was quiet walking and visibility was good.

It was just after first light, and I was about 100 or so yards down a trail (heading E-W) when I found an area that looked like it may be worth parking my but for awhile. I was digging out some milkweed to check the air currents and was struggling with that because milkweed just doesn't work good when it's dumping wet-heavy snow and your hands are wet. Apparently a deer watched me fumbling through all of that because all of a sudden I started hearing that dreaded blowing noise coming from my west. I couldn't see it until it bolted and that SOB blew and blew and blew, probably 20 times. My heart sank. I was less than 20 min into my hunt and it was over. I stood there for a while pondering what to do. My first move was to try and see if that deer was bedded, or traveling through. I never found a bed or even it's tracks (I didn't look too hard). I got back on the main trail and was about to pull the plug and try a new area but decided I'll just push on and scout it for the future.

So, I poked through the area slowly working my way to where it opens up in the clear-cut. Right as I approached the opening I saw a deer head RIGHT THERE! I dropped to a knee and confirmed what I saw. Yep, there was a doe bedded under a pine tree right in front of me about 20 yards away. She was facing me, but didn't see me. I felt exposed in the middle of a trail, so I slowly scooted over to tuck in behind some pine branches. When I did that I made a scratching noise she did hear. She perked up and we had a stare down for a bit. Then I see movement and another doe (probably a 1yr old) come up to the older doe and she stood up and they browsed around for a bit. I couldn't move though as she kept looking in my direction. They finally got behind some trees so I stood up and got ready for a shot. But they reappeared at 70 yards, and all I could do was watch and see. Just then I heard some soft grunting and all of a sudden a small "spork" horn came in and pushed them over a hill. Using the wind gusts and traffic on the highway below to cover my noise, I made a break for it and got on their trail. I crested the hill they went over, ready to shoot but they were gone. I knelt there for a bit and glassed that area. At this point I was fully into the clear cut. It is very hilly terrain. After a few minutes I got eyes on them again. I thought they were heading SW, but they veered NE. I watched them for a bit and they all grouped up in a small bowl about 15 yds away. I headed to my North to get on another hilltop to close the distance and keep them in sight. As I got up that hill I noticed 2 deer were a bit closer and had moved out of that bowl area. They were facing each other with their heads down and I assumed they were eating, but then I realized that it was 2 bucks sparring each other. Another buck had showed up and they were sparring at 60 yds from me. They put their heads up for a second and I saw that it was the "sporky" and a bigger forky or 6pt. Considering the circumstances, I was totally going to shoot one if I had an opportunity. I was PUMPED!!!! I had a clump of trees between us that I was gong to crawl to with hopes of that getting me close enough for a shot, but as soon as I was about to make a move, the "bigger" one won the battle and the sporky took off. I was kind of stuck at that point and couldn't move. I glassed around trying to account for all the deer and saw the smaller doe run up another hill to the north, never got eyes on the big doe and the "bigger" buck walked off in that same direction. After sitting there pondering my next move, I saw the "sporky" walking away in shame to the east. I threw a few grunts at him and he stopped, but he was a long way off and I knew he wasn't going to come back. I sat there for awhile glassing and thinking. I though about keeping on them, but I could tell they all broke up and it would be tough to get back on them individually. At this point hunger and thirst took hold and I backed out. I planned on getting back after them in the evening, but got sidetracked on some fresh buck sign I came across scouting a different area, which didn't pan out.

What an awesome experience! For a guy who hunts in the big woods, spot and stalk is a very rare experience. Never thought I'd be able to do that up here. I've always dreamed of doing it out west or in farm country, but never thought it would happen up in the big woods. It was a unique scenario and I was in the perfect terrain. I only hope I can do that again someday. Now that I caught the thrill of it, I am even more driven to pursue it.


Hind-sight being 20/20, instead of scooting over on the trail when I first saw that doe, I should have just stood up right then and drew. I bet she would have stood up offering me a shot. But if that would have happened, I wouldn't of experienced the spot and stalk thrill.


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greenhorndave
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Re: A story of my crazy morning in a clear cut

Unread postby greenhorndave » Tue Oct 15, 2019 4:04 am

Sounds like a great day! There's always coulda-shoulda-woulda any time these close encounters occur but don't end in a shot. You'll capitalize one of these days.
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Matt Gill
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Re: A story of my crazy morning in a clear cut

Unread postby Matt Gill » Tue Oct 15, 2019 4:37 am

Cool story! It takes true woodsmanship to spot and stalk like that with archery equipment. As far as not having a lot of money to spend on equipment, ground hunting is free and is easier to make a move on your game if you need to just like you did. And is also a great way to familiarize yourself with new areas while also having a good chance at killing something. Good luck the rest of the year!
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Huntress13
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Re: A story of my crazy morning in a clear cut

Unread postby Huntress13 » Tue Oct 15, 2019 5:36 am

Very cool experience. (Literally and figuratively, I guess :D )
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Jackson Marsh
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Re: A story of my crazy morning in a clear cut

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Tue Oct 15, 2019 6:05 am

That's a great hunt....and it didn't take a fancy high dollar stand and sticks 8-)

Keep after it.
BorealBushMN
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Re: A story of my crazy morning in a clear cut

Unread postby BorealBushMN » Tue Oct 15, 2019 6:27 am

Thanks, guys and gal! ;) It was a day I won't soon forget. As pumped as I was for that, I can't imagine how intense that would of been on a mature buck. Props out to those that get it done on spot and stalks.

I made a goal for this season to get more time on the ground to try and gain confidence in it. And an experience like that definitely helps. If I can manage to sneak up on one in the woods and get close enough for a shot, that will give me an even bigger boost. If I can stick one, I may never sit in a stand again. I've already all but quit sitting in stands during rifle season, now I'm leaning that way for bow hunting. I've had a lot more fun, and felt more in the game on the ground, but I also can't shake the feeling like I need to be in a tree to actually get a deer on the ground.
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backstraps
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Re: A story of my crazy morning in a clear cut

Unread postby backstraps » Tue Oct 15, 2019 6:46 am

Sounded like a great hunt with lots of adrenaline with both up and downs!

:clap:


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