Tonight I got my first saddle kill. I’ve only got a spike and a doe so this is my best dear ever and my goal this year was a 4 pointer or better so I am psyched! My goal is to just get a better buck each year so now I’m on to a 6 or better.
I credit THP and this forum for this kill. I posted the other day that my major lesson from the public land challenge so far is to scout and find fresh sign. I usually hunt areas instead of sign. I scout and find places I like and then I go to them to hunt wether there is sign or not and just the other day I started a thread to say I’m going to start doing like Dan and Joe and the THP crew and scout till I find good sign and hunt it. Sounds simple but I’m still a beginner so it was an “ah ha!” moment for me.
So mid day my son and I scouted, found a ton of acorns, some good size droppings and a fresh rub. So I went home, saddled up and hunted that rub.
It was quiet and with 40 minutes of legal shooting I did something I don’t normally do and I made three soft grunts. I don’t know if it worked but 10 minutes later this guy came into the rub just calmly rubbing branches. It was thick and he was only 15 yards from me. I had an opening to draw so I did. He was on my strong side and it was real comfy in the saddle, I pushed my knee into the tree to get an angle and let fly with him quartering toward me. A little back but I did it on purpose bc I wanted to stay clear of the shoulder and just get the rage into to the cage.
Thanks THP! And thanks to the guys who responded to my post with their advice on hunting fresh sign!
I credit THP and this forum for this kill. I posted the other day that my major lesson from the public land challenge so far is to scout and find fresh sign. I usually hunt areas instead of sign. I scout and find places I like and then I go to them to hunt wether there is sign or not and just the other day I started a thread to say I’m going to start doing like Dan and Joe and the THP crew and scout till I find good sign and hunt it. Sounds simple but I’m still a beginner so it was an “ah ha!” moment for me.
So mid day my son and I scouted, found a ton of acorns, some good size droppings and a fresh rub. So I went home, saddled up and hunted that rub.
It was quiet and with 40 minutes of legal shooting I did something I don’t normally do and I made three soft grunts. I don’t know if it worked but 10 minutes later this guy came into the rub just calmly rubbing branches. It was thick and he was only 15 yards from me. I had an opening to draw so I did. He was on my strong side and it was real comfy in the saddle, I pushed my knee into the tree to get an angle and let fly with him quartering toward me. A little back but I did it on purpose bc I wanted to stay clear of the shoulder and just get the rage into to the cage.
Thanks THP! And thanks to the guys who responded to my post with their advice on hunting fresh sign!
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