The Digital Log Of A Bowhunt With Venado Loco - by Robert Hoague
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 |

DAY #5, Venado Loco Deerhunt
Our groups total deer sightings today: 136 Deer, 45 were bucks.

Buck Confrontation & A Rattlesnake

Good light came slowly at #15. I waited patiently. Eventually I saw a yearling buck in the low brush. 

Two regular visitors to the area walked downhill on the trail that passes me on the right, the award winning "shortest spikes" buck and a doe. The yearling buck approached them. 

Here's a good picture of the two yearling 1 1/2 old bucks together, quite a difference in both body size and antler development. Especially considering that the 5 point's antlers are less than typical for the area. Right here, something in the brush has attracted the attention of the 5-point.

A larger buck walked into the open and looked at the doe with the spike.

He moved forward and raked the limbs of a cedar tree.

I counted 10 points. This buck was harvestable by the ranch guidelines of 9 points or better. Then he walked closer, lots closer.

I clicked his picture. He walked past me and out of sight. In a couple years this buck will be a dandy.

The Duck drove his 4-wheeler to a new area that he wanted to check out. As he looked for tracks in the cactus and sage he saw movement. And heard a rattle. A 3 foot rattlesnake was coiled in a depression in the ground and struck at Don. But somehow the snakes strike fell short. Immediately the snake crawled underneath some sage and Don poked at him with a stick to get him out in the open. But the rattler would have none of it. So Don returned to his 4-wheeler and got his bow. The snake was still curled up in the sage rattling. The Duck picked out a boadhead that Ted Nugent gave him on a bear hunt and shot the rattlesnakes completely head off. 

He picked me up and we drove back to camp. Everyone had seen a bunch of deer this morning. Gene Cowan (geneinnc) had taken a young antlerless deer and it was already processed.

Afternoon Hunt:
I told the Duck he should hunt #15 and see if he could get a javelina this afternoon and I dropped him off there and drove to #24. After an hour inn my sagebrush blind I saw a deer walking briskly along on the hillside. It traveled crossways for 100 yards and was about that distance away. In my binoculars the buck had an impressive chocolate brown rack with cream colored tips. He was looking at something downhill and to my right so I checked it out. The heavy 10-point I had seen two days ago was standing still, 50 yards from me, looking up at the other buck. 

I put my camera down, gripped the handle of my bow and hooked up my release and settled in to see how close they would get to me.

The chocolate horned buck started down the rocky hill and the bigger buck walked slowly toward it, I couldn't help but notice that the 10-point looked very short legged. He stopped in the chocolate buck's way. The chocolate buck was no slouch but he didn't want any of the mature buck in front of him and retreated back up hill.

For some time it was a stand off. But finally both bucks moved out of my sight. Today I saw 7 bucks in all, but nothing compared to the 10-point that was hanging out at 24.

The duck had seen several deer, bucks and does, and when two deer ran off wildly he looked for the javelina in the brush. They were feeding along and traveling in his direction. A large boar got within 18 yards and Don decided to shoot. He drew and aimed through the Double Bull blinds shooting window and made an excellent shot. The boar ran 20 yards and expired. 

I picked him up after dark. We took a couple of pictures and headed back to camp. It had been a busy day for everyone,  136 deer were seen, 45 were bucks.

Back To Where You Were At Bowhunting.Net

About this bowhunt & about Venado Loco

Venado Loco's web site: Deer Hunting In West Texas & Mexico

Bowhunting.Net

Deerhunting.Net