1.) billy b - 11/11/2014

Well, as bad as I hate it, I did not get a deer, I could have taken does & younger bucks but my mission was to get a mature buck with a respectable rack. I did see 4 that I would like to have shot. I put up a 12' tripod beside one of the few big trees in my area. I am used to hunting from above and have only hunted from a pop up blind (which I had with me)a few times. Most of you know about my handicap which I tried to ignore & get in the tripod to do some trimming but for the life of me I just didn't feel safe doing it so I ended up in the Primos pop up blind. I was hunting a long strip of woods that ran along a long slew, the trees were about 40 yards south of the slew but there was a pinch point where the trees grew to about 30 yards from the slew so I set the blind back just into the trees about 3 yards. The first deer I saw walked past the front of my blind from my left, because of the thick brush I couldn't see him coming & he was on a mission, I whistled at him as I was trying to draw but he never stopped or even acknowledged the noise, the first blown opportunity. I never saw that buck again but he was 18ish wide & really tall, a main frame 10 with some kickers although I can't say for sure which tines they were on. That was the best deer I saw, I counted 12 racked bucks not including yearling's, Does were everywhere including two yearling's that came to my blind several times a day to eat the china berries that fell on the blind & rolled off, the deer were within 4 feet of me every day, not something I have ever seen before.
Now we get to the buck I shot at, he came by me on the last day about an hour before dark, he walked by from the left so I didn't see him or hear him coming, by the time I drew he was about 15 yards past me walking fast, I tried to stop him but he ignored it. After about a minute I picked up my doe bleat can & & turned it over about five times but I could no longer see the buck, then about 2 minutes later I saw him coming back but he was down by the slew, I drew before he got to me but as usual he was walking fast, I whistled but he kept up his pace so I gave a loud "maaaack", he stopped & stared at me like I had a spot light on me, I settled the 30 yard pin on his lungs & shot, by the time it hit him he had dropped about a foot, the arrow hit him real high & didn't get much penetration also the back end of the arrow flew upward on impact. He ran about 15 yards & stopped, I was having to look thru the side screen & the brush but I watched him just walk off, I couldn't tell if the arrow was still in him or not. I found where he bolted from but never found any blood, I looked till dark(about 45 minutes) then came back the next morning & never found any other sign. That week was the first time I have ever tried to stop a deer to shoot it & it was the last time for me. I have seen them do it on TV but it didn't work for me.
There were 60 hunters on about 10k acres, we all had an area we could hunt, the kill success was 54% including does & I had a great time & will put in for thr draw again next year.
I would like to hear how you guys handle that situation & your experiences trying to stop deer. Likely some of the guys on the hunt used corn but it was against the rules to use any kind of food or attractant so I didn't. That's my story, I have a few phone pics of deer that came by that I didn't try to shoot, mostly yearling's & 2 & 3 year olds, I'll try to figure out how to get them in photo bucket so I can post them. Too my team members, I'm not thru yet, there is another hunt for me in a few weeks.
My question is, how would you handle the fast moving deer situation?????

2.) Swamp Fox - 11/11/2014

Sounds like a blast! Way to be in the right spot...Holy cow! :grin:

I've always tried to avoid shooting at deer that were on high alert, especially if they were looking at me. Sometimes you want/need to let the arrow go, though. LOL. I think more often than not bleating or whistling puts them in that state.

I have a funny/pathetic story of a hunting partner trying to stop a deer FOR me when I didn't ask for it. He stopped the deer where I couldn't even see him, and then the buck spooked at a Plot Watcher in his path that had been set that afternoon. A few bad words came out of my mouth that day and for a few days after, LOL.

If the deer had been stopped in the right place and hadn't gotten a whiff of or seen the PW, I might have gotten the shot off but the deer WAS on alert, especially since we were in a blind in a wide-open field and it was obvious that he should have been able to see the bleating deer if everything had been legit. I wasn't inclined to bleat in a situation like that myself.

If I'm in thick cover, though, I still try a bleat every once in a while, but elsewhere and in general I think clicking or clucking or kissing at them the way you do to a horse works better. They're not immediately suspicious looking for a deer they can't see or smell, and it isn't such a foreign sound as a whistle.

