Arkansas Hunting banner

Couldn't Get It Done

457 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  hortonhunter 
#1 ·
Well, I couldn't get it done Saturday afternoon. The squirrells had been knocking acorns out of a big white oak behind me all day, and I knew it was just a matter of time before a deer came to the sound. At about 5:30 Saturday evening I looked back to the white oak and saw movement coming down the other side of the ravine my stand is sitting on the edge of. My first thought was that it was a mature doe by the large body size. It came to the sound of the falling acorns from out of a thicket with scattered cedars on the other side of the ravine. I was looking at it through my binoculars when I noticed the antlers. It was a four point. The same one we'd been seeing for the past three years. Only this year his rack was a little wider and heavier, but he was still a four point, at least I thought so. I hung my bow back up and watched for a few minutes. He was only about 30 yards down the hill from me. I was looking at him through my binoculars when he turned just right and I saw a sticker brow tine on him. That made him a five point this year. I got my bow and looked for an opportunity to take him out of the gene pool. It was too thick down there for me to get a shot at him. He fed for 40 minutes behind me. Once he was 25 yards with his heart/lung area wide open, but there was limbs hanging from above between him and me. When I tried to drop down to make more room for my arrow to clear the low hanging limbs, the tree tops from the trees behind my stand came up and blocked my view. He fed around and gave me clear looks at his vitals, one at 15 yards, but each time the same problem with limbs. If it had been muzzleloader season, I could've taken him easily. Finally, he finished and moved toward the opening to the side of my stand. I watched him walk toward the opening, and had my bow up waiting for him nose to hit the opening at which time I would draw on him, and as soon as he cleared the brush, I would've shot him at about 12 steps. The only problem was that as he was walking, he noticed something on down the hill from us. He stopped just 5 feet from the opening and looked down the hill. He then turned and walked down the hill and out of sight. I think back now, wondering if I should've tried to thread an arrow through there, but my better judgement keeps telling me no. Oh well, if he's bedding in the thicket across from me, it's just a matter of time before he shows himself again. And then, he better hope I've just got my bow with me, and he keeps lots of brush between us.
 
See less See more
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top