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Team 3 Rules

Jammintree said:
thanks Btaylor. Yes, that was basically exactly my post shot process, though I didn’t say as much in my post. The blood trail was excellent for about .2 miles. And agree and hope that it is quite possibly a non lethal shot. My best guess is one lung and backstrap, and it’s possible the arrow is lodged in his ribs, as something prevented that arrow from continuing on its path.
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Sorry to read about your close call , maybe leave a note for the guy with cam or let one soak.
You’ll make a perfect shot on the next one.
 
Had an hour and a half yesterday to make a quick still hunt.
I scouted my way in to a spot with my .44 with skinner peep. Heavy cover that I haven’t been too since spring scouting .
found some runs and a recent ladder stand.
Close to sunset I decide to watch a timber cut where I had cover to my back.
as light was fading with 5 minutes left of legal, I was taking rounds out of my tube magazine for the hike out. As I put it back in place- caught moment at the opposite edge.
Bino the deer and it’s the biggest I’ve seen on the hoof in my home state. I had him in my peep at 100yds and hit my grunt tube . no interest , stopped broadside and proceeds the other way.
I have this lever action sighted in for 50 yds and with the light I didn’t take a poke at 100yds w 1 round in the chamber.

It was a good lesson to wait the extra 5 minutes - always and to head out even if you only have an hour of light around family / work
I’ll chew on that decision a bit
 
Just to give a story to my buck. I first got pics of this buck at least 4 years ago. I found a shed from him that year in a thicket bed where I found one side of him and a 6pt set all in the same bed. I nicknamed him "trying to be a 12" just because as a younster, he had a kicker point starting (not quite 1") on both G2s and his brows were right at the 1" mark but a great buck to be 2 years old at the time. I continued to get pics of him each and every year but I had never laid eyes on him in person. I was really honing in on where he stayed but the issue is he changed areas right before the season started. This year I had him really nailed down until 2 weeks before season started, really lined up with acorns starting to drop. This year though, he didn't move back to his usual location and I was struggling to find him. I got some pics of him but nothing that gave me hope I would see him if I hunted that spot. I continued to bounce around the genearl area but this didn't work the previous years so I wasn't really hopeful it was going to work this time. That morning I was in the general area but had some workers come in so I definitely wanted to move some for the afternoon. A buddy and me had got down late morning and went to lunch where we of course talked strategies. Well come time to head out and I was really stuck on two areas. One was a few hundred yards from the morning sit and the general area I thought he was in (but cams just weren't picking him up). The other would just be a blind sit, no intel, no cams etc. I was really leaning towards the blind sit but something just kept taking me back to the other area. Anyway I just couldn't make up my mind so I decided to flip a coin but neither of us had one so we flipped a Skol can. Well the Skol can might just get incorporated into the mount as it sent me to the correct location. Anyway, the morning had been very windy so we both made decisions on the afternoon sit thinking we were going to have a strong wind to help cover the noise of walking in. Turned out to be dead still for the walk in. I literally never took more than 5 steps in a row walking in. Within 5 minutes on getting setup I heard a deer walking. I was able to find a doe standing about 75 yards away but kept hearing walking but every time I looked at her, she wasn't moving. Never did find the other deer when the doe suddenly turned and ran back into the super thick stuff. I'm assuming it was a buck with her but can't confirm. About 1/2 hour later, I hear steady walking come right to me. Turned out to be a little basket 6pt. For some reason when he got near me, the fast I'm on a mission walk slowed and he fed along for 15-20 minutes before finally disappearing. ABout 5 minutes after that I hear some crashing to look up and see 2 deer running when I hear the grunting. They are a ways off 75-100 yards behind me but manage to kept a glimpse through one opening and instantly know its the "trying to be a 12" buck. Side note, no clue why I continued to call him that as he had been a 12 for a couple of years now. He ran that doe by me inside of 50 yards 4 times, coming near and then disappearing back into the thick each time disappearing for 1-5 mintues before reappearing. They had been gone for a good 5 minutes when I started getting a little worried they had went in the thick and went out the other side or just decided to take a break in there. I eventually heard a step nearby and swung around a large pine that was right beside me and she was about 40 yards away just feeding. A step here, one there but I was scanning the woods hard searching for the buck. Eventually he moved enough that when I leaned around that large pine I was able to see him standing there. I had to coach myself a lot to not take a bad shot as I kept wanting to lean way out and around that pine and take the shot. I managed to hold off on that and he was in a small hole with no lean needed (about 50 yards out). Two more deer lengths and he would be in the wide open. Well I couldn't manage to wait for the large hole and pulled the trigger on the small hole. With a ML and all the smoke I started second guessing my decision really bad after he ran off and I never heard any crash or fall. I was texting with two friends and getting conflicting advice. One was telling me if he's dead he'll still be there, the other was saying 30 minutes is long enough to sneak to the shot site and see what kind of sign I have. I couldn't take it any longer and knew he had ran far enough from the shot site to get over there without bumping him if he was still alive. Once at the shot site I had hair but no blood but knew his path for at least 15 or so yards. Well about 5 yards from the shot site, he started pouring blood and it was a very easy track job. He went about 50-75 yards or so and was piled up. These kinds of hunts are so fun but the ups and downs of seeing a target buck and then he disappears, see him and he disappears and then the unknown of the shot results etc. It all worked out and the shot turned out to be perfect. Buck ended up being a 13pt, had an extra kicker on his right G3 that he had never had before. Hopefully I'll remember to post the mount pics once we complete it as the wife has a creative side and has a cool idea on the euro mount with the two sheds we have.
 
