To the ones that gave us the slip.

[woodsdog2]

I’ll just start balling if I recount how many nice bucks have gotten away, someone else shot after I followed them for a couple of years yada, yada. But when I found out this one was down when I was absolutely convinced I was the only one aware of him…. It hurt. I was an idiot. I vowed I would never let a deer get to me like that again.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

This one still hurts . . . about 25years ago I was seeing a really big buck consistently on my family property about 2 hours south. Its an 88 acre chunk of mixed hardwoods/pole pines and cedar swamp with a creek that runs along the edge between the pines and the swamp. It has full time resident neighbors on 3 sides.

I was impressed enough with the buck I started tent camping weekends on the property and doing all day sits from a "safe" distance trying to figure out his patterns. On the 12th of November (3 days before our rifle opener) I finally was pretty sure I had him figured out and I made my move. I sat in the afternoon along the creek just inside the pines along the transition to the swamp. About an hour before dark I saw the big buck working his way directly towards me along the transition. I had a long time watching him as he approached and had plenty of time to calm myself for the shot in spite of his 14 point rack, probably the biggest buck I had seen in the NLP at that time. "He's surely mine" I thought as he approached. " If he continues on the transition he'll cross an opening at 20 yards right in front of me. If he turns right he crosses through the pretty open pole pines offering a good opportunity". Unfortunately he didn't do either. He turned and walked directly at me but behind a single pine until he was within 15 yards. When he did finally turn right he walked right down the length of a fallen pine that blocked my shot opportunity. I sat there at full draw for way too long, doing my best to control the shaking of the 50% let off bow while trying to decide if I should try to force an arrow through the pine bows. He eventually passed out of sight as he walked along the downed tree and into the pole pines. I couldn't believe that I just had "the biggest deer of my life" within 15yards and couldn't get a shot.

The next day I was sitting in the same tree in the morning when I saw a guy cutting through our property stapling things to the trees. I climbed down and confronted him. He was stapling No Trespassing signs on my property. I questioned him about it and he said someone had been sneaking in there camping and hunting and he decided to post the property to keep them out. He was a bit embarrassed when I told him that was me (i.e. the property owner). I told him to remove the signs and we talked a bit longer. He asked if had been having any luck to which I foolishly recounted the story of my encounter the night before. As I told him the story the smile left his face and he went kind of ashen looking. That night while I was hunting, right at last shooting light there was a rifle report from his property. I walked over to the property line and watched through my binoculars as him and his son dragged the buck from under an overhead light shining down on a bait pile about 60 yds behind his house. I assume he was afraid I was going to kill his trophy with my bow before rifle season opened so he just took care of it a little early. To say I was pissed was an understatement.

 

[Still Kicking]

This one still hurts . . . about 25years ago I was seeing a really big buck consistently on my family property about 2 hours south. Its an 88 acre chunk of mixed hardwoods/pole pines and cedar swamp with a creek that runs along the edge between the pines and the swamp. It has full time resident neighbors on 3 sides.

I was impressed enough with the buck I started tent camping weekends on the property and doing all day sits from a "safe" distance trying to figure out his patterns. On the 12th of November (3 days before our rifle opener) I finally was pretty sure I had him figured out and I made my move. I sat in the afternoon along the creek just inside the pines along the transition to the swamp. About an hour before dark I saw the big buck working his way directly towards me along the transition. I had a long time watching him as he approached and had plenty of time to calm myself for the shot in spite of his 14 point rack, probably the biggest buck I had seen in the NLP at that time. "He's surely mine" I thought as he approached. " If he continues on the transition he'll cross an opening at 20 yards right in front of me. If he turns right he crosses through the pretty open pole pines offering a good opportunity". Unfortunately he didn't do either. He turned and walked directly at me but behind a single pine until he was within 15 yards. When he did finally turn right he walked right down the length of a fallen pine that blocked my shot opportunity. I sat there at full draw for way too long, doing my best to control the shaking of the 50% let off bow while trying to decide if I should try to force an arrow through the pine bows. He eventually passed out of sight as he walked along the downed tree and into the pole pines. I couldn't believe that I just had "the biggest deer of my life" within 15yards and couldn't get a shot.

