sureshot
The Hunt Never Ends....
I want to share a story with you all about a whitetail i've been chasing around the woods since I was 17. I am now 23. He has eluded my presence for the past 6 years, ever since I began to hunt this particular farm. I have only seen him on one occasion, and that was during the middle of the summer just before dusk. I have, however, built a history with this big guy. One of the better histories I have ever built with one particular whitetail.
I hope you all enjoy the story of Popcans.
It all started back when I was 17. I was at the age where I loved to drive around, everywhere. I decided it was time to find a new place to bowhunt. I began my quest after school one day with a good friend of mine. We really had no idea of where we were going, or who we were going to ask. We just wanted to find a farm to bow hunt. After a few unsuccessful attempts, we decided to blindly head for home. After taking a few right turns, I noticed a farmer working some cattle in a field and I decided it was worth a shot. I told my buddy to stop the truck, and then headed out into the field to ask for permission. Now that I look back at it, i'm sure that I looked pretty nervous. The farmer stopped and I tried to shoot the bull with him, then he asked me if I needed anything. I asked, and he gave permission. I was pumped. To this day i'm not sure why he said yes, as I know of many people who have been turned down by him. It could be because he felt sorry for a 140lb 16 year old kid who was just looking for a place to hunt, but nontheless, I got permission.
It was around shed season so the next weekend I headed out with to look for antlers. I had honestly never done this before, so I really didn't know what to expect. After walking for about an hour without finding any antlers I began to get discouraged, and decided it was time to make my way back towards the truck. I reached the alfalfa field and noticed something white about 40 yards in front of me. It was an antler off of a decent buck.
Popcans shed (2.5 years old)
That next fall went by without a single sighting of Popcans. Shed season came again and I went back to the new farm. After a short walk I stumbled upon Popcans left side. He had made a big jump from 2.5 to 3.5.
Popcans shed (3.5 years old)
Here is a comparison of his 2.5 year old shed vs. when he was 3.5
After picking up two sheds off of this guy, I really wanted to kill him....really bad. Problem was, I still didn't do things right when I hunted. I didnt play the wind, hang stands in smart spots, I was still new to this sport. The season again went by (when he was 4.5 years old) without me seeing Popcans. This is the only year that I have no pics, sheds, or sightings of this whitetail.
In the summer of 2006 I bought my first trail camera. It was a cheap stealth cam, one of the film ones. I could hold 24 pictures. Man, we have came a long ways since back then. Anyways, I put the camera up close to where I had found Popcans sheds, and sure enough, he showed up. Here he is...summer of 2006 as a 5.5 year old.
The summer of 2007 rolled around and I had "upgraded" to a Moultrie D40. It was a sweet camera. With my 512megabyte card I could hold 400 photos :grin:. I was in heaven. One evening on a mid summers drive I noticed a group of deer feeding in an alfalfa field (the same field I had found Popcans sheds), and sure enough, one of them was Popcans. This was the only time I had ever laid eyes on him. I put up a camera on a small pond near the middle of the field and hoped he would show up. He did, and he was a regular. His main-beams still looked the same, as did the shape and curvature of his G2 and G3, but his browtines had 'switched' sides. The split switched, and the curved brow switched. He had also almost completely lost the split on his G2. His frame was starting to get smaller, and he had lost some tine length. He was starting to go downhill.
Popcans 2007: 6.5 years old
In the summer of 2008 I put the camera up on the same pond. It wasn't long before he showed up again. I was surprised to say the least. He didn't look like I had expected him to look. I couldn't believe how much his rack had changed. Again, his main-beam shape, and curvature of the G2 and G3 stayed the same, however he had gained a lot of character as you can see from the pictures. He seemed to lose more tine-length in his 2's and 3's and also his main-beam. His frame was shrinking. The old guy was going downhill, but added character. I was pumped that he was still around, and really wanted to put an arrow in him. I hunted the area hard, but still, not one glimpse of Popcans.
Popcans 2008. 7.5 years old:
Bowseason came and gone and my hopes of having an opportunity at this old warrior were slim to none. Shotgun season rolled around and there was a rumor around the area that a whitetail with a droptine on his right side had been shot. My stomach sank, and I immediately started to talk to people in the area to see if they could direct me to who may have shot him. However, this was a failed attempt and I never found nor saw pics of anyone who shot a droptine whitetail. I thought that was the end of Popcans.
This summer (2009) I decided to throw the camera up again on his favorite pond just for kicks, maybe he still was around? I had it there for three weeks without a single pic of him or any other good buck for that matter. I told several friends that if he wasn't there the next time I checked it the camera would be pullled. Sure enough, he showed up. Again he changed. Mainframe still the same, but he lost his big drop on his right side, still has the small on his left, but has double flyers this year. Big drop in length on his 2s, 3s, and mainbeams.
Popcans 2009. 8.5 years old:
I run anywhere between 7-10 cameras depending on the time of year, and this deer has only showed up on two of the cameras ever. His homerange is small. I know where he's bedding at right now, but after he sheds his velvet he vanishes. I have no idea where he goes to. Honestly, I have no confidence in myself or anyone else in killing this whitetail. He's an 8.5 year old survivor that will most likely succomb to old age and mother nature. Even though I have many other bucks on camera this year that would score more than Popcans, he is the one I would rather harvest. Even if I don't though, i've had a great time chasing him around and watching him change through the years. I'm sure he's watched me a few times as well, on the way in and out of my stand.
