Well, our late muzzleloader season came in yesterday and I was out with my flintlock chasing the sikas. Had drawn a one day tag for the National Wildlife Refuge, was going to a spot I really wanted to hunt. Got myself way back in there, tiny pine island way out on the marsh, was set up a solid 45 minutes before shooting light so things could settle down. 7am saw the first deer, two does, that came across the marsh, passed 45 yards away and jumped into and swam across a small creek. Had a nice shot opportunity at them, but had already filled my antlerless tag back in early season.
8am, off across the marsh where the does came from, I see a big black head with big white antlers sticking out of the rushes. Monster stag, just a huge 6 pointer, had to have been 15 inches between the tips. He was 200 yards out and coming, running in short bursts, then looking, then taking off running again. At 100 he turned into some tall cordgrass along the creek and I was afraid he was going to cross there, so I mewed with my sika call and he came out of the grass heading for me again. At 80 yards I had him facing me, nice open shot, but I was shooting offhand in the treestand and told myself to just be patient, he's still coming.
He turned a bit then, swinging along the bottom edge of the island I was on and at 50 yards stopped again, but I had some branches in the way. There was a big opening coming up if he kept on, so I waited. He kept on, and was 5 steps from a perfect 45 yard broadside shot when he crossed my trail, turned inside-out and bolted back across the marsh the way he came.
Sika deer will drive you nuts. Did I mention he was BIG? About as big as they come? I dreamed about that deer last night...
8am, off across the marsh where the does came from, I see a big black head with big white antlers sticking out of the rushes. Monster stag, just a huge 6 pointer, had to have been 15 inches between the tips. He was 200 yards out and coming, running in short bursts, then looking, then taking off running again. At 100 he turned into some tall cordgrass along the creek and I was afraid he was going to cross there, so I mewed with my sika call and he came out of the grass heading for me again. At 80 yards I had him facing me, nice open shot, but I was shooting offhand in the treestand and told myself to just be patient, he's still coming.
He turned a bit then, swinging along the bottom edge of the island I was on and at 50 yards stopped again, but I had some branches in the way. There was a big opening coming up if he kept on, so I waited. He kept on, and was 5 steps from a perfect 45 yard broadside shot when he crossed my trail, turned inside-out and bolted back across the marsh the way he came.
Sika deer will drive you nuts. Did I mention he was BIG? About as big as they come? I dreamed about that deer last night...
