2003 Deer Hunt - A Bowhunt In Progress

Deerhunt With Keith Warren 2003
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Day 1 Afternoon

After the morning hunt we drove into Seguin and ate some pretty darn good mexican food. Afterward I talked to Keith Warren for a long time about his views on deer management and bowhunting. (I'll come back to this later. Right now I want to get on with the hunt report and pics.)

Afternoon: Mark Denman, the video man on this hunt, and a deer management expert and competent deer hunter to boot -- went with me to the afternoon stand. Our set up was in a forked tree. My stand was at the split of the fork and Mark's was 4 feet higher. Very little time passed before we saw the first deer. A boss doe and a good sized fawn came through. The fawn was within range but the boss doe was not. So, although I had a doe tag, I didn't shoot. Then, back in the trees, we saw a wide racked buck. It came toward us just like we wanted it to and stopped 15 yards away. I took two pictures as it stood under the overhanging leaves on an acorn tree. This buck is nice and wide, a 10 point. Buck's Pic $1 and Pic #2. It stepped out from under the leaves and turned broadside. My camera was already hanging on its peg and my bow was good to go.

Mark signaled that he could not video the buck from his higher perch, he needed the buck to come a couple of steps closer. And since my visit's mission is to be on Keith's TV show I held up. The buck didn't give us those two steps. Instead he meandered off.

More deer came, over a dozen. Mostly younger bucks, 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 year olds, with larger racks than normal for those tight body shape ages. A second large buck appeared in the brush and went up to every deer and intimidated them as they came by. Pic of that buck closely in the woods.

Before long the buck stopped 12 yards away in the brush but in a place where I had an opening that would allow an arrow through through it and into his vitals. I whispered to Mark that I could shoot this buck.

From Mark's higher viewing angle he could only see the buck's feet. So I took two pictures of the buck standing in the shooting window that I couldn't use. Pic #1 and Pic #2. 

This buck did not offer another shooting opportunity. Several more deer passed through, both in front and behind us before darkness closed out the afternoon hunt.

I gotta say Keith Warren hunts in one good hunting place. That night I ate a ton of good mexican food again and slept at the Holiday Inn. My wake up call is at 5:00pm, we'll see what tomorrow brings.