More Misadventures of the Nut Family

[Nut]

WE back from the first weekend.

I will go into details tomorrow and will give the short of it tonight.

On Saturday night TurkeyEye shot a nice doe while using a crossbow at 20 feet. He hit it hard right in the boiler room. He fullfilled his end of the bargain but I failed him. We waited a half hour and then searched for his doe until almost dark. We then left to get reinforcements and some more falshlights. Ran into a guy that had watched the whole thing on the way to the vehicle. He walked out with us and then we left and got someone experieced at night searches.

Never found it that night and we also searched until 1 pm on Sunday. NO deer was ever found.
More Later

So I went hunting Sunday night and had 2 missed shots at the same doe. I know now that I have to be a fag boy to be able to shoot a compound bow from my knees. My first shot went right across its back at 10 yards. The second went right in front of its nose(Dont ask me how I got so far in front

I never should have taken the second shot. More Later

Then ScreaminReel missed a nice 10 pointer at 40 yards with a crossbow. He shot way over it.

More on this later


But it was a blast and cant wait to go back this weekend.


Oh ask Vipe about what I was about to do to a fellow campers radio with a shotgun.

 

[schmalts]

Why are the kids useing crossbows?? never heard of a state that let anyone but disabled use them. what state are you hunting in?

 

[Elkhunter]

Sorry you could not find the doe Nut. Sounds like you are in a great area.

 

[1_pointer]

Get a Coleman lantern for tracking deer after dark. It makes the blood almost glow!

Sorry to hear about the bad luck, hope the little guy didn't take it too hard. I know it's bothered me in the past when I've lost deer.

 

[mtmiller]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Why are the kids useing crossbows?? never heard of a state that let anyone but disabled use them. what state are you hunting in?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think there are a few states that allow crossbow use during the archery season. Ohio and Wyoming are two that I know of.

EDIT-link to crossbow states
X Bow States

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 10-07-2003 20:41: Message edited by: mtmiller ]</font>

 

[AZHUNTERR]

i dont have my hunt reg. book handy but i think in az you can hunt with a crossbow during rifle season only

 

[Mini Moose]

I am not positive but i think that you can use a crossbow durring the anyweapon season here in idaho too

 

[dgibson]

They're hunting in Ohio, which is crossbow OK.

Sorry about your woes, Nut, but it sounds like you had a good time anyway (well, except maybe for the radio

). Looking forward to the "more laters."

 

[pa ridge-runner]

In Pa we can only use a crossbow in the deer gun season(almost any type of weapon is allowed then,muzzleloader,handgun,bow etc).Otherwise crossbows are for handicapped hunters only.My best buddy did 2 stints of duty in Nam then came home and fell out of an old tree stand,is paralyzed from the waist down and lost a leg due to diabeties.He does very well shooting from his car,but using any weapon takes practice.Good luck!!

 

[schmalts]

Interesting, never knew that.

 

[cougar 44]

Hey nut

hang in their sounds like your having a blast. Just think if you all tagged you wouldn't beable to go back for round two..

Can't wait to here the stories coming up.
LMAO

Good luck

 

[Nut]

Friday night TE and I arrive and find Vipe and SR at camp. They tell me where they saw a lot of big bucks and plenty of deer. So they take me out and show me. I saw plenty while they was showing me. Met up with some locals and talked abit. They said this to us during the conversation " If you want deer it is easy. All you have to do is spotlight with a rifle. WE DO"

I left LMAO at how natural they made it sound. I was also shocked at how they felt they was able to say this to a stranger.

Saturday morning it was raining and I waited for the rain to let up a bit before heading out. Since I decided to concentrate mainly on the boys in morning hunts I had them set up in one area while I watched on. Saw a couple but they never got into range.

Saturday afternoon TE and I went to the area we saw the wide racked buck from Sept. I played the wind carefully and went in at 1 pm to help dissipate our scent on the walk in. WE had about 9 turkeys walk in and had one group within 20 yards of us while a deer was across the field watching them. They left along with the deer. Then about a half hour later a doe comes out right where we was expecting it. It feeds across the area on the far side. (I was standing up behind TE because I had taken a leak and left my compound on the ground next to him. TE also wanted me to have the camcorder but it would have caused too much movement for him to hand it to me.) I watch the deer for around 20 minutes and it wasnt coming towards us at all. I finally motioned for TE to bellycrawl to the rise so he could see the deer and have a 20 yard shot. He starts to crawl in a stooping motion using 2 feet and 1 hand while carrying the xbow. The deer sees him after he had only gotten 10 feet from the brush we was in. I motion for TE to stay and be still. The deer got curious and started coming toward TE to see what he was. It kept coming closer and closer. I kept saying shoot under my breath numerous times and nothing ever happened excpet the deer getting closer. The as the doe was at 20 feet and as I was about ready to burst out of the brush to scare the deer away from my son, he fires! I hear the xbow go off and the sound of the bolt striking the deer! The deer jumps and I see the fletching sticking out from right at the lower part of the front ribcage! (The shot was quartering toward TE at a slight angle and the deer was about 4 feet higher than he was.) The deer goes to the opposite side of field and enters the trees and brush. I have TE come back and we wait a half hour. The shot was at 6:15pm EST.

