The Wisconsin late archery season in our area is open until the end of the month. When I have gone out it has been with the intent of harvesting a doe but full disclosure, I have only gone out when the weather has been mild and not during the recent frigid temps. 

I always strategize my late season bow hunts and by that I mean not only do I hunt on days when the weather is nice but also when I know that there is nothing on my schedule besides the possibility of processing a deer. Butchering a deer is not a chore when you have the time to do it but that approach doesn’t apply when I still have a buck tag. In that scenario I hunt as much as I can.  

On this particular afternoon, the hunt didn’t start out very well. Fifty-plus turkeys stood around my stand. When I eased over the crest of the field and spotted them, they spied me as well. Instantly they all sprang into the air like popping popcorn flying around is all directions. I couldn’t help but think that there could not be a single deer in the entire area that didn’t take notice of the commotion. I figured that with the turkey warning, the deer would move later or maybe not until well past dark. I thought about heading to a different area, but I decided to stay the course and hope for the best. 

Predictably my hunt was pretty slow and I had the turkeys to thank and/or blame for that. I almost jumped out of the stand early just so I wouldn’t get pinned down by a deer during the last few minutes before legal shooting hours expired. Like all bow hunters, I hate spooking deer when trying to get out of the stand even if it’s just a doe hunt but unfortunately, I waited too long and three deer slipped out of the woods and into the field. It was going to be a longer sit than expected and maybe even well past dark by the time I could slip away. 

As I waited for the true dark to conceal my exit, I was surprised to see that directly in front of me a buck had appeared and seemed to be eyeballing me. I was able sneak my binocs up to eyeball him. The buck was actually looking just to my left and whatever had his attention captivated him for almost five minutes. He just stood there motionless and starring like he was a statue.  

Eventually I was able to slip out of the stand, head towards my truck and get home. While checking my trail camera for updates I discovered what had held the buck’s attention. A beautiful bobcat had walked from south to north in front of my camera. I can only assume that it slipped behind me by only a few yards and if my camera hadn’t captured a photo of the cat I would have never known it was there. 

Now if I had my choice between a late season bow hunt where I bag a doe or a late season bow hunt where I get to see a bobcat, I’m taking the bobcat every time. The bummer of this story is that I could have had both had I been paying attention, but that’s on me. I can’t blame the turkeys for everything. 

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