catman529
Well-Known Member
I let this deer walk twice last year, if I remember correctly it was November 9th and 12th, somewhere around there. I only had one tag left so I was being picky. First time he was cruising and I called him in. Second time there was a hot doe with several bucks on her.
So I saved the spot for the rut this year. I put a cell cam and salt out there this summer, got the usual does, fawns and spikes sent to my phone. About the 3rd week in October, I had bigger bucks start to show up, so I went and moved the camera to a scrape. This buck never showed his face on cam, but a couple other nice ones did.
I went in a few days ago early in the morning, sat down at the base of a big cherry tree in the fog. I had a few does and a young buck or two all within 10-15 yards, then finally they went off to bed and the woods got quiet.
Around 11am or so, I went to change batteries in my cell cam. Rather than just change the batteries I sat down by a tree near my camera hoping to catch a nap.
Being the rut I was kind of on edge so I never fell asleep, just heard the occasional leaf drop off a big cottonwood tree that kept my attention as it almost sounded like a critter walking in the woods.
Around 11:40 AM I heard that sound again and turned my head expecting to see another leaf dropping, but instead I saw a tall rack weaving through the woods headed straight toward me.
He got to 30 yards almost dead broadside and finally saw me getting the gun situated and froze in his tracks. The nerves were worked up and I yanked left and hit him in the liver.
I found one spot of blood near the impact and decided to back out and give him about 4 hours.
Came back later and found that there was no more blood after that first spot. I started a grid search through a nasty CRP field with no luck. I was worried he ran straight across onto another property.
So I came back the next morning and began a very tedious grid search that was gonna take all day. I had found a phone number for the next property over in case I had to call and ask permission to look, knowing well they would most likely say no.
Around 1pm I caught a whiff of something and took a few more steps...and there he was, laying about 200 yards from where I shot him, right on the property line. I had walked 10 yards from him the previous evening and never noticed him. If I'd looked a little closer the first time, I could have saved the whole deer, but he stunk pretty bad by the time I found him over 25 hours later. Or I could have just shot better and found him right away. Either way, I didn't think I was gonna find him.
The deer was small bodied for a mature buck, as I kind of expected, deer are pretty small in that area. I've killed a ton of does and a few nice younger bucks on public, but this is the first mature buck I've taken on government land and he's probably my biggest to date. Nah I haven't measured the rack yet, he might go 120 or so.
The euro mount is half way done, I'll have to post a pic when I get done with it. But for now I'm on rutcation and I'm hunting as much as possible.
So I saved the spot for the rut this year. I put a cell cam and salt out there this summer, got the usual does, fawns and spikes sent to my phone. About the 3rd week in October, I had bigger bucks start to show up, so I went and moved the camera to a scrape. This buck never showed his face on cam, but a couple other nice ones did.
I went in a few days ago early in the morning, sat down at the base of a big cherry tree in the fog. I had a few does and a young buck or two all within 10-15 yards, then finally they went off to bed and the woods got quiet.
Around 11am or so, I went to change batteries in my cell cam. Rather than just change the batteries I sat down by a tree near my camera hoping to catch a nap.
Being the rut I was kind of on edge so I never fell asleep, just heard the occasional leaf drop off a big cottonwood tree that kept my attention as it almost sounded like a critter walking in the woods.
Around 11:40 AM I heard that sound again and turned my head expecting to see another leaf dropping, but instead I saw a tall rack weaving through the woods headed straight toward me.
He got to 30 yards almost dead broadside and finally saw me getting the gun situated and froze in his tracks. The nerves were worked up and I yanked left and hit him in the liver.
I found one spot of blood near the impact and decided to back out and give him about 4 hours.
Came back later and found that there was no more blood after that first spot. I started a grid search through a nasty CRP field with no luck. I was worried he ran straight across onto another property.
So I came back the next morning and began a very tedious grid search that was gonna take all day. I had found a phone number for the next property over in case I had to call and ask permission to look, knowing well they would most likely say no.
Around 1pm I caught a whiff of something and took a few more steps...and there he was, laying about 200 yards from where I shot him, right on the property line. I had walked 10 yards from him the previous evening and never noticed him. If I'd looked a little closer the first time, I could have saved the whole deer, but he stunk pretty bad by the time I found him over 25 hours later. Or I could have just shot better and found him right away. Either way, I didn't think I was gonna find him.
The deer was small bodied for a mature buck, as I kind of expected, deer are pretty small in that area. I've killed a ton of does and a few nice younger bucks on public, but this is the first mature buck I've taken on government land and he's probably my biggest to date. Nah I haven't measured the rack yet, he might go 120 or so.
The euro mount is half way done, I'll have to post a pic when I get done with it. But for now I'm on rutcation and I'm hunting as much as possible.
