Got Busted Saturday.....

[Plank Road Farm]

Just thought I'd share my experience last Saturday morning deer hunting.
I was in my hand built wooden stand by 5:30 A.M.
The temp was about 38 degrees and foggy.
I was looking straight out in front at a bush hogged field that was 200 yds. long.
My left eye started watering, so I very slowly removed my right glove and wiped it with my bare finger.
Just as I moved my hand down by my side and looked down about 10-15 yds. to my left in front of me was a buck. How he got that close to me was a surprise, I never heard him or saw him walk up.
It was 6:35 A.M. just before daylight and I could barely see him.
I froze, and he dropped his head to feed on some acorns, and I very quickly reached for my rifle which was resting across the gun rails in front of me and froze again.
So now I've got my hands on my rifle but he is looking right at me.
This is the first buck I've seen this close with a gun in my hands.
I started deer hunting last year, I killed a button buck (thought it was a doe) and two adult does.
He became alerted and started to walk across in front of me to the right with his head held high. I could see horns but not sure how many (4 or 6 pointer I think). I don't have much experience hunting deer and to tell the truth I didn't know what to do. So what I did, as he was walking in front of me, I tried to very slowly raise my gun and turn slightly to get a shot off. But just then he either saw or heard me and bolted off and out of sight in a flash.
I got busted..... I've got a lot to learn about the reaction habits of a buck.
I've since read their eyes have more cones than rods and can see movement better that color. And they have about two square feet of hearing area within their ears. I don't think he smelled me the wind was in my favor. I told a deer hunter friend about this and he said next time I get handcuffed like that to just freeze and not move a muscle even if he drops his head. Just stay as still as possible not even blink. Wait until he walks off and turns his head then raise my gun and usually he will stop and look back. Then take the shot. All I know is that he sure was a pretty rascal. Oh well, maybe next time.
Hope this wasn't too long.

 

[BlackSky]

That must have been awesome

 

[Buck Snort]

Doo-doo occurs.

 

[Fernando]

Well, at least you didn’t get your #ss kicked, lol. Last Thursday night I was boar hunting in the forest. I waited for several hours laid down in the woods, surrounded with tall bushes. I was hopping the boars would show up in a clear hill in front of me, 90 or 100 meters away. Near 9 pm I notice some noise 8 or 9 feet to my right, but I though it was a rabbit or a rat. One or two minutes after, another noise, very low. This time I though it was a badger and I slowly grab me gun. When I unlock the safety the gun make a click. And all hell broke loose after that. It was no rabbit or badger, it was a freaking boar. Neither I nor the pig knew where to run in the dark, lololol, but we both manage to get out of there unharmed.

How could that happend? It had rained during the day so the ground was wet, and even heavy bodies could move around without make loud noises. Bushes bend without breaking.

 

[wombat13]

I'm always amazed by how deer can just seem to appear out of thin air. I had a buck appear 20 yards from me on Sunday. He had covered at least 30 yards of relatively open woods while I was scanning the other direction.

 

[Mudinyeri]

In low light and fog, deer are like ghosts. They seem to appear and disappear at will.

 

[keano44]

I got busted too...

Don't sweat it; just chalk it up to experience. I got busted too, last Saturday evening, and I have 35 years of deer hunting experience!
I was in a ladder stand in the woods and got a bit bored. I started fooling around with my rangefinder when I should have been still. I was ranging down to the end of one of my shooting lanes, and had to shift position to steady the rangefinder on the shooting rail of the stand. I was looking through it for something to "shoot" a range. I noticed a dark spot that I hadn't noticed before looking through the rangefinder, and thought, OK I can range to that stump. Only, it wasn't a stump, it had eyes and was looking back at me! It was a shooter buck (we shoot 8-point or better on our lease). It was not a buck I would have mounted on the wall, but one I would have been proud to have taken with the TC Contender, 14" bull barrel, 30-30 I was using, with my own hand loads; a personal goal I have set for myself. I never got the shot, he didn't hang around long enough for me to get the gun into play. Oh, the range, 65 yds. It would have been a perfect shot presentation for my set-up.

 

[HOOfan_1]

I've found nothing can appear or disappear into/out of thin air better than a turkey

While 1 pound squirrels are the noisiest creatures in the woods.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

While 1 pound squirrels are the noisiest creatures in the woods.