The next day I was sitting in the same tree in the morning when I saw a guy cutting through our property stapling things to the trees. I climbed down and confronted him. He was stapling No Trespassing signs on my property. I questioned him about it and he said someone had been sneaking in there camping and hunting and he decided to post the property to keep them out. He was a bit embarrassed when I told him that was me (i.e. the property owner). I told him to remove the signs and we talked a bit longer. He asked if had been having any luck to which I foolishly recounted the story of my encounter the night before. As I told him the story the smile left his face and he went kind of ashen looking. That night while I was hunting, right at last shooting light there was a rifle report from his property. I walked over to the property line and watched through my binoculars as him and his son dragged the buck from under an overhea

This one still hurts . . . about 25years ago I was seeing a really big buck consistently on my family property about 2 hours south. Its an 88 acre chunk of mixed hardwoods/pole pines and cedar swamp with a creek that runs along the edge between the pines and the swamp. It has full time resident neighbors on 3 sides.

I was impressed enough with the buck I started tent camping weekends on the property and doing all day sits from a "safe" distance trying to figure out his patterns. On the 12th of November (3 days before our rifle opener) I finally was pretty sure I had him figured out and I made my move. I sat in the afternoon along the creek just inside the pines along the transition to the swamp. About an hour before dark I saw the big buck working his way directly towards me along the transition. I had a long time watching him as he approached and had plenty of time to calm myself for the shot in spite of his 14 point rack, probably the biggest buck I had seen in the NLP at that time. "He's surely mine" I thought as he approached. " If he continues on the transition he'll cross an opening at 20 yards right in front of me. If he turns right he crosses through the pretty open pole pines offering a good opportunity". Unfortunately he didn't do either. He turned and walked directly at me but behind a single pine until he was within 15 yards. When he did finally turn right he walked right down the length of a fallen pine that blocked my shot opportunity. I sat there at full draw for way too long, doing my best to control the shaking of the 50% let off bow while trying to decide if I should try to force an arrow through the pine bows. He eventually passed out of sight as he walked along the downed tree and into the pole pines. I couldn't believe that I just had "the biggest deer of my life" within 15yards and couldn't get a shot.

To say I was pissed was an understatement.

I have DNR on speed dial and that fella would have been doing some "splainin". Made me angry just reading about it. No patience for poacher behavior here.

 

[woodsdog2]

This one still hurts . . . about 25years ago I was seeing a really big buck consistently on my family property about 2 hours south. Its an 88 acre chunk of mixed hardwoods/pole pines and cedar swamp with a creek that runs along the edge between the pines and the swamp. It has full time resident neighbors on 3 sides.

I was impressed enough with the buck I started tent camping weekends on the property and doing all day sits from a "safe" distance trying to figure out his patterns. On the 12th of November (3 days before our rifle opener) I finally was pretty sure I had him figured out and I made my move. I sat in the afternoon along the creek just inside the pines along the transition to the swamp. About an hour before dark I saw the big buck working his way directly towards me along the transition. I had a long time watching him as he approached and had plenty of time to calm myself for the shot in spite of his 14 point rack, probably the biggest buck I had seen in the NLP at that time. "He's surely mine" I thought as he approached. " If he continues on the transition he'll cross an opening at 20 yards right in front of me. If he turns right he crosses through the pretty open pole pines offering a good opportunity". Unfortunately he didn't do either. He turned and walked directly at me but behind a single pine until he was within 15 yards. When he did finally turn right he walked right down the length of a fallen pine that blocked my shot opportunity. I sat there at full draw for way too long, doing my best to control the shaking of the 50% let off bow while trying to decide if I should try to force an arrow through the pine bows. He eventually passed out of sight as he walked along the downed tree and into the pole pines. I couldn't believe that I just had "the biggest deer of my life" within 15yards and couldn't get a shot.

