Post by Wolfman on Jun 30, 2006 2:19:52 GMT -6
Thought id post a couple of stories for entertainment i've posted elsewhere before.
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Ghost Buck
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I'll tell you the one i told my daughter the other night about the Ghost Buck.
Id tell you to close your eyes and imagine but then you could'nt read it...lol
Imagine if you will a LARGE holler or as some would call it a small valley. One side(north) has thick scrub timber down about a 100 yards from the top then goes to grass and small ledges about 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall every 15 feet or so. And it's steep! Far side(south) is standing timber, mostly oaks with a few cedars and very small open spots but very little undergrowth except for a few fallen treetops(nice buck beds). You can see most of the hillside. Valley is fairly deep and steep, 250 yards or so from the top edge.
Looking to the right from the grassy hill(North side) you can see close to 300 yards. Lakes another 150 or so past the bend.
Looking to the left(east) you can see 5-600 yards on the far side, maybe 150 on the grassy hillside. You can see all the way to the bottom except for the last 50 yards or so of the grassy hillside and into the 8 foot creekbed in the bottom. In otherwords you have a wide open killing field and can see just about anything that moves in the valley.
Grassy hillside has some scrub tree's scattered on it, short saplings 8-12 feet tall with a few larger trees(not many) and some cedars 12-30 feet tall.
Right on the break of the grassy hill picture a short bluff, maybe 4 feet tall. About 6 feet wide and 8 feet long with a nice big cedar growing up about 15 feet out of the back of it. This is the stand, it commands the valley. Get the picture?
Now imagine a cold damp morning, one like on the lake reeaalll early in the season. It's cold and so foggy you can't see 10 feet in front of your nose(literaly).
You get setup on the stand before sunrise, you can't see anything past about 30 feet for the fog. As you set there you can here cruch crunch crunch of a couple of deer around the far hillside in the frosty leaves. Thats all, just footsteps. Little later you hear some more, but the fogs still so thick you could'nt see 30 feet even if the sun was up.
As you set there and it starts to get a lil lighter the fog lifts just a bit to where you can see shadows of the tree's closest to you. Then it drops in again to about 10 feet. You can hear the ducks and geese talking down on the lake. The sky is getting lighter but the sun still has'nt topped the horizon. Looking straight up you can still see a couple of stars but you can't see the tree's 20 yards away.
The fog starts to lift and thins a bit to where the tree's on your hillside take on a ghostly appearance and you can just see the shadows of the tree's on the far hillside along the skyline.
You start to make a few calls on your grunt tube knowing there's a BIG buck useing this valley as it's home range. You watch and wait as the fog settles in again, thick as pea soup. Make a few calls and watch as the fog thins a bit again to where you can see about 40 yards through the fog. The tree's still fade in and out as the fog wafts it's way around the hillside.
You check the hillside, looking around the trees, ledges and scrub. A large cedar about 15 feet tall to your right just lurks in the edge of the fog, shadowy.
You grunt some more and watch as the fog flows about the hillside, obscureing tree's and brush, opening in other areas. You watch and listen scanning the hillside, looking under and around the cedars.
The big cedars about 40 yards to your right just fades in and out, going from shadow to not being able to see it at all. As you watch it it fades to white, the fogs swirls in front of it then starts to thin again.
As you start to look away as it thins you freeze, something dosent look right all of a sudden. You look at the tree for a minute trying to see whats different. The fogs swirls in and then opens again and you notice a faint shadow on the left side of the tree. As the fog thins the shadow turns into a deers head held rigidly still looking right at you. Your grunt call is already at your lips so you give a couple of soft grunts as your still not sure it's actualy a buck. It dosent twitch an ear or it's nose. You watch intently and soon the fog thins enough you can tell for sure it's a nice big heavy 8 point watching you. It's still not moved a hair in about 3 minutes now.
You use your mouth to make some soft 'Baa's' as if your a doe. He dosent move at first then slowly takes a step out, then another step. He's still at high alert and his eyes have never left you.
The fogs swirls in again to where he's just a shadow as you watch him take a couple of slow steps farther out, his eyes never leaveing you.
As the fog thins again a bit you see his tail is sticking straight out quivering like mad. This buck is ready for fight or flight at the drop of a hat. Some buck has worked him over pretty bad before now.
The sun in over the horizon by now but the fog is still thick, opening and closeing as a very slight wind blows down the valley.
The buck starts to work his way around the hillside one step at a time, his eyes boreing into you like lasers. His ears have never twitched, his tail is still quivering like mad and each step is slow and steady as if he's ready to bolt.
You give a couple of more soft 'Baas' and he continues to ease around the hillside in front of you. As he crosses behind a small cedar you shift your rifle around and drop the grunt call on it's lanyard. You watch as he slips through the fog like a shadow or ghost untill he steps behind another cedar and stops. One eye and his nose is all you can see peeking around it. Shortly he continues his stalk untill he slides quietly behind another cedar and you can quickly raise your rifle. You watch as he slowly steps out from behind it, his eyes still locked on you. You half expect him to bolt when he see's your position has changed but the fogs still thick enough it slightly obscures you both from each other.
