Bowhunter, 2008 - Potts Creek Outfitters

Transcription

MARKOL:Layout 1
7/29/08
5:34 PM
Time To
Kick The
“Can” For
Something
Better!

DVD
ALLMASTER’S
JOURNAL
ST
Mastering The Original
.
P.O
B
81
5 52

(+) BREEDING BELLOW™
(DV
)
Model WW170 (DV)
©1993, 2005 & 2007
• Fr
ankl
•
in, TN 37068
ise
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m
Instructional DVD with Real Hunts!
ox
6
Page 46
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oo
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Model WW170
WHITETAIL SPECIAL 2008
Did You Get Your Deer?
BY MARK OLSZEWSKI, ART DIRECTOR
The All New
My dad, Rich, steps into
a comfortable Shadow
Hunter blind at Potts
Creek Outfitters. Spectacular views of the West
Virginia landscape added
to the hunting enjoyment.
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46
BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN
BOWHUNTING FOR WHITETAILS
IN WEST VIRGINIA CAN CREATE
MEMORIES THAT NEVER FADE.
home of Potts Creek Outfitters, on November 7, 2007. Dad and Ryan had each
killed their first deer with a bow while
hunting with me at Potts Creek the year
before (“A Family Education,” December 2007), and by the end of that 2006
hunt, the three of us had taken a total of
five does.
When we arrived in 2007, we immediately broke open our bow cases and took
some practice shots. Then we threw on
our hunting clothes and headed to the
woods for our first evening’s hunt.
Potts Creek’s wildlife manager, Josh
Duncan, put Ryan and me into a Shadow
Hunter blind. Minutes after we got settled
in, we spotted several deer coming out of
a thicket to feed in a field a few hundred
yards away.
HE BEDROOM WINDOWS were
cracked just enough to let the cool,
spring-morning air into the room
— and just enough for me to hear the
annual springtime alarm clock going off,
the distant sounds of gobbling turkeys.
As I lay there, half groggy, prioritizing in
my mind what I needed to do this day for
my job as Bowhunter’s Art Director, a halfsmile came over my face. At that moment,
I thought back months ago to the slogan
I’d seen in vinyl lettering adorning the tailgate on Potts Creek Outfitters’ old farmuse-only pickup truck — Did You Get Your
Deer? I get such flashbacks often. Shooting
a nice whitetail buck does that to a guy.
T
MY DAD, RICH, MY teenage son, Ryan,
and I had arrived in Paint Bank, Virginia,
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W H I T E TA I L S PE C I A L 2 0 0 8
BOHP-081100-046.pgs
07.29.2008
16:40
A U T H O R ’ S P H OTO
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MARKOL
7/31/08
5:19 PM
Page 48
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Just before dark, a few does walked
directly by the blind. Seconds later, we
saw a big-bodied deer about 40 yards to
our left, but in the dusky light we could
not tell whether it was a buck or doe. As
our guide, Bob Beasley, came to pick us
up, the headlights from his truck shined
on the deer and we saw antlers. Definitely
a shooter!
The next morning, we were up at 4:30
a.m. The temperature was 18 degrees
when Josh dropped Ryan and me off at
one Shadow Hunter blind and Dad at
another. Within minutes of daylight,
Ryan and I had a buck with 10-inch
spikes come by, but we elected to hold off
on this guy. He would have been a great
first buck for Ryan, but the hunt had
barely begun. We saw more deer off in the
distance, and some turkeys, but no shooter bucks. Dad had no luck either.
With temperatures climbing into the
60s, we all decided to hunt from ladder
stands that evening. Dad saw four does,
and Ryan and I saw a 4-point, a spike, and
a doe, plus a huge flock of turkeys.
The morning of November 9 was
cloudy and cold. Ryan and I saw one deer
from our blind. Dad saw a few deer but
no bucks.
After a mini-scouting session at lunchtime, I thought we’d try a different
approach. With Bob’s and fellow guide
Travis Shockley’s help, we set up my twoperson ladder stand in a staging area that
had some heavily used trails and lots of
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To try something different, guides Bob
Beasley, Travis Shockley, and I set up my
two-person ladder stand in a deer staging
area. My son Ryan and I hunted together
from this stand.
