drawforce
Well-Known Member
Here's my dream deer saw him twice only got this one pic, I killed his running buddy a mid 150 s 9point and he was far bigger .
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To all the bucks I’ve loved before………
- Thread starter redblood
- Start date
Whew what a thread and some amazing bucks posted!
Only one really haunts me. Growing up in rural southern Ohio I've had more than a lion's share of opportunities at some superb bucks. But one above all others bothers me, and for many layers of reasons.
Long story short while mushroom hunting my brother found a single shed that measured 87". Understandably he was obsessed and spent all summer learning as much as he could about the buck. He started hunting him on archery opener but never saw the buck so he invited me Thanksgiving week up for a second set of eyes & fresh opinion. My first sit was an evening hunt and sure enough the buck comes straight to my rattling horns. I made what I thought was a great shot and there was lots of blood and a crash site but no dead deer. Next day we bump him up while tracking. The buck stands up, groans, then wanders off straight away from us. I broke off in a dead sprint after him but never did see the buck again. Never in my life have I seen a deer bleed so much without dying.
It was the only time I've ever had a legit 200"+ buck in front of me while hunting, and I screwed it up. Not only did I feel like donkey punch for wounding the animal, but I felt even worse knowing how invested my brother was in hunting him. He's the one who discovered, scouted, and studied the deer. I only hunted him by invite for a couple of hours. I still feel horrible. Best and worst hunting experience of my life all wrapped up in one.
Only one really haunts me. Growing up in rural southern Ohio I've had more than a lion's share of opportunities at some superb bucks. But one above all others bothers me, and for many layers of reasons.
Long story short while mushroom hunting my brother found a single shed that measured 87". Understandably he was obsessed and spent all summer learning as much as he could about the buck. He started hunting him on archery opener but never saw the buck so he invited me Thanksgiving week up for a second set of eyes & fresh opinion. My first sit was an evening hunt and sure enough the buck comes straight to my rattling horns. I made what I thought was a great shot and there was lots of blood and a crash site but no dead deer. Next day we bump him up while tracking. The buck stands up, groans, then wanders off straight away from us. I broke off in a dead sprint after him but never did see the buck again. Never in my life have I seen a deer bleed so much without dying.
It was the only time I've ever had a legit 200"+ buck in front of me while hunting, and I screwed it up. Not only did I feel like donkey punch for wounding the animal, but I felt even worse knowing how invested my brother was in hunting him. He's the one who discovered, scouted, and studied the deer. I only hunted him by invite for a couple of hours. I still feel horrible. Best and worst hunting experience of my life all wrapped up in one.
Here's a couple notable mentions that I never was able to get on.
Giant clean 8pt that I believe would have pushed upwards of 160". Very old buck. I'd had him on cam for several years & passed him up while hunting because I was after a bigger buck. Then that year he exploded and I did see him once from stand but at 50yds I didn't have a good shot. That was the last year I saw him.
This guy would have been a gross booner last year but by the time I got on him he'd had his right beam broken off. I passed him twice hoping I'd get him this year. He did make a couple appearances this year but only at night.
Giant clean 8pt that I believe would have pushed upwards of 160". Very old buck. I'd had him on cam for several years & passed him up while hunting because I was after a bigger buck. Then that year he exploded and I did see him once from stand but at 50yds I didn't have a good shot. That was the last year I saw him.
This guy would have been a gross booner last year but by the time I got on him he'd had his right beam broken off. I passed him twice hoping I'd get him this year. He did make a couple appearances this year but only at night.
East TN Bowhunter
Well-Known Member
When I was 15 yrs old(34 now) same property as I spoke about earlier, I was still hunting with my dads 12ga with a slug and right before dark about 50-60 yards away down in the valley below me I saw a huge rack buck standing out in the opening and could just make out his silhouette. I posted up as quickly as I could and took the shot. I am pretty sure I gut shot him or just barely grazed the brisket. My Dad, brother, and I about an hour or 2 after dark found hair and a few drops of blood at impact spot and we followed the blood trail down off into a ditch and then back up a hardwood ridge. At the crest of the ridge we came upon a bloody bed with matted leaves and no deer, where we assumed he was just just laying and we bumped him and maybe would've died had we waited till the next morning. The next day we tracked him through a cedar thicket on the other side of that hardwood ridge and into a cattle field where the blood trail ended. It was little tiny pin dots every couple feet and was impossible to see once we hit the field. I am sure he wasn't as big as I remember cuz I was 15 at the time, but he possibly could've been a relative to the big wide one I posted earlier in this thread cuz from what I remember he had a huge frame and was wide and reminded me of an elk rack. That was the 2 I will never forget that got away!
themanpcl
Well-Known Member
tree_ghost
Well-Known Member
backyardtndeer
Well-Known Member
This was the most recent, 2022. Not a monster to some here, but a great buck for this area. Had a lot of pics of him up until a day or two before cwd gun season opened, then he disappeared. Not 100 percent sure, but do have a pretty good idea what happened to him.
What if i told you that you look alot like lawrence Fishburne
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I remember him. What a deer? Had a neck wound but looked healthy as a horse
If someone was willing to poach him, you would think they would be willing to trespass to get him out!
Glad u at least got the skull
Neat buck
I agree. I wont tattle either…..its not my natureI didn't turn him in that's not my job.hunters will always be that no matter what…
Those deer are on my Ohio place.
I know deer get big in areas of TN but this part of Coffee Co. isn't one of them. I love hunting here and still chase the oldest bucks I can find, but I don't expect them to be big in body or antler. Hunting three farms that collectively reach around 600acres, I see a couple bucks on average each season that I'm confident are 5yrs+. Once about every three years one of those bucks will have a rack I feel confident will bust 120". In my 10yrs here I've yet to see in person or on camera a buck that would threaten 130". It just is what it is.
I've hunted deer from TX up to WI down to here and all in between. Never have I seen a state with such diverse variations in buck antler quality according to area. There are pockets of TN like this where you can't hardly bust 120", and 30 miles away be in an area that's producing booners. Makes zero sense to me and I'd have never believed it possible had I not lived here to experience it.
