During the Archery Season in August, you are allowed to purchase an archery
deer tag and an archery turkey tag. The rifle bear season opens on the first
day of archery deer in the unit I hunt.
This year I was sitting in my tree stand Friday morning without even a bird
making a sound. We were seeing more hunters than normal camped in the same
area. I sat Friday evening in my blind with trucks and quads stopping by
looking for tracks. Saturday morning, I was back in my tree stand. I could
see two Coues Whitetail bucks heading my way grazing. They were finally within
bow distance, when the smaller one came out from behind a tree. I put the
laser on the deer and it showed 46 yards. Right after I ranged him, the deer
went into a thicket of trees. The larger buck went behind the same tree, I
pulled back my bow and when he stepped out, I let the arrow fly. The deer was
hit and died in seconds within eye sight. The deer made the Pope and Young
trophy book.
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On Sunday morning I sat in my blind on the water hole looking for turkeys.
The turkeys showed up at 6am to drink water. My laser flashed 20 yards, I let
the arrow fly and it went under the turkey. Turkey’s went every which way and
left. When the turkeys were gone, I re-checked my laser with the same result.
I had netting over the shooting window so I removed the netting and re-lasered
with a different result, 28 yards. I just learned that netting can give
incorrect results.
The next morning on Monday, I decided not to have netting over the shooting
window. The turkeys started to come to the pond at 6am but turned and went
70 yards to my right with trees between us. Someone texted me to find out
how the hunt was going. Since the turkeys were gone, I started to answer the
text. I looked up and a bear was drinking on the water in the exact place
the turkey was drinking yesterday. I pulled my bow back and hit the bear.
He died right on the bank of the pond. I have paid for a bear tag every year
for probably 20 years and finally a bear came in.
I have provided a picture of the bear on trail cameras. He was on the trail
cameras only one time during three months, around 12 noon and 300 yards south
of the pond.
