Friday, December 24, 2010

Details on previous story

The previous story I left unfinished so here are some of the details. The experience was unlike anything I'd seen before and quite riveting as I watched it unfold.

A deer had jumped out of the thick cover just after I'd approached the edge of the undergrowth silently and unseen. However, my first couple steps into the waist high grass had given my prey notice that something was in it's backyard and although it didn't know what, it ran a few feet into a field some 70 yards away and then stopped to look back and survey the area. I fired through some brush and perhaps that was a poor decision or maybe my aim was off slightly but to my chagrin, the deer ran wounded out into the field too distant for a shot. The noise alerted an obviously older doe I'd not previously seen and it followed the first .

My wounded doe soon lay down about 150 yards away and while I wished to get close enough for a second shot to finish her off, it just wasn't possible as there was no way to approach unseen. I was sure she still had enough strength to get back up and run. Perhaps, even enough energy to run off the property I was hunting which would make it difficult to track and recover her. Meanwhile, this second deer which had followed was now curiously observing her downed comrade with no apparent intention to leave the area.

This guardian deer soon started looking intently in another direction from where I sat, but at what, I didn't know. That is, until a coyote came trotting in to check out the situation. I found it surprising and completely fascinating that in less than five minutes from this deer laying down from it's wound, a coyote would be aware of the situation and coming to see if this was his lunch. The part where I wished for a video recorder came next when the second deer, obviously disturbed at the coyotes presence did not run but rather put it's head down and chased the coyote away. Not that the coyote went away but as it circled it was kept at bay by the doe as she stayed between the predator and prey. I've never seen anything like it before in all my outdoor experiences.

After about 15 minutes of this the coyote decided things weren't working out or possibly decided to come back later for it's planned meal. It left the deer and came back to the brushy area where I was hanging out. This allowed me to prevent it from carrying out either of these two options with a 12 gauge slug to the front shoulder.


With all that had transpired and my wounded deer still stationary in the field, I thought her strength would be low enough by now that I could move from my cover and she would stay right where she was. Wrong! She totally surprised me and bounded off to a wooded area at least 200 yards in the opposite direction. When I went to the woods to try and track her, I had no trail to follow. My hope was to find some point of entry where there might be blood. As noted in the previous story after searching for an extended period of time I found a single drop of blood that eventually led me to a fresh supply of delicious roasts and supremely tender grilled steaks.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Hunting story # 1

The last morning of this years deer hunt was perhaps the most interesting of any I've experienced over the past 24 years. The deer I shot ran about 1/8 mile through an open field and I completely lost the blood trail among the corn stubble and freshly overturned dirt. I knew she'd entered a wooded area over a ridge and out of sight but didn't know exactly where. After walking the perimeter of forest for about 100 yards, then reversing direction and starting to do it all over again, I found one drop of blood on a leaf. Following this clue into the underbrush, I found a easier to follow trail and soon recovered the deer. This was about a 4 hour process in total. In addition a deer, I bagged the coyote shown below.


This photo shows the drop of blood that caught my eye and eventually led me to my quarry.

No, that's not all the story - not by a long shot. The rest of the story is here.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Whee, it's nice and cold this morning.

On the way to work this morning I saw two rabbits pushing a squirrel trying to get him started!

Actually the camping trip last January was slightly colder than this morning. If I remember correctly all of us winter camping enthusiasts hinted after last years negative double digit temperatures we now had our story to tell... and in the future, we'd be happy to go back to the positive side of 0 degrees for our next cold weather klatch.



Saturday, December 4, 2010

Deer Season 2010 - Done

Back home after a day and a half in the woods.
Good weather: 30's both Fri and Sat
Good hunt: Brought home 3 deer for the freezer. Left the coyote.
Few photos: Don't like to take my good cameras in the woods. Don't own a cheap one. I should.
Great story: I'll try and do that soon!!