TreeCreep said:
Sorry to read about your close call , maybe leave a note for the guy with cam or let one soak.
You’ll make a perfect shot on the next one.
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Thanks for that.

Yeah I considering flashing a note in front of the cell cam, with my number and a request for useful intel if he was willing. But decided against it. This guy has the woods blanked with cams and so it is likely hewill get pics of the deer. However, this guy also has a habit of checking everyone else’s cams and messing with them. So i had some hesitation about opening a line of communication. I’ve got a couple cams in the area and know another guy who does. Between the two of us, one of us will see it. Meanwhile I’m continuing to hunt the area.
 
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I’m in southern Ohio for four days, been scouting more than I hunt, putting on some miles. Went in a mile and a half today, but some good sign in a creek bottom back by the car kept calling me… I backtracked and set up 100 yards from where I parked. 8 point came in directly behind me and had me pegged, I had the HC Mini hanging, so I had to get it off that and get it pointed directly backwards without him running. I did it slow enough I got the shot off. He lunged and spun so the arrow went in low and angled up through a lung and spined him. Crazy how that angle worked out… I quickly put a second arrow in him. Easy 100 yard drag down the bridle trail.
 
Well team, my name is Mud - Humble Pie. I had a ton of deer pass back in forth in front of me today. I had a decent buck right in front of me. He was bird dogging a hot doe and would not stop. I tried put to one in him at 20 yards through a small opening in the brush… no arrow, no blood, just a marked up maple. At least it was a clean miss. Better luck Monday.

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Jammintree said:
Well team, my name is Mud - Humble Pie. I had a ton of deer pass back in forth in front of me today. I had a decent buck right in front of me. He was bird dogging a hot doe and would not stop. I tried put one in him at 20 yards through a small opening in the brush… no arrow, no blood, just a marked up maple. At least it was a clean miss. Better luck Monday.

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It’s not easy. Especially hard to get something to hold still in November.
 
Jammintree said:
Well team, my name is Mud - Humble Pie. I had a ton of deer pass back in forth in front of me today. I had a decent buck right in front of me. He was bird dogging a hot doe and would not stop. I tried put to one in him at 20 yards through a small opening in the brush… no arrow, no blood, just a marked up maple. At least it was a clean miss. Better luck Monday.

