sampotter

There always can be a bigger or older one out there. Deer are a wonderful renewable resource. Every year that two or three year old you passed last year could show up bigger and better.

I honestly had never seen or used one like that before. I'm used to the old 2 handled deals. When my FIL pulled it out of his shop and handed it to me I was a little skeptical, but once I started using it I realized it was pretty decent. I just looked online and found a place that sells them new. I might have to snag one. http://www.lewiscontractorsales.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=T6220&Store_Code=PAL&gdftrk=gdfV26118_a_7c3199_a_7c12391_a_7cT6220

It's all about location. You want the mock rub to be very conspicuous. Doing this in the middle if the woods won't generate much action. Plunk one of these 30 yards out into a cut cornfield or foodplot, bingo! Bucks can't resist when done right. Also, you can choose a tree species they prefer to rub but maybe don't have in the area. I just like messing with the deer.

Unfortunately no. This is the 2nd B&C 12 I've had at that location in 2 years. Both were killed during gun season, neither by me. I may have played a role in getting both of them killed though, so I have been learning to keep my mouth shut until after they are dead. This year I only shared info with my FIL and he was the one that put the guy that ended up killing the buck in the right spot at the right time. My intention was for my FIL to get him. 2014: (me drooling over the mount) 2015: (one in the video)

Red cedar, but I've had good luck with balsam, white cedar, spruce, red pine, and hemlock as well. Pretty much any conifer works. They love the combination of soft wood/bark and the strong smell.

In this case I did put a little Smokey's preorbital gland lure, but in the past I haven't used anything. In fact, I only put the lure on some overhanging branches and not on the rub itself. Location and eye appeal are #1. Once that 1st smaller buck rubbed it and left his scent, it was game on.

I shoot for 3' +/-. I usually leave 3-4" stubs when I trim branches off the butt end so they dig into the sides almost like barbs. I sunk a lot of fenceposts as a kid- same general idea.

It had been a few years since I made a fresh mock rub.... This one did not disappoint. The big 12 is dead in case anyone is wondering. P.S. This is not NY either.

I love vacuum sealers, or at least the product they produce when they function properly. I had a Foodsaver that had auto settings so that when you inserted the bag, it would automatically start running. It gave me fits to say the least and I physically assaulted it one day and replaced it with a less expensive Foodsaver with only manual controls. The economy model works like a charm. Sometimes I need to push down on it a little to get the vacuum to start working properly, but it worked great on 3 deer this year.

I think they simply forgot to add the mass measurements...

I hit an 8 point a couple of years ago in the hindquarter with my truck. He cartwheeled off the road. When I walked up on him he was taking his last breath. There was no external bleeding. Even though I hit him in the hind quarter, the pressure that transferred to his abdomen and forward, causing multiple blood vessels to burst. His chest and abdomen were full of blood even though I hit him in the hindquarter. BTW, his rack was unscathed and hangs in my garage with the salvage tag the state trooper gave me. At the time I was thinking, "Gee, free buck and those salvage tags are free and unlimited." My $500 deductible proved otherwise.

Prophetic post from the other thread: Chadro Posted 17 September 2015 - 07:41 PM "I'll clarify a few things. The area isn't really hunt able, I'd be hard pressed to put a stand there due to the houses and other things around that make it a pain to hunt. I seriously doubt that I will be able to get a chance at it, I'd have to convince the landowner first and I know them well enough it probably wouldn't happen. If someone figures it out from the pics, then good for them. To kill it they would be poaching, and then screw them. This deer has a better chance of getting hit on the roads. I just posted this picture to admire him. He is truly a beautiful buck, and would be awesome to have him hanging on the wall."

Maybe someone hit the gas instead of the brakes?

If it weren't for the previous trail camera pics you'd be suspect of the road kill photo as a hoax. The deer is that big. If the G3/G4 on the left didn't share a common base he'd be an easy top 10 typical all-time for NY. Anyone know who ended up with the rack? I don't feel like a hunter should've killed him rather than a car. To me it's just the way it is.

Heckuva buck!

Rem 700 .280. I've also used a 12ga 870, but what I'd love is a Rem 7600 in .444 Marlin. I think it would be a great big woods gun but also be legal to use in Ohio.

Pedal bone. Coffin bone. Distal phalanx.

Sounds like you got back straps. And he lives to see another day.

Looks like he broke his right g3? Better pass.

I might have been able to use this tactic if I could throw a rock that far! Sometimes it doesn't take much to create an opportunity though.

No, private. There is some really good public nearby though. I considered that- might have worked except I was alone. Calling anyone to come help would have been illegal, so that wasn't an option either.

