" 95 " ARCHERY SEASON
Archery season of 95 found me holding a surplus of deer tags, two for Maryland and four tags for PA.
One buck, one doe and two bonus tags. The middle of September is when Maryland opens, and when you are hunting Pretty Boy Reservoir in Baltimore County you will most likely get several chances to fill your tags. That’s just what happened to me. By the end of Sept. I managed to miss three doe's, but that was all about to change. October 1st, I was walking into my usual spot when I jumped two deer in the darkness not very far from my treestand. They both ran off in opposite directions. I hurried up stand as quietly as I could and began to softly let out some doe bleats, hoping that one of these deer might think it was the other one trying to locate and get back together. I could hear one of the deer walking back and forth through the leaves when daylight arrived. Finally after thirty-five minutes of calling to this deer, he decided to investigate the source of my calls. I first saw this deer at about eighty yards sneaking through the brush. As I looked through my binoculars I immediately saw it was a buck, so I switched from bleats to buck grunts. It did not take this little four point to lay his ears back and come on a stiff-legged walk right for my stand. At twenty-five yards away the buck started hooking any tree that got in way. I could not believe the aggression that this little buck was showing, as he was only a one and a half-year-old deer four point. The deer kept coming and soon quartered past me at sixteen yards
He stopped to smell the air. I was already at full draw when he stopped and my arrow found its mark passing through both lungs the deer fell within sight. Grunt calls definitely work, now onto PA. Season. The first four days of the season were spent up north in the mountains of Lycoming CO, but nothing big enough to draw back on came by. A few days later on my way to my local hot spot a very nice buck ran out in front of my truck, I barely missed hitting him. I knew where he was heading and planned on meeting up with him if everything goes just right. With the rut just starting to kick in I planned on still hunting the edge of a known bedding area. A light drizzle had been falling all night long which made my still hunting even better yet. It was not long before I saw four doe's feeding toward the bedding area. As I watched their back trail expecting to see a buck following them, I was surprised to see nothing at all. Ever so slowly I hunted up through the woods next to the bedding area. I was seeing doe's everywhere. The woods seemed to be alive with deer, Still no buck. Up ahead of me I noticed a very large rock that would make a nice spot to watch the bedding area below. I no sooner got to the base of the rock, than two doe's that where bedded down took off into the clear-cut. I decided that I would stand here for the next hour or so. Just as I began to make sure no more deer were in sight before I got up on this rock, I heard twigs snapping up the hill in front of me. As I looked up to see what was making the noise, that’s when I saw the same buck I almost hit earlier that morning. He had his nose to the ground and on a trail that would bring him to within ten yards from me. As if on cue the buck stopped behind some brush and with only a small opening to shoot through I released and watched my arrow disappear behind his front shoulder. I heard him crash only thirty yards from where I shot him. Eight points and 16 inch inside spread, the deer dressed out at 175lbs. What a morning to remember.
My unused deer tags soon were filled in the very same wood lot that buck came from. I would not need rifle season this year, although I did manage to get a four point in Maryland's rifle season. When a person is in the outdoors scouting and hunting as much as I am, you truly have to realize that my wife and children are very tolerant of my absence. Thank god for a family that knows what being in the out doors really means to me. To Regina, Kyle and Adam, Thank you so much for having the patience to put up with me during hunting season.
THE END…