Our first hunt in Dec2000, got a small doe first day,

missed 3 pigs later, ouch! We camped on the mainland,

and paddled over in kayaks to hunt each day.

Got drawn for the famed sambar hunt in Nov2001, no sightings,

but got retribution and finally got one pig the last day.

Back to the whitetail hunt in Dec2002, weather was very cold/wet/windy,

no pictures, no game harvested, but the gumbo was good!

Back in Dec2003, here's the story:

Notice..pics are here, but large, may take a while to download.

A few months prior to the trip, David Tetzlaff reserved our shuttle trip to the island for our annual bowhunt using our traditional equipment. We decided not to use kayaks/canoes this year, as last year the weather was so bad, crossings were tricky and somewhat dangerous at night with fog and rain. We were 5 hunters, DavidT, Ronnie, and Cliff from Fla, and DavidH and I from Louisiana. DavidH decided to re-attend this year once we figured out logistics and were able to drive over together.

We arrived at the Indian Pass Campground boat launch at 11pm, after driving approx. 8 hours. We napped pretty well in the truck until 4am, when the rest of our party arrived. The pontoon boat showed up on time, and since we were the third trip over, we and our gear made it over about 2 hours later. A suitable spot was found among the many tents, and camp was set up. Cliff brought a shower setup and enough water to go around, so we were comfy and clean!

Later that morning everyone scattered to scout their favorite areas and hang stands. Upon return, information was exchanged, with the consensus being animals seemed to be scattered, and hogs were definitely laying low and not moving much. Rain had moved through the area recently and washed the slate clean, so it was easy to see new sign.

Thursday morning found us leaving before daylight on bicycles headed for areas 3-4 miles out, with DavidH walking to his spot about 1.5 miles away. I headed for my spot, and while parking the bike along the trail, ran off a deer nearby. My stand was over about 3 small ridges/sloughs from that point, and hung on a medium sized scrub oak, and only about 12 feet high. The nearby hog sign was under another oak tree and I wanted to maintain a reasonable shot angle.

The morning came and went with no sightings, and I stayed in the stand until almost 11am. The noontime hours were passed by scouting other nearby areas, but still nothing showed better than what I had. After a short nap in the sunshine, I headed back to the stand about 3pm. The wind was blowing very hard during midday, and I hoped it would begin to calm down later that evening. As I made my way slowly through the last small slough, there was a crashing from a palmetto thicket near the bank, and a nice doe flew out of there, ran about 20 yards and stopped. She must have smelled me, and didn't know what I was or where. I quietly loaded up, and held steady. Two large trees about halfway blocked a shot, and after 60 seconds, she finally moved forward slowly. A beautiful clear shot opened up and I didn't hesitate. About 1/2 way there, the cedar arrow looked right on target, then she ducked and backed up quickly, and it sailed right over her neck by just an inch or two. Rats! After confirming no blood present anywhere, I quietly climbed in the stand, and settled in once more.

Watching birds and a nearby armadillo, the hour approached 5pm. I picked up movement off to my left in the palmettos, though for sure the small animal was a hog, then a doe materialized from a low spot. The 18 yard shot was there for several minutes as she eased forward across the front, but I elected not to shoot yet, the recent string jump too fresh in my mind. Lets see what happens. She then began to get suspicious while sniffing around, and slowly backed up and did a 180, which brought her back down one side of me about 15 yards. Ok, if she makes it to that opening ahead I'll take the shot. But to my delight, she turned quartering toward me, and the distance shortened quickly. Stuck on that bare oak limb, I tried vainly to hide my 190 pounds behind my longbow and 1/2 drawn arrow. Several times she picked her nose up and sniffed all around, seemingly to look right at me. Apparently these seldom hunted deer haven't learned the dangers from tree borne hunters like elsewhere. Finally she put her head down and eased forward, and gave me a fantastic 6-7 yard shot broadside, head hidden behind palmettos. My arrow slammed into her shoulder a few inches forward with a loud crack, and she leaped, did a reverse, and blasted out into the first slough. Rear legs pushing hard, she hit that 16inch deep water and submarined forward, her butt was the only thing I could see, while her head and body were completely under water. Whitewater flying everywhere, she exited the slough, ran about 50 yards, and went down. Yes!

I took the stand down, hauled everything to the bike, and found the doe with no trouble. One more short drag to the bike, piled everything up nearby, and rode the bike out a nearby road to catch the refuge personnel doing a game run in pickups.  A kill means a free ride back to camp, a motivation in itself!  Once we arrived at the checkstation, and campside, I learned that DavidH had scored on a nice 95# doe that morning. Biologist estimated mine was 3.5 years, and the scales showed 90#. Boy were we excited and thankful all together.

The next two days were spent trying to find hogs, while the other guys hunted very hard to get shots at anything. A few sightings, but no shots taken. Friday afternoon I decided to hunt David's kill spot just for fun. He had various deer sightings in this area last year, and was very confident game was present, though hard to see because of the thick palmettos, and thin telephone pole pine trees.

I eased into the area quietly as possible , and found a pine tree almost surrounded by a thick tall batch of palmettos. After strapping on a couple of LoneWolf sticks and hanging the stand, I cut a number of fronds and weaved them into the stand in strategic locations, in an effort to provide some cover on the otherwise barren tree. Once I climbed in, it was approaching 4pm, and the fun began.

About 30 minutes later and 30 yards away, I noticed some odd looking  branches moving slightly. Then another pair just like it about 2 feet  away, wait a minute..what the heck? Then a huge stag Sambar deer slowly arose from its bed, and began to ease in my direction. Wow! Look at that guy! I had some palmettos to hide his prying eyes as he got closer, no more than 8-10 yards at one point. He keep looking at me in between bites of marsh grass, trying to figure out why those palmettos grew from the side of a bare pine tree! Then as he slipped behind the tree, I pivoted 270 degrees and continued to follow him as I reached for my APS camera in the fanny pack. Took his picture about 10 times, then he got suspicious and backtracked. Again I turned 270 degrees and while attempting another picture, the camera was now in the shadows and the flash went off!  He didn't like that at all, and crashed off a short ways, then just walked out of sight.  Truly an awesome sight for an old deer hunter and newer elk hunter.  I kept thinking how huge a target that was while his head was buried in the grass eating. Many broadside shots were presented, but all I could do was look. This was a whitetail & hog hunt only, no other game could be taken. Two years ago we were picked for the Sambar lottery hunt, but had no sightings. DavidH is convinced this is the same stag he saw last year from a distance.  Notice..pics are here, but large, may take a while to download.

We ended our hunt Saturday afternoon and were home late that evening. Another great adventure with very good friends, with meat and a great Sambar story to tell.