Steve Bartylla
Bowhunting Bluff County Outfitters
2004 Hunt - Day 3 Due to a self-induced alarm clock fiasco, the morning hunt was met with my head still on the pillow. By the time I realized it was too light out for it to still be before 5:00 AM, it was after 7:00. The morning was spent polishing off a writing deadline for Whitetail Journal. After breakfast, Tom asked if I’d be willing to help him slap up a stand. His home farm is a trophy buck producing machine. Simply to be on it is a treat. I jumped at the chance.
Scaling the ridge on the south side of the farm, the top opens to a series of hidden corn, bean and alfalfa fields. With one glance, you instantly understand how an area can produce so many P&Y bucks. Of course, the numerous ponds he has constructed certainly help. The most productive of which sports a stand that boasts producing 12 P&Y bucks in the last 4 years. Seeing the fresh rub line, several open scrapes and close to an acre of flattened corn, I quickly saw why Tom was excited about the new stand location. With restricted travels during this phase, early season success on the big boys is all about finding where they are. After the stand was hung, I had to fight a twinge of envy for the first hunter to sit it. Odds were pretty good that he’d meet the maker of the huge track left in the scrape. After a cooling off period for the stand that turned out to be exactly what happened on one of his hunter’s first sit. Returning to camp, I preformed the ritual of flinging a handful of practice shots before hitting the shower. One thought dominated my mind the entire time; ‘where can I tag into a doe this afternoon so I can shift my attentions to the big boys.’ Finally, I decided to take a rather aggressive step. In August, I had found a killer location. A long ridge paralleled a bottom filled with corn and alfalfa. A long, gently sloping point served as a natural travel way between the food on the bottom and the bedding on top. In fact, I was able trace the big boy’s 2003 rub line all the way from the food to his still active bedding area. From the tracks found in August, it was apparent that he was still using last year’s route. I placed the stand along his route, less than 150 yards from his bedding area, specifically to tag into him. Though this was a buck stand, I knew the does were dropping down the point, as well. I was extremely confident that I could fill my doe tag there. Because it had nearly undetectable entrance and exit routes, I figured I could safely doe hunt it. After all, the does should come through first. All I had to do was drop a lethal hit on one and wait until the buck passed before leaving the stand. Then, I could come back the next morning, after the buck had returned to his bed, and slip her out undetected. To complicate matters slightly, the wind direction would blow towards the buck’s bedding area, resulting in him at least having to cross downwind at some point. Though I would never recommend that others ignore the wind, I go to such odor controlling extremes that I’m not afraid to hunt stands with “bad” winds. (For a full description of the steps I take, see my column here on bowhunting.net. Though written several years ago, the only changes are that I now use Hawgs Limited’s Vanishing Hunter to gargle with after brushing my teeth and often wear Elimitrax.) It worked to perfection. That is except for the buck showing up first. Scanning the area, I noticed a set of stationary antlers about seventy yards out. As he stood still directly down wind, leaves blocked his entire body. Even with the naked eye, that’s all it took to determine he was a shooter. Closing the distance, he began browsing around my stand, offering numerous gift wrapped 15-20 yard shot opportunities. Of course, all I could do was watch. Then, to add insult to injury, the does and fawns began trickling past. With him standing there, all I could do was leave my Mathews Outback hung on its peg. I ended the afternoon with a bevy of awesome footage and an empty doe tag. Still, a thrilling hunt, to say the least! NEXT, Day 4 Bluff Country Outfitters
Phone: 608-685 3755
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