Leaderboard

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well maybe I wasn’t stupid for sitting through the frozen rain after all. He came sneaking out at about 4:15, I was seriously thinking about quitting a few minutes early as I am leaving for a work trip tomorrow. I took one last look around and wo now. About 80 yards with the 7mm mag. Dressed out 160 pounds. Just got him hung up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For 28 seasons I have gone deerless on my bday. This buck changed all that. What a great night, had my dad and my son ( who led the tracking job ) with me for an epic evening. Possibly my best bday ever ! Got years of pics of this guy who actually had 2 names, "1-eyed willy" or "the pirate" because he has severe damage to his eye and only one would reflect on trail cam pics. Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

What a satisfying day. Got up at 3:45 , quick scent free shower. Arrive at Gman’s at 6 am. Day before we discussed which stand I should sit in so I went to bed dreaming on that one. But with highish south winds he advises me of another. I climb up into a large permanent wooden stand with roof and settle in. Stand overlooks a small clover plot and pretty close to a ridge high atop a long way down. Just getting light I hear blowing and foot stomping into the woods along said ridge probably 50 yards from me. I think great , there goes the woods for awhile. At about 7:45 2 good sized doe and a fawn come into the clover. I had lasered trees, plot edge earlier to know the distances. Big doe at 24 yards quartering hard , I draw in anticipation of her shifting a bit , holding for what seemed forever and proceed to let off as other nice doe now in field grazing and broadside. I know she’s 30 years on the button. I quickly calm my nerves , draw, noting anchor point , loose grip with bow hand and gently hit the release. She was quartering just a little away. I see the nocturnal hit and know I hit a little high and back of intended. Arrow blows through and sticks in ground. She takes off down a lane and think I hear her crash. Then emotions take over , I question the hit , will I find her. Replay everything over and over in my mind. I’ve killed a decent amount of deer with gun and used to watching them pile up right there so this running away stuff panicking me. I climb down to look at arrow and have good blood. I text Gman I shot one and sent pic of arrow but pic not going through as poor reception, same scenario with academy group and treeguy in the mix. Andrew calls and says she’s dead within 50 yards after I described hit and reaction of doe . Gman finally acknowledges text and says hang tight ill be there shortly. As he approaches stand low and behold the other 2 doe are coming down the trail to right below me again. I hand signal to Greg and wearing a blue sweatshirt and jeans these doe keep coming in not caring about him nor I just shot there friend an hour earlier. They feed into the small plot exactly where their friend took the arrow. At 24 yards the big one offering me a perfect shot but unsure of status of shot one I can’t shoot this one too. They eventually meander off into the woods the way they came in I climb down and we start to track. Good blood , more good blood every 6” or so. Found where she tried to get up a little hill but couldn’t and turned around now heading towards the ravine. No not the ravine I think. She went about 50 yards to here and we peer into ravine and see white belly fur. Thankfully she only went down about 15-20 yards into ravine. Shot indeed was a smidge too far back but got lung(s) as had good bubbles along the short track. Think she stepped a step forward as she was feeding. I’m overcome with emotion as I did it I did it I think. Last year the first time at the academy I couldn’t even draw this bow. 2 years of academy shooting , few 3d shoots with some academy guys , bow tech old glory The Real Tc gave me , arrows Moog sent to me , 2nd year hunting Gman’s land After my brother sold his land I hunted I had nowhere to hunt and Gman hearing this quickly invited me down. Thank you all to have helped me along the way. I’ve drawn on goiter buck and let off , drew on big nanny doe moments later to get busted by her , let 12 small bucks walk inside 20 yards last year , numerous fawns and a spike this year. I’ve also never had the joy of deer Uber and have previously dragged them all out a mile to mile and half. Today I got to enjoy something very familiar to me , a golf cart The hour n half ride home I had to avoid wooly bear caterpillars one after another ( like hundreds ) on the road and fluttering monarch butterflies What a day !

I'll write up the full story later. Still trying to settle down. Basket case of emotions today. The long story short on this buck.... I missed/hit a tree 2 years ago. Didn't see him last year. Had an arrow deflection this year and hit him in the ham. Saw him alive a week later. Dad "Duke" finally put the old boy down this am. I can honestly say I'm happier he got him than me. He deserves it. 71years old and laying em down ! Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

60 yards and piled up 30 yards behind cousin.by far biggest buck!

