|
| Author |
Messages |
|
Dave Doree
JustNorth Newcomer
Posts:8
 |
| 12/01/2005 7:18 PM |
|
before i spill my guts and lay my head voluntarily on the chopping block, let me introduce myself.
my name is dave.i live in northern minnesota. i am a white tailed deer hunting fanatic.
i post regularily on my favorite lakestatefishing website, so i have a good idea how leaving myself wide open like i am about to do can leave me battered, chewed up, laughed at and over all looked at as idiot of the month.
with that said, in between humiliating posts please give me your thoughts on the post situation. how do i pick up the pieces.
to summerize, i have never shot a deer with more than four points. until six years ago, i could have give a #$%! less. then i got to thinking why is that.
i thought the reason was simple. i shot the first legal buck that came by each year. when my brother shot the nice eight pointer the first year we started hunting my other brothers property, it got me thinking.
so from that point on, i told myself i was going to raise the bar.
i was going to at least better myself each year, or i wasn't going to shoot it. five points or more was my seemingly modest mark.
i spent the first couple years with near misses. i mean i saw a buck and doe in the cedar, and thought "oh boy, the  's on"! only to have the buck pull a quickie on me.
fine, i can accept that.
each year it would seem that i got a little closer to finaly taking that mature buck, but something always got in the way.
this has been tormenting me. getting up early staying out late in efforts to put all possibilities in my favor.
scent free shampoo, laundry detergent, watching the wind. day after day. i even buy the all season deer license not for the extra tag, but it allows me to hunt all of the seasons including the muzzle loading season. that is what i am doing right now.
i did take a doe a couple years ago with my traditional CVA fifty caliber, but i decided this year i wanted to shoot a new in-line.
i bought a winchester apex fifty caliber muzzleloader. it fits nice and is extremely accurate.
now i am not new to muzzleloading. i have been doing it my whole life. well darned near. my dad belonged to a muzzleloading club in the twin cities. i got to tag along and ii had my own gun when i was sixteen.
after going out each day this season so far, i stayed in this morning because my wife was working midnites, and would not get home until eight o'clock a.m.
i chose to do some things around the house and hunt the afternoon hunt.
i chose a spot just up the road that can be realy good at times if the pressure has not been to great.
i have hunted this spot for years, and i know it's a crap shoot, but if they come in, there's a good chance to get a clean shot.
it is a forty acre piece with private borders that does not get hunted after rifle season. it is made up of aspen slash, about 10 acres worth of year growth. the south part of this forty is patchy balsams which are great cover. to the east, is mature hardwoods.
the transition between the slash and the hardwoods to the east have been very good throughout the years.
today was no exception. we recieved four inches of new snow monday night, early tuesday. i could see they had been moving throughout the area like usual.
one set of tracks caught my eye. a large, single set of tracks made there way out from the area i was looking to head to. slow moving tracks. shuffleing it's hooves between each step. this one had my interest.
as i made my way inside the transition area, i found many sets of tracks. does, fawns, even one day old bed. i searched for a tree to put my tree seat on. i use this sometimes when i am not sure where exactly i am going to end up, or if i don't have alot of time.
i found a tree that gave me pretty good visibility, yet offered fair cover in front.
i got set about three o'clock. staying as still as i could, i waited until about four forty five. i started thinking about maybe getting out and still hunting my way back out the trail cuz i wuz getting cold. then thinking about the trail as it wandered out through the slash, i couldn't imagine a realistic opportunity to make a shot without being busted, so i stayed put. the wind could have been better, but the only way they would wind me is if they came from behind, which i guess was quite possible, but i didn't think it was likely.
i stayed put. then like out of a dream, there it was. a large bodied deer making it's way into an opening right in front of me. it had horns!! what looked to be an eight pointer! glory be. if i can just get the hammer back without him hearing me. no problem.
i looked towards the area he was moving to and found a nice opening that he would, in seconds be just fifteen feet on the other side of.
i raised the gun, he didn't even suspect anything.i found the sights,he steped into the opening, i rested the bead on his front shoulder.....and squeezed the trigger......SNAP! went the 209 primer with the smallest cloud of smoke exiting the barrel. NO!!!! he lifted his head and just stood there. i had to think for a moment, what the hell just happened???? then it dawned on me. the other night after hunting out in the rain, i brought my gun in and cleaned it. i discharged the weapon out the back door into the creek, then cleaned it.
