Results 1 to 19 of 19

Thread: Trip Report - Finally

  1. #1
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Bwana's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    North Dakota
    Posts
    3,504

    Trip Report - Finally

    So, last Friday at noon the ND Muzzleloader Season opened and thanks to my dad, I spent the afternoon sitting in the blind with my youngest boy whom I haven't gotten a chance to hunt with for several years due to him attending college on the opposite side of the state. We had a great time watching deer and shooting the breeze talking about big boy stuff. No deer were harmed that afternoon though a couple of bucks came dangerously close to getting arrowed.

    The boy didn't want to get up early the next morning so Dad TOLD me that he was going. At shooting time we were greeted by rooster pheasants crowing but very little for deer activity until a bit after sunrise. The first buck of the morning was spotted nearly a half-mile away but for whatever reason something seemed to spook him, a coyote maybe?, and he started heading our way. I considered getting out of the blind to try to intercept him but figured that would likely be futile as once on the ground the cattails would likely cause me to lose sight of him. As luck would have it he came within range before deciding to stop for a bite to eat. When he turned broadside I pulled the trigger on the smoke pole and could see I hit him but a bit further back than I would have liked.

    The buck ran just a short distance before stopping which gave me a chance at another shot but I was unable to find the stuff I needed to reload before the buck disappeared into a cattail slough.

    Dad and I were trying to figure out a game plan for retrieving the buck when we looked up and saw another buck heading towards us along the same path taken by the muzzleloader buck. We were whispering about how neat it was to see yet another buck when it dawned on me that not only was the buck headed right to us, but my bow was leaning up against the corner of the blind. I quickly grabbed it, put the release on my wrist, and nocked an arrow just in case. Next thing I know I'm watching that buck turning on the afterburners to get away and see my arrow fall out of its offside after about 4 or 5 steps. That deer runs into the other end of the same slough. Two bucks shot within 12 minutes of each other!


    We quietly backed out, gave them some time to make sure they were dead, and then came back to look for them with additional help in-tow.

    Found the muzzleloader buck first:
    IMG-0014.jpg
    Unknown-4.jpg

    One down and one to go, so we headed to the north end of the cattails to see if we could locate the archery buck...my daughter did.
    IMG_0002 2.JPG
    IMG_0003 2.JPG

    The end result:
    Unknown-3.jpg

    Not sure if any of you have ever pheasant hunted but there have been times when a single rooster flushes, you shoot and he drops so you mentally mark the spot so you can find it in the ground cover and then a second rooster flushes so you take your eyes off of where the first fell to shoot the second. As soon as the second bird hits the ground you look back to the first spot only to no longer be so sure where it fell and in the end you sometimes end up finding neither bird. Have to admit this thought ran through my head when both of the bucks were SOMEWHERE in the cattails.

    As Dad said, "I can't believe this just happened and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!"

    The kicker is just after I shot the second buck, a third buck sized between the two I shot, came waltzing through the same area.

    CRAZY morning for sure!

    You may now return to your regularly scheduled football discussion.

  2. #2
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Chicken Dinner's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Occupied Virginia
    Posts
    8,477
    May, that’s an awesome story.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Raoul Duke

  3. #3
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) DeputyDog's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    IN
    Posts
    3,757
    That story was worth the wait!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    "Never try to fight an Old Dude. If you win, there's no glory; if you lose, your reputation is shot."

  4. #4
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Penguin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    1,254
    Hey that was a neat hunt. Those are some good sized deer too.

    What kind of diet do they have up in that neck of the woods? The first deer looks to by lying in stubble from (I'm guessing) a wheat field? The second looks to be lying in a shoreline or something? Reason I ask is that you folks get some crazy harsh winters and I was wondering how much it would take to feed a good sized deer up there over a winter.

    Will

  5. #5
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Big Skyz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    3,028
    Need a like, or rather, an EXTRA LIKE button!

  6. #6
    pUMpHEAD SYSOp Thumper's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Mickey Mouseville, Florida
    Posts
    23,869
    Wow! Fantastic!

