Written by: Derek Coblentz
10/16/2010 8:53 AM 

Just as in my previous blog, we are still concentrating on getting our property right for the upcoming years. By “getting our property right” I mean we are working on food plots, shooting lanes, and game management. October 10th was a very foggy Saturday morning and I was running late to get in the stand. So instead of sitting in the “honey-hole stand” as we call it, I choose to sit in a stand closer to camp for sake of time. This stand is also in a good location so I was optimistic about seeing some deer. Three deer have been killed out of it since the start of the season so it has been getting some action. Nick and I have also filmed a good amount of deer from this stand. It’s a two-man stand set up on a logging road and the view from the back of the stand overlooks a cut-over.

Just as you would imagine…a buck came out behind the stand in the cut-over. As I mentioned, it was a very foggy morning and it was really difficult to see out of my scope! I thought to myself that it was just my luck that a deer walk out behind me and then I could barely see him for the fog in my scope. I didn't have my camera tripod that morning so I pulled my camera out of my bag and tried to free hand a little short segment of footage. With the light being low, the deer coming from behind me, and the fog making it difficult to see…I really couldn't tell how big the buck was. At first I thought it was a spike from a distance, but I finally got the camera focused on him. It turned out to be one of the deer we have been looking to harvest for genetics sake. Before I picked up my rifle, I checked and double checked to make sure this was the buck we’d been looking to cull before I made the shot. After I finalized my decision with the help of my camera, I had to stand up and turn around in the stand to make the shot. It wasn’t going to be the best body position to be in for a good shot, but I was able to as I used the back rest to steady my rifle as I placed my crosshairs right in his kitchen. I made the shot at 7:34 and he dropped right on the corn pile. After I got down and made it over to the deer I can tell you that this deer was one of the biggest cow horns I have ever seen! I usually do not shoot small racked bucks but this was interesting because of how big he was and how his horns didn't show that! The deer turned out to be around a four year old buck according to the processor.

That afternoon I went to a climber that I placed on another logging road about 800 yards away from the stand I hunted in that morning. I didn’t see any deer that evening but I did experience something awesome that I have never experienced in deer season. I had about 25-30 hens walk under my stand in a uniform line calling to each other! It was amazing to watch how they act out of turkey season and how much the call. I couldn’t believe what was happening, but I just sat there and watched it all take place beneath me. It was a pretty neat thing to experience and see.

So far in my life, I’ve always hunted with guns. This past Sunday afternoon I attempted my first bow hunt. I ended up perched on a wooden platform about 25 Feet up in the air on the edge of some hard woods. After a little while of sitting I had a small doe walk out. Having never killed a deer with a bow I was going to shoot a doe if it walked out, but once again my camera helped me! I zoomed in on the small deer and noticed that it had little bumps on his head and I knew it was a “Button Buck”. I thought to myself in three to four years he could be a nice shooter. So I practiced restraint, and didn’t hit the release and let the arrow fly. It was a very close encounter with this deer. He was so close to the stand that I could hear the corn as he mashed it with his teeth. Crunch! Crunch! Even though it was a small deer, that hunt has to been one of the best experiences in my book.

Being so close to the deer and he not even knowing I was there was really neat. Again, I think one of the reasons for that is the McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle Bag. I put my hunting clothes and gear in it for 2 hours before every hunt and it is really working. I even put my gloves and face-mask in it just to be safe. I know that my scent control must be on point if I want to be close to my game and without this bag I may have been winded by this deer. This deer had no clue I was in the woods because I smelled like strong pine and because of this close encounter I got to experience a great first bow hunt.
 

All in all, it was a great weekend of hunting. I hope to have many more to come.

Derek,

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