2003 Deer Hunting Journal-Well, this is year three for my online hunting journals. If you're reading this, thanks. For my part, I'm sure enjoying putting it all together... almost as much as I'm enjoying the hunts that make it up. I suppose the original intent, to collect data and identify trends (such as weather patterns and moon phases) has kind of gone by the wayside. Most of the time, the weather during the CA deer seasons is pretty much identical anyway. |
This season promises to be a busy one for hunting. First and foremost, I managed to draw an X3-A tag for California. That'll put me in some prime mule deer habitat. I've been working with a friend on a 7000 acre ranch in that zone, and that's where we'll be hunting. That hunt begins on October 4. The X zone hunt overlaps another major hunt, a Colorado elk trip that begins on October 11. I'm planning to leave directly from the X zone hunt to make the Colorado trip. That means I need to score early in X zone, in order to have time to drive to CO without marathon driving. Finally, I chose an Archery Only tag for my second CA deer tag. This gives me access to the A zone, B zone, and all D zones, both during archery and rifle season. Essentially this means I could potentially hunt from July 16 through the first week of November. As a surprise, I also got the opportunity to go to South Carolina for the deer opener to bowhunt deer and hogs at the Bostick Plantation. So here goes! |
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09/19 - This is it. Last chance. The A-zone closes this weekend, and instead of trying to fill my own tag, I'll be helping Kat try to fill her rifle tag in the B-zone. While I'll still have a possibility of getting out for the end of the B and D zone rifle seasons, it'll be tough to score with the bow after the rifle hunters have been in the field for almost a month and half. All that's to say, the pressure is on as I pull into the ranch. I've had some awesome chances and blown them. Redemption is only a bowshot away. All I have to do is make it happen. I've made it out earlier than usual today, in hopes of getting into position before the deer come out to feed. I think I know where I can set up to catch them on the way to those oaks they seem to like so much. I gear up and head downhill to the trail. To my right, I catch a glimpse of movement. Dammit! They're already browsing under the oaks! I see at least three deer about 25 yards below me. No antlers, but I'm certain the bucks are nearby. I don't want to repeat yesterday's performance. I crouch down in the brush at the edge of the pasture, but I know I can't stay here. People love to ride up and down this trail, and if I'm seen hunting here, that could very well be the end of this great opportunity. I decide to slip off into the pasture, and try to swing out around this patch of woods to get into the trailhead. I ease back until I think I'm clear, then stand. I hadn't noticed the doe feeding along the edge of the hill, though, and she busts me at about five feet. She's off, down the hill, scattering the other deer as well. I shake my head, but decide to keep in stealth mode as I slip down to the trail. There is no 4x3 waiting for me this time, so I move on across the gully. I'm planning to follow the riding trail and cut back into the gully further down. I sneak out, cross the first meadow, and start down the trail into the gully. Then I freeze. I can hear the deer, milling about down around the hillside beside the trail. There's no way I can get in there without getting busted. Now what? I decide to take a seat under a bush, and cover the edges of the meadow for a while. Maybe they'll browse out this way before dark, or maybe the bucks will pass through here on the way to join the does. That's a lot of maybes, but I don't know what else to do. After about an hour, the deer are spread out all through the gully below me. I can hear several slowly working toward my position, and I'm getting excited. All I need is a good shot on a forkie. Just a little one. Doesn't have to be a trophy. Suddenly, the deer across the gully break downhill. Something has spooked them, and they're all heading this general direction. I have the bow up, and I rise to a knee for better shooting. That's when I hear the voices. I look across to the opposite hillside, and see three riders coming down the edge of the pasture. Cool! They've pushed all those deer right to me. But my elation fades quickly, when I see that they're turning to come down the gully trail. They'll come out right on top of me! I hate to move, with the deer heading right to me, but I can't be sitting here when the riders come out. I decamp quickly, and move down into some oaks away from the trail, and dig in. The riders pass by, then drop right into the gully where the deer had been. I can hear the deer breaking ahead of the horses, but they're not running far. They seem to have no real fear of the horses, although the horses themselves are snorting and nervous. About halfway through the gully, I hear the riders decide to turn back. It's getting dark, and the horses are getting hard to control. I sit tight as they come back up the trail, then head back to the pasture. Finally, they're gone. Unfortunately, it's now too dark to go down into the gully (it's always twilight dim down there, and at sunset it gets dark quickly), so I decide to follow the ridgeline down canyon. There's another funnel down below, and maybe they've pushed the deer out of that funnel into the open. Just above that funnel, I catch movement to my right. From behind a dip in the hill, a doe browses uphill. I crouch down in the trail where a little rise blocks me from the doe's vision. I watch as another doe appears behind her, following her up. They're unalarmed, grazing quietly about 40 yards away. As I watch, there's a flicker of movement about 10 yards from where I'm crouched. I ease up a little, and see another doe feeding right there below me! A tail flickers behind her, and I spot a fourth deer. This one's head is down, and I'm hoping it's a buck. I hold steady, but it refuses to raise its head! Finally, the fourth deer looks up. Slickhead! I sit tight, watching as the four deer slowly wind their way up the ridge. Sunset is well past, and there can't be more than a few minutes of legal light. When I'm sure I won't spook the does, I ease up onto my knees and start to turn. From my back, I hear a sudden snort! I turn slowly to see two deer heads sticking up out of the grass, less than 20 yards away. The first head ducks down, and I see the deer slink away into the brush. But the second deer appears fascinated by me. As I stare for a moment, I realize it's sporting a crooked set of deeply forked antlers. I'm fairly sure this is the same little buck I tried to stalk yesterday. But he's got me dead to rights, as I'm sitting in the wide open with no cover around me. Still, he doesn't bolt. I try not to make eye contact, in hopes that he'll decide I'm just a funky looking bush, even though I'm sure he saw me when I turned around. After several moments of this standoff, he finally turns and trots away into the trees. And that's the probable end of my archery season.
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