I've also shot at a handful of walking deer. This works better on the closer shots as each step a deer takes is quite a stride and you have to lead a bunch even on the close shots. I know a lot of people advise not to shoot at walking deer and I understand their position. It's nowhere close to a good idea in some situations and as distance increases.

I do rely on scent stoppers quite a lot, but they're not always convenient to put out. I have a few favorites, and would like to know what other people are using.

Would a curiosity or sex scent used as a stopper or an attractant have been illegal on this hunt?

3.) ARCHERXP - 11/11/2014

Wow...crazy

Sounds awesome though.

If I'm able to get away with it, and nothing else has worked, I've thrown rocks and or pine cones.

As far as scents are concerned, it depends on the time of year, but I can't say I've ever thought to rely on them. Food scents have been the most consistent for me.

4.) Hunter - 11/11/2014

Sounds like you were in one of the hot spots, Billy! Too bad on the buck.

I feel like any sound that they are not expecting may stop them but they are going to be on high alert. If you are going to take that shot, you more than likely will need to aim low as they will probably drop and spin away from the sound of the string.

5.) crookedeye - 11/11/2014

rookie....you should of shot something..we need points

6.) Bob Peck - 11/11/2014

[QUOTE=billy b;27065]My question is, how would you handle the fast moving deer situation?????[/QUOTE]
I use a turkey mouth call.

Depending on weather conditions and noise factors (wind, adjacent roadways, human white noise) I might let out a loud yelp or soft cluck. Works every time or at least the last 45 years.

7.) billy b - 11/11/2014

[QUOTE=Bob Peck;27077]I use a turkey mouth call.

Depending on weather conditions and noise factors (wind, adjacent roadways, human white noise) I might let out a loud yelp or soft cluck. Works every time or at least the last 45 years.[/QUOTE]

Bob, that is a trick that I will remember, at the time it never entered my mind, as you know I am from Texas & I use corn all the time so it has really never been a problem. Thanks for the tip, I should have enquired before hand. I also didn't think about aiming low, I pride myself on burning the pin in before I release, I guess I am not too old to learn something new, now if I can remember it.

8.) Swamp Fox - 11/12/2014

Make sure you can shoot with a turkey call in your mouth. I can't, much less call and maintain anchor. I spit the damn thing out before taking the shot when turkey hunting.

9.) Bob Peck - 11/12/2014

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;27082]Make sure you can shoot with a turkey call in your mouth. I can't, much less call and maintain anchor. I spit the damn thing out before taking the shot when turkey hunting.[/QUOTE] That's an interesting technique.

10.) Pa bowhunter - 11/13/2014

Great story billy, either way it sounds like a great hunt, and I'm glad to see your operation you had has allowed you to continue to hunt and we pray:pray: that nothing changes that.:wave::wave:

11.) Pa bowhunter - 11/13/2014

Bob thanks for the turkey call tip, I will have to put a diaphragm in my pack and give it a try.

12.) Swamp Fox - 11/13/2014

[QUOTE=Bob Peck;27088]That's an interesting technique.[/QUOTE]

Really, it's more like a cross between spitting and drooling. You kinda move your mouth and tongue and jaw around until the thing drops on your chin or somewhere inside your face mask. If you're lucky, you can find it later somewhere on your chest or on the ground. The five second rule does not apply. You're ALWAYS good to go to use the call again, under all circumstances except poison ivy/oak/sumac/fire ants.

If this is easier, imagine you have a chicken bone or some Number Six shot in your mouth amongst some yummy stuff you want to keep chewing. You don't really want it there, so you do what you have to do.

Pretty much the same thing.

13.) bluecat - 11/13/2014

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;27066]Would a curiosity or sex scent used as a stopper or an attractant have been illegal on this hunt?[/QUOTE]

I'm curious about this as well billy.

I spray some patches with vanilla or a rag with some doe estrus on it. It will stop them just enough to get the shot. I need more data points though.

Keep at it billy.

