My last hunt of the season.......
- flinginairos
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My last hunt of the season.......
I just want to say it's been such an incredible season for me and how much this site has helped me. I can't sincerely thank Dan and the rest of you enough for sharing the info you do, it's incredible!!
The majority of my month of December was filled with hunting with friends and family and with the holidays I just didn't have much time to hunt for myself. With three bucks and another doe under my belt I was fine with that, but I felt I had one more good hunt in me and when a snow storm rolled through leaving 6" of fresh powder on the ground I just HAD to get out there!
The temps for the morning were in the teens with a steady snow and wind still rocking, so I decided to wait until about 10am to head out in hopes of catching the deer bedded and sneaking in close to hopefully fill my final doe tag. My game plan was to work the leeward side of a ridge near the top and simply slow walk with the wind in my face the entire length of the ridge. I do this a good bit when rifle hunting for does and it almost always works late season. Many times they will jump up and give me a fairly close shot in the tight hardwoods.
I started out the first ridge, snow pouring and a stiff wind in my face but never cut a fresh track or spotted anything until I hit the very end. But it wasn't a deer I spotted but another hunter sitting on top of the ridge As i'm standing there contemplating what to do he gets up and starts walking away from me and out of sight. My plan then was to go wide around him and head down the back side of the ridge to another location. As I head out the logging road I hit his boot tracks heading up the ridge and follow them around the point enroute to my next spot. This is possibly the strangest thing i've ever encountered in the woods and i'm still scratching my head over it, but as i'm following his tracks around the road they simply stop. It was like he fell out of the sky and took off walking I'm not kidding, there were no tracks to be found anywhere. His tracks started as two boot prints with no apparent origin. I still can't explain it!
The track thing really had me confused and I ended up walking back the way I had come and back out the ridge I had originally walked, but instead of going back down where I parked, I headed up the steep hillside and onto the ridge top to see if there was any sign of the hunter I had seen. No sign of him!! I covered the entire top of the ridge and jumped two yearlings but passed them both. My goal was to head over the windward side and work my way through another bedding area that a group of does usually can be found most days below a rock cliff choked with brush and blowdowns. I got about half way to the area I had in mind when I spotted three does completely across the holler and up the other side. Nearly 400 yards away, just casually feeding their way out of a patch of laurel that is another good bedding location.
I pulled out my binos and took a look at the does and spotted a decent sized opening that I thought they might feed through. I have to be honest, I have always wanted to shoot a deer across that holler for some reason and it looked like I was about to get my chance! I had my TC Encore 7mm-08 with me and it's a tack driver out to 500 yards, so I was confident I could make it given a clear shot. I slowly backed myself up the hill trying to clear a few trees that were on the hill below me. I had a trekking pole with me and a quick decision to take it apart and use it as a bipod left me with a rock solid rest while sitting against a tree. The deer were still feeding toward the opening so I took a quick range. 392 yards. I knew the second circle on my Nikon BDC scope was good at 380 so I cocked the hammer and waited. The biggest doe was two steps from stepping into the opening but like they always do, she turned and headed the other way. I quickly picked another opening and waited. It took her about two minutes to reach the second opening as she casually browsed her way along. She finally stepped into the opening and stopped slightly quartering toward me. I held the bottom of the second circle on my BDC reticle right in the middle of her shoulder blade, took a deep breath and squeezed. The shot felt perfect and I lost her in the recoil but heard the solid "WHOP!" of a hit! I quickly settled the gun down to get back on her and she was DOWN!! I had dropped her in her tracks and she wasn't moving a muscle! The other doe behind her was just standing there looking at her
Deer is down in the orange circle
Now the REAL works begins!! I had brought my frame pack with me and planned to just quarter my kill and hike it back to the vehicle, I just hadn't planned on killing one that far from the truck! I had to walk nearly 3/4 mile to get to her the way the land lays. I made dang sure I knew my land marks so I could find her when I got over there!
After getting to her I found that my shot ended up perfect! Hit dead center of the shoulder, severed her spine and wrecked the top of the lungs. I took a few quick pics and got to work quartering her out. Roughly 45 minutes later and I was packed up and headed back. A near three mile hike to the truck in the slick snow up and down two steep ridges sure was fun!
I can't think of a better way to end my 2017 season. A hunt for a doe can be just as memorable as a big buck!! Thanks for reading!
The majority of my month of December was filled with hunting with friends and family and with the holidays I just didn't have much time to hunt for myself. With three bucks and another doe under my belt I was fine with that, but I felt I had one more good hunt in me and when a snow storm rolled through leaving 6" of fresh powder on the ground I just HAD to get out there!
The temps for the morning were in the teens with a steady snow and wind still rocking, so I decided to wait until about 10am to head out in hopes of catching the deer bedded and sneaking in close to hopefully fill my final doe tag. My game plan was to work the leeward side of a ridge near the top and simply slow walk with the wind in my face the entire length of the ridge. I do this a good bit when rifle hunting for does and it almost always works late season. Many times they will jump up and give me a fairly close shot in the tight hardwoods.
