TheHornHunter

In case anyone is curious I got a good example of how far a buck will go after it’s jumped this morning… I kicked up a 2 or 3 year old still hunting and 20 minutes later it trotted by a cell cam a mile away on the other side of the road. Honestly pretty surprised… he passed by plenty of good options within 1/4 to 1/2 mile but I guess felt the need to cross a road and over a half mile of open fields in broad daylight Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hear you man, same story here but add in a misfire and shooting the wrong deer… which happened on consecutive hunts. Glad I went to Kansas lol. I’ll be out each afternoon trying to catch up with the buck I messed up on, but chances are probably slim to none I see him. The Ohio MZ can be really good if the weather is right. I’ve hunted it 3 years, one was super cold and really good hunting while the other 2 were almost summer weather and barely saw a deer Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We’ve got god knows how many acres of winter wheat, cut corn and beans with tons of waste grain and some brassicas…best field by far with most consistent action is a tilled over clover field. Very strange year Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was going to say if you were in WNY I’d be happy to meet up but I’ll leave it to the guys down there. Is there a good food source around or just random browse in the woods? Hell probably return to that area since he didn’t bust you too bad. Finding bedding is the toughest part so you have a lot of the heavy lifting done…now just gotta hunt it smart and hope you’re there when he is. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Where you located? As to the buck, is it one you’d like to kill? If so, I’d be more inclined to set up in the afternoon between that bedding area and closest food assuming the wind is right for it. They are back in bed early this time of year and there’s a good chance you could bump him out trying to get in. Don’t wait until next year on something you’d kill today. Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don’t. Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here is he folks! A bit better than a spike. I didn’t see his left side until I went back and retrieved him. I was disappointed earlier but honestly it was a cool hunt I won’t forget anytime soon and meat in the freezer which is what this is all about. I figured it was a spine hit since he dropped but double lunged him so backstraps are good to go! Second pic is the deer a couple feet away [emoji2357] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For sure. It’s definitely been one of those seasons. Done a great job getting in the right places at the right time, just getting killed by small details when it comes to the actual killing. Who knows, maybe I’ll get some vengeance in a week Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dude you don’t even know the half of it… been SO much neighbor drama and other crap on my properties the last two weeks. Feel like I’m losing my mind, then add on the deer drama… It was moisture related. When I pulled it apart there was a tiny bit of wet powder in the firing channel. I’ve never had a ML do a partial ignition but I’m guessing when I reloaded I pressed whatever remnant wet powder was left down into the firing channel. The gun was taped and I’ve hunted with it many times in the rain with no issues so not sure what happened this time other than bad luck. In the future I’ll be swapping my powder after every rain hunt Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Got my gun figured out and went back out for the afternoon to try and get back on that 9 pointer. Long story short, he showed up 600 yards away around 3:30 so I belly crawled my ass thru a power line easement and was able to cut the distance to 250 by the time other deer started to notice and at this point it’s about 4:45. Literally minutes before legal light I found a little clearing in some brush to take a shot and found the buck across the field with another deer. I confirmed he was on the right with my binos when he lifted his head up, got my scope on him while his head was down and let her rip. Dropped. So feeling like a champ that just pulled off a Hail Mary I walk up to find a spike horn with maybe 3” horns. They either reversed positions while I was getting my gun up or I simply went on the wrong deer. Tough to say, I was fighting the clock and does 20 yards away about to bust me so wasn’t exactly stress free and could have gotten them reversed. Pretty sure that’s my longest shot with a ML and definitely my longest stalk but god damn I can’t catch a break with this damn deer. That’s 3 times now I’ve got on him and should have killed him (2 of which I thought I smoked him) and stupid flukes have kept him alive. Funny story, just wish it didn’t happen to me haha. Might euro mount this guy to remind myself to always confirm the antlers in the scope. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

CVA scout. It’s sold as a 45-70 but I had it converted to a .45 smokeless ML. Appreciate the heads up on the NJ forums Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pittman accumax 275s. I had everything taped up and have hunted with the gun many times in the rain and never had issues but it would be hell of a lot easier if it was a moisture issue and not something structural with the firing pin. Hopefully will get some time to pull it apart tonight and back out to the range tomorrow. