I’m lucky enough to start the season by taking a nice Wisconsin doe.

 

A good sign!

As I was sitting in my treestand thinking about writing this post I thought about those folks who say, “It’s just a doe.”  Or those bowhunters who have the opportunity to hunt in spots where 4, 18 or even 28 does per year might be common for them to harvest.  I’m definitely not a, “It’s just a doe,”  bowhunter and I’ve never had access to property where I’m likely to even see 4 deer in a single season.  My whitetail hunting takes place on one internally and externally heavily-pressured 80-acre piece of private property and a whole lot of property available to the public.  This hunting is hard-scrabble – every deer I even see, doe or buck, is a treasure to me and those I harvest are even more so.  So, on with the show…

Due to the good graces of Mrs. dustyvarmint I was able to spend 3 hours in Peanut Butter stand Friday, September 23rd.  Getting to hunt on a weeknight is rare for me and I relished the opportunity despite the rain that plagued the air from 5:30 to last light at 7:20.  I felt my game camera told me that if I stayed on stand long enough I’d be rewarded with some deer.  Amidst the rain I didn’t even see a squirrel that night.  Still not discouraged I was determined to spend at least 5 hours on stand the next morning. 

While it wasn’t raining the following morning it had rained so much through the night that the leaves let water fall as if it were.  During the 5-hour sit I saw two ground squirrels and one very beautiful coal black grey squirrel.  I’ve wanted a mounted black grey squirrel for a long time, see hunting buddy Seth’s here, but by the time I decided to take a shot it was too late.  What to do next?  Hunt East Meadow’s Ladder stand or the Island stand or…?  At mid-day I’d check out Culvert Stand East and a new funnel I’d identified on satellite photos.  Then a decision would have to be made. 

I ended up on Culvert Stand East that afternoon; a little hidey-hole of public land between a marsh and private property I’d found by scrutinizing maps and satellite photos.  Although it is public land and I’ve had to share it with crazy-antler-rattling-guy, twice, (rattling, seriously, on this small and heavily pressured public property?) and dust-mask-wearing-walking-with-a-cane-and-crossbow-as-crutches-guy, once, I typically get to hunt it as my own personal little property.  And, I see a fair amount of deer here.  I assume the deer are traveling from the bedding area of the marsh to the feeding pastures of the private land.  As a matter of subterfuge for protecting my little secret I always park down the road a ways and walk into the piece.

It started raining almost immediately, but I was comfy against the tree’s trunk in my Lone Wolf Sit & Climb stand.  The book “White Fang” on my I-pod kept my feeble mind entertained.  Having settled in at 4:00 pm I saw movement to my right at about 5:20.  Turns out it was a full-sized doe, but with her twisting in and out of the early season brush I wouldn’t attempt the 52 yard shot.  She went on to my southeast and I wrote her off.  Not too long later I caught a glimpse of her again and it turned out she had another full-sized companion with her – another doe that I’d never seen.  One of them returned to the main east-west trail, then hit its “Y” and started heading straight to me. 

One minute everything was slow and the next things were moving very quickly.  Deer coming from this direction are coming to my back and it is impossible for me to get turned around without them seeing me.  I’ve never had much luck letting deer pass underneath to intercept them on the other side.  At about 3-4 yards from the tree she saw me, took two bounds away, stopped and looked directly at me.  While she was bounding I was drawing the Strother Infinity.  There was a vital window between her shoulder and a sizable tree.  At 12-15 yards I knew I could make the shot – easily.  With the 20-yard pin settled just below mid-body I triggered the Hot Shot Manufacturing Infinity sending an NAP 2-blade BloodRunner tipped Easton ACC on its way.  The reward was that beautiful sound of a properly striking arrow.  I knew the shot was good.  She leapt off and on the second leap I thought I saw a fist-sized spot of blood forming on the entrance side.

The Hot Shot Manufacturing Infinity

With my eyes glued to her she ranged out and to the right, disappeared from sight and then I thought I heard the death kick, but wasn’t sure.  Being careful to take good notes of her last known location I also set the chronograph on my watch.  A minimum of 30 minutes would expire before the trail was taken up.  Using my binoculars I tried to find the arrow in the ground cover without luck.  I never can.  I don’t know why I look.  Upon sitting down I heard a noise below me and looked to see the other doe almost directly under the stand.  She’d snuck up while I was otherwise engaged.  Not needing to take a second doe I watched as she traipsed away, eventually hitting upon the other’s blood trail, and then taking off to the west. 

I felt the shot was good, but with all this rain a second set of tracking eyes would be great.   I texted Camp Pug hunting acquaintance “Rock” for help.  He is a good, experienced, patient tracker – he agreed to help.  While waiting for him I returned to the truck to get my trusty Forschner pare knife, a hook-blade knife, a rag and my new Deer Sleigh’r.  I’ve used a cart here for an eight-pointer I’d taken in 2006 (verify), but the ground gets rough near the road and I wanted to dry out the new dragging tool.  Curious, I looked for the arrow and found it rather quickly, entirely soaked in blood, but left it in place for Rock and I to inspect as we took up the trail.  The stand was also left in place with a bright tracking ribbon attached so it could be used as a reference point from far away.

 This whitetail buck was taken just a few hundred yards from where the rainy day doe was taken.

When Rock arrived we took up the trail.  Large fist-sized splotches of blood were found immediately.  The rainy woods were interrupted with the words, “here,” “here,” and “here,” as we progressed and pointed out the next splotch.  Rock noted that it was apparent she was bleeding from both sides.  The amount was very heavy and frothy at some points.  I couldn’t believe she kept going.  At about the 70 yard point she cut right and as I surveyed the area I could see her body a few yards away.  Bleeding from both the wound and her mouth she laid on her side.

Knowing how important photos are for me, see Trophy Photo Tips, Rock takes patience and does a great job helping me arrange the animal and pose.  Multi-flora rose is always an inconvenience, but this time it was downright harmful to me while clearing ground cover for the photo.  I sliced two fingers open quite severely with the pinky so bad that I wasn’t sure who was bleeding worse; the doe or me.  After pictures I rolled her over and did the field dressing.  Since I’d left the Deer Sleigh’r at the beginning of the trail Rock produced his drag rope and we were off.  I looked at my watch – 1 hour and 24 minutes had expired since the arrow had left the Infinity.  Waiting time had expired, tracking, pictures and field-dressing were done.  That was pretty good.

One happy bowhunter! (note:  this is not “just” a doe)   

Back at Camp Pug I inspected the broadhead’s entrance and exit.  The NAP 2-blade BloodRunner had severed 2.5 ribs going in and one rib going out.  The exit rib looked like it had been center-punched by the broadhead’s tip.  While field dressing I noticed the broadhead had pierced the center of the left lung, but while slicing and dicing the vitals for removal I couldn’t tell what damage there was to the right.  Having also used it for my Wisconsin spring turkey (link) with excellent results (for me, not the turkey) I’m pretty darned happy with the broadhead thus far, but seeing how its performs on a buck will be nice.

For once, the plan came together.  A combination of sticking out the rain, scouting and stand selection, and luck, always luck.  It’s a doe.  Not “just” a doe, but a doe from public land that required determination and hard-scrabble effort that I’m very happy to have harvested.

happy hunting, dv

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