Quickest hunt

[bamabandit]

What is your quickest successful hunt?

Mine would have to be last year on opening day of bow season. I was set up in a finger of trees the lead out to a cottom field the deer were crossing at first light. Plus there were a couple white oaks that were starting to drop. I was in my stand with plenty of time to spare and just relaxed. about 10 min before shooting time i could already see deer moving my way. At shooting time there were several deer milling around infront of me so i decided to take one. I had a doe standing broadside at 10 yards so i drew anchored and released hitting her tight behind her shoulder with the arrow blowing strait through. She hopped off about 30 yards as it ended up being. But at the shot all the deer scattered but 1 which stopped broadside at 20 yards trying to figure out what happened. Since our limit is 2 a day i took another arrow from my quiver knocked it drew aimed and released driving that arrow thorugh his ribcage and into the dirt. He took off and crashed about 40 yards out. I looked at my watch and it was less than 90 sec since shooting time began. I sat up and watched 13 more come through 5 of them smelling one of their fallen comrads on the ground. Could have taken shots and several had i not been done already.

It happened so fast and was the most exciting thing i have had happen while bow hunting. Ended up being 2 nice fat does. Im gonna see if i can get a pic scanned and post it up.

[Win Mag]

Mine would have to be our very first handgun deer season in 1991.I was able to go the afternoon hunt.So i packed my 44 mag.And headed for my spot.I had an irrigation pond to the east of me with a small clearing.This is where i was headed to.When i noticed a doe just standing with her back to me, i was yet undected somehow.I drew the pistol pointed it at her,knowing when i cocked the hammer she would be alerted to my presences and i would have little time for her to offer me a solid target and make the shot.The 44 mag did it's job and she dropped on the spot.This all happened in a matter of seconds.Walk, see her, draw the gun, cock the hammer, aim, and fire, that quick.

[turk2di]

1984. I hadn't even settled in to my stand when i hear the approaching rustling of leaves. A 7 pt whitetail walked to within 40yds of my stand and stopped. I him with a neck shot. Gun season over in just minutes!

[bustedspur]

PA rifle season 2003. Started at 6:50 and I had an 8 pt 20" spread on the ground by 6:55. A young doe came in first and I thought there was a big doe behind her....wrong...big buck behind her. One shot from the 25-06 and he dropped in his tracks. Was the first shot of the day in the valley I was hunting....I never did that before.

[trkyhntr]

Can't remember the year, But I killed a doe 20 minutes after daylight with my bow, on the ground at 8 yards!

[treedude]

In 1992 my brother killed his first gun deer (11 pt) 4 minutes into the opener.

In 1995 I was in the lead car driving to our 'hunting lodge' (grandparent's old house) the night before opening day. On the lane, standing in a side ditch was a really nice 8 pointer!

We all took our stands the next morning, and I was hunting the ditch directly south of where we had seen the buck. Shooting light was 6:10, and the same deer came sauntering through at 6:19. He looked dog-tired, and dropped at the shot. Turned out to be a 7 pt, as one brow tine was broken off.

2003 I almost didn't get to hunt, due to the arrival of my son (my firstborn) in early November. At the last minute I was able to head down to the 'lodge', and 12 minutes in the stand did the trick on a huge 6 pointer (3 yr old, weighed 170 with an 18" spread).

[gobble4me]

5 minutes... crawled in the ground blind with my buddy video taping. As soon as I got an arrow nocked, i looked up and here comes a big fat doe at about 30 yds.... shot her at 10. Quick and easy.

[THE GOB-FATHER]

Mine was as quick for me as it was to get to the end of a path that led to my treestand on Thanksgiving morning a few years back. I was heading toward the stand and I had only been traveling down the path for about 3 to 4 minutes and I looked out in front and saw what looked to be a rusted old burning barrel. I knew that place like the back of my hand and never remembered seeing one there before. Then I caught it moving. I had a buck and a doe tag so I was all set. I saw it raise it's head and it was a doe. She was just feeding and walking slowly to my right. I raised my gun and shot her. She dropped on the spot. It was quick and she didn't go anywhere.... doesn't get better than that! If the turkey wasn't already cooking we'd have fresh love buttons for thanksgiving dinner!

[tphunter]

About 5 years ago I got to my hunting grounds just before first light in a blinding snowstorm...I drove to the back of the meadow and was beginning to think it might have been a bad idea with the way the snow was coming down...I got out of the truck and the snow was almost up to my knee... walked the 300 yards to my stand and it was now up over my knees...I climbed into my stand and brushed the snow off of everything including my scope...I gave out a couple of soft grunts and immediately a buck came bounding out of the brush 75 yards away looking for the" other buck" he had just heard...It was snowing so hard I had a very difficult time of seeing him through the scope...but I made a good shot and he dropped in his tracks...After dressing him out I started dragging him towards the truck and ran into my brother who was just getting there to hunt...He couldn't believe I killed a deer that quick...

All total I think I was in the woods all of 15-20 minutes...Good thing cause I think I would have been stuck until spring if I'd stayed much longer...LOL

[Phishy]

Labor Day weekend 2003 (Say what!! ).

I spoke with a farmer who had a mitt-full of Ag Damage tags; he needed to shoot at least 14 more deer (does only) to be eligible for compensation for damage from the program. X amount of tags are issued in Feb and 80% of the set quota need to be shot before bow season. Well this farmer procrastinated and needed to make the quota in a mighty hurry.

