2015 corn miss

[Root]

To start out my property is 27 acres, it has some Pines on it but it is mostly goldenrod with some small patches of brown brush. Behind my property is roughly 50 acres of really thick brown brush. Creating a huge bedding area. Next to my property is a planted area of Pines. The deer movement across the property is completely random. The only exception of this is my corn food plot. Does come from any direction but typically will end up there.

Due to the makeup of the property and lack of other areas to hunt I've learned a lot about does. From most of my stands I can see for 2-600 yards so I can watch them from a distance and study the how and why of what they are doing. Once the rut stages start how does use my property changes. With a north wind blowing away from the large bedding area behind my property does use mine to hide on to stay up wind of the bucks. During daylight they will come out of the brush in the morning and walk into my property 60 or so yards and do a circle motion back towards where they came. Then take 3-5 large leaps and bed facing the circle so they can escape the bucks following their scent trail. It's pretty interesting to watch. With a South wind which is wrong for me from a hunting aspect, bucks will cruise my property to scent check. I see full blown chases very often, and many times bucks push does into my small brown brush to try to bread.

So my plan in 2015 was to avoid over hunting until the rut. In 2014 I saw a 140+ inch buck follow a doe. He had huge g2s and I'd guess him around 3 1/2. I only saw him one more time in all of 2014. On November 2ND 2015 I saw him come to my border around 8am and bed down with a doe. Where he was is roughly 180 yards away. By 8:30 he stands as another 8 point comes in. The other buck didn't want any part of a fight but he kept trying to run through to get the doe to take flight. By 9am the eight point gave up after being chased by the big buck. On and on the saga went and by noon a total of seven different bucks had came and gave up. By one the doe led the buck out of sight off my property.
November 4th he came to another area on the back of my property and bedded with a doe and they left shortly after.

I needed to formulate a plan but with their random movements I decided my stand in the corn plot was my best option. So on the 7th I went out for an afternoon / evening hunt. Around 4:30 I saw a doe, which I recognized because she walks with a very slight limp. Behind her I saw the big guy in tow. I knew she was heading for the corn because the does follow a pretty distinct routine if left undisturbed. He tried to steer her back but eventually she made it to 50 yards, then 30 yards. He hung up just outside of the corn until she got out of his view. He tucked inside the corn and came into a little opening at 40 yards. I knew it would be my only shot since she usually would work through the corn and head to the Pines just off my property. Which is the direction she was heading. I practice for those shots all year and had the confidence to make it happen. I pulled and released the arrow. I didn't see what happened but I knew something went wrong immediately. The doe took off and ran 200 yards out of sight. But what he did I've never seen before. He ran to 100 yards turned and hid in the tall goldenrod looking back. After a minute or two he trotted and circled to my down wind side about 100 yards to my right. Snorted and grunted for a minute and then ran full sprint to where the doe had gone out of sight. I climbed down and saw what happened. I had hit the tip of a corn stalk and it sent my arrow to the right. How I didn't see that is beyond me.
I didn't see him again until opening day of gun season. Again he was following a doe but this time 20 yards off my property. Although I was hunting with a rifle I couldn't shoot since at the time I didn't have permission. I didn't see him in bow or gun season this year. But the last day of muzzle loader I watched him for an hour roughly 400 yards out under an apple tree. So if he lives this winter I guess there is still a chance. Plus I've gained permission for his bedroom and the Pines next door.

 

[Bowhunter41002]

Cool story. Good luck

 

[redsquirrel]

Bummer on the miss. At least you know he's out to keep chasing

 

[MCDM]

Hopefully he will make it through the winter. It is amazing to me how smart these animals are or instinctive they are. Very cool story!!

 

[John Eberhart]

Root

Great story and it sure is nice to read a story with some depth in it as your story had some very interesting points in it.

