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John Eberhart 12/13/16 Ohio Buck

Maustypsu

Maustypsu

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2015
Messages
1,139
John shot a nice buck last evening in Guernsey County Ohio on a property owned (and for sale) by http://www.countrytyme.com/

John will jump on and share his write up with us later. For now, I asked if I could post up the pic to share with you guys. I had three months - 0 deer. He had three days - 150 inches... it ain't luck guys.


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For some it's innate and when coupled with passion and a strong work ethic , there is no limit to success.
 
Wow, he is a deer slaying machine! I've read all his books and watched his videos countless times, but doubt I'd ever be able to implement his tactics to the level of his three deer this year.

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Honestly, John doesn't know a lot more about hunting deer than you, Ernie... Because he really has shared all of his knowledge to the best of his ability. We all know enough to kill deer. For those who don't, read his books and watch his videos. He genuinely shares it all. We can all have the same knowledge. The big difference with him is "purpose".

I hunted the same area he shot this buck. I saw this buck enter the field in daylight no less than 4 times. The thing John did differently that killed this deer was related to access. This property is tough from that perspective. John figured out how to get to his tree without being seen. I could have hunted that tree 100 times and the buck wouldn't have come out. I could have backed off like I have done and kept watching him walk out but not close enough to kill.
But the way I was entering the area was keeping him on his bed or pushing him the other way. It isn't that I don't know the way he was accessing is better now that I step back and think about it. And it isn't that I don't understand the importance of approaching. It is that I wasn't purposeful about my entry and I was peaking a hill top where they could see me because I wanted to get further into the area.

John backed his tree and entry off the peak, came up from an open area at a right angle around the bedding area I was trying to avoid (which forced me to peak the hill) and then straight up to his tree. The angle of his walk made all the difference.

I've learned a lot chatting, scouting, prepping and hunting with John. But the thing that stands out the most is that EVERYTHING matters. What makes John so deadly is that his mind processes all of those things systematically, while I'm only able to focus on one or two things at most...
 
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:tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy: Funny you say that, my wife is currently teaching both of us to read.
 
John is a machine. I maybe get one or two shots a year at a buck.
I guess that goes to show you what effort and attention to the right details will do for you. If you're willing to do it.


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Awesome!!
Maustypsu said:
John backed his tree and entry off the peak, came up from an open area at a right angle around the bedding area I was trying to avoid (which forced me to peak the hill) and then straight up to his tree. The angle of his walk made all the difference.
Click to expand...
Mausty, if you get a chance and you and John don't mind, I'd love to see your two paths drawn up on an aerial map so we can compare them.
 
Love the way the light is reflected off the deer...looks like gold dust Congrats John!
 
I will try to mock up something on google earth.

Here is another pic.

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Mike was being very kind. I'm not very good at the technology of putting aerials on the site and drawing lines so I'll leave that to Mike.

I will post the story when I get it written but wanted to explain what I did differently than Mike. This particular property is getting ready to be sold off and I know that Mike and Donovan (the relator) both hunted it the entire bow and gun season and it's a great piece and I can only imagine how good it was during late October and early November as it has several small bedding areas and one large one that runs up a rather steep hillside and they each have plenty of tangles of briars within them. There is also 2 elongated fields (one about 15 acres and the other maybe 40 acres that are both tillable however there was nothing in them but weeds because the property had been for sale and wasn't planted.

Anytime you go to hunt a new property it's difficult because it typically takes some time to figure out the subtle nuances of deer movements and when it's mid December, snow on the ground, and shortly after gun season it's really tough because the foliage is completely gone, the snow makes any human movements very visible to the deer that bed on the side hills (area is very hilly), and it's very common for mature bucks to be totally nocturnal after that soon after gun season. But I didn't have a lot of work on my plate this week so I said, what the heck, I'm going to take Mike up on his offer to hunt in Ohio.

This property lays in the valley of surrounding steep hills and while there were a couple areas on the property that were without question better suited for daytime mature buck movements because they offered more security cover. However they couldn't be accessed without either spooking deer feeding in the valley (weed fields) with my prior to daybreak morning entries or with my after dark exits. Most hunters are very cautious about spooking deer with morning entries as they know it can affect that particular hunt, but many don't think the same about after dark exits because that hunt is over, but spooking deer after dark is every bit as important.

Mike had told me that he had seen a 10 point come out of a narrow strip of tall white pines that encircled the very tip end of the larger field and while I wanted very badly to hunt near those side hill bedding areas, but because of how bare everything was with the lack of foliage and snow covered ground, I figured my only hope for a daytime visit was on the field side edge of the pines. The pines are also only 4 deep and at one corner of them the ground drops off dramatically into a valley of briars where some does bed. As with most mature white pines, the bottom 8 to 10 foot of branches on all of them were dead and offered no movement concealment cover from the deer bedded in valley below and with it being so open due to the time of year, if you walk along the edge of the pines the deer bedded down below can see you and will spook.

The day I prepared the pine to hunt from I spooked at least one doe and two fawns from the valley as I had no option but to search for a tree and make the noise of setting it up.

