I had the right wind to hunt a creek bottom where I saw several good bucks back in August.
It was the 2nd day of Ohio gun season and I thought a good buck might be bedded in a 10 acre patch of golden rod and iron weed that was missed by the bush hog.
I got off early and my boy and I got to the property a bit after 2:00 pm. My boy eased in along a fence line and set up about 200 yds. from the patch of CRP to cover the back door.
After I watched him settle in I made a big loop along the property line and scouted/hunted my way towards the CRP.
I jumped a doe an fawn from an oxbow in the creek and watched them cross the creek.
When I got close to the CRP I bumped a doe fawn (toward the area I was headed).
After that I slowed down and started easing down a 10’ wide mowed strip between the creek and the chest to head high grass and weeds.
After I went about 50 yards the doe fawn came back out and started feeding in the mowed strip about 75 yards in front of me.
At 4:00 I was watching the doe fawn when I caught movement to my left in the CRP. It was a good buck! About 75 yards, he stood up and stretched but all I could see was his head and the top of his back. I got him in the scope and cocked the hammer but didn’t get a clear shot. After a minute he disappeared Into the grass. I stood there straining my eyes trying to pick him out but I couldn’t figure out where he went.
So I stood there like a statue looking for him. After 15 minutes the doe fawn started feeding towards me and when she got to 50 yards she started getting curious and began walking towards me. When she got inside 30 yds. I thought she would mess things up but after looking at me for a while without getting my wind she fed back the direction she came from.
So after standing there for 20 minutes holding the gun at shoulder level I was in serious need of a break so I slowly worked the blood back into my arms and hands.
After another 10 minutes or so I saw the buck again about 30 yards to the left of where I saw him the first time.
He was still about 75 yards but he was to close to the same direction that my son was sitting so I waited while he slowly walked to my left.
After several minutes he made it to a place that had a hill behind him. I could see the top 1/2 of his vitals so I put the scope on him, let the crosshairs float and squeezed the trigger.
After the shot he took a hop and started looking for where the shot came from and I realized I missed
so as soon as I could get away with it I hit the deck and got the speed loader out of my pocket. I managed to get the powder and bullet in the gun and pushed it down the barrel then I swapped primers and slowly came up to a kneeling position.When I looked over the grass he was at 50 yards facing me. He stood there for about 4 minutes intently looking for what spooked him. I considered aiming at his throat patch but adrenaline was high and confidence was low after the miss, so I waited to see what he would do next.
I gave it about 30 seconds after he disappeared and slowly stood up. At first I didn’t see him but after a bit he moved in to a clear lane at 50 yards, looking the other way. I settled in and made the 2nd one count he crashed after 40 yards.
I was surprised I got another chance but he didn’t want to leave the cover without knowing which way to go.