Couple questions. What type of pines are on yours and the bordering property, are they mature whites that are relatively open underneath, or some sort of spruce that grows to the ground offering security transition or bedding cover? Also are the pines on your property a stand or just spot scattered throughout the property? Also how many acres is your corn food plot and what type of tree were you perched in?
Great point. -So my plan in 2015 was to avoid over hunting until the rut.

Really like the part where the buck attempted to turn her away from the cornfield. Another interesting aspect was the buck circling downwind of you before snorting and spooking. Do you think he winded you before spooking and leaving after her?

 

[Root]

The Pines on mine and the border are red Pines. So on the edges they grow close to the ground. Mine are mostly scattered around. The the pines in the property on my border are planted just a few feet apart making it hard to see into them. Once inside them you can look around decent because all of the low branches are dead. I don't think the deer bed there, and in my speed scouting it this year I've only found passing through trails.

My corn plot is roughly 1 1/2 acres.

I wasn't in a tree I was in a box type elevated platform that has plywood blocking movements from your shoulders down. It is positioned between pine trees. The reason it exists is because before I had kids my wife wanted to sit with me during bow season from time to time so it created a comfortable place to take her "hunting".

I think the buck tried to circle down wind of the noise. When I shot I heard an odd crack noise that I'm sure was my arrow hitting the corn. He reminded me of a doe that knows something isn't right and does the head bob foot stomp maneuver trying to get anything to move. I'm not sure he spooked because he cut back across just off of the corn. So I think he knew something was up but didn't really know what.

What I left out about the buck is his sheer size and not just in his rack. When the other bucks came in he stood a good 6+ inches taller in his back. When I approached the guys that hunt next door for permission this year you would think he is a legend. They all have seen him tailing a doe this year and they call him the horse. He's not the only big buck around here but he is probably the largest deer I've seen in person.

Now that I've had a chance to walk the 300 acers next door and see how these guys hunt I understand how he's lived through. They've hunted the property since 86' and haven't moved around our changed much from their easy to access stands. Yearly out of 12 guys they average about 5 deer mostly does. Most of them don't bow hunt. They are a good group of guys that enjoy hunting camp as much as the actual hunting. It is because of this property that I'm making the switch to a saddle.

 

[Bigterp]

The Pines on mine and the border are red Pines. So on the edges they grow close to the ground. Mine are mostly scattered around. The the pines in the property on my border are planted just a few feet apart making it hard to see into them. Once inside them you can look around decent because all of the low branches are dead. I don't think the deer bed there, and in my speed scouting it this year I've only found passing through trails.

My corn plot is roughly 1 1/2 acres.

I wasn't in a tree I was in a box type elevated platform that has plywood blocking movements from your shoulders down. It is positioned between pine trees. The reason it exists is because before I had kids my wife wanted to sit with me during bow season from time to time so it created a comfortable place to take her "hunting".

I think the buck tried to circle down wind of the noise. When I shot I heard an odd crack noise that I'm sure was my arrow hitting the corn. He reminded me of a doe that knows something isn't right and does the head bob foot stomp maneuver trying to get anything to move. I'm not sure he spooked because he cut back across just off of the corn. So I think he knew something was up but didn't really know what.

What I left out about the buck is his sheer size and not just in his rack. When the other bucks came in he stood a good 6+ inches taller in his back. When I approached the guys that hunt next door for permission this year you would think he is a legend. They all have seen him tailing a doe this year and they call him the horse. He's not the only big buck around here but he is probably the largest deer I've seen in person.

Now that I've had a chance to walk the 300 acers next door and see how these guys hunt I understand how he's lived through. They've hunted the property since 86' and haven't moved around our changed much from their easy to access stands. Yearly out of 12 guys they average about 5 deer mostly does. Most of them don't bow hunt. They are a good group of guys that enjoy hunting camp as much as the actual hunting. It is because of this property that I'm making the switch to a saddle.

Man, great story. Hope you get another crack at him. I admire your persistence, getting permission on adjacent areas that he uses!

 

[Root]

Word is he still exists and now has a drop tine. I have one spot prepped just for him. The problem is he's smart so at most I might have one chance on him.