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| Dave
Conrad
Opening Morning Success
Next is the check list of everything you already went over 50 times the night before as you shower, get dressed and jump into the truck. As you roll down the road in your mind you are going over what type of day it will be and if you will be successful on that buck you are after. Well, the buck I am after was pretty well known to me as the late summer months were spent on pouring over trail camera pictures and topography maps. I knew where the deer frequented and had a pretty good idea of his bedding area and travel routes. The last month before the season I made sure that all my home made trail cameras were removed from the area as not to spook the big boy. I also finished up hanging the last of my treestands. My most comfortable stand, a North Starr model, was hung on a well used fence line in a tall old knurly maple tree. That tree would be the place of ambush for the first mornings hunt if the wind continued out of the southwest. I arrived well before daylight and slipped on my Scent-Lok Base Layer, put on my camouflage and then sprayed myself liberally with Scent Killer before heading to my stand. On the way out I ran into four does as I skirted a food plot. I still had several hundred yards to go and I was sure the skittish does would not bother the buck's core area. After arriving at the tree I quickly and quietly climbed into the North Starr. It was still a good 45 minutes before first shooting light but as I scanned the field I could barely make out some deer moving a little over 50 yards away. I brought up my binoculars and could make out the shapes of five deer. The last one to my left was large and I could tell it was a buck with a good set of antlers. Still too dark to tell if it was the buck I had hopefully patterned. Next I cautiously pulled my bow rope up and secured my Bowtech bow onto a tree hook and attached an arrow. I then resumed scanning the field now only to see the does standing there. Where had the big deer gone? At that instant I noticed the slight breeze change direction and angle towards the grazing deer. I watched in horror as the biggest doe jerked her head in my direction. She then started moving off to my right away from me heading more towards my downwind side. But thankfully she stopped and after another scan put her head back down and began to feed again. I don't know what it was that alarmed her but I know my Scent Lok clothing and Scent Killer spray were being affective. Fifteen minutes had passed and it was at this time I noticed the big deer come back into view from behind a clump of trees. It was half an hour before shooting light and he began feeding again. After another ten minutes or so he began to make his way toward me. I brought up my Nikon Rangefinder and started taking readings as he moved closer angling in front of me. Fifty yards, forty two yards, at his closest he passed by at thirty seven and a half yards. At this distance I could clearly make out through the rangefinder it was the buck I was hoping to connect on this season. I remember thinking as I sat down, "Well at least I saw him and didn't spook him from the area," as he angled out of the field and into a pine covered ridge. Looking back down at my watch I noticed I still had fifteen minutes before legal shooting light. For the next half hour I continued off and on to watch the does feed. By this time I had removed my bow from the hook and made sure that everything was ready. Just then the deer moved off to my right where they were obscured by some tree limbs, except one. A doe decided to bed down and enjoy an early morning rest. I was thinking how great of a morning it had been so far when all of the sudden I was aware of a deer sniffing just off to my left. I looked down and immediately recognized it was the giant buck. He had somehow slipped into my area behind tree limbs that obscured my view. He was actually sniffing where I had paused to try and push back, with my hand, some tall weeds and briars that were underneath the canopy of the big maple tree. I immediately rose to my feet and drew the Bowtech Patriot Dually in one clean motion. I was thinking to myself "take your time" as I centered the sight pin just behind and to the right of his slightly quartering to shoulder. As I touched off the release the big buck jumped as the arrow angled from the top of his chest area and exited just beneath and behind his ribcage. He immediately whirled and headed for the pine thicket. I was able to follow him as he ran to the fence line, jumping the fence and crashing through the underbrush. My first reaction was grabbing my binoculars and look at the Grim Reaper tipped arrow which was evidence of a clean pass-through. I immediately saw red on the white vanes of the arrow. I then hung my bow up and began the waiting period. As I sat down I noticed the bedded doe was immediately on her feet accompanied by twin yearlings. Another spike joined them and continued to feed around me for the next forty