Big buck down!

Pretty short and sweet story. Hunted Sunday PM with my son and we had an amazing sit. Saw piles of deer and even had some big bucks in the field. Unfortunately none came within bow range ( although my son said I should shoot them ) Got home and happen to check my cam and saw a giant bodied deer in a different field than the one we had sat in. I immediately wanted a closer look. I loved the fact he was a loaner away from all the herd we saw. Thankfully, the wind for that stand was perfect Monday so I hit it for an afternoon sit. The rest is history. He came out textbook the way he did the night before and I had a 17yrd shot. I waited in the stand for my dad and son to show up, and my son made short work of the track job. What an experiance to have 3 generations involved in! Thankful to punch a tag so early and be able to get some stuff done before gun season. According to the PA chest girth chart this buck dressed at 180# which was verified by an actual scale. Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

Big 8! Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Was a great morning (10/10)...weather was crisp and very little wind. Decided to hunt before heading into work and if i got lucky i could always take the day off or head in late. Got in stand quiet and immediatlely heard deer moving around in the thick stuff to the north. All the movement shut down as the sun came up and birds and squirels started to make noise, i figured deer had been feeding all night and were headed back to bedding area before light. Around 7:35 i see a small doe coming thru the woods to my south working her way to the bedding area north of me. She got to 20 yards and was hung up for 15 minutes. She was nervous and something was not right for her to continue...I knew she couldnt smell me as wind was perfect for the direction she came from. She finally turned and took a couple big bounds back from where she came from. I figured another deer was in the thick stuff but i couldnt see anything and thought my morning was done. 3 minutes later i see movement in front of me and right away i see the antlers and tell myself its one of the shooters we have seen. I watch as the buck comes directly towards me head down and smelling the ground. He gets to 25 years and stops behind trees puts his head back and is licking the air, again i know wind is perfect so i wait till he puts his head down and just flicks his tail, i go to full draw as he steps out from trees and slight quarter to me, put my pin on his shoulder and touch release....i see blood instantly as he takes off, i can see him stop and i lose sight of him 30 yards from the stand. I make all my calls to let people know im gonna be late (and i need to settle back down as the aderenline was pumping)...i get down and go to where i shot him find blood right away. Its amazing how you watch and replay the shot and deer running marking every tree and bush from the stand but as soon as your on the ground it all changes! I follow blood for about 20 yards and there he is lying right where i lost him, double lung and one of the easiest track jobs ever. This buck was in FULL rut, his tarsel glands are black as can be, big neck and he had the definite smell of a buck in rut...makes sense now why that doe would not commit to heading to the bedding area, she was not ready for this guy to be around her. Good luck everyone, don't overthink the "rut calendar" or moon phases and when the "best" time to be in the woods is! The best time to be in the woods is anytime you can!!

Got him I'm stoked! Big 8 Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Started my morning off at Gman’s by getting up at 3:45 to make the drive down. Heard the whooooo of an owl again. At about 9 I was ready to pack it in. Ok I’ll hang out til 11. At 10:30 I had a really nice 8 with good mass in an opening of the woods at 40, too far for my comfort. He’s now descending hill at 30 but tree tree tree and more trees about 6-8” across. Was not going to try and thread the needle. Off he goes. Grunted and no response. Hind sight I should have snort wheezed at him. Departed for home and quickly had some leftover Chinese food from last night. Boots back on and went local. Used the climber and climbed up along an old logging road near a little ridge and tiny stream. It felt deery once I got up. Perfect wind from the SSW. Not long after I hear footsteps and peer over to my right. Here he comes at about 25 yards hard quartering to. I contemplate do I let him walk ? Grab the bow off the holder and quickly snap on the release to the D loop. He’s now broadside and walking in , I wait til he quarters a little away , settle my 20 yard pin right behind the shoulder he’s giving me and vision the exit , the other shoulder . Loose grip , good anchor and don’t jerk the release. I see I hit him perfectly but the nocturnal never lights up. I watch his reaction and he bolts hard , watching him cross the tiny stream he runs all of about 65 yards . I hear him and see him crash twice. But just out of sight he goes. Climb down after a bit to look for arrow. Hmm, no arrow and woods floor blanketed in leaves .Find some hair and blood at hit sight. Then the blood gets real good , splatters on big trees , more hair. I follow until I see white belly. Shot was 17 yards . I flip him over on his bed and there’s most of arrow . Checked the entrance and spot on through the boiler room and angle says broadhead stuck in other shoulder blade. With passing 12 smallish bucks and goiter last year my first year I wasn’t going to let this one walk in hopes of getting a shot at a slammer. Might I see a big guy when I’m out for does , probably and could care less I shot this buck in honor of my brother Lee who I lost just days ago. He was so sorry when he sold the 60 acres I used to hunt and I kept reinforcing it’s ok I’ll land somewhere to hunt. He was so happy to hear this last year and this year. That owl I heard this morning was him overseeing my day. With the broadhead still in there and pouring rain about to come I opted to simply strap him on the carrier without field dressing him. I’ll pay the extra fee when I drop him off before work in the morning. No differently than I had to leave him overnight. Shot was perfect but I’m going to ask them to confirm my suspicions. Almost added a big 8 with a very swollen neck to the carrier as I had to really jam on the brakes 2 miles from home. I’m so proud of my first archery buck.

