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Wednesday,
Dec 1, the 10th and last day of the Wells Creek bowhunt:
 (Morning
hunt) Joe Ermatinger saw a bomber buck in the trees to his left.
He watched as the buck walked behind his stand and laid down 80 yards away.
In short order he couldn't see the buck any more. An hour later Joe heard
a deer walking behind him. The sound neared and the buck passed Joe on
the right, too far away for a shot, but it cut in front of Joe's stand
and stopped 20 yards away, behind some trees. All Joe could see was part
of the buck's face and the ends of his thick antlers. Then he saw something
he had never seen before, still standing, the buck closed his eyes for
several extended periods. Then it closed them for several minutes. The
buck was alseep on it's feet (like horses do). If Joe was to get a shot
the buck would have to move forward. Time passed . . .
The
buck's eyes opened and he looked around. Joe drew. The buck stepped ahead
and Joe had a clear shot between two trees. He took it. The buck burst
downhill and Joe heard it crash in the leaves. And here is the pic of
Joe and the bomber buck he caught "napping."
JimboTX
saw 8 does and 4 bucks. Two of the bucks bedded near him, one of them was
a nice 8-point. But it never got close enough. I jumped a bomber 10 point
going in. Brad saw 2 does. Fred and the Duck both saw some does.
(Afternoon
hunt) Around 4:30 this afternoon I heard some noise uphill and
saw that 4 does were coming on down. I decided to harvest one. They came
right to me, just like I pulled them in on a string. Suddenly another deer
ran up and stoped behind some trees. We all waited to see what was up.
The new deer ran uphill and circled down toward the does and stopped. Another
deer charged up behind the trees. Through the limbs I could see the deer
had antlers, not huge ones, but they looked like ok. It ran uphill on the
does trail, circled and took off after the doe. The 3 of the 4 does scattered.
The buck and doe raced back and stopped by the 4th doe, all of them were
10 yards away, in the open. The buck had long tines and was a 6-point with
fairly heavy horns that were just outside his ears. A pretty rack. I let
him walk, maybe he will show up in a couple of years. JimboTX saw 8 does
and 4 bucks. The last buck was an 8-point with an outside the ears spread.
Jim walked it and he saw the buck bedded down nearby.
Brad
spotted a doe 80 yards away but approaching his area. Behind it walked
a large bodied "Booner" with a extremely heavy, wide rack with 4 points
on one side and 5 on the other. They came in behind the stand, where there
was a lot of bursh and trees, and the shooting angle was tricky. The doe
passed Brad's stand and he looked carefully for a hole he could shoot through.
He found it and drew, aiming at the hole, waiting for the buck to get to
it. He noticed that his top wheel was touching a large limb on the tree.
Brad crouched, it looked like he had clearance. He got centered back on
the buck, the buck was almost in the hole. Now he was there and the pin
was on his vitals. Brad released. CRACK. The bow's top limb smacked the
tree limb and the arrow went low.
The
Duck and Fred both zipped. Our hunt is over for this year.
Tuesday,
Nov 30, the 9th day of the Wells Creek bowhunt:
(Morning
hunt) It was 14 degrees this morning, (that's cold for us Texas
boys). Nothing moved where I was until after 9:00 when a doe came to one
of the scrapes and pawed in it. She stayed in the area and 15 minutes later
3 more does came through, but not within bow range. Later 1 doe and a fawn
came up from across the dry creek and passed by. It's amazing how sometimes
they
can be real close but still somehow only walk where there are obstructions.
Superguide Brad saw a 10-point with heavy horns. It was too far away. Three
does came by later. Fred Lutger had two groups of does walk right by his
stand. Donald Duck got skunked, or maybe I should say frosted. JimboTX
had to stay in and call home, work, etc..
(Afternoon
hunt) I used decoys this afternoon and a doe approached them cautiously,
checking them out. Finally she snorted loudly several times as she watched
the decoys. Eventually she walked into the distance. I called at her with
my grunter and she slowed down. I made quiet Cchhh sound with my mouth.
