Here's a collection of bucks we saw last fall, some we passed on, some we never got shots at. 4 were 2 1/2's with great potential (especially Stickers), 3 were 3 1/2's, and three were 4 1/2 or better. These are all from the lease that Mike, myself, Dan, and Johnny Miller hunt in West Central IL. It's one giant bedding area, which draws the bucks in looking for does come November! The 2 year olds (3 year olds this year) If this buck made it and is still around he is going to be a freak. This is the type of buck that has definite Booner potential at 4 1/2 and if he's alive I'll bet he goes 150-160 this fall. Incredible. The 3 1/2's The infamous Big Rob. Definitely in the top 3 of our hit list. 4 1/2's and UP This guy should be hanging on my wall right now if I didn't choke and miss him last year. Picked up one of his sheds this spring, so hopefully he's still around. We want him BAD! If Dan and Johnny learned how to trim lanes properly they could've had this guy last fall. I'd say he was a 4 1/2. Not much for tine length but really wide and a split G3 on his right side. This year, we'll pick the pine tree! Solid 150's 11 point (6x5) that we watched tend a doe for a few hours one windy morning. Great buck. I spent all summer waiting for October, now I can't wait for November!!!
It's just amazing to me how many bucks we saw on this spot over the course of just a few days. There's 11 here, plus another 2 1/2 with a busted rack that I passed, at least two big 10 pointers we never got footage of but have trailcam photos of, and I'm sure a few we're missing. So we're looking at probably 14-16 different bucks 2 1/2 or older - all on 80 acres - not including the 1 1/2 year old dinks running around. And of course our first weekend out what do we see? Nothing but does! Ah...Karma.
Damn, now that you posted names on the internet, Johnny and I have to go back and memorize them all and change a few names we had! HAHA! That gimpy sucker. We set up way too close to that runway on top of the hill. All of a sudden Johnny says, "Don't move." A few seconds later I turn my head real slow and this buck is walking right at us, 25 yards away. He ended up walking directly under us and all we could do is look at him. We actually had a quick encounter with Top 10. That's the footage where we're sitting on top of the hill and the sucker blasts up the ridge chasing a couple does, but just ran through the frame for a couple seconds. Here's my reenactment of me trying to stop him...... "baat, baaat, baaaat, BAAAAAT.........****!!!" Damn, I can't wait to get down there and see what's hanging out. I'm sure quite a few of these bucks have dispersed and we'll never see them again, but there's a lot of big boys in the area just waiting to get stuck!
Thanks guys. I'm pretty confident between the two video teams we'll put a few good bucks on the ground this fall. Can't wait to get back this weekend so I can bust on Dano and Miller a little bit. Those Wisconsin boys are soft, we'll crack 'em yet. :D
And people who know me think I talk a lot......you talk so damn much, I can't get a word in edgewise! :D We should be able to lay a couple or few good bucks down down there. One of the best parts about it is videoing the whole thing to share with everyone. It's a blast going back and watching it again!
Nice work putting that together JZ! If that doesn't get a person fired up nothing will. Like Danny said, we're gonna have to work on memorizing those names. Quiz this weekend, right? can't wait to see you boys!!
I personally like Jimbo.................but thats just me:D Great looking bucks, can't wait to see the videos of you guys putting them down!
this is what Justin said in the OP: "It's one giant bedding area, which draws the bucks in looking for does come November!" Good luck boys, looking forward to following the journey!