Shot a buck at 7:30 this morning, he came in, worked a scrape then headed past me at 20. I knew the shot was a touch back. Arrow looked and smelled like liver so i gave him seven hours. He went 63 yards, turns out I heard him die. He made some light grunts which Id never heard before as he died Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

7 pointer! BBD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my biggest buck to date, and first crossbow deer. Sullivan County 3k at home. Basically in tears happy. BBD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He got the pass in bow and then I shot a smaller one. No pass tonight. Food it was. Culver was right, the Barnes expanders tip them over quick. And for Nomads benefit no ATV. I dragged him 30yds and drove Jeep up. Lol

I’ll post more pics and story later in my journal. Super day, blessed with this chunk! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not live from the woods but it’s the first free minute I’ve had....I made a poor shot on a bruiser around 9:25 yesterday morning. I left him go till 3pm then went and found him. I’ll type up all the details later on when I can use my computer and not the phone. He could be my best buck ever.....dressed at 205lbs but last night laying in bed I remembered that after I got the stomach and lower parts out I forgot (my mind was on how in the heck I was going to get him out in daylight) to pull the heart and lungs.

Well I had some firsts today. Not very often that happens to a guy my age. Longest shot ever on a deer..170 yards. First deer killed with a cartridge that I made myself. First deer killed from a ground blind that I didn't build myself. Here's the story... As some of ya know, I've been dealing with a health issue for awhile now. Last night something came up. Called my doc, he said Stay Home and Rest! Call back if it gets worse...blah...blah...blah. It's deer season! I don't wanna be home! I was miserable all morning. I said screw it! I'm going hunting! My wife is still not very happy with that decision. But I am!! So I slowly gather up my stuff, not feeling too good, get dressed and head out around noontime. But smiling all the way up from home to the hill! Get up to the farm, and my partner Gary and I discuss how little deer movement we've been seeing. And the very few shots heard in our area. He was out this morning and saw nothing in his best spot! We both know the deer are here, still fresh sign popping up, and it's only a matter of time, just stick to our spots! So instead of going to the oak ridge where the doe are feeding. I decided to go back to the 'cut blind' between two bedding areas. (I posted a thread about this spot last week) I was pretty sure at least one if not both of my target bucks used this area, as I'd seen both of them in there the last two years after my buck tag was punched. As well as bow sightings with no shots. And I have seen a two year old buck, and some doe both Saturday and yesterday, during some cold sits. So down I go, again slowly. Get settled in about one, and thankfully, it's much warmer today, with a slight drizzle falling. NW wind quartering in my face. And it just felt great to be there!!! And not home being miserable! Nothing at all until about two thirty, when I see a doe running left to right at the top of the cut 214 yards away. I wonder why she's running? A few minutes later three doe bust out of the left side about 175 yards away, stop briefly look back, and shoot to the other side. Almost immediately two more bust out and do the same thing! Now I'm not the brightest bulb in the pack, but I KNEW a buck would be coming, from the way they were acting. Sure enough about two minutes later he bounds out, and in one leap he's in the middle of the brush in the center of the cut! I saw he was a shooter right away, but had no shot through the brush he was standing in. So I flipped off the safety and waited for him to cross to the other side of the cut. But he did the opposite! One leap and he was back where he came from to the left, of the cut. WTH?? Heartbreak! Then I could see him there, but again no shot, too much brush. (He did this as I found out after the shot, because a small buck was there and he was running him off.) So now he decides to persue the doe and jumps back into the cut at 170 yards. I literally yell BAAAHHH ! He skids to a stop, instantly I find him in the scope, and fire my 270 handload to him! All this from seeing him bust out the first time, to the shot, happened in like 30 seconds! At the shot I thought I saw him flinch? Then he was gone to the right side of the cut. It happened so darn fast I immediately thought I'd rushed the shot. And knew he was out a ways too, for me anyways. And I was doubting myself, saying what did I just do? I'm usually very calm, and I was all through this, until after the shot! I was pretty sure it was my #2 buck!! I was pretty sure I hit him!! But where? Then a two year old buck steps out where mine did and starts walking up away from me, at