2013 HuntingNY.com I Have Cabin Fever Contest - Win a Trail Camera, $50 HNY Store Credit, RealBullet Opener and Pen!

[HuntingNY]

2013 HuntingNY.com I Have Cabin Fever Contest - Win a Trail Camera, $50 HNY Store Credit, RealBullet Opener and Pen!

 

1st place: Bushnell 8 MP Trophy Cam Trail Camera

2nd place: $50 Credit for the HuntingNY.com store for HNY apparel.

3rd place: RealBullet.com 50 Caliber Pen, and 50 Caliber Bottle Opener

 

Geno’s Cabin Fever thread got me checking my tail camera photos and thinking about throwing up a quick contest pretty much anyone can enter. The 2013 Deer season is coming up fast, it will be here sooner than you think.  What is better than a brand spanking new Trail Camera to get out in the woods to get you in the mood along with some other great items.

 

Rules:  Post a reply on this thread below. ONE post per person. The post must include a picture of a deer you have either shot / harvested with a short blurb of the story behind it AND / OR a trail camera picture of a deer you saw, missed, wanted in the last few years with a short blurb of the story behind it.  As far as the short story, it can be a simple two sentence thing, or feel free to go into detail.

 

Can’t get any simpler than that.  Entries will be accepted up until Friday May 31st, 2013 at 11:59 ET.  The contest list will then be posted with all contestants along with a unique number assigned to each contestant. The winner will be picked LIVE via live stream (and recorded) during the first week in June, the numbers will be picked via a random number generator. (Thanks jessie.james for the idea) Every single member (and new member) is eligible (except me) as long as you follow the rules above and get that post in by the deadline!

 

 

Recap of prizes

 

1st Place:

 

Bushnell 8 MP Trophy Cam Trail Camera

 

The Bushnell 8 MP Trophy Cam Trail Camera (Brown Case) is water- and snow-resistant, functions quite well even in extreme temperatures (-5 to 140deg. F) and is ideal for shooting game and wild life. It can be quickly mounted on tree trunks, posts and other supports using the adjustable web belt provided. Recording high-quality still images at 8 MP with 1-second trigger speed, the trail camera also features Field Scan, a time lapse feature that clicks images at pre-set intervals ranging from 1 minute to 60 minutes.

 

Field Scan is not triggered by game and covers a long range (which may be out of the PIR range) and a large area as well. The adjustable PIR (Passive Infrared) sensor is motion-activated by movement of game at a distance of up to 45' (13.7 m). The camera simultaneously captures Field Scan images along with Live Trigger images and in multi-image mode it clicks up to 3 images per trigger. If you are looking for video, the Trophy Cam shoots Widescreen, VGA and QVGA clips, with audio capture making the experience vivid.

 

Night vision ability is up to 45' (13.7 m) and the 32 Black LEDs acting as an invisible flash prove their worth when visible flash is a game deterrent. The trophy cam shoots color videos during the day and B&W during the night. The B&W text LCD is meant for only displaying the menu text to help you with the setting and programming. Connect the trophy cam to an external monitor and you can watch several days of video footage in minutes using the variable speed playback feature.

 

 

Key Features and Specifications:

• Black and white text LCD display

• High-quality, 8-megapixel full-color image resolution

• Invisible nighttime flash with 32 LEDs

• Motion activated day/night PIR auto-sensor

• 45-foot flash and sensor range

• Adjustable PIR (Low/Medium/High)

• One second trigger speed

• Programmable trigger interval: one second to 60 minutes

• Multi-image mode: one to three images per trigger

• Widescreen, VGA, QVGA video resolution with audio

• Video length: programmable from one to 60 seconds

• Field Scan Time Lapse Mode with Simultaneous Live Trigger: takes images at pre-set intervals of one minute to 60 minutes, within the hours of your choice--at the same time as using the motion activated sensor.

• Weatherproof construction prevents rain from soaking in

• Temperature range: -5 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit

• Mounts with adjustable web belt and 1/4-20 socket

• SD card slot supports up to 32GB

• Power: 4 to 8 AA batteries (not included); external power compatible

• Battery Life: up to one year per batteries set

 

 

2nd Place:

 

$50 Credit to http://HuntingNY.com/store/ for use with all HuntingNY apparel -  hats, t-shirts, etc.

 

 

 

3rd Place:

 

RealBullet.com 50 Caliber Pen - > http://realbullet.com/pen/bullet-pen

 

Made from a real US Military 50 caliber BMG (Browning Machine Gun) bullet, this pen is just plain awesome. Takes standard BIC STIC disposable pen refill.

