wooly

He was just a nice clean symetrical 8pt buck! No other reason.

I hunted behind the house last night where I started camming this summer. I was hopeing to run into Six-zilla or Kong but instead I got an oppertunity this morning at another farmiliar buck from summer and I was determined to take advantage of it! Good ole "Mr. Clean" is now a statistic of the regular season! He made his appearance about an hour into my sit this AM. He came in behind me somehow never winding me. I wasn't expecting any deer from that way but it didn't matter. When he came through at 40yds I let out a mahhh to stop him. He stopped in his tracks right behind a tree with only his head and azz viewable to me. He quickly forgot what he heard and took the last step I needed him to. I dropped the hammer and watched him run off like he wasn't even hit. I was confused how I could miss such a crack-shot...... BUT...., when he hit the 100yd mark he slowed to a walk. He flicked his tail a few times, walked another 20yds, and fell over dead as can be! The shot was perfect double lung. It just amazed me how a dead deer running still makes escape look so calculated and gracefull. I'm really happy to have taken this buck, but I'm feelin my enthusiasm for deer hunting may be wearing thin. There's a good chance this will be my last kill for a while. I may just need a break from hunting for a season or two. Couple shots of him from summer.. ...and the field photos!

Gotta shoot 'em first!

Gonna be hard to match the chasing that was going on earlier this week here. Things have really quieted down. I expect to see some bucks following does they're already locked down with, but full blown, multiple buck, peak chasing is pretty much done in my 9h area.

Yeah that was probably the right thing to do...... ..opposed to grabbing a 5gal gas can and bag of marshmallows,lol!

Nah, those are 1 3/4" cut 75gr. Rocket Mini-blasters. 1/2 the price of Rage and kill 'em just as dead! Thanks for the great comments folks!

Oh man, where to start? As some of you already know, my season in the creekbottom has been a major dissapointment. Buck sign has been very sporadic...hot one day, then never to be revisited or freshened again. After another relatively uneventfull sit here, I decided it was time for a change of scenery so I headed up to the green fields for my afternoon sit. The plan was to take the Nikon and tripod in hopes a few deer would show up for a few long range shots untill I could figure out a game plan on how to effectively hunt this field edge that didn't offer any trees strong enough to support a stand. So away I go! Loaded like a western mule headed far and high into the Colorado Rockies I began the excruciating 2 mile trek with my pac nearly haf of my own live weight. As soon as I got to the field edge I spotted a buck standing smack dab center of the field looking really confused. I shrugged off my pac and gave him a few grunts before nocking an arrow and detaching my quiver. He didn't hear, or didn't really seem to give a crap there was an intruder in his area. What the heck...I shuffled through my pac and pulled out my rattlin' antlers. He was a good ways off so I wasn't timid in my mock battle. He looked around for a bit before losing interest and headed into the thicket off the edge. No worries here... I wasn't quite ready for the hunt to begin anyhow! I wanted to run a drag rag of estrous scent around the perimeter just in case and hang a wick out in front of where I planned on melting into the dead goldenrod edge. I put a good dose of Tinks estrous gel on my boot pad and marched half way to the road before turning around, refreshing my pad, and returning back to my hidey hole. I grabbed two sticks, placed one at 20yds. and one at 30yds, then hung my wick on the 20yd stick. Back in my little crop circle ambush I set up my redneck tripod bicycle seat and made myself comfortable. I readied the camera and tripod before looking up to see two more deer had made their way into the field not 10 minutes since the first buck had left. This was getting good already and it was only 3:30! Fast forward about an hour and 30 or so more deer in the field. I have never seen so much chasing, posturing, vocalizing....you name it, it was all happening right before my very eyes just like they show on TV....minus the giant bucks. Most of the deer had come out closer to the road and remained there even as cars stopped to watch them. Eventually a few bucks started busting up the doe groups and chasing them my way. More bucks emerged from the edge and hit my scent trail I layed down earlier. If there was a doe standing on that trail they took off in hot pursuit and chased her into the thicket, both of them never to be seen again. Finally, a few doe and fawns popped out 10yds beside me and fed out in front of me. They were all interested in my Tinks stick and took turns giving it a sniff. The bucks came a running and chased off several of the does right beside me. Another buck popped out of a little depression in the field and put his ears back while approaching a fawn at my stick. That was all it took for me to see the silly little set of antlers he had. I laughed to myself because I knew if he gave me the oppertunity I was gonna take the shot at him. Sure enough, he stopped at my 20 stick and took a big whiff! More chasing going on out in the middle of the field got his attention so he turned his head away from me offering me the perfect broadside shot. I took aim, settled my pin and reminded myself to stop breathing and focus! The shot went off and I heard the SCHWAAAACK! The buck ran 40yds up the edge and cut into the thicket. I heard crashing when all of a sudden he came flying out sideways like a rodeo bull trying to buck a cowboy. He was stumbling bad but regained his feet and made one last run into the thicket before the big CRASH!!! I knew he had expired, but decided to give him some time for good measures while I made the hike home to shed some of this excess gear that I had brought with me. I grabbed a few flashlights and headed back out. It was gonna be a long night. I got to the field and went straight to my 20 stick and found my arrow all bloodied up! There was very little blood besides that, and these lights weren't making it easy to spot what was or wasn't there. I lost the trail several times before deciding to run the edge and look for blood where he went in. Five times back and forth, I couldn't find a speck. I was starting to think this was gonna turn into a morning recovery, but I feared what would be left by then with all the yotes around here lately. I don't know why, but I was drawn to check inside the edge at one point. I shined my big spotlight and spotted his big white belly immediately! I was relieved to say the least! I got him gutted and loaded on my sled that I brought along and began the long hike home with my trailer in tow. He's no Booner, but after 4 frustrating archery seasons in a row, everything had finally come together. Sucess won't be measured in inches for this hunt..., there will be no trophy going on the wall.., but I do get a nice little keep sake reminder and the memmory of a great hunt that will last forever! Hope you all enjoyed as much as I did!