the same time another real nice buck runs down from the top! Both run the direction the doe's took. Now I'm shaking! I call Gary, he says he'll be right down with a wheeler. So I stayed put until he got there, and went over everything. Now it's going on 3:30 do we walk down to see if we can find blood before dark. I found where he skidded to a stop and found hair! And then some bright blood just a few feet away! Followed a so, so blood trail into the nastiest brush and thorn thicket for a little bit until Gary turns around and says congratulations, nice buck! He only went 50 yards or so. Perfect double lung and nicked heart with bullet fragments! I was so happy as I walked over, put my hands on him and gave thanks to God and my native woods spirits. Now the work began. I knew he was a good size buck, but I knew I couldn't do much or I'd be on the way to the ER. But did what I could to help Gary. We did it one step and pull, one more step rest, then pull again. He kept getting wrapped up in the vines, thorns and thick brush. But we finally got him out to the cut. I wouldn't let Gary field dress him. My buck, my job! No way we could get him on the wheeler so just dragged him to my truck where Garys SIL came to help get him in. Then from there to be hung in the barn. Again surprised when the scale read 193 lbs. We don't have huge racks like some areas of the state with our clay and rock soil. But we do get some heavy bucks! I've killed two bucks over 200lbs here over the years. When I first saw this buck with the little crab claw two years ago, he was at least a two year old. We were soaked from sweat and the constant drizzle. But I haven't felt this good in a while! Pretty sore now though. But I'll be good enough to go up and help skin and butcher him tomorrow. None of us know how many hunting seasons we have left. But I know it's times like this that keep me going back to the deer woods. And when it's time for me to stop, I'll have memories of days like today, to bring a smile to this old hunters face. To the blind from where he was shot. Up in center of pic. 170 yards.

Just started using a bow two weeks ago and smoked my first buck with a bow. My daughter and I got into the stand at 6am and by 730 he was out in the field 200 yards out and we grunted him in to 25 yards. With Lilly at my back I let it rip and went right through the heart. This is my 1st bow kill and 3rd deer I have taken, I just started hunting last year. Shot on 10/26

I couldn't get out this morning because of work but my son went and got his first Bow Kill, couldn't be prouder. Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

So tonight I was rewarded for not allowing my stomach to make me stick the Doe that came in at 3:30 when I climbed up at 3:25. At 4:50 I hear a stick snap to my 4:00. Interesting. At 4:55 I hear another snap just a bit closer and look to my right(the direction deer do not usually travel). I see bone and more bone than I have ever seen on stand before. No need to count; if the shot comes I am taking it. He then meanders off the TRAIL(not a hiking or biking trail but a deer trail!!) and kicks the shit out of a sapling that wanted nothing to do with him. If he continues off roading he will be under and behind me with no shot - that’s my typical luck. But not tonight! He caught a whiff of something yummy (BUCK BOMB!) and makes a slight turn on the correct course. At 10 yards from my tree, I have no shot but I draw and hope he continues along the course. A few more steps to clear the saplings and some brush, slightly quartering away 7 yards from the base of my tree, one 1/2 step to move that front shoulder and .....zip! (5:05pm) He ran off through a thicket they use regularly, crashes around, breaks right and I lose sight of him; more trashing bushes and then silence out of my sight. And now the doubt creeps in. I cannot see my arrow but I KNOW the shot was good even though the angle was steep. Climbed down at 5:45 good blood but no arrow at hit sight. Pack up and head to my car on a different path then he ran. Call my buddy who is at work and he starts over after picking up his 10 year old son for the journey. 6:30 we start the track at the point I know he last was seen. Find good blood where I expected it, and more and more and there he lay! My best deer ever, shot from the same tree my buddy killed a big 8 (11/2) last year and I killed two doe(10/31 & 11/3). That’s the exit- double lung..no more than 100 yards. Entry was high but clearly blew up front lung as well. 188 dressed weight. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I got off work around 245 yesterday afternoon and rushed home for an evening sit. I was not expecting a sit like this... had a doe and fawn trot through around 530 acting like they were being dogged by a buck. All in all, I had 4 bucks in the area and ended up getting a shot on this brute at 30 yards. He went another 30 after the hit and I watched him pile up.The biggest buck of my life. I can’t put into words how grateful I am.

