Grunted First One In Of The Season! (10/9)

[Cabin Fever]

Had a really hard time getting out of bed this morning and getting motivated. (Been on 9 hunts in the past 8 days and spent 32hrs on the stand already) I check accuweather.com every morning before leaving to get a current wind direction. When I got to the cabin, I checked the wind, and it was blowing in almost the complete opposite direction as it was suppose to be! I was pissed and scrapped my plan and decided to hunt a stand along a thicket near a cornfield, hoping to catch the deer heading back to bed.

I just wasn't feeling it and was regretting going this morning. Then, to top it off, right about daylight, the wind kept shifting to where it was expected to be blowing from today, directly across in between the thicket and the cornfield! S#@&!! I pulled out the grunt call and gave a few grunts to kill some time.

A few minutes later (7:30), I saw a nice buck walking directly at me!!! I recognized him as a nice 8pt that I've gotten several pics of all over! He kept closing the distance and started angling slightly to a mock scrape that I made ~15 yards from the stand. I thought this was going to be too easy!! He stopped ~15 yards from the scrape and kept sniffing. He scent checked the scrape from downwind! (I have never seen this before in 30 years of bowhunting, only read and heard about it, and honestly never believed it!!) I think if I would have freshened it this morning before getting into the stand, he would have come right in! Plus the wind screwed me! If it didn't shift, just minutes before, he would have had to walk into the open to check it! He turned and started walking up into the thicket.

Panic sets in! He stopped at 29.5 yards (25 is my self imposed limit!!)! He stood there for what seemed like 5 minutes, completely broadside, in the wide open browsing on leaves!! The devil on my shoulder was screaming "SHOOT"!!!! Then, he extended the facing leg, really opening up the vitals and increasing temptation! I let him get ~40 yards and gave him a grunt. He looked up, then looked away. I gave him another grunt. He turned 180 degrees and started angling back to me! The path he was on would take him to 15 yards, broadside, in the wide open! I was ready!! Then, "IT" happened... the wind shifted, so he was coming in from directly downwind of me!!! He stopped at 30 yards, and double-timed it back to where he came from!!! DAMN!!!! SOOOOO Close!!! He didn't snort and crash out of there of anything, but he smelled me and knew there was a human in the area anyway! That sure perked me up though!! LOL

First responce I've gotten to grunts yet this year! It won't be long.........................

[phade]

Bummer all the way around, as far as the shot opportunity goes. At least you had him pegged.

I just don't know if I could shoot an 8, unless it was a monster 8, with that avatar buck of yours running around. I do believe in the one in the hand philosophy, but that's a potential lifetime buck...and "good" is the enemy of "great."

I really hope you get a shot at the bigger buck...he's an all out stud.

[Deerthug]

Nice! That must have been really fun being able to call him in.

[First-light]

Cool story, it's great when you can call them in. BTW I always set up down wind from a scrape. Shot a Booner that way when he came in to scent check the scrapes he made the night before. I put myself 40 yards down wind of his scrape he came in at 35, end of story!

[Geno C]

good stuff! hope they start responding to calls even more soon

[phade]

Cool story, it's great when you can call them in. BTW I always set up down wind from a scrape. Shot a Booner that way when he came in to scent check the scrapes he made the night before. I put myself 40 yards down wind of his scrape he came in at 35, end of story!

I probably missed it, but let's see him!

[nyslowhand]

Great encounter & story. Thanx for sharing. Sometimes it's not about the head-gear, but the excitement of the hunt.

[BizCT]

Cool story, but 29.5yards in the wide open is too far of a shot? Seems like you are really limiting your chances.

[StripedBuck]

Thanks for sharing your day in the woods. Nothing like grunting a nice Buck into bow range. Next time he may not be so lucky. Best of luck callin' them in!

[Kot2B]

Great story! Glad I'm not the only one who over hunted last week and is dragging a bit this week. Just can't motivate, but this story has sparked my interest for this week. I'll be back out tomorrow now

[First-light]

I probably missed it, but let's see him!

My bad Phade, he was a Pope and Young buck. Wish he was a Booner!!!!!!!

[njg0621]

Cool story, but 29.5yards in the wide open is too far of a shot? Seems like you are really limiting your chances.

Yeah I am going to have to agree. I enjoyed the read but as a bowhunter I think you have to be comfortable to ATLEAST 30 yds. To each to own but 30yds is a chipshot with the bows these days.

Sounds like a new Poll question! How far are you comfortable taking a shot?

[nyslowhand]

Isn't this a topic about grunting in a buck in early October & not about criticizing an individual for setting his own limitations?

[Cabin Fever]

Isn't this a topic about grunting in a buck in early October & not about criticizing an individual for setting his own limitations?

Kind of what I was thinking too! Thought the story might spark some interest and let people know that it might be a good idea to pull the grunt tubes out now.

[covert]

I for one am glad to hear that you are willing to stick with your limit and wait for a shot you feel comfortable with. Better than not being patient, stretching it and maybe gut-shooting him.

Oh, and cool to hear that he responded to the grunt. I have always had good luck with a grunt too.

Edited October 9, 2012 by covert

[HuntOrBeHunted]

Very cool story,

Atleast you know theres a nice deer walking around. Better luck next time.

[mlammerhirt]

Great Story

Love that you had the guts to sick with your self imposed limit. Thats a true hunter.

Now I dont have to see a story about him being at 38.26 yards, and that being well within my comfort level and I cant beleive i hit him to far back, or low, or high.

[ncountry]

Sounds like a fantastic hunt!!. Kudos on sticking to you self imposed limit. Only you know what you can confidently kill a deer at. I love my grunt call. I have shot quite a few deer I can directly contribute to the use of a grunt call. Not just bucks either. Just this year ,during the early season, I shot a large doe out of a group of 6 and the rest all took off across the field, they paused before stepping into the woods 100 yds away or so. I grunted , and they all turned around walked right back to where they were and voila 2 deer for the freezer.

[Gyle]

That's awesome! I've never had any luck calling deer in. I haven't done it a whole lot but I'm going to try it a little more this year so I can get a grasp on it.

Edited October 10, 2012 by Gyle

[tjm08803]

Great Story

Love that you had the guts to sick with your self imposed limit. Thats a true hunter.

Now I dont have to see a story about him being at 38.26 yards, and that being well within my comfort level and I cant beleive i hit him to far back, or low, or high.

38.26 yards hahahaha!! this is so true, i had tears in my eyes brother. "I know i can make that shot, must of been a twig, or the deer ducking, becuase it sure as hell wasnt me"