Hunter: Ty Hardin
Points: 10 (5L, 5R)
County: Carroll
Season: 2015-2016
Hunt Story
It was Saturday, 12/19/16, a crystal clear, blue sky, sunny, 47 degree GORGEOUS day (slight wind +/-5mph). My son, Nico age 9, was with me (only his second time hunting with me) & my aunt on a little family hunting outing as guests on my aunt's hunting lease. My aunt hunted a different area for the evening hunt than my son & I. Nico & I hunted a box blind that overlooks the Chattahoochee River, a duck pond & about a +/-20-30 acre field that has native grasses, ragweed, persimmon trees, white oaks & pine trees. We didn't plant any food plots this year because of the abundant natural food sources the deer seemed to prefer over the plot produce. This late in the season, the acorns and persimmons were all gone, but this is also a known travel area for does during deer season. Nico & I climbed up into the box blind around 3:15 p.m. I said a little prayer thanking God for all of his blessings & especially for the opportunity for my son to hunt with me. We had used a Scent Killer No Scent cover spray on our clothes & covered a hand full of leaves in bottled doe urine & threw them out the window to let the wind scatter them a bit. I explained to my son that in this area there is a sequence of events that we will see that happen at certain times in a certain order. I said we'll see gobblin' tom turkeys first around 4 to 4:30 p.m., small deer come out second around 4:45 to 5 p.m., and the bigger deer will come out about 30 minutes later around 5:15 to 5:30 p.m. Like clock work, at about 4:35 p.m., a big-bearded tom comes haulin' tail runnin' off of the treeline on the hillside opposite the river about 150 yards away from us. He was burnin' a path toward the river stopping only twice to puff up, strut, gobble and take a look around for his buddies. We were both beside ourselves trying to keep quiet from all of our laughing at the funny critter and his determination to get where he wanted to go... kinda like the rabbit who was late for a very important date in the Alice In Wonderland Story. 🙂 We then settled down and not 20 minutes later three smaller deer entered the field from the same area as the turkey. It was two fair-sized button head bucks and a smaller yearling doe. The bucks and doe were slowly grazing on the grasses within a few feet of each other. Through his binoculars, my son got to see tarsal glands up close. We also got to see one button head urinate on his glands/hind haunches. At about 5 p.m. a large ~85-lb. doe strolls onto the scene from the same treeline. She kept within 30 feet of the treeline which is 160+/- yards from the blind. I told my son I was going to shoot her and did so. I dropped her were she stood with one clean shot. Next, I told my son we need to leave her there until we get out of the blind. He was concerned she'd get up and run away, but I assured him she died near instantaneously (I think he kept an eye on her anyway for a minute or two to be sure). The three other deer scattered after the shot rang out, but I explained to my son they'd probably come back. They returned only 5 minutes later. They seemed concerned with raised and fluffed tails but didn't blow or alert any other deer in the area. At about 5:20 p.m., we heard a loud knock and rubbing tree bark sound. From the solid tone of the knock, I explained to Nico that it was a bigger buck rubbing a tree and that he might come out before dark. Sure enough, at 5:25 p.m., not one but TWO large bodied, thick rack massive 10-points stroll out side by side from the same area of the treeline on the hillside as the big doe. They made their way to within 10 feet of the downed doe when the larger of the two bucks started to shield the other buck from the body. I guess he was claiming her his girlfriend. 🙂 The bigger buck then proceeded to lower his head and ever so slowly walk toward the smaller buck. This made the smaller buck slowly back away. Through the scope, I judged rack quality and deer size and decided to harvest the larger of the two bucks. Keep in mind that all of these events happened on the same hillside. After I shot. The two bucks ran downhill and u-turned toward the treeline. The buck I shot collapsed 20 yards from where I shot him. I attribute all of this hunting experience to God first and foremost. The scientists and meteorologists will say that the weird weather patterns may have caused some does to go into heat later, but I know it was really God's timing and His plan to begin with that these events took place on that day, in the order and time they happened and that it all happened with my son Nico present. God has been working wonders on Nico's heart leading him to Him. This hunt just provided me, the proud daddy, an opportunity to show my son that our experience together was a "God thing."
