Thread: Arkansas whitetail hunt.

For those of you who have been on the various forums over the last decade or two. The name Zeeriverrat might ring a bell.
I first got too know him through the old H&F forum and we have stayed in contact, probably for 15 years or so. Chatting hunting and fishing, rifles etc.
Well after 15 years I finally got to meet him after a generous, longstanding offer to come and Hunt his patch was finally taken up.
My trip started with landing in Chicago, and visiting my partners sister and family who live in Michigan. Before we separated and I took a couple of connecting flights down to Memphis where Bob and his Wife Raye, also a keen hunter, picked me up. Before you knew it, I was at their hunting cabin in the middle of the Ozarks, Arkansas.
The muzzle loader season started the next day, so before dark He showed me around the block, and the stands. A mix of ground blinds, boxed high seats, and ladder stands. He also showed me how to use a doe call, and a buck call. And how to put the two together. I also, having never used a muzzle loader before, got an initiation into how to load one of the newer, straight line jobs, which was to be my weapon for the week.
Id arrived with only a carryon bag due to muck arounds with flights and short inter-flight times, so decided just to travel on carryon bag of 7kg. Luckily Bob had enough spare kit for me to walk in and start hunting.

Now one of the first things they told me was that it was going to be a tough season. It was meant to be the start of the rut, but high temperatures and a super full moon had shut things down. The expectation was that it would be very difficult to find a buck in hunting hours. They showed me the heads that had been shot in the area, and that gave me a reasonable idea of what Id be happy to take should the event arise. I enjoy the hunting more than looking for monster heads, so would be happy with a representative head from the area if I was lucky.

I was also told that the neighbour was a keen turkey hunter, and Bob had an agreement to share the deer hunting if they let him hunt Turkeys on their place. But that the Coyotes and Bobcats were wrecking havoc on the Turkey population. That it was unlikely to see either. But if i did it would be considered Unneighbourly to pass up a shot. We heard Coyotes every day/night and saw a big Bob cat on a game camera, But they are incredibly clever, and only 6 Coyotes and a couple of cats have been shot there in over a decade.

An early start next morning and I approach my initial stand. Id been given a can of synthetic doe oestrous urine, and told to spray it on some trees 40 meters either side of my boxed high seat. I did this but didnt quite understand and the result was I used a weeks worth in the first morning. Plus it had a weird locking cap that I could not work out in the dark, and the damned thing went off in my pocket too. Resulting in me walking about smelling like a horny doe, and taking a gun to bed for fear of being molested by a buck as I slept.

The box stand was set up in the forest, on the edge of a bush trail that intersected about 40 meters right, with a fire break. Fifty meters left was a timed feeder right on the edge/just inside the line of a large undergrowth thicket.Once up in the stand, I had an office roller chair to sit on, and 3 opening windows situated front, right and left. Its a very clever set up. You close the window where the wind comes from, and your scent just does not disperse, while the roller chair lets you comfortably sit for 6+ hours a day, and move your position to cater for the windows you wish to shoot from.
In my time there I had upwards of 20 deer come within 10 meters of me, and only one smelt me! Bob would be hunting the other end of the block while Raye was holding out for the rifle season after Muzzleloader season.

Daylight slowly filtered through the canopy and as a kiwi, I was really interesting to see a northern hemisphere forest wake up. Chipmunks, squirrels, Armadillos. Small songbirds, owls, crows etc. All making noise at some point and bustling about. Lots to keep one interested and entertained. Once close too shooting light I did exactly what Bob had told me and used the doe and buck callers in sequence.

This is an important tip, and one I was fortunate to be told on my First overseas trip many years back by another recognisable name from Aussie. Gryphon. He told me to listen too the local guy and do what he recommends, even if it doesn’t seem to make sense.

So I called how I was shown, and then as told, called again 15 minutes later.
Id hardly put the caller down, when a noise too my right drew my attention. Immediately out walked Buck! he was coming straight in fast and searching. As he got closer i realised he was incredibly, a nice representative head for the area. My inexperience didnt allow me to judge age of finer factors. Just that he was big enough and met the legal requirements. Given the tough conditions I decided pretty quickly to take him rather than risk seeing something else later.
It was difficult getting the gun out the window and levelled without him noticing. By this stage he is within 15 meters, and quite focussed on my direction. But I got it there and as I drew sight on his shoulder and clicked off the safety, his eyes went wide and he stiffened. At nine yards I squeezed the trigger, and the gun went click-hissssss- bang! As much as I tried to keep the gun still, I had the sensation Id moved a bit.