She turned and started back. She circled until she was 15 yards from my
position but she just never did get in the clear. Then she walked back
to where she had been and disappeared. JimboTX saw was watching several
does approach when a buck charged in on them and they all scattered. Brad
saw 2 does. The Duck saw one doe. Fred Lutger zipped.
Monday,
the 8th day of the Wells Creek bowhunt:
(Morning
hunt) As is got light I saw that a big scrape was made last night
50 yards from my stand. Right away, 3 does came by the scrape and moved
on out. A 4th doe walked right to the scrape and stood in it for 10 minutes
and then hung around for awhile. My stand had a ridge behind it and 3 does
came down from it and walked through. Later I saw 3 does walked along the
top of the ridge. Around 10:00 two fawns came walking up to my treestand
and started looking toward the scrape. A Fork Horn walked to the scrape
and pawed in it. Next it walked over to the does, sticking it's neck out
and grunting at them. The fawns walked back the way they came and the Forky
walked behind them. The Duck saw 1 doe and 2 fawns. Two other deer came
up behind him and winded him. He didn't get a good look at him. Bill Goodwin
saw 7 baldies. Superguide Brad saw 5 does. A 10 point came in from his
left, he let him go on by. JimboTX saw a doe group and a young buck.
(Afternoon
hunt)
This
afternoon Fred Lutger of Freddie Bear Sports joined us. A sixer came by
close to his stand. An hour later he saw a buck coming that had pretty
good looking horns, it was an 8-point but at the last minute Fred passed
him up. Shortly, a large doe approached on the same trail the bucks had
used. Fred drew, aimed and released. The shot was perfect and the doe went
down in 40 yards.
Fred Lutger With the
doe he harvested this afternoon.
Superguide
Brad saw a buck chasing a doe across the hollow from him. JimboTX saw a
Bomber after he got down from his stand. The Duck saw 11 does and 3 young
bucks. Bill Goodwin saw a buck coming that had thick and wide horns. When
it got closer he saw it had 5 nice point on the left but the right main
beam had no points and split fork on the end. I hunted the scrapes I hunted
this morning and saw a few deer in the area but no scrape action. I left
my bow in the tree and will go back there tomorrow morning.
Sunday,
the 7th day of the Wells Creek bowhunt:
(Morning
hunt) Just before 8:00 3 does came down the hill and walked behind
me and through the dried creek bed below my stand. I looked at my watch
at 10:00 and in a few minutes a fawn doe came up with two Sixers following
her. They ran short spurts and stood, etc.., all over the hillside. Eventually
they left and soon two does came right under my tree and browsed on the
twigs of the freshly cut branches that were cut to make shooting lanes
for the stand. JimboTX had 2 does come close to this stand. Superguide
Brad had a doe and 2 fawns come out in front of him and go up the ridge.
A 6-point came next. Two coyotes ran through. Five does walked by with
a year and a half 8-point walking with them. The rest of our group went
to the North Camp.
(Afternoon
hunt)
This
afternoon I saw the Kowabonga, the Big Cahounna, the Double Bomber. When
I saw him he was with a doe and they were in a stand of trees about 80
yards off. He was looking in my direction as I put the binoculars on him,
I thought, "I can't see his antlers good, a bunch of limbs are in the way."
He moved his head. All the limbs moved too, they weren't limbs, they were
dark, baseball bat sized main beams deep in the 20's wide and fat tines,
lots of tines. He turned his head broadside. The main beams were so long
they curled out to his nose. A bonified Booner. He was twice the body size
of the doe he was with. He didn't get any closer but just seeing a deer
of this magnitude make my day, big time. In my entire deer hunting life
(I
started bowhunting deer when I was 15) I have only see one other buck
this big, and that was here at Wells Creek, the first week of October,
4 years ago.