14.) billy b - 11/14/2014

Oh I will, I'll get one:wink

15.) Pa bowhunter - 11/14/2014

One of the book read the author talks about using sent to stop Buck for the shot and even used an interesting method to deploy the scent so he would net have to get on the deer trail, he said he would keep a couple of tennis balls in his pack and spray them with scent and deploy them across the trail once he was on stand.

I want to try this next year on one of my stands that overlooks some very thick cover with a lot of travel lanes so I don't have to back into the area to deploy scent.

16.) Swamp Fox - 11/14/2014

Long ago, Tink's was selling a Frisbee deal that held scent. I remember him giving a presentation about it at one of the first Dixie Deer Classics. Early 80's.

I thought, sure, sounds like a good idea as long as you wear gloves. Did Tink say anything about that? Nope.

I could see using the tennis balls, myself, because I hate to cross a trail and a lot of times it's just unavoidable.

Thanks for the tip.

17.) Swamp Fox - 11/17/2014

Water Cannon II :wink

Who knew there was a Super Soaker Forum?

Video here:



[url]http://forums.sscentral.org/showthread.php?t=3946[/url]

18.) bluecat - 11/17/2014

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;27156]Water Cannon II :wink

Who knew there was a Super Soaker Forum?

Video here:



[url]http://forums.sscentral.org/showthread.php?t=3946[/url][/QUOTE]

Move out of your parent's basement.

19.) Swamp Fox - 11/17/2014

I believe you could also use a hot dog/T-shirt cannon or a potato gun to lob scent pods, apples, radishes, beets or corn (shelled or cob)...


If you had a lot of time on your hands, you could gather soybeans and acorns, too.

20.) bluecat - 11/17/2014

I've often thought about bringing my Wrist Rocket to the stand when I get bored. You could lob some stuff that way too and it wouldn't be too loud.


At the very least you could pester some squirrels.

21.) Swamp Fox - 11/17/2014

A few years ago, I think somebody was marketing a scent dispersal system that centered around a wrist rocket or a flip. The scent was in some type of pod that broke on impact, I think.

Here's an old boy down the road from me:

22.) bluecat - 11/17/2014

I seem to remember that video from years ago. Amazing.

23.) bluecat - 11/17/2014

As a little f'er I used to sit in the Mulberry tree down from my house that overlooked one of the streets. I would fire mulberries from my wrist rocket at the cars as they passed by.

They just thought it was a bird that got their windshield...

24.) luv2bowhunt - 11/18/2014

Sounds like a lot of fun billy. With any luck you can enjoy tag soup like I did this year. Our season just ended and 2 good things, I was able to pass up several younger bucks that were legal and I didn't blow any ligaments out during my week long hunt last week.

I've used the deer sound to stop deer and haven' t had a problem, provided it wasn't too loud. If the woods are super quiet I won't do it. I'll just take my chances with what I've got to work with. I would never use scent here to try and stop deer, these high pressured deer are really wary. I can see that possibly back firing on me.


PS - Anyone who can't keep a mouth call in while pulling the trigger is a _______________! Feel free to fill in the blank.

25.) bluecat - 11/18/2014

It's just Swampy spitting the bit...:wink

26.) Swamp Fox - 11/18/2014

LOL...

It's a breathing/mouth position/anchor point thing. I can retain it with a shotgun no problem. But at full draw that diaphragm is like a baseball card in my mouth, so it's outta there!

27.) bluecat - 11/18/2014

Don't discount the value of being able to stop a walking turkey with a mouth call either. I was at full draw a few years back and this turkey is walking by at 5 yards with no signs of stopping. My friend Andy said, "Do you want me to stop him?" "Yep". Andy clucked with his diaphram and the turkey stopped long enough for me to center the pin.

28.) Swamp Fox - 11/18/2014

That's where my talent for making chicken noises with my mouth comes in handy. It began in grade school, when-- as we all know-- chickens and everything they do become funny to young boys. Naturally, I excelled at chicken noises and chicken jokes. Think a young Deerminator dedicated to poultry instead of cattle.

Little did I know that this talent would come in handy when I got gobbler fever, and at the state fair each year...