Post by fishunter on Oct 12, 2012 11:02:10 GMT -4
2012 bow season arrived quickly this year for me. My brother, my father and I have been busily working on a camp for Ontario that is partially built here and trailered to Canada. One of my best friends and father-in-law have also been a tremendous help. Two of the three buildings we have built here this year, a shower house and a bunk house. My father's name is Bob and he's saved countless items over the years from multiple jobsites and they've all come in handy. We call his house "bob-achons". We've spent a lot of time working on the bunk house as of late due to Ontario also sneaking up on us. Lack of time had me wondering how much time I would actually spend in the tree this bow season. However, I stuck a trail camera out 2 weeks prior and got some daylight photos of a 7-pt that would fit well in the freezer. Needless to say that was in the back of my mind on opening weekend when we were lining the inside of the bunkhouse with plywood. Sunday (10/7) afternoon at 3:45 we finished. I dropped my toolbelt and flew to the woods as fast as I could with bow in hand. Slightly out of breath I climbed into the stand at 4:10 on the dot. As luck would have it the wind was covering my tracks as I crept through the hardwood leaves on my way in. Minutes after I climbed in the wind layed down flat, what luck. You could feel it in the air that the deer would be on their feet. At 4:30 I could hear footsteps coming at a fast pace. Looking over my right shoulder I caught movement and quickly saw bone atop his head. He's 5 yds behind me and at the crossroads of where I walk in. Nervously he moved past and made his way to my first shooting lane 15 yds from the base of the tree. His head was down as I drew back and settled the pin and released. He gingerly moved out of sight and I thought he had bedded not 50 yds from the tree. Having shot enough deer to realize that getting down may bump him if the shot wasn't placed perfectly. I elected to wait the 2-1/2 hrs until dark to be sure. Not 100% positive of the hit I left him over night to be prudent. That night it poured, so there was not going to be any blood trail. But, not pushing the deer meant he should be close and that's just what happened. He lay there not 100 yds from the base of the tree lying on a shelf on very steep terrain. It was very cold that night so that made my decision easier. I was very happy to have found him at first light. He was a VT 7-pt that weighed 130 lbs. I checked his teeth, which revealed 2 crowns or cusps on the third pre-molar indicating a deer of 2-1/2 years or older. I'm quite certain he's not any older than 2-1/2 based on the lack of wear.