Story to follow up.

My first buck! 8 point, hanging weight is 140. I was watching another buck that was trailing a doe in and out of the woods and thickette. I sneezed and reached for the TP and a buck was looking right at me. He snorted and ran a short distance and stopped, I grabbed my gun and I shot and he turned just as I shot. So it entered front right shoulder and exited left hip. It was a stinking mess! He dropped in his tracks. I think I will do a mount since it's my first

I’m pretty pumped! Persistence paid off!

I got him BOYZ!!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Love it when a plan comes together! Buck Down! A solid two year old for here. Passed on two smaller ones before this one came in to 10 feet from the ground. Shot taken at 20 yards. Will post story later in the harvest thread.

I was out hunting gmans place this past saturday. We hung a ladder stand back in May in a nice thick area just above an apple orchard. All summer I kept saying that I wanted to hunt this stand opening weekend even though we built a huge sweet tower stand in my favorite spot and gman put in a food plot in front of the tower and there were deer on camera in front of the tower stand morning and evening. I still went with my plan to sit the ladder on the far end of the property. At 930 i look over my left shoulder and see a big bodied deer coming in through the thick stuff I see what appears to be a nice rack. I take my eyes off the deer grab my bow stand up and draw aiming at the opening where I seen him heading for as soon as he stepped that front shoulder out i released and my arrow and could see it was a perfect it he turned and ran the direction he came from. I could see a ton of blood on the ground from the initial impact and heard him crash but decided to relax and wait an hour. 5 minutes in to the wait is when the adrenaline set in and I started to shake for 5 minutes. I called greg and he said he would be there in about an hour. I called the wife and another buddy to tell them the news. I normally would wait to spread the word but it was a 4-5 yard shot and i seen where the arrow hit. Gman and Brandon arrived at 1030 and we had a short 75 yard track until we find my buck. I entered high lung and exited the heart. The buck died in front of the pop up blind and food plot. Gman has this buck on camera eating in the food plot 20 min before i shot it. The 4 wheeler was broke so i dragged her across the bridge of death lol. Thank you Greg for allowing me to hunt your place and set up and build stands on your property and thank you for all of the hard work that you do with the food plots and prep work that you do that allows us to see and and hunt such a variety of wildlife.

I got my first buck with me bow, have been bow hunting for about 8 years and have only been able to get shots at doe's. He was about 15 yards when I took the shot, I hit a little higher than I would have liked but he still went down. He ran about 50-60 yards before going down. Thankfully I heard him go down as there was not blood trail, a nice big exit hole but no blood until the spot he went down. I have to go out and look for the arrow a little more I wasn't able to find it at the time. The picture isn't the greatest, it was getting dark and I wanted to get him dressed and hung as soon as possible. He's a 9 point, it didn't look like anything was broken off, just didn't grow the same on both sides. Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

I shot my first buck! He dropped. When I calm down I will get down from here. OMG

Well, my all day sit didn’t go as planned! LOL My son texted me before lunch and said he got a shot at one of the bucks that was chasing does around his stand. Told me not to leave my stand, wanting me to score today. It was more important for me to go be of assistance AND to share in the experience with him. God only knows how many times we’ll be able to share in the experience together, so I headed over. He took the lead and the buck was piled up in ~60 yards! Ran into some pines or my son would have heard and seen him go down. He’s been on vacation for the past 2 weeks and today was his last day off! LOL Got the buck loaded and I was able to be back in the stand by 2:45! Nice!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Got it done with the gun what a bruiser never forget how this buck walked total bad ass lol i had to watch him for 10 min until i could pull the trigger it was a awsome season for me couldn't be happier

I got some firsts today! I will post the story in the harvest thread. I know some have been waiting for pic's My #2 buck.193# dressed, 4 maybe even 5 year old 9 point, 170 yard shot. So happy! But pretty sore from getting him out. Thanks to my lifelong hunting partner Gary! And please don't any of ya breath a word of this to my doc!