We are the direct manufacturers, all of our 50 caliber bullets are expertly polished. Please look for the REAL BULLET brand and be aware of low grade unpolished, poorly made imitations on the market.

and 50 Caliber Bottle Opener - > http://realbullet.com/bottle-openers/bullet-bottle-opener

 

A decommissioned real 50 caliber machine gun bullet (.50 BMG) with a sleek cut out for opening bottles. Made in USA by Real Bullet. Real Bullet brand ‘dummy’ or ‘decommissioned’ bullets are made from real bullet components but do not contain gun powder or an active primer. Real Bullet items are Safe, they will not explode and cannot be used in a firearm. Real Bullet items resemble live ammunition, so be aware and do not take them where live ammunition would not be permitted (school, airplane, etc.).

 

 

Make sure you check out Real Bullets website - > http://realbullet.com, they have some pretty neat stuff in addition to the items listed above.

 

Lets see some harvest pics or trail camera pictures along with a short story behind it! Reply to this thread with the attachment.

 

 

UPDATE: 

 

Winners:

 

1st place:  growalot

2nd place:  CNY_Archer

3rd place: cufcameron

 

Congratulations - Winners will be PM'd.

 

[phade]

Details:

 

Found his bed, killed him opening evening of 2012 bow season. 55 yd shot, but prepped for it all summer.

 

Before, during, and after pics attached.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 26, 2013 by phade

[josephmrtn]

Scouted all summer got a few trail camera pics of my buck, Hunted most of the season with almost no luck, although I did kill a doe on 11/05/13. 11/24/2013 dawned snowy and COLD!!! 

Sat in my stand till I was almost frozen apon which I climbed down and began walking toward where my hunting partner for the day Jason Martin was. We met and began whispering about doing a deer drive...

we had just decided to do one and my hunting partner turned away and looked around, I looked up directly ahead of us and just then my buck stepped out. I whispered "Stand still!!!" and raised my gun, aimed and fired. My buck dropped right in his tracks, I quickly chambered another cartrige and we walked over to him.  

It was by far the most fun ive ever had!!! I cleaned him while my buddy ran for the truck, then we took some pics, loaded him up and brought him in.

We had him made into Jerky and Venison stix

 

   

   

Kill Site 

Edited April 26, 2013 by josephmrtn

[cufcameron]

I got pictures of this buck early.  I did not see him at all early in the season, but the wednesday before rifle season there were bucks running does all morning.  Things got quiet and then i heard steps coming through the frosty overgrowth.  He appeared only 25 yards away. As he walked passed i drew my bow, I grunted at him he paused and my arrow hit its mark.  He ran only 25 yards before he piled up.  This is my best bow buck to date.

[growalot]

My neighbor got this buck on cam 1/4 mile from my stand ...he'd been hunting him...Went to my stand in the dark and spooked him up laying under it...he stomped and snorted trotting away and I stomped and snorted...he came back when I was half way up the ladder stomping as he walked ..I snorted again and he moved off in the direction I came in...a half hour after light he walked right to the stand and I shot him with me new Venture bow at just a few yrds, I shoot instinctive...he went a hundred yrds and dropped

 

The neighbor sent me his trail pic....

[Deerthug]

My largest buck to date was taken just this past firearms season in the SZ on opening weekend.

 

Sunday morning (11/18/12) I get into my stand about 6:00am. Again it's cold, no wind and frost on the ground. About 30 minutes later several shots ring out - before legal shooting light. I sit and see nothing other than some doe over 400 yards away. At about 7:00am out of the corner of my eye to my right I see a buck walking toward my direction along the edge of the soyfield at about 70 yards. I glass him to check his antlers and I count only 4. I continue to watch him as he gets closer and I see 5 antlers, then 6. I decide at that moment if he presents a shot I will take it. He continues to walk across in front of my stand and he gets behind the same tree with the branches in front of me blocking any shot. He stops there and feeds for several minutes. It's about 7:15 now and my legs start shaking. I have my rifle scope on him following him and he stares right at me. I'm thinking - Crap! He made me. He stares at me for several minutes and then looks down and continues walking. I find an opening to my left and I wait for him to get to that spot. He slowly walks forward and gets into the opening. He starts to quarter away from me. I put the cross hairs on his left shoulder and squeeze the trigger. He stumbles to the ground and goes 7 yards and drops right in the soyfield.

 

I get down from my stand and I slowly made my way over to the buck I shot. I look at his rack and notice he's actually had a small seventh point about 1" long but I don't care and I chalk him up in my mind as my first 7 pointer. I see the exit hole but no entrance hole. The exit hole was right in the middle of his chest.

