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Rut is starting, temperature will drop significantly overnight, I have tomorrow off from work.....

woodsdog2 said:
The buck even looks excited!!! Congratulations! Sometime I’d like to hear the story. I knew you got a great buck but didn’t hear your strategy etc. Great work!!
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Thanks!

I digitally scouted and found a small saddle with a soft transition (denser forest to the west) along the saddle. This was on public but leading onto a big piece of private. I walked around in 2019 and found huge, fresh rubs several places including that soft transition in the saddle. I put a trail camera up and saw two 10 point bucks that looked like brothers. This area has swirly winds and I figured out that with a low but steady wind from the west that it swirled less and also that would blow my scent into the open where they probably wouldn't walk. I would set up 10 or 15 yards to the east of that transition line, hoping one of them would walk that line and also be upwind of me. I only hunted it under ideal wind and weather conditions, approximately 2 to 3 times a season. It finally worked in 2023 on Halloween. It was 8:15 am and he was walking from the larger part of the public land but there are houses nearby also. I'm guessing he was looking for does.

I was in a saddle and setup so that the tree was between me and the rub line on the transition. To my right, I saw a buck coming and I ducked behind the tree and hid and didn't look at him. I didn't know it was my target buck until I found him dead. There were branches in the way plus I was trying not to look at the antlers, only enough to know it was a shooter. He stopped at 15 yards slightly quartering to me. I hit him in the shoulder right above the socket. I heard SNAP and he ran off trying not to put weight on that leg with only half of my 30 inch arrow sticking out (fixed blade, razor sharp). He laid down at 50 yards for a while and got up. I waited 40 minutes to climb down. I went to that spot and there was more blood than I have ever seen in the woods. He walked 50 yards away from that spot and collapsed. When I walked up, a small 8 point was goring him and trying to fight him while he was on the ground dead. He was massive and I could barely drag him and load him onto my shelf by myself (without getting hurt...if I was young and had a good back it would've been way easier)....but I was for sure not leaving him in the woods unattended!
 
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raisins said:
Thanks!

I digitally scouted and found a small saddle with a soft transition (denser forest to the west) along the saddle. This was on public but leading onto a big piece of private. I walked around in 2019 and found huge, fresh rubs several places including that soft transition in the saddle. I put a trail camera up and saw two 10 point bucks that looked like brothers. This area has swirly winds and I figured out that with a low but steady wind from the west that it swirled less and also that would blow my scent into the open where they probably wouldn't walk. I would set up 10 or 15 yards to the east of that transition line, hoping one of them would walk that line and also be upwind of me. I only hunted it under ideal wind and weather conditions, approximately 2 to 3 times a season. It finally worked in 2023 on Halloween. It was 8:15 am and he was walking from the larger part of the public land but there are houses nearby also. I'm guessing he was looking for does.

I was in a saddle and setup so that the tree was between me and the rub line on the transition. To my right, I saw a buck coming and I ducked behind the tree and hid and didn't look at him. I didn't know it was my target buck until I found him dead. There were branches in the way plus I was trying not to look at the antlers, only enough to know it was a shooter. He stopped at 15 yards slightly quartering to me. I hit him in the shoulder right above the socket. I heard SNAP and he ran off trying not to put weight on that leg with only half of my 30 inch arrow sticking out (fixed blade, razor sharp). He laid down at 50 yards for a while and got up. I waited 40 minutes to climb down. I went to that spot and there was more blood than I have ever seen in the woods. He walked 50 yards away from that spot and collapsed. When I walked up, a small 8 point was goring him and trying to fight him while he was on the ground dead. He was massive and I could barely drag him and load him onto my shelf by myself (without getting hurt...if I was young and had a good back it would've been way easier)....but I was for sure not leaving him in the woods unattended!
Click to expand...
Awesome hunt story! Thank you. Congrats again!
 
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