minutes. I was amused at one of the two yearlings that approached my stand. He was drawn to the arrow and as he smelled it I was able to snap a picture of the event on my digital camera. I also noticed that both yearlings were button bucks. I wondered if these two were offspring of the big buck I had just shot. The young spike also came to investigate and was also captured on film. Neither were too fond of the aroma from the arrow. After they had moved off I got down to inspect the arrow. The red blood on the fletching was also accompanied by a presence of stomach or intestinal contents. I accepted this as normal as I replayed the hit back in my mind. The angle of the shot I judged had passed high just off to the right of the deer's spine (in my perspective but actually the deer's left side) as he was facing me but slightly quartering to my left. I accessed that it had taken out the deer's left lung, passing probably through some part of the liver and exiting out through the stomach or small intestine and behind the ribs on his right side. I decided to play it safe since a cold front was coming through and give the deer plenty of time before picking up the chase. I walked back to the truck replaying the whole situation through my mind. While at the truck I tried to call several of my friends but got no answers or couldn't get through because of cellular coverage. I then called my wife to let her know what had transpired and that I was waiting before picking up the trail. After a couple nerve racking hours I finally reached a good friend of mine Jon Silks. I made the decision that I was not going after the deer until I had help. I would need it to get the deer out of where he headed over the steep ridge. Jon was hunting opening morning on my family farm, hoping to capture his son Tyler on film harvesting his first deer. I was surprised to hear that Jon was less than 20 minutes away. (Surprised because the family farm was located over an hour from where I was.) He had received my call but wasn't able to answer it in time. When he saw the number he immediately knew the only reason I would have called was if I had connected on the big boy. When Jon arrived I immediately told him and Tyler what had taken place. Jon concluded that enough time had passed and we should take up the trail. Grabbing my bow, just in case, I showed them the last place that I had seen the deer. We found blood. In about 100 yards we kicked up a doe. The doe was in no real hurry to vacate the area as she stopped at least twice before finally high tailing it as we approached. Because of the good blood trail I thought that the doe was probably bedded somewhere close to the buck. I believe Tyler was the first to say that he saw white ahead of us. I immediately picked up my pace, okay, okay, all of us started to sprint, towards the downed buck. He had traveled no more than 150 yards. Most of it was on a downhill run through the wooded hillside. Our first problem was that as the buck expired he actually ran into a fallen tree from a recent storm on the steep hillside. He had struggled on the log and slid down it and was trapped between the trunk and one of its first heavy branches. It first looked as though he had struggled and snapped off the rack. But my heart was jubilant as I noticed it was just somewhat buried in the soft and loose forest floor. Once we had the buck free came the chore of tagging and getting him
back to the truck. With the buck being larger than average size it
would be quite a job to get him back up the hill through the overgrown
brush. It would be easier to drag him down the hill and into one
of the neighbor's mowed fields.
After about a half hour (that's another story in itself) I finally secured permission to use the field. What a sigh of relief as Jon, Tyler and I easily moved the buck down off the hillside and into the truck. During field dressing it was evident that the arrow had indeed passed through the left lung, liver and perforated the stomach upon exit. Upon examining the rack it was determined that the buck sports a typical 12 point frame. Four non-typical points bring the total to sixteen with several other points and bumps that fall short of the one inch acceptable measurement. The buck is currently at the taxidermist awaiting a pedestal mount. This buck couldn't have come at a better time. My wife and I are
expecting our third child within the next two weeks. Now everyone
knows that a new baby coupled with two other little ones, both less than
five years old, won't leave much time in the near future for my favorite
pastime. Coupled with starting a new business I didn't even have
time to get a final measurement on the big buck. Rough estimates
put him in the 180-190 mark. But one thing is for sure, God blessed
me with an unforgettable "Opening Morning Success".
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There
is no more excitement than hearing your alarm go off on opening morning
of archery season. Well not exactly, because I always get up way
before the alarm even thinks of waking up.
