Well this post is coming late, as I had no coverage while in Ohio this trip and I have been swamped at work since returning back to Alabama. Our first day in the stand this year was Sunday the 8th. We saw 42 deer that day between myself and my buddy! I had an opportunity at a very big 10 that evening, but I read my range finder wrong and shot just under his rib cage. I read it at 40, but after the shot and shooting video of the brute walking away, I shot the distance again and it was actually 49. My older range finder has a black display and the 0's and 9's look very similar. On the second evening, I went back to the same area and set up about 100 yards up the hill on a huge hardwood flat in between two properties and in view of a large green field. At 3:30 I heard rustling at the base of the hill, the spot I was at the previous day. I watched this buck jump off of about a 6 foot tall ledge and land in a dry creek bed. The sound of him landing on the loose rocks sounded like a car crash! He started down the creek going away from me. I took out my can call and turned it over twice, followed by a couple of quick grunts. The buck stopped in his tracks, made a quick scrape and then headed my way. I lost him for a few seconds and could no longer hear him either. I was standing and waiting to draw all the while trying to locate the buck. In a flash, he topped the hill and was standing looking up at me, 25 foot up the tree, about 25 yards away. After a a lengthy stare down, he decided that the doe he heard was more important and continued on. I was able to draw on him as he went behind a white oak. My arrow made contact at 18 yards. He ran about 60 yards and stood in front of me for several minutes. He even worked over a small bushy tree twice before his right back leg began to shake. It was an awesome experience and it was even cooler to know I was able to call him up the hill. Calls just don't work like that down here. 50 more weeks and I'll be back at it.
