Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Damn Does

Been hitting the tree stands pretty hard the last few weeks. Hunt a 600 acre parcel, with about a 120 acre grove with lots of small draws and such in part of the chunk of land.

Mainly been hunting the S/E corner & middle of the grove. Seeing mainly the same does with their fawns on a daily basis. Doesn't matter what stand I'm in.

Figure if/when the rut ever starts, I've got the does located and the bucks will come to me.

Finally see a couple fair bucks the other night going into one of my stands. Got up bright and early this AM and was on stand about a 1/2 hour before light.

Right about light I've got a fawn feeding 50 yards off to my right. 1/2 hour later I've got two fawns and a doe 30 yards in front of me.

Shortly thereafter another fawn comes over, the doe partially chased it off and than here comes a doe hauling ass right towards me. Figure a buck is on her tail.....

Nothing, first does and two fawns runs off so I've got the one doe and her fawn 15 yards in front of me sniffing my decoy I brought along this AM.

Never had a doe not get spooked from the decoy, usually they stomp and snort but this one came up and sniffed (have a video I'll upload sometime) and starting milling around.

Hear a few foot steps behind me, does doesn't seem concerned so I try to take a sneak behind me. Doe must have scene me move and of course it's one of the bucks I'm after not 15 yards behind me.

Play the waiting game 10-15 minutes and getting a kink in my neck when the buck starts to move. I pivot just a little more to get a better view and the other buck wasn't five yards off to the ones side and of course he sees me.

One walks off one way the other was trying to figure out what was up and walks the other way. ARGHHHH....


ps: Gotta go visit the woman today and won't get a chance to get back into a stand until Sunday AM Rifle season is only a week away (don't rifle hunt here any longer). So hopefully I'll be able to sneak out of work early a few more days next week and maybe come in late a day?

Than getting out of the stand I hit the corner of my eye on the edge of the stand and have a nice goose egg to show for my efforts.


As frustrating as archery hunting can be, I sure do LOVE it.

I spent about an hour the other night trying to get a shot at a mature doe. She finally caught me at full draw and realized something was different than what it had looked like for the last hour, and blew out of there before I could release an arrow.

I'll shoot them as often as I can. Prefer the younger, dumber does for when bucks are chasing...

I was back in the same stand this AM, had the 2nd of the two larger bucks in the area (that I know of) right underneath me before I had even sat down and settled in before I could see (about 45 minutes).

He milled around and I could catch a glipse of his antlers every now and again in the moon light. Saw him again about 70 yards in front of me around 7:00 and could see him fairly well.

Wouldn't respond to a grunt or antlers and I even had my decoy with once again (getting tired of carrying that thing around).


Had to leave my stand around 8:00 to make it to work and about 7:45 I had a button buck up investigating the decoy. Shortly after I hear some leaves and the bigger buck was on the heels of a doe with her two fawns.

Drew my bow back and had about a 30 yard shot, but didn't have a clear shot. If he had stopped again just ahead of where he was at I would have had a nice clean shot, but alas he did not

Bailing out of work again this afternoon and probably in the AM. Just a few days left before rifle opener and it's game over after that as far as our measly deer population goes.

Hard to get bucks in without a decoy or does this time of the year. But I"ve always said, its much harder to shoot a mature doe with a bow, than a mature buck. IF you can get the mature buck to show up, they are usually easy to draw on and kill, well maybe not the oldest biggest but most of the bucks. A doe on the other hand, from having to protect her young all her life, is the hardest target in the world and the least forgiving. ANd during the rut they are extra jittery to start with and won't ignore things like movement like the buck will.

Best of luck. Know how ya feel!

Jeff