The next day I was sitting in the same tree in the morning when I saw a guy cutting through our property stapling things to the trees. I climbed down and confronted him. He was stapling No Trespassing signs on my property. I questioned him about it and he said someone had been sneaking in there camping and hunting and he decided to post the property to keep them out. He was a bit embarrassed when I told him that was me (i.e. the property owner). I told him to remove the signs and we talked a bit longer. He asked if had been having any luck to which I foolishly recounted the story of my encounter the night before. As I told him the story the smile left his face and he went kind of ashen looking. That night while I was hunting, right at last shooting light there was a rifle report from his property. I walked over to the property line and watched through my binoculars as him and his son dragged the buck from under an overhead light shining down on a bait pile about 60 yds behind his house. I assume he was afraid I was going to kill his trophy with my bow before rifle season opened so he just took care of it a little early. To say I was pissed was an understatement.

I would have went postal on that guy!!! Only you old fellas like me will understand.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

I have DNR on speed dial and that fella would have been doing some "splainin". Made me angry just reading about it. No patience for poacher behavior here.

The issue is that I'm an absentee landowner there. He would know who called and I had weigh my personal "pissed off" level versus what crap he could pull while I was at home during the week. Any call from me wasn't bringing that buck back.

 

[woodsdog2]

The issue is that I'm an absentee landowner there. He would know who called and I had weigh my personal "pissed off" level versus what crap he could pull while I was at home during the week. Any call from me wasn't bringing that buck back.

That’s a tough spot to be in @boyne bowhunter, it’s too bad you couldn’t have a local be a care taker for the property. Maybe offer him some limited use in some capacity in exchange for being the “presence” on your behalf.

 

[austin1990]

NEVER give up! You're in charge, you can do this and the odds are in your favor IF you go. You can't kill them from the couch!

Man after 5 years of hunting him, along with about a dozen other people, it got to be to much trouble and no fun, people constantly messing up each other and him. I'm still amazed he's survived, he even got gut shot once and miraculously pulled through it. I decided then and there he deserved to live out his days without me bothering him. I still hunt the same area, but not like I did, and have killed 3 really good bucks the last 2 years, so I'm not going to complain about it.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

I’ll just start balling if I recount how many nice bucks have gotten away, someone else shot after I followed them for a couple of years yada, yada. But when I found out this one was down when I was absolutely convinced I was the only one aware of him…. It hurt. I was an idiot. I vowed I would never let a deer get to me like that again.

15 pointer? Do you know what the beast scored?

 

[woodsdog2]

I’ll just start balling if I recount how many nice bucks have gotten away, someone else shot after I followed them for a couple of years yada, yada. But when I found out this one was down when I was absolutely convinced I was the only one aware of him…. It hurt. I was an idiot. I vowed I would never let a deer get to me like that again.

Yeah….. he even had crab claws at the end of each of his main beams……

 

[woodsdog2]

15 pointer? Do you know what the beast scored?

No, the property he was shot on is owned by out of state dudes. I meant to reach out because our PD had to investigate their cabin house as a squatter was crashing there….I didn’t go inside but one of our officers said the place was filled with huge mounts. I figure mid to high 160’s?? He was on the property I hunt his first three years of life. The closest I got to him on any semblance of a pattern was the season before I had him on camera three mornings in a row within 6 minutes of each other going back to bed just after late season had closed.

 

[Boone Liane]

A few years before that big 4x4 showed up I was hunting another big typical 5x5. Probably low to mid 170 class deer.

It was pre trail cam era for me but I had seen him once scouting from a distance than once from an observation stand I had hung just to get a better idea of where I wanted to move.

When I did I did it right….almost.

He came in with another great buck about 30 yards behind him. I passed the smaller buck (which would have been the biggest buck I’d ever killed at that point, solid 155-160) up at 16 yards, thinking the big five would just follow in his footsteps.

He didn’t.

He stopped just as he hit the edge of the thick stuff at about 35 yards and stood there for a long time. Almost like his sixth sense alerted him to something.

Mind you, that other buck was right in front of me and completely ignorant to my presence.

Than he turned 90 degrees and hugged the edge of that thicket until they were out of sight.

