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Team 12 Thread

Had a good evening. Saw 4 does that milled around for half an hour and one of them finally got to 32 yards. I shot and the arrow made a thud so I knew the shot was a little forward.

Found my arrow a little ways up the hill and it was broke off about 12 inches from the head.

I figured I would eventually find blood but never did. Did a grid search of the whole pine thicket i was in and never found anything else.

My guess is that I pushed the shot a little forward and high just a hair. It was strange that she didn’t bleed though.

Can’t chalk it up to bow hunting because I always tell myself I don’t want to take that far of a shot... moment got the best of me I reckon. Hate losing them like that


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MN_Bowhunter4 said:
Good blood?
Click to expand...
So after I thought I missed that deer I heard some thrashing right behind me briefly. I thought that’s strange but the more I thought of it I thought well maybe I did hit that deer even though he walked off like he didn’t know what happened. I went down to look for my arrow and right before I found it I saw a deer Get up and move about 5-10 yards and lay back down. I found my arrow and it was covered in blood and some meat. I smelled it and it smelled rutty buck so I may have hit him in the guts. gonna let him expire tonight and hopefully I’ll find him in the morning Before the coyotes.
 
gcr0003 said:
So after I thought I missed that deer I heard some thrashing right behind me briefly. I thought that’s strange but the more I thought of it I thought well maybe I did hit that deer even though he walked off like he didn’t know what happened. I went down to look for my arrow and right before I found it I saw a deer Get up and move about 5-10 yards and lay back down. I found my arrow and it was covered in blood and some meat. I smelled it and it smelled rutty buck so I may have hit him in the guts. gonna let him expire tonight and hopefully I’ll find him in the morning Before the coyotes.
Click to expand...
So, we're all sitting here working and waiting...!? Once you get done dragging him out hit us with an update!
 
MN_Bowhunter4 said:
So, we're all sitting here working and waiting...!? Once you get done dragging him out hit us with an update!
Click to expand...
Bad shot, he was cruising and I guess didn’t stop long enough, I felt like h jumped the string, also I think I hit a limb. Got him in the hind quarter. Went 80 yards. Still happy that I found him and the coyotes didnt. Just a little fork horn. 03684D90-E5B3-41DE-A1C9-5E36E75DE879.png
 
My target buck showed up this morning in daylight for the first time since I royally screwed up on him the first weekend in November. Hopefully he still wants to play this weekend
 
This has been a HELLUVA work week and I've decided to make a little deer hunting therapy session appointment for tomorrow. Gonna try the property I hunted last weekend. It still had some standing corn on it so I'm hoping that'll be a magnet this time of year. Plan is to take the inline tomorrow, then bust out the cap and ball for the rest of the weekend!
 
First time back in the saddle in a couple weeks. Feels freakin great. My properties are archery only thru end of January. So its perfect. Beautiful day here 50° with 5 mph sw wind. I can see pretty far so i should atleast see deer tonight.

Just getting caught up on thread. Did he post a pic of the forkhorn? Wasn't sure if i missed it.


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Got a moment of free time here and wanted to update you guys on a few hunts.

Went to a bow only area south of me last week because I dont like being in the woods all camo'd up with morons toting howitzers during open firearms season.

I get there before noon and play hop scotch across a bog only to come out the other side to find a ladder stand setup. I didnt mind it though because I'm hiking about a mile deep so I continued to the first set of oak ridges about 100yds to find a climbing stand at the base of a tree between two ridges. I laugh to myself thinking how close these two setups are and I cut across the top a ridge, (btw these ridges are only about 50- 75' tall but closely spaced) only to find another ladderstand!. If both of these stands were hunted at the same time these guys could whisper to each other as they're maybe 100' apart! Just as I pass it a doe scampers away over the ridge a bow shot away, so I take this as a good sign as I haven't seen a deer in what feels like forever and continue on.

I get to the area I planned to hunt but the last few storms knocked down so many trees it looked like a tornado touched down. I scout the surrounding area for sign and come across a fresh rub on a 3" tree and a few scrapes about 20' from each other. I've seen deer here last year so I set up on a pinch point and hope the weather holds out.

Well my daughter contacts me to remind me to be home by 5:30 because I promised that she could use the truck. This is at 3:45, right at primetime till sunset! I do the right thing and pack up and make a beeline to my truck doing the math in my head, a mile walk, cross that bog without getting stuck or lose a boot and a 45min drive. Yeah gonna be late...

Well I took a more direct route back and find three more stands with two of them sharing the same ridge just on opposite sides. I really wonder if the people who do this actually know the other guys is there.

On a positive note I did bump another doe close to where I was and the closest stand was easily five hundred yards away so I plan to hunt this location late december when all seasons are over except this wmu.
 
Well my trail cam woke up the past week in a spot I dubbed my "honeyhole" because almost everytime there I was into deer last season but had absolutely nothing show this year when I hunted it. So yesterday I planned to get there early and sit till dark.

Overslept a touch but was in tree by 7:45. Cold 27* but expected to warm to mid 40* although it would never feel that as this area always has a constant west wind.

I'm set up in a funnel along a major roadway with a hill between me and the road. The deer cruise thru here going north and south until they get up on a slight rise on the north which opens to a tall hill going towards the road to the east.

