First time on stand

October 21, 2009 |

It was my first opportunity to bow hunt this year but excitement and confidence waned a bit as I watched the smoke from the burn barrel. There was little consistency to the wind direction and this would drastically cut the chances of a twenty yard or less encounter with a deer or pig.

I chose the stand set up for a southeast wind. First to come out of the brush was a group of five turkey gobblers. These came within twelve yards of my stand but from my relatively open position, one spotted me and made it impractical to draw my bow.  Next was a fair sized black boar hog at about twenty yards that quickly picked up my scent. He grunted in disgust at my smell and back to the brush he went. A doe and yearling fawn meandered out at about 50 yards and that was about it.  A text message from co-worker, Luis, who was also on stand on another ranch concurred with my situation, lots of mosquitoes but not much game moving.

Pastures have gone from barren to lush in a few short weeks due to recent rains. The acorn crop seems to be minimal but the deer and hogs apparently have enough food available that corn feeders are not quite as attractive as usual.  There have been some good deer taken by bow hunters from pictures we have received, but most of us will have to try again later.

Gerald