One of the most discouraging parts of hunting whitetail deer is getting busted. And, it’s
going to happen from time to time, but from my experiences, I have taken several deer
that have ‘busted’ me.
Yesterday I went to my stand pretty early. I arrived at 4:30 p.m. This was a new stand that I
had hung only a month ago and since I cut myself a trail to get in there, the deer had been
wearing it out. My stand placement was between two trails that seemed to get pretty
heavy traffic. My loc-on is about 14 feet in the air and I have a farm pond within 30 yards
in case they need a drink of water. I climbed up into the stand and secured my safety
harness and hauled my bow up to me. I detached my quiver and placed it on the adjacent
tree. I then knocked an arrow and settled in for a long afternoon.
It was hot and the mosquitoes sounded like 747’s taking off. I sat as quietly and as still as
I could. At 7:20 I was watching a couple squirrels play around and decided to adjust
myself just a bit to get some relief from the numbness in my legs. As I slid upwards back
against the tree, a doe who was less than 5 yards behind me blew as loudly as she
possibly could and ran off though the thickets announcing loudly, “danger, danger.” I was
disheartened but I just sat there and did not move.
My first thought was, “How did she get that close to me without me knowing it?” But deer
are very elusive and the ghost’s of the woods. This was not the first time a deer had
come in very close without making a sound and me not knowing they even existed.
My second thought was, “If she was that close she could not have smelled me because
the wind was blowing in her direction. So she must have seen me move and there is no
way, with the tree to my back between me and her that she knew what the danger was. I
was pretty certain her curiosity would get the better of her and she would come back to
do a more thorough investigation.
At 8:02 I saw her coming back, this time from a different direction which gave her a better
view point. She came in slowly but surely, staring in my direction the entire time. She
stopped facing me about 20 yards away looking like one of those bobble heads on the
dash of a car. From this encounter there is no possible way I could have pulled my bow
back, much less moved at all, without getting busted again, not to mention that when a
deer is facing you, you basically have no shot with a bow. But she was this close so I just
simply did not move and gave her plenty of time. It took her over ten minutes to move 50
feet toward the pond.
Every few seconds she was glancing my way and twisting her ears all around. At 8:17 I
had her completely broad sided and drinking from the pond. I noticed she was probably a
yearling so I passed up the shot anyway.
Just remember when you get busted it does not necessarily mean the deer is now in the
next county. Be quiet and be patient. If you have done what you are supposed to and are
scent free there is a very good chance that the deer will be back and if you play your
cards right you will get your shot. They say curiosity killed the cat, but I would hazard a
guess that curiosity has killed many more deer than cats!
going to happen from time to time, but from my experiences, I have taken several deer
that have ‘busted’ me.
Yesterday I went to my stand pretty early. I arrived at 4:30 p.m. This was a new stand that I
had hung only a month ago and since I cut myself a trail to get in there, the deer had been
wearing it out. My stand placement was between two trails that seemed to get pretty
heavy traffic. My loc-on is about 14 feet in the air and I have a farm pond within 30 yards
in case they need a drink of water. I climbed up into the stand and secured my safety
harness and hauled my bow up to me. I detached my quiver and placed it on the adjacent
tree. I then knocked an arrow and settled in for a long afternoon.
It was hot and the mosquitoes sounded like 747’s taking off. I sat as quietly and as still as
I could. At 7:20 I was watching a couple squirrels play around and decided to adjust
myself just a bit to get some relief from the numbness in my legs. As I slid upwards back
against the tree, a doe who was less than 5 yards behind me blew as loudly as she
possibly could and ran off though the thickets announcing loudly, “danger, danger.” I was
disheartened but I just sat there and did not move.
My first thought was, “How did she get that close to me without me knowing it?” But deer
are very elusive and the ghost’s of the woods. This was not the first time a deer had
come in very close without making a sound and me not knowing they even existed.
My second thought was, “If she was that close she could not have smelled me because
the wind was blowing in her direction. So she must have seen me move and there is no
way, with the tree to my back between me and her that she knew what the danger was. I
was pretty certain her curiosity would get the better of her and she would come back to
do a more thorough investigation.
At 8:02 I saw her coming back, this time from a different direction which gave her a better
view point. She came in slowly but surely, staring in my direction the entire time. She
stopped facing me about 20 yards away looking like one of those bobble heads on the
dash of a car. From this encounter there is no possible way I could have pulled my bow
back, much less moved at all, without getting busted again, not to mention that when a
deer is facing you, you basically have no shot with a bow. But she was this close so I just
simply did not move and gave her plenty of time. It took her over ten minutes to move 50
feet toward the pond.
Every few seconds she was glancing my way and twisting her ears all around. At 8:17 I
had her completely broad sided and drinking from the pond. I noticed she was probably a
yearling so I passed up the shot anyway.
Just remember when you get busted it does not necessarily mean the deer is now in the
next county. Be quiet and be patient. If you have done what you are supposed to and are
scent free there is a very good chance that the deer will be back and if you play your
cards right you will get your shot. They say curiosity killed the cat, but I would hazard a
guess that curiosity has killed many more deer than cats!
KEITH
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| Getting Busted! |
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