thermaler
11-07-2013, 04:39 AM
Well--to keep you guys further entertained with a newbie's development; here's yesterday's attempt.
NW Georgia is obviously being hunted hard, and the deer are being more and more pressured. I visited Pigeon/crockford yesterday to sign in and decided to do some scouting on top of the mountain. There's a field which borders some woods which a hunting friend told me in years past was a good spot for him. Unfortunately--said field had been hayed--and now is just low green grass providing no cover. I scouted the perimeter, and despite presence of heavy acorn drops on the ground found no signs of deer. Not good. I figured I might as well go into the forest and see if I could find any signs/trails. The forest is about half way through losing it's leaves--so the ground is very "crunchy" with thick bed of dry leaves and the going is slow. I see absolutely no signs of deer--no scrapes, rubs scat--nada. I'm not even sure I'm really on any deer trails--I just follow what looks like an easy way through the woods.
I recently bought a deer call but had forgotten it at home. Since it was still early on my hike in (about 1:30) I figured I'd amuse myself by seeing if I could simulate a buck call by simply blowing into my cupped hand--more or less doing what I did as a kid making pretend farts. : ) I approached a downed tree with a few small saplings around it but which was otherwise fairly exposed and made a few blows which I thought sounded similar to the call I had bought. I was totally shocked and amazed when two nice-sized does materialized from seemingly nowhere and looked about curiously. I was out in the open maybe 100 yards away but totally exposed and didn't know what to do other than to freeze. Too far for my bow; but had I had a rifle (not allowed) I might have been able to take a shot. I make a few more pretend calls and the does looked about curiously for a minute or two but eventually walk off down into a gully that had a dried creek bed. They didn't bolt with alarm so I followed. I decide to set up my new Ameristep el cheapo ground blind and just watch the area to see if it had any potential. I'm more or less in a flat area in the gulley with a fairly good 270 degree command of the area and with the slope of a hill to my back. At about 2:30 I hear movement--of course it's behind me on the steep hillside. I turn just in time to see the back half of a deer disappear into the thick brush at about 30 yards. An impossible shot even if I had been ready--too much low cover. So the long wait for sunset set in; the listening of the woods for tell-tale sounds. I'm pretty sure I hear one or two more deer up in the gully slope shuffle by but see nothing more. At about 5:00 I hear a snort nearby--I figure I probably had been made. I stay put until I can no longer make anything out through my scope and call it quits for the hike out in the dark. I see no deer at all on the way out or or even on the sides of the roads after dark--a bit unusual I think.
Well, nothing bagged but it was nonetheless a very exciting and rewarding experience for me. I also feel like I graduated from "totally inept bungling beginner" to "has an immense amount to learn but could actually get lucky one day." LOL
NW Georgia is obviously being hunted hard, and the deer are being more and more pressured. I visited Pigeon/crockford yesterday to sign in and decided to do some scouting on top of the mountain. There's a field which borders some woods which a hunting friend told me in years past was a good spot for him. Unfortunately--said field had been hayed--and now is just low green grass providing no cover. I scouted the perimeter, and despite presence of heavy acorn drops on the ground found no signs of deer. Not good. I figured I might as well go into the forest and see if I could find any signs/trails. The forest is about half way through losing it's leaves--so the ground is very "crunchy" with thick bed of dry leaves and the going is slow. I see absolutely no signs of deer--no scrapes, rubs scat--nada. I'm not even sure I'm really on any deer trails--I just follow what looks like an easy way through the woods.
I recently bought a deer call but had forgotten it at home. Since it was still early on my hike in (about 1:30) I figured I'd amuse myself by seeing if I could simulate a buck call by simply blowing into my cupped hand--more or less doing what I did as a kid making pretend farts. : ) I approached a downed tree with a few small saplings around it but which was otherwise fairly exposed and made a few blows which I thought sounded similar to the call I had bought. I was totally shocked and amazed when two nice-sized does materialized from seemingly nowhere and looked about curiously. I was out in the open maybe 100 yards away but totally exposed and didn't know what to do other than to freeze. Too far for my bow; but had I had a rifle (not allowed) I might have been able to take a shot. I make a few more pretend calls and the does looked about curiously for a minute or two but eventually walk off down into a gully that had a dried creek bed. They didn't bolt with alarm so I followed. I decide to set up my new Ameristep el cheapo ground blind and just watch the area to see if it had any potential. I'm more or less in a flat area in the gulley with a fairly good 270 degree command of the area and with the slope of a hill to my back. At about 2:30 I hear movement--of course it's behind me on the steep hillside. I turn just in time to see the back half of a deer disappear into the thick brush at about 30 yards. An impossible shot even if I had been ready--too much low cover. So the long wait for sunset set in; the listening of the woods for tell-tale sounds. I'm pretty sure I hear one or two more deer up in the gully slope shuffle by but see nothing more. At about 5:00 I hear a snort nearby--I figure I probably had been made. I stay put until I can no longer make anything out through my scope and call it quits for the hike out in the dark. I see no deer at all on the way out or or even on the sides of the roads after dark--a bit unusual I think.
Well, nothing bagged but it was nonetheless a very exciting and rewarding experience for me. I also feel like I graduated from "totally inept bungling beginner" to "has an immense amount to learn but could actually get lucky one day." LOL