Three For Three On Does From The Same Tree

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Larry Huggins

I live in Colorado (CO) and over the years I have harvested several nice mule deer bucks, all with a rifle.  I started bow hunting in 2009 and have primarily hunted in western Nebraska (NE) for whitetails.  I like NE, it is a very hunter friendly state and I appreciate how easy it is for a non resident to obtain a tag and go hunting.   

This past season I made a total of 8 trips to my favorite hunting location in NE about 90 minutes away and could have killed deer on 6 hunts.  I was thrilled with the opportunities I had on public ground.

On 3 of those trips, I hunted from one cottonwood tree which was located by several travel routes the deer frequently use.  On opening day (Sept. 15) I climbed to about 18 feet using my Summit Viper climbing treestand.  As legal shooting time neared I passed on a 2 1/2 year old buck at 42 yards and instead opted to shoot a doe at 24 yards.  It was an easier shot and I felt confident I would see other older bucks later in the season.  The doe died 35 yards from the tree.  Talk about misquitos, boy were they bad that night when I cleaned her.

Eight days later I was back in the same tree again. This time I shot a doe at 27 yards.  When I ranged her she died 37 yards from the tree.  She dressed out at just over 100lbs. 

I did not make it back to hunt in NE until October 26, after the 1st leg of the CO bow season ended.  I almost decided not to hunt that evening because of the full moon, but it had cooled off with the high temperature only in the forties so I thought why not give it a try.  If nothing else I could see if the deer had changed patterns after the early rifle doe season.  So once again I climbed the same tree, and this time the deer were moving early, by 2:30 pm.  I saw more deer that night then I had ever seen before from this tree, and shot my third doe, this time from 37 yards and over an hour before legal shooting time ended.  She died less then 40 yards from my stand.  That was the last time I hunted from that tree and the last deer I harvested in 2010.  I should of kept going back. 

My goal this past season was to kill a whitetail buck with my bow and although I fell short I had a great time trying.  I passed on a couple of small bucks and feel good my either sex tag went unfilled since I only had small bucks in range. 

I had pretty good luck from that old cottonwood tree and plan to be back in it opening day of the 2011 bow season.