Ever have a hunt that you just shake your head at afterward? You know, the kind that ends almost as quickly as it began? One that presents you with an opportunity when little opportunity is expected? This was definitely one of those hunts. As bowhunters, most of us spend countless hours during the off season preparing for a single opportunity to present itself. That moment, while our ultimate goal, is often fleeting. For those of us fortunate enough to take a deer in the field, it's a years worth of emotion poured into what often amounts to mere seconds or minutes start to finish. Hours of scouting, hours of habitat work, scouring topo's, running trailcams, putting our minerals, knocking on doors, hanging sets in 80 degree weather, etc. All for the chance to experience one brief moment. Sometimes, NONE of that preparation is enough. Sometimes, a little luck, being in the right place at the right time, is all that's needed. After filling my doe tag earlier in the season, and hunting a bit more selectively this season, I was ready to hit it hard as we entered the week of Halloween. I was gearing up for what I hoped to be an active tail end to our 6 week early season here in PA. I have a stand that has produced for me the last two seasons, and one that I reserve solely for this time of the year. If most of you were to look at it, you would ask yourself, "why here?" Well, to be honest, it sits a short 60yds off of my parent's back porch. Right on the south edge of a westward edge. It was timbered around 12 years ago, and all of the new growth has made for a great doe bedding area. Tucked in close to my parents house has the doe group there a little more accustomed to human intrusion as well. It's the perfect place for bucks to be cruising this time of year. However, historically, this stand has been a better mid morning set than afternoon, but with DST ending, my time to get to the stand has been drastically cut short during weekdays due to my work schedule. So yesterday, I opted to sit in this stand because of time. Not expecting much, I quickly changed from my work clothes into my hunting gear right in my parents driveway (it's rural, no one would be offended :D), and hurried up into the stand. It was eerily still and quiet getting into the stand. However, I no sooner hoisted my bow up in to the stand when the wind started up. The location of the stand at the base of the slope tends to cause some unpredictable winds. I was reminded of that on Saturday morning when I had a shooter hang up at this very stand and head away even after I tried coaxing him back with my calling. So I'm sitting in the stand now with about an hour of daylight to work with watching the winds do their thing. I'm thinking the whole time that this simply isn't a good situation, but at this point, I have no other options with time clearly not on my side. So I decided to stick it out. About 5 minutes later, I hear crashing behind me. Now mind you, "behind me" is quite literally the top of my parents yard. So, I turn to see a doe running. I think, "what are the chances?" So, just to play it safe, I lift my bow off the hanger ever so slowly and clip my release with the anticipation of what might be behind her. Then I hear it. That unmistakable sound. Two forceful grunts. Short, but enough. Then I see the rack. Once I see it's a shooter, I stop focusing on that and focus on where he's heading. The doe went low and behind me now standing about 10yds from the base of my tree. He went high. Perfect. What happened next was almost to a T what my buck last year did. He walked right across in front of me, as he went behind that same hemlock that last year's buck did, I drew. Once he cleared the hemlock, I stopped him, and let the shot go. Unfortunately I somehow pushed the shot and hit high and in the spine. He went down, and I quickly sent another through him and watched him expire. It is an unfortunate part of this hunt, but a part that I must mention, because, as much as we run these scenarios through our heads time and time again, things go wrong. I'm not proud of the shot, but in the end, you have to learn from it, and move on. In a matter of seconds, not minutes, the hunt was over. I hadn't had time to really soak it all in as we rarely do in these situations. From the time I pulled my bow off the hanger until the time he was down, was only a few short minutes. All of that preparation, hard work, and time in stand seemed almost irrelevant, at least in this situation. Luck. That's what it was. Sometimes you make your own luck, and sometimes you just happen upon it. For me, today was the latter. However, lucky as I may have been, I still am thrilled as can be. I will take a luck driven punched tag over an empty one every day. As for the title of the thread? I shot him standing within feet of where last years buck was, and around 15ft from where my buck in 2012 was. My first three-peat from a single stand. I haven't scored him out yet, and he won't score a ton, but he's solid for our area, and one I'm proud to have taken. Last year's buck that stood a mere few ft from this one when the arrow was released: 2012's buck that fell a mere 15ft (+/-) from this year's:
Had a stand where I took up till last year every buck but one from. Ol' Faithful was it's name. Congrats!
Man I can't wait until the day I get my hands on my first buck. Awesome job Matt!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Can I try and get a fourth? lol Congratulations! A great spot so close to "home"! You will have to go at it again next year!
