Post by fischer on Dec 22, 2009 0:02:35 GMT -5
***Warning: This is really long, just scroll if you want to see pics***
I went to a family ranch in Wheeler County in the Texas Panhandle this past weekend. This is my story. Bum Bum (Law and Order style).
We arrived at the ranch at about 3PM and immediately went to set corn out at a few choice places. there are no working feeders at this ranch, so we figured it might help to spread some corn out.
My uncle and my dad dropped me off at about 3:45 at a place that looked good, and I sat immersed in a cedar tree (there are no blinds on the place either) just hoping to see something. Sunday was going to be my actual hunting day...Saturday was just a scouting day.
I had been sitting for probably 45 minutes, using my new Nikon Action 10X50 Binocs to scope the place out when I saw the first two does of the weekend. My heart started pumping, as I am not used to seeing living beings during my hunts. The does were at about 185 yds and as I watched them come nearer, more and more doe came out until there were 9 of them. I heard a noise and all of a sudden a really young, small 8 point and spike came out and started munching on corn. I decided right then that I was going to wait and see if a big boy came out, but if he didn't, I would take me a nice fat doe to get the jitters out, and to put meat in the freezer. I waited approximately 30 or 40 minutes with no new deer coming, so I decided to take a shot on a doe that had wondered to within 110 yds of my perch.
My heart still pounding, I line up my shot and squeeze the trigger. I look through the scope after the shot and see the doe lying dead in her tracks...my first kill! What a rush!
Needless to say, I was fired up the rest of the evening and couldn't imagine what I might see the rest of the weekend. It was already shaping up to be a great trip.
The next morning, I wake up to temperatures of 14 degrees. It was COLD. But there was no wind and I was excited to sit in a new spot where my dad and uncle had seen a lot of rubs and scrapes. As it got light, I saw quite a few does through the binocs. As I was scanning, I caught a movement in the brush about 280 yds away. It was a decent 8 point, but all I could see was his neck and head.
He ended up sliding back into the woods. I didn't see anything else for the rest of the morning and decided to call it a morning and go back to camp to get breakfast and to warm up.
At about 12:30 I went back to where I had shot the doe to see if there was any action...there was none.
At 3:00 I decide to move back to where I had seen the 8 in the AM, but at a spot where I might be able to get a shot on him. I sat up under a tree facing the brush where I had seen the buck. At about 4:40 I started noticing a TON of deer movement in the woods to my left. I didn't adjust my position because I didn't want to miss my buck coming from the brush. That is when I noticed my morning 8 wondering through the woods to my left. I sat for the next 30 minutes watching him meander towards me through the woods. It seemed like he would never get there. All the while, I was adjusting my position to face the buck.
Finally, he crossed the creek and stood facing me. After a few minutes of staring face to face with him, I had him in my sights and was waiting on a shot. He turned a bit, giving me a quartered shot. I decided it was now or never and squeezed off a round. He jumped, stumbled, and fell into the creek. My first buck! not the biggest in the world, but a great accomplishment for me!
What a weekend! I can't begin to describe the feeling. It was a blast. Sorry for the long post.
I went to a family ranch in Wheeler County in the Texas Panhandle this past weekend. This is my story. Bum Bum (Law and Order style).
We arrived at the ranch at about 3PM and immediately went to set corn out at a few choice places. there are no working feeders at this ranch, so we figured it might help to spread some corn out.
My uncle and my dad dropped me off at about 3:45 at a place that looked good, and I sat immersed in a cedar tree (there are no blinds on the place either) just hoping to see something. Sunday was going to be my actual hunting day...Saturday was just a scouting day.
I had been sitting for probably 45 minutes, using my new Nikon Action 10X50 Binocs to scope the place out when I saw the first two does of the weekend. My heart started pumping, as I am not used to seeing living beings during my hunts. The does were at about 185 yds and as I watched them come nearer, more and more doe came out until there were 9 of them. I heard a noise and all of a sudden a really young, small 8 point and spike came out and started munching on corn. I decided right then that I was going to wait and see if a big boy came out, but if he didn't, I would take me a nice fat doe to get the jitters out, and to put meat in the freezer. I waited approximately 30 or 40 minutes with no new deer coming, so I decided to take a shot on a doe that had wondered to within 110 yds of my perch.
My heart still pounding, I line up my shot and squeeze the trigger. I look through the scope after the shot and see the doe lying dead in her tracks...my first kill! What a rush!
Needless to say, I was fired up the rest of the evening and couldn't imagine what I might see the rest of the weekend. It was already shaping up to be a great trip.
The next morning, I wake up to temperatures of 14 degrees. It was COLD. But there was no wind and I was excited to sit in a new spot where my dad and uncle had seen a lot of rubs and scrapes. As it got light, I saw quite a few does through the binocs. As I was scanning, I caught a movement in the brush about 280 yds away. It was a decent 8 point, but all I could see was his neck and head.
He ended up sliding back into the woods. I didn't see anything else for the rest of the morning and decided to call it a morning and go back to camp to get breakfast and to warm up.
At about 12:30 I went back to where I had shot the doe to see if there was any action...there was none.
At 3:00 I decide to move back to where I had seen the 8 in the AM, but at a spot where I might be able to get a shot on him. I sat up under a tree facing the brush where I had seen the buck. At about 4:40 I started noticing a TON of deer movement in the woods to my left. I didn't adjust my position because I didn't want to miss my buck coming from the brush. That is when I noticed my morning 8 wondering through the woods to my left. I sat for the next 30 minutes watching him meander towards me through the woods. It seemed like he would never get there. All the while, I was adjusting my position to face the buck.
Finally, he crossed the creek and stood facing me. After a few minutes of staring face to face with him, I had him in my sights and was waiting on a shot. He turned a bit, giving me a quartered shot. I decided it was now or never and squeezed off a round. He jumped, stumbled, and fell into the creek. My first buck! not the biggest in the world, but a great accomplishment for me!
What a weekend! I can't begin to describe the feeling. It was a blast. Sorry for the long post.
