Ok, anyone that has deer hunted very much, has been busted. I mean a deer saw you and made a fool of you, or you pulled a no-no and was seen, thus not getting a shot.

My worse one happened yesterday.

I was hunting with my crossbow (just got it this year) in a lock-on stand that I leave out year round. The stand has sides and was built for gun hunting, not bow hunting and there wasnt much room for me and the crossbow.

I realized I needed to get something that I had placed under the seat, but I couldnt reach it, with out moving the crossbow and standing up. I looked down both shooting lanes (this stand is in a thicket), but didnt look behind me. I had never seen a deer behind me from that stand and it has been there 5 years. When I didnt see anything, I move the crossbow, stood up, and heard something thump the ground behind me. I looked and there was a 6 point at 15 yds, that had me pointed like a bird dog.

The only good thing was, he couldnt figure out what I was. He trotted about 25 yds into the thicket and then calmly walked off.

I'm sure he will be watching that stand from now on, so I moved about 75 yds away and hung a climber. I'll wait about a week before I try that place again.

I could have had a 30 yard shot on a forked horn this year...

I was too busy looking at his pal to see him laying down in the shade. He stood up and I saw his butt bouncing away.

Funny moment

We were driving (road hunting... ) and I saw a deer's ass poking out from behind a tree. I was seeing so many does I didn't pay attention too much. Drove past the tree and saw the horns on his head. I looked at my hunting partner and we both said "Schit! Buck!"

I was sitting on a dove bucket in a vine covered fence corner watching a field on the other side of the fence. The field I was in had recently been plowed and my bucket was on the edge of the cut left on the 1st furrow. Of course the edge eventually collapsed out from under my seat and I ended up flat on my back in the dirt. Of course I get up and retrieve my bucket and when I turn back toward the field I had been watching there stands a buck watching me from about 35yds. Total elapsed time 5-10seconds.

Had one a few years back...maybe 5? I was in a spot that NO ONE hunts. They hunt the property, just not this area.

I had seen this buck (big 9pt) numerous times throughout the season. Saw him in velvet in July, and a couple of times while driving out to my spot, but never the right place at the right time.
I promised myself that I wasn't going to shoot any small buck until I at least gave this guy a fair shake.

Well, it was the 1st week of November (perfect bow season in WNY) and I was in my stand...I'd bet I was there at about 1:45pm, maybe? About 2:45 or so, I see a flicker of movement about...75 yards out? It takes a moment, but I realize that it is him, and he is going to walk RIGHT past my stand if he continues.

It literally took him 35-40 minutes to walk 40 or so yards. he was walking, sniffing, etc the whole way.

He finally got to about...30 yards, I'd say and I stood up in the stand because I couldn't get the bow situated right. When I did that, I heard a snort and a stomp, and he was gone.

I look behind me, and from out of the swamp, a big doe had come up and was standing less than 15 yards from my tree.

I got so hell bent on watching him, that I never paid attention to anything else going on around me.


Sadly, that is the last time I saw that 9 point. 3 days later, a guy was going home to show his wife the BRAND NEW F150 he bought and smacked him right in front of where my stand was.

I was running late last year, as I was trying to hunt after work. Instead of taking my usual back way into a particular stand, I came in through the front. When I was about 30 yards from the stand, I could hear some constant scratching and scuffling in the thicket alongside the lane. My daughter and I had recently been amused by watching armadillos on that stand and were able to sneak up on a few during our trips in and out of that spot. I eased up a few yards with a grin to look at the unsuspecting armadillo, only to find a nice buck making a scrape. There was a brief stare-off at 5-6 yards before he tore out of there. My rifle was never unslung from my shoulder and he was the best buck I saw all season! I've never seen a buck make a scrape right on top of a box blind in the middle of the afternoon, but I learned my lesson.

'Sitting in a gun stand during archery season back behind my brother's place. It's in a little chunk of woods sandwiched between two cornfields and a couple thickets with a dry creek bed running right under it. The old doe sent her fawns through first to scout out the area. I never saw her until she busted me and snorted. She had stayed back about 50 yards behind the fawns, and I have no doubt did the same thing every time she had walked by that stand. Never stood a chance.

Not a deer, but....
Some years ago, my partner drew a WY moose tag. I went along to be the mule for packing meat. At one point, we sat down on a log and he called a couple times. It was starting to rain hard so we put on our rain gear. After 15 or 20 min, we stood up and started to move out and all hell busted loose right behind us. Our hearing and vision were impaired with the rain coats and rain beating on our heads and we hadn't heard a moose come in to within 20 yards right behind us. We sure heard him as he left, though.

Stands suck

I was sitting in a 15' ladder stand about 4pm on a January afternoon and it would get dark about 5:45. It was getting pretty cold and I had been wanting to slip in my jacket for over and hour and hadn't seen a thing but I kept thinking that I was hearing grunting and the clattering of antlers way off to my right and slightly to the rear of me as I faced the food plot.

Finally I couldn't stand it any longer and I looked around me very carefully and started slipping in my jacket. Despite how careful I was the jacket was making slight rustling noises and suddenly out of the corner of my left eye I saw a buck whirl and start to run back into the woods behind me.

Where he came from I don't know but I swear he must have just materialized by magic. LOL.... Anyway I did my best to get my rifle on him but to no avail.

I was pretty dejected because he was a pretty nice young 8 or better and I was just tempted to climb down and head for the truck and home. Only discipline kept me sitting there. Aboout 5 minutes before I would lose shooting light I was thinking about the warm cab of the truck and the wind was coming up. A BIG doe bounced out into the middle of the food plot and looked back behind her. I was already lifting the rifle when a mature 7pt bounced out and eagerly started to sniff her butt.

A 140gr AccuBond through the neck settled his hash and I backed my pickup up to him just as it got full dark.

It was full on rut and patience paid off that day...