What's yours? Here's mine from this past Sunday: It was the last morning of a 3.5 day hunt in Ohio. I knew I needed to get down by 11am so I could get on the road for the 7.5 hour drive back to New York. It was a frosty, clear morning and I was set up on the downwind side of a ridge point, maybe 100 yards from the top. The property was logged last winter, so there are some nice skid trails planted with grass and scattered tree tops in the woods. I wasn't seeing any deer this particular morning (I believe I was hunting the heart of lockdown), but I did finally see a young 8 point down the hill from me at 10am. He moved off and about 15 minutes later a nice looking 10 point came running up onto the hill with a doe. They stopped a little below my position (but not downwind). He was a nice buck (130s) but I wasn't really sure he was something I wanted to shoot (I was thinking he was a 3 year old, but was having a tough time getting a really good look at him). It was starting to warm up and they were panting and it didn't take long for them to bed in plain view along a skid trail that ran past right my tree. He was at 131 yards and she was at about 150. At this point I tried to get a better look at him and shot some really shaky video while I debated getting down and trying to stalk him. After an hour he got up and moved into some shade and she did the same. I watched them mill around for a little bit and I made the decision to go for it, reasoning that if I could kill him with a spot-and-stalk, the magnitude of the hunt would more than make up for any deficiency he had in age or antler score. Regardless, I needed to get going one way or the other. (I admit that if he'd been a bigger buck I would have sat tight in the tree all day if necessary.) Unfortunately, I missed my best chance to stalk him in the hour that he was bedded in plain sight while the doe was also visible. Now that I was at the base of the tree I could still see him standing in approximately the same position he had been in during the last part of the video, but he soon moved just out of view behind a tree top. It had warmed up considerably so I took of my coat and vest. leaving me with a t-shirt and turtle neck. I nocked an arrow and carefully crept down the grassy skid trail (which is really hard to do when your heart is pounding and a constant dose of adrenaline is being released into your veins.) To make it more difficult, the dry leaves made the proverbial "cornflake crunch" that betrayed my every step. I made it 30 yards before deciding there was no way I could ever get close enough to the buck and doe to get a shot while making so much noise. I thought of my Heads-Up buck decoy back in my truck, but there was no way I could get to it. Then I thought, "If I can't visually dupe them, maybe I can just run down there sounding like a buck and fool them audibly." (In my defense, I thought I'd heard of someone doing something like this before.) Unfortunately there wasn't anyone running a camera, but you can imagine the scene! I hunched over and took off, covering the next 100 yards with what I hoped sounded like a trotting buck, while also grunting like a rutting buck. Breathless, I reached the spot where the buck had been bedded and scanned frantically for an antler, an ear, anything. All I saw was 6' high tree tops left by the loggers. I then heard a crash at the bottom of the hill and my hopes sank. "There they went", I mused. Since I had gone through all the trouble of scampering down there like a fool, I decided I should at least take a peek over the edge of the hill. I cautiously took a step, then another. Just when I could see over the edge of the hill, the doe exploded from a tree top directly in front of me. As I stood there stunned I searched for the buck that should have been with her. A loud snort 25 yards off my left quarter startled me. All I saw was a rack behind a tree top as he turned and bounded down the hill side after the doe. I'm not sure I would have had a clear shot, but I got to within 25 yards of the buck! In retrospect, I should have made my move when he was still bedded. Another twist that could have worked would have been to just stop once I got to where they had been bedded and grunt and/or snort wheeze to draw him into the open. One thing is for sure- bucks forget a lot of their survival instincts when they are with a hot doe! Here is the shaky video I took prior to my "stalk": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gVA3ESazHE&feature=youtu.be

Same combination, but that guy's grunt tube isn't nearly deep enough... There's a lot of confusion out there in the industry too because every biologist, TV Hero, and call maker wants to put there own label on a certain vocalization. For example- there's the "buck roar", which is the same sound as the "buck bellow", and also can be called the "frustration grunt". Clicking is usually broken out as a separate vocalization, although the time I heard it while hunting along with in this video it was always accompanied by the super deep, guttural grunt(s) at the end.

Actual "tending grunts" are just soft grunts they make while following the doe. I've read that bucks "click" when they are often following the trail of a doe that isn't quite ready to breed. What's interesting about this particular sequence is the buck was 6.5 hours behind the doe, so not exactly on her tail.

I've heard these buck vocalization once while hunting. At the time I was sure it was another hunter that didn't know how to use their grunt call properly. The buck makes the sound in the last 3rd of the video (turn up volume).