Benchtalk

Hope Carleton’s Deer

---

…..now the story. As I had stated we have been covered up at work with surveys performed on three separate tracts in three different counties totaling about 1000 acres for new acquisition by the Dept. .

My scouting has been a hurried effort but I had seen several nice deer and hung three stands a couple of weeks prior to the season,all of these stands were set up for a west wind which the prevailing pattern here in early fall. I could not take off the first couple of weeks of the season as I have in years past but I did hunt on the weekends and a few evenings during the week when I was not in the field.

The first two week were very frustrating and challenging due to the switching winds that had a pattern blowing from the east (guess it was Isabelle causing the different weather pattern?). I took a nice doe the opening weekend but was unable to hunt one particular stand that I wanted due to the east wind.

I did get a chance to hunt the stand last weekend with shift of the weather but the wind was a little fickle not staying a constant direction all evening and I missed an opportunity at a nice buck due to the shift in the late evening wind…but last night it was a different story, winds were about 5-10 mph right out of the west! so I hurried home changed clothes and slipped into the stand. From 5:30 until about 7:00 I saw two doe,both with twins……one set was a pair of button bucks and the other set of twins were doe. These deer moved on a trail that took them 20 yards up-wind of the stand toward a bean field and unaware of my presence….

I sure felt good that my "set-up" was working! Then about 7:40 I saw a deer moving along the same trail heading toward the soybean food plot that the doe and fawns had fed in earlier….It was a nice buck!…there was a shooting lane that he would cross at about 20 yards and when he stepped into the lane he stopped….

I drew, let my pin settle behind the shoulder and sho t….. the shot was good and he was down after a 35-40 yard run and my buck tag was filled!…..the moral to the story is I would rather be "lucky" than "good" on most any day and last night "lady luck" smiled upon me! Hope you enjoy the story…….Take care pal and say hello to all there from the hills of Kentucky…

Be Well Hope