The Reasons Why I Hunt

Last night I hunted in a new spot. It has been a spot I have wanted to hunt for a long time. It is one of those big old wide shelter belts. I am talking like 10 tree rows wide with the old Cottonwood trees standing tall in the middle. One of those shelter belts that are disappearing on the landscape. This spot is only a couple hundred yards from my house. But last night was the first time I hunted this spot.

I could've hunted here last year but for medical reasons I couldn't get out. My friend found a good level place in the tree rows where I could get my wheelchair in and out easily. He also cleaned out all of the old, dead branches out of the way to make a clearing for my wheelchair and shooting lanes. Thanks.

This year with my medical problems behind me I was going to be able to hunt this new spot. From the Moultrie trail cam pictures last year we knew it was going to be good. There were decent bucks and there were a lot of them. The trail cam pictures this year did not disappoint. The deer were bigger and more plentiful.

Another friend, the landowner left part of his field along the belt in wheat stubble instead of chisel plowing it up. This makes it a lot easier for me to get a vehicle to where I want to go and get my chair to where I need to be. Thanks.

Anyway, last night was the first time being in this shelter belt for a while. I checked it out about a month ago and then it decided to snow, so I had to wait for it to dry out. When I was going into the belt the first thing I noticed was a fresh scrape about 20 feet in front of me on the path going into the clearing. Not wanting to disturb it I decided to back in to some bushes to give myself a backdrop so I wouldn't be silhouetted. I checked out my shooting lanes and decided this spot would work. So I had my mom wrap me in my Mossy Oak burlap with a fresh earth scent wafer, then I had her douse the scrape and set up a scent wick both sprayed with Buck Bomb-Doe Pee. Man I love the smell of fresh dirt and deer urine. They should make cologne out of that combination. The last thing I have someone do is put an arrow in my Carbon Express Intercept crossbow and make sure the safety switch is off so I am cocked, locked and ready to rock.

This is my favorite time, when I am all alone. I am by myself with nature until I call someone to come and get me. For the next couple hours it is just me watching the blue jays squawk, watching the squirrels annoy me, hearing the mice rustle under the leaves and hopefully seeing a deer. This is also my time to do my reflecting on what has happened, some might say meditating would be a better word. I think they are right. It is my alone time. You also think about the future and what might be, while waiting for Mr. Big to show his face.

It was a perfect night. It was a brisk, clear blue sky, perfect wind with the smell of autumn in my face kind of night. The wind was in my face, coming from the Southeast. The sunset was behind me and the harvest moon was rising in front of me.

The moment he came in the belt. The only picture I got of him that night.

All of the sudden around 6:20 PM I could hear something coming from the corn, which is still standing on the South side of the belt. Sunset was right at 6:28 PM. The anticipation is what gets me. You never know what's going to show up. This time it was a doe and a yearling. They looked like they were going to come right in. And they did. They came within 20 feet and milled around without a clue I was there for a good 15 minutes. Sitting on the ground having animals that close and having them have no idea you are there is something everyone should experience. The older doe stared at me for a little while but with the wind at her back she had no clue and she settled right down. Play the wind my friends and you will be rewarded.

 

The same buck from the night before.

Then I could hear something else walking along the belt. It was coming from the east. The does became alert. Bobbing their heads up and down like they do when they know something is up. All of a sudden I heard a faint grunt. One of those grunts you don't hear unless you are really focused. One of those grunts you think you made up in your head. But the next thing I saw was a buck working his way into the belt with his nose on the ground. Pre-rut is on. I could tell he was a nice 4 x 4, one that I have had on camera. If he gave me the opportunity I would let my Muzzy Trocar broadhead fly. But the opportunity was not presented. He kept his head down and walked straight towards the older doe and she took off like a raped ape heading East down the belt with the yearling following shortly after. The buck put his head up for a second just to give me a look at his rack, and then he put his head down and chased after the females. What a rush. The next thing I knew, it was dark.

I could've shot both does on this night. I could've taken a bad shot at the buck on this night. But that isn't the reason I hunt. The reason why I hunt is because I can. It is about the hunt. It is not about the kill.