 

 

I then see what appeared to be a flesh wound on his right rear leg that seemed fresh. I'm looking at that and thinking - No way I did that! I flip this brute over and look for the entrance hole and after looking for several seconds I finally find it right above his left front shoulder exactly where I put the cross hairs on him. I was relieved. I'm wondering if that earlier shot I heard caused the flesh wound or was it from fighting??  I called my taxidermist yesterday and I was told he should be done by end of next week.

 

I scanned through hundreds of trail cam photos but this guy was not in any of them. From what I gather his home turf must have been in the next property or two over and he ran onto ours after he was shot at early that morning.

 

 

[stubbz]

Me and my cousin hunt the same very small piece of property but its attached to a lot of great deer hunting woods just isn't ours but noone hunts near where we do so its a great spot. had trail cam out in diff spots all year with a bunch of nice bucks on it.

 

well him and i work at the same place but work different shifts. i work 830-5 he works 630-3, his stand is 80yards from mine and we can see one another very well after leaves fall. well i got a call at 4:30 one day of him going crazy saying he just arrowed a monster buck, (i'm already pissed lol) this was on October 9th. Here is the pic of his beautiful buck, nice 12pt. 203lbs hanging just a monster. This was literally his 3rd time in the woods and first year hunting, my second year but i hunt morning, evening and everything in between as often as possible, i hunt more in a week than he does the season.

 

 

So next morning i go to my stand and check my trail camera which is 18 yards in front of my stand and i see this picture. can even see my stand off to the right

 

was such a horrible feeling knowing this big guy was 18 yards in front of me and i wasnt there ugh. and my cousin who was sleeping in his stand for an hour wakes up and shoots him with his greasy workboots still on from his workdday.

 

Story gets even worse. few weeks later im in my stand till about noontime get down and decide im gonna move my camera for a change but i had forgot my camera to check the pix so i bring the sd card home to check it and this is what i found.

 

By now you can imagine what happens, found this saturday at noon so i run back out to stand for the afternoon and passed on a nice 6pt that walks right by me knowing theres a monster i really wanna put down. well he never does. monday rolls around i go to work and find out a kid that works same place i do and hunts the next property over shot him that saturday........ ouch. happy for my cousin and thats all a part of sharing a spot near mine but was really hopin to get a shot at the other big guy who was actually even bigger than my cousins.

 

[verminater71]

this deer changed everything for me, but I didn't kill it

 

2010 my wife missed a mega giant, first thing in the morning, her Bennelli jammed and it was game over

 

missed at 7:30

 

 

she was ready to give up hunting, absolutely depressed, but after a quick coffee, she grabbed her dads Rem 870 12g and back we went....good thing, 12:00 this guy came buy

 

 

and now he has a new home

 

 

watching your wife have success on a deer hunt is awesome, I have never been that happy hunting, and the only thing that can top that is watching my daughters do it in a couple years

 

 

[JALA RUT]

I saw this buck during bow season and couldn't get him to come in my way. He walked across in front of me (About 55 yds out) on the trail a doe walked about 2 hours before hand. She must have been getting close to being hot...He walked by with his nose to the ground and wouldn't even look my way at grunting or bleating...Just kept walking on her trail. The big tree in the picture is only 25 yds from my stand.  That was the only sighting of him during bow or gun season.  Then he showed up on my trail cam on 12/24.  The only time I got pics of him the whole season as well.  

 

Hoping to get some pics of him again and get a crack at him with the bow.  

Edited April 27, 2013 by JALA RUT

[apoallo]

