Captainkirk's 2019 Hunting Thread

Tell us your Traditional Bow Hunting experiences
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stumper
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Re: Captainkirk's 2019 Hunting Thread

#81 Post by stumper »

Love following your hunts. I'm headed out on Friday even though the solar lunar says it's bad. I just need some sanity back.
Nothing clears a troubled mind like shooting a bow.

Captainkirk
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Re: Captainkirk's 2019 Hunting Thread

#82 Post by Captainkirk »

Day 7...last day

Well, the season ended on a high note, anyway. If anyone could custom order a perfect day from Amazon, they'd have a tough time beating yesterday. The weather was absolutely flawless! Sunny, mid-fifties, winds calm and prevailing from the southeast...walked out to the blind about 3 o'clock for the evening hunt. It was warm enough that I was sweating a little in my thermal henley by the time I reached my blind, but just a little. About halfway to my stand, I was trudging along, lost in thought, when I jumped a very nice sized doe that I had no clue was there; she waved the white flag of derision at me and blew twice as she disappeared into the cattails to the west. I considered briefly setting up my blind right then and there in a clump of trees and trying to call her back in, but then remembered the rules about stands or blinds having to be 75 yards minimum from all trails. There were huge expanses of cattail swamp on either side of the trail, with only maybe 20 feet of grass/brush/trees between the trail and the swamp, So, no-go. Plus, there might be a hunter in a stand somewhere where I couldn't see him. Not wanting to be a repeat of 'Chunky', I moved along. Once again, mine was the only truck in the lot. Do these guys that draw permits actually hunt, or did they tag out early and go home? I guess most of the stand guys might have hunted that morning, then taken down their stands and steps and walked out in the early evening or afternoon. Anyway, I was totally alone, both going in and coming out. I had 900 acres to myself.
As I mentioned, the weather was unbelievable; I felt just fine in a camo henley for the first two hours, and only with a camo shirt over it (no jacket required!) as the sun began it's downward trek and the shadows began to lengthen; the greens of the forest take on that bright yellow-green hue, you can see the sun reflecting off the gossamer strands of spider web strung between seemingly every pair of branches, and the breezes suddenly drop off to gentle occasional puffs...the 'witching hour' in the forest glades and glens. Chipmunks and squirrels chatter and rustle about in the leaves, one so near I observed his brown-and-black stripe pattern in minute detail and stared at his little black eyes for minutes, he totally oblivious to my presence. Another little feller kept repeatedly climbing up atop a 12 inch stick poking up off a fallen log not 20 yards from my stand and silhouetting himself against the sunlit meadow; fairly taunting me to take a pop at him (I'm sure Maurice Thompson would not have passed up the chance) but I chose not to take the bait. "Sorry, little buddy", I whispered under my breath, "this is your lucky day". Though a bug or two was visible in the lengthening sunlight, none bothered me. The cold of the previous two days had seen to that. A little after 4pm the sun's rays broke though the tree tops and shone directly on me; right in my eyes, so I turned my back to them and had a perfect view toward the east, as the sun's rays warmed my back and shoulders. I was at perfect peace and in perfect harmony with the woods around me; I wished this moment could last for hours, days, even...I would sit there silently taking in the sights and sounds and smells of the deer woods forever. But Nature doesn't play that way; she's a stingy mistress and a fickle one at that; witness just the day before when I sat right here shaking with the cold and damp! And so, a moment of perfection in the wild slips away as the Sun King continues on his never-ending journey. A little after 5 the sun dipped down behind the still-leafy trees on the horizon, and immediately I could feel the warmth and light begin to wane and the cooler night air begin to slip in, like a browsing deer quietly slips from spot to spot. By 5:15 I knew it was time to put on the camo shirt as the temperature and light continued to drop. I knew I would have less than an hour to shoot or call it a hunt, and I sat there, quiet as a church mouse waiting for either one to happen. Sunset was at 6:11, and I knew 6:30 would be about the end of visibility here deep under the forest canopy. Shortly after 6, I heard noises from behind me (off in the distance behind the 'pee tree') and it sounded like it might possibly be a deer browsing quietly. I briefly considered a last minute stalk, but the brush and brambles are so thick back there...plus standing water from all the recent rains...that I knew I'd get busted before I'd gone 50 feet, and besides, I would be upwind of whatever was back there. No, better to sit and see if whatever it was would work my way.
I softly grunted on my call, but heard nothing in reply. My eyes carefully scanned the brush for signs of movement; any movement, while my ears were locked at full attention. At 6:15, although I had decided to sit until 6:30, the light was dimming too much for anything but a chip shot, but still, I reckoned I'd take it if offered.
What a difference ten minutes makes!...by 6:30 I knew I'd better get packing or I'd be walking out in the dark, so I packed up and began the long trek back to my rusty old Dodge. I was calling it a wrap, not sorry, but still with a twinge of regret on my heart. As I crossed the little wooden foot bridge, a rather large pack of 'yotes began howling to beat the band off in the distance; some with the deeper, mournful drawn-out howls, others with the high pitched "yip-yip-yip" of smaller ones; this went on for nearly a minute and I wondered if they were simply howling like a bunch of drunks at the local bar, or had run some poor hapless critter down and were having a tailgate party over the carcass? I walked on, and the deep green of the trail gradually blackened as I trudged on silently, save for the scuffing of my boots on the trail and my breathing. The K-Mag rocked back and forth over my fingers as I carried it loosely by the string; I had found if I lay the string loosely across my fingers with my thumb on the nockset, it was perfectly balanced and light as a feather. Light, silent, natural...very different from a rifle or compound bow. Very natural feeling. I marveled at Fred Bear's genius and creativity, feeling a kindred spirit between myself and the bow.
By the time I reached the chuckhole, there was barely enough light to to see it without a flashlight, but only because I knew where it was. I skirted it and continued to trudge through the now-wet-with-dew longer grass of the first part of the trail.
By the time I reached the gravel path, it was flat-out dark. The moon had not yet risen, but the white-ish gravel trail reflected enough ambient light to see where I was walking and avoid the puddles, remnants of Friday's wash-out. I arrived at the still-empty parking lot, stowed my gear, and took one long, last look and listen, and thanked the Good Lord for a wonderful cup of experiences brimming over, despite the fact the freezer is still empty. Welp, that's why they made Walmart with a meat department. ;)
Aim small, miss small!

