wooly

...and the old saying "ignorance is no excuse to the law" prevails again! At least they're consistent.

Why not...? I know guys that shoot their guns and bows year round but can't seem to make a clean kill on a deer for the life of them. There used to be a saying around here that never really caught on the way it should have......"shut up and hunt". Too many guys worrying about what the other guy is doing, and missing out on what this time of year is supposed to be all about. Some lessons need to be learned the hard way.

Congrats on a great first buck! I'd rather read a story like yours with a hunter who is genuinely excited about his kill no matter what the size, over some bone crazed bozo trying to squeeze every last 1/8 of an inch out of his rack!

If that was my target, I would have just told you guys that those were the squares I was aiming for,lol

....and after a short pause a reply came back from the other radio. "Ummmm, you're breaking up Burt.... it sounded like you said you shot 5 x's but I've yet to hear the gun go off!"

The action started today before the sun came up, and I could hear and see silhouettes of deer chasing one ridge over from my blow down blind. Not long after legal shooting time I looked over my shoulder and spotted another hunter in his stand about 200yds behind me. I was a little discouraged by that, but I sat tight for a little bit just to see what happens with all the early activity around. Shortly after that I spotted a doe and two fawns coming at me from the opposite ridge. I thought about taking the lead doe but decided I wouldn't take a doe today. They made their way up the ridge and disappeared over the horizon. A few minutes later, my buddy in the trees tand let a shot rip. When I turned around I could see a deer running off into the powerline goldenrod. Now I was pretty bummed and ready to pack it up..... but wait..... what's that familiar sound..... more deer coming! Between us once again I saw 4 doe running right in front of my buddies stand and then I noticed a big wide buck was chasing them but I couldn't count his points. He ran right in front of the other guy, but he never shot and now this dude was coming right for me. He chased the doe behind me and stopped 40yds away but the damn fallen tree I was hiding behind was in the way for a clear shot. The doe hopped in the ravine and shot up the other side with the big wide guy in tow. A few minutes later I hear another deer running where those deer had just gave chase to one another. It was a little 6 pt, but he was trailing them the wrong way. He ran by me at 40yds and I let him go. Now I knew what was going on, so I slid over about 20yds to clear the branches from my blind and set up where I had a clear shot at that hot does path. Moments later I hear it again. Another deer following from the wrong direction. I got a good look at it on the opposite ridge and saw it was a nice buck so I got my hammer back and safety off. When he popped up on my side of the ridge he was only 20yds away and slightly quartering to me. I stopped him with my voice and let the hammer drop. He ran off the same way he came in. I got on his trail and it absolutely sucked. Very little blood, and a tuft of hair. I followed for approximately 50yds and the blood had stopped. With all the deer running around, it was impossible to tell which tracks were his on the other side, and with no blood, that meant I had to follow them all! I took the trail of what looked like his tracks for a while before deciding I didn't believe it was him any longer. I hopped on another set and had the same results. I headed back to my blind to have a cup of coffee and chill out for a bit before hopping on another set. After I cooled off I followed a set that headed down hill towards the power lines and as soon as I stepped in the goldenrod thicket, I spotted my buck laying 75yds inside it! Not a speck of blood from where I lost it, right up to his carcass, and I had good tracking snow this morning! Very glad I found him, and now I'm taking a break!

I've been sitting in my stand since bow season ended. How much longer till sunrise?

Put me down for my Traditions Pursuit 50cal. ML again this year. Should only need one shot!

That wont save you. Easily mistaken for a "Posted sign", and from what I read here, some guys like to shoot those OR pay no attention to them whatsoever. No freaking way I'm crawling in a tent style ground blind during firearms season even with a little orange patch hanging near by.

This is my first season using my e-cigg and I swear it seems like they smell it further out than conventional tobacco cigarettes. I know I can't smell much if anything coming from it, but the exhaled flavored vapor cloud holds together really well as I watch it drift off in the breeze when the sun hits it right. I used it for most of the summer too while photographing the deer and I've never been winded so much as I do with this thing. That's just something I've really been paying attention to this year and thought I'd pass along. That's still NOT a good enough reason for me to pick up a regular cigg again......BLAHHHH!

Nice collection! I like the natural plaque material you selected!

Booner you've been watching all summer finally steps out and gives you an opportunity 5 minutes after legal light.........OK, nail his ass! Booner you've been watching all summer finally steps out and gives YOUR NEIGHBOR an opportunity 5 minutes after legal and HE nails his ass......... Now your speed dialing your local ECO and sheriff to have his poaching ass arrested, his hunting implements taken away, and hunting priveledges revoked for life.....

Wow- would you look at the rack on that guy... that's an incredible buck too Pygmy. Congrats! At least you didn't return home smelling like fish again!

Doesn't matter if it's 50 above, or 30 below, deer will respond the same... Usually when you hit one good, they will lay down on their side and stop breathing regardless of temperature or rut phase.

I've only ever run into a handful of ticks on deer I've shot and those were inside the ears so I just flicked them off with my knife blade. Sounds like your buddies carcass was crawling with the suckers though. I wonder if he could have collected the majority of the visable ticks off with a strip of redneck flypaper...,aka.., duct tape? Then peel them off and dip them in chocolate and you got yourself chocolate covered tic-tackies!

Not sure crappy, I'm kinda seeing just the opposite. I watched 16 doe and fawns out in a field tonight and not an antler in sight. I think I somehow missed it here myself.

Mine usually gets soaked up by the bread when it's time to eat my sandwich,lol

3.5

Story of the season so far IMO! SUPER and congrats!

My guess is they'll probably just run off together and get married.... Then they'll shake down each others family trees to see what kind of "nuts" fall out!

"X"-cellent shot! Now quit messin' around and go kill something with antlers!

A pair of fives ain't so bad when the next card's an Ace! Happy B-day!

You could have posted it upside down and they'll still say 3.5,lol

That would put him at 1.5 in the first pic.... ain't NO WAY man! Remember there was no trail cam pic for 2013, just his antlers. I was at 5.5 minimum from the start, but I had a little more to go on than I gave you guys. That's what I thought would make this a little more entertaining by holding that inside info from you guys to see what you came up with. Anyways, you all blew it from the start so why would I start believing you NOW,lol

Ohhh, now things are starting to get interesting,lol I've got two SETS of sheds from him. One from 2011, and the other from 2013 and they are both almost identical in mass and tine lengt with a few exceptions.. I have cam pics of him in 2012 but no antlers to show for it. Here's a little history... He first appeared on the scene back in 2011. He got the nickname "Franken-tines" from my first photos of him. I picked up this set of antlers in the spring of 2013 after they spent a year in the field. I never found either of his 2012 antlers, but he did pass through to give me a few pics. Last year I got no pics of him, but I did pic up another set of his antlers from that year. The main beams on these antlers a tad shy of 24" for size reference. So now he is back in town again keeping another set of antlers safe for me now that I already have his 2014 picture. I guess it just goes to show, that even when a buck has the body and rack structure of a 3.5 year old, it ain't always so. I guess my question now that you've seen his 2011 photo is how old was he back then, and where does that put him now?