Day 11 - Oct 13
Kathy & Alex arrived about 6:30 am.
Nick, Alex, and I headed to Neal / Marshall.
Alex went to the W stand to try and get out of the wind.
Nick went to the E stand.
I headed to the Marshall / Boyd N property line and sat over the north bottoms.
Back in the woods, out of the wind, it was actually a pretty nice morning.
The sun rose at 7:44 am. We were in the woods before legal shooting light. In fact, it was so dark that I loaded the wrong bolt - I put in the field tip, but noticed before I hit the woods.
At 9:00, I had not even seen a bird. I was ready to leave. I stood up to stretch and look around. At that time, I saw a 6-point buck coming along the trail from the E in the bottoms. He was going to cross broadside at 40 yards, but at a steep decline. However, if he took the left trail, he would cross broadside at 10 yards. The wind was not in my favor. Didn't matter, as the buck took the right and headed away from me. He crossed in the open at 40 yards. Being the "smart" hunter that I am, I knew that due to the decline, actual yardage would be SHORTER than total distance to target. However, being not so smart, I had not practiced that distance on grade, nor did I have my range finger with me. I used Kentucky Windage and put my 30 yard pin on the buck.
I did not miss by more than 2 inches. Upon recovering my bolt, it was directly over the trail, right between the buck's front and rear legs. Had I not miscalculated the distance, he would be in the freezer right now.
The buck ran back off to the E - not continuing on to Nick and Alex.
We left the woods about 10. Upon discussing the physique of the buck - it was apparently the same one that Alex hit in the rib earlier this season. But I did not see a limp. This buck was just fine, physically. Of course that's to be expected of the Chuck Norris buck, says Alex.
We returned to the house and grilled the doe loins that I had marinated overnight in Coke. We also each had a bowl of venison chili. We washed it all down with freshly brewed sassafras tea.
Our goal was to return to the woods in the afternoon. However, Mother Nature decided that we needed rain here in central Indiana - and lots of it. We passed on getting soaked AGAIN.
So the guys all took a nap. Then we played video games and board games - and the girls (Sandy, Kathy, and Shelby) beat the boys at Trivial Pursuit by one roll. We could have won, but we couldn't get back to the middle - well, at least that's the story I'm telling. Mama cooked burritos for dinner. A fine time had by all.
Nick, Alex, and I headed to Neal / Marshall.
Alex went to the W stand to try and get out of the wind.
Nick went to the E stand.
I headed to the Marshall / Boyd N property line and sat over the north bottoms.
Back in the woods, out of the wind, it was actually a pretty nice morning.
The sun rose at 7:44 am. We were in the woods before legal shooting light. In fact, it was so dark that I loaded the wrong bolt - I put in the field tip, but noticed before I hit the woods.
At 9:00, I had not even seen a bird. I was ready to leave. I stood up to stretch and look around. At that time, I saw a 6-point buck coming along the trail from the E in the bottoms. He was going to cross broadside at 40 yards, but at a steep decline. However, if he took the left trail, he would cross broadside at 10 yards. The wind was not in my favor. Didn't matter, as the buck took the right and headed away from me. He crossed in the open at 40 yards. Being the "smart" hunter that I am, I knew that due to the decline, actual yardage would be SHORTER than total distance to target. However, being not so smart, I had not practiced that distance on grade, nor did I have my range finger with me. I used Kentucky Windage and put my 30 yard pin on the buck.
I did not miss by more than 2 inches. Upon recovering my bolt, it was directly over the trail, right between the buck's front and rear legs. Had I not miscalculated the distance, he would be in the freezer right now.
The buck ran back off to the E - not continuing on to Nick and Alex.
We left the woods about 10. Upon discussing the physique of the buck - it was apparently the same one that Alex hit in the rib earlier this season. But I did not see a limp. This buck was just fine, physically. Of course that's to be expected of the Chuck Norris buck, says Alex.
We returned to the house and grilled the doe loins that I had marinated overnight in Coke. We also each had a bowl of venison chili. We washed it all down with freshly brewed sassafras tea.
Our goal was to return to the woods in the afternoon. However, Mother Nature decided that we needed rain here in central Indiana - and lots of it. We passed on getting soaked AGAIN.
So the guys all took a nap. Then we played video games and board games - and the girls (Sandy, Kathy, and Shelby) beat the boys at Trivial Pursuit by one roll. We could have won, but we couldn't get back to the middle - well, at least that's the story I'm telling. Mama cooked burritos for dinner. A fine time had by all.
So perhaps the message here is for the boys to stick to hunting and the girls to stick to indoor pursuits, like board games and cooking, yes? It seems the balance of success seems to lie in those areas... although from recent performance, it would appear there is a very fine line between the two!
ReplyDeleteDave, don't let him kid you, they were smoked by more than one roll at Trivial Pursuit! Soon, there shall be meat in the freezer courtesy of the only female in the woods...and then, I shall rule the world! My dad always taught me, it's good to be the king :)
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