Report your Archery kill -2005

[SnakeRiver]

Sandburr-

This is my 2nd year bowhunting. Had to take it up last year because the year before that I got skunked during rifle season. Wasn't going to let that happen again. Sure nough last year while rifle hunting with the boy, we saw not a single deer.

I haven't done Muzzleloading yet. I am sure I will get into it some day. What I really want to do is some more archery hunting. I'm really into it. Most beautiful time of year, no bugs. Nice to be in the stand, observing nature, occassionally killing it, and not freezing your butt off.

[SnakeRiver]

ArcheryStud's Deer

What a beaut! Congratulations!

[archerystud]

Thanks!!

After 24 years of bowhunting it feels wierd to have a big one before the rut!!! I'll still hunt with my dad but it will have to be one HUGE buck for me to shoot again this year. I think I'll also stay in bed on those real cold mornings.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Dang that deer is wide... It amazes me how some of them wide dudes can walk through the woods even!

[bigbucks]

That's a dandy, wouldn't have taken me long to figure out that was a shooter either.

[lawdog]

WOW what a brute, especially for an archery kill. AWESOME deer!

Congrats.

[Mark Christianson]

Lots of success with the bows!

Wont be many left for rifle season at this pace.

Great job all. I have yet to stick a buck with my bow. I get nervous thinking about it.

[Jim Hudson]

Nice deer guys!!!

[Stratosman]

Nice deer, now you gotta spend some money on it! Congrats

[Ben1022]

Here's a pic of a deer I shot back on 9/27. Finally got it posted.

[FL SNIPER]

Awesome Ben!

Congratulations!

[ASMOLEY]

Great Deer! Did you weigh that big boy?

[Dag_1979]

Went out last night, 30 October, and this guy came out straight down wind of me at about 5:00pm. He was coming straight towards my stand heading to an area where i had very little cover between me and him, so i came to full draw a lil early, and ended up being stuck at full draw when he stopped at 9 yds to lick the rain off some corn stalks. After a few minutes of being at full draw he was standing in the same place, and my arms were burning! He finally moved into my lane, and i shot him at 6 yds! Came right to a scent wick i had hanging. He trotted off like i had missed, although he mule kicked after i released the arrow and i could see my lumenok glowing while sticking out of the dirt.I grunted at him, and he circled back towards me and bedded 30 yds to my west. It was getting dark when he got up and bedded in another lane, and i stuck him again just to make sure he didnt make his way into the corn, and that was it. Probably didnt need the 2nd arrow, but i didnt want to take the chance of him getting into the standing corn field and losing blood in the wet stalks.

Not the biggest buck in the area, but he'll do.

[fireman]

There sure are some nice deer showing up in this forum. Unfortunatly none yet by me. Congrats to all the hunters.

Went out on Sat night and had a chance at a nice 4x4, clean miss right over the top of his back. Sun night walking out to my stand, I hear something running down the trail. I look up and see a huge 4x4 running with his nose to the ground. At 15 yrds he turns off the trail and goes crashing through the woods. If only I would have been to my stand sooner. On Sat morning, I hunted my ground blind on my uncles farm. He has been seeing a nice buck there too. I didnt see the buck, but seen several does/fawns. My uncle was out working in the field, so I talked to him for a bit and he said Friday evening that big buck was standing right by my ground blind. Yet another if only I had been there. Thats the way my season has been going so far. Hopefully my luck will change soon.

Good luck to everyone this weekend.

[Captain B.R.K]

Nice looking deer Dang and Ben!! Great pictures.

[Studer]

WOW Swampbuck!! Now that is the kind of deer people venture out for at Camp Ripley and you go two days late and go back home and stick that big pig.....nice work. Congratulations. Are you using your stand next weekend??? hahaha Congrats again on a gorgeous Whitetailed Buck, he has got great character. Go get another one!!

[Studer]

Nice Deer ArcheryStud!!! Did you shoot that right in Mora?? Congratulations!!!!!

[96trigger]

Nice bucks boys, the only big deer I've see so far have been dead or in pictures, nothing big in the woods. I know of three nice bucks that were shot at and one taken this weekend, all three were rattled in. I went out last night and just at dusk a big deer with horns was way out in a picked corn field. I couldn't see how big rack the was but judging by the size of the deer, I would assume a nice 8. He went over a little noll and I started to rattle, the buck came back at a trot and came half way between me and where I first saw him, probably 150 yards. He came from a point of higher elevation and new something was up when he heard fighting and didn't see any deer. He trotted off, long story short, the bucks are being very responsive to rattling. I haven't had any luck using scents or other types of calls. I plan on getting out almost every night this week, so hopefully, I can stick one before shotgun season starts down here.

[archerystud]

Studer,

I shot mine quite a bit South of Mora. If you have a similar looking buck, I didn't shoot him.

Good luck to everyone this weekend, I'm headed back home (Henderson) to gun hunt with my dad.

