Is it time to hang up the Compound?

[Axiom]

Ok so, Today around 3 .30pm  i went about 25 feet up with the climber and my compound.. Round about 4.30ish a button comes in and starts feeding on my corn pile.. Every so often he would look up at me for a second or two then resume eating.. a few minutes later another yearling waltzes in and pretty much does the same thing. now i got 2 small deer down below who know i'm up there but they aint sure what i am.. After a few more minutes here comes momma.. who became my target for the evening.. and she also knows i'm up in the tree.. but she comes in anyway cause i'm completely motionless, but keeps an eye on me.. For a split second she turned to look in another direction so i tried to draw but one of the young ones caught my movement and spooked and subsequently caused the others to spook.. I froze again.. they ran off about 20 yards then stopped, stared at me for awhile then started to come back.. about this time a newly arrived spike joins in. he starts feeding and so they all came back..  meantime, coming up from behind me is this big bodied deer i suspected was my target buck, got a good look at him and noticed his antlers gone..  ... so i defaulted back to the target doe.. again she looked in a different direction but i still had 4 other sets of eyes to contend with and all 4 of them had   at least one eye on me.. again i tried to draw and POOF, they scattered like roaches when you turn on the kitchen lights.. Now this is a typical situation that has played itself out several times over the past couple weeks.. I'm confident i can take out a loner doe or buck but they seem to be coming in in groups with  the young'ns comin in first...And this time of year they are on high alert... So, it seems to me the thing to do now is revert to the X-bow cause it requires fewer movements to get into shooting position..

 

Just sayin....

Edited January 14, 2014 by Axiom

[nycredneck]

Use your blind instead of a tree, I know what you mean about all the eye's, I have the same problem but I stay 25 yrs away and face my stand semi backwards in the tree so I can hide my movements. It's really hard when it's very still and quiet and very hard to draw when ALL of the deer are not looking my way.

[Axiom]

Yeah NYC i thought about the blind but id still have to go with the Xbow cause the blind is to small ... I think i'll be ok up in a tree.. Just need something i can point and shoot.. what i had been doing is drawing my bow when i frst see them approaching.. But that hasnt been working too good cause the yearlings come in first and the big does take their sweet time.. only so long i can hold the bow at full draw...

Edited January 14, 2014 by Axiom

[BowhunterNJ]

Got it

[BowhunterNJ]

Man that's tough, sucks if your target buck dropped his antlers!

[Axiom]

 

Got it

 

 

Thanks...

[Palawman30]

Try not hunting over a bait pile and see if the deer still look up....

 

Ive noticed deer that have become conditioned to eating at piles will often look up. Something I have rarely ever seen in areas without bait.

[Axiom]

 

sucks if your target buck dropped his antlers

 

 

I'm pretty sure it was.. Dont recall seeing anything else with a body that big in that particular area and it also took the same route out of the thickets as the TB did..

[robnj]

I'm retiring my stryker crossbow. Dropped it 15 feet hit the bottom tree step , cracked the stock in half and snapped the trigger off. Can't believe it did not dry fire. Might break out the xforce for the lst couple sits.

[BowhunterNJ]

Oh wow, now that's bad! Glad you didn't get hurt or it didn't dry fire!

[Axiom]

 

Try not hunting over a bait pile and see if the deer still look up....

 

 

 Thats an option.. But not a optimum option at this spot...For 1 i would have to move DOWN HILL... which means i'll have to DRAG further up hill than i already have to..2) i'll have to get right up on the edge of the thickets they come out from.. This means thats where they will run after the've been hit with an arrow.. which mean i'll get turned into shredded lettuce tracking the thing..

[Hatchet]

Move the pile of corn. No?

[Axiom]

Move the pile of corn. No?         

 

 

 

 .. possible.. Initially i was hunting the trail they used to get to the corn pile.. But, they kept blowing right by me never offering a shot so i moved the pile closer... I could move the pile back to were it was.. now that they know somethings up they may just hold back where my stand is before moving in on dinner...

[BowTechExperience]

Is it time for the crossbow exclusively? I would let the environment dictate the weapon of choice.. Late season deer hunting over bait in a climber stand 25 ft up says to me you might be a bit skylined and any little movement will be seen, then add onto it having to draw the bow, might prove difficult with little to no cover to hide your movement.. In this situation, I would use the crossbow, why not.. Think of it this way, You are out there today to put meat on the table, you know the deer are skittish, plus you are baiting them and they realize this is not the norm but what the hell it is free and easy to get to so they come with one eye on the corn and the other on their surrounding.  The question is now to you, what can you do to take one of these animals without getting caught. You need to be there, sitting or standing still and ready to shoot when the shot presents itself. Holding a compound out and away from your body then attempt to draw it will get you caught in the absence of good cover. You could try putting the bait in a way that in order for them to feed on it their heads will be behind a blow down, a brush pile, on the off side of a log, something to make them block their vision from above.  

 

Not all stand sets lend themselves to bow hunting because of terrain, one spot might make a great gun spot because of the reach or another spot is better with the bow because of cover.. In your situation, I think the Xbow is the right tool for the job, or figure a way to put yourself in position that will allow yourself to be able to draw the bow back without getting busted. Bring up with you some pine branches and dress out your profile to hide your movement.. You can hide in plain site if done correctly, make your stand/climber a part of the tree by adding branches to the outer edges of your rail and platform

 

just my opinion, but I say if you need it and want to shoot it, cock your crossbow and put an arrow in the boiler room, take a few pics and post them up so we all can enjoy your hunt...

[Nomad]

 Each weapon has it's challenges.  How much challenge are you up for?  Sometimes it's hard to pull your compound back without alerting the deer.  That's one of the challenges of hunting with a compound.  By using a cross bow you obviously won't have to draw it back.  Will that make it easier? Maybe.  Is that what you want?  It's up to you.  When I saw your post title I thought you were going to try a stick and string!  Good luck!