Still Hunting Whitetail

[kpk]

The only time that I got really close was probably mid October. It had rained hard overnight and was fairly windy in the morning so it was easy to slip through the woods quietly. Where I was at there are a few small ridges and rock outcrops. Most of the rock outcrops on this ridge are probably about 10 feet high, just high enough to not really see below you unless you make the effort to get to edge and look over. On one of them I very slowly peaked over the rock outcrop and there was a giant all curled up in bed - staring directly at me. Unfortunately, his 7th sense must've caught me. I dropped and took half a step back and drew my bow and peaked back over the edge. He exploded out of that bed like a bomb went off. He ran in a giant C shape down the hill and then back up and directly at me. He charged directly at me to probably 25 yards and then veered off. I can only imagine he came up to see what was sneaking up on him. I'm always ready to draw now when I look over into a blind spot like that. Had I been ready that time, I would've killed one of my best deer from the ground at about 15 feet.

I haven't managed to kill a buck with a bow yet while still hunting, but it's still my favorite way to hunt them.

 

[robertchutch]

I got one last year by sitting until one was spotted and plotting a route to intercept his path. For outright still, i agree on the use of rain days

 

[robertchutch]

2015 I was still hunting and rattling softly as i moved. As I topped a small ridge I caught movement then 2 tails flagging at 100 yards, Oh man busted deer right out.
I decided to sit and let the area calm down for a few minutes
After about 15 or so I started towards the next ridge , as I scanned the area I saw a buck bedded with his neck stretched high looking right at me.
The mental gymnastics in the next few seconds was crazy. Oh man thats a good buck, shoot he's on high alert, crap he's going to bolt, No he's not he thinks he's hidden. I dropped to my shooting sticks, settle the crosshairs on the shoulder and slow squeeze. Holy smokes I pinned him to where he laid.
One of my best bucks to date.
This is a picture after i walked up to make sure he was dead and the walked back to where i shot from to take a picture of the shotView attachment 425559

And as he laid when I walked up to him (I did prop his head up for the pictures)
View attachment 425560

man i can feel the stroke levels of blood pressure you were experiencing in that story

 

[Randle]

Yep I sure had alot of emotion and thoughts all in about 9.5 seconds.

 

[Dos Perros]

I do more what I would call spot and stalk in western Kansas, archery, tag is good for both whitetails and muleys. Have had some opportunities with whitetails already on their feet, but I swear they can hear you think. Best odds are stalking a bedded buck.

 

[WCB]

I don't know if I would call it still hunting but I hunt North Dakota bunch in open cattail slough and cattle pasture country. Lots of tall CRP in some areas etc. A few years ago I had spotted a bunch of deer, about 10 does and 5 or 6 bucks including 2 really nice bucks, coming out of sloughs about 1 mile from where I was sitting in a stand on a tree row for an evening. The next morning I decided to go over there and see if I could catch them going back to bed. I got there an hour before shooting light and sat in a overgrown rock pile overlooking the sloughs about 150-200 yards away.

I saw a couple small bucks and does walk past the sloughs in front of me up over the ridge to my right. About an hour after sunrise (overcast day though) a surprisingly big 6pt came over that same ridge and walked exact opposite of those other deer. When he disappeared behind a little ridge I went after him since it was my last day to hunt ND that year. I got to where he should a have been and started moving really slow along a slough edge still hunting and glass into the cattails trying to spot him. Well after 100 yards of this I look up and he just walks over the top of the hill about 150yds ahead of me pushing a doe.

To keep eyes on him I take off running right along a cattle trail through some chest high CRP. I start to go around another small slough with the cattails to my left about 5 ft. As I am jogging along out of the corner of my eye I notice a throat patch and the form of goal posts (antlers) in the cattails maybe 25-30ft away....BUCK! From past experience I know deer hold tight in cattails and you have to step on them or stop moving for them to jump up. So I slowed my pace but kept moving, knocked an arrow, and instantly started walking backwards at a good pace. I saw the antlers as I got close and drew my bow took 4 or 5 more steps backwards and shot the buck straight in the chest at what I stepped off to be 8 yards. Ended up being a 135" ten point.

I watched him run off and fall over about 100yds away after crashing through the cattails, some water, and nose diving into a small dirt bank. I waited 5 minutes or so, walked in to see if my arrow was there and step off the distance to his bed. 5 ft to the right of his bed a doe and and a spike buck jumped up and I narrowly missed crapping my pants. He is nowhere near my biggest buck but probably one of the coolest kill sequences yet.

 

[bootstrap]

Okay guy’s this is the first time posting anything like this.

I grew up hunting public land, wildlife management areas mostly, hunted almost every weekend rain or shine and any other day that I could. Over the past few years, I haven't been able to hunt as much as I would like. So you learn to go when you can.

It was unseasonably hot for this time of year 78°F, normal highs are around 55°F and 65°F. I made the comment to my wife I would like to hunt this weekend with it being the last hunt of the year (for one of my favorite WMA we use to hunt) but really hated to go because of the heat, she quickly replied with "You haven't been able to go much and your not going to get one if you don't go." and with that I simply replied yes ma'am. That week I did some virtual scouting (another first) of an area that I hadn't previously hunted. I settled in on a route that I could easily adjust depending on the wind once I got in there.

Saturday morning came early a cup of coffee, a little breakfast and I was off with plans on not seeing much and hunting hard from dark to dark. The drive to the WMA was uneventful not seeing any wildlife along the way. I parked the truck grabbed my gun, pack and sled (Game Wardens must weigh and age the deer so no packing out). I turned my flashlight on low just enough to pierce the dark ahead of me and headed out to find that elusive heat wave buck.

After about a mile the flashlight gave way to the morning's gray light. I paused long enough to stow my sled, got a drink of water and thought to myself its already HOT, but oh how I still enjoy this time of day. I found a ridge about 100 yards away to take in the morning, survey my surroundings and enjoy a cup of coffee. As the squirrels and birds were greeting the morning, I slowly started down the old firebreak that paralleled the hill side with 15-year-old pines above and a mixture of hardwood below leading into a thick cutover.

Not cutting much deer sign, I debated on crossing over the mountain into some big timber in hopes that I might catch one bedded in the morning sun. I slowly continued knowing from my virtual scouting that a saddle was up ahead. As I closed the distance on the saddle, the timber began to open below. Stopping between two pines to survey the hardwood bottom and further contemplate crossing over, I thanked God for the ability to enjoy such a beautiful morning. Just then something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, was that a flicker of an ear or a bird, just to my left in the pines. As much as I try, I just can't make anything out, hesitant to move I think about raising my binoculars but decide to stay still and observe. While focusing on the flicker there was movement to my right something coming around a blowdown root ball, a battle-hardened buck cruising for that last estrus doe. As the adrenalin started to rise along with my heartbeat, I surveyed his rack 1, 2, 3, 4 on one side yep a legal buck. About that time he saw or smelled something he did not like, he jumped about ten feet to the left and just froze he was now quartering away from me. I raised my gun placed the crosshairs on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger the buck hunched up and ran back the way he came. I watched as he ran around the blowdown losing sight of him then picked him up at the other end, I thought. I thanked God for the opportunity and began waiting after about 20 minutes I started over to where I last saw the deer, no sign not even a hoof mark, that's odd I was sure I hit him then the wind shifted I could smell the musk of a rutting buck looking around I didn't see anything. So I went to where I had shot at the deer (like you are supposed to), hair okay, three more feet good blood yes! After a short trailing session there he lay. Yes, that was a deer flicker to my left.