Fehyd643

Sun came out for a quick second but I think I spooked it. Back behind clouds again

Windy and chilly in 8g. Zero movement

Montec G5's

Well, I found my deer! Was out yesterday and I saw him walk by with barely a limp. He had his opposite side facing me, so I did not get to see the poi, but he didnt seem to be in any pain. Never got close enough for me to seal the deal, but honestly I am just super happy he lived. Freezer or forest. Those are all I want for my deer. lol

I'm hunting the property as a guest of a guest. I do not own the land. My close friend has permission to hunt the property, as well as the ability to bring one other person. The actual land owners have had issues with the neighboring property. I do not know the land owner personally. The land I tracked the deer to is not posted (no contact info on signs) and is currently being leased to a farmer as far as I know. Without prior permission, I will not step a foot onto that land. Yes, I probably could have tried to get the land-owner's permission. By the time I got in contact with the owner, IF he would have allowed a retrieval (which I have been assured that he would NOT do so) I may have been able to track the deer further. Considering the frequency and size of the blood trail, the rain and the local coyote population, I decided that getting into a possible debate or pissing match with the land owner, as a guest of the property I was hunting, was not worth it. Like I said, long story. After doing a bunch of research, I am hoping that this was just a shoulder shot like MonkeyMan said.

I would have tried deer search, but the trail went to another property that I don't have permission to be on. Long story, but getting permission is not going to happen. I searched along the property line for a while to see if maybe he crossed back, but came up empty. The way the blood was (tiny drops every 3 or 4 ft) I am just hoping he lived.

Rut is definitely on! As I was tracking a shot, I had a doe and a 1.5yr 6 point walk within 5 ft of me and not care! This 6pt's neck was so ruffled that it looked bigger than his body lol.

The good news is, the rut is on in 8g! Short version for those who don't want to read: Shot my biggest deer, tracked for 4 hours, did not retrieve! So this is only my 3rd season with a bow (4th season hunting at all). Took a decent 6 with a bow 2 years ago, and a nice doe last year with bow. Couple more does with gun. So I am finally presented with a big rack friday morning. I'm sitting in my stand and around 8am a doe walks by all nonchalant. I wait for a chaser, and sure enough I see a big 12pt in the woods staring at her. Doe carries on, and finally the big boy comes out of the thick stuff and starts following her. Neck is HUGE and all puffed up. Rack is ugly, but thick and big. He's walking a trail that has about 2 clean shooting opportunities from my stand, so I wait. He crosses the first lane kinda fast, so I don't take that shot. He slows down and stops right in the second window. Perfect broadside at about 30yds. I release and hear a nice thwack! I don't see the arrow hit, cause I forced myself not to peak during/after the shot. I DO see him jump sideways and almost fold in half. He stumbles, starts running kinda sideways and goes out of site. It starts to rain, so I get down to just look for the impact site, checking for blood. After looking around a bit, I see no blood so I get a bit discouraged. I finally found the back 1/3rd of my arrow. It's got blood and hair on it. Blood smells clean, and it's bright(ish) red! I wait about a half an hour, then start sweeping the ground in the general direction I saw him run. I don't want to wait too long because it's raining on and off. About 100yds away, I find my first drop. Not gushing, not a lot of blood, just a drop. Over the next 3 hours. I track this deer. I'm finding drops about every 3 feet, zig-zagging through the woods. He didnt take any logical path and changed directions a couple times. Eventually the trail goes cold. I widen and widen my sweep, and finally find a few drops about 100yds from the last sign. I find it on the border of a property I don't have retrieval rights for, and no way to contact the land owner. Never found the front half of my arrow. I know this happens, but this was my first. it is absolutely gut wrenching! I spent over 4 hours total bent over looking for single drops of blood in the rain. I can barely stand up today, but I would have spend 10x that amount of time to find this sucker! Pretty sure it was a good shot. Not sure why the arrow broke, not sure what the trickle of bright red blood indicates (was raining, so the color may have been diluted because of rain). I assume the front half of my arrow is still in the deer, clogging the wound maybe? I like to think I did everything I could, and I did everything right. Just having a hard time accepting that I left this deer to die and get eaten by yotes. Going back out tomorrow, but I won't lie, I'm already feeling hesitant letting an arrow go.

