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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 23, 2013 at 13:51

Looks great Charles, some terrific pictures. Sometimes the weather just does not cooperate...way to windy here!

Permalink Reply by Ken Spielvogel on November 23, 2013 at 14:17

Just look at all the enjoyment you are getting - and you will get a deer.

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on November 23, 2013 at 14:34

Yes, definitely enjoying it. And I don't doubt that i will get a deer or two. Maybe even more. The regular gun season opens today so now I will be able to reach out and touch them with my .30-06 topped off with a Nikon Buckmasters 3-9x40 scope. And I still have over two months of deer season left.

Permalink Reply by Ken Spielvogel on November 23, 2013 at 14:38

I feel kinda bad, I already got 2 with the Bow and we really can't use anymore meat. Our gun season starts Dec2 and goes thru the 8th.- only 7 days. I still want to hunt - I will be hunting Monday with my friend, and if I shoot a Doe, I will give it to him as he doesn't have one yet.

Good Luck Charles.

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on November 23, 2013 at 17:07

Glad you've had good luck Ken. With the long season I have and the number of deer I see where I hunt, I can afford to pick and choose and pass up chancy shots. I always let a lot more walk than I shoot.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on November 23, 2013 at 21:34

It was bitter cold today and really windy so did not feel like too much today. My neighbor who lives about a mile away got two but that is all I have heard of so far. I am sure, I will hear of more and if I had any luck I could report one on my own!

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on November 27, 2013 at 20:40

The landowner's grandson, Grant, killed his first buck Saturday. My game camera caught most of the action.

This is the first picture the camera took of the deer.

In this picture the deer is approaching the point it will jump the fence. Grant still cannot see the deer. It can't be seen from the stand until it jumps the fence.

The deer has jumped the fence and presented himself a target to Grant. I think this is just about the instant he was shot. I believe he is starting to fall in this picture.

The deer is down! Notice the time stamp is the same as the previous picture.

And now the happy hunter! I think Grant is about 12.

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on November 27, 2013 at 20:58

I went hunting this afternoon. I got into my stand at 2:45 PM. I saw my first deer at 3:40, a doe. On the wrong side of the fence and too far away to shoot. I wouldn't have shot it anyway because it was a doe. I think I saw at least seven different deer. That brings the total seen to 32. All but one which I couldn't identify because of distance and failing light were does. All I could tell about that one was that it was a big deer. So it may well have been a buck. At different times I had four deer on my side of the fence, all does. The last deer I saw faded into the brush and darkness at 5:15 PM. And here is a picture of it. My game camera caught it. There is a point of light in the picture you can barely see between the trees. It is the camera flash reflecting off my binocular lens as I was watching the deer. I can just barely make out the outline of my shooting house in the picture. The slightly darker area around the point of light is the window in the shooting house.

Permalink Reply by Brian Martin on November 27, 2013 at 21:08

Congrats to young Grant, I look forward to reading your posts.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on November 27, 2013 at 21:35

Yes congratulations to Grant, always nice to see a youngster get in on hunting and have success. Thanks for the great description and quite the story including the time stamp on the pics!

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Charles Sample on December 2, 2013 at 20:54

Up at 4:00 AM (yawn) to go hunting. In deer stand by 5:10. Starting to get light about 6:00, light enough to shoot by 6:20. Leave stand at 9:00. See no deer, hear no deer, speak no deer!

Hunting again this afternoon. In other deer stand at 1:15 PM. Three does come out at 3:20. By 5:00 have seen three more. At this point does not on approved shooter list. However, if by January don't have a buck or two, well does are definitely in danger!

Total deer seen while hunting now at 38.

Permalink Reply by Ken Spielvogel on December 2, 2013 at 21:02

Hang in there Charles, you are having fun and you'll score before to long - I can feel it.