Hunt details:
Three fairly young kiddos keep my bow hunting opportunities a little limited so bulked up on my good graces for a long weekend of hunting Nov. 12-14. Cameras had been hot with some nice deer around so I liked my odds to get it done on short notice.
Not sure if I slept an hour the night of the 11th. Too windy and excited. Thinking through stand locations with the howling wind all night. Finally just got out of bed about 3:30 am. Showered, coffee, breakfast then hit the road for the hour drive. Wind and heavy flurries the whole way down. Pulled into the farm about 5 am. Plenty early before sunrise with the heavy clouds.
Had two options in mind- both choices should be a little out of the way of the heavy winds. One was about a 10 minute walk in. The other was a mile hike. Thought “what the hell?” and chose the long walk. Loaded up in my heavy camo, pack loaded with climbing sticks and saddle setup and trekked towards the creek.
Steady walk in with heavy wind covering my access. Didn’t seem to disrupt a thing on the way. Once I reached my OnX map chosen destination a multiple trunked maple caught my eye immediately. Some good cover and at the intersection of 3 or 4 trails. Bark was a little slick for the sticks but we made it work. Setup by about 6:10 am. First shots could be fired about 6:30 I believe. Felt good. Wind was present but not howling down here. A little swirly.
Head was on a swivel with soft ground and wind. About 6:40 I heard something behind me. Slowly turned to see a nice tall, tight racked buck at 25 yards watching my direction. Straight downwind. Another smaller buck behind him. Stand-off ensues for 10 minutes at least. Had my wind enough where something wasn’t right but the ozone storage tote and scent free shower did a good enough job that they worked off and didn’t blow the spot up.
Scanning around a little after 7 am and things were starting to brighten up in the timber. Movement ahead of me. 50 yards. Buck working away. Nice dark colored rack. Looked decent. Smaller bucks 30 yards behind him. Grunted once. Not loud enough. Again. Still nothing. One loud grunt to penetrate the wind. He stopped and turned. Started to bristle up to the buck behind him. Still 50+ yards away. I reach for my bow and position myself on the platform for potential shot. Still not sure if he’s a shooter or not. He’s upwind and starts to work closer. Pushes the other buck away and continues my way. “I think that’s Floppy!” He turns at 30 yards and I see his right ear. He continues to work towards me. Inside 30 yards. Still bristled up. I draw. It’s definitely him. 23ish yards. Put the pin right on the shoulder. Squeezed the release. Watched the Nocturnal fly directly into his shoulder. CRACK! Immediately he fell onto his chest. Broke his near shoulder. Heavy arrow/ single bevel setup did its job. He wheeled around in a 10 yard circle and expired in less than a minute.
I gave him a couple minutes before climbing down to confirm that it was indeed Floppy. Right ear and sticker points at his bases gave him away. The farm legend took his last breath on this November morning and I am a proud hunter. It’s great to wrap your tag around an antlered giant but I’m equally as excited to show off the history and story with this one.
I took my time field dressing and enjoying the moment with the flurries continuing to fly. Felt like what a November rut hunt was supposed to.
My taxidermist will send the teeth out to the lab to confirm age. My best guess is 8+ years old. But if it came back older I wouldn’t be surprised. My first successful hunt out of a tree saddle as well. A little bit of a learning curve with that the last couple years but it’s been fun to be mobile and lightweight.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far. Quick tape job puts him right at 130”.
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