Boonerville's 2017-2018 Semi-Live Season thread

Exactly....

 

I've been buying preference points. Maybe next year!

 

Well...I got some major intel on my number one buck. I first spotted him in mid July in an alfalfa field on the east side of a timbered draw. I was puzzled because I have a trail camera and mineral site at the north end of that draw and had zero trail camera pictures of him. Then over the past month, I have gotten him on that mineral 5 times, all in the dead of night. Still puzzling since while glassing the alfalfa I saw him in daylight 3 times, and it's only 300 yards away. I knew he was bedding in one of 4 timbered draws/fingers. The draws run together into one location. One runs east to west, one goes north to south, one southwest to northeast, and one southeast to northwest, creating 4 fields with inside corners. the alfalfa where I spotted him is in the NE field. Soybeans are in the NW field. The SW field is CRP, and the SE is cow pasture full of cedars. Until recently I only had pictures of him on the far northern point of the north/south draw, and those only at night. I put cameras all over the field edges on all 4 draws on July 28th. I checked them all yesterday. I found where he lives! no pics of him on either the SW or SE draws. But on the east/west draw, I caught him walking the edge of the beans in daylight 4 times! Once at 11:00 AM, 3 times at 6-6:45 PM. and two more times at night. What's interesting is in every single photo, he is walking the exact same path. always headed west from the east, so he is clearly bedding on the eastern point, and working west to feed at night. No pics of him going back, so he must circle around a different way to go back to bed. I know it is still summer, so his fall pattern could change drastically. But if it doesn't, I'm starting to feel like I have a chance to kill him.
Another reason I say that is I have been studying trail camera pictures HARD trying to identify him from last year...and I finally did. Last fall, I picked up a big bodied 140" 3 year old 10 point on a scrape on a mid October evening on the far eastern edge of the farm. Only time the deer was ever on that camera. One evening in late November, I didn't have time to hunt so I was went to check a camera in the middle of the farm. I jumped the 10 point. He was tending an estrous doe. He and the doe bounded over a hill and went to the west end of the farm. So naturally, the next day, I put a camera on the west edge of the farm, which is the east/west draw I referred to earlier. I got that 3 year olds picture all the time from late November to end of December when I pulled camera. He was constantly working the edge of the field, and much of the time in daylight. he was clearly bedding in that east/west draw.
So fast forward to this summer. A lot of the bigger deer I have on camera on this farm I know from last year. That big 3 year old was a no show. not a single picture of him in velvet. I had actually begun to think he had been hit by a car or something or died during the winter. Enter the giant I spotted in the alfalfa in July. When I got a few pictures of him I did not recognize him as a buck I knew from last year. The latest daylight pictures I got of him, more specifically the location I got them in, got me to thinking...what if he is that 3 year old form last year? I compared pics closely...and I'll be danged if it isn't the same buck! I didn't recognize him because he absolutely BLEW UP and added 3 points from age 3-4. He went from 140" to right around 200." Seems crazy, but comparing the 10 point frame side by side it is him without a doubt.
So if his pattern repeats itself, he will stay in that area for most of the fall. Looking at his body pictures, he is clearly 4...He is most certainly my number one buck, but crazy as it sounds, I wouldn't be terribly disappointed if he lives another year. he is the type of buck that could be 220-230 next year. This is why I live and die by my trail cameras...without them I would not have identified this buck, and would only know he exists from a chance sighting, but would have no clue where he lives or how to hunt him. because of last years and this years pictures, I know he lives on the far western edge of the farm, which will change how I hunt the entire farm. I wish I had 50 more cameras.

 

Boone, can you provide a picture of him. Maybe someone on here can give you additional intel.

 

It will be worth the wait if (hopefully when) I do. I really want to share the story of this deer, but I gotta get him killed first.

 

Your story sucks without pictures!

 

A buck like that here under those circumstances I'd take, ranch five year old rule be damned. Last time I let one like that go it cost me a hell of a buck. You never know what will happen to their antlers from 4-5, he may gain a little, he may plateau or he may recede some. From my experience the most likely scenario is that if he survives, he'll plateau and be about the same next year. Biggest advantage is that he'll have another year to breed does this season.

 

Ohh too be clear there is ZERO chance I pass him if he gives me a chance.

 

The buck I shot last year I believe to be a 4 1/2. There is no way I would ever pass him! But in the back of my mind to this day I still wonder what would 1 more year look like. It's a personal decision that only you can make. For the area I hunt, I will never pass a 4 year old deer, because they are rare here. But for you with multiple deer over 4, it might not be bad to wait til 5. Good luck with your decision, I know these deer are probably consumed 100 percent of your mind and driving you crazy! But that's why we do it!

 

That's the hard part of that decision. Here I have bucks that regularly make it past 7 years old, we have five this year that are at least 7 that I've tracked since 2012, 13, 14 and they were at least 2 and likely 3 then. At the same time, I know of several 2-4 year olds that were killed last year so...

 

Yup...it's a crap shoot. But the hope that it works once in a while is what drives me to do it.

 

I'd say he's trending towards survivability given how you describe his activity but the damn things can change their habits on a dime especially when it comes to the rut.
I made this decision to let a buck I call Crossbow go year before last to give him one more year and he receded badly last year. He's still here this year and he's still a nice ten point but he's about 40 inches shy of his peak. I didn't let him walk but I didn't go after him either and looking back I should have pulled out all the stops the year he had a double drop on his right side. 0.O

 

Awesome job finding him I hope you get to stick him.



Elite 35 80#
Easton FMJ's
CBE Tek Hybrid Pro
Dead Ringer Freak Extreme

 

My fall plots have gotten over 2 inches of rain in the last 36 hours!!! Pretty exciting!

 

Uhhh, what I'm about to say has ZERO to do with the fact that you're my teammate, Teammate:
You will never regret shooting that buck this year Teammate. But if you were to pass him and then he were to die or otherwise disappear; you would regret it for the rest of your life, Teammate.

Appreciate the story, Teammate. Good luck on killing him, Teammate. No pressure. Teammate.

 

I think mine have gotten 2" of rain in the last hour....I just planted 3 acres of them yesterday and the day before. Too much rain here. We had some pretty bad wind also. I have about 500 acres of beans that are/were 4'+ tall, I hope they're still standing.

 

Well I am BEAT today. I put in a small kill plot behind my house last night. I can't access the spot with a tractor due to crops, so I spent 3 hrs behind a garden tiller. Actually worked up really well. Planted to oats with a little forage rape and forage radishes mixed in.
Before I started

After tilling

View from the stand



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Very nice, I'm going to be doing one on the property I hunt on next year.

Shawn
Excalibur Phoenix
Carbon Express 380 grains
Rage Hypodermic 125 grains
2017 Team 3 Shed Hunting
2017 Team 6 Turkey Hunting
2017 Team 5 Deer Hubting

 

liking the new kill plot!

 

Thanks! I am very excited about the spot. Last year about the third week of October the spot started crawling with big bucks.