Successful Crossbow Hunt - 07Nov21

[Johnsfolly]

A couple of clarifying statements; this hunt was in Maryland, Maryland allows baiting on private lands, Maryland limits Sunday hunting to only a few Sundays a year and again on private land only.

We rent a house where the back yard buts up against a large woodlot that is owned by our landlord. He leases that woodlot, but allows us to hunt about a 1/3 to 1/2 acre right behind the house. We have been baiting this area with corn and minerals for the last few years. There is a fair amount of deer using this woodlot over the years. This year we saw the largest amount of deer activity thus far. I have a ground blind tucked in some brush that is not more that 25 to 30 feet from the house. We can see our bait and into the woodlot from the house and try to be careful to not be seen by the deer when we are in the house, especially by bucks that have quickly turned nocturnal with any perceived disturbance.

We have three does with young that frequent the baits in the yard. Here are two fawns, a doe and a button buck (in the foreground) with some of the largest pedicels I have seen on a button buck. Going to leave that guy alone for now 😉.

They are in the yard just behind the house and the blind is just to the left in the brush.

Since the bow season began we have been seeing a fair number of different bucks. One tiny spike buck that was likely a button buck running around the yard last year. (his mom ended up in our freezer). Two different larger three and four point bucks have been seen on multiple occasions. Sue saw a giant 10 pt. But he also have a unique piebald buck. We saw him once from the house during the week of the 24th of Oct. I wasn't hunting the morning of the 30th and I saw him go through the woodlot. After that encounter, I got ready to hunt and he came into one of the baits. I texted my daughter to see if she could get photos from the house which she did but aren't great photos. 

I watched him for over 15 mins until he gave me a broadside shot. As soon as I hit the trigger, I saw the bolt fly erratically and hit into the ground 15 feet in front of the buck. In my haste to get hunting I must have cocked the bow wrong, since the string pushed the bolt to the left. I could smell the friction from the vane. The buck was briefly startled and slowly walked back into the woodlot. We lubed the rail and I shot several times the next day and all the bolts hit where I was aiming 🤔. I haven't seen him since.

We tried fishing on Sat the 6th with a plan for me to hunt on the 7th which was one of five Sundays that I could hunt before Dec (when I get four more). since we got home after dark, I was only able to put out a quarter bag of corn in one bait spot). Here are the encounters that day (times are approximate).

A doe we suspect was one of the doe fawns that was all around the house and yard last year (sister to the button buck I talked about earlier). She had a fawn late and it still has spots (6:45 am).

The doe that has the doe and button buck in the above photos (7 or 7:10 am). 

A doe with two doe fawns (7:30 am).

I long distance buck sighting heading deep into the woodlot (7:45 am).

Nothing from 8 am til 10. I was able to get out more corn in a couple other spots and replenish the one the does were hitting in the early morning.

10:30 am A smallish 6 or 7 pt on the replenished pile and was quartering to me. Was planning to shoot him if he turned broadside. After a few mins a small forkhorn with a busted antler came in from the left and pushed him off the pile. Instead of turning broadside and heading off to my right he spun and walked back into the woodlot. The forkhorn only gave me a head on shot while at the pile. He then went off to the left.

10:50 The two doe fawns came in to the replenished pile. They kept looking back into the woodlot. I could see a doe running back there. She went to the left then the right and back left again. Then she eased in to feed next to her fawns while breathing hard. Five minutes or so the forkhorn came back and she trotted off into the woodlot. The fawns followed the doe. The forkhorn went off after them.

11:50 An older 7 pt came in from woodlot on my right. He nosed the corn piles but was not interested in feeding. He didn't give me a shot and walked off to the left. I used a doe in estrus can call and made two calls. About 3 to 5 mins later the buck was back and looking my way for the doe he heard. He passed behind a tree that I knew was about 38 yards from me. I bleated and he stopped broadside. I estimated a 40 yd shot. He didn't drop down at the shot, whihc would have helped since he was more likely 42 to 43 yds and the bolt hit him lower than I would like. He took off into the woodlot. My wife was watching from the kitchen. We let things sit for about 20 mins and then went to look for blood where he was standing and to find the bolt. We didn't see any blood, but the bolt was covered in blood. No gut smell. I felt better about the hit. We let him lay for about 90 mins. Sue found the first spots of blood and the trailing began. I would have liked a heavier blood trail, but the three of us persisted on little drops of blood on many leaves that had red coloration. After about 80 to 90 yds we got heavier blood. He looked like at one point he had bedded for stood in one spot before moving on again. Maybe that was at the time we were looking for the bolt. Later on in the tracking the blood was sparse again. I had found a couple of small spots and pointed those out to Sue and that I thought that he may have passed where she was standing. She gave me a hard time since there was a large streak of blood behind her 🙄. We found him dead after another 25 yds. Total track was about 160 yds.

Though I hit him low, the Rage cut through the lungs and did its job!

I had already planned on being out on Monday, which we spent butchering the deer. I prefer to hang them longer, but with temps expected in the 70's this week, we broke him down quickly.

I hope that others are having eventful archery season as well!

As an FYI the doe with the spotted fawn were back on the bait Monday morning. No more hunting for me at least until this next weekend, maybe.

 

 

 

[snagged in outlet 3]

 Nice!!  I'd like see you guys get that piebald!!  That would be cool.

[Terrierman]

Missouri should adopt those rules.  We are covered up around here.

[nomolites]

I was able to tag buck #1 Sunday…it was warm here as well so I butchered him that night even though I like to hang at least over night - made for a long day but worth the effort. Need at least one more ….winter is coming.

[Quillback]

Way to go guys!

[Johnsfolly]

50 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

 Nice!!  I'd like see you guys get that piebald!!  That would be cool.

I hope so as well. Sue and I both saw him that first day and both figured that he would be an expensive deer. Definitely would make a visit to the taxidermist. The genetics are here. I had never seen one in the wild until we moved here. I have now seen a piebald doe that was about 70% white and a fawn that was about 95% white.

Fingers crossed.

[Johnsfolly]

39 minutes ago, Terrierman said:

Missouri should adopt those rules.  We are covered up around here.

I hope that you are referring to the baiting on private land and not the lack of full Sunday hunting. 

[Johnsfolly]

28 minutes ago, nomolites said:

I was able to tag buck #1 Sunday…it was warm here as well so I butchered him that night even though I like to hang at least over night - made for a long day but worth the effort. Need at least one more ….winter is coming.

Congrats on a great deer! Good luck on a second.

[Terrierman]

13 minutes ago, Johnsfolly said:

I hope that you are referring to the baiting on private land and not the lack of full Sunday hunting. 

Yes the baiting part.

[Terrierman]

41 minutes ago, nomolites said:

I was able to tag buck #1 Sunday…it was warm here as well so I butchered him that night even though I like to hang at least over night - made for a long day but worth the effort. Need at least one more ….winter is coming.

Nice one!