ANY definite hit from a broadhead tipped arrow is gonna cut some hair on it's way in. If it was a pass through, you'll also have cut hair from the exit hole. Return to the EXACT spot of initial impact and find any hair. Deer have about 6 or 7 different hair colorations/length combinations on different areas of their bodies that will tell you almost exactly where you hit them. If you're like me, and don't memmorize the color/length combinations by vital location you can probably find out through a google search OR better yet, call deer search armed with that information. Some of their trackers carry laminated "flash cards" of the different hairs and will be able to tell you about the hit with pretty good accuracy.

Human/hunter?

Just to add a touch of realism, I'm gonna throw in a few malfunctioning SD cards to sweeten the deal,lol

Cams are sold! Thanks Jody! Enjoy.

Hmmmm....., last I remember, the cat was wearing them,lol

What if I'm a lost elderly man with alzheimers looking for my cat?

Got theives...?? 3 perfectly fine non-functioning cameras to lure theives and trespassers in front of your functioning cams for proof positive ID! These cams appear to be a "real steal", but are messed up beyond repair and will not even power on. I tried my hand at fixing them.....that's how they got to this point. Missing some unknown internal components. Batteries NOT included,lol $25 all 3 TYD

Outstanding! Beautiful buck, congrats!

Tough to beat "new car scent".... 100% deadly when combined with deer whistles!

Deep thoughts man,lol Be carefull though...., even if they can't hear on the ultra-sonic level, I'm convinced they're capable of reading our minds telepathicly!

I throw my phone in a metal coffee can I attached to my stand and put it on vibrate. When someone calls, deer come running because they think a feeder is going off,lol.

It's only bad luck if you walk under your ladder stand first...or if you see a black cat....or if you break a mirror before the hunt! Cool buck and pic!

I think "The Butler" did it.....

You obviously never dated any of the girls from my senior class,lol It's something in the water they say!

Oh no shooter, I understand 100%! Having deer hanging out in the back yard is an AWESOME feeling! There's a real sence of accomplishment when even the wildlife like to call your place "home" I'm not trying to take anything away from your post at all. Beautifull pad, and I can see why the deer enjoy it as much as you do!

An old elk hunter friend of mine turned me onto the "rock and roll" when it's time to get deer moving. Carry a rock with ya and give it a good chuck into space when deer gather. Sometimes it takes 2...or 3 to get them to leave or get up when they're bedded and it draws their attention away from you.

I understand the purpose of this post and appreciate it for what it is, a cool off the porch resident buck......BUT... I found on another similar post recently, some folks like to take the "hunt" out of hunting, and I don't agree with backyard ambush tactics some don't see a problem with. It is a nice pic though!

Now that's the kinda growth we all hope for but seldom see! Awesome buck Dave, good luck with him!