The fog swirls a bit and opens up between you, you grunt with your mouth 'Uhhh Uhhh' and he freezes immediately. His eyes have never left you, his ears have never moved and the tail is still quivering like mad as if he's ready to explode in any direction!
You lay in the crosshairs behind his shoulder and squeeze the trigger. At the shot he's gone like a rocket, showing no sign of haveing been touched. Almost like he's exploded out of the blocks at the report of the rifle and outrun the bullet! He's gone in a flash on a hillside you can easily see for a 100 yards when there's no fog. Now your visibility is around 40 yards.
Now you set there thinking about whats just happened. how he just appeared, how he kept floating in and out of your vision, how he just disappeared at the shot like he was never there.
You give him a minute, haveing a smoke then you go look for blood. You walk the area lookng for blood, any sign he was there at all. Nothing. You start to doubt everything thats happened for a bit then finaly you find a few hairs. Now a spot of blood then a bit of meat and some more blood. You follow the trail around the hillside and the blood thickens after about 30 yards or so to an easy trail. You follow it for another 100 yards around the hillside untill you find him piled up across a log as if he dropped midstride as he was crossing it.
Nice big heavy 8 pointer, good rack. As you start to check him the sun breaks through and the fog just lifts out of the valley leaveing behind sunshine and wet grass.
As you look him over you find fresh scars on his ears, ribs and rump. This bucks been fighting and taken a pretty good beating. Even has some freshly scabbed punctures on his rump as if the victor got in some good parting shots on him. No wonder he was so spooky. Now comes the hard part, getting the big bruiser out of the valley. He may only be an 8 point but he will run 200lbs field dressed, time to go get some help....lol
Over the years the one thing you can still remember clearly is how one second his head was'nt there and the next his head is peeking around the edge of the cedar like some kind of shadow. How as the fog wafted in and out his head just faded to nothing then back to a distinct shadow untill finaly it lifted enough you could see it clearly for a few seconds.
How even as noisy as the grass and leaves were he placed his feet so deftly he never made a sound, even at 40 yards. How his eyes never left you the whole time and how the tail stayed straight out and quivering like some kind of overloaded giant spring. How the clearest memory is the first shadowy sighting of his head through the fog around the tree and how the first thought that comes to mind with that memory is Ghost!
True story, it do you any good?...lol
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Ghost Buck
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I'll tell you the one i told my daughter the other night about the Ghost Buck.
Id tell you to close your eyes and imagine but then you could'nt read it...lol
Imagine if you will a LARGE holler or as some would call it a small valley. One side(north) has thick scrub timber down about a 100 yards from the top then goes to grass and small ledges about 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall every 15 feet or so. And it's steep! Far side(south) is standing timber, mostly oaks with a few cedars and very small open spots but very little undergrowth except for a few fallen treetops(nice buck beds). You can see most of the hillside. Valley is fairly deep and steep, 250 yards or so from the top edge.
Looking to the right from the grassy hill(North side) you can see close to 300 yards. Lakes another 150 or so past the bend.
Looking to the left(east) you can see 5-600 yards on the far side, maybe 150 on the grassy hillside. You can see all the way to the bottom except for the last 50 yards or so of the grassy hillside and into the 8 foot creekbed in the bottom. In otherwords you have a wide open killing field and can see just about anything that moves in the valley.
Grassy hillside has some scrub tree's scattered on it, short saplings 8-12 feet tall with a few larger trees(not many) and some cedars 12-30 feet tall.
Right on the break of the grassy hill picture a short bluff, maybe 4 feet tall. About 6 feet wide and 8 feet long with a nice big cedar growing up about 15 feet out of the back of it. This is the stand, it commands the valley. Get the picture?
Now imagine a cold damp morning, one like on the lake reeaalll early in the season. It's cold and so foggy you can't see 10 feet in front of your nose(literaly).
You get setup on the stand before sunrise, you can't see anything past about 30 feet for the fog. As you set there you can here cruch crunch crunch of a couple of deer around the far hillside in the frosty leaves. Thats all, just footsteps. Little later you hear some more, but the fogs still so thick you could'nt see 30 feet even if the sun was up.
As you set there and it starts to get a lil lighter the fog lifts just a bit to where you can see shadows of the tree's closest to you. Then it drops in again to about 10 feet. You can hear the ducks and geese talking down on the lake. The sky is getting lighter but the sun still has'nt topped the horizon. Looking straight up you can still see a couple of stars but you can't see the tree's 20 yards away.
The fog starts to lift and thins a bit to where the tree's on your hillside take on a ghostly appearance and you can just see the shadows of the tree's on the far hillside along the skyline.
