deerhunter93
Well-Known Member
This is the most history my Dad, brother, or I have had with a deer that we've been fortunate enough to kill. Back in September we got pictures of a big non typical that we had never seen before (so we thought). He was in front of the camera a good amount but everything was at night and most of the time it was around 4am-5am. It seemed like in early October he was inching closer to daylight hours but never did show up. Dad and I were hunting in that area a good amount but trying to be as least intrusive as possible until he started moving in daylight.
Both Dad and I passed a buck that we think is pretty mature and we have two years of trail camera pictures of him but knowing the big non typical was around it was tough to think about shooting any other buck besides him.
The camera on that farm was in a very easy place to access so I would check it nearly every time I hunted. When I went for an evening hunt in early November I checked it and was happy/bummed. He came though at 8am on November 3rd and 10am on November 5th. I hunted all day on November 5th just picked the wrong farm to hunt... We were excited though to finally see him moving some in daylight.
November 13th comes around and I got off work at 7am, slept until noon or so, and got ready for an evening hunt. I knew I wanted to hunt the farm with the non typical. Dad was in there a few nights before and was able to shoot a big doe and saw good buck movement so he thought I should head to that spot. I had never hunted that particular ridge before so he explained how to get to the tree he was in and I headed to the farm. I checked the camera on my way in and was bummed to see the big non typical was not on camera since the 5th. I headed down the ridge and picked a tree where I could see a long ways close to where Dad told me to go (not the tree Dad described - I am great with directions but this farm screws with me so bad I don't know which way up is on it).
I started putting the lone wolf and sticks up and was 3 out of 4 sticks complete and I headed back down to get the last stick and tie my bow rope on my climbing belt. As soon as I stepped on the ground I turned around and saw a buck behind me. It was a buck that I had seen two times this fall and I think he is mature but he has very little in the antler department. I let him walk past at 25 yards with my bow laying on the ground at 2:32pm. I quickly got the last stick up, stand set, warmer clothes on, and climbed up in the stand. As soon as I pulled my bow up and got my release on I let out a few grunts thinking that buck might still be around but I think he was too far away.
I finished getting fully set up and noticed a huge fresh scrape under a big oak at 20 yards. About ten minutes after being in the tree I told myself I would do a series of grunts the next time the wind died down (I lost a piece on my grunt tube and it isn't as loud as it used to be). I let out a series of grunts and stayed standing. A few minutes later I look up the ridge and immediately know what buck it was - the big non typical. I grabbed my bow as he was following a trail straight to the base of my tree. He hit my ground scent at 30 yards and stopped behind a big tree. He finally continued down the trail towards me and as he was heading towards me I drew as slow as I could. He came to a stop facing me at 10 yards and slowly looked up then back down. I knew if I let him get under me I couldn't shoot and there was no shooting if he got past my tree. He slowly started to turn and at 7 yards I put the arrow as close to the front shoulder as I could. He took off hauling and I could see about 10 inches of my arrow sticking out. He ran across the ridge, down into a creek, up the next ridge, and over it. It was 3:04pm when I called my dad.
I knew the shot was fatal but I didn't know exactly what the angle was and what the arrow would hit. I waited until 4pm to start taking my stand down quietly and started following blood. At impact I found my broadhead and last 5 inches of arrow - good! The blood was tough going the first 40 yards but luckily I could follow where he ran based on the bare dirt where the leaves had been pushed away as he ran. The further I went the better the blood got but I was going very slow thinking he could be bedded when I crossed that second ridge. I crossed the top of the second ridge and could tell in the leaves where it looked like he was struggling more but I couldn't see him. I inched closer to the ditch and could see a beam. He was down.
After hunting that area quite a bit I didn't think we were going to lay eyes on him from the stand. I still can't believe I saw him let alone kill him. He definitely got bigger when I got my hands on him.
A huge thank you to my wife for coming out and taking some pictures along with my Dad and brother for helping me get him out. I am extremely thankful and still can't believe it! Super rough gross 186, my biggest to date.
First picture this year
Finally in daylight
After realizing he broke his right front leg we found out this was him last year
Both Dad and I passed a buck that we think is pretty mature and we have two years of trail camera pictures of him but knowing the big non typical was around it was tough to think about shooting any other buck besides him.
The camera on that farm was in a very easy place to access so I would check it nearly every time I hunted. When I went for an evening hunt in early November I checked it and was happy/bummed. He came though at 8am on November 3rd and 10am on November 5th. I hunted all day on November 5th just picked the wrong farm to hunt... We were excited though to finally see him moving some in daylight.
November 13th comes around and I got off work at 7am, slept until noon or so, and got ready for an evening hunt. I knew I wanted to hunt the farm with the non typical. Dad was in there a few nights before and was able to shoot a big doe and saw good buck movement so he thought I should head to that spot. I had never hunted that particular ridge before so he explained how to get to the tree he was in and I headed to the farm. I checked the camera on my way in and was bummed to see the big non typical was not on camera since the 5th. I headed down the ridge and picked a tree where I could see a long ways close to where Dad told me to go (not the tree Dad described - I am great with directions but this farm screws with me so bad I don't know which way up is on it).
I started putting the lone wolf and sticks up and was 3 out of 4 sticks complete and I headed back down to get the last stick and tie my bow rope on my climbing belt. As soon as I stepped on the ground I turned around and saw a buck behind me. It was a buck that I had seen two times this fall and I think he is mature but he has very little in the antler department. I let him walk past at 25 yards with my bow laying on the ground at 2:32pm. I quickly got the last stick up, stand set, warmer clothes on, and climbed up in the stand. As soon as I pulled my bow up and got my release on I let out a few grunts thinking that buck might still be around but I think he was too far away.
I finished getting fully set up and noticed a huge fresh scrape under a big oak at 20 yards. About ten minutes after being in the tree I told myself I would do a series of grunts the next time the wind died down (I lost a piece on my grunt tube and it isn't as loud as it used to be). I let out a series of grunts and stayed standing. A few minutes later I look up the ridge and immediately know what buck it was - the big non typical. I grabbed my bow as he was following a trail straight to the base of my tree. He hit my ground scent at 30 yards and stopped behind a big tree. He finally continued down the trail towards me and as he was heading towards me I drew as slow as I could. He came to a stop facing me at 10 yards and slowly looked up then back down. I knew if I let him get under me I couldn't shoot and there was no shooting if he got past my tree. He slowly started to turn and at 7 yards I put the arrow as close to the front shoulder as I could. He took off hauling and I could see about 10 inches of my arrow sticking out. He ran across the ridge, down into a creek, up the next ridge, and over it. It was 3:04pm when I called my dad.
I knew the shot was fatal but I didn't know exactly what the angle was and what the arrow would hit. I waited until 4pm to start taking my stand down quietly and started following blood. At impact I found my broadhead and last 5 inches of arrow - good! The blood was tough going the first 40 yards but luckily I could follow where he ran based on the bare dirt where the leaves had been pushed away as he ran. The further I went the better the blood got but I was going very slow thinking he could be bedded when I crossed that second ridge. I crossed the top of the second ridge and could tell in the leaves where it looked like he was struggling more but I couldn't see him. I inched closer to the ditch and could see a beam. He was down.
After hunting that area quite a bit I didn't think we were going to lay eyes on him from the stand. I still can't believe I saw him let alone kill him. He definitely got bigger when I got my hands on him.
A huge thank you to my wife for coming out and taking some pictures along with my Dad and brother for helping me get him out. I am extremely thankful and still can't believe it! Super rough gross 186, my biggest to date.
First picture this year
Finally in daylight
After realizing he broke his right front leg we found out this was him last year
