Broken Curse - Alberta
Gary and his Alberta Deer.
Hunter: Gary Smoot
Cameraman: Joe Rush
Some might remember my mule deer miss from last season, I know I sure do. That trip out to Randy Routiers in South Dakota was for all intents and purposes my first hunts with a camera as part of the equation. However, that miss was more than just a newbie in front of a camera it was something that has cursed me for a very long time, seems ever since I can remember I have missed the first deer that I have shot at each season. I'm sure there are tons of excuses I could use for that but all that I knew was that I did not want to repeat that this year, or in the years to come for that matter. My preparation for this upcoming season started way before the spring turkey season, trying to shoot religiously every night, working on form and technique, all in hopes of breaking my curse.
Season arrived early for Joe and I this year as we headed out to Lone Pine Outfitters in Alberta on September 2nd for the beginning of their whitetail archery season. The temperatures ranged from the low 30's to high 50's but the humidity was in the 80' and 90's giving the cold a bit of bite and dampness. We had the occasional rain but for the most part we had good clear skies.
Joe and I switched off hunting and filming and the first few days passed with some doe encounters but most buck sightings were at a distance, with the amount of bucks we were seeing we knew it was only a matter of time before we had a buck step into our shooting lanes. Then the moment of truth finally arrived, I was behind the camera and Joe was in the hunter's seat. We had only been settled in to our Ameristep stands for about 45 minutes when we spotted a doe moving quickly toward us, I heard Joe say buck and I swing the camera up to a smaller buck that came trailing in. Then an excited "shooter, shooter" came through my headset and I looked up to see a beautiful 8 point heading in to our position. I swung the camera to him as Joe drew back not sure of what opportunity we would have, he trotted up and stopped, quartering to at a touch over 30 yards. For Joe the bucks head and back end were behind trees but he could see the vitals but it was a hard quartering shot and he chose not to take that shot and let down. After a short while the buck started walking to the left, Joe drew his Hoyt and when the buck hit his shooting lane he let out a "maaa" - the buck didn't stop, "maaa" - still walking, "maa" the third one was the charm and the buck stopped to look for the sound. Joe heard those magical words "I'm on him" and he released his Beman towards the target. Through the headset I heard a loud whack but the arrow hadn't reached the deer yet, Joe disappointedly watched as his arrow took a dive underneath the buck after deflecting off a limb that he hadn't noticed about 4 yards out. The buck escaped through the woods no worse for ware as Joe had visions of chainsaws cutting down that tree into tiny, tiny pieces.
But tree limbs weren't done with Joe quite yet, as he was hunting the next morning as well. The first encounter was busted up by... well by me. We had a buck sneak in on us and was only about 18 yards away when Joe spotted him and whispered "buck", the little bit of movement of me turning to get the camera on him was picked up and as quick as we spotted him he was gone. But the excitement of the morning hunt wasn't over yet and after about an hour I was relieved to see some deer moving toward us again. It was a doe with a velvet 9 point walking up the trail! Joe had one lane to shoot through and as the doe passed it he drew and waited for the buck. The buck popped his head into the lane and stopped, leaving Joe with pine branches covering the vitals! Joe waited for him to step forward and give him the shot but instead the buck trotted through with no opportunity. Three great chances within 24 hours, what more could you ask for... well, how about a 4th!
That evening was my turn and believe me after Joe's miss my curse was hanging heavy in the back of my mind. We settled in for the night and it wasn't long before we had deer moving. We had a young 8 point that decided to put our ScentLok & Scent Away spray to the test, as he walked in downwind of us and circled through all of my shooting lanes, walking within 15 yards of the stand, if he was only a year or so older he would have been in trouble. He hung out in our area throughout the evening which made for an enjoyable sit, but things picked up when I heard Joe whisper "Shooter" to me! I looked in the direction he was pointing and sure enough there was a nice 8 pointer. Then I realized my first problem - the shot that I had would have to be right across the camera stand which I'm sure Joe appreciates that’s not a shot I'm willing to take. The buck was slowly making his way by us and I turned to get a shot when he passed the tree. That's when I realized my next problem; we basically had zero shooting lanes through the area the buck was moving. The buck is about 15 yards away as I am frantically trying to find a shooting lane that was big enough to shoot through. Then I spot it! A nice opening in the foliage that might give me an opportunity if he will cooperate. I grabbed my Nikon Archer's Choice rangefinder and ranged it at 35.4 yards, now it was just if the buck would make it into the lane and if Joe could swing the camera into position. As luck would have it the buck slowly made his way into position and I pulled back my Hoyt as Joe manipulated the camera and let me know he was on him. The buck was facing directly away from me and I held hoping he would turn while still in my lane, but after a minute plus of him standing still I let down to wait for my opportunity.
The buck slowly started to turn within my lane giving me a slightly quartering away shot. I pulled back my Hoyt for the second time and settled my pin to slide the MFX up into his vitals and released. I "peeked" slightly and my arrow shifted to the left as the buck stepped forward with his back leg. That peek on my part and the step on his part changed the impact, going in through the leg that he had moved forward, cutting the artery and exiting through the liver. I was not happy at all with the hit but I also knew that it was a lethal hit and that it should put him down quickly. The buck circled up about 80 yards from our stand and bedded down just past the fence. We reviewed the tape to double check the hit and decided that we would wait in the stand until dark and then back out to retrieve him in the morning. Our plans changed however as we could see him through the pines with our Nikon's and after watching him for quite a while we could tell he had expired. Once we had realized that we still waited about an hour to make the recovery, checking him with the bino's one more time at a closer range to make sure and then the celebration started. My first Alberta P&Y buck, the first deer of any kind shot that early in September made for one extremely happy hunter.
As for my curse, well I've either finally broken it or I've passed it on to Joe LOL!
Happy Hunting,
Gary