John Camp
AH enthusiast
Thank you. I took the deer at the Cohutta Wilderness in the mountains of North Georgia.
This is the whole story if you care to read.
I was actually going after my first bear. I had hiked 60+ miles scouting/hunting in the Chattahoochee National Forest and I felt I had THE SPOT. It was about a mile and a half in and I wanted to set up on top of the fresh scat and wait all day. For that I needed to be comfortable, so at 2 am I packed in a tree lounge. If you are not familiar with the tree lounge it is the most comfortable stand ever. Unfortunately it is also heavy and a pain to set up. By 3 am it was set up and by 4 AM I was asleep in the cab of my truck, sure I would get my first bear the next day.
I knew there was a good chance I would see deer because the location was a saddle where two gently sloping ridges came together. I knew there was a good chance I would see a buck because they are in rut and I had 3 blow at me on the way to set up the stand. From all the intel I had gathered I was pretty sure the bears would not be out early. They would wait till the sun warmed the eastern slopes before making an appearance. Counting on this I planned to still hunt to my stand, This way I could control my body temperature and avoid sweating. I left out at 7:15 and got to my stand at 7:45. I determined before I left the truck that I was after the bear and would pass on any 2-3 year old buck. I saw nothing on the way in.
I had planned to climb to 20 feet but found my view of the trail with scat was blocked above 12. So I snuggled in at 12 feet, texted my son to make sure he was up for school and heard a noise behind me and over my left shoulder. It was one of those "that aint no squirrel" noises caused when the dear slowly drug his foot through the leaves. I rotated my head slowly hoping to maybe catch some movement but saw nothing. I heard the noise again and realized it was a little further around. I could turn my neck a bit further but I would not be able to hold it there or I would cramp. I turned and brought my head back around right away. For just a moment I saw some impressive tines poking out from behind a big red oak tree. There was no consideration and all thoughts of the bear were abandoned. The buck was only about 30 yards from me. If he maintained his rout he would pass me to my left and walk right over the bear scat. My best move was to wait for that shot. My son texted back that he was up and about to get in the shower. I responded with "There is a Huge Buck Behind Me." That woke my son up and he sent several texts that went unanswered because things got exciting very quickly.
The buck changed course and was heading behind me. I was set up with the wind in my face so in a few more steps he would have my scent. I had to get in position to take the shot right then. In a tree lounge however, you can not turn to take a shot. You have to roll over. It is a very awkward movement but I was sure it was my only option. I casually picked the rifle up off my lap and started to turn. I was sure I would be busted but half way around the buck suddenly changed direction again. This time he almost skipped and started right at me. Remember, I was only 12 feet up, well this deer was coming down the ridge. By now he was 15 yards yards from me and at eye level. He spotted me, ducked down, and froze. I was halfway over and my right arm was extended and holding the rifle. We stared at each other for a couple of minutes and then he decided I was nothing. He dropped his head, turned back to his left and stepped behind a big poplar tree. I finished my roll and had the rifle up before he appeared from the other side of the tree. My view was partially obstructed by a leaning dead tree. I could have waited another 3-4 steps and had a heart shot but the moment I saw shoulder I pulled the trigger. The buck shuddered and bolted down the side of the ridge. He piled up after 40 yards. I could not see him but I saw the explosion of leaves.
I texted my son that I had hit him and I thought he was down. Then I followed that with another stating that I was shaking so much I was afraid I would hurt myself getting down. After a couple of moments composing myself I made it down in one peace. I still had not looked at his antlers. After seeing his tines I just blocked his rack out of my mind and focused on getting and making the shot. When I walked over to him I saw that his rack was bigger than I had believed. I texted a picture to my son and I am sure he had fun showing it off at school. The fun part was getting this 175 lb deer one and half miles up the ridge to the truck.
PS. I made it back to the spot 3 days later. There was no fresh scat. The bears had been eating frost grapes and had eaten them all up. That dang deer ruined my bear hunt.
