When everything seems to go wrong, hunting in neighborhoods makes it go right!
A receptionist in my office showed me a video in mid July of 3-4 of what I’d consider really good bucks for central NJ in her back yard. After asking for permission, she reported back her family wasn’t comfortable with it. So I knocked on neighbors doors and got permission caddy cornered to hers. (I’ll post pic of the surrounding area)
so I set up on trails to her yard since she had confirmed that they are still there almost every night. And after being in the saddle for about an hour and half I noticed a deer stand up behind me where 3 properties come together in messy brush and trees. This buck stood up and headed west away from me, and then toward me along the fence and came through an opening at about 22 yards but couldn’t take the shot with the fence right behind him. He then proceeded to bed about 20 yards from my truck near the driveway until the homeowner came home and drove down the driveway. At this point he got up and came back through the woods.
The buck stopped at 30, and in the middle of all this my dumb ass put my 40 pin on him and I thought I had a clean miss (came to be it went right through above his spine) but jump forward a bit and stood there like nothing happened when a truck came barreling into the backyard of the receptionists house right up to the wood line and proceeded to dump grass clippings into the wood lot about 15 or less yards from this buck.
Then casually he turned around and walked back toward me and gave me a 25 yard shot, clean double lung this time and walked toward my truck and expired. Ended up being a 203.5 lb live buck, split/ double main beam on the right with some palmation, total 9 point.
crazy how all the things that seem to go wrong, endup being right in suburban hunting
A receptionist in my office showed me a video in mid July of 3-4 of what I’d consider really good bucks for central NJ in her back yard. After asking for permission, she reported back her family wasn’t comfortable with it. So I knocked on neighbors doors and got permission caddy cornered to hers. (I’ll post pic of the surrounding area)
so I set up on trails to her yard since she had confirmed that they are still there almost every night. And after being in the saddle for about an hour and half I noticed a deer stand up behind me where 3 properties come together in messy brush and trees. This buck stood up and headed west away from me, and then toward me along the fence and came through an opening at about 22 yards but couldn’t take the shot with the fence right behind him. He then proceeded to bed about 20 yards from my truck near the driveway until the homeowner came home and drove down the driveway. At this point he got up and came back through the woods.
The buck stopped at 30, and in the middle of all this my dumb ass put my 40 pin on him and I thought I had a clean miss (came to be it went right through above his spine) but jump forward a bit and stood there like nothing happened when a truck came barreling into the backyard of the receptionists house right up to the wood line and proceeded to dump grass clippings into the wood lot about 15 or less yards from this buck.
Then casually he turned around and walked back toward me and gave me a 25 yard shot, clean double lung this time and walked toward my truck and expired. Ended up being a 203.5 lb live buck, split/ double main beam on the right with some palmation, total 9 point.
crazy how all the things that seem to go wrong, endup being right in suburban hunting