At 12:30 a doe comes from that rise and heads up that hillside. A few minutes later and a buck comes the same way 35-40yds out but I dont have a shot between tree limbs and the vines snaking their way through out the trees. I watch him run up the hill after her and out of sight. He didnt care about my feeble grunt attempts.

Two doe come off that same hillside at 3:30 and feed along the same route that doesn't offer a shot. Ten minutes later the same buck comes down but feeds going away from me to the north. I contemplate taking a 50 yd shot at one of the doe but knowing I don't have a pin for that range would at the least mean a busted/lost arrow or worse injuring an animal. Both outcomes would make my miserable season that much worse.

Well that buck somehow turned around and came my way but instead of trailing the does he continued south and came behind me. How he didnt wind me I dont know and I'm only 14' up and more likely just 10' in elevation higher than him when he was on the hillside behind me. He passed alongside my tree on my strongside and walked at a hard quartering away. I drew and followed on him till he passed the next trees limbs, somewhere 18-22yds away, and I released.

Saw the arrow hit back but that hard quartering didnt give much wiggle room to get picky and I expected it to travel thru his body to the vitals which it did. I guess it's true that heavy arrows help because my 640 grain death dart traveled the length of his body and found the dirt. At the hit he hopped, not a run, maybe 5 yds and stopped for a few minutes then fell over. He layed there in sight with his head down but I could see he was still breathing. He lift his head slowly so I sent a second arrow thru his boiler room to quicken his ending.

I can't age deer but he was old for sure and on his decline. He's only a six point and his rack is deformed on one side with a broken off tine on his good side. In his prime he would have been a nice wide racked 8 ptr. He weighed 194#.

Now here's a funny part. The actual hunting spot is at the top of a series of small plateaus covered in rocks and deadfalls. Once I get on the trail from there it's a 20 minute hike along a twisty route with lots of hills. Me being up there in age and smarter than I am strong decided to cut through the woods to the roadway 60 yds away and let the pavement and gravity do all the work the half mile trek to the truck. I thought for sure a trooper would pass by and stop to investigate the man walking a deer on a cart alongside traffic but I got lucky and had no such encounter. I even did my first ever vlog while walking just to tease my kids!

Zoom in on first pic and see just how far he died from me...27yds.Screenshot_20201204-120140_Gallery.jpg

Screenshot_20201204-114146_Gallery.jpg
Screenshot_20201204-114100_Gallery.jpg
 
slonstdy said:
Well my trail cam woke up the past week in a spot I dubbed my "honeyhole" because almost everytime there I was into deer last season but had absolutely nothing show this year when I hunted it. So yesterday I planned to get there early and sit till dark.

Overslept a touch but was in tree by 7:45. Cold 27* but expected to warm to mid 40* although it would never feel that as this area always has a constant west wind.

I'm set up in a funnel along a major roadway with a hill between me and the road. The deer cruise thru here going north and south until they get up on a slight rise on the north which opens to a tall hill going towards the road to the east.

At 12:30 a doe comes from that rise and heads up that hillside. A few minutes later and a buck comes the same way 35-40yds out but I dont have a shot between tree limbs and the vines snaking their way through out the trees. I watch him run up the hill after her and out of sight. He didnt care about my feeble grunt attempts.

Two doe come off that same hillside at 3:30 and feed along the same route that doesn't offer a shot. Ten minutes later the same buck comes down but feeds going away from me to the north. I contemplate taking a 50 yd shot at one of the doe but knowing I don't have a pin for that range would at the least mean a busted/lost arrow or worse injuring an animal. Both outcomes would make my miserable season that much worse.

Well that buck somehow turned around and came my way but instead of trailing the does he continued south and came behind me. How he didnt wind me I dont know and I'm only 14' up and more likely just 10' in elevation higher than him when he was on the hillside behind me. He passed alongside my tree on my strongside and walked at a hard quartering away. I drew and followed on him till he passed the next trees limbs, somewhere 18-22yds away, and I released.

Saw the arrow hit back but that hard quartering didnt give much wiggle room to get picky and I expected it to travel thru his body to the vitals which it did. I guess it's true that heavy arrows help because my 640 grain death dart traveled the length of his body and found the dirt. At the hit he hopped, not a run, maybe 5 yds and stopped for a few minutes then fell over. He layed there in sight with his head down but I could see he was still breathing. He lift his head slowly so I sent a second arrow thru his boiler room to quicken his ending.

I can't age deer but he was old for sure and on his decline. He's only a six point and his rack is deformed on one side with a broken off tine on his good side. In his prime he would have been a nice wide racked 8 ptr. He weighed 194#.

Now here's a funny part. The actual hunting spot is at the top of a series of small plateaus covered in rocks and deadfalls. Once I get on the trail from there it's a 20 minute hike along a twisty route with lots of hills. Me being up there in age and smarter than I am strong decided to cut through the woods to the roadway 60 yds away and let the pavement and gravity do all the work the half mile trek to the truck. I thought for sure a trooper would pass by and stop to investigate the man walking a deer on a cart alongside traffic but I got lucky and had no such encounter. I even did my first ever vlog while walking just to tease my kids!

Zoom in on first pic and see just how far he died from me...27yds.View attachment 40676

View attachment 40671
View attachment 40672
Click to expand...
Congrats @slonstdy! That guy's got some width!
 
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