■
BOHP-081100-048.pgs
07.31.2008
17:49
See the BVR in action at:
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MARKOL
7/23/08
10:09 PM
Page 50
rubs. I felt pretty confident we’d see some
deer there in the evening.
I was right! Two does walked right
underneath us at 10 yards. Perfect, I
thought. With the deer starting to rut, these
two ladies are sure to attract the attention of
any nearby bucks.
We tried rattling, grunting, and bleating, all to no avail. As eight more does
showed up that evening, I could only wonder, Where are the bucks?
Dad saw no deer that evening because
he and Bob had created a little disturbance. From the way I heard it, they had
quite the adventure — along with some
good laughs — as Dad frantically wrestled
with his safety harness, and Bob locked
his keys in his truck. After hearing their
story, I knew what all that honking was
about in the distance! We all need something to loosen our spirits up every now
and then, and that’s just what the doctor
had ordered for Dad and Bob. They joked
all night about their mishaps.
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Independent test results — after a
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WITH ONLY ONE DAY LEFT to hunt,
we were starting to feel a little pressure.
More than anything, I wanted Ryan to
shoot his first buck, and I wanted that for
Dad, too.
The weather that last day was blustery
and cold. With the high winds, Josh
thought it would be too dangerous to
hunt from a treestand, so he housed us
once again in a Shadow Hunter blind by
a cornfield. At 8:30 a.m., two does came
out of the hardwoods below us and began
to feed on the corn 20 yards from our
blind, quartering away. Ryan and I quiet-
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After morning hunts, we commonly
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50
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07.24.2008
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Page 52
at this buck. It was our last day, and the
deer would be a great first archery buck.
The buck stood at the same angle as
the does had been. “Since he’s in that
position, you now know where...” I
whispered, but Ryan was already at full
draw, shaking and breathing heavily,
and before I could say “...to aim,” his
arrow was zooming toward the husky
buck.
Unfortunately for Ryan, the buck
“jumped the string” and then ran out of
Ryan’s life forever. It was a clean miss. My
son would have to wait another day to
collect his first buck.
“Did you get your deer?” Josh asked
when he picked us up for lunch.
Ryan had no choice but to mutter a
soft and dejected, “No.” Dad hadn’t had
any luck either.
At lunch, Josh suggested that I hunt a
stand called the Hemlock Stand. Situated
on top of a hill, the stand was surrounded by hardwoods, with a field several
hundred yards below, a valley to my right
and behind me, and a flat to my left.
Ryan and Dad would try a new area. I
agreed, but my heart wasn’t fully into it,
as I was still thinking about Ryan’s earlier misfortune.
Even before I could finish whispering instructions, Ryan had drawn his bow and was ready
to shoot. Unfortunately, the buck he shot at “jumped the string.”
ly discussed shot angles and where he
might aim at these deer.
After those deer walked away, a handsome 4-pointer came strutting up out of
a thicket and stood where the does had
been earlier. Having used my can-style
bleat call, I would like to think my calling
had something to do with his appearance.
I told Ryan that if the opportunity presented itself, he should try to take a shot
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52
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BOHP-081100-052.pgs
07.25.2008
09:36
MARKOL
7/29/08
2:35 PM
Page 54
THE WEATHER WAS cold and brisk as I
climbed into the Hemlock Stand. Around
5 p.m., the magic began to happen. Two
does came up the hill from behind me
and stood 30 yards away. The wind
swirled and both suddenly looked up at
me. Oh no, I thought. They are going to get
a whiff of this Pennsylvania boy and blow
out of there.
Sure enough, one doe turned and ran.
But the other, for unexplainable reasons,
stayed. Then she walked out in front of
me and began to feed. Suddenly, a buck
appeared 60 yards to my right. Moving at
a steady gait, the white-antlered 10-point
walked right past the feeding doe at 30
yards and then stopped. Quartering away,
he looked down the hill in the direction
the other doe had run.
For me, personally, he was a really nice
buck, and I could hardly believe I was
about to get a shot at him.
I don’t even remember drawing my
bow, but somehow, I did. I do remember
the wind causing my bow arm to wobble
all over as I tried to calm myself enough
to pick a spot, aim, and release.
