It's the second day of the second Illinois gun deer season and I'm sitting in the same place I was the day before patiently waiting for daylight.As the sky starts to lighten towards the east,I'm anticipating the day ahead.The lighter it gets,the more the day comes alive.The birds start chirping as i await the first shots of the day in the distance.
Suddenly there is movement to the west.I look at my watch,"Five more minutes" I say aloud to my brother as three fat green heads splash down in the decoys.Safe with their new plastic friends, well at least for a few more minutes any way. Green heads ? Decoys ? You thought this was a deer story right ? Well,I'm getting there.
The first weekend of December is deer season, it's also typically the week of a major migration of ducks into Southern Illinois.Yesterday we had two limits of six ducks pretty quick and are hoping for the same results today. So even though it's deer season i LOVE to hunt ducks,it's my passion,a sickness that I have in my blood that can only be cured buy hunting them. Since the ducks are here,and since it's been a long frustrating deer season so far,a break is in order.
I have been bow hunting hard since the opener and have blown one opportunity after another,my biggest was missing a tall,white racked buck not only during the first weekend of gun season,but yesterday as well.Even while I sit here and scan the skies,and shooting ducks, my mind is on that tall white rack. My brother keeps telling me not to worry about deer right now,and that i should go out this evening and shoot the first doe I see so I can focus 100% of my attention on ducks." You can't eat them horns" is his quote for the day.
My first encounter with this big boy was two weeks ago.It was midday and I was sitting my a big blown down cotton wood over looking a bottom choked full of buck brush.There was sign that a big buck was using this area and a few weeks ago i had one come in on me,but even at 30 yards it was to dark to take the shot. After sitting in this spot for the better part of 3 hours i decided to slowly make my way thru the bottom and get in a stand where i would finish out the day.
So many people deer hunt the first and last few hours of the day,but I like to be in the woods all day.You can't kill one if you ain't there !
As i slowly make my way thru the bottom I come up over a small ridge i see a tall,white rack just above the weeds.The next thing i knew a doe is on her feet,making an exit and the buck that the rack is attached to is hot on her tail.As they clear some trees my 870 is on my shoulder and the cross hairs are on the buck.I pulled the trigger and he fell down the steep creek bank,stumbles up the other side and is on the ground thrashing around.Thinking he is down ,I don't shoot again.he flops a few more times and is on his feet and disappears into the thick brush.I sit there for a few minutes thinking he is just out of site.
After 15 minutes or so I cross the creek and am surprised to see that there is no blood where the buck lay kicking.I follow his deep running tracks thru the brush,up a steep ridge and across a field never seeing one drop of blood. I holler at my buddy ,on the radio,that is hunting across the field and she said that a buck buck went thru hauling the mail, about 30 minutes ago,and was not hurt in the least. Broken hearted I made my way to the stand I had intended on hunting that evening.
That evening I ended up shooting what I thought was a doe,but turned out to be a buck with his antlers broken off at his head.The next two days i hunted hard,but not seeing anything I wanted to put my tag on.
Yesterday there was a light rain off and on most of the day.I had set out for my favorite area on the farm. It can only be hunted with a south wind,which there was today.It is a big bottom between two ridges with a creek running thru the middle and on the other side of the south ridge was a thicket that is a doe bedding area. From my stand I can see anything that walks thru here for three or four hundred yards so if anything comes thru here i will see it.
As I slowly made my way to the ladder stand I noticed several does in the bottom already.Then i saw movement and there was a buck with a wide set of antlers and long tines chasing one of the does in the bottom and up the next ridge.I stood there thinking about my next move when here he came again hot on the trail of the doe.I stood and watched this go on for 20 minutes.I had two options,climb up in the stand and pray that one of those does led him closer for a shot,or belly crawl in the semi dry creek and get close enough for a shot.Going back and forth between the options I decide for plan B.
Twenty minutes later with the buck 50 yards away I ease up on one knee and get ready to give this big boy a case of lead poisoning when a doe that i didn't know was behind me,started stomping and blowing ending the party.I watch several white flags and one wide rack disappear over the ridge.
