With the overnight rain the walk in the dark up the leaf-covered path was quiet. I got settled in my chain-on “Ravine Stand” around 6:15. The stand is about 18 feet up a tree that is just off the path and on the east hillside of a North-South ravine. It is about 14 yards from my stand to the bottom of the ravine according to my range finder. In past years I have taken deer from that stand that travel the opposite hillside. Most of the time in past years they would come down the hill and cross the ravine bottom close to my stand. Other times they would come over the lip of the hillside behind my right shoulder and head past my stand.
This year the deer have been traveling higher up on the opposite hill way out of range. I have also had deer come over the lip behind my left shoulder and travel angling away from me and crossing the path somewhere between my stand and the road. It is so thick with honeysuckle, saplings and tangles that I normally can’t see them until they cross the ravine and travel up the hill some 50-60 yards away. I have been thinking about moving my stand down that way but I couldn’t find a good setup for it.
Around 7:15 it was still dark and gray out when I heard movement over my left shoulder. Now this is also an area that always has a lot of squirrel and chipmunk activty. The noises got steadier and it became apparent that it was more than one deer working their way through the honeysuckle and heading down to cross the path. Now, there is only a couple of openings that allow me to see the path beyond 20 yards or so from the stand. Through one of those windows I saw a doe quickly pass then seconds later another deer appeared and hesitated long enough that I could see that it was a buck with a tall rack. They then both crossed the bottom of the ravine and went up the other hillside. There was a clear spot on the lower part of the hill where they traveled and I got another look at him, he was a shooter for sure!
I tried rattling and blew my grunt tube hoping to get him to come my way but that didn’t happen. I figured that he and the doe moved on. I waited another half hour or so and rattled and grunted again, still no response. Another half hour or so later I thought I heard movement on the hillside where the deer had run up earlier. Suddenly I caught a glimpse of a deer heading down the hill towards the bottom of the ravine. When the deer traveled the last 20 feet of the hill I could tell it was the same buck that I had seen earlier.
I stood up, grabbed my Excalibur crossbow, and maneuvered it between the two tree trunks that my stand was in and pointed it down the path. I had time to give out a few grunts with the tube when I heard him walking in the rocky bottom of the ravine. As I heard him walk up the hill towards the path I found an opening in the honeysuckle with my scope that gave me a window to a spot on the path. A split second later he appeared in that window and hesitated. I then pulled the trigger and saw the blur of the orange lighted nock, follow by a loud whack.
The buck whorled to his right and recklessly crashed through some brush along the left side of the path. He then went about 30 yards and hung a right and headed across the ravine bottom and back up the hillside. I then lost sight of him but I could see the brush shaking as he advanced another 10 yards or so up the hill. Then the bushes stop shaking for a few seconds, followed my some slow movement back down the hill. Then nothing.
Was he down? Did I miss? Was the whack I heard the arrow sticking in the ground? Did he slip though the honeysuckle without bumping anything? We all know the thoughts that go through your head when you don’t see the deer fall within sight!
I forced myself to stay in the stand for a half hour before I would climb down and check my arrow. After getting down I reloaded my crossbow and slowly walked down the path to the arrow and saw this…
A few steps later the blood trail started. It was easy to follow. When the blood trail hit the ravine bottom I looked up the hill and saw this...
He Was Down!!! He was hung up on some honeysuckle and when I freed him he slid down to the bottom of the hill. He laid only 50 yards from my vehicle. After a few hero shot selfies I field dressed him and drug him the short distance from my Jeep.
I love a short drag. Looks like I’ll be working on another Euro mount this week.
This year the deer have been traveling higher up on the opposite hill way out of range. I have also had deer come over the lip behind my left shoulder and travel angling away from me and crossing the path somewhere between my stand and the road. It is so thick with honeysuckle, saplings and tangles that I normally can’t see them until they cross the ravine and travel up the hill some 50-60 yards away. I have been thinking about moving my stand down that way but I couldn’t find a good setup for it.
Around 7:15 it was still dark and gray out when I heard movement over my left shoulder. Now this is also an area that always has a lot of squirrel and chipmunk activty. The noises got steadier and it became apparent that it was more than one deer working their way through the honeysuckle and heading down to cross the path. Now, there is only a couple of openings that allow me to see the path beyond 20 yards or so from the stand. Through one of those windows I saw a doe quickly pass then seconds later another deer appeared and hesitated long enough that I could see that it was a buck with a tall rack. They then both crossed the bottom of the ravine and went up the other hillside. There was a clear spot on the lower part of the hill where they traveled and I got another look at him, he was a shooter for sure!
I tried rattling and blew my grunt tube hoping to get him to come my way but that didn’t happen. I figured that he and the doe moved on. I waited another half hour or so and rattled and grunted again, still no response. Another half hour or so later I thought I heard movement on the hillside where the deer had run up earlier. Suddenly I caught a glimpse of a deer heading down the hill towards the bottom of the ravine. When the deer traveled the last 20 feet of the hill I could tell it was the same buck that I had seen earlier.
I stood up, grabbed my Excalibur crossbow, and maneuvered it between the two tree trunks that my stand was in and pointed it down the path. I had time to give out a few grunts with the tube when I heard him walking in the rocky bottom of the ravine. As I heard him walk up the hill towards the path I found an opening in the honeysuckle with my scope that gave me a window to a spot on the path. A split second later he appeared in that window and hesitated. I then pulled the trigger and saw the blur of the orange lighted nock, follow by a loud whack.
The buck whorled to his right and recklessly crashed through some brush along the left side of the path. He then went about 30 yards and hung a right and headed across the ravine bottom and back up the hillside. I then lost sight of him but I could see the brush shaking as he advanced another 10 yards or so up the hill. Then the bushes stop shaking for a few seconds, followed my some slow movement back down the hill. Then nothing.
Was he down? Did I miss? Was the whack I heard the arrow sticking in the ground? Did he slip though the honeysuckle without bumping anything? We all know the thoughts that go through your head when you don’t see the deer fall within sight!
I forced myself to stay in the stand for a half hour before I would climb down and check my arrow. After getting down I reloaded my crossbow and slowly walked down the path to the arrow and saw this…
A few steps later the blood trail started. It was easy to follow. When the blood trail hit the ravine bottom I looked up the hill and saw this...
He Was Down!!! He was hung up on some honeysuckle and when I freed him he slid down to the bottom of the hill. He laid only 50 yards from my vehicle. After a few hero shot selfies I field dressed him and drug him the short distance from my Jeep.
I love a short drag. Looks like I’ll be working on another Euro mount this week.
