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Persistance...and Luck

1K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  steveOh 
#1 ·
After hunting 20 of 22 days from Oct. 26th to Nov. 16th, both morning and evening on half of those days, logging at least 120hrs in the stand, my persistence paid off. I had loads of deer on camera in early Oct., but when I started hunting, it was as if they all knew and vanished. I only saw 6 does in that 22 day stretch and no bucks older that 3.5yo. Baffled and frustrated, I took a drive one afternoon and found there was still some standing corn on the adjoining farm that I thought was gone. Several of the young bucks that I had observed were heading in that general direction. I was seeing some activity on the cameras, but most of it was nocturnal. Having a better idea what I was up against, I knew I just had to be there and eventually one of the big boys would slip up. Finally, at 728am on the 16th, this gorgeous, white-nosed buck presented me with the most perfect 35yd broadside opportunity a guy could ask for...and trust me, I say that prayer every time I connect my Lifeline and climb into a stand...

He wasn't one of my returning shooters from last year though I suspect he is a deer I saw once during an evening hunt last Nov. during the rut. I didn't have any pictures of him, but he showed up on camera on Nov. 9th at 845p following a doe that I believed was about to come in as he didn't seem to have a great sense of urgency to follow her. My guess was that she was going to hit her peak within the next 12-24hrs and be his girlfriend for 2-3 days. Well, the video was enough to put him on the radar as I knew he'd be around and I hoped I'd be present when he left her and went on the hunt for his next "ex". Though he was far from the biggest deer I was hoping to intercept, that 8pt frame was just too perfect.

...His direction of travel had him coming from another adjoining property, with minimal pressure and with a few does that were bedding on it, to guess where...the standing corn field. I think the whole girlfriend scenario played out just like I thought it would...and I was in the right stand at the right time. I had all day to watch him come...pick up my bow, get in position to shoot, took my glasses off tucking them in my HSS vest pocket, draw, anchor, anchor again, follow...release. I did forget to turn on my Tactacam. That's when horror kicked me in the ribs...I didn't stop him, on purpose, but made the worst shot I've ever made on a deer. The green Lumenok tracer passed right through his gut...and I had blown the opportunity I had asked for. Please let me have gotten liver, I hoped. The woods was wet and quiet after the previous night's rain and I couldn't hear him once he was out of sight. I waited an hour and quietly climbed down to check my arrow. Confirmation...no blood, no liver...yellow-green film, not much smell...this ain't good at all. I turned the Lumenok off, stuck the arrow back in the ground and slipped back to the house angry at me, dejected, sad...all those emotions. It was going to be a long day...and night.

Back at the house after cooling out for a couple of hours, I remembered a friend that had a tracking dog...perfect! Plus, another buddy of mine had just used a dog, without success the weekend before, unfortunately. I got in touch with my buddy in the evening, but our schedules didn't match till Saturday morning. The guy my buddy used, who is local, same schedule conflict. My buddy gave me the name and number of a guy that many guys say has the best dog in Ohio, maybe in the country. His name is David Belle, his dog...the Beast. He was available the next morning and I was good with that. Only problem was I knew the coyotes would find my deer...dead or alive. I went out several times during the night and listened for them with intentions of going in to take back my buck if I heard them letting the pack know they found dinner.

David and the Beast arrived a little before 9 Friday morning and the three of us headed back to my stand. We went over the hunt, shot, etc. on the walk back. Arriving at the impact site, the dog was checking things out and David looked the arrow over. I showed him the trail the buck took and he had the dog smell the arrow and the buck's tracks. The dog started down the trail, veered back towards us for a second, then back on the trail. 30 yards into the trail David finds blood...then more blood, good blood, and as I was turning my phone on to record the track, I hear him say "there he is". I'm dumfounded. The buck didn't travel 100 yards and died maybe 75-80 yards from my stand directly to my left. Had I looked, I would have easily found the deer. Had I looked, I could have also bumped him to who knows where? I think the deer was dead when I climbed down to check the arrow. How does a gut shot deer go less than a 100yds, bleed, and die so quickly? I'm pretty confident I clipped the femoral artery where it drops down into the hind quarters. Prayers answered again! Unfortunately, I lost the meat as be was bloated, turning green, and let's just say...aromatic. It had been 25.5 hrs since I shot him. I am very disappointed that I lost the meat, but very grateful to have found this beautiful whitetail. I put a quick tape on him and got a rough 148". I'm going to get my rack this week and I'll sit down and get a good green score. My taxi agreed that he was at least 5.5yo.

A little persistence, a little prayer, some smart decisions, and lots of luck...it was a fun three weeks...but now I'm having withdrawals...and facing another taxidermy bill, lol...

Trophy hunting Hunting Deer hunting Military camouflage Plant
Trophy hunting Hunting Deer hunting Plant Military camouflage
 
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#2 ·
Forgot to mention...the yotes, surprisingly, did not get my deer...Beast's treat is chewing the tail and pulling hair from the deer. I didn't mind considering the loss of the meat...it was comical. The cape was still good, too.
 