He is my story. Last season I was out hunting  one of my spots during the first week of the archery season. I was sitting patiently against a rock wall and I eventually dosed off for a little bit. just enough to rest but awake enough to hear for any noises around my area.. I was awoken by some stomping and a quick snort. I opened my eyes and there was this  nice 8 point standing about 25 yards in front of me stareing right at me. I tried to move very slowly but my nerves were out of control and hands were shaking. I drew my bow back and as soon as I hit the release I had a feeling it was not a good shot. He was standing broadside to me and the broadhead hit him in the lower part of his neck.(dont ask how I missed the vitals by that much). I waited and tracked the blood which slowly stopped. Once there was no more sunlight I decided to come back in the morning and track again. and I got the same results, except I did find my arrow  a ways away from the last blood. eventually I gave up but I knew he was still alive.. I continued to hunt that area every chance I got trying to get him again but with no luck. He pretty much dissappeared.. Opening day of gun season comes around and I decide to go to that same spot. usually I go somewhere else during gun season and leave that area for the bow.  anyway. after sitting against the same rock wall for 4 hours and not falling asleep I seen a large buck coming right towards me from about 100 to 150 yards away. Head down chasing that doe scent. he came within 50 yards and turned broadside showing his right side this time and BLAMO!!!! I knew it was a good shot, however I had my doubts because after the shot he fell from the impact of the slug then ran 40 yards or so and fell again. I was sooo happy until I seen him stand back up again after about a minute laying on the ground. I was dumb founded so I let him have it again.. that time he didnt get back up. Once I got over to him I seen my first and second shots were both heart/lung shots. I could not believe how tough this buck was. and I was soo happy when I saw the scar on the left side of his neck where I had hit him with the broadhead during bow season. It was scarred over and a missing fur . I briought him to the butcher and also ordered a shoulder mount( which I am still waiting on one morre month to go till I get him back). When I picked up the meat the butcher said that he had a real nasty infection on the left side of his neck where I got him during bow season. He said it was so bad smelling that his workers were throwing up while cutting this deer up. Below is a picture of him. He tasted sssooo great..  That was a great day, my hunting partner also got a 7 point shoewn in the first picture but his buck was underneath mine.oh did I mention that this was my first mature buck.....

 

 

Edited April 27, 2013 by apoallo

[nyantler]

I hunted this buck for 3 days on the snow in Perryville, NY... each day tracking him to an empty bed in the same pine wood finger as he swung downwind of me before bedding. On the 4th day, I had only a short time to hunt before dark and decided to come in from the opposite side of the pine woods trying to catch the buck by surprise... I reached the empty bed at a bit before 4pm... I was upset for a second before noticing four other empty beds close by...the buck was with does.. so, with only about 1/2 hour of shooting time left, I decided to get on the tracks and try to run the buck down... off I went on a dead run out the end of the pine woods finger up a small hill to a ridge that ran along a cornfield... I thought to myself that I would keep running on the track as long as it stayed in the woods and didn't cut across the corn which led across the road to posted land. If he stayed in the woods it would lead him to a small ravine and I might catch him on the other side climbing the hill... sure enough the tracks stayed in the woods and I followed running to the edge of the ravine. I looked across the ravine about 125 yards away and there he was standing on the slope of the opposite hill. I pulled up my Rem 870 took aim and fired.. nothing! He just stood there looking away from me... I took a deep breath to relax myself from the five or so minute run.. took aim again and fired... and down the hill he tumbled... at the bottom he got up  and started running.. I fired twice more, but he kept running.. with one slug left I took a deep breath, took aim... then suddenly he dropped.. no need for the last slug... later I found that I hit the buck with all three slugs having missed the first time. Rather be lucky than good any day.

Edited April 29, 2013 by nyantler

[Woodsman20]

This story starts back in January of 2011. After a terrible 2010 season and being utterly frustrated I started scouting early and in January of 2011 I ended getting an interesting trail cam picture of a buck that made it through the 2010 hunting season. A 3.5 year old drop tine. Never found his sheds, never saw him again - literally a ghost - and after getting a whopper in 2011 he kind of fell of the radar screen.

Well in 2012 life got turned upside down - sold our house started building a new one and scouting went out the window, early season was rough and the frustration on all fronts came crashing down. I did get some good trail cam pics of some shooters to make it just interesting enough to still get excited when I did manage to get out.

Nonetheless I tried to plan the first week in November to be able to hunt. One night on the way home after trying to help a buddies daughter recover a deer she shot, I was caught completely flat footed with my jaw on the ground. Low and behold DROPTINE, who was now 2 years older, was standing 10 yards from my truck with a doe.

Talk about impressive, massive body, huge mass, outrageous brow tines, and not one but two drop tines - one was 15 inches back at a 45 degree angle and another was 6 inches on the same side. Awesome buck!! That was it - hell or high water that was the only buck I was going to chase for the rest of bow season. I was on him for 4 days straight - sometimes within 100 yards of his bed - one morning I drew I him but didn't have the shot - I watched him mount a doe - ward off a 130 class 8 pt which I ended up letting walk by with the hopes he followed. Then, POOF - he was gone. About 3-4 days later I picked up what i thought was his track so I moved. I saw a couple of other good bucks and on the last night of bow season - there he was - 120 yards away checking me out and I watched as he walked off.

I didn't hunt much during gun season but never laid an eye on him. On the last weekend of the season I ended up shooting 120-125 inch buck and called it a season. No one has heard or seen him since - so here is to hoping he celebrates his 6 year birthday and shows up again for another round. The good news is the house is done - so let the scouting commence and the games begin!!