[bigbucks]

Nice bucks guys! Like someone else said I haven't seen any big bucks in the woods all season, plenty of does, fawns, & little guys. Saw one big deer about a month ago that I'm sure was a shooter buck, but too dark to tell. Leaving in half an hour to make a try for him, hope he shows up. Good luck all.

[Stratosman]

Went out tonight and man what a difference a day made.. same stand as last night when I saw one solitary doe. Tonight it was like someone flipped the switch. First off I had a group of turkeys walk behind me, about 5 minutes later I heard what I thought was still the turkeys, turned around and here comes a doe darting and dodging her way to me with two small 8 pointers chasing, fun to watch, too small to shoot. A few minutes later another doe comes from the same area with a small spiker chasing hard, she was trying her best to evade capture, they ran a loop around my tree, I had a hard time not giggling at his antics. 10 minutes later heard some grunting behind me again, there is a decent 6 following a doe down the logging road, well now it's become apparant that I should watch this direction as it seems everything is happening back there, about 10 minutes after that, hear some more grunting, two does with a nice 8 following, they worked the area behind me for about 15 minutes, one of the does walks right under my stand as the buck is following about 60 yards behind, good deal except for now the doe is standing directly downwind of me and the buck is coming, two problems, she is going to wind me eventually even with the care I use in scent control, or she will see me draw back. Well, when the buck was about 10 yards out he walked behind a large tree, I drew back as slowly with as little movement as possible as to not spook the doe, I figured even if I did I would probably have a couple seconds before the buck figured out what was going on, well she never moved and he kept coming, I hate this shot but it was all I had, 5 yards out facing my tree, stuck him between the shoulders, he didn't go far.. I was debating if he was a shooter or not, but as I watched him close the distance I thought about the cavalry of orange invading my spot in Saturday and the possibilty of not having another opportunity this year, and the fact of a baby at home and a very understanding wife that is becoming less and less understanding. Not the biggest around but I'm happy with him.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Great deer and story strats!

[96trigger]

Stratos, nice buck, he's not the biggest? He'd hang on my wall.

[HateHumminbird]

Stratos:

Congrats my man. Drop me an email.

Joel

[WB make the CUT]

Congrats Strats, sweet story, keep that home fire burning!

[FL SNIPER]

That is awesome! Congratulations. Sounds like you had a dream night...seeing all those deer and connecting on one. Good decision!

[Studer]

Nice Deer Stratosman!! Way to go!! Hopefully you can go get one with your firearms!!!

[Stratosman]

Thanks to all, I hope that I can see you're pictures of sucess very soon!!!

[Captain B.R.K]

Finally I had time to scan in the picture my buddy's mom took of me and my deer back from October 16.

[chucker34]

Nice Pic Captain. Hope you all don't mind if I share a story of my second deer with a bow (and ever taken period.

I took off work Thursday and Friday and spent both days hunting. I had several shots at nice does both days but was waiting for a buck. When Saturday morning came and I had not seen any bucks (at least nowhere close enough for a shot) I had shifted priorities and decided it was time to get my second deer and close out the season. This weekend was also gun opener and I thought the deer would be hiding out for awhile after that. And there was another gun season the next weekend.

Anyway, I headed out into the woods Saturday morning at 6 am draped in orange and settled into my pop-up ground blind that was clearly marked with a criss-cross pattern of orange duck tape (on our own property but can never be too safe). We had a rain the night before and water continually dripped off the trees into the leaves below - sounding much like approaching deer. There was a thick fog and I could see silhouettes of deer scurrying around in the murky darkness, going from one side of the woods to the other as they spotted or sensed gun hunters and tried to avoid them.

Just after legal shooting light had arrived and the fog had cleared, the cavalry arrived. A dozen does and fawns came thundering through the leaves 20 yards in front of me but did not stop to offer a shot. Awhile after they had disappeared, I heard a “pop, pop” in the distance and knew the neighbor had taken one of them with his shotgun. The other does came flying back in my direction a few minutes later and scattered throughout the woods, bedding down in different thickets and patches of tall grass. I knew I had deer all around me. So for a few hours, I sat there silently on the bucket in my blind, clutching my bow in my hands with an arrow knocked.

At 10 am, the does around me started to get up and slink off into a nearby slough. A pair of smaller does crept out at 25 yards (about my maximum range) in front of my blind. I slipped off the bucket, knelt on the ground, and slowly pulled the bow back. I settled my pin on one of the does and was just ready to release the arrow when she moved. I was about to ease the bow back down when the second doe offered me a shot. I focused the pin on her vital area, and released the arrow. She collapsed where she was standing and I waited for awhile and reflected on both the happiness and the sadness of the moment. It’s a weird feeling. I want to say “thank you” and “I’m sorry” to the deer the same time. At least I do. I know some guys feel differently but that feeling is a pretty cool one to me.

I put a lot of time and effort into my first season of bow hunting. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to take two deer in the process. This second doe was small but she and the large doe I took early last month are both “trophys” to me.

Thanks for reading this very long post.