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think my season might be over. I had a mid 140s 9 pointer at 50 yards yesterday and thought I smoked it only to find no hair or blood. It’s been a long time since I’ve outright missed on a deer and was feeling pretty shitty about blowing the shot and not even getting a marginal hit. Anyways, took my gun out this morning to confirm it was on and it won’t fire. The indents on the primers look the same as ones that fired so not sure what the issue is. I can’t say that’s what caused the miss but pretty coincidental to miss that badly and then have the gun act out. I remember thinking it didn’t kick as bad as normal yesterday too so wondering if I got a light discharge or something… no gun pro by any means. Guess I’m stuck with my bow until I can get that figured out and to be honest the experience killed my motivation. Went from thinking I had a beautiful buck to now having to play gun smith Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Went out yesterday and sat in the rain. Every year I tell myself I need to put some blinds out for crappy weather and every year I end up sitting out in some terrible conditions cursing myself for being lazy. Ended up seeing a ton of deer at the end of the night but my binoculars were so wet I couldn’t tell much other than some had antlers. I had set a towel out to bring along to deal with the exact situation but forgot it on my work bench so I ended up stripping my layers off trying to get to something that was dry enough to wipe them off… no luck. Came back out this morning wjth mostly dry clothes and saw a really nice buck moving thru timber. Right now I’m sitting on ground with 4 does I know of bedded within 50 yards debating what to do. I suspect the buck is bedded another 100-200 yards further in and would like to hunt him this afternoon but not sure how to get myself out of here without busting these does, two you can see in this pic. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For sure! I have his sheds from a couple years ago but this is the first year he grew the unicorn point Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Got a pic of what I’m afraid is the shooter I was watching in the field yesterday and he shed both sides could be wrong and it’s not a great photo, but I got pics of all the other regular bucks back there last night and they all had horns. I would LOVE to find the shed with the unicorn point, somehow he managed to make it all the way to a few days ago when this pic was taken without breaking it off Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good idea, might have to try that when my partner can get out. I wish it was still shotgun season… be a heck of a lot easier with a shotty than a muzzy Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That was our conclusion last time lol… need more bodies Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We’ve tried that previous seasons and the big bucks just circle around the person that jumps them. It’s super thick crap. My partner and I might try it again, probably a last day tactic since we’ll either kill him or he’ll be long gone Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Got to watch one of my shooters feed for about an hour tonight, unfortunately I was 500 yards away on the opposite side of the field. Same thing happened last Sunday but he at least closed about half the distance then and gave me some hope. This property is a big peninsula with a field in the middle and the bucks almost always bed back by the point but it’s super hard to get close because does bed all along the field edge and no good way to get around them. I’d like to get my kayak in there but closest access is over a mile away and I don’t think I’m that ambitious haha. Tough decision whether to wait him out and hope he closes the distance one afternoon or try to sneak in and risk busting him out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Probably! One of the two bucks I saw this morning was pushing a doe around. The bigger one wasn’t too interested, although he did lay down a nice scrape. Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s great intel. This afternoon and tomorrow are set up great from a conditions perspective. I’d guess he’s bedded within a few hundred yards of your camera. Any standing crops near by? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quick but good hunt this morning. Had a shooter pass thru about 100-150 yards out but unfortunately couldn’t get him to stop in the one small shooting lane I had on the trail he was on. There’s a logging road they normally follow but this buck couldn’t make it easy on me and had to be in the thick stuff. I was planning hunting somewhere else this afternoon but debating coming back here since he’s likely bedded within a couple hundred yards. Or I might come back tomorrow AM and set up closer to the trail he was on. Tough decisions… I’ll say this though, I’ve seen about as many shooters in the last ten days as I did all November. And a few in the mornings, which goes to show traditional hunting logic about poor late season and especially late season mornings isn’t always right… just need to be smart and tactical about it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Super slow night tonight. First hunt since beginning of the year I didn’t see a deer. The neighbor decided to start firing off every gun he had around 4:15 and was still rapid firing his pistol when I pulled out at 5. Not really too happy with him for a variety of reasons and this was just icing on the cake. Seems I either end up with anti hunters who call the cops constantly or dudes that love to use their property as a firing range and put blinds and stands right on the property line Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He’s not run down at all in that pic and that’s what messed me up. He looked like he dropped a ton of weight from that pic when I saw him on the hoof even tho it was only 2 weeks later so I didn’t know which deer it was. All I have of that encounter is video and idk how to post that. I strive to kill the biggest oldest buck in my woods and wasn’t confident I was doing that when I saw him. Hopefully I’ll get another crack at him, otherwise all I can do is laugh at myself Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Out taking advantage of the wet weather to get a little further back in the timber than I’d otherwise be able. Sitting on the ground at the moment but might get impatient and go still hunt around. Friday thru Sunday looks like great hunting so staying off my best properties until then Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk