So the struggle and grind continues. Raced to the woods to catch the last 1.5 hours of light yesterday. Decided to sit a new area and maybe kill a doe and at worst observe movements. Ive hunted all around this section of thicket but not it itself. Finally get settled in bout 415ish and bout 20 minutes later i look to my N across a grown up field and there stands possibly the biggest deer in the area. Seen him on camera but not on tbe hoof. He worked around to within 100 and i grunted a few times. He heard me but appeared to keep working away from me. Bout 10 minutes later i catch movement 50 -60 yards out but only the back end. Then i see him at 30 and realize what deer it is. For the next 10 minutes we are both frozen stiff then he proceeds to move back in the original direction. That was really INTENSE. Decided to hang in the dark this morning. Picked a great tree with lots of cover. Had a spike come in to within 15. I heard movement behind me but couldnt move due to him. Finally was abke to turn and had 3-6 does browsing. The spike went to investigate but none in estrus. Decided i would shoot a big doe until while analyzing a hole in the limbs i didnt reanchor right and shot high. GOTTA LOVE BOW HUNTING!!!
Yes sir we do love bowhunting, everything happens so fast you hardly have to think. Spent the last day and half hunting public (rifle),with some friends to break the struggles of bow hunting. Decided to check out a new spot myself down in a drainage that looked promising. Went there Fri morning and walked in around 8ish,planning on ground hunting. Walked in about 700 yards and found a nice clearing with good visibility and lots of oak trees. Pinned myself up against a oak and fallen tree, 2hrs later 2 nice bucks popped out at 50yrds working towards me. Unfortunately both weren't legal to shoot. 6pt and 8pt not wide enough. Today I went to the Same spot and had 3 deer come in at bow range, all non shooters. I think I found my new spot for next yr. Sent from my SM-A037U using Tapatalk
I killed a slammer tonight. Just getting home from celebrating. Details to follow but has to be pushing 180. 2 year chase on this one.
What a monster, congrats Fletch. Nothing better than the end of a story ending like that. Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
Dave, you are the man! Congratulations again on an awesome buck! Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
First, let me apologize for not being a very active team member this year. We have a house for sale and building two at the same time and my new business has taken off beyond my wildest imagination. I have been insanely busy and had very little time to spend on the thread and hunt. I finally got a picture of my target buck on the 13th of November and sat for him on the 15th and 16th with no sighting. I knew he was likely on a hot doe and it might be a few days before I could expect a good chance of him hitting scrapes again as the rut started to wind down. Friday afternoon was my next opportunity to hunt and I had a great sit with several bucks and a dozen or more does, but not the buck I was after. Even though the wind was marginal on Saturday, I had to push back in on the same spot with so much activity. You really never know what direction they could come from this time of the year, so I gambled. I sprayed down with a buck bomb for cover all over my tree and hoped for the best. Two small bucks came in at 2:30 and hung around the entire time. At 3:35 I noticed one of them kept watching towards the tall CRP grasses and I knew a deer was likely coming. I did not dream it would be the target buck, but by 3:45pm, he was dead. He walked into the open plot and marched straight towards my ladder stand and I shot him at 21 yards. He ran about 60 yards and tipped over in the CRP. I could not see him fall, but I saw the grass stop moving. I waited about 10 minutes and climbed down to look at the arrow and it was completely drenched. I walked straight to him. All of my buddies were out in the woods hunting and a couple offered to come help and take daylight pictures, but I told them to stay in the tree and finish their hunt. I tried my best to load this deer and even used two ratchet straps to try to get him into the back of the truck, but no go. So, I sat on the tailgate with a couple of Easy Eddy IPA's and watched the sun set and stared at my buck. My wife was the first to show after picking out kitchen cabinets in Des Moines for our new build in Norwalk and she took some pictures before it was completely dark. I am going to prep the skull for boil tonight and I will get an accurate measurement then. We did a quick measure in the field and it is pushing 180.
Wow, great job again fletch. He's a stud. Can't wait to hear his measurements Sent from my SM-A037U using Tapatalk
New number 3 all-time for me. I could not be more happy with this buck. I will get it entered tomorrow.
Great main beams! Congrats again! Sounds like you are a very busy man! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Another awesome buck. Congrats on another successful year. Did you find another dime on the ladder step? JK...
