I wanted to do a write up of my Lexington controlled deer hunt, it was my first ever and since I can't stop thinking about it I wanted to share it. I fish there a lot and squirrel hunt there, and it's one of the few places I have good memories of me and my dad together so it meant a lot to me to have my first deer hunt there.
First off, I almost walked up on and sat on a fella in the dark about 6 am. I went exactly where Deer Slayer told me to go ( God bless you DS), and apparently someone else had the same idea. So I went a ways south of him and posted up in some brush with my thermos of coffee and .270. I didn't see anything till about 9:15 in the morning, when I saw a doe trotting out of the woods, about 200 yards out. As a squirrel hunter, I'd never taken a shot over 50 yards or so and this doe was out at about 200 yards. Still my heart was beating fast; after all I had a deer in the crosshairs for the first time ever!
It jumped the fence onto private land and I lowered the rifle. I was grateful to have seen a deer and said a quick prayer for the opportunity when I looked to my right and saw another big doe come out of the woods! This one was about 80 yards or so and quartering away. With my positioning I had to stand up and aim freehand. My heart was beating fast and I couldn't believe I might shoot my first deer. Not to mention I had a big bite of ham sandwich to distract my aim.
I aimed, fired, and missed. The doe glanced around, flicked it's tail and headed for private land. I blame the sandwich and my nerves.
I sat there till about 12pm or so when I decided to have a change of scenery and drive around to talk to some of the other hunters. Some hadn't seen a thing all day, while others mentioned seeing some does and not having a good shot.
I walked around the interior of the place, something that's hard to do when I'm fishing in the summer, and sat at a pond a while with no luck. About 2pm I almost gave up. I drove out to the corner store to get a drink and stopped to talk to the warden briefly. He said a total of 7 deer had been checked out of about 90 hunters. He said I should come back and try till dark. I got some drinks and snacks from the little store in Slaughterville and even the lady there said " You have till dark, you can't give up now."
With encouraging words from Deer Slayer, the warden, and the corner store lady I returned to Lex with a new found resolve to give it my all. I went back to the spot DS told me to go and sat till sundown without seeing a thing. I walked back to the truck about 5:30. On the way there I saw four deer running out of the woods about 250-300 yards out.
I thought to myself "There's some deer being pushed out of the woods by some hunters".
Then I saw a buck hot on the tail of these deer and I realized I just saw a buck chasing the you-know-what out of these girls. I mean CHASING! THIS is what I wanted to see! Some honest to goodness rut activity!
I was on an open, blocked-from-vehicles road and I crouched down to get a look at them in my scope. I hoped and hoped they may come within range, but I knew it wasn't meant to be. I watched this buck chasing the heck out of these does back and forth across the road. I wasn't about to take a 250 yard shot because I didn't feel comfortable doing that, after all I'm used to shooting squirrels and rabbits with the 12 gauge at 30 yards or less! Eventually the big guy and his "girlfriends" disappeared into the woods for good.
I continued to the truck with my heart beating fast and thankful that I at least got to see some real deer activity, squirrels, birds, armadillos, and a pond full of ducks. I stopped at the station on my way out and discovered the check-in total was still just 7. Four bucks and 3 does. I had seen just as many deer that day as had been checked in.
This was one of the funnest times I'd had in my life, and in particular because of a hard year for me and my family. I will always hold close to me in my heart this first deer hunt, and I really don't think I could have had as much fun as I did without Deer Slayer's guidance.
Thanks for listening.
First off, I almost walked up on and sat on a fella in the dark about 6 am. I went exactly where Deer Slayer told me to go ( God bless you DS), and apparently someone else had the same idea. So I went a ways south of him and posted up in some brush with my thermos of coffee and .270. I didn't see anything till about 9:15 in the morning, when I saw a doe trotting out of the woods, about 200 yards out. As a squirrel hunter, I'd never taken a shot over 50 yards or so and this doe was out at about 200 yards. Still my heart was beating fast; after all I had a deer in the crosshairs for the first time ever!
It jumped the fence onto private land and I lowered the rifle. I was grateful to have seen a deer and said a quick prayer for the opportunity when I looked to my right and saw another big doe come out of the woods! This one was about 80 yards or so and quartering away. With my positioning I had to stand up and aim freehand. My heart was beating fast and I couldn't believe I might shoot my first deer. Not to mention I had a big bite of ham sandwich to distract my aim.
I aimed, fired, and missed. The doe glanced around, flicked it's tail and headed for private land. I blame the sandwich and my nerves.
I sat there till about 12pm or so when I decided to have a change of scenery and drive around to talk to some of the other hunters. Some hadn't seen a thing all day, while others mentioned seeing some does and not having a good shot.
I walked around the interior of the place, something that's hard to do when I'm fishing in the summer, and sat at a pond a while with no luck. About 2pm I almost gave up. I drove out to the corner store to get a drink and stopped to talk to the warden briefly. He said a total of 7 deer had been checked out of about 90 hunters. He said I should come back and try till dark. I got some drinks and snacks from the little store in Slaughterville and even the lady there said " You have till dark, you can't give up now."
With encouraging words from Deer Slayer, the warden, and the corner store lady I returned to Lex with a new found resolve to give it my all. I went back to the spot DS told me to go and sat till sundown without seeing a thing. I walked back to the truck about 5:30. On the way there I saw four deer running out of the woods about 250-300 yards out.
I thought to myself "There's some deer being pushed out of the woods by some hunters".
Then I saw a buck hot on the tail of these deer and I realized I just saw a buck chasing the you-know-what out of these girls. I mean CHASING! THIS is what I wanted to see! Some honest to goodness rut activity!
I was on an open, blocked-from-vehicles road and I crouched down to get a look at them in my scope. I hoped and hoped they may come within range, but I knew it wasn't meant to be. I watched this buck chasing the heck out of these does back and forth across the road. I wasn't about to take a 250 yard shot because I didn't feel comfortable doing that, after all I'm used to shooting squirrels and rabbits with the 12 gauge at 30 yards or less! Eventually the big guy and his "girlfriends" disappeared into the woods for good.
I continued to the truck with my heart beating fast and thankful that I at least got to see some real deer activity, squirrels, birds, armadillos, and a pond full of ducks. I stopped at the station on my way out and discovered the check-in total was still just 7. Four bucks and 3 does. I had seen just as many deer that day as had been checked in.
This was one of the funnest times I'd had in my life, and in particular because of a hard year for me and my family. I will always hold close to me in my heart this first deer hunt, and I really don't think I could have had as much fun as I did without Deer Slayer's guidance.
Thanks for listening.
