Sept. 2nd- Archery Deer Hunt

Sept 2^nd

I am a hunter. 

I am also a rifleman.

I am not an archer.

That said, each September in California the deer season opens early for archers, and well…I guess I’m a hunter first.

I have a compound bow and on practice targets I can be pretty lethal.  Truth to tell I have taken game with it in the past, usually rabbits in the back yard, and an occasional coyote has fallen to my bow.  Nothing replaces the crack of a rifle though.

Our new sales director at my work is a big time archer, and has I must admit, infected me with the possibility of finally taking a deer with a bow.  This year I decided to give it a chance. 

Armed with my deer tag, and a brand new set of arrows I headed up to my usual haunt to see if luck would be with me on opening day.

Archery hunting and rifle hunting are very different.  First and foremost, the distances are narrowed considerably with an arrow.  Most archers take a solitary position….usually in a tree stand and either call in a deer, or wait for one to wander on by.  Target distances are usually in the twenty five foot range, though some good archers can comfortably take a deer out at seventy five feet.  I’m good…but not that good…I need to keep my shots in the 25 foot range.

There is another type of hunting though…and in the hills of the Cleveland National Forest where there just are not that many trees we have the “spot and stalk”.  This is pretty much exactly what it sounds like.  We take a high position.  Using binoculars we scan for deer, and when we find one we begin a long and arduous process of closing the distance for an ethical shot.  This method was the one I intended to use on my evening hunt on the first day of Archery Deer Season.

Things did not start off well.  First…it was hot.  I mean really really hot!  At my hunting site (which is at 2500’) the temperature gage in the truck read 95 degrees.  Deer just don’t like to move in this weather, which meant if I was going to be successful at all I was going to have to jump one that was bedded down.  I’ve done this before, but it is not easy and is less a thing of skill then dumb luck.

Secondly…since I have to get in really close camouflage is really important.  Deer don’t see colors so having a color scheme that matches the surroundings is not particularly important.  What they do see is movement, and they see large solids really well.  Especially solids like arms, and faces and hands.  So….in 95 degree weather, I’ve got to wear covering over just about every square inch of skin.  Since I’ve got to do some serious moving around I need to bring water with me as well.  This goes on my back in a camelback backpack and adds to the over all weight I’m carrying….in 95 friggen degree heat!

Well….I won’t keep you in suspense…I did not see any deer.  Did see dear sign though…scat and tracks that were less than 24 hours old.  The deer are there,….but they just were not cooperating with me today. 

But…..even though the hunt was not “successful” in the traditional sense, it was immensely rewarding.  First and foremost I was outdoors!  True it was miserable in the heat, but nature’s furnace is still a function of nature.  Secondly, this was not just a singular hunt….it was a scouting mission as well.  There was deer sign there!  I will be back soon…..next time during rifle season!

For what it is worth….on the drive home I saw three deer on private land, and when I got home and took the dog for a walk, Gretchen (my dog) busted three bucks in the state park next to our house….six deer in one day…all on land I’m not allowed to hunt, and no deer spotted where I can….sigh.

Artemis does have a sense of humor.