mplane72
PMA Member
I don't post a lot on here but always enjoy looking at everyone's deer and reading their stories. So here is mine.
So this is my first year having a private ground to hunt that I could go to any time I like outside of the city. I like my suburban hunting but it's not the same as being out in the country. My buddy and I provided the labor and experience to pour and finish 120 yards of concrete in exchange for hunting rights so a lot of work went into this buck besides the usual scouting and hanging stands. It had been a rough season so far. We did not get cameras up on this farm for long before the season and had no real idea what caliber of deer where in the area. Couple that with my right hand man at work leaving last week and it has been hard to get this place figured out.
Anyway, my wife kept me up later then I would have liked last night and while I set my alarm I forgot to turn it on. When I woke up this morning I lay in bed wondering while I felt like I had got more then 4 hours sleep. Look at the clock and it's 5:55. Crap. Driving up to the farm as it was getting light I saw a lot of deer and 5 bucks harassing doe. As I pulled into the farm I saw a buck chase a doe out of the timber and over the fence to the neighbors. Walking into my stand I bumped 2 doe from the field edge and I think it I saw a buck fade away into the timber with them.
As I climbed into the stand I was really mad at myself and as the wind picked up and the temps climbed I prepared for a long sit. After about an hour on stand I heard the leaves rustling behind me and slowly turned to see a doe fawn coming up out of the ravine behind me. She came right under me browsing so I pulled out my phone and started recoding her for something to do. I soon heard some more leaves and figured it was he sibling or maybe her mom coming. I slowly turned and was surprised to see some decent antler but was not sure he was a shooter. As he went behind a large tree I put the phone away and grabbed my bow. When he came out I counted 4 points on one side, saw he was wider then his ears and he was old and then I just went on auto pilot. He was close, quartering away and had no clue I was there. The arrow entered right where I wanted and I heard it crack into the off side shoulder. I watched him run over the hill and then the shakes set in as I sat back down.
Since I did not see him go down I stayed in the tree for 30 minutes and then got down. There was not a lot of blood to see at the impact sight but that was not surprising with no pass through. I decided to go get the truck. When I returned i took up the trail more just to see what happened then anything. It was hard to follow as the wind was flattening the grass he ran through but as I crested the hill I looked up to see his antlers sticking out of the grass.
The pictures do not do him justice. He has a 22"+ outside spread, tines are not the longest but if you can't tell from what my wife just called a book I am pretty proud. Here he is.
So this is my first year having a private ground to hunt that I could go to any time I like outside of the city. I like my suburban hunting but it's not the same as being out in the country. My buddy and I provided the labor and experience to pour and finish 120 yards of concrete in exchange for hunting rights so a lot of work went into this buck besides the usual scouting and hanging stands. It had been a rough season so far. We did not get cameras up on this farm for long before the season and had no real idea what caliber of deer where in the area. Couple that with my right hand man at work leaving last week and it has been hard to get this place figured out.
Anyway, my wife kept me up later then I would have liked last night and while I set my alarm I forgot to turn it on. When I woke up this morning I lay in bed wondering while I felt like I had got more then 4 hours sleep. Look at the clock and it's 5:55. Crap. Driving up to the farm as it was getting light I saw a lot of deer and 5 bucks harassing doe. As I pulled into the farm I saw a buck chase a doe out of the timber and over the fence to the neighbors. Walking into my stand I bumped 2 doe from the field edge and I think it I saw a buck fade away into the timber with them.
As I climbed into the stand I was really mad at myself and as the wind picked up and the temps climbed I prepared for a long sit. After about an hour on stand I heard the leaves rustling behind me and slowly turned to see a doe fawn coming up out of the ravine behind me. She came right under me browsing so I pulled out my phone and started recoding her for something to do. I soon heard some more leaves and figured it was he sibling or maybe her mom coming. I slowly turned and was surprised to see some decent antler but was not sure he was a shooter. As he went behind a large tree I put the phone away and grabbed my bow. When he came out I counted 4 points on one side, saw he was wider then his ears and he was old and then I just went on auto pilot. He was close, quartering away and had no clue I was there. The arrow entered right where I wanted and I heard it crack into the off side shoulder. I watched him run over the hill and then the shakes set in as I sat back down.
Since I did not see him go down I stayed in the tree for 30 minutes and then got down. There was not a lot of blood to see at the impact sight but that was not surprising with no pass through. I decided to go get the truck. When I returned i took up the trail more just to see what happened then anything. It was hard to follow as the wind was flattening the grass he ran through but as I crested the hill I looked up to see his antlers sticking out of the grass.
The pictures do not do him justice. He has a 22"+ outside spread, tines are not the longest but if you can't tell from what my wife just called a book I am pretty proud. Here he is.