Success! From my angle, the shot went in low and out high.

Got him guys. He didn't run 75 yards. I'm very fortunate and lucky. I have my own property that my Brother and I purchased and we spend two weeks every year here, just laughing and making memories. Our boys are nearly of age where they can start coming. I just don't understand why more people don't get into this past time. It's such a wonderful sport, it teaches so many great qualities and creates forever memories.

At 7:50 this morning this buck came into the apple tree I’ve hunted over a few times already, this time I was able to slip an arrow into him. He was quartering to more than anyone should like, I was a little upset with myself for taking this shot but it worked out. I got one lung, no liver no heart no guts. Full squad on the track job and we found the broken arrow and three spots of blood.@treeguy has a tracking dog contact so I texted him all the info and told the guys lets back out and wait for this guy to get back to me. On the way out I said let’s check this one road for blood, last deer I shot there ran down it. We go a few yards and@sodfather yells DUDE HES RIGHT THERE!! And there he lay lol. If he was messing with me we’d still be fighting back there like Peter Griffin and the giant chicken! What a blast having these guys along and Andrew and Bizzy in the mix via phone Someone zinged him earlier this season and has a story Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Ok boys take a deep breath with me cause I am still shaking. Mainframe 8 with quadruple brow tines on one side and a row of junk on the other. Redneck hang a ring on it 16 points, but I am thinking 15 scorable. ? By farrrrrrrr my best buck ever. I can't believe it. Was watching 7 turkeys and they finally left and this buck cone trotting in hard. Stopped and was eating something under the snow. Was standing right next to stump I ranged at 35 yards . There was one twig in the way of the vitals. So I am waiting for what seemed like forever. Finally he takes a step and looks back hard like he is gonna bolt so I shoot and knew I hit him. He ran like 15 yards and then walked away slow and I couldn't see him anymore. This was about 4:00. I waited for half hour but that storm is coming in so I went to check bolt. Great blood on it and a pass thru. But very little blood Track for about 20 yards and no blood but a few drops. So I go another 30 yards and there is a buck. So I think it's him but it's a smaller buck and he is pacing back and forth in the same spot and doesn't know I am there. Finally he sees me and kinda trots away . I think that other deer is down and that's why he was doing that. And there he lays..... How a bow season goes to one of my toughest in years to my best ever. Still shaking....better pics tomorrow as it was snowing bad by the time I dragged him out and got to head home. Still can't believe it.

Nice big doe, 115 lbs dressed. 10 yard shot with rage trypan. Fell over 50 yards later. (Yes she has 4 legs) sorry for the awful pics, flies were driving me nuts.

... Sent from my moto g fast using Tapatalk

Not much, but by God he'll due after hunt #62!! I was in a stand 60 yards from my yard! When I shot, he bolted directly towards my house! LOL Funny that he dropped ~100 yards from my house!! Had dinner and just dragged him in! Thought I better have a celebratory shot of Tequila before I start skinning!

Bbd

SENT IT ! Hit the hills of Franklinville tonight for a quick pm sit. On stand at 3. Tag punched at 345. Loooong drag down the hill has me ready for bed. Good to get the monkey off my back and a buck in the truck !!!! Beyond thankful for the blessing !! Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

Bad shot. Agonizing overnight weight and Treeguy remains 100% on recovery on his bday. story later.

I got my hunting license at the end of October, went out on 5 hunts before this one and today with the help of friends I got a button buck which I thought was a doe so I took it. Even though I hate the idea of taking such a young buck I can’t take it back so here he is. My fist deer ever. It was a hell of a hike and a grueling hike back. Until next season.

