Tales of encouragment

[Ash12]

What story or stories do you think about when you are having a tough day in the deer woods? A time that you thought it wouldn't happen and then all of a sudden you were successful?

I'll go first,

One of the biggest bucks that I have ever seen to this day was on the last day of modern gun season (back in those days in zone 3 it ended on a Monday). It was cold, raining on and off, when the wind blowing on and off as well. I ended up not getting to harvest the buck, but the story always reminds me that big deer can move when the weather is nasty.



I have never had much success with hunting mid day, but have started to do more and more as the years have gone on. The year before last I had a doe come through with at least 4 or 5 bucks on her I think. It all happened around noon after a fairly slow morning. You never know when it will happen!

 

[1wildcatfan]

No such thing as a "tough day in the deer woods". You could always be working or dealing with real problems.

 

[kyjohnky]

2010 opening day of gun season a very windy morning couldn’t hear nothing in a ladder stand swaying back and forth freezing. I was thinking I’m crazy for staying and was like I’ll stay till 9 and I’m done.Just happen to look up and bam my biggest buck to date cruising around a bench.2011 hunting mid day the neighbors next door riding 4 wheelers around talking loud carrying on,I was like f this I’m about to get down.A little 5 point came to corn pile and I started watching him and forgot what was happening next door.The little 5 point started to act fun so I turned around to look in the direction and my second biggest buck to date was pushing a doe to me and the rest is history.

 

[RLWEBB]

No such thing as a "tough day in the deer woods". You could always be working or dealing with real problems.

100%!

 

[Little FR]

Opening day of modern gun 2020 carrying a ML .50 cal Pistol… my neighbors had 3 stands full of orange set up in a fan facing our hay field with 1,000lbs of corn in the center of them.

I saw movement in a scrub tree line on the fence row 200yards from me, two doe getting pushed hard. I rattled the horns a grizzled old 9 point abandoned the does and charged in 200yards across open field, jumped a 7’ high brush pile 25yds from me, I was waiting to confirm he was a shooter, couldn’t tell through rain, went to pull my pistol from inside my coat (out of the rain) and the hammer clicked against a brass button, he looked directly at me, eye level toward the tree I was shivering against.

He acted like he saw me but didn’t care, he stanced and ducked his head for a fight and kept coming, skirting me… he looked away, I drew, cocked and fired in a sweeping motion one handed. He disappeared in the smoke. I reloaded and shaking so hard I could barely stand began to walk, no hair, no blood… finally blood then lots of blood. 40yards in the ravine rested my buck, double lunged, full pass through.

Ive killed bigger, before and since but that hunt was a treasure, my daughter and I built that gun and she had the biggest smile when daddy killed a boy deer with her “muppet gun”.

I’ve enjoyed every season, every hunt, every day has been a gift, I didn’t always know that. I can watch the squirrels and mutter under my breath at turkeys, shiver in the cold and sweat in the heat and I am content.

 

[Tankt]

No such thing as a "tough day in the deer woods". You could always be working or dealing with real problems.

I took back my like on this comment. Getting caught in a hellacious downpour 3/4 mile away from your truck with no rain gear is a tough day in the deer woods

 

[bowhunter269]

I took back my like on this comment. Getting caught in a hellacious downpour 3/4 mile away from your truck with no rain gear is a tough day in the deer woods

My day at the truck at Fort Knox. Around noon my partners gave it up and said I could hunt if I wanted. It was pouring rain, sideways ! I decided to get in a lock on we had set up, and 15 minutes after climbing in I thought I saw a buck standing 50 yards away. After wiping the rain from my eyes I stared for at least 5 minutes confirming it was a buck. Shot him with a Muzzleloader and I've never been in a nastier rain storm. It was 1:30pm and he was 130ish. I bought a GoreTex rain suit the following week.

 

[Brody]

Last day of season,a Monday, had seen very few bucks all week. Hunting the DBNF 2:30 in the afternoon wet cold and gray afternoon, when out of a laurel thicket burst a doe right behind was my biggest buck to date. When I shot a deer that was back in the laurel bounded off, couldn't tell what it was. I've always liked to think he was the grandpa of the one I shot. Added to this I accidentally found a honey hole here as I've killed 4 more bucks over the yrs from the same place. When you least expect it is when it happens sometimes.
Edit: see avatar

 

[stargazer]

After working a 12-14 hour shift watching someone in pain ask for the 5th time if they can have something for it and telling them that it still wasn't time yet. After watching family members, that don't want to let go, put their loved one down as a "full code." Knowing damn well that their loved one has no hope of recovery after having a massive stroke. Trying to get their loved one to stay alive for another 6 months so they can celebrate her 100th birthday. After all that...I would hunt in a lighting storm and it would still be a great day in the deer woods, for me anyway.