These are just some of the reasons why I hunt. It's for these reasons and more. It is the reason why I do all of the preseason. It is the reason why I set up all of the trail cams. It is the reason for all of the target practice. It takes dedication and some skill. But it is mostly luck, perseverance and time spent in the woods. These are reasons why I hunt.

I was born to do this. I will do this until I can't. These are the reasons why I hunt. To shoot one with antlers is a bonus. To fill the freezer is a bonus. It is a very tasty bonus, but still a bonus. But it is not the reason why I hunt. The reason why I hunt is because I am a hunter. And I don't apologize for that.

Those are just some of the reasons why I hunt.

Thanks for reading, Clint.

2013 Bow Buck and things

In the fall of 2013 I did not bow hunt that much - it was only on my sixth outing…. The main reason was because I was working on my new crossbow, fine tuning it to my liking. I also went pronghorn hunting in Wyoming that year - both good reasons in my book.

The first three nights I went hunting right north of our farmstead and I did not see one deer. I live in the country 7 miles away from the nearest town in southeast North Dakota. So I called up my friend Kevin and asked if I could hunt down on his place. He of course said, "Why haven't you been down here already?" I have hunted on his place for years and have always had good luck. They live right along the river and it is a deer's paradise.

So the first night down there I went and sat in a low tower which is accessible and sits off the ground about 5 feet. I like to sit there first to see what is moving because I can see every corner of the field. The field that year was seeded into alfalfa. That first night I saw a lot of deer and figured out where they were moving. The best part was that they were moving in my favorite spot. I have shot two bucks there in the past. Kevin calls it Clint's spot - I call it the tall pines because of the six or seven rows of pines that run about 60 yards long. On one end the deer like to funnel through from their bedding area to the feeding area. I like it because it is easy for me to get into and I can pretty much sit somewhere in that bunch of pines depending on the wind direction.

On November 1, the first day, I had quite a few deer within 40 yards but no shots. Had one big 4 x 4 within 10 yards of me but I was busted by him before he got in front of me. He was smart, he knew something wasn't right, circled around and winded me. I could not go out that Saturday and Sunday so I had to think about how I screwed up on that 4 x 4 for two days.

But on that Monday, luck was on my side and everything came together. I got into my spot around 3 PM. I actually scared out two deer while getting out of the van. Around 4 PM the does started coming out of the bedding area. There were about 10 of them when all of a sudden I heard grunting. Two little bucks started chasing around the does. There were deer running everywhere. The wind was perfect and they did not suspect me at all. I forgot to mention, I also put up an absorbing scent wick and doused it with doe in estrus made by Buck Bomb. I also put an earth dirt scent patch on my camouflage burlap that I wrap around me. Evidently that stuff works. I also hooked up my new A-Way grunt call that has a long tube so I can use it easily. So I started grunting at the little bucks. I played with them quite a while. We were grunting back and forth for at least a half-hour. But I could not get them to walk in front of me.

All of a sudden another buck came. His antlers looked like a pronghorn buck. He had bladed antlers that went straight up. I would've shot him if he came in front of me. I actually got him within 30 yards but there were some branches in the way so I did not take the shot. He circled all the way around me and came into the trees where I was sitting - but somehow he did not bust me. I also got to watch him make a scrape and a couple rubs. I had witnessed that before but never so close. It was awesome. I think he was a little twitterpated. After he got out of the trees I heard a big deep grunt. I knew it was something big. All of a sudden the two little bucks stopped their sparring and he walked right in between them. You could see their necks puff up and they sized each other up. After watching them for a little bit, they were only 15 yards away, I gave a couple soft grunts and the big guy came walking perfectly towards my scent wick. All I could see was he was four points on one side and could see a bunch of junk on the other side of his rack. I knew I was going to take the shot if he gave me the opportunity. And he did. He came in front of me about 10 yards, put his head up and was smelling the wick when I took the shot. Right after the shot I knew I hit him high but he ran about 20 yards and fell over. It took him quite a while to pass. I waited over an hour just to make sure he would not get up.

This was my first kill with my new Carbon Express Intercept crossbow. It was actually my first pass through. The arrow sliced right through him. The Slick Trick's originals did their job. He is a 7 x 5 with a lot of junk. He is a dandy.

Thanks for reading, Clint.