Today started at 3am this morning. It snowed all day yesterday and we had 4-5”s of perfect tracking snow last night when I went to bed. Checking the weather last night showed cold and windy- the absolute dream conditions for a tracker. My plan for the day was drive about 15 miles around to a mountain I’ve been wanting to hunt but haven’t made it to yet. On the drive out I cut a track on the dirt road. I figured the track couldn’t be more than a few hours old. The track wasn’t huge but the buck had a pretty wide stagger, a very long stride and was dragging his toes. I’ve always called a buck track that really drags his toes as a cross county skier. His feet were long but the lacked the width I usually am looking for. I don’t know why but the track intrigued me and it was heading toward a mountain I’ve never hunted. I waited in the truck for a little over an hour waiting for some light then started on his track at about 530am by mostly moonlight but I wanted to get started because I knew I had some ground to make up . This was by far the hardest track I’ve had. At 11oclock I stopped for the first time. Got a baggy of water from a stream had 2 little candy bars and pulled out my gps to see where in the hell I was. At that time I felt I was farther from him than I was when I started on his track. We had went 9.9 miles over some very rugged terrain, over 2 mountains 2 rivers one of them twice. He showed no signs of slowing down so I knew I was going to have to kick it in high gear if I was going to catch him today. I could tell he was making a big loop but what I couldn’t understand was he cut 10-15 doe tracks and would follow them for 10-30yds then he would leave them and head off on his own direction. One thing I kept noticing was that he wouldn’t go between any trees that didn’t have at least a 30” gap, this usually means he has a wide rack. This buck kept doing something I’ve never seen one do before in my life he would do little tear drop shaped loops “10ft-20yds” then cross his own track and head off in a different direction “usually 90degrees”. He did make one big loop “about a mile” and he cut back over his own track. I studied those tracks for a couple minutes and was almost positive it was the same buck but I really hate leaving a track so I kept going at a good hustle and only wasted 15-20 minutes confirming my beliefs that it was his track. At about 12:30 he went down into a spruce swamp, my most dreaded place for a buck to head. If I think I’m close to a buck ill leave the track and do a loop around to see if he came out but I still knew I was far enough behind him that I figured even if he had bedded in there he wouldn’t still be in his bed. I am glad I just barged through there because I found his bed with tracks walking out that were noticeably fresher but still a long ways from fresh “I figured a couple hours.” After another mile or so he was following a ridge around a small mountain. He did one of his funny little loops and headed in another direction straight up hill. Usually a direction change is a good sign that he’s going to bed down but by this time he had done it 20 or 25 times which was totally throwing me off. I don’t know why but something was different about this turn, it just didn’t make any sense why he would do it when he was following a nice open ridge unless he was going to bed down. I knew I was still a ways behind him but I slowed down at this point, not to a crawl but much slower than my mall walker pace I’d been doing since 6am. I got up almost to the top and slowed to a crawl. Taking 1 step every 3-4 minutes as I crested the peak. His track kept going the same direction heading into the saddle between the two peaks. I stood there for probably 10 minutes I’m not sure why but something kept telling me to hold still. Finally just when I was about to start heading into the saddle I saw him stand up out of his bed about 100yds away 3/4’s the way up the hill, he was completely in the open except for his ears up. I knew it was the buck I was after but I wasn’t going to shoot until I saw his rack, we had a stair off for what felt like forever but probably no more than 5 minutes it felt way longer holding the bead on his white patch just waiting to see antlers. The wind was blowing directly at him so I don’t think he saw me he stood up when he couldn’t see what he smelled. He finally turned and started walking at a good clip broadside but it was too thick for a shot. Finally I had what looked like a basketball sized hole that he walked into and I shot. He buckled and I sent 3 more his way as he was running quartering away hard. I knew he was hit so I put in a fresh magazine in and slowly made my way over to where he was when I fired my first shot, my basketball hole I thought I was shooting through had about a 4” branch that was cut in half in the middle of it from my first shot, But I could see where he stumbled so I knew the 35 caliber 200ish grain customized Barnes bullet made it to him. I started getting more blood that confirmed I hit him as he was running. After a 50ish yard tracking job I saw him get up at about 25yds broadside and put one behind his shoulder. He went down after 2 bounds. I gave him a few minutes to make sure he was dead and made my way up to him, I knew he had a decent rack and I confirmed my suspension that he wasn’t a big bodied deer. I hadn’t looked at my compass or GPS since my 11 o’clock water break so I pulled out my gps and realized I was only just under 2 miles from a road. But I also realized I was 6.5 miles as a crow flies from my truck. After a few pictures I gutted him and started dragging. The drag wasn’t terrible just had to go through a swamp over a stream and over a mountain and a big hill then up a very steep hill that was littered with blow downs to where the road was. I got him to the road by 4 o’clock but knew I had a long long walk by road back to the truck. I got to the truck at a little before 6pm. Pretty easy loading job because he didn’t weigh much and. Was able to back into the ditch making the tailgate about a foot off the ground. Back to camp around 6:45 and put him on the scale, he weighs 173 I was guessing 160 so I was a little surprised he is as heavy as he is. He’s a main frame 10 but both of his brow tines are broke off ones about 2”s the other I don’t think is an inch, he also has a broken G4 that looks like it happened in velvet. I don’t know if he’s technically a 8 or a 9 but I don’t care, he’ll look good on the wall with the other Adirondack bucks. Grand total of 23 miles of walking on the gps, I forgot to check when I killed him but I’m guessing it was around an 11 or 12 mile track. I sure am glad I took this track this morning he’s not my biggest buck but he was by far one of the hardest I’ve killed, he sure did make me earn him. I’m really looking forward to butchering him and hoping to find a bullet still in him. The bullets I’m shooting are 225gn Barnes tsx that I drilled the hollow point out to make them expand at the slower 35rem velocities. The bullets performed very well in my testing but I’m very curious how the perform on an animal. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