[Geno C]

The story with this deer started in 2009 as a really nice 3 1/2 and i never even gave him a name... he has these funny little web splits on his tines each year and sometimes they are on different tines each season. he showed up literally like a ghost end of november in 2009 on this piece of property i had just started hunting that season and only hunted it twice. i got 2 pics of him at night and was extremely pumped to have gotten a deer like that on cam for a new piece of property. the following year he would have been a 4 1/2 and as luck would have it i joined a hunting club that year on LI and never even got to hunt that property all of 2010. For the season of 2011 I had left the hunting club and picked up another new piece of property to hunt also, sure enough he showed up, same tree as i first got him on cam in 2009. he was bigger (But he was broken up and missing some tines and his brows were broke) BUT he was MATURE! He was 5 1/2 that year and it was 2 seasons after i first had him on cam. i made it my mission to lay eyes on him and i was determined to do so.Sure enough the first time i sat that tree i was covered in bucks and that morning i elected to pass a 120" 8 point and had a beautiful 140 class  10 point squirt through in a hurry. Sure enough the deer  i was after came in broadside at 20 yards in some thick cover with no shot, his split point gave him a way in heart beat and i could not believe maybe by luck accomplish what i had set out to do and that was just to see him. I bleated him in but he was head on at maybe less then 15 yards or so but i did not want to chance a shot like that on a deer of that caliber. hardest thing i did but i did not draw and i let him walk. replaying that i said i should have done it but i felt i made the right choice. i thought well ill never see him again... i decided to get in early and hunt that tree again, whats the odds but i knew there were a few hot doe and the big boys were looking. i kept envisioning a hot doe bringing hiom to the base of my tree, well sure enough not 5 minutes after i was in dream land a hot doe came running right to my tree and who was behind her? him! but on the opposite side of where he came in the day before. he was maybe 10-12  yards not even knowing i was there hot on a stood doe as she stared me down, he was perfect shot angle BUT to many overhanging limbs that would deflect my arrow in a heart beat. i had to watch him trot off 2 days in a row. i was so amped that i saw him 2 days in a row i could not even be that dejected. 

 

he showed up on cam in 2012 as a 6 1/2 year old but never saw him in person that season. going into this season he will be 7 1/2 and i hope we cross paths! he must have sustained some sort of injury because his one side was smaller then the other but hopefully he puts equal bone on in the left side this year! i dont care how big he is or small, we have history and it would be something to close the deal on him and give him his permanent home in my house

 

Please excuse the quality of the pics, i take pics with my cell phone either from the viewing cam or my computer screen.

 

(dont have the 2009 pics anymore)

him in 2011 (broken up)

 

 

 

him in 2012

He has so much going on, somewhere around 16-18 points. every angle shows points that you cant see in others.

i think he deserves a name to seal this deal... 

 

 

I have bigger deer then this one but the history we have together puts him in my number 1 spot.

 

this deer is also high on the list, his name is freak Jr. Never saw him once..

[CNY_Archer]

2012 started in the summer glassing 7-8 bucks in a grass field with my nephew Chris. Come bow season, Chris put a hanging stand 15 ft up a tree about 32 yards from 2 scrapes under 2 pine trees.

What was unusual about this spot was my buddies son's mow the back 3 acres. Yet, there were many scrapes under pine branches. The bucks pawed in the short grass and stripped some sod away to make scrapes. Not your usual looking woodlot scrape for sure. The area is basically all open  except for a few very small thickets. My buddy has cleared most of it to plant more XMAS trees. I had  trail camera pics of a nice 7 pointer in one of the pine trees from the week before. I had put a dripper above the scrape.

 

Veterans Day Monday was very warm 70 degrees. I had grunted in a 6 point and a spike a few days before. I got in the tree stand in the dark as I knew the 7 pointer could be very close in the area. I had spooked him the week before.

 

I pulled out the grunt call once again and did some loud calls as the wind was quite strong. A minute or so later, out steps this big 7 pointer and he went right for one of the scrapes! I watched him paw in it and freshen it up. That was exciting to see. After he was done with his business, he walked closer to me and presented me with a 20 yd broad side shot. I hit him high in the chest. He turned and ran into the sand bed next to my buddies property. I got down right away and walked over to the edge of the cut corn field and looked into the sand bed and there he was. He went less than 200 yards. He was a big deer. The Rage broadhead did its job. This buck was my nicest one to date.      

[nyslowhand]

Here's the ultimate frustration buck! Have a 5 year history with him.