I stood up wanting to cry,second guessing my move,and there he was,the buck with the tall,white rack 50 yards away looking things over,wondering what happened.I quickly put the cross hairs behind his right shoulder and touched the trigger,but the deer just jumped.Now he's facing me looking,wondering where the shot came from and there he was,gone.Further inspection reviled a clean miss,again. Strike two.
After our ducks are cleaned and the gear put away I don't have time for the quick nap that I wanted before heading to the woods.I head out for a stand that will produce deer activity.After settling into the stand I look at my watch.It's 2;30 and I have time for a 30 minute nap before the action begins.As if an alarm went off exactly 30 minutes later I opened my eyes and thoughts are running thru my head about a blow down at the other end of this bottom where I saw a respectable 8 pointer a few weeks ago.
With little more thought I was still hunting the quarter mile to the other end of the bottom.Once I got to the fell oak tree I scanned the woods around me.Having seen only 2 deer on the way to my new spot I was dissapointed. As I sarted to climb up in the branches of the tree a voice in my head said"Get back to the stand that you came from." I thought to myself that by the time I got back there the day would be over and this would be a wasted trip.I again started up into the tree and this time the voice was almost audible,"Get back to that stand NOW ! " There I was off thru the bottom,not as slowly as I did the first time.
When I got close 3 does had just went up the ridge. UGGGGGG ! Blew it again ! The deer had no idea i was there so I settled the cros hairs on the closest doe and readied myself for the recoil of the 3" slug.Can't eat them horns,Right ? There was that voice in my head again."NO ! WAIT "
I let the does make their way on up the ridge and climbed into the ladder stand. Thinking to myself that I still had 2 days to hunt I started to scan the woods again.Not long afterwards the deer movement continued.This time a young 6 pointer chasing 2 does with all he had.
While watching the show I heard a deep grunt comming from the bottom of the ridge.I looked and saw a doe 30 yards away and closing fast and hot on her tail was a buck with a tall white rack on his head ! This was the third time I had encountered this buck,the second in 24 hours and i was not gonna let him get away this time.I watched to see where the doe was going.I put the cross hairs on the spot ,the doe runs past. WhenI saw the bucks shoulder,I pulled the trigger,and pumped another round in the chamber and shot again. There was no need for the second shot because the bucks legs gave out and he piled up 30 feet away.
I climbed down,at least I think i did,and was by the bucks side. I counted 12 points !
I thanked God for allowing me to take this beautiful animal and thanked the animal for choosing me,but thats another story.Most of all I thanked the voice in my head.
Two years later find me in a climbing stand on the same farm in my favorite bottom.It's a warm day in early November with a cool south brease.With several close calls and more mess ups and misses than I care to mention I had not killed a deer yet,but with fresh buck sign showing up daily and the cool wind in my face I have high hopes for the evening.
About an hour into my sit i see a doe and a yearling making their way down the ridge and thru the bottom.If they stay on course they will be right under me. Both of the deer step out of the brush and are standing on the side of the creek right where i thought they would.I drew my bow and settled the 20 yard pin on the bigger doe. Finger on the trigger there that voice was again."Wait" I let down the bow and watch the pair eating big white acorns.
With my atention on the two feeding i noticed a sound, a short burrrp,burrrp. I draw my bow again,this time intending to send the 2 blade Rage thru the smaller deer,and I hear the sound again,this time closer.As I get ready to punch the trigger I hear "WAIT !" Then i realized what the sound was,the doe turned her head and I saw a big bodied buck closing the distance fast. On the left side he had a perfect normal antler with 3 long tines and a respectable brows.On the right side he had an antler that was growing straight back. I quickly truned the bow on him and let the arrow fly.Right over his back ! I quickly reloaded and sent another arrow on its way,this time landing between his legs.And there he was,gone.
Call me crazy,but I think that after you spend several years in the woods we develop an instinct,a sixth sence,and when we listen to it we are rewarded.There has been more than few times i have changed stands or moved to the top or bottom of a ridge evan after being set up because it just seemed like the place to be.I may need profesional help for these voices I hear in my head,but I'm gonna keep listening to it.