There was no wind, and the cloud of smoke obscured everything for quite some time. I heard something crash off in the direction I fired, and then another noise right and behind the blind. Slowly the smoke cleared and I was very surprised to see no dead deer in front of me.
Bobs voice came through on the radio, asking if id shot? yep, but im unsure if I got it, due too it not laying there and the hangfire. He decides to come over, and I climb down from the stand and take the short walk too where the Buck had stood. Scuff marks on ground. No hair, blood or body parts, No bullet impact crater. I decide to wait for Bob before going any further and reload the gun. He arrived and I tell him I’m unsure and why. He says that they hardly ever fall on the spot with the Muzzle loader. Even though its 50 cal, and its usually a tracking job. So we start.
The ground is very dry and prints are hard to follow, but we soon pick up a small smear of blood, followed by the odd small drop. Dark blood but not much. So we know Ive hit it. The blood doesn’t last long though, and we are tying blue ribbon at each spot to get the line, looking for scuffs and running marks. Probably 40 minutes gos by and we have covered 60 meters. Then another spot of blood which leads towards a line of low brush and potentially a bit that looks like an animal might have pushed through. Sure enough there is a big smear of blood between knee and waist high, with some more spots on the ground and another smear on a leaf with a bit of bone attached. Bob is tracking well, so I start to survey the area incase a wounded deer presents. About 60 meters further down the hill I spot something white. I glass it and its the belly of an upturned dead deer.
Hand shakes and back slaps as we get up too him. A nice representative head for the area. Im pretty stoked! Cant believe my luck.



We go through the tagging process etc and get him back too the cabin for processing etc before the heat of the day builds. Its opening day and there are maybe 5 hours between ringing in the tag and a call back too take details. Thats a lot of deer killed! But Arkansas Is a big place full of hunters. The projectile has gone in mid high shoulder breaking the leg, angled down through the lungs, cut the aorta, and just broken the skin but not exited on far side a touch behind the shoulder.

That afternoon we head around to Bobs mate, Kens place for a beer and chat hunting. Ken asks me if Im hunting again this afternoon and I reply that i’m on lawn mowing duty for the rest of week as Im tagged out. Turns out id misread the rules and they tell me, no, I have another Tag for another buck I can fill. Thats an awesome bit of news! and so unexpectedly I find myself back on the stand that evening.
Im sitting watching and waiting, not expecting much, when movement out of the corner of my eye makes me look too my left. Just in time to see a large grey Coyote slink across the track. No time to get the gun up before it’s in cover again, so out comes the phone and I quickly get a youtube vid of a squealing rabbit playing. The yote doesn’t come in, or at least I never see it anyway.
Back at camp that Night , Bob tells me they wont come in too a call, and that I should have whistled and sometimes they will stop long enough to get a shot.

To be continued....

@whanahuia
Nice buck. Congrats. Did you bring it back in your luggage ?

Originally Posted by 30.06king

Ni
@whanahuia
Nice buck. Congrats. Did you bring it back in your luggage ?

No, I decided to go with safety and sent it too a taxidermist in Michigan, who will tan the skin and prep the head and send it on to Mark In NZ

Beauty buck you got, they are a nice looking deer, will look good on the wall.

Awesome! Well written exciting reading...looking forward to part 2

Thats very cool. I remember Zeeriverrat - he was a good contributor to the old forum. Wonderful that you have kept in touch. Thats what saddens me a bit - the old communal thing about the forum(s) has been deminished.
Nowadays too many are focussed on buy and sell and getting bargains.

awesome write up . well done on tipping over a buck , how long did you smell like doe piss?

@Tahr, You'd like Z, hes a tough gent like yourself. Determined too get in as much hunting and fishing as he can. Enjoying every moment of it, and showing many a younger man how its done.

Originally Posted by IamHackmeat

awesome write up . well done on tipping over a buck , how long did you smell like doe piss?

About 3 bloody days! By the end I am sure i was starting to lip curl myself.

It will take me a couple of days to finish the story, as for the first time ever Im quite jet lagged, and trying to catch up on stuff at home too. But want to out it all down when I can so I dont forget and while its still freshly exciting for me.


