Two Eventful But Unproductive Days.

[Al Agnew]

So I bought my archery tags as soon as I got back to Missouri last week. Got a chance to go out behind the house Saturday evening. I knew I was going in a little late, about 4:30, but it was a bright sunshiny day, and I figured the deer would be coming into the food plot later.

I've got about a half-acre food plot in the middle of the woods in the middle of my 40 acres, with a decent stand of wheat and oats in it right now. I have a double seat ladder stand at the edge of the food plot, on the eastern side so that west, north, or south wind is all okay. The wind was coming out of the north, so instead of walking up the old road that leads to the north edge of the plot, I slipped through the woods on the south side to approach it from downwind. Only problem is, you don't "slip" through the woods right now. I was making a LOT of noise. There's a power line that goes over the food plot, and I finally got into the power line clearing just 15 yards or so from where it enters the plot, figuring that by that point I'd scared anything that was in the plot. I took a couple steps to where I could see the corner of the plot to my left...and there were two does, feeding away. I'm out after meat, not antlers, so this looked really good. I could slowly ease up the power line the last few yards, and have about a 20 yard shot. The wind was right, and apparently it was rustling the leaves on the trees at the edge of the plot so much that the deer hadn't heard me. I nocked an arrow, and started my final approach.

Then I heard something moving in the leaves just to my left, right where the power line clearing enters the plot. I froze, and turkeys started walking out into the plot, not more than ten yards away.

There were at least a dozen hens. I was right out in the open in plain sight of them, and I knew they'd bust me quickly. You can freeze and maybe fool a deer, but a dozen pairs of turkey eyes won't be fooled. Yet they kept coming out and milling around. Their eyes would go to me, but they didn't realize I was there. Of course, I couldn't move, let alone draw the bow (I wouldn't mind a nice hen turkey). They gradually moved across the plot, remaining in sight, always a couple with head raised and looking. Finally they got to the far corner and out of sight. But when I checked on the deer, at some point during the proceedings they had vacated the premises.

I trudged across the plot to my tree stand and climbed in. I'd planned to cut a few cedar boughs for more cover, since the stand is wide open to the plot and not all that high, but by this time it was getting late and I didn't want to make any more commotion, so I just sat still and waited. About a half hour before dark, a fat little buck emerged to my right. The antler point restrictions include Ste. Genevieve County, and he barely qualified, having four small points on one side. Cedar limbs kept him partially obscured, so I could draw the bow. He was about 25 yards out, so I set my sight at 25 yards, and drew. He stepped out into the open, but was facing me too much. I held draw. And then I felt a strong current of wind on the back of my neck. His head shot up, and he looked right at me. I could have released, trying for a chest shot going in at the base of his neck, but I knew that even at 25 yards, he was too alert and would probably jump the string. I'm not sure he ever really figured out I was there, but he was too nervous and wheeled to trot across the field and into the woods on other side as I let off the draw.

This afternoon, I got into the woods a little earlier. The wind was again from the north, but I figured I was getting in early enough that I'd be well settled before anything came. Wrong. As I approached on the old road, when I got a place where I could see through the trees, I saw a deer trotting out of the plot. Another, downwind of me through the trees, snorted several times and ran off. Well, beans. I walked on into the plot, cut a couple cedar boughs, and climbed up into the stand, taking plenty of time t situate them just right. Finally I settled in. More than an hour passed with nothing happening, and then I heard turkeys talking to each other off to my left. For a good half hour, they seemed to be milling around, just out of sight, as if they couldn't decide whether to come into the plot or not. Finally, without ever showing, they went silent. Not 15 minutes later, with the sun setting, I heard them on my other side, flying up to roost. As I was listening to them, I suddenly saw something coming up the lane leading into the plot. I put the binocs on it. It was a bobcat. It came into the plot, staying right along the edge, and circled to where it was right under me. There it stopped, once looking up at me, but mostly paying attention to something off to my left. Then it began to stalk, crouched, tail twitching. I tried to see what it was after but saw nothing. I had the binocs on it, watching it, when I just felt the presence of something else. I raised my eyes from the field glasses and looked back to my right, and there was the same buck, already in the middle of the plot. I'd set down the bow to watch the bobcat, and now I was wide open to the deer, and knew I wouldn't be able to move as much as I needed to do to grasp the bow and draw it. He was in a hurry, not stopping to feed, and soon disappeared. Meanwhile, the bobcat had also disappeared.

And I really didn't mind a bit. You don't have to kill a deer to have a good evening bowhunting.

[Justin Spencer]

_{You don't have to kill a deer to have a good evening bowhunting.}

Very true, passed up a spike last night and he then proceeded to chase off the does coming in that I was hoping to shoot. Saw lots of deer and tons of squirrels that kept warning each other of the hawks that kept swooping through the woods. Saw one carrying a squirrel away earlier in the day, glad he can get one, they seem too smart for me. Great to be out in the woods with a chill in the air!

[ruthead]

Sounds like an excellent hunt. Some of my best bowhunts ever I never released an arrow.

[jdmidwest]

So, do you shoot traditional bows or modern?

[Al Agnew]

Modern. Used to shoot traditional, but to tell you the truth, I don't want to take the time it takes to practice enough to be as proficient as I want to be with a traditional bow. With my compound, once I get it dialed in, I can shoot a few arrows a week and be pretty sure I can make a killing shot out to 40 yards. It's not that I don't like to shoot a bow, I do, but seems like there just isn't enough time in the day to get everything done and still have time to practice.

[jdmidwest]

I was really surprised you had the time to bowhunt. I gave that up several years ago when the kid came along. Then I started duck hunting and my Nov./Dec. fishing suffers.

[Justin Spencer]

Shot a doe last night and knew I hit her too far back so I let her lay. After shooting her saw many more does a couple small bucks and a possible shooter that I never got a very good look at. Went back to find doe this morning and saw 3 small bucks as I headed out. Found the deer about 60 yards from stand, quartering away shot leaves quite a bit of room for error, got lucky this time with poor shot placement.