 

First year he was a decent 8pt. In my neck of the woods that means about 3 year old buck. One friday afternoon I took vacation from work and bow hunted about the 1st week of November. About 120yds to my left I watched him chasing a doe and a smaller buck away for 1 1/2 hours until they disappeared behind me. Sat back down processing what I had just seen, when I hear a crashing behind me. Doesn't he charge under my stand within 5yds and off directly in front of me. What the hell just happened.

 

The 2nd year around Halloween I spotted a buck to my left coming in to my estreous can calls. Turned and waited for him to get closer. Suddenly I catch movement to my right. The mature buck was charging the call and stopped behind a tree about 35yds. Needless to say after a couple of minutes at full draw when he finally stepped out, I was shaking. Shot & missed!

 

The third year I was in the same stand I had encountered him the first time. Early morning during bow season, I see a deer coming about 150yrds out. Probably coming from the nearby orchards and back to bedding area. It's him! He turns and starts heading towards me. Here we go!! Suddendly he stops ~60yds out, then turns and walks away from me.

 

Fourth year I spotted him during regular gun season chasing a doe out about 120yds in the thick woods. The doe had gone diagonally in front of me and to my right. Assume he'd be tailing her in the same direction. SO - When he stopped about 120yds and looking for her, I took a shot thru the woods, off-hand with my muzzleloader.  Getting to be a bad habit, missed!

 

Last year, I'm pretty sure I never saw him. Did see a buck chasing a doe thru the thicket, but don't believe it was my nemesis.

 

Do the math, this year (if he survived) he should be atleast 8 years old. Don't have a lot of expectations for the 2013 deer season of encountering him again. Talk about frustration; may get a trail cam photo in summer and maybe one Oct/Nov. Of course, almost always a nightime! Then there's the single encounter each year, if I'm lucky. There are no agr crops within a couple of miles of my property, other than the orchards. So, for a buck to get to this size (relatively speaking), it's unusual in my neck of the woods.

 

 

[njg0621]

_{My Father and I decided to hunt together as usual on the morning of October 12, 2012. I got into the stand about an hour before daylight in hopes to not spook any deer out.  It was cool and a little breezy with the wind blowing northeast, which was perfect for this particular stand location. At 7am I had a nice 6pt come behind me with a doe.  He was about 50yds out in some thick stuff with no possible shot but I wouldn't have taken one anyway knowing I had better deer on the property.  The one I was looking for was this beautiful 8pt that I had gotten trailcam pictures of.  Around 7:30 a.m. a doe came in, she kept looking over her shoulder and ended up taking off.  “Hmmm... I wonder why she did that?” I asked myself.  I found out why about two minutes later when an 8 pointer showed himself at 45 yds.  He was not the one I was looking for but a nice 8pt out to his ears.   I slowly picked up my bow and got ready for the deer to come in under 40yds and present a broadside shot.  As I was waiting, I noticed he kept looking over his shoulder and about 30 seconds later the deer that I had been hunting stepped out in front of him!!!!  He was that beautiful 8pt that I had the pictures of and really wanted to shoot.  I named him "BLADE" because he had a bladed main beam on the left side of his rack.  I put the rangefinder on him and he was at 37yds broadside.  I drew back my Bowtech Guardian and let one fly! The deer ran to the middle of the field and just stood there.  I thought to myself, “Did I really just miss the deer that I have been dying to shoot?” NOPE, not when I saw the hole that the rage two blade put through him!  Suddenly his legs got really wobbly and he could barely walk.  He stumbled into the head row and died.  He walked a total of about 40yds from start to finish.  I was so excited and so happy that I shot this deer! He is the biggest buck I ever got with a bow! YES!!!}  

 

 

 

 

[HungBuck]

Attached is a picture of my largest buck to date, taken with my bow.  The story behind it demonstrates what a true friend and sportsman is.

 

My buddy invited me to go hunting with him on his private land.  On the drive out there in the morning he informed me that his back was really bothering him and he didn't feel safe climbing up to his tree stand.  He said he really wanted me to hunt out of it, as in his opinion it would give me my best opportunity to get a deer.  This friend is the definition of a "trophy hunter" but he stressed repeatedly that I was free to shoot anything that made me happy.  It was only about an hour after sunrise when the biggest buck I had ever seen came walking towards me.  It all happened so fast I had to litterally sit down, try to stop shaking, and recall what just happened.  It took me a while to realize that in all the excitement I had seen the buck fall and sure enough he was laying dead only about 30 yards from the stand.  As I already said this was by far my best deer ever but I also knew it was probably on the border as to if my buddy would have shot him.  We have all heard stories of friends getting upset when you take a buck that doesn't quite meet up to thier standards, especially from thier property and out of thier stand.  A couple hours later I tried to curb my excitement as my friend approached because I really wanted to see his reaction.  Well, when he first saw the buck he screamed "yes, you did it!" out loud and immediately started to hug me (and no, neither one of us are known as being huggers).  Both of ours excitement just built from there.  It really was a toss up as to who was happier, me for getting my best buck ever or him for putting me in a position to get him.  As I stated at the start of this post, that to me is the definition of a true friend and a sportsman.