Sorry this post was so long. I know most of you skimmed through it, but thats fine. I hope you all enjoyed the pics and the history.
As for now.....this story is to be continued.....:drink1:
I hope you all enjoy the story of Popcans.
It all started back when I was 17. I was at the age where I loved to drive around, everywhere. I decided it was time to find a new place to bowhunt. I began my quest after school one day with a good friend of mine. We really had no idea of where we were going, or who we were going to ask. We just wanted to find a farm to bow hunt. After a few unsuccessful attempts, we decided to blindly head for home. After taking a few right turns, I noticed a farmer working some cattle in a field and I decided it was worth a shot. I told my buddy to stop the truck, and then headed out into the field to ask for permission. Now that I look back at it, i'm sure that I looked pretty nervous. The farmer stopped and I tried to shoot the bull with him, then he asked me if I needed anything. I asked, and he gave permission. I was pumped. To this day i'm not sure why he said yes, as I know of many people who have been turned down by him. It could be because he felt sorry for a 140lb 16 year old kid who was just looking for a place to hunt, but nontheless, I got permission.
It was around shed season so the next weekend I headed out with to look for antlers. I had honestly never done this before, so I really didn't know what to expect. After walking for about an hour without finding any antlers I began to get discouraged, and decided it was time to make my way back towards the truck. I reached the alfalfa field and noticed something white about 40 yards in front of me. It was an antler off of a decent buck.
Popcans shed (2.5 years old)
That next fall went by without a single sighting of Popcans. Shed season came again and I went back to the new farm. After a short walk I stumbled upon Popcans left side. He had made a big jump from 2.5 to 3.5.
Popcans shed (3.5 years old)
Here is a comparison of his 2.5 year old shed vs. when he was 3.5
After picking up two sheds off of this guy, I really wanted to kill him....really bad. Problem was, I still didn't do things right when I hunted. I didnt play the wind, hang stands in smart spots, I was still new to this sport. The season again went by (when he was 4.5 years old) without me seeing Popcans. This is the only year that I have no pics, sheds, or sightings of this whitetail.
In the summer of 2006 I bought my first trail camera. It was a cheap stealth cam, one of the film ones. I could hold 24 pictures. Man, we have came a long ways since back then. Anyways, I put the camera up close to where I had found Popcans sheds, and sure enough, he showed up. Here he is...summer of 2006 as a 5.5 year old.
The summer of 2007 rolled around and I had "upgraded" to a Moultrie D40. It was a sweet camera. With my 512megabyte card I could hold 400 photos :grin:. I was in heaven. One evening on a mid summers drive I noticed a group of deer feeding in an alfalfa field (the same field I had found Popcans sheds), and sure enough, one of them was Popcans. This was the only time I had ever laid eyes on him. I put up a camera on a small pond near the middle of the field and hoped he would show up. He did, and he was a regular. His main-beams still looked the same, as did the shape and curvature of his G2 and G3, but his browtines had 'switched' sides. The split switched, and the curved brow switched. He had also almost completely lost the split on his G2. His frame was starting to get smaller, and he had lost some tine length. He was starting to go downhill.
Popcans 2007: 6.5 years old
In the summer of 2008 I put the camera up on the same pond. It wasn't long before he showed up again. I was surprised to say the least. He didn't look like I had expected him to look. I couldn't believe how much his rack had changed. Again, his main-beam shape, and curvature of the G2 and G3 stayed the same, however he had gained a lot of character as you can see from the pictures. He seemed to lose more tine-length in his 2's and 3's and also his main-beam. His frame was shrinking. The old guy was going downhill, but added character. I was pumped that he was still around, and really wanted to put an arrow in him. I hunted the area hard, but still, not one glimpse of Popcans.
Popcans 2008. 7.5 years old:
Bowseason came and gone and my hopes of having an opportunity at this old warrior were slim to none. Shotgun season rolled around and there was a rumor around the area that a whitetail with a droptine on his right side had been shot. My stomach sank, and I immediately started to talk to people in the area to see if they could direct me to who may have shot him. However, this was a failed attempt and I never found nor saw pics of anyone who shot a droptine whitetail. I thought that was the end of Popcans.
This summer (2009) I decided to throw the camera up again on his favorite pond just for kicks, maybe he still was around? I had it there for three weeks without a single pic of him or any other good buck for that matter. I told several friends that if he wasn't there the next time I checked it the camera would be pullled. Sure enough, he showed up. Again he changed. Mainframe still the same, but he lost his big drop on his right side, still has the small on his left, but has double flyers this year. Big drop in length on his 2s, 3s, and mainbeams.
Popcans 2009. 8.5 years old:
I run anywhere between 7-10 cameras depending on the time of year, and this deer has only showed up on two of the cameras ever. His homerange is small. I know where he's bedding at right now, but after he sheds his velvet he vanishes. I have no idea where he goes to. Honestly, I have no confidence in myself or anyone else in killing this whitetail. He's an 8.5 year old survivor that will most likely succomb to old age and mother nature. Even though I have many other bucks on camera this year that would score more than Popcans, he is the one I would rather harvest. Even if I don't though, i've had a great time chasing him around and watching him change through the years. I'm sure he's watched me a few times as well, on the way in and out of my stand.
Sorry this post was so long. I know most of you skimmed through it, but thats fine. I hope you all enjoyed the pics and the history.
As for now.....this story is to be continued.....:drink1:
