After a long wait between shotgun seasons and school, I was finally able to get back to bow hunting today. I wasn’t able to make it out for the morning hunt due to some school work but I was determined to make the evening hunt. The temperatures were hovering at around 28 degrees with winds blowing in from the southeast at around ten to fifteen mph. The southeast winds are quite unusual for Illinois but for the property it makes for a lot of hunting options.
I drove out to the property and made it in by around one. I wanted to be in the tree by two o’clock and ready to sit for the next three hours. So I rounded up my gear and made my way out the woods. The trick was going to be deciding on a tree stand with the right wind. Most of the deer come from the northeast heading southwest so the east wind was there to help keep my scent from plowing through most of the woods.
After getting set up, I wasn’t even done putting my gear on when the first buck appeared. There had been a substantial snowfall a week before so I could see him coming from a long way out. I tried to hurry up while still watching my movements but he was closing in fast. By the time he got within fifty yards I could make out some of his antler size and knew this was going to be a huge buck. As he closed in, I could see that he had gotten his right ear nearly torn off. It was dangling down along the side of his head swinging back and forth just below his massive main beams. He was a solid 6x5 deer with a split brow tine on his left antler. I didn’t get the opportunity to get a shot when he passed within fifteen yards but just seeing a monster like him makes any hunt worth the effort.
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