I have put more effort into preparing for deer season this year than ever before. I have been running 2 trail cameras, alternating on different spots on 2 different properties about an hour and 45 minutes apart. I have burned up enough gas and fed enough grain that I could probably have bought a steer and had it butchered... but what's the fun in that?
With good pics for about 3 weeks of a pair of does and 2 fawns feeding consistently at one camera/bait site, I took a doe on opening morning of archery season. I had done some searching to find out about how a fawn would fare on its own if I took the doe before I made the decision to hunt the doe. From everything I read, once the spots were gone they were pretty much ready to be on their own, and would likely run with the other doe and fawns they had previously run with. That said, doe number one has made some fine chili with no gamey taste whatsoever.
Fast forward to Saturday a week ago. I had dad set up with me in my blind about 45 yards from a different camera/bait site for muzzle loader opener. We had 2 doe come in just as it was light enough to see. I told dad to take the shot if he could get a good bead. He only had one hearing aid in and it apparently wasn't working. He just looked at me and smiled as he moved around in his noisy windbreaker jacket. The 2 doe didn't tolerate the sound long and took off. Later a fawn came in and fed for forever. After it left, a spike with 6" tines came in and fed... not legal to shoot. Both of us were having back pain issues, so we packed it up. It was a good morning spent together with dad, but no meat as a result.
This past Saturday was in the low 30's and dad decided he better sit this one out, as he and cold/moist weather don't get along so well. I was excited to get the cold weather and knew chances would be good for the deer to be moving. I got settled in at the base of a big cherry tree (huge burl clusters all over the thing... I'm seeing calls galore, but the landowner doesn't want it cut) that was about twice as wide as me. I have a 45 yard view down a drainage/runoff in the woods to our camera/bait site. I've got my muzzleloader propped on a Predator Sniper styx bipod and the butt on my knee ready to tip my head and take aim. The first visitor is a fawn. It feeds alone for several minutes. I see another form coming down a clearing towards the fawn (no spots). The doe takes position behind the fawn and begins to feed. I watched for what had to be at least 10 minutes as they fed side by side, moving only an inch or so the whole time. I had my crosshairs settled where I knew I wanted to shoot on the doe, but there was a fawn butt in the way. Hoping it would move wasn't working. I had made up my mind that I wanted to take another doe, as I hunt for meat, not for bone, and was ready to reap the rewards of my efforts and expenses. I had sighted the muzzleloader in the week before and knew I was capable of hitting within an inch of where I aim from a rest and under 100 yards. I pulled the crosshairs back just above and behind the fawn's hip. The shot was going to be farther back and higher than ideal on the doe, but I felt confident about it and pulled the trigger. As the smoke cloud drifted right, I could see a tail bounce right, back up the clearing. The other deer, which turned out to be the fawn, bounded left and up a short hill to a cemetery fence, turned and came back down to the bottom of the drainage. It stopped about 15 yards in front of me, then slowly began to walk back up the other side of the drainage and into the heavier cover. It was evident that I had cleared the fawn. I waited about 10 minutes, with intent to wait an hour and see if anything else showed up. Excitement got the best of me. I had to be certain I hit the doe good. I walked down the drainage to the camera/bait site. There was a splash of blood about 4"x8" where the doe stood. Only feet away was another large splash of blood. A few more feet away, a small sapling was painted red about a foot wide along it's trunk. The doe had dropped within 20 yards of where it was hit. I gave thanks to God before putting a strap on her and pulling her out of the woods. The shot was farther back and higher than I like, but made a quick, efficient kill as it took out the top of one lung and left a cookie cutter punch through the liver with "rays" projecting outwards that disected the liver. The 295 grain power belt mushroomed to at least 1 1/4" across and was recovered inside the body cavity.
This is the first year that I have used cameras and grain to pinpoint deer location. God has blessed me with a couple of pieces of private property - one is 60 acres, the other 120 acres. On private property it is legal to bait deer in AR. I know some will look down on the use of bait, but I doubt many of those same folks fish with bare hooks. I am so thankful to put some meat in the freezer, given the uncertainties of the day. Even with nice stands of mature oaks, the deer are cleaning up 50 lbs of corn/oats mix in about 4 days.
My camera batteries died on Thursday of last week. It was running for 8 days with 50 lbs of corn on the ground. My card has 1372 pictures in that 8 days of up to 16 different deer. Of those, 3 were mature doe (make that 2 now), 3 were fawns (2 doe and one nub buck), 1 spike (not legal), 1- 4 point (not legal), 2- 6 points (one young and barely legal, the other an older, big bodied deer with 2 points on one side and 4 on the other - my target buck) and 3- 8 points (one small basket rack, one decent symmetrical rack and one WIDE 8 with a 5" brow tine on one side and a 4" brow tine on the other). This weekend is youth modern gun season, so that property gets a break for the week. The following weekend starts 2 weeks of modern gun/either sex season, so hopefully there will be some chasing going on by then.
I'm going after work today to hang a climber on the other property and spread some golden acorns and hang a camera. I'm hoping for a silent walk in next Saturday AM and a chance to fling another arrow to fill one of my remaining 4 tags. I'd love to be able to put one more in the freezer, then be able to donate one to a family in need.