no one told the deer it was to warm.... He came in chasing 5 doe which are walking past me on the ground at 40 yards tight now !

Ive had luck rattling this year, rattled in a 4, and a 6 on seperate occasions. This morning had a doe and button buck in early. Then around 815 i rattled in a 4 and a small 6. They came in together and moved off behind me. I rattled again at 9. This time a nice 7 came in i was tempted at first. Had the release hooked up but decided i didnt want him to b the buck that ends my bow season. So i started video taping him on my phone. I got about 1.5 mins of video then he walked off behind me. I look up and a much larger buck is walking in on the same path. Hes already only 40 yarfs out. He works his way in to about 25 yards and crosses behind some trees, i drew back and he walked into a swamp behind me. I took the shot when he was just over 20 yards. Shot looked good but didnt look like it penatrated that much. The arrow fell out after he spun and took off. I thought i saw him drop but wasnt sure. The 7 took off with him and wasnt sure what deer i was looking at. I climbed down after 20 mins, found my arrow that was missing about 5" of arrow and the broadhead. I backed out for 1.5 hrs. Brought my son back to help with the track. I circled around the swamp and picked up blood on the other side. It was a easy track that led to the spot i thought i saw a deer drop. Heavy bases split browtine. Beautiful buck.

I killed a buck last night around 5:30.......got in the stand at 3:30 prepared for the cold and wind. Man was the wind blowing, there was NO doubt what direction the wind was coming from as it was steady as can be from the north west. I was wearing my glasses and not my contacts so my eyes took a while to get used to the bright leaves and darn near full foliage. This was my first time bow hunting this year and I was excited to be back in the saddle. I had a doe sneak behind me around 4:00 while I was seated so I decided I'd better stand for the rest of the shift. The wind was crazy and with that and the wet leaves, you'd never hear one coming. My head was swiveling left, center and then to the right when all of a sudden as I was looking to my left I see a blurred brown flash off to my right and below me. I steal a quick glance down and here's this buck skidding to a halt STRAIGHT down. He's withing 12" of the base of the tree where just two hours before I'd stood and hooked my bow to the haul rope. He looks right up at me and I quickly made the decision to go for the bow, regardless of his next move. I got the bow, hooked the release on and drew back; he freaked out and took two quick bounds to my left and stopped, quartering away. Before I could react, the arrow was gone, slicing right through the boiler room. A quick 40 yard run and he was down......... Well now I went and did it. I punched my buck tag on my first sit, not what I was figuring on. He looked good as it was all unfolding, now he's dead and I'm hunting doe. I'm figuring 2.5 years old, 4 on the left and two on the right. 17.5" inside. I didn't weigh him but probably 140lbs.