Bowhunting Report From Tony Dukes

Bowhunting with Billy Don Van Cleave on Wild Horse Prairie Ranch - Hunt #2

First Bowhuunt Here | Wild Horse Prairie Ranch | Bowhunting.net's Online Bowhunt Here |

New Year's Eve, and what a better way to spend it that hunting on the Wild Horse Prairie Ranch. I arrived with high hope after the all of the game I''d seen the previous week while hunting with Robert Hoague and Tyge Floyd. (see report Here on Bowhunting.net)

Ranch foreman, Bill Carpenter took me out on this overcast cool afternoon of the last day of  '03. I sat in a location that Robert had seen some exceptional bucks last week. As shooting light faded I'd had 3 small bucks right underneath me and seen a doe and a deer I never I D'd. Could hear the hogs squealing the whole time.

Jan 1 '04. A.M. 
It was colder and windy as hell. I sat in a tree on a pipeline clearing and saw nothing.

P.M. Moved to a site that had a little more cover and took a stand in some small cedar brush. Starting about 4:30 deer paraded in! Soon there were over 15 deer within range!  3 bucks, 2 eight points and a young six. Gradually some of the does either got chased off by the 6 or left on their own, leaving the biggest 8, the six and 3 does. The biggest eight had a high symmetrical rack, he was a nice buck, not as old a deer as I'd hoped to harvest, but time was running out.

As he walked behind a cedar bush, I drew and place my 30 yard pin just over 1/3 a way up and behind his shoulder. I thought he was at about 30-32 yards. The arrow silently launched, cutting a fog a white hair from under his chest. He ran off appearing more confused than scared. 

Later I stepped off the shot it was 38 yards, guess I will buy the Nikon range finder next year. In the fading light had hogs and a coyote come by, but it was too dark to see my pins clearly.

After 3 states and over 30 days of hunting at least I'd finally got a shot!  Things were changing, but how?

Next Day's Hunt

P.S.  Look for a BOWHUNTING.NET hunt for you to go with us at Wild Horse Prairie Ranch next October! For info email me TDHUNTS@aol.com or Billy Don Van Cleave at bdvanc@aol.com.

Tony Dukes