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You shooting Fiskar camp hatchets? lol

The internet makes it looks easy.
I text with 4 local guys that hunt pretty consistently for being married dads with jobs.
a little captain obvious -don’t forget how difficult it is to find deer in a state like Mass.
you’re in the game, at bow range.
sometimes the other team wins

keep pushing
 
Well guys, I never made it down to Maryland and haven't hunted deer since I shot my buck on the 8th. Work and life have conspired to close my window to run down there. I did a couple quickie scouting hikes and took my boy out for squirrels here. Did find some very promising intel for next season in an area I haven't hunted in a few years.

Over the past few years my desire to kill does has evaporated. Sorry team on the missing 5 points, just haven't been motivated to with struggling populations on public land in my parts.
 
VA was a bust for me. But here is an interesting story. Saturday morning I climbed a tree in an area that looked good and once there was light I saw a buck. But something wasn't right, it was laying on it's side. When I climbed down for lunch I inspected it. 7 pointer that had apparently been shot during muzzleloader and was never located.

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elk yinzer said:
Well guys, I never made it down to Maryland and haven't hunted deer since I shot my buck on the 8th. Work and life have conspired to close my window to run down there. I did a couple quickie scouting hikes and took my boy out for squirrels here. Did find some very promising intel for next season in an area I haven't hunted in a few years.

Over the past few years my desire to kill does has evaporated. Sorry team on the missing 5 points, just haven't been motivated to with struggling populations on public land in my parts.
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I’m with you , work , life and daylight savings conspire to steal the Nov peak from me most years. (and I’m terrible at saving vacation for Nov.) I really need to take advantage of 1/2 days
I’ll be getting out when I can.

Enjoy the buck you killed. it’s nice to not have any pressure and just hunt like before the days of internet
 
I just came back from a long weekend hunt in VT with some buddies. The forecast called for snow in the mountains, so we rented an air BNB and went for it. Alas the forecast didn’t pan out and there was only snow above 2,500 feet. Without contiguous snow cover the conditions were quite challenging. Saturday and Sunday I summited peaks in hopes of cutting a track. Unfortunately those highly pressured deer knew the game too well. As soon as I caught up to them they immediately ran strait down the mountain and got below snow line.

Back on stand before work this am for a short sit. At this point I’m just being stubborn and don’t want November to pass without getting a buck down.
 
Right around sunrise I had a big buck pass by at 30 yards. He was in thick brush and I couldn’t get an opportunity. Crazy thing is that I have two trees prepped in this same spot for different winds, and he walked right by the other tree.

This has been my best year by far in terms of seeing unalarmed deer up close. But I’m getting frustrated.
 
Unless I can drum something up this weekend, this is looking like my first bow season in quite a while that I’m not going to harvest a buck. And it’s not sitting well with me.

Gun season starts Monday and it’s looking like we will have snow. So, I’ll pick up a gun and find a track.
 
I never gave ya'll an update on SD. I didn't kill anything. Made it close a couple times. Sailed an arrow over a mid sized 8 at 21 yards. Stalked to 30 on a nice 10 and had no shot which was a gut punch. Saw one very nice mule deer with no opportunity to stalk and had a blown stalk on another one. I was planning on smoking a doe out of a saddle and my last day I got skunked the morning and it started raining so I headed home.

Opening day in WI I canoed into my spot because it's a lot easier and less invasive than busting brush and I got skunked again both days. I don't know why I didn't see a deer in that spot I'm literally on a hill in a marsh looking at three separate bedding areas. I have crops with half a mile on three sides and a clearcut on the other. Draws up perfectly but haven't seen anything decent there in the last two years.

I've been being a good husband ever since and so I might get out tomorrow on drives or go sit somewhere. I've been trying to kill better class of deer the last few years and I've had my chances but haven't connected. We will see how the rest of the season plays out, it's post rut here so unlikely I kill anything with horns.
 
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