 

[luvtohunt]

Bow hunting about 9-10 years ago I had a stand set up in a staging area that had no less than 50 rubs in a narrow block of woods separating a creek bottom field from the top field. It cam a hellacious thunderstorm. I'm talking lightning hitting the ground kinda storm right at that special time in the evening about 30 minutes before dark. I climbed down out of my stand and huddled next to the tree. It passed just as it was getting last light and everything got calm. I'll be damned if a doe didn't come busting out in the field right in front of me and offered the perfect quartered away shot at 15 yards. A short 40 yard recovery later I was elbows deep in guts loving life and thanking God for the gift!!

 

[120+]

After working a 12-14 hour shift watching someone in pain ask for the 5th time if they can have something for it and telling them that it still wasn't time yet. After watching family members, that don't want to let go, put their loved one down as a "full code." Knowing damn well that their loved one has no hope of recovery after having a massive stroke. Trying to get their loved one to stay alive for another 6 months so they can celebrate her 100th birthday. After all that...I would hunt in a lighting storm and it would still be a great day in the deer woods, for me anyway.

I don't think this story qualifies for "tales of encouragement".

 

[3PointSlayer]

Opening day of bow season maybe 7 years ago. My friend I was hunting with shot a 160 inch 10 point at last light. I waited on him at the truck until 10:30 pm. He is slower than Christmas to begin with. He didnt know where he hit it so I told him lets wait til morning to look. We looked all morning, went to church and came back and found him around 3:00. It was 90 degrees. It turns out it was a 2 yr old 7 point. After getting him out I was sweating bad and wore out and just wanted to go home. But he wanted to try for a doe. So I went back out with him and sat on the ground with my bow. Ended up shooting a nice 10 point. It was pure luck and I always think of that when Im getting discouraged hunting.

 

[racsr]

Last season last day of rifle. It had been a slow year couldn’t get out as much as I wanted because I was helping my middle Son redo a old farm house he bought in February. He had completely gutted it so plumbing electric insulation walls windows doors everything. We were installing about 30 breakers and running some wire when I had enough. Said by went outside and there were 3 does standing behind my truck. I walked to the passenger side opens door grabbed my orange and my rifle put clip in tacked one in chamber. By now the deer were 1/2 way up hill in the woods about 100 yards. Got on the last one and she slid back down the hill almost to my feet. Good eating.

 

[stargazer]

I don't think this story qualifies for "tales of encouragement".

Ok, how about this? I had been hunting for three years and still haven't harvested a deer--ANY deer. My ex and I were hunting. He was on the stand above me and I was on the ground because I'm afraid of heights. We hunt together, watching each other's backs so we will have an eye view of 360 degrees. It was drizzling, I had on a blaze orange poncho and I stuck out like a sore thumb. It was getting dark, the last few minutes of daylight. I saw movement on the next hill. A small doe was walking down the hill to the open field a few hundred yards away. I could hear my ex snoring, thankfully the doe didn't because of the noise of the rain. I brought up my Savage 243, no scope, and fired. The shot woke up my ex and he asked if I got it. I said that I didn't know. I look to my left and I caught movement. A much larger doe turned around and ran back the way they came. I walked over to where I shot the doe. She dropped so fast I didn't realize I got her. I thought that it was going to be another year without a deer. But it turned out that on the last day of gun season, and at last light, I finally got one. And I usually got one every year after that.

 

[Cornpile]

About ten years ago I had set up my ladder stand just off a cedar thicket
on one side of a narrow creek bottom.Well open morning came and I could hear,
but not see a buck chasing does and grunting early for two mornings in a row.
At lunch time on the second day I drug that ladder stand across the
creek and found a big rub line and trail about midway up the hill. I sat my
stand in a tree about 20 yds above the trail. On the third morning, I was up that
stand before daylight,,, he showed up at a little before 8am.
Shot him at 25 yds,he was a beautiful 13 pt.