So, 40%chance of rain, 20mph winds. I have limited hunting days, so I'm going out anyway. Suggestions? will they be moving at all? Stalk bedding? What's my best strategy?

I just this last sunday ranging and practicing with my American .308. Out to 150yds, with a shooting stick (Primos Polecat Mono), using 150gr Winchester Power Point, I was grouping about 5-6 inches with 5 shot groups. Any fliers in my grouping were definitely my fault. I felt it when I pulled the shot. The rifle is way more accurate than I am, that's for sure! I tried 150gr Federal Powershok and my groups opened up to about 8-10 inches. I rotated ammo every 5 shots, and did 2 boxes of each so the difference wasnt a cold vs. warm barrel. Havent tried fusion yet, but I am pretty satisfied with the results from the Winchester Powerpoint.

This one is on my Christmas List! will be my first lever action. so excited!

Fun: Stag Arms AR15 Fire all day, no recoil, accurate out to 300yds Pistol: Glock 19 Accurate as heck, 9mm is relatively cheap to shoot all day Long Range: Remington 700 SPS in .308 Tack Driver Hunting: Ruger American in .308

voted

I figured they were all young. All around 1.5 you think? I know this has been a overly discussed topic, but can you tell by the body or the length of nose? I've heard both methods, but don't have enough experience to really break it down per picture without references.

Ton of doe and yearlings, a lot of which are still in spots! Here are a couple of the bucks that posed all pretty for me. Only my 3rd year hunting, so I have no clue as to the age of any of these. I'm guessing just by body size that none of these are over 2-2.5 yrs. thoughts?

...What Jim said. Usually those holders are right at the counter where you buy your license.

ok... now THAT was some funny S&@#!

My license is always hooked to my backpack so I can be versatile with whatever outerwear the weather requires. I tag my deer using a ziptie. Punch a hole in the ear, roll up the tag and stuff it in the ear canal.

I did not end up hunting either spot last year. I spoke to a small game hunter at Galen one morning pre-season while I was scouting, and he had a pretty bad story to tell. According to him, he had hunted the land for about 5 years, but had to stop due to the farmer whose fields are nearby. Apparently he is an anti-hunter. The gentleman I was speaking to said that the farmer would run a tractor or a 4-wheeler right along the border during peak hours, blowing air horns, firing off a shotgun... etc. All hearsay, but enough to convince me to not bother.

First year with rifle, first year carrying my Ruger American .308. Fingers Crossed!

Welcome and Good Luck!

So I have a conundrum: I am primarily a meat hunter. My primary goal is 2-3 deer to fill my freezer. I've only been hunting for 3 seasons, and I am blessed to be allowed to hunt on a property with plenty of deer. I have no issue with trophy hunting, and would actually like to bag a nice rack. My main problem is that I think I am over eager. If I am in my stand and I see a 2-3 yr old basket six open up for me, I take it. I still hunt afterwards and finish my season, and I really haven't see anything bigger. I'm not quite experienced enough to really track down the big boys. I see big scrapes and rubs, in plenty of quantity, but haven't quite gotten the patterns down. I went into last season telling myself that I would fill the freezer with Doe, and save the buck tag for an 8+ or a wide 6 or something. Took a decent doe in bow season and let a big body 4 walk. Gun season opened, and I got nervous that I may not get enough meat. Another basket 6 walked by and I took it. Am I just too new at this and over eager? Anyone else (primarily meat hunters) have a problem letting medium bucks walk? I know trophy hunters don't have this problem.

I have one in .308. Bought it because I really didnt want to take my 700 out and try lugging that long and heavy rifle through the woods. I zero'd it a while back and was in love at first trigger pull! Love my American!

I ran over an M16 with a 5-ton once... Does that count? Wasn't mine. Still functioned perfectly afterward.

Welcome from a fellow 500 user. (500C, but still counts!)