The Bewitching Hour Is Upon Us!

October 27, 2017 | « back

By: Ted Nugent

The mystical flights of my October arrows have indeed been exciting beyond words this glorious fall bowhunting season 2017! Sure there is that doggone October lull we always hear about, but what might be a lull to some is certainly no lull for me. I’m allergic to lulls. Don’t believe in em.

I’m out there every day, every morning and every afternoon, for good Lord almighty, it is hunting season every day after all and I am not quitting no matter what.

And like every other hunter on earth, I of course get frustrated and somewhat agitated on occasion after many a days skunked, but I will be damned if I am going to sit on a couch when I could be out there in the deerwoods, and I am reminded every season at some point just how persistence and indefatigable dogged due diligence will eventually pay off.

And so it was on October 13, after I made my annual call to my rock-n-roll buddy Sammy Hagar to wish him a happy 70th birthday, that I once again slowly trudged through the muck infested fen onto a high glacier cut Michigan swamp-woods forest ridge to ascend into my deadly Earl’s Ridge ambush ladder.

With numerous fat backstrapper does hanging in the cooler and having passed on many younger bucks, I really wasn’t all that excited about a mid-October sunny afternoon set, but I was nonetheless thrilled to be out here in the lap of God no matter what happened.

A handsome studly bulbous furry nubbined buttonbuck entertained SpiritWild VidCamDude Ethan Wiskur and me for over an hour gobbling up a few bushels of acorns, and the setting sun washed the woodlands with the most beautiful fiery glow a fall color-lover could ever hope to see.

Then he came. I knew it was a large bodied deer even way out there in the distance mostly covered up in scrub, but when his head emerged from the cover, I saw that multi-tined picket fence on his head and I immediately whispered “shooter!”

Ethan was able to invisibly swing the vidcam around to capture the cautious buck as it cut to the bottom of our ridge where I had been spicing up a trio of killer, stinky mockscrapes, and at the previously ranged 26 yards, my bowhunting predator instinct went through the memorized shot sequence with a life of its own.

No “too many minds” for this ninja!

The next thing we knew my 400 grain zebra GoldTip arrow rammed a 100 grain razorsharp DeadRinger Butcher broadhead in and out of the trophy buck’s crease.

Do the planets of happiness and joy align perfectly at that magical moment or what!

The buck scurried 40 yards in an instant and stopped, the blood flowing freely from his disconnected pumpstation gash and within mere seconds, he laid down, swung his head side to side and fell asleep right there, completely drained on blood.

DeadRinger Butcher indeed!

We filmed the exciting recovery of this amazing animal with all the joy, reverence and amazement that is overwhelming at such a moment. Holding that 7X7 rack of antlers in my greasy old guitar-choking mitts was as thrilling an experience that is available to mankind.

I know of many bowhunters that are tagging fine bucks all across the heartland already in this early season, and I am absolutely certain that they all experience the same breathtaking astonishment that each of us feel at such a mythical occurrence.

The beast is dead, long live the mighty beasts!

As October winds down, we are keenly aware of the increasing deer activity here, there and everywhere as the rut builds steam. We are entering that insane fall era that we wait all year for, and God only knows what stimulating fun, sport, meat and trophy thrills await us.

Do not underestimate the kill assist power of mockscrapes. These smelly bucklure calling cards can truly deliver a clincher for us.

Get out there like you mean it. May the Great Spirit be at your side and may your venison dreams throttle on in that not so quiet deerhunting night!

Hope to see you all at my facebook campfire to share this incredible deerhunting lifestyle with the whole world. They need us.

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