This is the whole story if you care to read.
I was actually going after my first bear. I had hiked 60+ miles scouting/hunting in the Chattahoochee National Forest and I felt I had THE SPOT. It was about a mile and a half in and I wanted to set up on top of the fresh scat and wait all day. For that I needed to be comfortable, so at 2 am I packed in a tree lounge. If you are not familiar with the tree lounge it is the most comfortable stand ever. Unfortunately it is also heavy and a pain to set up. By 3 am it was set up and by 4 AM I was asleep in the cab of my truck, sure I would get my first bear the next day.
I knew there was a good chance I would see deer because the location was a saddle where two gently sloping ridges came together. I knew there was a good chance I would see a buck because they are in rut and I had 3 blow at me on the way to set up the stand. From all the intel I had gathered I was pretty sure the bears would not be out early. They would wait till the sun warmed the eastern slopes before making an appearance. Counting on this I planned to still hunt to my stand, This way I could control my body temperature and avoid sweating. I left out at 7:15 and got to my stand at 7:45. I determined before I left the truck that I was after the bear and would pass on any 2-3 year old buck. I saw nothing on the way in.
I had planned to climb to 20 feet but found my view of the trail with scat was blocked above 12. So I snuggled in at 12 feet, texted my son to make sure he was up for school and heard a noise behind me and over my left shoulder. It was one of those "that aint no squirrel" noises caused when the dear slowly drug his foot through the leaves. I rotated my head slowly hoping to maybe catch some movement but saw nothing. I heard the noise again and realized it was a little further around. I could turn my neck a bit further but I would not be able to hold it there or I would cramp. I turned and brought my head back around right away. For just a moment I saw some impressive tines poking out from behind a big red oak tree. There was no consideration and all thoughts of the bear were abandoned. The buck was only about 30 yards from me. If he maintained his rout he would pass me to my left and walk right over the bear scat. My best move was to wait for that shot. My son texted back that he was up and about to get in the shower. I responded with "There is a Huge Buck Behind Me." That woke my son up and he sent several texts that went unanswered because things got exciting very quickly.
The buck changed course and was heading behind me. I was set up with the wind in my face so in a few more steps he would have my scent. I had to get in position to take the shot right then. In a tree lounge however, you can not turn to take a shot. You have to roll over. It is a very awkward movement but I was sure it was my only option. I casually picked the rifle up off my lap and started to turn. I was sure I would be busted but half way around the buck suddenly changed direction again. This time he almost skipped and started right at me. Remember, I was only 12 feet up, well this deer was coming down the ridge. By now he was 15 yards yards from me and at eye level. He spotted me, ducked down, and froze. I was halfway over and my right arm was extended and holding the rifle. We stared at each other for a couple of minutes and then he decided I was nothing. He dropped his head, turned back to his left and stepped behind a big poplar tree. I finished my roll and had the rifle up before he appeared from the other side of the tree. My view was partially obstructed by a leaning dead tree. I could have waited another 3-4 steps and had a heart shot but the moment I saw shoulder I pulled the trigger. The buck shuddered and bolted down the side of the ridge. He piled up after 40 yards. I could not see him but I saw the explosion of leaves.
I texted my son that I had hit him and I thought he was down. Then I followed that with another stating that I was shaking so much I was afraid I would hurt myself getting down. After a couple of moments composing myself I made it down in one peace. I still had not looked at his antlers. After seeing his tines I just blocked his rack out of my mind and focused on getting and making the shot. When I walked over to him I saw that his rack was bigger than I had believed. I texted a picture to my son and I am sure he had fun showing it off at school. The fun part was getting this 175 lb deer one and half miles up the ridge to the truck.
PS. I made it back to the spot 3 days later. There was no fresh scat. The bears had been eating frost grapes and had eaten them all up. That dang deer ruined my bear hunt.
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