There was no way of going anywhere on this property before daylight without spooking deer so I decided to pass on morning hunts. From where I parked there is long and deep ravine that eventually went past the pines and along the fields edge and this ravine could be walked in without spooking deer. For the evening hunts I walked the ravine well past the pines and then walked up into the field and walked across the open field until I was even with my tree. From the valley the deer were bedding in, they couldn't see over the crest of the hill and into the field. Once even with my tree I very slowly walked to it and for about the last 6 or so steps to the tree, if they were looking in my direction, they could see me. There is also no doubt in my mind that the Scent Lok Vertigo camo pattern really helps when there's snow on the ground and on all the tree branches. A solid dark camo pattern would likely have done me in.

The first evening in the pine I saw a doe and 2 fawns and a 2 1/2 year old big 6 point. I waited until well after dark to get down and I left through the very bedding area the deer had came from as the deer were out in the field. The next night it was snowing like crazy which helped me to not get noticed. I was in the tree and ready to hunt by 3 pm.

I'll hold the rest until I get the full story written. However the entries and exits on this property during winter are critical for success as they are on most properties when the foliage is gone and there's snow on the ground. Some properties simply can't be successfully hunted during winter conditions as there's no way of getting in or out without letting deer know you're there. I've found in winter that spooking one deer can ruin the entire hunt because when that deer is running spooked, other deer notice and any mature deer (especially a mature buck after gun season) will remain hunkered down until well after dark.
 
Just finished your Pressured Whitetails book. I love hearing your stories and tactics. I'll be buying another book soon!

Congrats on a nice deer!

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G2outdoors

Man that is a stud buck in your picture. What did he score and what state was he from?

By the way, I apologize for the poor grammer in the above post as it was 1:30 am when I wrote and sent it..
 
Thanks for sharing John! Can't wait to see the maps that @Maustypsu puts together to visualize what you wrote up!
 
John Eberhart said:
G2outdoors

Man that is a stud buck in your picture. What did he score and what state was he from?
Click to expand...

Well...since you asked...

I shot him in Indiana, near Richmond on the Ohio border. It was on a 4ish acre parcel of private land. I knocked on the door to get permission. He's a typical 12 point that scored 168.

My brother and I were hunting on a friend's farm and not much was happening. We decided to drive around and see what we could make happen. I knocked on the door and the elderly lady gave us permission.

The eastern portion of the property along the road was a thick briar patch being used as a bedding area. The middle of the property was typical Midwestern hardwoods. The western border had a steep ravine, a cliff in most places, that ended in a corn field. There were two textbook saddles along the ridge line. One was about halfway down and the other saddle was at the northern edge of the property. We parked at the Southern border.

My brother setup on the Eastern side near the bedding in a primary scrape area. He was hoping to catch a cruising bruiser that was destroying trees as big around as our thighs. I setup on the Western edge at the top of the middle saddle. My plan was to catch any bucks coming out of the standing corn en route to check the briar patch for hot does. Any critters coming from the AG fields only had two options to climb the ravine. I figured I had a 50/50 shot at picking the right one.

It was early November and the rut should have been kicking. We weren't seeing much, however. The lack of deer sightings is what prompted us to leave the farm we had been hunting for the last several days. The temperature was approximately 35-40 degrees and it started raining about 2 hrs before dark. I was not prepared for the rain and started to get really uncomfortable. Finally, I had enough and texted my brother and told him I was getting down to head back to the truck. He made fun of me, just like a brother is supposed to do, and convinced me to stick it out. In order to protect my pride, I conceded.

Not 5 minutes later a decent 2 year old 9 pointer came running dogging a doe all over the woods. They came from my brothers direction and were making serious noise. Another small 4 pointer joined in the chase and they ran the doe all over the little woodlot, back and forth between my brother and I. I was dialed into the commotion hoping to get a shot at the 9 point. He wasn't what we were after, but the action had been slow all week.

As I'm watching them go back and forth to my left, I hear a twig snap to my right - the direction of the saddle. I slowly turned and the biggest buck I had ever seen in my life was lumbering up the saddle, stiff-legged, with the hairs on his neck standing straight up. He must have heard the subordinate buck chasing the doe and was enticed to leave the safety of the standing corn to come lay his claim.

I was already standing with bow in hand. He walked right in front of me less than 15 yards away. The shot was easy and he only made it 70-80 yards straight towards the briar patch. The entire situation happened in less than 30 seconds from first sighting to the shot.

I started shaking really bad and sat down and texted my brother, "I just shot a MONSTER". His reply was basically, "Why did you shoot that little buck", thinking I had shot the 9 pointer. I told him to get down and help me look for him. He reluctantly agreed, not believing that I had actually seen a good buck.

When we found the buck his mouth dropped in amazement. This was the biggest buck that anyone in our family had ever taken.

In hind sight, I had picked the perfect spot on the woodlot. Because of the ravine, my access was bulletproof and the terrain funneled everything to me. I would bet that as long as the area wasn't pressured, a hunter could kill a great buck from that same tree every season.

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