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A Deer Hunter's Tale

Since the deer season here in Alabama is long and since I will be doing a lot of deer hunting over the next two plus months, I thought a sort of diary of my exploits (LOL) might make for interesting reading. Our bow season opened Oct. 15 and runs through January. I didn't get a deer with my crossbow this season. My last hunt with the bow was this past Saturday afternoon. I saw five, one of which was a small eight point buck. Didn't try to shoot any, the closest was about a hundred yards.

Our muzzleloader season opened Monday and runs through January. I didn't hunt Monday but I did zero my muzzleloader. I have a .50 caliber NEF Huntsman inline. I shoot a 250 grain .45 caliber saboted bullet over 2 50 grain pellets of 777 and a 209 primer. I think I am ready. My last zeroing shot cut the X out of the ten ring.

I did hunt yesterday (Tuesday) morning. I saw three does but let them walk. I have decided that I will not shoot any does at least until January. And then only if I haven't gotten a buck or two by then. I hunted again yesterday afternoon. I saw one doe which sorely tempted me to break my self imposed rule of no does yet. That doe stood in nearly the same spot 75 yards in front of me for 40 minutes. Most of that time it was broad side to me. I don't think it moved its hind legs for 20 minutes.

I didn't hunt this morning but did this afternoon. I saw two. The first one I couldn't identify due to it being about 400 yards away. I was running late and in my rush to get to my stand I forgot my binoculars. I couldn't have shot it anyway because of the distance and it was on the wrong side of the fence. About 4:10 a buck jumped onto my side of the fence. He was about 200 yards away. He is a two point on one antler that I have gotten several pictures of him on my game cameras. This is one of those pictures.

This is a picture of him when he jumped onto my side of the fence. The camera is zoomed to max zoom and I am pointing it out the window of my shooting house. He is about 200 yards away. Those orange ribbons on the fence are at 50 yard intervals. I decided I wouldn't shoot until he came within 150 yards.

At this point he was coming toward me and I thought he was going to give me a shot. But instead he turned and jumped the fence onto the other property. I want to shoot him mainly because I don't want him passing that one horn gene down. Our regular gun season opens Saturday. If I had my .30-06 I would probably have taken the shot.

My shooting house is backed into the opposite fence corner to the one you see in the picture. From corner to corner is about 220 yards. You can see the shooting house over the backs of the two bucks in this picture.

My plan is to hunt again tomorrow morning and afternoon.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on November 20, 2013 at 20:05

Looks like some tough decisions to start...but its always that way! We'll be right here watching the progress.

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on November 21, 2013 at 4:22

Well, it was up at 4:00 AM and getting ready to make the five mile drive to the hunting area. Want to be in my stand no later than 5:30 while still dark. Left powder and bullet in muzzleloader yesterday. Will add primer when in stand.

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on November 21, 2013 at 4:36

Be Careful...HAVE FUN...This is very awesome, we can see where you are and we know how our friend is spending his day.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on November 21, 2013 at 8:05

This will be interesting for sure. Wonder what conditions were out there today?

Permalink Reply by Ken Spielvogel on November 21, 2013 at 8:46

Great diary Charles, I have enjoyed it and look forward to more.

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on November 21, 2013 at 11:01

Back from the hunt. Saw nine deer, three of them bucks. Didn't bring any home. All on the wrong side of the fence and too far away. The closest was about 300 yards. That brings the count up to 20 deer sighted so far.

The temp started out in the 40's and by the time I left the stand it was in the 50's. Made for pleasant hunting, I was not even chilly. In fact, shortly after full daylight, I dozed off for about 20 minutes! I hope that nine point didn't amble by while I was asleep.

Not going to be able to hunt this afternoon. Supposed to rain tomorrow. If I can get in one of my shooting houses dry, I can stay dry even if it rains. The low tonight is supposed to be in the 50's with a 20% chance of rain at 5:00 AM with a high in the 60's tomorrow. Later in the day the chance of rain is 60%. Hunting should be doable. Just be sure to take my poncho to my stand with me.

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on November 21, 2013 at 17:06

LOL, I believe they know which side of the fence to be on!

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on November 21, 2013 at 17:45

I look forward to your follow-ups. O wonder how many non-hunters realize just how many deer AREN'T taken by hunters! I bet more are killed by cars than hunting

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on November 21, 2013 at 18:49

Yes, and I wonder if they know, how much food we provide. I planted a nice food plot with all kinds of winter type plants. I feed corn and rice bran, with a little soy bean. They all have full bellies', rabbits, squirrels, birds, wild hogs, and maybe even deer...lol I sit and enjoy, the wildlife and shoot very few.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on November 21, 2013 at 19:01

Exactly Robert, that the way it is!

Robert Burris said:

Yes, and I wonder if they know, how much food we provide. I planted a nice food plot with all kinds of winter type plants. I feed corn and rice bran, with a little soy bean. They all have full bellies', rabbits, squirrels, birds, wild hogs, and maybe even deer...lol I sit and enjoy, the wildlife and shoot very few.

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on November 21, 2013 at 19:44

Tobias, I have read that very statistic somewhere and it is true. Autos do kill more deer than hunters. And this one surprised me, the animal that kills the most humans is the deer.

Tobias Gibson said:

I look forward to your follow-ups. O wonder how many non-hunters realize just how many deer AREN'T taken by hunters! I bet more are killed by cars than hunting

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on November 22, 2013 at 20:05

I let the weatherman talk me out of hunting this morning. I shouldn't have. Even though he said the chance of rain was 100%, it didn't rain a drop until after 9:00 AM. From now on I follow my instincts. Which is what I did this afternoon. I looked at the radar and it looked to me like the rain area would soon be past us. I drove to my hunting area even though it was raining at the time. When I got there it was still raining lightly so went to my shooting house in the front of my hunting area. It is only about a hundred yards from where I park my truck. I took my rain jacket off in the shooting house which I didn't need on because the temp was in the 60's. I was settled in my stand by 1:30. Here is a picture looking out the front of it. That is the barrel of my muzzleloader sticking out. From the shooting house to the far fence is about 180 yards.

By 2:00 the rain had stopped. So I decided to move to my other shooting house at the back of my hunting area. I saw five deer there but none close enough to shoot. They were 3 or 4 hundred yards away. That brings the count to 25. Even with binoculars I was unable to tell if they were bucks or does because of mist in the area. Most of the time I couldn't even see them without binoculars. Here is a picture of another type of wildlife that I saw a lot of.

Regular gun season opens tomorrow and runs through January. I won't be hunting again until Monday. I told the landowner that I wouldn't hunt on Saturday so his grandson's could hunt. I also don't hunt on Sunday.