in minnesota, it is legal to have the gun loaded, cased, in the vehicle, as long as there is no primer in the gun.instead of shooting it empty each day, i simply take the primer out, then case it and leave it in the vehicle until the next day, when i put the new primer in and go hunting.
after cleaning it, i put it in the truck, but failed to load a charge in it. EGADS!! WHAT HAVE I DONE! i tried to get another load out of my pocket and into the gun before he totaly busted me, but i only got the pre-made load out of my pocket when he turned and bounded out almost the same way he came in. ARRRGG!!
i have not described in detail all the close calls i have had in the last half dozen years. i don't know if you can pick up on the frustration and determination going on within me, but believe me it nags at me 365 days a year.
what i would like to walk away from here with is some ideas. no not how to double check if my gun IS indeed loaded. but feel free to laugh out loud.
i would like your opinion on how bad i messed with this 2 1/2 year old eight point buck.
he did not smell me, or see me. he did not snort. there were no other deer in the imediate area to blow my cover. he ran back and slightly away from me. i waited a few minutes before i exited the woods.
what level of alert is he on? will he use the same area?
thanks to all who read. great forum.
i will check back.
if anyone would like to email me, feel free. ddoree@paulbunyan.net
thank you, jigglestick I.B.O.T.#5 |
|
|
|
|
Jason Pence
JustNorth Veteran
Posts:47
|
| 12/02/2005 8:42 AM |
|
Jigglestick,
As Doris Day sang--Ka sara sara, it happens to most everyone at sometime.
My take on your encounter with the 8 point centers on how "busted" you were. If he only knew something didn't seem quite right and went jumping or slinking back where he came from you are probably in good shape. If you were not scented , and he wasn't sure it was a human, just something unusual, he will probably not change his routine much because of the encounter. If you were seen, and he circled downwind to smell what you were, and scented you (happened to me before) then it may be lights out for awhile. But normally if that happens you will hear them blow and whistle as they crash off through the brush when they scent you. The snow that day will have helped you with that.
As an example, in bow season I was in a tree when a fork horn came by at 39 yards. For some reason I shot with my 30 yard pin holding a little high rather than using my 40 yard pin--stupid I know. As I released I knew it was a mistake. The arrow passed maybe 2 inches under his chest and 5 inches under his heart--but a clean miss. When the arrow struck the ground he did the same thing as your deer and bounded back the way he came. But he did not really bust me--he just knew something was wrong. I waited it out and about 3 hours later, just at dark, he came back by on the same trail but he swerved around the tree and altered his previous path by about 5 yards giving me a second chance at him.
Doesn't always happen that way, but shows that if you are not totally found out then you may get another chance. In my opinion you still have a good shot at this deer based on what you said. May have to change area/tactics slightly but sounds like you are still in the game.
Hope that is a little encouraging for you. Good luck in your pursuit!
Jason "The Fisher" Pence |
|
Jason "The Fisher" Pence
JustNorth Outdoors Columnist
JustNorth Outdoors Pro Staff
|
|
|
Buck Anderson
JustNorth Pro
Posts:1118
|
| 12/02/2005 9:13 AM |
|
Hi Jigglestick,
I feel for you. I remember, while bow hunting, I had chased the local dominant buck all early season. I knew his patterns and I spotted him on several occasions. I was in awe of his arrogance and his majesty.
Finally, I had the golden opportunity of a 20 yard shot in light cover. As I drew back the bow, click! - my knock must have had a fracture and split right in two falling off the sting. There I was with the big guy, alerted to the sound, staring right at me. Tail twitching and nose in the air. It didn't take him long to bust me and he was gone.
At the time, I felt very much like you did. Cursing myself and my equipment.
After several days of reflection, I came to realize that it was not the act of killing this wonderful animal - but having the close range opportunity to do so that gave me the greatest sense of satisfaction. I was able, like you, to be less than 20 yards from a mature buck without being detected. Be proud of that fact. Not many hunters could do that. 
In most cases, a big buck that has busted you will leave the territory and not return. Try to remember everything about the animal. What was his body language, what was his tail doing, how fast did he bolt, and what direction did he exit. These are all signs of what alert the animal was in and what direction he felt the saftey zone was located. If you are hunting from a stand, change stands because he will be quite aware and cautious of passing by it the next time.