 

PS     It took a couple of weeks before he finally admitted that he probably would have let the buck walk.  Still, that did not diminish his excitement for me at all!

 

 

 

[BizCT]

2013 marked the first year ever that my Dad and I decided to try using trail cameras. 

 

On the final day of shotgun season (12/9), my Dad decided to take a spike we had pics of all summer. I saw this spike with a 4pointer that I shot on opening day. My Dad saw this spike a couple of times throughout the gun season but kept passing him up. He took him at 8:03am. He saw this spike at 7:30am running by and then bedded down, but not presenting a shot. At 750am 3 does came by and the spike got up and walked into a spot where my Dad could take a shot at 60yards.

[skyhunter]

     The date was Nov 7, 2010 as I was hunting a treestand located  where hardwoods transitioned to a wide open scenic landscape. Looking back, I had just deployed a lone wolf climbing stand on the previous day after scouting a new location, and locating a narrow stretch of woods that lead to a larger chunk known to be a bedding area. I hoped if a buck were to seek out the action in that woodlot he would likely walk within bow range of my stand being as this corridor was about 60 yards wide and I was planning to be perched over the heavily used trails all running parallel and within 30 yards of my tree.  I decided to leave the stand idle that afternoon after placing it, but this was a very difficult choice as the whitetail sign that I had seen there was as fresh and heavy as any that I had ever witnessed. Hunting another location that afternoon, I was however feeling very anxious to hunt this “new” stand the following morning and had a very good feeling about it. I have had that feeling before and it didn’t pan out, but somehow this time it just felt right.

 

      The next morning from the time I woke up things started to go wrong. Checking my bow I found the top fiber pin on my Extreme sight broken and I scrambled to find a lighter and some glue to get a temporary pin in place. Next running late, I couldn’t find my car keys and checked everywhere 3x’s before finding them in my soft bow case. Very relieved I was now able to make it to my stand as first light was starting to break. I climbed up on that cold morning of Nov, 7 and started to get settled in, but after looking for my #1 release, I couldn’t find it and had to dig out #2 from the bottom of my pack. All good as #2 is about the same Scot release as # 1, but I better not drop this one.

 

the tree stand: 

 

view from the stand:

 

     After 2 uneventful hours of seeing nothing I was disappointed and concerned that maybe the wind direction was affecting my chances as my scent seemed to be streaming towards the bedding area, and not one deer had appeared from that direction. I did however at that time rationalize that if a deer were to be seeking out that location it could likely approach from upwind of my stand. Hope restored I sat and waited.

 

    Not long after I saw movement coming from far away on my upwind side. As the movement got closer I could see that it was single deer and after raising my rangefinder I could now see that it was definitely a buck. The animal started to take a route that was not going where I would have hoped as the buck hugged the edge of an open field area as far away from my funnel location as possible. I could now see that this buck was a good one as he hastily skirted the edge at about 55 yards from my tree stand.  If he were to continue this route I would not have a chance at a shot as he was well out of range. Feeling helpless I quickly pulled the Knight + Hale “pack rack” from my bellows pocket and cracked it together hard one time. 

 

     The loud sound stopped the buck and what transpired next was the longest 5 minutes of tension that I have ever endured on any hunt. The buck would stare in my direction but not commit, moving only a few yards at a time as he “inched” closer. A few times he appeared to be done with the game and started to move away but another crack of the call kept him interested. Now looking directly in my line as he was about 40 yards away,  I could see that he was a fairly heavy antlered buck, and I became nervous hoping that he was actually looking though me and not at me. All signs were that he was indeed still seeking out the source of the simulated antler sound as he again closed a few yards closer.

 

   Now at about 35 yards away the buck was in some cover and heavily quartering towards me, but if he were to keep his line of travel it could lead to a broadside angle at about 25 yards. I looked for a shooting lane if that were to happen and there was a fairly good one there. After again standing still for a number of minutes the buck started to make what would be his last move. Unfortunately he did not fully commit to my opening and started to tail away as I drew my bow. The situation had just become critical as I felt the mature buck had had enough and  was now leaving in a hurry. I frantically made the ”Bill Jordan” mouth grunt to stop him and he did pause. I was able to get off a quick shot at the buck using my 20 yard pin. The “firenocked” backed lighted arrow appeared too indicate a low hit in the area of the heart and I was excited as the buck ran towards the bedding area. As it turned out a shooting mistake had been made here but I hadn’t yet been aware of what it was.