The next Morning finds me in the same spot. A bit after daylight and I hear a slight noise behind the stand. I glance right and just catch sight of a coyotes tail moving through the brush about 10 meters out. Quickly and quietly I start bringing the rifle up, but make a very slight noise on something. The Coyote jumps sideways about 5 meters and stops behind cover listening. Turns parallel too the track and I watch as it slips away under cover. I curse myself and think damn it, i’ve stuffed it up! he then stops again. all I can see is bits and pieces of fur at 40 meters. Then he turns back and crosses the track out into the open. Im ready, safety is off and Im on him. I give a sharpe whistle and sure enough he pauses and looks my way. At that instant I pull the trigger. This time there is no hangfire, just a satisfying boom, another cloud of smoke, and a dead dog kicking on the spot when the smoke clears.
Bob calls with a “What the hell have you shot now?”
I tell him a Yote, and head down. Pick it up by the back legs and carry it well out of the hunting area so it doesn’t leave a scent trail, before returning too the stand. Im pretty happy! A coyote skin is one thing I always wanted to add too my skin collection. Ive watched countless you tube vids of hunting them and it always seem like fun and something to try. Lets say that an American whitetail buck and a Coyote were two
Id very happily ticked off my hunting bucket list in my first two days.
The 50 cal had made quite a dent in the skin, front of shoulder, too mid neck, but im not worried. Ill get it tanned as is as a hanging skin to put with some old traps at some point.



The rest of the morning was pretty quiet, understandably. I head back for lunch and a look at the gut and bone pile from my buck. It was all ready half demolished by buzzards and by next day there would only be a few small bits of bone and a grease patch on the forest floor. Bob had told me how they would devour it. But it was still hard to believe until i saw it myself.
The afternoon was pretty quiet, just a spiker and doe came into the feeder and it was a pleasure just to watch them and try some calls to see their reactions and learn something from that.

Thanks for the nice write up and photos.The white tail will make a nice wall hanger,well done.

Congrats on the buck and yote too. Enjoyable read too. Cheers.

Lucky you getting a Coyote too ! I'm envious. That's also been one of my ambitions during a few hunting escapades in the USA. Seen plenty but no luck. Uner hunting pressure ( Texas mainly I'm talking about here ) I found them unbelievably aware of danger and very vigilant. A worthy quarry to take given opportunity.

Great write up, thanks for posting. Seems the whole US has had hot fall temps. Was very hot in Wyoming too which made for hard hunting.

Very nice buck and cool getting a Coyote. Are you getting the Coyote skull done? They look great.

Cheers all! Yep I did consider bringing back the skull, But was short on time and had to solve the taxidermy issue, so decided to keep things simple.



Next morning and I was back in the same stand. It seemed to be where all the action was, and Bob was very generous in letting me continue to sit there after my luck so far.

Things really took off this morning. By 10 am I was left stunned at what had gone on. Shortly after shooting light I gave a series of calls and movement down the trail just after that revealed a nice buck coming in. As he approached I tried to evaluate him. But honestly its hard when you have such limited first hand experience. He was a nice even 4x4, with quite a bit of height, But I felt he was not significantly better than the one Id shot, so was happy to just take photos and watch and learn.
Later Bob would tell me Id made the right call as he was narrower than mine and the antlers would probably fit inside mine.
After that it was a steady patrol of young Bucks sneaking through around me. Five in total over the hour. You had to be really alert as they would come in quiet as and it was quite exciting hearing an animal only meters away behind you stand, or catching a glimpse of hair etc in the tree line. One unseen Buck rushed up through the thicket at the calls, but would not come out and slunk away again. Im sure it was this guy that seemed to be a ghost around me for the next few days. I knew he was there, But would just catch a noise or shadow moving through the foliage. Once just a bit of hair and top of two tines close behind the stand.
There was very little shooting going on in the area, and we were starting to draw the conclusion that my mistake with the doe scent might be drawing in a lot of the areas deer. Its something Bob is going to experiment with in future, as his side of the block had very little deer movement in daylight.

All photos are just taken on my old phone, so poor quality. Id intended to get a proper camera for the trip, but for some reason it skipped my mind and I regret it.

At one stage one of the bucks walked right under my box, and all I could photograph was a single antler sticking out the side.