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3rd
Annual Bowhunt - 2006
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Bowhunting.Net
3rd
Annual Bowhunt - 2006
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Bowhunts and on the spot pictures -- by Robert Hoague | Sponsors of 2006 Whitetail Bowhunts | Bowhunting.net Annual Bowhunt | | Wade Nolan Writers Camp Hunt - October | Wade Nolan Writers Camp Hunt - November | Bowhunting Deer
At Home - 2006
JANUARY 2007 January 2 - Elimitrax, Where Art Thou???? 24 degrees, heavily overcast, with a light wind sums up the beginning of the morning hunt. I hid my pickup in the cedars and walked to the Ridge above the river. I carry a red lens flashlight and I needed it to get situated inside the ground blind. Because is was so frosty I had on the I.D.I. Gear insulated pants and now I put on the Parka. I felt the extra warmth immediately and appreciated it that the parka cut the wind, which was not light anymore and that meant the wind chill was probably in the teens. Sitting in the dark, I drew my bow to ... well, because I always draw my bow when I'm ready to hunt. Then I leaned my bow against the side of the blind and waited for sunrise. I did not hear a single wild turkey as the day's light came on. Either we had a very heavy frost this morning or it snowed last night. The ground was bright white. Beautiful. And peaceful. I tried taking a picture outside but it blurred up, my ever present Sony needed a dab more light. Woops! I swapped the Sony for the BowTech. A big bodied buck was walking along the ridge -- 45 yards away and coming toward me. He looked like one of the long brow tine bucks the CamTrakker took pictures of and I strained to see if he was an 8 or a 9 point. His tines were thick and long and he was a couple of inches outside his ears on the inside. I could not make the 8 or 9 call but this was a large mature buck for sure. I hooked up the FlatHead release and was ready to draw if he gave me the chance. Now he was 25 yards and facing me dead on. He paused an instant and his nose swung across the ground. Right where I had walked in. No, not that! Relief! Big Boy kept coming, still facing me. He paused for the second time and his nose passed above the ground again. And he turned and walked casually down the ridge. There was not time to draw and aim. Lately I have been wearing the Elimitrax and have had no problems with spreading my ground scent around on the way to my stand. I stash them in the bed of my truck and put them on before walking to the stand. But last night I washed them in Sport Wash, per the washing directions, and and hung them outside to dry. But they were still hanging on the line right now. Sometimes in the morning I'm kinda half alert. Earlier, when I opened the first gate on the lease I remembered them. So ... go back, or go on. Heck, I went on. And had just messed myself up too. My ground scent was obviously faint because the buck did not flag or run away, or both. He just got a faint whiff of me and did what the big bucks do, backed out just in cast there was a problem ahead. I aimed my camera at the
shooting lane and took a pic of the white, frozen ground, minus the buck.
An hour passed as I sat in silence looking at the white ground and scouring the spaces in trees for movement. Yelp. Yelp. Yelp. Yelp. Gobble! Wild turkeys across the river. I could not know it right then but I was just about to step onto the wild turkey rocket ride.
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