You start to make a few calls on your grunt tube knowing there's a BIG buck useing this valley as it's home range. You watch and wait as the fog settles in again, thick as pea soup. Make a few calls and watch as the fog thins a bit again to where you can see about 40 yards through the fog. The tree's still fade in and out as the fog wafts it's way around the hillside.
You check the hillside, looking around the trees, ledges and scrub. A large cedar about 15 feet tall to your right just lurks in the edge of the fog, shadowy.
You grunt some more and watch as the fog flows about the hillside, obscureing tree's and brush, opening in other areas. You watch and listen scanning the hillside, looking under and around the cedars.
The big cedars about 40 yards to your right just fades in and out, going from shadow to not being able to see it at all. As you watch it it fades to white, the fogs swirls in front of it then starts to thin again.
As you start to look away as it thins you freeze, something dosent look right all of a sudden. You look at the tree for a minute trying to see whats different. The fogs swirls in and then opens again and you notice a faint shadow on the left side of the tree. As the fog thins the shadow turns into a deers head held rigidly still looking right at you. Your grunt call is already at your lips so you give a couple of soft grunts as your still not sure it's actualy a buck. It dosent twitch an ear or it's nose. You watch intently and soon the fog thins enough you can tell for sure it's a nice big heavy 8 point watching you. It's still not moved a hair in about 3 minutes now.
You use your mouth to make some soft 'Baa's' as if your a doe. He dosent move at first then slowly takes a step out, then another step. He's still at high alert and his eyes have never left you.
The fogs swirls in again to where he's just a shadow as you watch him take a couple of slow steps farther out, his eyes never leaveing you.
As the fog thins again a bit you see his tail is sticking straight out quivering like mad. This buck is ready for fight or flight at the drop of a hat. Some buck has worked him over pretty bad before now.
The sun in over the horizon by now but the fog is still thick, opening and closeing as a very slight wind blows down the valley.
The buck starts to work his way around the hillside one step at a time, his eyes boreing into you like lasers. His ears have never twitched, his tail is still quivering like mad and each step is slow and steady as if he's ready to bolt.
You give a couple of more soft 'Baas' and he continues to ease around the hillside in front of you. As he crosses behind a small cedar you shift your rifle around and drop the grunt call on it's lanyard. You watch as he slips through the fog like a shadow or ghost untill he steps behind another cedar and stops. One eye and his nose is all you can see peeking around it. Shortly he continues his stalk untill he slides quietly behind another cedar and you can quickly raise your rifle. You watch as he slowly steps out from behind it, his eyes still locked on you. You half expect him to bolt when he see's your position has changed but the fogs still thick enough it slightly obscures you both from each other.
The fog swirls a bit and opens up between you, you grunt with your mouth 'Uhhh Uhhh' and he freezes immediately. His eyes have never left you, his ears have never moved and the tail is still quivering like mad as if he's ready to explode in any direction!
You lay in the crosshairs behind his shoulder and squeeze the trigger. At the shot he's gone like a rocket, showing no sign of haveing been touched. Almost like he's exploded out of the blocks at the report of the rifle and outrun the bullet! He's gone in a flash on a hillside you can easily see for a 100 yards when there's no fog. Now your visibility is around 40 yards.
Now you set there thinking about whats just happened. how he just appeared, how he kept floating in and out of your vision, how he just disappeared at the shot like he was never there.
You give him a minute, haveing a smoke then you go look for blood. You walk the area lookng for blood, any sign he was there at all. Nothing. You start to doubt everything thats happened for a bit then finaly you find a few hairs. Now a spot of blood then a bit of meat and some more blood. You follow the trail around the hillside and the blood thickens after about 30 yards or so to an easy trail. You follow it for another 100 yards around the hillside untill you find him piled up across a log as if he dropped midstride as he was crossing it.
Nice big heavy 8 pointer, good rack. As you start to check him the sun breaks through and the fog just lifts out of the valley leaveing behind sunshine and wet grass.
As you look him over you find fresh scars on his ears, ribs and rump. This bucks been fighting and taken a pretty good beating. Even has some freshly scabbed punctures on his rump as if the victor got in some good parting shots on him. No wonder he was so spooky. Now comes the hard part, getting the big bruiser out of the valley. He may only be an 8 point but he will run 200lbs field dressed, time to go get some help....lol
Over the years the one thing you can still remember clearly is how one second his head was'nt there and the next his head is peeking around the edge of the cedar like some kind of shadow. How as the fog wafted in and out his head just faded to nothing then back to a distinct shadow untill finaly it lifted enough you could see it clearly for a few seconds.
How even as noisy as the grass and leaves were he placed his feet so deftly he never made a sound, even at 40 yards. How his eyes never left you the whole time and how the tail stayed straight out and quivering like some kind of overloaded giant spring. How the clearest memory is the first shadowy sighting of his head through the fog around the tree and how the first thought that comes to mind with that memory is Ghost!
True story, it do you any good?...lol