    But you left out the best part. What did Sleepy Head have to say when you and dad came home with that story? Ya' snooze, ya' lose!
    "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain

  7. #7
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Bwana's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    North Dakota
    Posts
    3,504
    Penguin, to answer your questions regarding what they eat up here - that depends on the area that they reside as ND has a very diverse geography from glacial lake plain in the east to coteau/pothole region further west, and eventually into badlands in the western part of the state. That being said, agriculture is king in ND so much of a deers feed comes from the crops or their residue after being harvested as well as the typical browse comprised of various plants. Crop fields are used for both security cover or as a food source. Corn, soybeans, edible beans, sunflowers, canola, barley, wheat, flax, sugar beets, and potatoes are all grown in large quantities up here along with a number of other more specialty crops such as sorghum, millet, etc. and alfalfa is found across the state for feeding cattle.

    As for how much a deer eats on a daily basis, I don't know the answer to that but I do know that deer are not able to utilize all of the crops mentioned at all times of the year and some they need other sources of nourishment to supplement their diet.

    In the pictures above, my muzzleloader buck is actually laying in some grass which is likely a combination of natural slough grass (something that can grow in a wetland-type environment and planted grass as it is laying just outside of a cattail slough in an area that is enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in which unproductive or erosive land is set aside and not cropped. The second deer is also laying just outside of the north end of the same cattail slough but in the area adjacent to the slough that has been cultivated as the field had soybeans in it during the growing season.

    Thumper, as for my son sleeping in, other than missing out on the excitement I don't think it bothered him too much as he didn't have a tag to fill and he was pretty wiped out as he works a lot of late nights for his job.

    Still having a hard time believing this worked out the way it did.

  8. #8
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) airbud7's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Aiken, SC
    Posts
    3,875
    Fun Stuff!....Cool read, Thanks!

  9. #9
    Administrator LJ3's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Leesburg, VA
    Posts
    6,590
    Those are some big ass deer! Great story Bwana!
    If we all threw our problems in a pile, and you saw everyone else's problems-- you'd take yours back.

  10. #10
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Hombre's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    1,591
    There's a memory that won't ever fade. Great story!

  11. #11
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Bwana's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    North Dakota
    Posts
    3,504
    Thanks all! Not big deer, but deer I couldn't pass up with Dad sitting right by my side.

    I had other deer hunting adventures planned but now that the only tag I have left is a turkey tag, my focus will have to be on birds and coyotes for the rest of the season. What a terrible problem to have. :-)

  12. #12
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Chicken Dinner's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Occupied Virginia
    Posts
    8,477
    Quote Originally Posted by LJ3 View Post
    Those are some big ass deer! Great story Bwana!
    Latina big?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Raoul Duke

  13. #13
    Administrator LJ3's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Leesburg, VA
    Posts
    6,590
    Quote Originally Posted by Chicken Dinner View Post
    Latina big?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Let's not get carried away.
    If we all threw our problems in a pile, and you saw everyone else's problems-- you'd take yours back.

  14. #14
    pUMpHEAD SYSOp Thumper's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Mickey Mouseville, Florida
    Posts
    23,869
    Kardashian big.
    "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain

  15. #15
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Penguin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    1,254
    Thanks Bwana.

    I had wondered at how they managed to survive in, what to me, looks like a pretty hard place for a deer to make a living. Resourceful and will eat almost anything. Hey, I resemble that remark.

    Will

  16. #16
    Administrator BarryBobPosthole's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Owasso, OK
    Posts
    22,254
    Man. Reports like that are what this place is all about. Thanks for sharing John, I’ll bet your Pop was busting his buttons the rest of the week telling that story.
    An instant GH Classic right there!

    BKb
    Viva Renaldo!

  17. #17
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Bwana's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    North Dakota
    Posts
    3,504
    Posthole funny you should say that.

    Spoke to him last week and just again expressed what a cool experience that was. He asked if I had been bragging about my accomplishment but when I told him I really wasn't he said not to worry, he was doing enough bragging for both of us!

  18. #18
    Delta Dufus Big Muddy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Flatlands
    Posts
    9,595
    Great hunting report, Bwana !!!.....I really enjoy hearing about the adventures of other hunters.
    Southern Gentleman

  19. #19
    Administrator Arty's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    VA Beach, VA
    Posts
    3,922
    Great story! And like everyone has said, big bodies on them ND deer!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body.
But rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming...WOW, What a Ride!"

Our Friend, Tony "Gator" Hunter 1953-2007