I started out the first ridge, snow pouring and a stiff wind in my face but never cut a fresh track or spotted anything until I hit the very end. But it wasn't a deer I spotted but another hunter sitting on top of the ridge As i'm standing there contemplating what to do he gets up and starts walking away from me and out of sight. My plan then was to go wide around him and head down the back side of the ridge to another location. As I head out the logging road I hit his boot tracks heading up the ridge and follow them around the point enroute to my next spot. This is possibly the strangest thing i've ever encountered in the woods and i'm still scratching my head over it, but as i'm following his tracks around the road they simply stop. It was like he fell out of the sky and took off walking I'm not kidding, there were no tracks to be found anywhere. His tracks started as two boot prints with no apparent origin. I still can't explain it!
The track thing really had me confused and I ended up walking back the way I had come and back out the ridge I had originally walked, but instead of going back down where I parked, I headed up the steep hillside and onto the ridge top to see if there was any sign of the hunter I had seen. No sign of him!! I covered the entire top of the ridge and jumped two yearlings but passed them both. My goal was to head over the windward side and work my way through another bedding area that a group of does usually can be found most days below a rock cliff choked with brush and blowdowns. I got about half way to the area I had in mind when I spotted three does completely across the holler and up the other side. Nearly 400 yards away, just casually feeding their way out of a patch of laurel that is another good bedding location.
I pulled out my binos and took a look at the does and spotted a decent sized opening that I thought they might feed through. I have to be honest, I have always wanted to shoot a deer across that holler for some reason and it looked like I was about to get my chance! I had my TC Encore 7mm-08 with me and it's a tack driver out to 500 yards, so I was confident I could make it given a clear shot. I slowly backed myself up the hill trying to clear a few trees that were on the hill below me. I had a trekking pole with me and a quick decision to take it apart and use it as a bipod left me with a rock solid rest while sitting against a tree. The deer were still feeding toward the opening so I took a quick range. 392 yards. I knew the second circle on my Nikon BDC scope was good at 380 so I cocked the hammer and waited. The biggest doe was two steps from stepping into the opening but like they always do, she turned and headed the other way. I quickly picked another opening and waited. It took her about two minutes to reach the second opening as she casually browsed her way along. She finally stepped into the opening and stopped slightly quartering toward me. I held the bottom of the second circle on my BDC reticle right in the middle of her shoulder blade, took a deep breath and squeezed. The shot felt perfect and I lost her in the recoil but heard the solid "WHOP!" of a hit! I quickly settled the gun down to get back on her and she was DOWN!! I had dropped her in her tracks and she wasn't moving a muscle! The other doe behind her was just standing there looking at her
Deer is down in the orange circle
Now the REAL works begins!! I had brought my frame pack with me and planned to just quarter my kill and hike it back to the vehicle, I just hadn't planned on killing one that far from the truck! I had to walk nearly 3/4 mile to get to her the way the land lays. I made dang sure I knew my land marks so I could find her when I got over there!
After getting to her I found that my shot ended up perfect! Hit dead center of the shoulder, severed her spine and wrecked the top of the lungs. I took a few quick pics and got to work quartering her out. Roughly 45 minutes later and I was packed up and headed back. A near three mile hike to the truck in the slick snow up and down two steep ridges sure was fun!
I can't think of a better way to end my 2017 season. A hunt for a doe can be just as memorable as a big buck!! Thanks for reading!
- Boogieman1
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Re: My last hunt of the season.......
Great season man!
Life is hard; It’s even harder if you are stupid.
-John Wayne-
-John Wayne-
- oldrank
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Re: My last hunt of the season.......
Looks like a delicious way to top off a season!!!
- Edcyclopedia
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- Wetfoot
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- Dewey
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Re: My last hunt of the season.......
Congrats on closing out a great season. One to remember for sure. Savor the moment as much as you can.
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Re: My last hunt of the season.......
Good work yet again man!
Sorry I freaked you out with the whole track thing, just part of being a ghost
Sorry I freaked you out with the whole track thing, just part of being a ghost
- flinginairos
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Re: My last hunt of the season.......
RidgeGhost wrote:Good work yet again man!
Sorry I freaked you out with the whole track thing, just part of being a ghost
I never heard you shoot so I must have ran the deer off
- Lockdown
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Re: My last hunt of the season.......
What a year congrats flingin’!!
- Motivated
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- <DK>
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Re: My last hunt of the season.......
Great job! I like the snow pics a lot
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Re: My last hunt of the season.......
congratulations on a great season!!
Hoyt RX7 bow, and exodus broadheads
Beast stand and beast sticks.
Beast stand and beast sticks.
- checkerfred
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Re: My last hunt of the season.......
Good season and nice doe! Like the snow too.
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