Finally got a chance to sit down and tell about one of the most fun and successful deer hunts I've been in in a long time. Fellow forum member and friend, turkhunter and I had spent the last year at work planing a muzzle loader hunt in the Ozark National Forest. We got to leave late Thursday night and after a long drive arived at our camping spot to set up in the dark at about 9:30 pm. Temperatures that night were going to get cold so we built a good fire and put up a tarp shelter and settled in for some rest before the next mornings hunt.
Morning came early and cold and after we both got ready we set off for the first mornings hunt. I had not been to this area before but Travis had and informed me that about a half mile from campsite was a spot that deer was know to frequent and meanwhile he was going to head down the other hill side to a spot where he had hunted before. We left about ten till seven and I was no more than five min out of camp than I came upon a clearing that had a few standing whiteoaks and abundant acorns. I carried my 40 cal flintlock that day as i thought that if no deer presented itsself i could shoot a few bushytails. I sat down beneath a fallen tree and as soon as I did saw a doe slipping through the woods. I watched her for fifteen min or so but could not get a shot I was comfortable taking. I lifted my rifle about the time I thought things were going to work out she lifted her head looked in my general direction and bolted. HOW did she me. I was hidden so well! As I lowered my rifle in disgust I heard something comming through the brush directly behind me. As I peered over the log I was behind I saw what had disturbed her. The buck was walking along at a brisk pace and heading in my general direction. When an opening appeared I bleted , then grunted, thin whistled. Nothing caused him to break stride he was focused. I finally got a shot at about 40 yards through an opening in the brush. When the smoked cleared he was down for the count. It was only 7:30
I got him back to camp about 8:30 and decided to put on breakfast. As soon as I had the sausage done I heard the report if Travis's 50 cal mt rifle echoing down the valley.
After a good hearty breakfast he told me of his hunt which was very similar to mine. He walked up the road a few hundred yards and sat at the edge of an old logging road at the base of a tall whiteoak. After passing on a doe deer earlier in the morning a nice six point came up the old logging road where he sat. He was chasing a doe hot and heavy and he to was hard to stop. He took about a fifty yard shot to drop his deer in his tracks.
After we got all the deer back to camp we had lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon throwing tomahawks and taking in the scenery. The mountains were beautiful this time of year.
After another cool night we arose early the next morning to finish the hunt before we had to head home that afternoon. Travis went for a walk down a trail where we had heard some deer the previous day and I decided I would try my hand at some of the local grey squirrels. The morning before they were everywhere but this morning they proved to be more scarce. I did manage to get a shot at one high up in a tree and I just clipped his neck behind his ear. He will make a nice pot of dumplings sometime this week.
We soon had to break camp and start the drive back home but I will always remember the fun and the companionship shared on this, one of the most memoriable hunts of my life.
Thanks for listening.
Morning came early and cold and after we both got ready we set off for the first mornings hunt. I had not been to this area before but Travis had and informed me that about a half mile from campsite was a spot that deer was know to frequent and meanwhile he was going to head down the other hill side to a spot where he had hunted before. We left about ten till seven and I was no more than five min out of camp than I came upon a clearing that had a few standing whiteoaks and abundant acorns. I carried my 40 cal flintlock that day as i thought that if no deer presented itsself i could shoot a few bushytails. I sat down beneath a fallen tree and as soon as I did saw a doe slipping through the woods. I watched her for fifteen min or so but could not get a shot I was comfortable taking. I lifted my rifle about the time I thought things were going to work out she lifted her head looked in my general direction and bolted. HOW did she me. I was hidden so well! As I lowered my rifle in disgust I heard something comming through the brush directly behind me. As I peered over the log I was behind I saw what had disturbed her. The buck was walking along at a brisk pace and heading in my general direction. When an opening appeared I bleted , then grunted, thin whistled. Nothing caused him to break stride he was focused. I finally got a shot at about 40 yards through an opening in the brush. When the smoked cleared he was down for the count. It was only 7:30
I got him back to camp about 8:30 and decided to put on breakfast. As soon as I had the sausage done I heard the report if Travis's 50 cal mt rifle echoing down the valley.
After a good hearty breakfast he told me of his hunt which was very similar to mine. He walked up the road a few hundred yards and sat at the edge of an old logging road at the base of a tall whiteoak. After passing on a doe deer earlier in the morning a nice six point came up the old logging road where he sat. He was chasing a doe hot and heavy and he to was hard to stop. He took about a fifty yard shot to drop his deer in his tracks.
After we got all the deer back to camp we had lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon throwing tomahawks and taking in the scenery. The mountains were beautiful this time of year.
After another cool night we arose early the next morning to finish the hunt before we had to head home that afternoon. Travis went for a walk down a trail where we had heard some deer the previous day and I decided I would try my hand at some of the local grey squirrels. The morning before they were everywhere but this morning they proved to be more scarce. I did manage to get a shot at one high up in a tree and I just clipped his neck behind his ear. He will make a nice pot of dumplings sometime this week.
We soon had to break camp and start the drive back home but I will always remember the fun and the companionship shared on this, one of the most memoriable hunts of my life.
Thanks for listening.
.