Aint THAT the dern truth! I keep 2 or 3 "junk" arrows in the quiver just for the pesky little tree rats! Whats REALLY bad is when you get up in your tree about half an hour before light, then, after daylight breaks, you look across from you and realize you have set up almost dead in line with a squirrels nest! Don't know how many times I have been "fussed at" by an angry little furball and a deer will not get within 100 yards of a barking squirrel. Have to say they do look kind of funny after you pin one to a tree Its why I carry junk arrows now. 30 bucks (10 dollar arrow, 10 dollar broad head, 10 dollar lighted noch) is a bit on the pricey side for a tree rat. But after sitting there for 30 minutes waiting on the little bugger to shut the hell up got to me!

Hunt long enough, we all get busted one way or another. A lot don't realize just how a deer see's. Just because it's head is down does not mean it can't or isn't looking at you. They have about 140* line of sight with them big eyes. And they are masters of the old "head fake" and fool even the best of hunters.

 

[Ranger J]

I think every hunter has probably experienced what I call the 'instant deer'. What really happens is that they pop up out of the ground like mushrooms. Another theory is that they can change back and forth into squirrels. That explains why you can see lots of deer while scouting before season and see only squirrels when season is in.

RJ

 

[hardluk1]

Your going to run into screw up's for the rest of your life hunting. We all do. Wait till you wake your self up snore'n and when you open your eyes there's several deer looking at you about ten feet away and nothing you can do. How do i know that?? As time goes by you will learn how much movement you can get away with and how to do it. Just don't move fast and cover your face and hands too if your in the open.

 

[nathan]

this happened to me too two years ago while hunting at Sam Houston Natl Forest. I was squating under a depression when i heard some crashing sound behind me. Then wheni stood up theres a doe a few feet away. It stopped noticing i was there. She looked straight at me and i slowly grab the rifle. I took aim and couldnt see a dang thing . It was basically dark for some reason . Then the deer bolted away like lighting and i lost it.

Lesson learned . I should just stayed still and once the buck was looking away to grab the rifle and quickly shoot. But again, the buck fever was so strong i busted myself for it.

 

[flipajig]

Join the club I grew up hunting Mule deer and now im hunting Whittail. Two compleat different critters a muley will bust you but they are more curious than a whittail
A whittail will bust at the slightest thing keep up dont give up.

 

[Deaf Smith]

I'm always amazed by how deer can just seem to appear out of thin air. I had a buck appear 20 yards from me on Sunday. He had covered at least 30 yards of relatively open woods while I was scanning the other direction.

That is what happend to me last Friday.

Walking through the woods near an oil pipeline clearing that had a lot of goat weed. Stood there with brush around me for 10 min and then right there, 150 or so yards HALF WAY ACROSS THE PIPELINE CLEARING was a very big buck. At least 10 points. Had my scope on him but because I could only see the side of the antlers I could not tell if it was the legal 13 inch spread here in Texas.

I waited 4 min or so after he made the woods and he came back out and walked up the hill. It LOOKS like it's more than 13 inches but hey, he was almost 200 yards away by then walking away from me.

I'll be out in the sticks tomorrow (it's very cold right now here in East Texas) and I hope to run into him again.

Deaf

 

[HOOfan_1]

A whittail will bust at the slightest thing keep up dont give up.

Although I have had them walk up to within 8 yards of me while squirrel hunting. They know I am there, they are looking right at me. I sit as still as a stump and they stare at me and start stamping the ground and snorting.

I think they know I am there, but the don't know what the heck I am or if they should be scared or not.

 

[p85]

almost busted but got lucky

opening day in va., I was in a 2 man ladder stand. stand has camo sides and top (nice) with zip our windows sides and front. about 8:30 a spike horn appears to my extreme right side about 50 yds out and down in a gulley. my 30-30 was resting across the rail pointing to the left. I very slowly get my rifle down off the rails while watching the buck go from head up to head down.
as I turn to my right (I shoot right handed), I realize that I cannot get into a position to shoot while seated. now I am thinking "how am I going to get down on my knees in this stand, turn to the right and get a bead on the deer without spooking him". I would move and he would look up, then I would freeze. I did it and was able to get a comfortable bead on him. he turned broadside and I shot at what should have been a lung shot if he were level with me. I ended up hitting him in the spine above the shoulder and he dropped right there.
several things went right for me. 1)I was in a camo sided blind 2)it was 2 man so I had plenty of room 3)and the deer didn't spook
I got lucky.

 

[d2wing]

Last year I was busted by a noisy sling mount. Deer often appear when you are distracted, not paying attention, or in the wrong position, have your scope set to the wrong power. They sometimes are silent and blend in as well. You might not see one at all that is looking at you. Welcome to the club.