I was given two tags. I decided to take gander at the property, so I threw the gun, blaze orange, and a handful of shells into the truck. I left the house at 1pm. The farm was only 2 miles down the road. I turned onto the property and decided to drive the farm trails and see what I can see. First I saw a doe out the open, I stopped the truck to check her out, and she bolted. I thought to myself “That’s a good sign maybe I’ll set up on that wood edge over there.” I went a little ways further, and spotted a doe bedded in a small tree covered knoll only 70 yards from the trail. Now I don’t road hunt but I saw a great opportunity here. I kept driving a few hundred more yards blocked out of view by standing corn, got out of the truck, put on the orange, loaded the gun, crept my way towards the edge of the corn, and chambered one. I stepped into view of the knoll, saw the doe, knelt down, found her in the scope and she just sat there ears cocked towards me. I had a comfortable position with my leading arm propped on my knee and the sling wrapped tightly a round my other arm, digging the stock of the gun deeply into my shoulder. I placed the cross hairs on her forehead, exhaled, and BOOOM the gun went off. I saw legs kick up into the air, and nothing else. I looked over to the west of where the bedded deer was lo’ and behold another doe, I swung the gun onto this deer, put the cross hairs on the shoulder and BOOOM again, two leaps and down into a heap. I looked at my watch; it was 1:30pm.

Now here’s the best part, there was a small trail leading this knoll, (firewood gathering I presumed) so I walked over to the deer, both dead and down, walked back to the truck and drove up to them, tagged them, dressed them out and put them into the back of truck. I went and registered them and went back to the farm where the farmer had a 30’ refrigerated straight truck. Put them into the cooler for the night and drove home. It was 2:30 pm. So what is a person suppose to do? I hooked up the boat and went walleye fishing.

I don’t really consider this hunting, more like filling the freezer with meat, which is a good thing cause I pulled a big goose egg for the rest of the season, both bow and gun, first time in five years prior since that had happened, not because of a lack of trying, but just not quite connecting.

[loserchumpandfool]

opening day of firearms in my first year of hunting in 1990.morning hunt i seen nothing.afternoon hunt i was in stand only 5 minutes when a doe came outta the cedars below me.

[kahuna]

Last year bow season. Went in at about 10:00 am and was gonna sit until dark (this was late Oct.). Got to the stand, put out my scents, tied my bow to my rope, got my safety strap on, and all my gear: bincocs, calls, etc. Just when I was lifting my leg to get on my stand, an eight pointer was coming down the trail. He wasn't a monster, but respectable. I took off the safety belt, and dropped to my knees. Mr. Whitetail walked the edge of the pines that I was in, walked even with me, then past me, all at under 20 yards. I reached for my bow, untied the rope, nocked and arrow, reached into my pocket to get my tab (I shoot fingers)....all the while watching the buck. He turned onto the trail that I had mocked scraped, and had put out a doe in heat scent and also a dominant buck scent. HE CAME RIGHT WHERE HE WAS SUPPOSSED TO! He was 17 yards away (measured later) but behind some scrub oak, but very plain to see. He looked at me, on my knees, as I tried to hide behind my bow (how many times do you try this....like it's gonna work). I was at full draw, and he was just standing there, right behind my scent-bombs, just looking around. I couldn't let the bow down, so I kept it at full draw, and tucked my "string" arm close tight to my body. This helps relieve the pressure, and you can hold at full draw as long as you need to. Well, about one and a half minuets crawl by, and he decides to move forward. I sense he is about to bolt, and I have a shot, although I have to go a little high to get over a smaller bush. He happened to look away, I straightened up, and let 'er go. SWACK! That was so exciting.......but here's the tragedy. I was just a little too high, and a "hair" too far back. Not enough to get vitals, and not enough to get spine. I looked for seven hours that day, on my hands and knees looking under every falldown, brushpile, etc. There was no blood, and no decernable trail. Next day, another three hours, and nothing. That was my "quickest" and longest hunt, without the harvest being successful. Well, maybe he survived, and is just limping aroung. He'll be pretty nice this year (and really pissed off, too!).

[hunter316]

Thanksgiving day this past season. I was walking into the woods from my parents house along with my dad. When we got to the place where we split up we ran into a doe and her two fawns. That was about 5 minutes walking. From there dad went up the point on the right and I started up the one on the left. Plan was for me to go a little way up and watch an old growed up field while dad got to his stand. I was then going to walk up the ridge and slowly make my way toward him trying to push a deer his way. But about a minute after I got to the field a fairly nice 11 point walked out and ended that plan real quick. I ended up making a poor first shot with my 3030 and hit him low. Just before he went out of site I fired again hitting him in the hind quarter in one of the arteries. I walked over to the last place I saw him and looked down in the dip he ran into. All I could see was his rack in the high grass as he turned his head looking around. I slowly started down and he jumped up so I fired another round hitting him in the neck putting him down for good. The hunt from the time I left my parents home until he was on the ground was only 20 minutes. And to beat all I told dad as we were walking into the woods we were crazy to be hunting that day. The wind was blowing hard that day and I mean hard! Just goes to show you no matter what the weather we need to be out there.

This is his pic. If you look close you can see the two one inch stickers at his bases.

[timhicks]

Here is mine! Last year I wanted to hunt with my bow only, I shot two does and turned down countless bucks waiting on the BIG ONE.I hunted Oct Nov December and hunting season was getting close to ending. On Dec 20th I parked the truck at the house grabbed my gun and was walking to the blind since I had brought my gun took a step up to the blind and there was a nice 8 pointer with a good 20"spread and nice tine length. So I raised my gun up and shot him.He scored 158 and is still at the taxidermist. I was really upset because my hunt didnt last 10 seconds and also the first day I bring the rifle and shoot. NO GUNS this year.I keep telling myslef. Tim