Ffffffffffwwweth! Off went my feathered shaft, streaking toward the buck.
From what I could tell, my arrow hit the
From left to right, my dad, Rich; Wildlife Manager Josh Duncan; my son, Ryan; and Travis
Shockley take a break at the truck that served as my inspiration.
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As you can see, I was well hidden in
the Hemlock Stand, from which I shot
my buck.
buck a little high. The deer whirled
and ran across the flat about 100 yards,
and then I lost sight of him. Was he
down? Did he keep moving? I didn’t
know. But then, in the fading light, I
thought I saw a flicker of white where he
had disappeared.
I stared at that spot until complete
darkness and then radioed Bob and told
him what had happened. Dad was with
him, and they were already on their way
as I nervously climbed down out of the
ladder stand. I went over to where the
buck had been standing when I shot and
found no arrow, and no blood.
“I know I hit that deer,” I said aloud. “I
know I did!”
When Bob and Dad arrived, we
walked toward the spot where I’d last seen
the deer. Now maybe, just maybe, we
should’ve waited until morning, but we
were all anxious to see what was up.
Maybe we would find blood?
When we reached the spot where I
had seen the flicker of white, I looked
down and immediately saw blood. And
less than five feet from the blood, Dad
found my arrow.
We followed the blood trail about 40
yards. Then it ended. The cover got thick.
56
We looked around briefly but could find
no more blood. “That deer’s dead,” Dad
kept saying. Despite Dad’s encouraging
words, I thought it best to leave the deer
overnight and continue tracking early in
the morning.
The next day, Sunday, was supposed to
be Bob’s day off. Travis or Josh could have
helped search, but Bob would not hear of
that.“I will be there at first light. I want to
see this buck and share in the excitement,” Bob said. Now that’s dedication.
And I appreciated it.
At daybreak, we were standing over
the last spot of blood we had marked.
We had scarcely started searching when
Bob casually called, “Mark, there’s your
buck.”
I ran over to the deer and yelled for
Dad and Ryan. We had been within five
yards of the deer the night before, but
because he lay in some high grass, we
never saw him. Let me tell you, I was the
happiest guy on earth at that moment!
What an awesome buck, and a perfect
ending to this story.
WWW.BOWHUNTER.COM
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And as I got out of bed that spring
morning, remembering my experience,
the answer to that question, Did you get
your deer? was vivid.
You betcha. I sure did!
58
Plus 3-D leafy suit in Mossy Oak camouflage.
Ryan used his Browning Micro Midas 2
bow, Carbon Express Terminator 6075
arrows, and 75-grain Muzzy heads. He wore
Realtree Hardwoods camo. Dad used a Parker Ultra Lite bow, Carbon Impact Fat Shaft
6000 arrows, Rocky Mountain Ti-100 broadheads, and Outfitters Ridge camo clothing.
We were fortunate enough to have
arranged transportation through the
Toyota Tundra Loan Program, so we rode
in style from Pennsylvania to West
Virginia in a Tundra pickup. This spacious, smooth-riding truck had plenty of
room for three guys and their gear. It can
also tow up to 10,800 pounds, with 401 ftlbs. of torque, and it comes in 44 models.
I can’t say enough about Potts Creek
Outfitters — the country is beautiful,
the people are extremely hospitable, and
the deer are plentiful. They have always
provided us with a wonderful experience.
To schedule your own hunt with Potts
Creek Outfitters in Paint Bank, Virginia,
call (540) 897-5555 or visit www.pottscreekoutfitters.com.
AUTHOR’S NOTE S: I used a Mathews
Drenalin b ow, Carbon Express Maxima Hunter 250 arrows, Rocky Mountain Ti-100 broadheads, Nikon Monarch
10x42 binoculars, Nikon Monarch Laser800 rangefinder, and a ScentBlocker
WWW.BOWHUNTER.COM
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BOHP-081100-058.pgs
07.29.2008
15:15
A U T H O R ’ S P H OTO S
After taking this hefty, brokentined West Virginia 10-pointer,
I could not stop smiling. The
buck weighed 200 pounds.
To answer your question, “Yes,
I did get my deer!” At right,
we discuss hunt plans by our
Toyota Tundra test vehicle.