In my case, a week later was opening firearms season. In a opening morning blizzard, the old boy once again presented himself not more than 100 yards from the location of our last encounter. My patience, perserverance, and past reflection of our last episode was rewarded. On my office wall is an 11 point, 250 pound dressed daily reminder of my adventure.
Hang in there and remember that the adventure is the reward. The adventure makes the stories to tell your grandchildren about .
Enjoy the experience,
Buck
|
|
Robb "Buck" Anderson
President
JustNorth Outdoors |
|
|
Dave Doree
JustNorth Newcomer
Posts:8
|
| 12/03/2005 2:57 AM |
|
THANKS FOR THE REPLYS AND TIPS GUYS ooops, sorry bout the caps.
you guys are reafirming the way i was thinking about the deal, in post screw-up reflection. when i left the woods, i was probably not as quiet as when i entered the woods, but i did not crash out of there. i was watching for tracks to see which way he came in. i did not see any new tracks especialy his.
thinking about it, i know exactly which way he came in. there is an old shooting lane through the balsams heading off to the south. that is where he came in at, and that is exactly where he went back out. like i said before, he did not cause a big scene, he must have hung around in the spot where i tried to shoot for about 30-45 seconds before he bounced away. no tail, no noise.
i think i will hunt in the same location, but i have a plan.
i think like a friend told me, i am going to slip in there where i saw him and make a mock scrape. maybe a couple. then i will leave it for another day or two. then i am going to use my climber and back off to the south about fifty yards maybe seventy. a vantage point where i can see both the little clearing where i saw him, the shooting lane where he came in and left, and the basic general area he is bedding in. that is going to be the tricky part. knowing how close i was before he came in, and knowing how the bedding cover type area lies, i have a good idea where he is plopping his ass down all day.with a little luck and a northwest wind he will neither hear nor see me.
i am hoping with a little nasty weather, he may rise a little sooner to feed. he was realy pushing shooting hours last time.
this is my plan "A" buck. it is now personal.
i do have a plan "B" buck. he has no idea i exist. he will be the one i go after next. he is quite possibly a nicer buck than this one. very good area. if every thing falls through, there is another buck in a different area i can try for, but i only know one corridor he is using. i have not got to pattern him at all. i'm not even sure how i'd set up for him yet.
only 8 days left and two of those will be with a friend of mine over in detroit lakes.
i got work to do.
thanks again guys. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Please login to post a reply. Not a member? Register now. |
|
|
|
ActiveForums 3.7
Message attachments are for uploading a picture to your post. Allowed file types are jpg and gif. Max file size is 600 kb. For help see Frequently Asked Questions.
Bookmark this page, tell your friends, and visit us often. We enjoy your company!
|
Be sure to also check for new pics in the
Photo  Gallery.
You just need to Register for free and Login to post and view a message in the forums.
Forum Moderator:
Buck Anderson
|
 Connect with people sharing hundreds of conversations on outdoor camping, outdoor sports, outdoor hunting, fishing tips, deer hunting tips, tips for your pet dog, pet cat, puppies and kittens, turkey hunting tips, gardening and growing outdoors, and outdoor photography! - Join the fun!
General Ground Rules
 Let us know what is on your mind. Or ask us anything. Or offer your own sage advice.
The only rule: RESPECT THIS HOUSE! Postings that contain blatant attempts at commercialization, abusive language and/or personal attacks will be cheerfully VAPORIZED. One cross word and – POOF! – your well-thought-out post will be gone in a puff of smoke.
Buck
Create a Free JustNorth Outdoors Account
Fill in the easy registration form below.
All Fields Required.
|
|
|
|
| JNO Community
|
 |
|
 |
Membership:
|
 |
Latest:
dbthamsai
|
 |
Past 24 Hours:
0
|
 |
Prev. 24 Hours:
0
|
 |
Overall:
1286
|
|
|
 |
|
Meet New Friends!
Connect
Join the Chat
|
|
| Article Search
|
|
|
|
|
| Own My Lake Lot
|
 |
|
|
|
| JNO Hot Stuff
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Minnesota | Camping Forums | Fishing Forums | Hunting Forums | Nature Forums | Outdoor Photography Forums
Fully Searchable Forums For Outdoor Enthusiasts
JustNorth Outdoors hunting and fishing discussion forums - Have questions or comments about creating outdoors videos, outdoors photography, hunting, fishing, ice fishing, camping, skiing and snow sports, conservation issues, gear, or politics? Participate in the forums...
|
|
|
|