Thanks guys! He weighed 244lbs field dressed! I’ll write up the story here in a few. Few more pics Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Justin, I can't stop looking at your buck! Just so awesome. Buck of every hunters dreams! Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
Holy cow! I had to come here to congratulate you. That thing is a beast. The mass is just awesome. Congratulations brother and i cant wait to read the big story
Alright, who's next? My next chance to get out will probably be Thursday. But we got a 3 day muzzleloader buck only hunt starting that day and makes the deer very skiddish. Then a full week of doe only muzzleloader the next week. The next 2 weeks are very rough around here. This little muzzleloader season brings out a lot of hunters and makes it very difficult. Luckily, im able to use a bow during this time, so that's what I will be carrying. Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
Okay just a little back story on the buck I shot. I have 3 years of trail camera pics/history with this deer. First year I know for sure I got him on camera I was thinking he was 4 years old maybe 3. So, 2020 I only got one pic of him in velvet and never seen him again. In 2021, he showed back up in velvet and hung around a little bit longer but end of October disappeared again. Well, spring 2022 rolls around and I find one side of his. Didn't realize he had that much mass until holding his shed in my hand. That summer I didn't get any pics of him until October and he was all over the property. November 6th that year I snort wheezed this guy into 15 yards and he was quartering to me hard and I thought I could shoot in the chest but hit him dead in the shoulder. Didn't get any penetration at all and it looked like when I shot my arrow just bounced off of him. I was so mad at myself for taking that shot cause I knew better. Well little over 2 weeks went by and no pics or sightings he finally showed back up on camera. Never had another opportunity in 2022 and I also ended up shooting a different buck. So, brings us to 2023 shed season and I ended up finding one of his sheds. The mass is just unreal, carries through his main beam/tines. He was on my top 3 for 2023. Well, I thought he died of old age cause I never got a pic of him this year in the summer or all the way up until I shot him. So, I focused on 2 other bucks and one of them I sent you guys I sent pics in the group chat that was probably around 160s but he disappeared after he shed his velvet. So, the night before I shot him, I was hunting and a big bodied buck came in at last light and I couldn't make out his rack cause it was too dark but I knew it was a shooter. Well, he spooked and took off and blew twice and just walked off. It was very windy that day, deer were on edge that whole evening. So, the next day I had the same conditions but not as windy and I thought I'm going back into that same stand hoping I would get a better look or chance at whatever buck that was the night before. I got in the stand about 4:30 and it just felt right. About 5:30 I see 3 does cross the creek and go to the neighboring property and I thought early movement thats a good sign. Well, it got to 7:00 p.m. haven't seen anything else since the 3 does and last light is 7:40. I started think I wasn't gonna see anything else or that buck is gonna show up right at last light again. Well my buddy was hunting about half mile away and he text me asking if I have seen anything else and I said well I watching 3 coons play around and when it gets down to the last hour to 30 minutes of light I usually don't touch my phone. When I put my phone away after telling him I was watching 3 coons play around, I look up and I see this brute of a body making its way towards me. He was only about 40 yards away at the time but in some thick stuff and couldn't see his rack. He got to about 25 yards in a opening, and I knew he was a shooter. Well he came to the right of me and I tried to pull back on him and my body was twisted and can't really draw sitting down with your body turned to the right but I tried and I felt something in my shoulder not pop but knew I pulled something. He has 20 yards and I thought now I don't think I can even draw my bow back now. I stood up and turned around and it took everything I had to draw back my bow. He was quartering away about 20 yards away, released the shot, he muled kicked and hauled a** out of there. I thought I heard him crash but he went back into the thick stuff. So I sat there until it got dark. Got down, couldn't find my arrow or blood. I told myself I should back out but I thought for sure I heard him crash so I just walked about 50 yards on the trail I thought he took and blood was everywhere but can tell its only coming out of his right side so, I knew right there I didn't get a pass through. It was a mix of liver and lung blood, so I decided I'll track another 50 yards to the end of the ridge and if I don't see him down the ridge, I'll back out. Got to about the end of the ridge and he was piled up. When I walked up to him, I realized what buck it was and it was just a surreal moment cause at the time of the shot, I just knew he was a old bruiser and didn't pay to much attention to his rack. Called my fiance, and I teared up and just couldn't believe it. Called my buddy and said well I seen more than just those 3 coons and does. lol he came out and he was like holy **** that is Old Timer. Thats what he always called him ever since the first pic I got of him. This friend I always tell/show him what buck I'm after and he names them. lol I don't usually like to name them but it kind of helps keep track of them. Anyways, he was freaking out cause he knew I didn't have pics of him this year and we thought he was dead. We set there and soaked it all in. Biggest deer to date. Put him on a scale after field dressing him and he weighed 244lbs. Weighed him a couple times and got 244lb every time. He was just a brute. The history with this deer just makes it very special and don't know if I'll ever top it. Very blessed thats for sure.
Great story and just an incredible buck… that mass is sick! Congrats again, Justin! Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Took awhile. Probably could have worded it a little better. lol I'll post some past trail camera pics of him and the sheds I have of him later.
One heck of a story to close the book on an old deer. Better find a good taxidermist that story will be told for a long time Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Dropped him off at the taxidermist last night. He is a buddy I went to school with and he has mounted my last couple turkeys and deer. Does really great work.
Great story, Justin! What a special deer. And great friends to celebrate with. Thanks for sharing! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Here is some trail camera pics of him from the past couple years. Also the shed on the left is his 2022 shed and the one on the right is his 2021 shed. Pics just don’t do its justice. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
That's cool that you got some sheds from him. I got a couple bucks that I have the sheds to also. Just tonight, I was looking at them. Great for bring back memories. Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
Great story about a great buck Justin. 244 lbs dressed is one of the heaviest bucks I've heard of. Very unique rack on how heavy it is and was surprised how his left brow tine was longer than the right over the years.
Yeah we weighed it a couple times and even changes scales to just make sure. Got the same weight each time. Pictures just don’t do his body justice. Biggest bodied deer I have ever seen, even my processor said the same thing and he has been doing it for years. His left brow was always bigger than his right, one way i could tell it was him over the years. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
