Russkull's Bow Buck

[Harley]

Russell traveled 1000 miles from Houston to Atlanta to hunt with me opening weekend of bow season. This is his birthday weekend, opening weekend and first bow hunt, ever.

There were six of us on the property, but Russell was the only one to see a deer. He shot this six pointer at daybreak this morning at 25 yards. He said that when he first tried aiming at the deer, he couldn't locate the dot in his Anchor Sight, and was forced to take his time steadying his aim and correcting his form. (That's the best thing about the Anchor Sight, it won't let you make a mistake in form.)

After shooting the buck, he came to my stand to get help in tracking, but there was blood on both sides of the trail and we easily found the deer after 200 yards.

On his job, Russell is used to swimming with sharks and manta rays, but reports that buck fever was so bad he could hear ringing in his ears and thought he might fall out of his stand.

The G5 Montec CS hit just behind the rib cage, angled forward through two liver lobes, clipped an off-side rib, then traveled ten feet before sticking upright in the dirt. The broadhead shows no damage.

Harley

[deadon]

Happy Birth Week Russell, Hope this is one of many you and Harley will be posting over the years. I don't know how many I have killed but my knees still get weak after each one. Congratulations, Rusty

[Dave W]

Congratulations Russ and thanks for the great recap Lloyd!

[lastofthebreed]

Russell traveled 1000 miles from Houston to Atlanta to hunt with me opening weekend of bow season. This is his birthday weekend, opening weekend and first bow hunt, ever.

birthday buck on your 1st bow hunt......way to go!

[ET]

Harley

What a great story and ending with a;
- first bow-hunt
- first deer kill with a bow
- celebrating a birthday at the same time

It don’t get a whole lot better than this.
Congrats Russell and I bet your dad was not only happy for you but proud of your accomplishment.

Hey Dad I bet you helped with some good coaching to help make this happen.
Now it’s your turn.

Ed

[dougedwards]

Wonderful story and a great birthday present. I can tell that Dad is probably even more tickled than the shooter. Good job Russell!

Doug

[Harley]

Thank you all for your responses; Russell will be on his way back to Houston and the Gulf of Mexico in the morning. I stupidly forgot some essential medical supplies at the cabin, and will have to go back to get them, tomorrow.

It could just be that I'll sit on his stand in the evening.

Harley

[smokeless77]

Russell

Happy birthday, And congrats on your first bow buck.

John

[russkull]

Thank you, everyone, for you thoughtful comments. It was a wonderful experience. I'm hooked! I have almost lost interest in my rifles, now. Can't wait to do it again. Without Harley's help and coaching, this never would have happened. What a great weekend!!!

[ozark]

Fantastic, I am always happy to hear of hunting success but even more happy to know that Buck fever is still with us. I was calm as a cucumber getting my first one. I had no idea I had buck fever until I started having trouble getting my pocket knife into the chamber for a second shot. Seriously, most of my buck fever has left me but I still get a surge of it when one appears and it is action time. May it never completely leave us. It is what draws us back year after year. Congratulations. I read a lot about Harlie. I would bet that he is the real McCoy. Ben

[smokeless77]

ozark

I think if that same feeling left me, I would probably hang up the hunting.
Like you said that's what it is all about.

John

[Harley]

Well, I sat on Russell's stand yesterday evening (see my reply #6, above). A decent doe came over the hill, aiming straight for me; I couldn't move, but knew she had to turn one way or the other, sooner or later. At 37 yards, she "shrieked", a sound I never heard before, swapped ends like a trophy buck and was gone.

There was no wind, I didn't make any movement and she appeared nervous from the moment she first appeared. The only thing I can think of is she sensed all the tramping around Russell and I did the day before when we were tracking, then dragging his deer.

I've seen deer walk up to a dead deer I've just shot, sniff it and go on about their business; other times they have shied away, but nothing this dramatic.

My question: After walking around your stand, or after putting up a new stand, how long do you wait before you hunt it?

Harley

[Dave W]

Same day. I used to take my stand out everyday unless I knew I would be back the next day. I moved around a lot and rarely hunted the same spot more than one or two days with the exception being the rut when you see bucks roaming out of their core areas.

[DBinNY]

Russell, congrats on your first bow kill. That animal is almost identical to my first so many years ago. I remember the feeling and I'm sure you are very pleased. I have a strong feeling that it won't be your last.

Harley, those old does make most bucks look stupid. They don't miss much. Mess up once and you won't kill her from that stand. I've heard that noise way too many times and when you do, it's game over. What really irritates me is when they lower their head, move it back and forth and stamp their feet. Makes you want to set the bow aside, grab the muzzle loader, and blow them over. Believe it or not, sometimes the best time to hunt a stand is the day you set it up. I would consider letting that stand rest for a week or so to let things settle down.

