October 2 Bow Hunt

Well, I managed to get out Sunday morning for a bow hunt. It is really green here still, and it warms up fast once the sun comes out. I got into the woods about 5:30AM; it is getting light about 7AM or so. I didn't want to spook deer too badly on the way in.

Unfortunately, there is no really good way in to this small section of woods without passing through crop fields. So I took the route in that went past the least amount of food. Something made noise in the corn as I went in, but it could have easily been a raccoon as well as a deer.

The stand I hunted is really not a great bow stand (it is an excellent gun stand), but it provides a pretty good view of some thick bedding cover. So I figured I would see what kind of deer were around, even if they were out of range. There are a couple of trails that pass within bow range of this stand, but they are hit or miss. There are much better spots closer to the bedding area for bow hunting. But I like this stand. (it's very comfortable)

I saw 3 does come by with twins in tow, and a couple of other lone deer. None with horns that I could make out. None closer than 40 yards. I rattled twice for about a minute or so, but not too aggressively. Didn't help.

I hunted until 11AM, and I saw around 10 to 12 deer total. It was about 52 degrees when I went in, and about 74 degrees when I got out. It was a nice hunt.

Above are a couple of pictures I shot last year from the base of the stand (on the ground). In the second picture you can see the bedding area. Hunting the edge of it is the ideal bow spot. You can see a doe walking the edge in the picture. In the other snapshot, the deer that is obscured by brush was actually a decent buck, though you wouldn't know it from the picture. Obviously, it is a lot greener in there right now.