raywriter
10-24-2010, 05:19 PM
I've taken advantage of the nice weather to bowhunt the past week. On Wed. 10-20 I killed a nice 8 point buck at 9:30 a.m. He had a 17" spread at the widest outside edges and weighed 155# field dressed. Not a trophy, but a great experience with a bow.
Hunting from a portable stand at 22', I had a doe and fawn hanging around. I had created a mock scrape before sunrise, and burned a Tink's "All Season Smoke Stix". When the doe walked behind some spruce, I made a kind of extended doe bleat with my call and the buck answered. I made another short doe bleat and he answered again. I had not seen the buck, just heard him.
The real doe appeared again, and I had to stop moving. The buck grunted again. When he grunted a third time, I at least knew he was interested. He entered a shooting lane, walked directly to the mock scrape, and chewed the overhanging branches I placed. He then walked to the burned out Smoke Stix and smelled the ground there.
I'm sure he also smelled the real doe and was trying to sort out the scent signals he was getting. As soon as he moved into a position that offered a shot when his eyes were concealed (if I could not seee his eyes, he could not see me), I made a solid lung/top of the heart shot and he plied up in about 125 yards. I know this could make me sound like some kind of expert, but in reality, it was a case where I was paying attention and a lot of things just went right.
Hunting from a portable stand at 22', I had a doe and fawn hanging around. I had created a mock scrape before sunrise, and burned a Tink's "All Season Smoke Stix". When the doe walked behind some spruce, I made a kind of extended doe bleat with my call and the buck answered. I made another short doe bleat and he answered again. I had not seen the buck, just heard him.
The real doe appeared again, and I had to stop moving. The buck grunted again. When he grunted a third time, I at least knew he was interested. He entered a shooting lane, walked directly to the mock scrape, and chewed the overhanging branches I placed. He then walked to the burned out Smoke Stix and smelled the ground there.
I'm sure he also smelled the real doe and was trying to sort out the scent signals he was getting. As soon as he moved into a position that offered a shot when his eyes were concealed (if I could not seee his eyes, he could not see me), I made a solid lung/top of the heart shot and he plied up in about 125 yards. I know this could make me sound like some kind of expert, but in reality, it was a case where I was paying attention and a lot of things just went right.