Stoked

One hour left of work, hitting the road tomorrow morning for Oklahoma rifle season. This will be my first public land DIY hunt. Trying to keep my head clear and tell myself if I see a deer it will be a win. Good luck to everyone that is out there putting in work still this year, and congrats to everyone that has all ready found success in their hunts.

Best of luck! Please update us on how it went and what you learned

Good luck, post up the pics!

Good luck. I'll be out there too on public in OK ..but not until Sunday, other commitments and all.

I feel ya, I took the day off and will be hitting the rd in the am. Northern ID here I come. Best of luck to ya and happy hunting.

Hope you had a good opening weekend. Make sure and post up all the particulars!

So I am back from my trip. Here is what happened.

I arrived in the area I planned to hunt early afternoon on Sunday, to my surprise the deep dark area I had picked out on ONX was thoroughly marked as private. ONX had a small couple hundred acre property inside that area marked as private, so I am not sure if it was an over zealous land owner or ONX had bad intel. either way I didn't want to push it with regard to boundaries in an area I was completely unfamiliar with so I went with one of my numerous plan B options. The Honobia Creek WMA/ Three Rivers WMA in Oklahoma where I was hunting provide over 200,000 acres of public access, so no reason not move on.

I found a spot close to another area I had picked out on the map that was a good camping spot, grabbed my pack and got out into the woods. That afternoon I did not see any deer, but there was sign everywhere. I mean clear trails that looked like deer highways, rubs and scrapes all over. The other thing I learned that afternoon, is that these areas are thick. Even down in the woods the brush and thorn bushes make it difficult to move anywhere. Out in the more open areas where the timber companies have harvested, the brush is even thicker. Moving around quietly is next to impossible.

On day 2 I got up well before first light and hiked down into an area that I had seen several scrapes on a transition line found a likely spot, set up and waited for the sun to rise. I haven't been out in the woods in a while and between the birds, squirrel, and leaves falling, I was sure there was an army of deer running everywhere just out of sight. I did hear a buck let out a long loud grunt that first morning. I had never heard them vocalize at all before that. I sat in that spot for a few hours and saw nothing so I moved down the creek bed and attempted to still hunt through that ridiculous brush. A little later on I hiked up one of the logging roads to a different area, sure I had made far too much noise in the first. Along the road a large doe had sailed across from the private side into the public right in front of me. I saw my first deer in the wild, this trip is now officially a success. She ran down into the woods and disappeared for the day. A little while later I was cresting a ridge in one of the "cleared" areas and two more does up and blow out of their beds. Figuring that spot was wrecked for the next few hours I sat down on a stump and started digging around for a granola bar. While I am doing that, one of the does just comes trotting by, not even seeing me. I tried to make a move for my rifle, and she actually came closer at first to investigate the movement. I did have the wind in my favor, but she must have been very confused. She eventually figured me out before I could get my rifle up and took off. Figuring I was in a decent spot, I got into a bit of concealment and sat still. Sure enough about a half hour later a nice mature 4x4 buck comes cruising through. I guess my spot wasn't that great because as I was trying to get a sight picture, He saw some movement and took off. I gave that spot a few more hours and then headed back to another likely area closer to camp for the last few hours of daylight. Didn't see anything else that day.

Day 3 I decided to get a better concealed spot up on that hill where I saw the buck and sit tight. I got in early and found a great spot with some natural dead fall cover. That day it was really cold and the wind started blowing hard early. I spent the morning sitting in that blind, and the afternoon still hunting in the creek beds, but saw nothing all day. Some other hunters who's camp I passed by seemed to think the strong winds kept the deer from moving at all. They were probably right, but I kept at it anyway. Only had 5 days and I don't know a lot of guys that get their deer sitting next to a fire.

That is one thing I noticed about this area, I saw probably a dozen or more hunters throughout the week, none were ever in the woods. They were either in camp, or cruising the logging roads in the truck/atv. I did hear a lot of shooting each day, so something was working for them.

Day 4 I wake up and plan to hit the spot where I saw that buck again. The woods had a different idea. The spot I had planned to go to was about a mile from the truck. I was shutting the doors on the truck and making noise before I left. 100 yards away down at the bottom of the hill, I almost stumbled onto a buck rubbing a pine tree. He is just getting after it and shaking the crap out of this tree. He heard my footstep, and ran a bit away in the brush where I couldn't see him. He must have thought I was another buck, because he started stamping and grunting lie it was time to fight. I got a good bead on his general location and when he stepped out into the open I had my rifle up and ready. I took my shot right as he noticed me and began to run. He ran to my right into a dense wood line and made a big crash. I was certain he was down. I waited a bit and then went to the spot he was standing when I took my shot. No blood. Nothing. I waited a bit more just in case and then began my search. I spent the next 3 hours doing a grid search of the area, I went out 800 yards and wore myself out combing through that brush. I couldn't believe I clean missed him at 80 yards. It was a standing offhand shot that I took with my pack on my back. I will be practicing those more. I couldn't find a single drop of blood or any other sign of him. While I was searching that big doe I had seen on day 2 crossed the same road at the same spot and went into the public side again. Only other deer I saw that day. I was pretty upset about the way it played out, the uncertainty is hard. I left an hour before sundown that night to go back to my buddies house for Thanksgiving the next day.

Day 5 Friday after Thanksgiving I got up at 3 am and drove the 3 hours to the WMA and set up over that same area before first light. I had hoped that a day without pressure might bring him back around. The morning was cool and still, but it began pouring rain around 830. I went and took a nap in the truck for a couple hours until it stopped. I spent that whole day overlooking the same area from different angles. Never saw anything.

Day 6 Last day before I have to head home. I keep trying to convince myself that the trip was all ready a success on day 2. LOL. I'm sure some of you understand how hollow that can ring after a missed opportunity. That morning I set up on the hill side again, hoping for another chance. Right at first light about 400 yards away on the opposite hillside someone takes a shot. I never saw the hunter over there, but I did see the muzzle flash through the trees. I figure good for him, but my spot is probably not going to be productive, so I get up and move. I decided to head over to the spot I had seen the other buck on day 2. As I am moving down the logging road, I hear a snort in the brush off to my left, and hear some movement heading upwind of me. It was right where I had been seeing that big doe come across the road on previous days, so I assumed it was her. Being on my last day and not wanting to leave deer to find deer, I decided to try and make a move on her. I slowly pushed into the brush, certain each step was louder than my rifle could ever be. I got into the wood line and began searching. As I got real low I suddenly saw a little bit of white moving in the breeze. I got my scope up and started examining what turned out to be a deer crouched down in some bushes. I took my time, got a good position. Took some deep breaths. Got my good sight picture, took some more deep breaths. I was not going to miss this time. I took my shot on what I thought was the lone doe I had been seeing over the course of the week. The woods exploded with escaping deer. It was probably 2 others, I am not sure just chaos. The deer I shot jumped up and ran 10 yards back towards me then fell down and began the death throws. I gave it some time, but I could see it where it lay and that it was clearly dead. I pushed my way through the brush and came up to it. My first thought was oh shit I shot the worlds smallest doe. After some investigation it turns out I shot the worlds smallest spike buck. I am not super proud of the result, had I better vantage I would not have taken that shot. I do now have a better understanding of scale in the woods when they are crouched down like that. Since he was so small and close to a road, I elected to gut him so I could take my time with the butchering and get all the meat I could off of him. I got him taken care of, went back and got the truck and took him to my buddies house to hang him up and quarter him. One of the upsides to this was after seeing what my round did to this deer, I no longer have any doubt I missed that other buck. If I had wounded him, there would have been blood. I will be taking my first foray into making a laughably small amount of sausage next weekend.

All in all, I consider my first public land hunt to be a bitter sweet success. I will be headed back to that area for white tail next year and I think I learned some stuff to be successful again.

Let the flaming begin.

Good on you for sticking with it! And congrats on your deer!

Not sure why you would expect flaming. It sounds like you learned a great deal about the area, brought home some high-quality venison, and have set yourself up for more success next year.

Too bad about the buck, but IME there's usually hair or some other sign of a hit even if little blood is spilt. I'd think if you searched 3 hours you'd turn up some sign of wounding.

One of the things I so enjoy about this forum is that unlike the rest of the internet, folks are mostly positive and supportive. Thanks.

Nothing wrong with that at all. My dad's spike buck this year was slightly larger, we were happy as could be. Nothing like fresh venison in the freezer

I had a similar experience this year. I missed a few nice bucks and a big doe. I realized I was having scope issues and had to borrow a rifle to finish out my season. I ended the season with only one day left, I took a pretty nice doe not far from the truck at first light. I can't complain, she was just as big as the buck that was taken just two days before and will most likely be better eating. I prefer to take bucks, but that close to the end of the season you just don't pass up on an opportunity when you have nonresident tags. View attachment 91963

Congrats on a successful hunt and great public land experience!

Nice! We do it because it’s fun, not because we care what other people think. Looks like some fork tender steaks right there. I for one am jealous of your fantastic hunt and well earned deer.

LCH said:

Not sure why you would expect flaming. It sounds like you learned a great deal about the area, brought home some high-quality venison, and have set yourself up for more success next year.

Too bad about the buck, but IME there's usually hair or some other sign of a hit even if little blood is spilt. I'd think if you searched 3 hours you'd turn up some sign of wounding.

Click to expand...

^This.

No flaming at all. Congratulations on getting out and doing this trip, and thanks for sharing it.

You've got a lot to be proud of there...a public-land deer on your own, and your first time out at that. Win, win, win.

That’s more whitetail than I’ve ever brought home. I think you did well. I liked the story and descriptions of the terrain. You might want to refrain from mentioning exact WMA’s and such. You might attract more company than desired.

My first archery whitetail deer still had spots! I am not ashamed of it. So excited I had a deer in front of me that nothing else mattered. I was flamed so much by my buddies but in the end, like you I learned so much about whitetail deer and eventually realized that I made a hell of a shot on such a small deer at 40 yards (my way of taking away a + from the situation). I still have photos of that hunt and the memories are as good as any hunt I have been on since (decades of big game hunting). Your harvest will be fantastic at the table for you and your family. You would be surprised how many hunters have the same or similar experiences.

Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for sharing!