We find the blood trail starting at the edge and follow it in. After going 30 yards in and then it starting to get dark I decide to get the stuff back to the car and get better flashlights. I mark the last spot and we go get the stuff. As we was walking back I see a fellow at a haybale 75 yards from where the shot took place. (public lands).
I find out from him that he heard a shot and didnt know what had happened. (I come to realize Sunday morning that he saw the WHOLE thing from where he was at. The shot, where the deer went in the woods and us going in and out) He had been deer hunting for 5 years and hadnt ever taken a shot. (From his setup I could understand why. I quit that kind of set up 2 years ago after deer hunting for 2 years in stupidity)

At the car I decide to go and get help since it was hard enough for me to follow a trail in daylight much less night. It took us a 1 and 1/2 to get back and we searched until 11 pm.

Did the same searching next day and never did find a bloodtrail after 70 yards in the thorns and brush. Did find where the grasses where bent back though as if somebody had dragged a deer out. No gutpile though. Why I say this? The majority of friends we have made there have said that people taking others deer happens there alot. I have no conclusive proof so I do not know what happened. The blood trail wasnt at all good since I believe that the bolt was in the deer and not allowing for a good blood flow to the outside. The blood was bright red where we found it like as if it had been a heart shot.

Nothing to say excpet I let my boy down in not getting to his deer in time.

I must say that TE has handle the whole deal extremely well and was estatic for awhile until it dawned on him that he didnt get his kill. He had thoughts that I was going to tell him that he had to say his tag was used and would have to not use it. But for a 13 year old boy I say to hunt more and use his tag. It was my fault and incompetence that allowed the loss. So kudos to TE for being able to seal his part of the deal.

Besides Morgan County is a 2 deer county and allows us to get 2 tags.

Oh if all worked out we could end up taking 6 deer in Ohio but only 1 antlered deer.

You actually could take more if you used landowners tags.


Enuff for now.... My hilarious miscue in awhile.

 

[Nut]

Thanks to all for answering the crosbow usage here in Ohio.

 

[Ithaca 37]

I'm sorry to hear you didn't recover the deer.

 

[Doug]

Keep your head up Nut. There's an awful lot of deer that sneak away and are never found even after being shot with a rifle. If you looked that long, then you certainly went above and beyond in your attempt to recover the deer. Sounds like the Nut family had a great hunting experience.

Doug

 

[Nut]

Thanks again

Now for my miscues...Yes more than one.

So Sunday afternoon at around 2:30 pm the wind was okay for my oldest SR and I to hunt the creek field by the road(Oh my goodness... a road hunt

)

I put SR at the spot I thought was going to be the best opportunity for a shot because the deer seemed to use the trails there most often. So I went up toward the treeline at the top of the hill. The wind was not right enough for me to get in the treeline so I decided to sit in the tall grass and play it by ear. The grass was tall enough for me to sit in a camp chair I took along and not be spotted. The sun was shining right on me for awhile but I knew that when the sun starting going down the trees would shade me. I also was able to see most of the paths and where SR was setup about 150 yards away from me. So after watching a spider do its thing with a grasshopper for awhile and birds flying overhead my butt got tired from sitting for 3 1/2 hours. So I get off the chair and fold it up. (I then am kneeling like a gay guy at a SF steam bath.) I finally see movement at around 60 yards down the one path. It is 4 deer. They are feeding and walking right down it towards me. I have one shooting lane through the grass where it was shorter than the rest. I pick up my bow and get ready. At about 20 yards away I draw... I am at full draw and they do not know I am there! The biggest and what I believe is mature doe is there! It stops broadside at the shooting lane before I meep it! I put the pin on the killzone and squeeze the release and watch the arrow crease its back

. It is startled and goes back up the path wondering WTF was that. The deer then head down the hill and by this time I have another arrow nocked. I meep again and release the arrow before I have the pin set on the killzone. It flys right in front of the deer's nose!

But wait there is another deer still within 30 yards of me! (SR told me that there was at least 10 deer around me by this time, I was surrounded) I am shaking so bad that by the time I nocked a third arrow the deer was again within 20 yards of me. By this time SR had started a fawn distress call(he bought one for himself).

So I said to myself to stand up all the way and make the good shot. WEll when I stood up I spooked all the deer even the 2 that added to the total and were running right at SR! The gig was up because of my doe fever.

I realized the next day exactly what I was doing wrong. In the heat of the moment I was moving my head to watch the shot and shot a fraction high. Because The first practice shot I took at a target was about 18 incheds high. When I did the next 3 practice shots I was in the circle while shooting from my knees.


But in all I was proud that I again put us on deer on public land and that despite hunting from the ground with a bow I was able to make it all click except at the moment of truth(sic).

Although it would have been an awesome moment if I had sealed the deal. It would have been my first kill with a compound bow.

 

[dgibson]

Wow, cool stories. Shooting from the knees is tough anyway...add the buck fever to it and I can see that happening.

 

[tnctcb]

georgia is another state where crossbows are legal during bow season. sorry about your luck nut better luck next trip

 

[Nut]

Well I taked to SR tonight. He stayed at camp while we came home. He is doing fine and has been catching the bass left and right. errr I thought I left him so he could hunt all week

Going back tomorrow night for the weekend and come home Sunday night. I will try and get pics of the areas we hunted the time we was there. I had only taken one pic and that was one of TE sleeping while we was set up Saturday.

 

[dgibson]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I had only taken one pic and that was one of TE sleeping while we was set up Saturday.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Careful, Nut...I remember a story about someone else dozing a little at last year's HTHF. Pick on TE too much and he might just make sure you reap what you sow this year.