Hunter: Ed Todd
Points: 9 (4L, 5R)
County: Putnam
Season: 2016-2017
Hunt Story
After getting on my stand about 6:30 AM on Oct. 23rd., I could hear a lot of animal movement around me. The stand is positioned near the top of a steep hillside, sort of a shallow bluff area overlooking a wide hardwood gully. It is just a seat attached to the base of a tree, just below the crest of the hillside. This location makes for a good view of both sides of the gully, both left and right. There is a small spring fed creek flowing through the gully year around and is the main water source for several hundred yards and more around. As the sky began to lighten up, I actually saw several deer of all ages in the first couple of hours of daylight feeding/moving along as they looked for acorns. About 9:20 or so, I noticed movement to my right at about 100 yards or so through the hardwoods. As the two deer moved along hunting and eating acorns, I could see that at least one was a decent buck. As I glassed them for about 10 minutes, I never got a good look at the second buck, but the one I could see had a good body size and a nice rack. As soon as he presented a clear shot, I took it. It was a clear shot to the lungs, and he only ran about 50 yards or so before crashing down in a pile. He piled up in a perfect location for access to an easy 4-wheeler retrieve. After about 55 years of chasing deer in the woods, I still get the same thrill and sense of accomplishment as always when a hunt goes well. At 70, it is great to just be out there and to be healthy enough to do so.
