Renegade Hunter

Shit, I get to sleep in till 5 on days I can hunt.

Calm, crisp and 15 degrees up here in 7m. Wish I could be out there! Just saw a ton of deer in a couple fields. Good luck everyone. Hopefully they are moving today.

I think I'm going to try the estrus this weekend. I'll trail it behind me through the bushes then hang a few cotton balls in a line perpendicular with the wind through the bedding area. I will be set up in an open spot in the middle but on the edge, with plenty of room to shoot. Sounds like an unbeatable plan! Thanks for the inspiration Jared!

I feel you, it has been extremely frustrating for me the past couple weekends. My last sit of bow season I saw 9 doe and three bucks. Chasing like crazy. Had a nice tall 8 at 20 yards that I would have shot in an instant. I decided that was the place I would sit opening morning of gun. I had one button buck come out of the golden rod at 10:05. Sat nine hours that day. That's the only deer I have seen all gun season. Deer runs that look like cow paths all throughout that property. And I haven't seen a single deer since. My goal was to shoot two wall hangers this year. But I have decided that this weekend I'm just going to go out and enjoy it. If it happens, it happens. If not, I've had a pretty good season and I'm ready for a break until next year.

I just grab ahold of the big part and pluck it out. Brush it off a little. Whatever is left stays in there until it falls out on its own lol.

Any word on an injury? My buddy shot a deer a few years ago that he thought was a large doe. Turned out it was a buck that had already shed. Had a big slice through its brisket. Looked just like the one you posted.

Haven't commented in a while but have been following along all season. Congrats to all the hunters that have taken deer this year! Little late on the post. I shot this guy on October 12th. I climbed a tree on a shelf in the middle of a ridge. I had a large field and a bedding area below me. Last year during mid October I watched two six points spar and had a big boy sneak up on them. I decided to try and mimic what I saw that day. I tickled the rattle bag and threw in a few soft grunts and wheezes. Not five minutes later I hear a deer running along the shelf toward me. He came barreling along, slowed to a trot, then stopped at 25 yards, looking through the saplings below me. He was quartered to me. I drew back and waited for him to make a move. He licked his nose and put it to the ground. I put the pin on top of his shoulder and released. (I climb roughly 25 to 30 feet in the air. I prefer ash trees as they are tall with not a lot of low limbs and the climber bites right into them). It hit its mark perfectly. He staggered backward then bound forward for about 50 yards. He stopped at the edge of a creek and looked back. He slowly crossed it then disappeared up the other side. I texted the guys and gave him a solid two hours. We found him on the edge of a small patch of golden rod 20 yards from where I last saw him. I had hit lung and sliced the side of his heart.... Another great moment etched into my mind forever. Truly grateful to have taken this animal.

Few things to look forward to next year, Phade! My trigger finger would be itching already.

I wouldn't even use a crow call. I have had them pile in around me while coyote hunting- using rabbit in distress. They all flocked around making a racket, landing in the branches all around me. If I had a shotgun it would have been a shooting gallery.

This year I messed up on a really nice, wide 8 point. I had two small bucks, a 6 and a 4 or 5, fighting out in front of me at 40 yards for about 10 minutes. Really cool to watch, first time I had ever seen it. Anyways, I look behind me and here comes Mr. Big sneaking up the hill, locked in on those two bucks. He was on a run that went by my tree at 15 yards. I grabbed my bow and got ready. I drew as he was coming to my lane and put the pin on him. I took my eyes off the pin, found the opening in front of him and refocused on the pin. For some god forsaken reason, as soon as I saw brown hit my pin I released. I immediately knew I let it go too soon. He hopped a few times toward the other bucks and they all sat there staring at each other. The smaller ones began wheezing and going back at it and Mr. Big slowly walks off. I found a little hair and two spots of blood from where I must have grazed the front of his chest. Still kicking myself in the a$$ over that one. The root cause I would say is I got too excited looking at those big, white, wavy horns.

Good luck everyone! Hope to see some dandy's on here this morning.

Thanks a lot guys, a lot of great memories made all around this year. Our whole group did well. It will be hard to top a year like that, but it has me itching to get out next year and try. Thanks Wooly, looks good!

My buddy shot one last year that had dropped them already. Turned out he was shot through the brisket with an arrow.

