Alrighty! 4hrs sleep and was up getting ready this morning.
Slid in a tad later than I wanted but did not bump anything. Was in stand just after 7am on the NE corner of the property. SSW winds 5-8mph, so this was about all I could do for a stand if I wanted to hunt today. Deer were actively moving. Saw 15 deer up to about 8am then things quieted down. Would occasionally see some stand up, mill around, nibble on some grasses, then bed down again in the distance. Unfortunately, 14 of these deer moved 100-200yds west of me. Kinda sucks when you watch them come in, cross the food sources, and bed down, but you just can't do anything but watch. However, if you are playing the wind, trying your best to keep the deer unpressured, and not on the offensive, this is not terrible. Besides the fact, I felt one of my target bucks was spending most of his time in the field directly behind me and downwind of me.
Fast forward to 9am. Here comes a basket 6 or 8pt on full spring followed by a "deer's length" by a bigger buck. The larger of the two was probably 100-110" deer but I could not get a great look given their speed. I could tell he was at least an 8pt, had good mass, and was just inside his ears. And to think I was beginning to think about getting out of the stand?
I stay put for another 30minutes. I am not sure if they were spooked by a coyote, someone was on the property to the north of me, or (hopefully) there was a big boy that ran them off. I could occasionally hear what I thought was antlers rubbing on a tree or leaves crunching behind me. I would turn to look and see nothing. Keep in mind, the visibility behind my stand is minimal. Too many saplings growing up in the overgrown fence row I was sitting in. I have great cover. There are great shot opportunities to the west and south, but to my east or north it is an overgrown fence row. Finally, at around 10am I decide I am going to pack up while there is a train covering some of my noise going by on the tracks.
I slide down the stand, nock my arrow again, and decide to do a stealthy walk along the fence row edge/property line to look for scrapes and rubs. As I get 1/2 to 2/3 of the way down the fence row I look into the overgrown field. I was examining broken off tree limbs, and multiple shredded shrubs/trees. I notice a huge bush in the middle of the field about 6' tall and the size of my truck bed. Am I seeing things? Those look like some antlers in there. I grab my binoculars and look. Hard to tell. I stand up and look to find some typical antlers on one side with the other side well concealed. For only seeing one side, there was some major mass and antlers taking place inside that bush! I kneel back down and shed my Gamegear Bowbag. I am down to a grunt tube, bow, and binoculars making my plan of attack. I was down wind. I was 30 yards from this buck's cover. I had no shot. I was on a mowed path which allowed me to stalk/walk to the truck quietly, but to get any closer I am going to have to go through a field of stubble and weeds. Not going to be quiet and the winds are pretty calm at the time. I decide to sit tight and wait. Hopefully another train comes through soon.
I considered finding better cover and attempting to grunt or rattle towards the buck. I just didn't know if he was facing me or looking away. I didn't know if he had seen me or was cluelessly bedded. I am still sitting tight for now approximately 10-15minutes. I finally see the slightest movement and I come up off my heels which I was resting my butt checks on and prepare to draw. Too late. He runs directly away from me with the bush still blocking any potential shot. He made 3-5 bounds and was in the corner of the field maybe 75yds away. He stops to look back. I am still on my knees holding my bow like it was a nerf bow. Might as well have been. It was pretty useless at this point. After looking back, he takes another hop, then seems to just walk off into the cover of the fence row and woods.
He did give me enough of a look to know which buck it was though. It was the double main beam buck. Yep. One of the bucks on my hitlist. Tall, heavy, awesome typical side, and one funky side. Strike two for me. Had him in the same field earlier in the week for over an hour watching him as close as 50-60yds. Had him on the ground at 30yds today. That old buck is pretty sharp. Give me time though. He will slip up sooner or later.
Time on stand 715-1015am
Deer seen: 18
Shots taken: Zip