JimboTX
and Superguide Brad were covered up with deer activity all afternoon, both
saw several groups of does and as well as a few young bucks. Brad had what
he calls "a shooter" 8-point on a ridge above him, 80 yards away. He grunted
at the buck but it didn't respond. The North Camp Hunters got back at 7:00.
Bill Goodwin saw an 8-pointer and some does. Rob McNeff passed on a 130
buck (18 yards away) with real tall eye guards and also saw some does.
Joe got skunked. The Duck saw a small buck and a doe.
SATURDAY,
the 6th day of the Wells Creek bowhunt:
(Morning
hunt) Around 7:45 a big Red Headed Woodpecker landed in a huge
tree 50 yards from me and started shredding it (yes, I'm back amongst the
living). I got out my binoculars and watched him for 20 minutes. I think
they are awesome. It blows me away to watch them drill a tree and I never
can believe they can make all that racket and keep on ticking.
( I wonder
what that noise sounds like to them?) At 8:30 a doe and a fawn picked
their way out of a gully and right under my stand. At first good
light Superguide Brad saw a bomber buck walk through the area in front
of him, but too far off for a shot. Later 6 does in a group came right
by the stand. A 120 class buck was dogging them but Brad walked it. Bill
Goodwin saw a 120 buck and walked it also. Here's a picture of one from
Wells Creek that Bill
didn't walk last year, it's not 120, it was 210. To make sure you
have it in perspective compare the size of Bill's fingers with the main
beams and tines.
(Afternoon
hunt) Bill Goodwin had a Forky walk under his treestand this afternoon.
Brad saw some does from his stand. Later a nice buck came down the hill
slowly and finally wound up underneath his stand but unfortunately, by
that time, it it was past shooting light. JimboTX saw 3 does. Where I was
1 fawn walked up out of the creek and slowly walked by on a nearby trail.
Mark, Joe, and J.R. all saw young bucks and several does. J.R. saw tow
young bucks get in a tussle and push each other around.
The
Bombers Moved Friday !!
Friday,
the 5th day of the bowhunt:
(Morning hunt)
A doe with 2 fawns ran up underneath Superguide Brad's stand. The does
tongue was hanging out and her sides were heaving from running. Checking
her back trail Brad saw a Spike coming. They all moved on. In the corner
of his eye Brad saw a large deer, 35 yards away, half hidden by some trees.
It had black hocks and Brad got ready to shoot. The buck moved, a bomber
8-point. Brad looked ahead of the buck, straining to see a place in the
trees and limbs where he could get an arrow through. He saw it and drew
and grunted with his mouth as the buck walked in the lane. Brad's shot
was low. (Just in case you're thinking poorly of Brad, here
is a pic of one of many that he didn't miss. He got it here last
year and it definitely proves if he says it's a bomber, it is.) Mark saw
several does and young bucks before a big one showed, the buck came right
on in but it had busted tines on one side. Approaching through the thick
brush, the Duck noticed a big bodied buck with very thick antlers. Don
got ready and as the big buck came in the clear he saw that the left main
beam was broken off above the brow tine. JimboTX saw 5 does and 2 fawns.
JimboTX saw several does.
(Afternoon hunt)
Mark had a bomber 8-point run 2 does all over his area for 15 minutes,
but when they were within range they didn't get slowed down enough for
a confident shot. Joe jumped a bomber that was bedded down with a doe,
they were practically underneath his treestand. Later on another nice buck
came through, Joe decided not to shoot, hoping for a better one, and the
buck picked up the does scent and trailed it out of sight. Joe can be picky,
here's
his buck from last year. Superguide Brad saw another bomber but
it didn't get close enough, and he saw another 17 deer, does and young
bucks. The Duck saw another big buck but it wasn't as obliging as the broken
horn buck and never got close. Bill Goodwin saw a pack of coyotes. JimboTx
zipped. Mark, J.R. and Joe all saw several deer each.
Here's the hunt Monday
- Thursday.
About
Wells Creek Outfitters - the wrap up of the hunt
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