Don't know why they are sideways. If someone could fix that, that'd be great!

It was a record season for me. I hunted as hard as I could with a bummed up leg. I didn't hunt a whole lot during the October lull but once buck sign started showing up in the woods I was out there. It didn't take too long. October 22nd I climbed a tree on the edge of some hardwoods and pines for an evening sit. There was a lot of buck sign all along the edge (rubs and scrapes). I ended up having 5 does and two small bucks directly underneath me chomping on acorns, then they would run back into the pines. Later in the evening I had a doe skirt me and a basket racked 8 come in at 40 yards and didn't present a shot. Two days later, on the 24th, I climbed the same exact tree for a morning sit. It was a windy day. I walked in at daylight and was in the tree no more than 20 minutes when the 7 point below came sneaking out of the pines. I first saw him at 20 yards, I turned and grabbed my bow. By the time I got turned around he was at 15. He walked behind some cover and I drew. 10 yards now, quartering to me. I put the pin high on his shoulder and let the PSE Evo Max / Rage eat. It hammered down into his vitals and he went running with blood spraying all over the place. I waited a couple hours, for my uncle to finish hunting and he came walking to me. As I saw him walking I could see him look at the blood trail and point to where the buck was down. He went 45 yards and crashed.... I didn't hunt a whole lot the rest of bow season. Just a little here or there to watch the rut take place. On the night before gun opener I was at a crossroads on where to hunt. I got permission on a river flat farm and had really nice bucks show up on camera. Seeing how I hadn't hunted it since I shot my 7 point I wanted to hit it opening morning. But then there was the temptation of hunting with my uncle and buddies at our normal stomping grounds. A place where big bucks are shot every year. The morning of I decided last minute to go with the guys. We walked out just as the sky was starting to light up. I climbed down in a creek bed on the edge of a thick travel corridor and hardwoods, a golden rod field 150 yards up the hardwood ridge. Not long after legal light, I heard twigs snapping coming down the ridge. I looked and saw he was a buck. He was coming right down the ridge from the golden rod. I was thinking he would head straight to me and go into the thicket. He had his nose down and turned broadside at 60 yards. I could see good mass and good tine length. I waited for him to hit an opening and put it behind his shoulder. The Savage .270 and the 120 gr hornady's pounded him. He bucked and hopped twice, then started stumbling backwards. He zig zagged toward me for 20 yards before dumping it into a tree. Sorry for the long story but what a season!! It gets my heart pounding just writing this. both hunts were ones I would often dream about. I wound up getting my biggest bow and gun buck. Can't wait for next season already.

Big 'ol brisket on that old boy. Getting itchy over here!

Nice bucks, Grow! That's the most growth I have seen on a buck yet.

I've seen dogs look extremely malnourished when feeding a litter of pups. Even though they are eating more than enough. Could this be the case for the doe?

Looks like a nice buck. We like to see the other deer too! Out of 245 pics I think you can add a few more LOL

I will walk a new piece of property in the summer time to figure out main runs, bedding areas and food sources. Once I have hunted it a while and know the property I don't feel the need to go in and scout year after year. Other than that I stay out and scout it as I hunt. Looking for rubs, scrapes, etc. I do use a camera occasionally.

Great pictures... I used to do a little stargazing myself back in the day

I have a friend that has a neighboring property where the owner lives out of state. Prime deer property. He had people that would randomly park in the field, put tree stands up and occasionally wander on to his own property. He wrote a letter to the owner this past season explaining the situation and how it effected his land and hunting. The owner told him to post the hell out of it and gave him permission to hunt. We went in and pulled the stands and put them in the field to be picked up. Worked out perfect for him. Sometimes all you need to do is extend a hand.

That looks like a good healthy buck, Grow. It will be fun watching him grow this summer.

I'll tell ya, I moved out to Arizona last April and I was back in New York State October 31st! Right in time to shoot my biggest buck. I've lived all over the country and for some reason I can't stay away from this god forsaken liberal state. LOL. Not that I didn't like those places, but hunting is a big part of my life and what makes me happy. Just isn't the same as up here. Good Luck! Come back and hunt from time to time!

The second reply article was hilarious. I was thinking about writing him until I saw a bunch of people had already told him the things I was going to say.