Shortly after penning my first in-the-blind blog, the buck I was baking in the blind for and his does started approaching the tank from the south. They weren’t in any hurry. The stud and his harem of five ladies would stand, graze for a bit, walk in my direction and then plop down in the tall sage. This "up, forward a few steps and down" scenario went on for the better part of an hour.
Finally, at 11:10 a.m., one of the does stood, dropped her head and started marching toward the tank. That’s all it took. Another doe followed, then another, and then another. In minutes, all five does had their heads buried in the tank. I could hear the slurping and see their throat muscles working. It never gets old.
My Moultrie and Stealth Cam cameras (yes, I was running two — one on each side of the tank) showed that the buck watered at the tank three times in the last four days. The odds that he was coming were good, but one of the images of him slurping water was triggered at 12:35 a.m. when it was pitch dark.
By the time he was 40 yards, his does finished watering and his head was up. I’ve hunted these animals long enough to know he was going to give me a drive by. His head wasn’t down, and his gate wasn’t steady. He was simply following his ladies and going to circle the tank. I ranged him again at 30 yards. An easy shot, no doubt, but I was ranging him out of west window that wasn’t all the way down. I changed that in a hurry. I love the magnetic closures on the Ameristep Carnivore.
The buck was quartering away, and just as my Carter Too Simple broke, the buck took another step toward one of his girlfriends. The Victory Archery VAP TKO tipped with a Rage Hypodermic +P hit the buck back a tad further back than I wanted, but because of the now-extreme quartering-away angle, it drove all the way up inside of the buck. There were was no sign of the Yellow/Tiger Bohning Blazers or Wraps. The full length of the arrow was inside the buck, and he didn’t make it 80 yards before toppling over.
What a way to get the fall started, and, Lord willing, there is much more to come. Be sure to check back daily at www.grandviewoutdoors.com for blog updates and videos.
I believe that four things made this hunt a success: 1) The two months of running game cameras and running tank after tank of gas through my truck and four-wheeler scouting, 2) Getting my blinds out and on water sources well before the opener, 3) Having great equipment to get the job done, and 4) Using my experience to make a quick decision, lower the window and get my shot off.
Additional Gear Used:
Bow: Prime Rize set at 65 pounds, 80 percent letoff and a 28 ½-inch draw, www.g5prime.com
Rest: QAD UltraRest HDX, www.qadinc.com
Stabilizer: Fuse Carbon Torch 8-inch off the front and Carbon Torch 10-inch off the offset, www.fusearchery.com
Sight: Montana Black Gold 3-Pin Ascent, www.blackgoldsights.com
Quiver: TightSpot 5-Arrow, www.tightspotquiver.com
Camo: Badlands Approach bottoms and Badlands Mutton Long Sleeve Top, www.badlandspacks.com
Optics: Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 binos www.zeiss.com; SIG KILO2000 Rangefinder www.sigoptics.com
Cooler: Canyon Quest Soft Sided Cooler www.canyoncoolers.com
