Well most of the people that see this already know what happened yesterday but I wanted to post it anyway. So I can look back at this in the future and hopefully laugh it off.
Since our family got back from Disney World on Thurs the 18th Julie and my gun season's started yesterday(Saturday). We spent the night down at the farm and got out in the morning. Julie sat in the tri-pod and I sat on the other side of the property against a cut corn field. It was a great morning I had seen 7 deer by 8 am. I was watching a small spike or fork in the corn field about 50 yards behind me when someone blasted 5 shots at this deer. The shots sounded like they were 50 yards behind me. Turns out they were. I didn't realize that there were 3 other hunters, a guy, his wife and daughter's boyfriend all within 150 yards of me. (I love gun season) So after watching the wife climb down from a tree stand that was about 40 yards from me I decided my morning was ruined so I might as well help them look for that deer. We looked a little bit couldn't find any blood and they weren't listening to any advice from me so I let them look for themselves. So I called Julie and she said she wasn't seeing anything so by now it was about 8:45. So I made the call to bag the morning and build a ground blind in an area where I knew a 6 point was hanging out and we had seen him on the driveway the night before when we drove in and watched him go back to this area.
Side story here--about a week after I killed my 10 point I went down here and hunted this area because I had a hunch it would hold a good buck because of its seclusion from everything and it is just a perfect area. So my first sit at about 10 minutes before dark I saw a really big 3.5 year old 8 or 10 come out. Probably 120 inches. I watched him go from the corn field to some apple trees right where I though one would bed. I was geeked!! I had found a deer bigger than the one I just shot. I was very careful with him and waited for the perfect wind to go back in and try again. It was 3 days later I tried in the morning which I was so nervous about because his night-time bed was only 40 yards from my treestand so I had to be dead quiet getting in but I risked it. I got into my stand and settled in. 10 minutes after that I looked and saw him going along the hill up from the appletrees. It was still pitch dark and I saw him only because of the lights from the grocery store nearby. Fast forward 4 more days it was a nightime hunt this time and he came out 5 minutes before dark and followed some does up the hill away from me. So I kept seeing him but really early or really late. Then 3 or 4 days later the neighbors to the north say they shot "nice" 8 and my heart sank. Where they shot was a ways away from his core area but with does coming into esterus you never know what they will do. So I sat there that night and saw nothing but a small 4 point. So I didn't know what happened and we had to leave for vacation.
Fast forward to Saturday--Julie and I snuck down to within 75 yards of this "sanctuary" area. I was making the ground blind in a small 8 foot white pine. Which work perfect for grounds blinds fyi. I kept looking down into the sanctuary and sure enough there were 4 doe, so that go me excited for Julie for that evening. I was putting the last branch in place when I looked down there again and saw that buck coming up out of the sanctuary into the cut corn field. I told Julie to get down and get me my gun. I was able to get into position and he came out. It was my first really good look at him. He fed for about 5 minutes and started to turn to go back in. I had one shot and he turned a little bit quartering away and I shot. He bounded into the sanctuary and then walked away up the hill low to the ground looking injured. We waited 30 minutes then went to look for blood. Nothing!!. My friend Ross was kind enough to drive down and help we came up with a plan. With Barry my brother in law, Julie, Ross and his son Isaac and my self we scowered the sancuary and found nothing. We are calling it a clean miss and that he was spooked by my shot and sneaking back into safety. I told Julie after I shot that even if we didn't get him I have had an amazing season and I stand by that. Just to see the deer I have seen this season is a unreal. So hopefully he comes back and we get another crack at him in a week or two. Sorry for the long story but I needed to post this.
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