It was a Sunday evening, two weeks into bow season, and it was time for my husband and me to get into our stands. Bob went to one end of our land and I went to the other. While sitting in my stand, playing on my iphone, I heard deer moving in the woods. It was time to listen and be ready to shoot. My crossbow was sitting next to me so I got the binoculars out to try to see where they were. The bucks started grunting, what a neat sound. The grunts were getting closer and then there was a sound I had never heard before, kind of like a real deep grunt or roar. Then in the field across from me appeared some does and two nice size bucks, an 8 point and a 10 point. They appeared to be playing when all of the sudden the two bucks started sizing each other up. They weren’t really fighting, just pushing each other around. This went on for about 45 minutes then they just stopped and went on to eating and walked away. They stayed 85 yards away from me so all I could do is watch.When Bob came out of his stand he said he watched the big buck, a 15 point, and a smaller buck pushing each other around on one side of the field and on the other side of the field were two eight points doing the same thing. He was telling me about the noises they were making and said he had never heard some of these sounds before. The one noise was like a real deep grunt or roar and when the big buck made that noise he chased the smaller buck away from a doe. After the buck chased the other buck Bob got to hear the wheeze, Bob said it was a neat sound. Needless to say, the deer stayed too far away for Bob and me to get a shot.
Since bow hunting is being in the right place at the right time and scouting your spots, Monday night I decided to go to his stand because he saw the big buck, but all I saw was some does about 100 yards away. I heard the bucks grunting but never got to see them. Then right before dark the coyotes started to howl so I figured the deer were going to leave. On my way out of the woods I saw a deer near my stand but I couldn’t tell if it was a buck or a doe. When I got home from teaching the next day I went back to get the pictures off my camera and low and behold standing right next to my stand was the big buck. It was about 7:15 p.m., well before dark, and there were 5 pictures of him. I decided I was going to bow hunt out of my stand for a while. Tuesday I had 4 small bucks come by my stand but I didn’t want to take a shot, they grow into bigger ones you know. Wednesday night I heard something coming from behind my stand. It was getting close to dark so I really couldn’t see well in the woods due to the leaves but the fields still had plenty of light. The first deer comes out and walks toward the feeder, it was an 8 point with a high rack but not very wide. It eats a little bit and then looks back in the woods and starts to walk off. Then here he came, the big buck, 15 points. When I first saw him my heart started beating quickly. I said to myself, “Is that really him? Am I going to get a shot? Now calm down Christy”. As I watched him walk around and check out the territory I settled. By the time he walked towards me it was getting dark. I put the scope of my crossbow on him, yep it was the big buck, but how far was he away from me? I looked back up at him, tried to figure out the yardage, I thought you don’t want to wound this one. He walked to his left and stood broad side to me, again just couldn’t figure out how far away. I decided it was too late to shoot and watched him walk away.
When I went bow hunting Thursday night I figured out the big buck was 30 yards away and I had the perfect shot. Needless to say I have not seen that big buck since. Even though I could kick myself in the butt for not shooting I think I did the right thing. The life of a bow hunter is hard at times but unlike a gun you must make sure they are in range before you release or pull the trigger on your bow. However, it is a great feeling being in the woods and seeing the deer and other wildlife just doing their thing. I would rather bow hunt than gun hunt any day.
To see more pictures like this go to http://www.newbowhuntingsupplies.com/ Good luck to all you hunters.
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