Never saw either one of them ever again.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

This one still hurts . . . about 25years ago I was seeing a really big buck consistently on my family property about 2 hours south. Its an 88 acre chunk of mixed hardwoods/pole pines and cedar swamp with a creek that runs along the edge between the pines and the swamp. It has full time resident neighbors on 3 sides.

I was impressed enough with the buck I started tent camping weekends on the property and doing all day sits from a "safe" distance trying to figure out his patterns. On the 12th of November (3 days before our rifle opener) I finally was pretty sure I had him figured out and I made my move. I sat in the afternoon along the creek just inside the pines along the transition to the swamp. About an hour before dark I saw the big buck working his way directly towards me along the transition. I had a long time watching him as he approached and had plenty of time to calm myself for the shot in spite of his 14 point rack, probably the biggest buck I had seen in the NLP at that time. "He's surely mine" I thought as he approached. " If he continues on the transition he'll cross an opening at 20 yards right in front of me. If he turns right he crosses through the pretty open pole pines offering a good opportunity". Unfortunately he didn't do either. He turned and walked directly at me but behind a single pine until he was within 15 yards. When he did finally turn right he walked right down the length of a fallen pine that blocked my shot opportunity. I sat there at full draw for way too long, doing my best to control the shaking of the 50% let off bow while trying to decide if I should try to force an arrow through the pine bows. He eventually passed out of sight as he walked along the downed tree and into the pole pines. I couldn't believe that I just had "the biggest deer of my life" within 15yards and couldn't get a shot.

The next day I was sitting in the same tree in the morning when I saw a guy cutting through our property stapling things to the trees. I climbed down and confronted him. He was stapling No Trespassing signs on my property. I questioned him about it and he said someone had been sneaking in there camping and hunting and he decided to post the property to keep them out. He was a bit embarrassed when I told him that was me (i.e. the property owner). I told him to remove the signs and we talked a bit longer. He asked if had been having any luck to which I foolishly recounted the story of my encounter the night before. As I told him the story the smile left his face and he went kind of ashen looking. That night while I was hunting, right at last shooting light there was a rifle report from his property. I walked over to the property line and watched through my binoculars as him and his son dragged the buck from under an overhead light shining down on a bait pile about 60 yds behind his house. I assume he was afraid I was going to kill his trophy with my bow before rifle season opened so he just took care of it a little early. To say I was pissed was an understatement.

"He asked if had been having any luck to which I foolishly recounted the story of my encounter the night before. As I told him the story the smile left his face and he went kind of ashen looking."

I've learned the hard way to never tell anyone local about a good deer. I treat local hunters (even my friends) like mushrooms. I keep them in the dark and feed them poo.

 

[bigmike23]

Plenty of those..

I hunt in some of the hardest hit woods in the USA during rifle season. There's a rifle behind every other tree for two weeks, so it's not very often I see a lot of the big bucks make it from year to year. And some of you guys post bucks that simply do not exist in my neck of the woods. PA is the second hardest hit state there is for deer hunter numbers. I get a buck on camera I would consider "Mythical" usually once every 2 years.

2021 there was giant 11 I had fifteen yards from me the very final day of archery before my beast stand autistically screeched and blew it for me. He was killed that year.

2022 was a crappy year. Nothing good showed up till the classic rut range round here, which was early Nov. A heavy 9 showed up Nov 11, and I shot him Nov 12th. Unfortunately I did not recover him and was the first deer I wounded since I was 15. But that same year began the chase of my #1 buck for two year now.

2023 I hunted for the same 3 deer. A huge heavy 10. A bowinkle like 9 pter. Super wide. And the buck I mentioned that began in 2022, which in '22 he was a 7pt. '23 he was an 8pt. The 9 and 10 were both killed during rifle. But the 8 won out again.

2024 rolls around, the 8 showed up again bigger than ever. A 9pt showed up that was a tank. I got consistent pictures of him in daylight starting in around Oct 20th until he vanished the around Nov 8th or so. Nobody that I know of got him at any of the 3 cabins, so I assume he was killed on the adjacent public and he never showed again.