 

[General Lee]

When a deer appears in front of me suddenly it is because I fell asleep. I have woke up several times in my stand to see a deer lookin at me. Maybe I was snoring or something.

 

[Virg461]

I have listened to deer coming from hundreds of yards away, and I have also had them appear as if by magic. I think some of them take advanced ninja training. About the only time a mature buck will make noise is when he's following a doe in heat.

Don't sweat getting busted. Happens to everyone now and then. Learn from the experience.

 

[gordy]

2 years ago I was on stand , a doe and her twins came into sight at about 100 yards. they walked along the fence line that will bring them right to me and my bow. At about 45 yards the doe just stops. Looks at me and starts to stomp her front foot. (The wind was in my face.) She turns and starts to walk away, calling to the twins as she went. I must have moved or she would not have seen me, I don't know. But no doe that day.
The next week I shot a nice 8 point out of the same tree.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

lol, Gordy, I have come to the conclusion over the years that the reason Big bucks get older and bigger is because of them wise old does!

 

[47dodge]

I love reading all the stories...
I was in a tree during bow season watching 8 deer play in the field just out of range (recurve you know)...I had watched these deer for 5 days come and go into that field....young ones jumping and playing ..and moms scolding them when they get too rambunctious,,,,I was cold and nose was runny, so instinct is to sniff or wipe ..i sniffed OOOHHH crap all the deer stood in their tracks and stared at me....What to do...I started chucking like a squirell...that did the trick..they said to theirselfs. Oh it is just a squirell.

I watched them for another hour or so, then they all went their own dirrections....I have a compound now..

 

[HOOfan_1]

I went out Yesterday afternoon. It had snowed the night before and there was a bit of snow on the ground, not completely covered, but enough to make the leaves and dry grass a little quieter. I spent the first couple of hours in the wood and I usually come out at about 3:30 to sit in a field waiting for them to come out to feed around dusk. It was SO windy, I figured they wouldn't move until after legal shooting time. I also figured the wind would cover the noise I was making. So I decided to instead walk through a field heavily overgrown with pines/cedars and briars. About 8 minutes into my walk I hear a loud SHHHHH look to my left and about 20 yards away I see one bound away. I didn't even see it for more than a fraction of a second, so I don't even know what sex it was. I figure he probably didn't even go that far since I didn't move for about 2 minutes after that, but I didn't see any other deer while walking the field. I almost stepped right on a cottontail though. He didn't bolt until I was standing almost right on top of him.

 

[HOOfan_1]

Busted again, closest I got to a shot this year.

My dad and I went to our stand by place today. An out of the way place that isn't heavily hunted on a farm that is heavily hunted.

I was sitting half way up a fairly steep hill on the West side of a creek bottom in the woods. The creek was probably 30 yards behind me and about 40 yards to the East of the creek up a much gentler and shorter hill is a field that used to be a dump but has been growing over with briers and cedars for about 20 years now. At about 3:45 I hear something coming from behind me that is obviously not a squirrel. It turns out to be a beagle that runs down the woods that run along a pine/cedar thicket north of the overgrown field. He runs about 50-60 yards by me over the creek and up the hill, no baying or anything. My dad was sitting at the edge of unused farm road 300 yards or so behind me in the field. At 4:00 I hear a shot. I called him on his cell phone at about 4:10 to ask if it was him who shot. He had shot at a doe that came out of the pines about 30 yards away from him, but he said as soon as he got it in his scope it bolted as he pulled the trigger so he missed. 30 minutes later I hear footfalls that are nor a squirrel again. I turn around and coming from the field are 3 or 4 does coming at a quick trot. They are coming down the hill perpendicular to the creek in my direction. They got as close as 40-50 yards from me, but there were so many saplings in the way and were moving to quick at that distance to get sights on them. So as they pass behind a low ridge perpendicular to the creek and out of my sight (I hoped me out of theirs too) I pull up my Win 94, cock it and wait for them to appear 30 yards to my left on the fairly open hillside. I wait 3 seconds and watch them basically turn around and go back the way they came at the same quick trot they came down. No tails in the air, no bounding. They either saw me, smelled me or just decided the creek was too much of an obstacle to cross.

I've got one more day this season to keep from getting skunked.

 

[brandon_mcg]

this usually happens to me at least once a season, though it is usually with does. ive had one buck spy me from about 100 yards away and i was dang sure that i triple checked that opening for a deer before i repositioned myself. i guess there is a reason that the big bucks get big.