The Digital Log Of A Bowhunt With Venado Loco - by Robert Hoague

Venado Loco's Great West Texas Bowhunt (Tuesday)

I was dead tired Tuesday morning and decided to sleep in. The Duck went to #21 and saw one each Spike and 6-point.

When he got in we discussed our hunt. There was a definite difference in the size of the mature does down here in the desert. Does in our home range are bigger, about 20 pounds heavier. However, the bucks were similar in body size to our home bucks. The deer were coming to the sites because each area had a feeding station that went off at pre set times. Every station had a Goat Wire fence around it (the kind that looks like tic tac toe). We were hunting nearby approach routes. So far we were not having problems getting scented. The main problem was when we used the binoculars to see if a buck was a 9-point or not before it got into shooting range, that hurried movement attracted onlookers. They weren't identifying us and running off, but they bobbed their heads and looked our way when we moved to use the binoculars or I used the digital camera. I decided to forget trying to take deer pictures for that reason. We needed to re-work the ground blinds, right away, so we could see better and the deer could see worse.

We ate lunch and left to work on the ground blind set ups at the stand sites. First we cleared a larger area for ourselves inside the blind so there was plenty of room for the movement of our bows and the use of binoculars. We cut and added lots of foliage from around each stand site. 

It takes a proper balance, you have to be able to see out so there needs to be spaces in the limbs and leaves, but not so many that the blind fails to camouflage you. We carefully made splits in the brush, shooting windows for shooting lanes.

We made backgrounds behind us, on the opposite side from the  shooting windows, so we would be camouflaged when it came time to shoot from the windows.

We made blinds on #15, 18, 23 and 24. 

The Duck bowhunted #18: Right off he saw a 10 point with short tines. He walked it. Does came by, 5 in all, and one fawn. A big bodied 6-point was next. Finally, a lone doe showed up on the trail in front of Don's shooting window and the Duck put one in the 10 ring. The doe ran 30 yards and it was over. Don tagged and field dressed the doe and by then it was time to go and pick me up.

At #15: I was  really appreciating my new blind. Less than 10 yards away, two does were browsing on the buds on a big prickly pear cactus. Soon they moved to my right which would put them smack in my shooting window. I drew before they got to the opening and put the bottom cam on my knee to keep the pressure off the pull so I could wait. I have a new solo cam bow and I hadn't done this with this type bow before and it didn't work, the bow undrew itself and my arrow fell off the rest, cradling itself on my wrist. Both deer looked right at me. "Rats," I thought, but they didn't run so I held still. One doe walked a few steps closer and then went into the brush to my left and and I saw her shape, just yards away in my peripheral vision. I stayed still as stone, because if they are not running away they haven't got a positive ID on you. It paid off. The does went back to their business, on the same trail yet. When the lead doe looked away I drew and took my time aiming and then released the arrow. Perfect ... the doe bolted and crashed in one movement. I gutted it right away and and pulled it into some brush and returned to the blind. It was still early afternoon.

Next I saw a large bodied, wide antlered buck in the thick brush about 60 yards away. It headed toward the trail the does had used. In the brush it was impossible to get my binoculars focused on this rack and get a point count, until he turned straight on. The sun was right behind the buck and sunlight lit up his antlers. I focused and counted 5 points on the right side. The left had 4. I thought, "look at this, I'm going to get a doe and a buck on the same hunt." Just like before I drew as he approached the window. But the dad gummed buck took a few hops and popped himself right inside the feeding fenced area. I could hardly believe that a mature buck like this would get into a fenced area. But he did and I never had a chance to shoot.

The remainder of the afternoon I watched 9 does and 4 young bucks. At dark the Duck drove up and I saw that he had a doe also. What a cool hunt.

Back at camp we took a couple of pictures and then Venado Loco fed us some choice Venison Stew. It was delicious.

| Arrival Day | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday |
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