Hunter: Joey Geers
Points: 8 (4L, 4R)
County: Cherokee
Season: 2020-2021
Hunt Story
I headed in the woods just after 2 p.m. for my evening hunt. I wanted to move my stand from the top of a ridge down to the river bottom. With the temp in the 70s, I knew it wasn't the best idea and I would probable sweat so much a deer would pick me off from 200 yards away. But there was something telling me I needed to move my stand, and if I could do it without running all the deer off that it would be worth it. So I walked slow, taking a lot of breaks, and got set up in the new spot just before 5 p.m. I always hunt in really thick areas where I think deer would feel safe to walk around in during daylight hours. After sitting there for 2 hours and not seeing anything, I started to regret my decision. With bowhunting in thick areas and using deer trails to access those areas, I take scent control very serious. I started thinking the little I did sweat was enough for the deer to smell and I probably ran all the deer out of the woods. So at 7 p.m. I figured I'd try a little bit of rattling to sound like two bucks fighting over a food source. I thought if any deer where in the area, then it might pique their interest enough for them to come check it out, and if not then at least I tried something. As soon as I got finished I heard something start coming down the ridge in my direction. About five minutes later a fawn and a doe walked out of the thicket right in front of me on the same trail I used. They walked around my stand for about five minutes and then left. I couldn't get my bow off the hanger without being spotted by them, so once they left I grabbed my bow in case more were coming I'd ready. After about 10 minutes I heard something to my right, and when I looked to see what it was there were two mature bucks about 25 yards away walking toward me. There was only one opening they were going to cross that would give me a shot. I drew my bow right before they got there. The first buck never gave a shot opportunity, so I had to wait for the second one to reach the opening, and as soon as he stepped out of the brush I took the shot. I knew by his reaction it was a good shot and he ran about 50 yards and crashed.