stumper
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Re: Captainkirk's 2019 Hunting Thread

#83 Post by stumper »

Nicely told kirk. Beauty seems to abound where you hunt. Loved all of the tales.
Nothing clears a troubled mind like shooting a bow.

Captainkirk
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Re: Captainkirk's 2019 Hunting Thread

#84 Post by Captainkirk »

stumper wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2019 9:42 am Nicely told kirk. Beauty seems to abound where you hunt. Loved all of the tales.
Thanks, Dave, for the kind words. I reckon beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just looks like a bunch of trees to most folks... 8-)
Aim small, miss small!

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Graps
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Re: Captainkirk's 2019 Hunting Thread

#85 Post by Graps »

“Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person.”
-- Fred Bear

“If you consider an unsuccessful hunt to be a waste of time, then the true meaning of the chase eludes you all together.”
-- Fred Bear

“A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be.”
-- Fred Bear
"Maybe the truly handicapped people are the ones that don't need God as much." ~ Joni Eareckson Tada

Captainkirk
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Re: Captainkirk's 2019 Hunting Thread

#86 Post by Captainkirk »

Graps wrote: Tue Oct 15, 2019 1:38 pm “Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person.”
-- Fred Bear

“If you consider an unsuccessful hunt to be a waste of time, then the true meaning of the chase eludes you all together.”
-- Fred Bear

“A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be.”
-- Fred Bear

Couldn't have said it better, Dale. ;)
Aim small, miss small!

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Grizzly
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Re: Captainkirk's 2019 Hunting Thread

#87 Post by Grizzly »

I've never really liked cleaning and dragging anyway. But. I always enjoyed the hunt and the time spent alone with all of God's creation. You never knew what might happen and so much of it fills the memory banks with many wonderful tales of the experience.
Jesus replaces the old covenant and speaks to the believer the moral code of God by His Spirit directly to the heart. He is the eternal, everlasting revelation of God to mankind. In Him is both the knowledge of righteousness and the power to live right.

Captainkirk
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Re: Captainkirk's 2019 Hunting Thread

#88 Post by Captainkirk »

For posterity's sake, here is *approximately* where I set up my blind:

Image

The lighter areas on either side are cattails and swampy grassland. Any of you fellers see what you might consider a better spot to hunt on this map?
I thought about going back deeper, but would have to do a bunch of tramping down thorns and finding crossing areas for the water. It would make walking in/out in the dark much more difficult, and because it's on public land, you can't trim or brush hog and of the vegetation unless you just tramp it down with your boots.
When I hunted this spot back in 2016, I did got back another 100 yards or so, but found myself pretty exposed without a real blind...plus, I never saw any deer.
Aim small, miss small!

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Grizzly
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Re: Captainkirk's 2019 Hunting Thread

#89 Post by Grizzly »

follow your arrow another inch into that "V" neck area. What is that?
Jesus replaces the old covenant and speaks to the believer the moral code of God by His Spirit directly to the heart. He is the eternal, everlasting revelation of God to mankind. In Him is both the knowledge of righteousness and the power to live right.

Captainkirk
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Re: Captainkirk's 2019 Hunting Thread

#90 Post by Captainkirk »

Grizzly wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2019 8:28 pm follow your arrow another inch into that "V" neck area. What is that?
That's where I was just talking about...where I sat once in 2016. Really heavy on briars and thorns, no way to get in or out safely in darkness.
Aim small, miss small!

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