Now for 2025. The 8pt I mentioned now showed back up as a 9pt. What was cool, is my cousin had pictures of that deer all throughout the summer in his summer range nearly 2 miles away from my cams. Like clockwork he would show up back in his fall range come mid October.

What was so fascinating about this deer was all 3 cabins knew about him. Over 25 hunters were aware of him. I got pictures of this sob all throughout the areas where all the rifle hunters go, and he beat them all so far. That's 3 years of dodging countless hunters. Nobody had ever seen him with their eyes. Dude was a ghost.
I had him on many different cameras on the public, so he also bested countless public hunters.

I had other deer on camera that were bigger, but I didn't care. He was my #1 buck by FAR because he was the one that constantly beat every one. I LOVE going against an animal of that cunning.

I ended up shooting him Nov 12th. I don't think I'll ever have a prouder moment hunting. That was the magnum opus of my hunting hobby.

For my next target and the one that got away..

This decent 7 showed up in 2024
Thst buck also lived in downtown rifleville. Nobody saw him throughout the season.

He showed back up in 2025, much heavier now.

Once again, nobody saw him in rifle. I couldn't believe it. Here the toad dropped his horns a few days before the rifle opener



So for now, because he's beaten so many others for 2 years in a row, he's my #1 target this coming season.

 

[Boone Liane]

Plenty of those..

I hunt in some of the hardest hit woods in the USA during rifle season. There's a rifle behind every other tree for two weeks, so it's not very often I see a lot of the big bucks make it from year to year. And some of you guys post bucks that simply do not exist in my neck of the woods. PA is the second hardest hit state there is for deer hunter numbers. I get a buck on camera I would consider "Mythical" usually once every 2 years.

2021 there was giant 11 I had fifteen yards from me the very final day of archery before my beast stand autistically screeched and blew it for me. He was killed that year.

2022 was a crappy year. Nothing good showed up till the classic rut range round here, which was early Nov. A heavy 9 showed up Nov 11, and I shot him Nov 12th. Unfortunately I did not recover him and was the first deer I wounded since I was 15. But that same year began the chase of my #1 buck for two year now.

2023 I hunted for the same 3 deer. A huge heavy 10. A bowinkle like 9 pter. Super wide. And the buck I mentioned that began in 2022, which in '22 he was a 7pt. '23 he was an 8pt. The 9 and 10 were both killed during rifle. But the 8 won out again.

2024 rolls around, the 8 showed up again bigger than ever. A 9pt showed up that was a tank. I got consistent pictures of him in daylight starting in around Oct 20th until he vanished the around Nov 8th or so. Nobody that I know of got him at any of the 3 cabins, so I assume he was killed on the adjacent public and he never showed again.

Now for 2025. The 8pt I mentioned now showed back up as a 9pt. What was cool, is my cousin had pictures of that deer all throughout the summer in his summer range nearly 2 miles away from my cams. Like clockwork he would show up back in his fall range come mid October.

What was so fascinating about this deer was all 3 cabins knew about him. Over 25 hunters were aware of him. I got pictures of this sob all throughout the areas where all the rifle hunters go, and he beat them all so far. That's 3 years of dodging countless hunters. Nobody had ever seen him with their eyes. Dude was a ghost.
I had him on many different cameras on the public, so he also bested countless public hunters.

I had other deer on camera that were bigger, but I didn't care. He was my #1 buck by FAR because he was the one that constantly beat every one. I LOVE going against an animal of that cunning.

I ended up shooting him Nov 12th. I don't think I'll ever have a prouder moment hunting. That was the magnum opus of my hunting hobby.

For my next target and the one that got away..

This decent 7 showed up in 2024 View attachment 127097
Thst buck also lived in downtown rifleville. Nobody saw him throughout the season.

He showed back up in 2025, much heavier now. View attachment 127098

Once again, nobody saw him in rifle. I couldn't believe it. Here the toad dropped his horns a few days before the rifle opener
View attachment 127099


So for now, because he's beaten so many others for 2 years in a row, he's my #1 target this coming season.

You should watch this. He talks just about this, how great they are at never being seen.