 

  Well I got on the phone with a few hunting buddies and told them the story, but after being a bit unsure of the hit I decided to wait in the tree for a while. As it turned out this wait turned out to be a very long while. An hour later a buck appeared to be coming from the direction that “my” buck had ran earlier and my first thought was that it looked like a good one. Then it looked very familiar as it was again skirting the field edge and I realized that this was probably the same buck that I had shot at. The buck looked to be acting oddly and it was soon apparent that it was struggling to stand up. Then he went down but got up and walked down the same trail from where he had originally come from an hour earlier. The buck now standing in the very spot where I had first noticed that he was a good buck, went down again; this time as it turned out for good. He was about 70 yards away and not moving but I waited in my tree an additional hour just to make sure he did not get up again and he didn’t. Now how lucky is that when a buck runs off and then returns an hour later and drops within view of your treestand.

 

   Maybe that luck is on an equal par with the lucky hit that I put on the buck. Upon recovering and tagging the buck and examining the hit, as it turned out the arrow had struck the deer much lower than where I had perceived the lighted nock entrance hole to be. Upon review the broadhead had entered below the heart and struck a main artery that runs low along the abdominal cavity. The buck had taken a while to bleed out and his hour long tour wound up ending right where it had started. 

 

the buck:

 

     Looking for an answer for the low hit I asked myself what had happened. Like most I have a few bad hits in my history but this time I thought I had executed a good shot. I did realize that “in my mind” this shot was going to happen at 25 yards and I also expected that I would be both stopping the buck for the shot and shooting low to counter  “ deer drop”. I was mentally locked in on the 20 yard pin but looking back now I remember the buck stopping short of the 25 yard location and tailing away before I could stop him and get off the shot. With things happening fast and furious and with the situation critical, I made an error in shot distance shooting for 20 yards when the buck was probably more like 30. On my bow (410 grain arrow at 260 fps), I get about 8” of drop from 20 yards to 30.  Thus, this is as good an excuse for the low hit as any that I could think of right now.  At the time of the shot and after seeing the lighted nock hit around the heart area, I willed my self into believing it was a good hit when in reality it wasn’t.

 

 

   After the fact it is obvious to me that I screwed up the shot and got lucky, but nevertheless I also do credit myself for creating the chance to get lucky in the first place, and I am very proud of my buck. Sometimes that’s what it’s all about; give yourself a chance and see what happens. While I have had my share of bad luck experiences with big bucks this time the “deer gods” smiled upon me.  Thank you!

 

the mount:

 

 

 

[CuseHunter]

Well this may be a little late but I'm a new member with an average at best story, so here it goes. It was opening day of the regular season, I was hunting near tully NY, the weather was gorgeous. I was sitting in one of the guys stands that we hunt with on the property because my pre-season scouting lead my to believe that this ledge on the hillside is a hot spot for the deer. Well around 8:30 I see one buck and two doe come from the thick woodline infront of me ~300 yards. They were heading right in my direction. As I waited and waited, I noticed this rack was pretty nice. At the time I thought it was a decent 6 pointer. He got about 90 yards away, and the doe forked off right and he went left toward the hillside. So I'm just praying he doens't head down the hill. Fortuinately he kept walking toward my stand, and at 60 yards turned broadside and headed to the hillside again. As soon as he was about to sneek under a tree I pulled the pin of my trusty 870 and slammed him good. He took off and I was full of adrenaline. I could see the blood from my stand and saw him blop over about 60 yards down the hill. So I gave it a couple minutes and made my way down the stand. Comes to findout with was a small 9 point and my biggest buck to-date. It was a nice surprise to find his rack bigger than I expected it to be.

 

[BizCT]

Who won this contest?

[Paula]

Whats going on, i didn't miss the winner did i or is it not happening?

[BizCT]

Whats going on, i didn't miss the winner did i or is it not happening?

 

Did I win?

[Paula]

I think so

[Woodsman20]

What a joke!! - I don't even care if I win but are you telling me that he has not had 30 minutes to finish the contest he put up in the last 45 days? I'll let you in on a little secret - everyone gets busy but most still finish what they start, especially those who start an online contest. It is called integrity. I'll even give whoever it is the benefit of the doubt and god forbid something tragic happened - at least provide a response.