| DEER SEASON 2007 page 2 of 5 |
| Nov. 9, 2007 “The Arrows Were Flying In Adams Co.” Piff and I left early in the morning and headed down to Adams Co. to hunt for the day. When we were about a mile away from the property I had to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting a big 12-point buck that was standing in the middle of the windy country road! As I approach my stand in the predawn light I spooked some deer. I saw white tails wagging in all directions. After climbing up in my ladder stand I started to install a hook to hang my bow when I hear something moving below me. I peaked down and saw a young deer looking up at me! It gave me “the look” for a few minutes then eventually started browsing. After it move off about 30 yards or so I finally got settled in. Just a few minutes later I heard movement on the tree coverd hillside in front of me. Four more little deer came down off of the hill and crossed the ditch and walked within 5 yards of my stand. They hung around for about ten minutes before moving on. I didn’t see any more deer until about 5:00 when the same little deer again showed up on the hillside. |
| My 70-year old hunting partner, Piff, on the other hand, had lots of action! He told me that he was in his “condo” ladder stand that is located in the bottom of the pasture next to the drainage ditch, when a big doe came towards him on a trail that runs along the ditch. When the doe walked within 30 yards or so of the hunter she either winded him or saw him move. She didn’t waste any time turning and running back from which she came. That happened around 8:00. A half of an hour later a huge buck with an enormous rack suddenly came out of the cedars that are on the hillside just above the ditch. The big buck came within 20 yards of the stand and then looked up and turned and ran back up into the cedars. A few moments later he came out of the trees and stood broadside looking down at Piff. By this time Piff had him in his sights and he fired the Horton crossbow sending an arrow towards the buck’s vitals. The arrow sailed through the air only to fall short of its mark, landing below the buck’s belly. Needless to say the buck wheeled and jumped the fence and headed to parts unknown. |
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| Piff then decide to change position because he was either being winded or spotted in the stand. He moved on up the hill and hunkered down on the ground in a blind that we had previously built out of small cedar trees and brush. He told me that he was there for about an hour concentrating on the area to his left where the two deer had come from when suddenly he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye to his right. When he turned his head slightly, to his amazement, there stood an 8-point buck not 15 feet from him! They both startled each other and the buck then ran down towards the ditch directly in front of the blind. Piff then settled the 30 yard crosshairs on the buck and pulled the trigger. The buck flinched and jumped across the ditch and ran up the hilly pasture. It suddenly came to a stop and fell over dead. Piff scored a perfect heart shot. This was the second buck that he has taken in the past few years with my crossbow. Congratulations Piffer... |
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| Nov. 11, 2007 Piff and I made the early morning trip back down to Adams Co. again today. We anticipated that we would see a lot of bucks on the move looking for hot does. Well, it was a very disappointing hunt. I stayed in my stand all day and only saw a doe and two yearlings around 10:30 and another lone doe about 3:00. It showered in the afternoon and I stuck it out hoping that the deer would be on the move after they ended. The rained subsided at the last hour of daylight. Not long after I heard some commotion at the fence crossing on the brushy hillside in front of me. I stood at the ready in anticipation of a possible encounter with a big Adams Co. buck. But, much to my dismay, a dozen cattle appeared under my stand. Needless to say I was really pissed off! My evening was ruined. I dejectedly climbed down and called it a day. Oh, I saw a 4- point buck on my way back to my vehicle. I think it was the same one that I saw from a previous hunt. Piff didn’t see much activity either. |
| Nov. 12, 2007 I went out to Clark Co. and hunted the last few hours of the day. As I was climbing up into my ladder stand something brown below me and to my left caught my eye. It was the little 4-point buck that I had seen a few time on previous hunts. He watched me get settled in and eventually moved down wind of me and then snorted. A few minutes later I saw him in the picked bean field to the north. That was it for the evening, except for the skunk that hung out under my stand. |
| Nov. 13, 2007 I hunted the evening out in Clark Co. today. I stood at the north end of the L-shaped woods because of a southeast wind. When I was getting my gear together to leave a buck appeared on the path that runs parallel to the fence line. He was about 60 yards away and all I could see of his rack was a little gleam of white antler on his main beam. It might have been the small 4-pointer that I've seen occasionally. |
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| Nov. 14, 2007 I went out and tried it again in Clark Co in the evening. On the way to the property I saw a buck and a doe out in a picked corn field that runs adjacent to the Mad River. Around 4:15 the little 4-pointer showed up after I grunted a few times and tipped the “can” call. He hung around for about 20 minutes before losing interest. While he walked away I noticed that he was favoring his back left leg. He showed up again about 5:15. This time he winded me, snorted, and then ran off. |
| Nov.16, 2007 With Piff’s buck tag filled we headed back down to Adams Co. in hopes that I might fill mine too. Well, needless to say, Piff had bucks all around him all day! He hunted out of his blind, constructed of dead branches and small cedars trees, which is located on the hillside above the drainage that runs along the north end of the property. I hunted in a small woodlot on the west side of the pasture. As I reported before, the front half of the property is grass/hay fields and the back half is a pasture with a couple of woodlots. Right away I heard a commotion coming from a thicket behind me. As I turned around in my treestand I could barely make out a couple dark four-legged figures. Cows!!! “Oh no, here we go again”, I thought to myself. “These renegade cows from the neighbor’s property are going to spoil my hut again!” But just as I was cussing under my breath I heard what I thought was a buck grunting. Then, suddenly, a doe trailed by two young bucks, came running out of the thicket. The bucks were two of the ones that I recognized from a few hunts back. They chased the doe around in circles a few times then disappeared back into the thicket. A few minutes later only the two bucks came back out. They hung around for about ten minutes before finally slipping away. That was the only serious action I had all day. I did see two more little bucks in the distance later on and I also spotted a few does around 5:00 out in the grass field to the south. For Piff, who was hunting only 300-400 yards away from me, it was non-stop action all day. He told me that a nice ten point buck came out of the woods above him and walked down the hill in the pasture and stopped just below the thicket where I have just reported that the two bucks were chasing the doe. Piff stated that the big buck stood there for a good 7-8 minutes and remained staring up into the thicket until all of a sudden the doe ran out and took off towards the fence that is on the property line. When the 10-pointer saw her he was immediately on her tail. They both jumped the fence and were gone in an instant. Now I know why the two smaller bucks looked so dejected when they ended up without the company of the doe! About 20-30 minutes later Piff said that another buck with a thick 6-point rack came down a path along the drainage with his nose to the ground. When he came to the spot where the doe ran he immediately took up the trail and hopped the fence also. I wonder who was going to win the battle for the doe when the two bucks would catch up with each other. My money is on the 10 pointer. Piff reported that all in all he saw a total of 6 different bucks all day. Two of which were the same ones that I also saw. He had a lone doe run down out of the woods towards him then head down the drainage. He also saw group of 5 does with yearlings run out of the same woods. He also told me of a few more other deer sightings. He complained hat he didn’t even have time to take a nap, there was so much action! That just goes to show you that the saying “Right Place, Right Time”, is so true when it comes to hunting. |
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