Monday I saw some deer on my way to the stand. At about 7:00, I heard some turkey & stalked to where I hoped they'd be coming. I ducked into some brush & gave myself a shooting lane up to about 35 yards uphill. The hens were yelping & scratching coming closer. After 30 minutes or so, they were starting to appear on the hill above me. Most were passing through a little dip in the hill where I couldn't see them. Only 2 of the approximately 35 birds actually went through the shooting lane. Several of the birds started flying up into the trees. Many more were scattered around the hill, with some between 20 & 30 yards. I couldn't get a shot because of the brush. They stayed on that hillside for a long time. Finally, after hearing a couple in a place I thought I could shoot, I stood up and peeked around and saw two birds at 30 yards. One was behind a sapling, with some limbs between us blocking a good shot. The other was facing away from me, bent over cracking an acorn. Just behind her was a small cedar bush & there was nothing else between us. I had a 4X6 hole in that bush that gave me a view of her back. I drew & slipped an arrow in there & nailed her. She fell hard, flat on her face, and flopped like she'd been gunshot. Figuring she was dead, I headed up the hill. She stood up & turned sideways to me. The arrow was nowhere to be seen, so I thought it was a pass-through. She started running down the side of the hill, then took off flying. She was crashing through the limbs, so I knew she wouldn't go far. After a short search, I found her about 70 yards from where I shot her. She'd shucked the arrow right by where she died. The arrow went in just between her thigh & butthole, and ripped through her body, shattering her breastbone. That's my 2nd archery turkey. She also had a 6 inch beard. Pictures will be posted in a week or so.
After I took her back to the cabin, a little over a half-mile away, I came back to get my gear & continue on to the stand. Just as I picked everything up, I looked up the hill into that shooting lane I was watching, and saw a monster buck. Most of you would think it was alright, but for the Tick Farm, it was a monster. It had dark chocolate brown
, probably a 17 inch spread, 10 points, with 8 or 9 inch G-2's & G-3's. I'm guessing it was 230 lb. He was trotting down the hill at a pretty good clip & didn't give me a shot. At his closest, he was 35 yards away. By the end of the day, I'd seen 12 deer.Tuesday was very foggy. There was a little buck moving early AM. The next deer I saw, I was moving to a different location & jumped it. The next deer I saw was at almost 5:00 as I was headed to the cabin to call it a night. I drove back to Webb City to vote.
I got in line at 5:45 & walked out of the polling booth at 7:38.Wednesday I saw 15 deer by 10:30 AM. All were does (maybe a couple button bucks) and were headed in groups of 2, 3, or 4 to bedding areas. The first doe was huge. She was an old gray herd doe that I would've loved to kill. It got hot in the afternoon & didn't get back on the stand until 3:30. Saw one other deer, little 4 point.
I never saw any signs of rutting activity. There was no chasing, no bucks with does. I saw a lot of deer, just not the fun I was hoping for. With my schedule the way it is, I may not get to hunt again this season. That'll be disappointing to go without a deer this year.