#13 ·
Great buck Limbhangr!!! Great story as well!!! Congratulations!!!
After hunting 20 of 22 days from Oct. 26th to Nov. 16th, both morning and evening on half of those days, logging at least 120hrs in the stand, my persistence paid off. I had loads of deer on camera in early Oct., but when I started hunting, it was as if they all knew and vanished. I only saw 6 does in that 22 day stretch and no bucks older that 3.5yo. Baffled and frustrated, I took a drive one afternoon and found there was still some standing corn on the adjoining farm that I thought was gone. Several of the young bucks that I had observed were heading in that general direction. I was seeing some activity on the cameras, but most of it was nocturnal. Having a better idea what I was up against, I knew I just had to be there and eventually one of the big boys would slip up. Finally, at 728am on the 16th, this gorgeous, white-nosed buck presented me with the most perfect 35yd broadside opportunity a guy could ask for...and trust me, I say that prayer every time I connect my Lifeline and climb into a stand...

He wasn't one of my returning shooters from last year though I suspect he is a deer I saw once during an evening hunt last Nov. during the rut. I didn't have any pictures of him, but he showed up on camera on Nov. 9th at 845p following a doe that I believed was about to come in as he didn't seem to have a great sense of urgency to follow her. My guess was that she was going to hit her peak within the next 12-24hrs and be his girlfriend for 2-3 days. Well, the video was enough to put him on the radar as I knew he'd be around and I hoped I'd be present when he left her and went on the hunt for his next "ex". Though he was far from the biggest deer I was hoping to intercept, that 8pt frame was just too perfect.

...His direction of travel had him coming from another adjoining property, with minimal pressure and with a few does that were bedding on it, to guess where...the standing corn field. I think the whole girlfriend scenario played out just like I thought it would...and I was in the right stand at the right time. I had all day to watch him come...pick up my bow, get in position to shoot, took my glasses off tucking them in my HSS vest pocket, draw, anchor, anchor again, follow...release. I did forget to turn on my Tactacam. That's when horror kicked me in the ribs...I didn't stop him, on purpose, but made the worst shot I've ever made on a deer. The green Lumenok tracer passed right through his gut...and I had blown the opportunity I had asked for. Please let me have gotten liver, I hoped. The woods was wet and quiet after the previous night's rain and I couldn't hear him once he was out of sight. I waited an hour and quietly climbed down to check my arrow. Confirmation...no blood, no liver...yellow-green film, not much smell...this ain't good at all. I turned the Lumenok off, stuck the arrow back in the ground and slipped back to the house angry at me, dejected, sad...all those emotions. It was going to be a long day...and night.

Back at the house after cooling out for a couple of hours, I remembered a friend that had a tracking dog...perfect! Plus, another buddy of mine had just used a dog, without success the weekend before, unfortunately. I got in touch with my buddy in the evening, but our schedules didn't match till Saturday morning. The guy my buddy used, who is local, same schedule conflict. My buddy gave me the name and number of a guy that many guys say has the best dog in Ohio, maybe in the country. His name is David Belle, his dog...the Beast. He was available the next morning and I was good with that. Only problem was I knew the coyotes would find my deer...dead or alive. I went out several times during the night and listened for them with intentions of going in to take back my buck if I heard them letting the pack know they found dinner.

David and the Beast arrived a little before 9 Friday morning and the three of us headed back to my stand. We went over the hunt, shot, etc. on the walk back. Arriving at the impact site, the dog was checking things out and David looked the arrow over. I showed him the trail the buck took and he had the dog smell the arrow and the buck's tracks. The dog started down the trail, veered back towards us for a second, then back on the trail. 30 yards into the trail David finds blood...then more blood, good blood, and as I was turning my phone on to record the track, I hear him say "there he is". I'm dumfounded. The buck didn't travel 100 yards and died maybe 75-80 yards from my stand directly to my left. Had I looked, I would have easily found the deer. Had I looked, I could have also bumped him to who knows where? I think the deer was dead when I climbed down to check the arrow. How does a gut shot deer go less than a 100yds, bleed, and die so quickly? I'm pretty confident I clipped the femoral artery where it drops down into the hind quarters. Prayers answered again! Unfortunately, I lost the meat as be was bloated, turning green, and let's just say...aromatic. It had been 25.5 hrs since I shot him. I am very disappointed that I lost the meat, but very grateful to have found this beautiful whitetail. I put a quick tape on him and got a rough 148". I'm going to get my rack this week and I'll sit down and get a good green score. My taxi agreed that he was at least 5.5yo.

A little persistence, a little prayer, some smart decisions, and lots of luck...it was a fun three weeks...but now I'm having withdrawals...and facing another taxidermy bill, lol...

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