Big bucks on the Chippewa
An Outdoorsman’s Journal
Mark Walters sponsored by
Hello friends, I recently returned from what was the longest adventure I have gone on in years. My bowhunting, camping, canoe trip to Pepin and Buffalo counties’ Tiffany Bottoms was supposed to start on a Friday and end on a Wednesday. A couple sightings of some big bucks and I added five well-spent days to my adventure. There is a ton to write about with this week’s column so I will be vague and all over the map.
Wednesday, Nov. 3 High 46, Low 28
When this adventure would come to an end, I would have canoed from my camp for one mile in the dark each morning 10 times and one mile in the dark back to camp 10 times. I did 20 hunts and did not miss a one.
The swamp that I am hunting is loaded with beavers and there are two interesting stories on that subject. One is the warning shot across the bow. In total darkness, at least 80 times I had beavers slap their tails on the water as a warning to other beavers of my presence. The kits, which weigh maybe 10 pounds, do this from at least 15 feet away. The adults seem to take pleasure in trying to do it from five feet and actually hitting me with water.
Another interesting fact is that where I am hunting, there is a steep bluff on one side of the water and a semifl ooded forest on the other. In the time that I have been here, I have watched the beavers add six inches of mud to the top of their dam and they are now flooding the forest.
This morning I was sitting in my stand and I saw, if I had harvested it, what would have been the biggest buck of my life. I am talking maybe 19 inches but very tall and lots of mass. When I saw it, it was only 30 yards away but there was brush. At 25 yards I could have taken a top half of the body shot, with the rest obstructed by brush, so I chose not to.
Just like that my trophy took a trail that led away from me, and the game was over. This leads to a very common conversation in the bow hunting world. I’m 60, I climb 16 feet up in a tree, it’s below freezing, a buck walks by and here are some scenarios.
My balance is excellent, but I am 60, not 30. This can really affect your shooting with a compound bow. It is very easy to get busted by Mr. Buck when you are in a tree, trying to pull a bow back in cold weather and 60.
Two years ago, I was at this same place and a beautiful 10-pointer gave me an easy shot. I was halfway back on my draw and my shoulder locked up, so the buck walked away.
Every hunter will go through this, go to a crossbow or give up hunting. Today’s buck would’ve been dead with a crossbow.
