| DEER HUNTING REPORTS 2006 Page 2 GUN SEASON |
| Nov. 27-28, 2006----Gun Season
“And Then There Were Seven” Piff and I hunted the first two days of gun season down at our spot below Hillsboro. I had recently bought a scope for my shotgun and since I can’t hold up a gun, due to my shoulder operation, I also purchased a shooting stick. Piff hunted the opener out of his treestand where he had seen a lot of activity during the past few weeks. He was hoping that one of the two big bucks that he had previously seen would show up. I hunted a ravine on the adjacent property just below where I had taken my turkey last spring. I positioned myself at the base of a big maple tree that was located about 10 yards from the creek. From this vantage point I could see across the creek to the opposite wooded hillside. I could see about 100 yards to my left and about 250 yards or so to my right. The hillside had very little underbrush so the visibility was very good. Shortly after 7:30 I heard a number of shots way off to my right on a nearby property. Hoping that maybe the neighboring hunters would move deer my way I propped my shotgun on my shooting sticks facing that direction on the hillside. About 20 minutes later I noticed heads bobbing up and down on the skyline up the hill and to my right; they were heading my way. I first counted three antlerless deer, and then a few seconds later three more followed them. They all gathered above me and slightly to my right about 80 yards away. I wasn’t planning on shooting a doe the first day so I picked up my binoculars and started to scan the area where they stopped. Apparently one of them saw me move and went on alert. I sat there motionless for a few minutes while she stomped and did the head bobbing thing. I figured that any second now she would snort and they would all scatter. Much to my surprise she quickly lost interest in me. I then shouldered my shotgun that was resting on the shooting sticks and looked through the scope at the other deer that were slightly above her. I stared to count two…three...four…then all of a sudden in the scope I observed a set of antlers! Where did he come from? He must have showed up while I was looking at the doe that was checking me out. I sized him up trough the scope and could tell that he was an older buck with a rack wider than his ears but he had short tines. He was not one of the big bucks that we had seen earlier in the month but he was a mature deer. I soon came upon the realization that under my current physical liability that this may be the only opportunity to take a buck this year and decided to take him. The buck was facing me and he was hanging around a doe. When she move a little so would he. Soon the other deer began to slowly filter down the hill. The buck then slowly turned broadside and I lowered the hammer. BAMM! He dropped like a ton of bricks! Deer scattered everywhere. Cool, my new scope and shooting sticks paid off. |
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| When I made my way up the hill to the buck I discovered that his rack had nine points with a few sticker points off his gnarly bases. I used my shooting sticks to prop up his head and took a few pictures with my digital camera in the self-timer mode. Now the hard part was about to begin. I found a couple of logs and placed them along both sides of his body and rolled him on his back. It took me forever to field dress him because of my bad arm. Eventually I managed to get the job done and then made my way back to get help getting him out.
I got ahold of the land owner and we fired up his old tractor and headed to the fence at the property line where we took down the strands of barbwire between two posts. We then made our way across the pasture down to the creek. Luckily all I had to do was to drag the buck about 60 yards downhill to the shallow creek. It took some effort for the both of us to lift him up and tie him to the drawbar of the tractor; my helper also has a bad arm! We hauled the buck back to the fence and as we were stringing up the barbwire I noticed a big deer running across the hillside where I shot my buck. I couldn’t tell if it was a buck or a good size doe. We then made our way back to the barn and hung up the buck with a comealong. After a quick lunch I made my way down to the gate and noticed that Piff was still in his treestand. I then made my way to the other end of the pasture where I observed a coyote running across the neighbor’s field. After a few hours of no deer sightings I went back to the gate and waited for Piff to meet me at the end of the day. When he met up with me he told me that all he had seen all day was a doe and two yearlings and a spike buck with 10-inch tines. Tuesday was a slow day. In the morning we both went to the ravine where I shot my buck and sat under the maple tree. We didn’t see any deer all morning. Piff left around 11:00 and went back to the gate and I stayed until 1:00. I then walked the woodlot behind the landowner’s house and kicked up a deer of unknown gender. It didn’t run Piff’s way. Piff later walked to a small wooded area next to the road. As he approached it six deer jumped up and flushed like a covey of quail. All he saw was tails going in every direction! He then walked another strip of woods and pushed out a doe and two yearlings. That was it for the two days of hunting. The weather was hot and we didn’t see as much movement as we did in the first part of the month during the rut. The big boys are out there somewhere and Piff is determined to get him one. |
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