[dougedwards]

I put up stands in the winter after the season but find myself hunting from a climber most of the time. As I see deer sign and patterns I need to be mobile but as far as permanent stands I rarely hunt from any particular stand more than two or three times per season. It seems that deer are much better at determining human patterns than we are at figuring out their patterns.

Doug

[Harley]

Doug, I no longer use my climber during bow season; it's usually about 90+* and by the time I work the climber, I'm soaked with sweat.

DaveW, if you're talking about using a climber that is pretty much a hunt the same day sort of thing for most people, and nobody argues against the success rate using climbing stands; but, attaching a climbing stand generally doesn't involve all the pruning and brush clearing of shooting lanes that you get into with a "fixed" stand. It's all that extra activity that leads to the advice to stay away for a period of time.

DB, I certainly agree I "educated" that particular doe, and I agree that I should not hunt that stand for a week, but the only reason deer are coming to it is because the red oak acorns are falling. In a week the deer and the acorns will be gone, so why not take my chances, now?

Okay, I think I'm in a bad situation. Russell commented to me, and my own experience confirms that the line of sight to the killing field from the stand is cut off in large part by three big trees that just happen to line up in the way. I want to move the stand about 10 yards. I probably should do that, then wait a week to hunt it, but like I said the acorns will be gone by then. On the other hand, maybe moving the stand and hunting it the same day is the way to go.

Bottom line, I'm moving the stand and hunting it this Friday evening; got nothing to lose but time. I'll report how smart or stupid that plan turns out to be.

Harley

[rjhans53]

I've always heard that after a kill you should stay out for 3 days. There is something about critters and 3 days. You wean calves, the old cows and the calves will bawl for 3 days and 3 nights and they are done, don't understand it but I've lived it and seen it. I've killed a doe in the afternoon and the next morning got another one out of the same stand with a bow. I've shot a small buck out of a stand with a gun and the boy shot a doe the next day. I guess my whole coment is when you think you have it all figured out you don't, heck she could of seen a rattler that you didn't notice, never can tell

[ozark]

Deer in a wilderness area or deep within the forest where humans are seldom seen and when seen they are in a predator mode. Deer that see humans and vehicles daily get accustomed to their activities and don't flee on sight or scent. With that said, let me point out that deer are very sensitive to change and can read body language of a human, dog, coyote or bear. They detect normal behavior and sense that there is no danger. But when a human or other creature gets in a predator mode they pick it up instantly. You can work cutting wood, hay, bushhogging or building a blind and they will stand and watch without fear. Pick up a rifle and crouch down and they will start waving the dish towel at you. They eat at my feeder with my pickup parked at my sta-Cab only twenty yards away. I think we can say that they are forever alert but only flee when they detect real danger. Does are more suspicious than bucks and I think bucks and younger deer rely on the old does to signal danger. I don't know that we smell differently when we are in a hunting mode or not. But I wouldn't be surprised if we do. Also, deer that have been recently frightened are in a code blue alert system for several minutes. This is just my opinion cultivated by many years watching, filming and hunting these wonderful animals. My opinions may not be totally factual. Ben

[Harley]

rjhans53 and Ozark, I'm in total agreement with all your comments. I never even stare directly at a deer I want to shoot, having no doubt they can sense even that.

Harley

[dougedwards]

Ben, you say that your findings may not be totally factual. My findings is that every time I suspect that I have the whitetail figured out the animal makes a fool of me. There is just no hard and fast rules that you can make concerning this elusive creature which is why I hesitated to respond to Harley's question. Each particular situation stands on it's own which is why us old guys need to rely on our instincts and let the younger guys figure everything out. The day that hunting ceases to be about "feeling" will be the day that I hang up my weapons and succumb to sitting in a rocking chair on the porch with my wife on cool autumn days. I'm not quite there yet.

Doug

[Harley]

Okay, I guess this is my last post on this subject. I did move the stand to a better location about 40 yards from its original position; then hunted it the same evening. I saw nothing, not even squirrels. Yesterday, I scouted for several hours and came to the conclusion that the entire property, about 1100 acres, is mostly unhuntable, right now. The red oak acorns have quit falling and are all gone. The white oaks have not begun to fall, the clover food plots are burned by the 100* temps, and the corn fields are dry as paper.

I'm worn out from two weeks of hunting in this heat and probably will stay home till the weather changes. Maybe I'll shoot the ML during the one week of ML season, then go back to the bow for the rest of the year.

Harley