The idea of shooting a whitetail deer with my bow was something I always dreamed of...something exotic...and I hoped some day I'd have the chance to try it.
Well I do, now that I live in Nebraska, and I feel bad that I've let school and other obligations limit my time in the woods so severely. I'll only be here a couple more years, so I've recommitted myself to "use it while I got it"; and I gotta admit, hunting whitetails is almost more fun than hunting mule deer.
All summer I've had a trail camera up snapping pictures of the various deer that live on the land that I hunt, and have been reading magazines, talking to locals, and exploring, trying to figure out this whole world of whitetail hunting. Apparently whitetails often make territorial scrapes this time of year, which are just spots of ground they scrape up and pee on, usually under tree limbs which they also lick and rub to leave their scent on. This year I found one...
...so I put up a trail camera near it to discover its owner.
I think it's the same small buck I got pics of this summer that I posted about two posts ago. Here he is on video:
It's good because it means he is hanging around, but it's bad because usually only dominant bucks make and return to scrapes; which means he's probably the biggest buck in the area, and he's not big. I'm not surprised since the land I hunt is public. I'm sure if I don't shoot him before the general season next month some rifle hunter will, and I'm sure that's the reason why his daddy isn't still around to be the big buck on the block.
But what do I care? I'll be happy with a doe at this point, as long as she's a whitetail. Later in life when I have time, land, and experience then I can fuss about finding a big one. I'm just happy to be out hunting. I've set my tree stand over a frequently used trail that deer take between where they eat and where they sleep. I've had my trail camera in it recently, and even though it has offered proof that I'm not the only one in the woods...
...it has also given proof that the deer still walk under my stand at least every other morning:
Yesterday morning I was in my stand at first light and saw that little buck come through before it was light enough to shoot or video, but later when the sun came up I pulled out the video camera.
Just after I put it away a doe came in on the red line and stopped where it meets the yellow. I drew my bow and held aim on her, but thankfully I had no shot because her vitals were covered up by that small tree. I say thankfully because as she took the yellow path toward me I realized that she in fact was not a doe, but a very young buck with almost invisible, half-inch button antlers.
Though I legally could have shot him, and I have a tag for both a doe and a buck, I just couldn't bring myself to arrow a baby deer. Call me a softie. Don't get me wrong...I'm not trophy hunting and I'm not going to be picky when it comes to my first whitetail, but this time I hung the bow back up and watched him bed down under my tree.
I'm having so much fun and there's always next weekend.
